Give WG developers a break

[keyserBB]

I'm writing this post because of the toxic comments I've been seeing on the patch notes. I'm sure I'll be speaking to the converted if any of you are in software development, but this is really aimed at everybody else.

 

The toxic question is "why haven't they fixed [problem] yet?" . It seems like such a simple fix, so why is it still an issue. If it's easy then that MUST mean the devs are lazy, right? You couldn't be more wrong.

 

The first issue is that Devs don't normally control their own workload. When you are developing software, you have two choices. You can either fix the stuff that's out there, or you can develop new features. The kicker is that new money comes from introducing new features and the product managers have a large say in what the Devs work on. If there is a choice between improving the frame-rate by an average 1FPS or adding a new Premium ship, you can guess which option is going to be prioritized.

 

The second issue is process. Even if a Dev is allowed to work on an issue, the issue must first be documented so that when the fix is made it can be tested. Typically the fix will be made on a developer workstation and be migrated up to a developer build and then to a test server. A tester will be given the job of ensuring the fix worked properly. If the issue is something like a type then this is really easy. If it's something difficult like AP shell damage modeling then the Dev may have to build custom tools that enable the testers to actually see what is going on in the game engine.

 

Ok, the fix has made it through the testing  (Verification) stage. The fix changes the game mechanic in a very subtle way... is this a change for the good? Does it make the game better? That's a subjective call and needs to be validated by play-testing. This is why there is a public test server that allows WG to gather feedback prior to releasing the patch.

 

All this assumes that the developer can find the problem. WG didn't write the BigWorld engine - they bought it. How well is it documented? Are there areas that nobody really understands? A lot of software has 'danger zones' of core code that filter through to the other areas of the software. Touch one thing in this area and you could set off a cascade that will break a seemingly unrelated area. Sure they could analyze and refactor this code, but that would mean that no new features would be released, so it gets left alone.

 

The point is - writing software is not easy. PLEASE give the WG Devs a break!

 

[The_GoDDfather]

He's a dev in disguise. I'm calling it now.

[yUPPatriots]

Never!!!

[Legendary_Typo]

I guess the players just really want to see the game improve... Although they communicate that in a really salty, hateful way.

[Skraeling]

Is that why it took till patch ~5.1 to get division chat in a game that should have had it on release?  And that WOT has had for YEARS.

[danredda1616]

Is that why it took till patch ~5.1 to get division chat in a game that should have had it on release?  And that WOT has had for YEARS.

 

And that WoT did NOT have for about a year post release (in matches, it was in garage from beginning - surprise, just like here). Yep that's right. You can't compare 2 games in COMPLETELY different stages of their development cycle. WoT is at the point where all that is getting added is content. That's why they're playing around with more physics, domination etc. to "spice" it up a little. WoWS is just exiting Beta and is still introducing core gameplay mechanics and game modes.

[Skraeling]

 

And that WoT did NOT have for about a year post release (in matches, it was in garage from beginning - surprise, just like here). Yep that's right. You can't compare 2 games in COMPLETELY different stages of their development cycle. WoT is at the point where all that is getting added is content. That's why they're playing around with more physics, domination etc. to "spice" it up a little. WoWS is just exiting Beta and is still introducing core gameplay mechanics and game modes.

 

yes yes i can.  They HAD the idea already hammered out how hard is porting it to this game?

[danredda1616]

 

yes yes i can.  They HAD the idea already hammered out how hard is porting it to this game?

Even the slightest difference in base source code for something such as server communications, can make "porting" something not even worth the effort, and instead it is just easier to re-do it. Each game makes modifications to the engine/underlying code to make it work for their game, which can make codesharing difficult.

 

The reality is we can guess all we want, but in the end I have no clue why. Neither does anyone else, except the developers. I will say again though, you just can't compare 2 products in different stages of the development cycle.

[Nuisance_Value]

Iowa superstructure.

