Ruin Mage

The sentiments I posted back in 2020 remain the same now, I imagine - that none of the ELTF raid leaders (or other raid leaders across other activities/servers I might think) would really care for a plaque or shout out in some form. The other problem is that it opens a very big Pandora's Box given the only thing immortalized right now have been dead players. ..and even then I don't think we've had a new tribute/memorial NPC since HC launched?

Hard data helps more than anything. Hard concrete visible comparisons.

Homecoming is dead! It's dying! DOOOOOOM. For real though the data is pretty fucking cool.

Sure, all the stuff around DawL can still affect others and it probably has. I'm just saying that there's not really been a treatment of Dacy or EB like they're garbage. Also caps-locking and calling people children doesn't tend to help in any capacity. Like, its understood that peopled jumped the gun, but trying to come in swinging when Dacy & EB can speak for themselves is...head-scratchy. Not only that but a GM has spoken on a couple occasions. It didn't really need the whole "I hope you're happy with yourself" because that's not going to go anywhere. It may also further inflame the thread. The contest, as far as I know, is done and over with. The feedback, though earlier in the thread, has been heard loud and clear (as far as I've read from Dacy/EB) - so yeah. Further jumping down people's throats for no real good reason isn't a good look. Could have left it at Crumpet's reply and let that be it.

I just want to point out, @Aalya that the last page or 2 hasn't been leveled at Dacy or Easter. They heard loud and clear about how to do better next time, and to their credit, have acknowledged these things. They seem like they got good heads on their shoulders for bettering a contest that people enjoyed. It primarily stems from DawL being out of pocket in admitting trying to brigade the vote (more or less). None of that was leveled at the Reps. The rest is miscellaneous stuff about votes and alt accounts that doesn't really matter in the end. Though I will say popularity contests ala public polls tend to go sideways. Polls are bad, but that's just me.

This is what's playing inside this thread the moment that post went up. EDIT: I should clarify this is about DawL's post of admission of trying to vote-bomb the poll.

I noticed the two down-votes and I just had to comment. Ghost is not saying the reaction would be from everyone, but is able to recognize that some people would ironically take that angle. That anything that is polled, hummed about, or said is under consideration IS going to happen. These people exist and they definitely exist in some form among our community. I mean how many people have posted about Wind Control or the two other power pools? How many have typed as if its a guarantee that we're getting them? They're not wrong to point out that polls are just not the best choice. They do not show anything worthwhile even hosted off-site. On-site you have a ton of risks especially if you leave them anonymous. I mean what stops VileTerror (someone who has like 6 forum accounts) from botting the poll? Sure, you can count that all as one but its too late - its a screwed poll. You can't, to my knowledge, lock polls to 1 per IP. Polls just do not work for game development and never will (in my opinion) for any game that isn't single player.

There is none and that may be the entire basis of this post. Or not.

I think these should be free to get for us. /s

To be very specific, I find the actual poll stuff to be a bad idea. Like the actual poll making with multiple answers/choices that people can vote on without explaining themselves. Those polls are what I absolutely want to never be attached to development. Very few games do this and those that do aren't MMORPGs. The last poll I've seen tied to a game development was for a bullet heaven/hell in the style of Vampire Survivors. That or Destiny 2 but that poll was for a cosmetic thing. No game, bar one, in my recent experience (read: I don't play all the games in the world and my experience will differ.) has ever used a poll for game-affecting development decisions. In that I also see no reason for us to start trying. I am not against (and why would I be?) the devs going 'Okay, what do you think about x?' and it being a 'poll' where people have to actually write their thoughts. A thread where you have to be coherent and on topic. I mention that specifically because people tend to have the tendency to go after what someone says. I've done it when someone has a really dog breath stink of a take, but I need to not. However, in that same vein, people (to iterate I'm speaking generally/broadly and it doesn't apply to everyone) need to learn how to convey themselves better. To not read something and go "DOGSHIT." and just that. That being said? I do not trust this community to not make those threads horrible. Either horrible for the GMs to moderate or horrible in that nothing of any great value comes of it. Cynicism, pessimism, or whatever it is prevents me from seeing community input in development as being a net positive outside of the Beta testing spheres. Now, on the flip side, I'm all for us getting previews or little snippets of what's being worked on next. This way people know what to expect to be coming in a set of months. I'd obviously want teasers for what's set in stone rather than up in the air, but baits and trickery aren't exactly HC's nature.

Polls would do nothing good. Polls can be botted. Polls can be manipulated in any number of ways. That being said, I can also see no harm in trying them once. If only because I can be horribly petty and going "See how absolutely useless or damaging that poll was?" is a level of 'I told you so' I'm here for. That or being proved wrong.

That comes from someone calling me one months and months ago. I've just stuck with it because of the perception I create about me. If its two very different posts, you have to copy your post to a clipboard and go back to that post. Otherwise you have to do as I think you did.

