Garrett Blacknova
Codex Troopers
2884
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Posted - 2013.05.09 20:49:00 -
[2] - Quote
Iteration: This basically means the same as "version".
We've had multiple iterations of the DUST client, which are the various builds, and arguably the various patches within each build. You can also talk about, within a single build, different iterations of any weapon that was rebalanced in a hotfix (definition to be explained later).
Content update: This is any time that new content is made available to the player. The content itself is added during the build update, but it may be locked out - like Planetary Conquest and the new weapons for Uprising have been. In this case, a hotfix will also be a content update because while it doesn't add new content into the game, it unlocks the content and allows players to access it.
Release/Launch: Release or Launch are both interchangeable, and usually refer to the official release date (currently scheduled for May 14th).
Hotfix: In between new builds, minor balance tweaks, locking and/or unlocking of content within the build, and other adjustments that can be done without a new build being release are called hotfixes. They're called that because they occur while the game is "hot", requiring less of an extension to the server downtime than a new build does.
Patch: The meaning of this varies based on context and who you're dealing with. "Patching" can refer to the release of any update to the game, whether a hotfix or a new build, with or without new content. Some people define hotfixes as being smaller changes, and patches as larger ones, thus only using the term for new builds. Others use the term only to refer to updates between builds, and as such, they would define a patch and a hotfix as the same thing. It really is a catch-all term though, so any such context in which it's used is technically correct.
Can you "hotfix" a new feature into the game? No, because unlike "patch", the word "hotfix" is generally not used as a verb. You can unlock a feature with a hotfix, but only if that feature exists within the current build already.
Can you "patch" a feature out of the game? As with the previous answer, sort of. You can't remove that code, but you can block access to it, effectively producing the same result as if you removed it, except that it's still on your HDD taking up space, and in some cases, it may still have an impact on the system's memory.
NOTE: I'm not an employee of CCP, and I'm not a CPM member, but these are my observations and understanding of the various terms and questions asked, based on experience throughout multiple betas for a variety of games, and through almost a year of experience in the DUST 514 beta. |