[The_Exile]

because i have always felt they treat the player base with respect, oh wait..

[Legendary_Typo]

 

yes yes i can.  They HAD the idea already hammered out how hard is porting it to this game?

 

What's the best game you've played that's a mobile to PC port?

[suleiman71]

Iowa superstructure.

 

There was never a problem to begin with.

[BURN_Miner]

Oh I know OP. I've tried over and over to explain certain aspects of writing code, heck even html and css to people. While it may be easy to some, though they too should know better, those that don't know will write it off as a "it's their job, they should blah blah blah" and it isn't that simple. It truly isn't and that is why their is such a huge communication break down between IT and Accounting or Business departments at the moment. Which is another reason colleges throughout the U.S. and perhaps the world, are incorporating some Computer classes into their Business degrees and vice verse, so each degree seeker gets a taste of where the other is coming from. But I digress.

 

Regardless of the type of code one writes, program based or even website design, one can take various parts of that code and it can compile or validate (respectively) just fine in and of it's own right, even run completely fine, tested over time. However, when stuck together, tweaked, added to (even with another validated code), the entire tower will crumble. I know it can be hard to imagine why if people don't know, but it just works that way.

 

Though people want to grab their pitch forks and torches for no other reason than to do just that. They can say that WG could hire "X" amount of people and do "Y", but they don't know what WG's actual budget is let alone how much money WG is actually making off of the game. All they can do is speculate at the amount of over head the game costs, how much it costs to make, etc. etc.

 

The art of convenient arguments is wonderful when skewed in ones own favor. Too often WG has an unlimited budget with a game that costs nothing to make with developers that volunteered out of the goodness of their hearts and all of them have an IQ of 396, though they all "choose" to implement a code that is sub-par in order to screw with the player base. Furthermore, WG has secretly implemented "Order 67" which dials back only a certain skilled player bases router and loading times in which they experience an unusually long load time and lag.

 

All jokes aside here, I think WG is the unfortunate scapegoat of "my computer isn't *that* old", "my ISP is *ok*", "I know how to maintain my drivers", "I refuse to update or upgrade my software", "I install/uninstall mods repeatedly without installing a fresh client, but it's never been a problem before!!", and the list can be strung out to well over 100 long. I know I digressed, again, but I got on a roll. While it may seem like I am white knighting WG here, I really am not. I'm just tired of seeing the same old posts time and time again made by "alt" accounts all blaming WG and when people try to pose a solution, they get nothing but the proverbial "hands over the ears with the la la la, I can't hear you, it's not me it's them" routine. lol The "they have thousands of files to unpack before each match" cracks me up though...

 

I agree OP. Square peg and a square peg don't always mesh. Sometimes they do, but not always.

 

Edit for some clarification.

[Raptor_alcor]

Until wargaming gives up on their obsession with the battle of tsushima and realize that ship DECK fires were extremely rare, not going to happen. 

[BURN_Miner]

Until wargaming gives up on their obsession with the battle of tsushima and realize that ship DECK fires were extremely rare, not going to happen. 

 

How would you balance the game? I'm not against it, but just saying "stop the fires" (that's my take on your statement), how would you balance the game. By the way, I main BB's.

[Xero_Snake]

If the smart-arses here think they know even better than WG devs, then why not self-employ there and give them a "lectures" of the "fundamental importance of REALISTIC PHENOMENONS/REALISM"? 

 

[Raptor_alcor]

 

How would you balance the game? I'm not against it, but just saying "stop the fires" (that's my take on your statement), how would you balance the game. By the way, I main BB's.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't say remove fire chance, make it so that if HE somehow penetrates into a ship and detonates inside, THEN the fire chance is there, it's fires inside the ship that kills it, not ontop of the hull. 

[Skraeling]

 

Honestly, I wouldn't say remove fire chance, make it so that if HE somehow penetrates into a ship and detonates inside, THEN the fire chance is there, it's fires inside the ship that kills it, not ontop of the hull. 

