Cross Atu
Conspiratus Immortalis
775
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Posted - 2012.12.14 17:10:00 -
[1] - Quote
I want to prefece this by saying that I am certain your Dev team is quite busy working on making D514 great so I can understand why it's hard to get to everything. That being said, we need more Dev Blogs regarding the mechanics of Dust. I shall explain.
For effective testing and feedback context is required. Dust 514 is a complex game with many variables (and that's a good thing) which can make it quite hard to test various gear, mechanics, builds, skills et al (and that's a difficulty which can lead to very frequent, even emotionally intense, feedback which may be simply incorrect even if it is reported in good faith).
Even beyond feedback it's exceedingly difficult to report bugs without a clear picture of what "working as intended" actually is. Making the lack of information given to testers a drawback not only for UI and playability/enjoyment considerations but for basic engine/build functionality testing as well.
Examples of subjects which desperately need Dev Blogs
- Skill Point system (complete description of how each aspect, and it's boosters, function/interact, +a vision statement)
- Sensor/Scanning (purpose/effect of each trait and how they interact. The community still can't tell if scanning is broken)
- Mod stacking (what are the penlites, if any, for mod stacking in D514, when do they apply and are they currently working)
- ISK gain mechanics (I realize you may want to keep the specifics on this under wraps but a general map of what does, and does not, play into your ISK awards per match would be very valuable to effective testing and play).
The Damage system (a Blog of it's own, with sub-points)
- Splash damage (does it stack with direct damage, how does it interact with cover
- Weapon damage bias (which weapons apply more/less damage to shields, armor, vehicles, dropsuits, also headshots)
- Weapon classification (which weapons are effected by each skill/mod, a prime example of dispute on this issue would be Nova Knives)
There are of course more subjects than I've listed, and some of these things can be to an extent found with a great deal of forum searching. However it's not always clear that there's even anything to search about, or how to look for it. (Witness the frequent "The Repair Tool should give War Points" threads that new testers post.).
On a closing note, providing such information would not only make testing more effective and reduce frustration among testers when playing but also mitigate the sense of being overwhelmed/outmatched that some new players have when picking up the game. Providing new/casual players with some general sense of how things work/what to expect allows them to set goals and develop rather than be frustrated by failures they do not understand and thus cannot adapt to.
I hope to see more Dev Blogs as we march toward release (and after of course  ) keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Cross |