Link.
I'm going to spend some time to digest this before I send a proper response as well as appreciation for the mail.
Three Rings COO response regarding old RSS
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 11:56
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 13:01
#2
No, my Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V is working
The reason is that I like to consolidate the responses in the old RSS petition thread, because that's where the original letter was posted. This way people know what was being written and can read the letter under the right context.
This thread is not necessary if the old RSS petition thread is still being "sticky" to the General Forum.
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 20:05
#3
Cool, so the new RSS will
Cool, so the new RSS will still have a laughable damage output. Glad I decided not to make any of the new bombs.
Sat, 09/01/2012 - 22:37
#4
@Wodanct.
I thought they meant the mechanics generaly, not buffs and bugs........
Anyhow....
Real crapshoot...
Sun, 09/02/2012 - 00:28
#5
Bad News
The bombs are completely underwhelming damage-wise. Clears that should be 30-40% faster than neutral damage bombs are 20-30% slower. Normal damage bomb is 2.6x slower than comparable 5* damage bombs. It's a huge joke and a part of the problem is its mechanics and bugs associated with shard hits.
In case you've missed it, here is my wiki page on shard bombs with a bunch of side-by-side videos comparing it to other bombs as well as videos of its bugs.
My guess? These bombs get buffed on the same timeframe as bombs like DBB/BAB. (8-12+ mos). It's too bad because I think less people would be upset if these things were at least semi-competitive with other weapons.
Sun, 09/02/2012 - 00:58
#6
Wow. That link really puts it
Wow. That link really puts it in perspective how terrible shard bombs are now. And OOO still REFUSES to do anything about it?
Sun, 09/02/2012 - 06:09
#7
@Eeks
I read your report and I think you raised some good points there that the Dev should take a look. Would you be interested to help out to do further testing?
I have been thinking about how to draft the response. I believe it probably would have two parts. The first part is written for management, and it needs to be translated into a goal that management can understand and do. e.g. Mr. James did exactly what the letter I wrote requested him to do: pass the message to the proper channel. This is something he can understand and he can do well. So I believe we need to do something similar: come up with a plan and objective that the COO can understand and do.
The second part is going to be more technical. It will involve the nuts and bolts that the Devs would understand where we come from. This is the place I believe Eek's reports would be very useful. The materials for this part would be attached as a separate document for the COO to forward to the Dev.
So maybe for people who are interested to pursue this case further, we can discuss under this 2 steps framework?
Sun, 09/02/2012 - 07:12
#8
:c
So, guild hall update will come on December.
/sigh
Fri, 10/05/2012 - 23:18
#9
Just a friendly reminder
A lot of Wednesdays have passed since the RSS was gutted.
Still no fix for stun, still no fix for disappearing shards, still way underpowered.
Please ooo take moment and fix what has been broken.
Have a nice day.
Sat, 10/06/2012 - 03:06
#11
I will not have a nice day,
I will not have a nice day, if only because I'm tired of seeing this topic being beat to death. Bumping old threads just makes you look like a nagging ninny, so do yourself a favor and make a thread in Suggestions. Either way, just stop bringing it up here.
Sat, 10/06/2012 - 11:24
#12
Silence
@RQ: Can the assumption be made that you do not own one of the gutted bombs?
If you did previously use these bombs, are you pleased with the new bombs?
Being silent will accomplish nothing.
And the suggestion thread is here: http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/58425?page=8#comment-542821
Again,
Have a nice day.
Sat, 10/06/2012 - 13:18
#13
The assumption cannot be
The assumption cannot be made, because I did own a pre-patch RSS when the new one was released. And yes, overall, I am pleased with the new bombs, if only because it rebalanced a 4* bomb so that it functioned as a 4* bomb. I'm sorry that I'm one of those people who saw an issue with a 4* weapon doing damage on par with 5* weaponry. I'm also sorry that you feel as if you were robbed, when if anything, OOO took away an unnecessary crutch that you got too used to having.
Nor did I ever say to be quiet entirely about the situation. Just bringing it up in General Discussion when you clearly have a thread for it in the Suggestions forum just shows how self-centered of an individual you are by thinking that, since you're not hearing a response in a manner that you deem appropriate, that you are within your rights to make references to it in places where, quite frankly, no one gives a damn. Moreover, you're rehashing a month-old issue at this point - which is to say, you're beating a dead horse.
Now, while I didn't make the notion of you being "silent" before, I'm going to go ahead and make that notion now. Stop the whining and take it to the thread you have in Suggestions.
Have a nice day.
Well, your link goes to the petition but not the post, I will be pasting it here for easier reading and less hassle:
:::
Dear "Eltia's real name":
Daniel James forwarded me your recently received letter and asked that I look in to the matter you raised regarding Spiral Knights.
I have had a chance to review the forum thread relating to the changes made recently to shard bombs and spoke about the matter to the development team. While I appreciate your concerns, both in terms of how these changes affect the game and how communication was handled, I will not be recommending further changes to this feature.
As you can probably imagine, balancing the development plan for a game like Spiral Knights is fairly challenging. We have, on one side, a ardent and loyal player base that are undoubtedly closer to the game than many people here, and on the other, a strategic plan outlining the direction in which we want to take the game.
The design team for Spiral Knights is charged with balancing these two factors in every decision they make for the game. In many cases this requires tough decisions; the shard bomb change, in particular, is something that team as a whole agonized over for weeks, hoping to find the right balance between change and continuity that would minimize the impact on players. I think, in the end, they made some good decisions.
Communication over matters of this sort is also challenging. As a studio, we make a practice of encourage robust forum discussion and debate about the game. This has the benefit of providing clear insight in to player preferences; however, it can also be frustrating for players when the direction we choose for a feature based on our beliefs about what is best for the game don't immediately make sense to them. It's hard to get involved in the discussion and not care deeply about the decisions that get made.
Three Rings "overexposure" in the forums is something we try to avoid; the key value of the forums, namely a healthy player community, relies in part on the freedom to discuss the game without contradiction from us. However, I appreciate your concerns over the need for clear communication on the decisions we do make. My apologies if the experience has been frustrating in this case. I hope we can be clear and concise in our communication on future changes to the game.
I hope you continue to enjoy Spiral Knights. There are several really exciting features coming in the next two to three months that I hope you will find entertaining.
All the best
Tom Schofield
COO
Three Rings
:::
Shortening this:
"I will not be recommending further changes to this feature."
"As you can probably imagine, balancing the development plan for a game like Spiral Knights is fairly challenging."
"The design team [...] I think, in the end, they made some good decisions."
"it can also be frustrating for players when the direction we choose for a feature based on our beliefs about what is best for the game don't immediately make sense to them."
and the whole,
"Three Rings "overexposure" in the forums is something we try to avoid; the key value of the forums, namely a healthy player community, relies in part on the freedom to discuss the game without contradiction from us. However, I appreciate your concerns over the need for clear communication on the decisions we do make. My apologies if the experience has been frustrating in this case. I hope we can be clear and concise in our communication on future changes to the game.
I hope you continue to enjoy Spiral Knights. There are several really exciting features coming in the next two to three months that I hope you will find entertaining."
Shortening even more this, and what this made it look to me:
"We are right, you aren't, as we are the makers and you are just a customer, players don't know about the game they play."
and
"We will continue like this, even if customers complain, as it is our way of doing things. Also, our team only has a design plan sight of two to three months, and we don't know where to go with it."
He also avoided to mention the whole UV ticket debacle.
And again, the last few things I expressed are an opinion of what it looked to me it was answered.