 

So... having zero chance of ever damaging a BB at all with anything but another bb... seems legit.

[BURN_Miner]

 

Honestly, I wouldn't say remove fire chance, make it so that if HE somehow penetrates into a ship and detonates inside, THEN the fire chance is there, it's fires inside the ship that kills it, not ontop of the hull. 

 

In a BB though, I can still citadel a Cleveland  *iirc* or below using HE (if I am doing so - not that I am, but have done so). If not the Cleveland, I know for sure the Omaha. With the secondary to HE, outside of fire, it disables modules IE AA, 2nd batteries and even props, which decimate DD's. Need to look at the bigger picture though man. There's a reason why we have the heal.

 

I don't if you were aware, but you can upgrade your heals and repair, even without spending doubloons. Go to modules, then under ammo and consumables, click on whichever ones you want to upgrade (I'll use Damage Control Party for my Nagato) . Click on that, and instead of the free one, I'll upgrade that to a level 2 which will drop the cool down from 120 to 80, but I can either use 15 doubloon OR 22,500 silver upon restock after the match (drop down arrow), click on the doubloons to get the drop down option. Once the 22,500 silver is shown for DCP2 on your consumable, you have to click it to purchase it and install it. Personally, I have auto-resupply enabled so I don't have to keep doing it, but you can do this for Repair Party and even your Spotting Aircraft as well.

 

Just in case you didn't know as it will help shave some time off in between repairs and heals. If you did, well if someone else didn't hope the info helps.

[Spongeman131]

Now after having coded in industry for a few years on various engines and databases/servers and taking classes and learning so much, I have respect for those that develop and write code.

 

But I hold them to my own standards which are quite high so I'm often disappointed.

[ReddNekk]

The first issue is that Devs don't normally control their own workload. When you are developing software, you have two choices. You can either fix the stuff that's out there, or you can develop new features. The kicker is that new money comes from introducing new features and the product managers have a large say in what the Devs work on. If there is a choice between improving the frame-rate by an average 1FPS or adding a new Premium ship, you can guess which option is going to be prioritized.

 

 

Introducing new content, like Premium ships, aint no good if they playerbase has declined because they're disgusted with PRESENT content that needs fixing and has been ignored. And the money comes from the playerbase. Fewer players = less money.

 

Logically, you fix what already needs fixing before adding more content that will most likely also need fixing. That way, you'll have less problems to fix at a time.

[Sir_Godz]

People love the game which is where the hard [edited]passion comes from.

WG only has themselves to blame for the bad blood. The community relations is entirely in their control. This site is a WG product and from using it one could assume that it is a privately run site with no impute at all from WG.

I bet the coding is hard to do well, to touch on that subject but I feel a great deal of the issues in game are really simple fixes that also do to their influence don't rate high on the priority list. An example of this would be the ribbon placement on screen. They completely obscure my sight of the target on one side of the sceen causing me to guess where my lead is at. No reason at all those ribbons couldn't appear somewhere else like the bottom or top area of screen where they obscure nothing. This is something that would be obvious in alpha testing yet still happens at this date. Things like this and the failure white lettering in port pulldowns is what reinforces or creates the animosity.

Some of the issues there are just no excuses for and show an obvious lack of product care.

[Guest]

 

There was never a problem to begin with.

 

Are you sure? I'm sure quite a few patches back,it had a large issue. 

[Gunplay813]

Why give them a break? They're terrible at balance and games in general.

 

Also, they should feel bad and go uppercut themselves for giving us this trash.

[atPrick__]

No.

 

I expect WG to provide me with a good product, I will not apologise for that. I give them my money and they make a considerable amount of money from their product, like anything that I pay money for I expect a certain amount of quality and functionality.

 

The only way WG is going to know if the consumer is happy is if people voice their opinions, regardless of how annoying it is.