#support3rdparty - Why we temporarily shut down our sites.

[Lightspeed]

So you are all happy for 3.x to be delayed in favour of tool support then? Cool... cool.

That kind of remark does nothing to contribute to the argument, one way or another. You disagree with something that requires development time, you argue it delays future development. Of course, you have no idea that is correct - it might involve a different dev team entirely.

On the other hand, it might reasonably be argued that unless the game has third party tools supported by FD, further development of the next stage of the game should be curtailed. Otherwise, a great many players are bumbling around the galaxy trying to find this and that and, with the implementation of 3, are likely to be bumbling around trying to find even more of this and that !

The thread has shown one thing, at least (which we all knew, really) .... an awful lot of players enjoy the game because 3rd party tools make it enjoyable. The game would feel more shallow and less involving without them.

 

[Goobertech]

I use your 3rd sites and they have been a huge help and timing saving tool. If anything, this made me want to donate to their development.

I hope you get the support you're seeking. Honestly I can't see the tactic working as you hope vs just irritating the people using it. That being said, they are your sites and you have the right to take them down as you see fit. I hope this opens a channel of dialogue with Frontier Dev's but if it doesn't, I hope you all know how valuable your sites are and the appreciation you have from the community for your work.

 

[CMDR Minion Blob]

Hi everyone. Just letting you know we've seen the thread. Please be patient while we bring this to the attention of the developers.

So, the developers weren't aware their API's drastically changed or even disabled until now? I'm sure this wasn't the first attempt--especially looking at OPs timeline--similar feedback was made, nor is it apparently unique to issues with 2.3.

Appreciate the acknowledgement but the scope of this seems to point to a policy-level issue and requires a leadership-level response and corrective plan, ASAP!

 

[Atrum Edge]

So let me get this straight. YOU guyz created a website based on the charity of a third party. And now your complaining that your not getting more charity. This is not FD's problem, its yours.

 

[Zambrick]

Thanks for volunteering!

I dont develop apps and sites for free nor will I ever start. I have to do it all day long for a paycheck and I am not going to do it in my free time. I just want to play the game. I never use those sites anyways. So I have nothing to lose here.

 

[CMDR Adelind]

So you are all happy for 3.x to be delayed in favour of tool support then? Cool... cool.

Considering what a mess the last several patches have been, absolutely yes. 3rd party tools do more to enhance the game than engineers or multicrew ever did.

 

[Scruffman]

We know that - the point is - They aren't obligated to keep their sites up either so they can close them down when they like. If people are complaining this hurts the weekend's event and then saying you don't need the sites then stop complaining. If nobody needs these sites, why are people here complining they're closing them down???

Because of the way the third-party mod developers are acting / have acted, I suspect. Not many are complaining that the sites ARE down, but WHY they are down.

 

[CMDR Lukas Vance]

Whilst I can empathise with the 3rd party developers here they may have shot themselves in the foot. If Frontier do see a strong reaction to this, and think that the information provided on 3rd party websites is important enough to spend developer time on, it may be more economical to add the result into the game rather than support a 3rd party API. It seems a shame as there is obviously a lot of passion, talent and good will, all given freely that Frontier can tap in to. I hope both sides can come to a mutual working agreement soon.

Someone else may have made this point but 68 pages now... :-/

 

[aDuz]

You keep beating this drum and no one cares. The event is not gonna get delayed over a few people that can't make it.
People took time off and planned around this.
IT IS NOT CHANGING.


Far as the third party stuff. I hardly use it, I understand the effort and time but the method you're using is less than ideal.

Don't be surprised if FDEV just makes their own.

be nice if they did, then these parasites would go scrape some other games data for "donations"

 

[bootsam]

Wonder how many of the people moaning actually donated. I know I did and I aint moaning.

 

[Arkku]

So let me get this straight. YOU guyz created a website based on the charity of a third party. And now your ing that your not getting more charity. This is not FD's problem, its yours.