You can just say 'you' instead of this roundabout way of referring to me. I only speak from experience of being in the Tester discord & having been a part of testing for previous pages. Though hard to believe the Devs are very communicative there. I and others have picked their brains. I'm not an absolute authority and never claim to be, but I always speak from an experienced point of view of what I know and have seen. I am hardly a cheer leader because I don't have pom poms or a skirt! I also don't believe the devs can do no wrong - which is sort of in line with being a 'cheer leader' from experience. I have experience in seeing what sets I have seen and played with on a singular Shard in limited content, but I also never said that what I say is fact. Experiences are often subjective and I've never claimed otherwise. I don't spout, once, that what I experience is universal. Maybe you're more active than me PVE-wise and see a different thing than I do. That's entirely possible and realistic. Yes, and I've never claimed otherwise in word or tone. My opinions are just that. Just like yours, Wravis.

Having gone through the Patch Notes between 4 and 5, this is false. I'd dig for between 3 and 4, but I have work soon. EDIT: Page 3 to Page 4 & Page 4 to Page 5 saw bug fixes, emote additions, and content balancing. Nothing about powers! Curious. Very curious! Why would this be an issue? That's pretty quick given prior releases and if you consider real life. What, you want these devs to slave away for your enjoyment? Is that what you want? Number Six answered this the page behind - there are people possible once it reaches Open Beta. If its still in Closed Beta, it seems less likely. Alternatively, the devs save power balance for Pages OR they don't feel anything needs to be adjusted. Wrong. I said that no one is barred from joining (aside from banned players but that's an obvious one) - but I also said they aren't adding people all crazy like. Number Six replied to you about this too. Subjectivity at play across one Shard through the use of 'I ever see'. Oop, I forgot about Sonic and Earth. Go me! Given my playtime is sparse and I'm only on Everlasting? As often as I manage a team that isn't a Hard Mode. I've played with all of those sets while on my other 50 Scrapper, but its been a couple months. But so long as its being played it is a success. Which I can only assume data of the devs show that they are being played.

Oh huh, neat information.

I mean, they're cautious and observant with access to data we don't have. I don't know if they could afford to lean back on the cautiousness. Maybe they could try for a page! By nerfing Fire Blast.

I'm starting to get the entitlement itch, but I hope that's just a bad rash. That's a question to ask the developers. It's likely that Faultline would have the answer. Given how that's how its worked? Yeah, probably committed to it at three? four? years of HC being up. They cannot push patches without Faultline, and giving the power to push changes/patches to anyone else is likely a non-starter due to what that could cascade into. Also, there is the whole Testing Phase where they're most definitely still ironing out everything. Open Beta is where the final shapes are being made. The final touches with a chance for Going Back to the Drawing Board. Which has happened with a proposed Dark Consumption change, Eagle's Claw change, and the AE Changes sort of. A manpower issue only by the hand that they are not going to suddenly fill the team with ten+ people per part of the game. It takes time to ensure someone can be trusted, that they are learning the tools, and that they are following (this is a hypothesis THIS IS A HYPOTHESIS COMING UP) some sort of pipeline that the Devs may have in their own corner. It's not an easily solvable issue by bringing out more people. Pages are also becoming less massive. They're becoming feature-locked and thus avoid the prior SUPER lengthy waits between them. I point back to how big of a gap there used to be. Five and Six have come out much faster than prior pages, but also had deadlines and feature-lock due to reasons that include IRL. Sort of. Maybe. One can contribute costume pieces/patterns. However, anything beyond that is a whole other can of worms. See, there's this thing called people are petty bitches. On the drop of a hat, HC could have a very annoying situation where someone contributes. Only that person then tries to use their contribution to have some sort of say in development. HC disagrees with what that person wants. So that person loses their mind and starts a stink about how HC stole from them. While this becomes more of an issue for GMs, its still a headache that can and should be avoided. How? Careful vetting and choosing how to approach contributions. Now anyone can post their credentials or whatever in the Future Volunteer threads. The devs can, in time, check those out and maybe pick up one or two people every so often. Every blue moon. It still takes time to see the fruition of that being done. I'm like 99% certain it took several weeks for the new arc creators to figure out what stuff does what. Costume Edits are vastly different than Sound Modding, but sure this isn't a half-bad idea. A very small reminder that COH is notoriously spaghetti coded that they'd need to have elaborate sections explaining errors or jank-ness. Which takes time to make images for, write out, and then put into a neat format. Maybe. Fun Fact: No one is being barred from joining! One. Piecemeal. Who was a content developer. We then gained Caretaker in due time. I believe we've even gained a Dev with a Z name I can't remember. We also gained two devs for story - whose arcs were just released. Neat-o. We're just not gaining any new Power devs quickly, but I imagine powers is a whole other can of worms. You have sets that are so beloved that people will self-sabotage it in feedback (I look at Assault Rifle) despite being made better. You have sets that if you so much as tweak? you'll get an eighty page feedback thread (Hasn't happened yet, but boy we gamers are passionate!) -- though I'm getting a little off track. Joining the Development Team is not a snap of the finger movement. Put yourself forward and be patient. No one is getting paid for this last I checked. Also don't be like me and go to bat for them every time someone says something bad about them. Sure, it could be said to be flawed. However, the solutions I've seen are not the greatest. The community doesn't need to be polled, enlightened, or brought up to speed - though we'll disagree here. The fact we have what communication we do get (especially after certain pages) is a blessing. Now, if I had any say in the matter and thank god I don't, I'd see more value in a loose roadmap of 'here is what we have in mind, but no time frame or promises'. A sort of 'whats currently on our minds or whats coming' without time commitments. A sort of way to tell the community that x, y, and z are heard but certain things come first. Could split it based on area. Content, Power, QOL/General Stuff. This, I recognize, is a form of being brought up to speed - but it's one that does work a whole ton better than polls. I don't believe polls in any shape or form to be the best method. They're manipulable and a horrible way of showing anything valid. Plus not everyone goes to the forums. Nor does everyone go to the Discord. There's no real easy solution here as I type this out. But that's just an idea that is also probably not anything great. It's an idea that's far better than 'The power devs should poll the community because a vocal minority want more of a say'. Which is what this reads like over a power set, but again there's bias in play so maybe I'm wrong.