Or, FD created a game without features considered essential by a large number of players and got away with it because 3rd party developers gave those features in the form of external tools freely to the community, then as FD continues to ignore the need to either support those tools properly or make their own, those free tools hosted by their developers at their own expense are now unavailable and people are complaining that they are entitled to forever have those free tools and their developers' time (much of which is spent catching up with unannounced changes by FD).

(edit: Yes, exaggeration, but only slightly.)

 

[AgamemnonWhen]

Don't be surprised if FDEV just makes their own.

The sites in question exist ONLY because they haven't.

We'd all welcome official versions - even the 3P devs, as it would give them loads more time to enjoy the game without volunteering their own game-time to help others.

We'd still moan about them, though... so even if there WERE official versions of the 3P sites, someone would want a different layout or functionality. EDShipyard and Coriolis are very different interfaces for the same purpose, and there's those who love or hate either one!

 

[Maro-Val]

So 3rd party developers are close to be called terrorists or something similiar by some, just because they are not using their tools. What can i say..

+1 support. I use these tools every single day, and they make my life easier.

Frontier will probably respond something like: We will communicate and support 3rd party devs, but no ETA, no guarranties.

 

[bkrownd]

To everyone asking why the strike should be this weekend and asking the 3rd party developers to reinstate the tools since they made their case known to the public, you're missing the point. You're inconvenienced - that means the strike is working as intended. If you weren't inconvenienced, then the strike could be ignored, which defeats the whole purpose.

You're supposed to inconvenience the people you're against, not the ones you seem to think are going to support you.

 

[CMDR xX_Phaethon_Xx]

#support3rdparty

As an aside, I find myself wondering if these developers, FDev and 3rd-party, are just trolling us. This year has brought forth the most bizarre-gaming-experience I've ever had. Damn you two-point-three!

EDIT:

: Also, developers do themselves a dis-service by not accepting donations of every currency which shapeshift offers conversion of, just sayin'.

 

[Zefod]

TBF. I love the 3rd party tools, I think they are great. But stomping your feet like petulant children is just going to burn bridges.

Comparing OPs to petulant kids is a bit over the top don't you think?
If you carefully read OP's post, this is a last ditch effort after 3 years of unannounced API changes, no documentation, no communication, being ignored, etc.etc.
It seems to me FDev is behaving like unprofessionals in this case; launching an API, then not documenting it, then change it unannounced, while saying

we always try to communicate as openly and effectively with our community as possible, and we appreciate all the hard work that goes in to the maintenance of these useful sites and tools.

which is clearly not the case!
After 3 years of this, losing patience and going on strike is a fair option

#support3rdparty!

 

[Hairy Polo]

INARA, EDDB etc. ALL valuable resources for the ED community. With this brilliant game being so huge these apps are very much appreciated by us too. Communication is key to making this game even richer! Both parties; keep up the good work. But FD, please communicate to the 3rd parties (no doubt ED fans too).

 

[Felix Dyson]

I dont develop apps and sites for free nor will I ever start. I have to do it all day long for a paycheck and I am not going to do it in my free time. I just want to play the game. I never use those sites anyways. So I have nothing to lose here.

If you don't use those sites, what is stopping you from just playing the game then?

 

[Monk]

Whilst I can empathise with the 3rd party developers here they may have shot themselves in the foot. If Frontier do see a strong reaction to this, and think that the information provided on 3rd party websites is important enough to spend developer time on, it may be more economical to add the result into the game rather than support a 3rd party API. It seems a shame as there is obviously a lot of passion, talent and good will, all given freely that Frontier can tap in to. I hope both sides can come to a mutual working agreement soon.

Someone else may have made this point but 68 pages now... :-/

I think a lot of people in the 3rd party tool community would be quite pleased if FDev made their tools obsolete by including the features in the game. Because that would make it a better game for everyone.

However, that won't happen. Fdev has a lot of higher priority development objectives and improving the trade system probably even falls farther back in the backlog as these 3rd party tools become more sophisticated.

 

[HVG]

I for one support the 3rd party devs. Their tools make my life in-game so much easier. FD don't let these tools and hundreds of hours these devs put into them go to waste!!