Balance changes are tied to Pages/Issues. Pages are not cranked out like crazy and take their time. You would have to essentially try to take over Homecoming to change that. Thankfully, it does seem that Pages are coming a smidge faster given they're getting feature-locked/focused! As for how you can join? The Future Volunteer threads in the Developer's Corner. They, however, do not pick people willy-nilly. Devs, as far as I've noticed, are carefully picked. So the fact there are 3 devs for powers means they aren't just stockpiling people for it. It's not a manpower issue and if it had been, you'd see them lean more into adding to their team. Given that they've only made Electrical Affinity, Seismic Blast, Symphony Control, and now Storm Blast? I'd say all of them. Used means even a few people play them, but perhaps we differ in definitions. Subjectivity is fun like that! Of those, I think the least played by my experience is Seismic but your experience differs from that. Back in 2013 by entirely different developers. We do not have the exact same developers as SCORE/The Secret Server. Apples to Oranges. Anyone saying that those testing in the 'alpha' environment knows better is letting their presence in the tester discord get to their head. Which is a hilarious thought given it's no super secret cabal type of thing.

Do a poll a day or a poll a week for Community Choice, or something - don't just snub really well done bases, tbh. That's a top of the head idea and would need more thought, but at least it seems like the idea that a Judge's Base cannot be entered (if I read that right) will stop the major issue with this Contest.

Now, I'm going to preface this with: I have Closed Tested a couple of things and am part of the open-invite Tester Discord (I've posted it several times and I'll post it again if asked) - so I have a very very clear bias. I am also speaking from a general standpoint of what I've seen / what I know from being in the tester Discord. I can't really speak onto why the devs didn't "listen" to certain voices regarding Storm Blast. You'd have to get an answer directly from them. Page 5 and Page 6 both fall under a new pattern of feature-locking deadlined releases. This is in part because we only have one person who can push these patches out. Now, they could change that but I imagine that's not the quickest or easiest solution. Faultline has had a very shit show of his life when traveling abroad, and isn't always going to be there. So 5 & 6 were given deadlines and feature locks. They did not want, to my understanding, massive pages that kept getting more features. This is why it may feel sub-par, but its hardly that in my opinion. No. Not a chance in hell after prior pages should this be done. People do not have the ability to think critically or reign themselves in - within a broad sense of 'people' and this is not our server in the developmental sense. Now, we have had feedback change things in both the Closed Beta (where we're under a loose trust situation to NOT share what we're testing) AND in Open Beta. However, polling does not in any circumstance work. It has never worked in my experience with it and game development, and trying it out after prior pages and the insane amount of Patch Note Reactors? No. By all that is holy no. Paragon Studios vs a bunch of volunteers is not a good comparison to make. Savage Melee was not a HC creation. The standards of a paid company do not need to be upheld by 3 (so far as I know) volunteers doing the Power Development.

I wouldn't try to gas yourself into thinking they'll do anything that quick. There might be a bugfix patch but its likely progress will "soon" begin on Page 7.

Oh boy, a Troo thread. This surely will be a productive thread started with good intentions.

<placeholder + bump. Will be editing in with screenshots from tonight!>

Discord Screenshot because easier, but this event is tonight!

The only powers that have worked on death are targeted (Someone using you/targeting you) or self-only. Creating a set of powers tied to Incarnates that do this would not really fly well I feel. Secondly and only partially related, it's highly unlikely we'll see the Omega slot. Not impossible, but unlikely. Filling in the new slots means creating new powers and until we have more content where Incarnate Powers are truly needed? Yeah, no.