Dev Vote

Kirth

Kirth
At the moment, the suggestions thread is like writing a letter to Father Christmas and hoping not only he will read it, but what you want for Christmas is in his sack. What happens then, to reduce the likelihood of disappointment, suggestions are self-moderated by the suggester in the absence of this information, to be 'more realistic' and 'deliverable', and thus often unexciting and stale.

My suggestion;

Every month, the ideas posted specifically to the suggestions forum on the Frontier Website, are voted on by the development team.
Poll results could be broken down as follows;


  • Do you like the sound of this idea? (No, a little, a lot)
  • Is this idea achievable? (No, Easily, with difficulty)
  • What would be the time frame needed to deliver this idea? (3 months, 6 months, more than 6 months)
  • How much impact would the implementation of this idea have to the current development schedule? (High, Medium, Low)

This would show the community, that each idea is considered and responded to. It would also provide a snapshot (within a simplistic framework) of the challenges specific suggestions have. It would also address a (flawed imo) increasing approach to community outreach by many games developers of seeking 'community spokespersons' and return it to a more traditional personalised method, where social media is used in moderation.
 
Last edited:

JeffRyan

JeffRyan
It's a great idea, they do a lot of this 'behind the scenes' but personally I'd rather they spent their time working on other stuff than reassuring me they're considering stuff.

We do actually get a lot of feedback.
 

vernonator

V
JeffRyan said:
It's a great idea, they do a lot of this 'behind the scenes' but personally I'd rather they spent their time working on other stuff than reassuring me they're considering stuff.

We do actually get a lot of feedback.
Click to expand...

I would respectfully disagree with the feedback comment. At least from the bug report standpoint. I have reported 6 or so in the last few weeks and all I have ever gotten is a "we are aware of the problem and are investigating" after that not a peep...nada...nothing. Having been a developer for over 25yrs I cannot IMAGINE doing that and keeping my job. EVER....
 

CMDR Byr Goefin

C
Every suggestion? even the ones that already exist but people are ignorant of them? No thanks.

This forum is an outlet for self selected group of people who don't represent the larger population. We generate some good ideas, but most of it is drivel, and the rest is self serving mechanics that someone wants added.

Many developers have gone down the road of listening to a vocal minority, and found out they made a major mistake.
 

Kirth

Kirth
CMDR Byr Goefin said:
Every suggestion? even the ones that already exist but people are ignorant of them? No thanks.

This forum is an outlet for self selected group of people who don't represent the larger population. We generate some good ideas, but most of it is drivel, and the rest is self serving mechanics that someone wants added.

Many developers have gone down the road of listening to a vocal minority, and found out they made a major mistake.
Click to expand...

Every suggestion, yes. A lot of the suggestions are repeated and can be discarded. The amount of original suggestions is limited.
 

Psycho Romeo

Psycho Romeo
Kirth said:
At the moment, the suggestions thread is like writing a letter to Father Christmas and hoping not only he will read it, but what you want for Christmas is in his sack.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with the quoted.
.
From what I read, it's my understanding that FD has been pretty involved in the alpha community in the past. However, the community got stupid and started getting upset when things were pushed into the game in a way that wasn't identical to how it was pitched. So they just kinda shut up as a result.
.
They do poke their head in from time to time.
 

CaptainKremmen

CaptainKremmen
Kirth said:
My suggestion;

Every month, the ideas posted specifically to the suggestions forum on the Frontier Website, are voted on by the development team.
Poll results could be broken down as follows;


  • Do you like the sound of this idea? (No, a little, a lot)
  • Is this idea achievable? (No, Easily, with difficulty)
  • What would be the time frame needed to deliver this idea? (3 months, 6 months, more than 6 months)
  • How much impact would the implementation of this idea have to the current development schedule? (High, Medium, Low)
Click to expand...

You mean, we get the devs to provide written estimates for every idea we can come up with?


Oh my God, I'm so making a list.

It's going to be a big big big big BIG list. With Insanity set to 11. This is gonna be great!


I guess I could start with a simple copy/paste of every feature of every game I've ever liked, right back to Harrier Attack on the Amstrad CPC 464.

After that, I will let my imagination run riot!

Procedurally generated ice-cream comets! Licking cats loose in your ship! An inexplicable level of political influence based on delivering corruption reports to... no, forget that one, it's just too weird.
 

DocLooshkin

DocLooshkin
I have sixty-five thousand, five hundred and thirty-eight ideas for slightly-differently-shaped rocks.
Strap yourselves in, I'm going for the big one...
 

Kirth

Kirth
DocLooshkin said:
I have sixty-five thousand, five hundred and thirty-eight ideas for slightly-differently-shaped rocks.
Strap yourselves in, I'm going for the big one...
Click to expand...

Thats called a single idea. Under the header 'Aesthetics'. Hate to break it to you.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

CaptainKremmen said:
You mean, we get the devs to provide written estimates for every idea we can come up with?


Oh my God, I'm so making a list.

It's going to be a big big big big BIG list. With Insanity set to 11. This is gonna be great!


I guess I could start with a simple copy/paste of every feature of every game I've ever liked, right back to Harrier Attack on the Amstrad CPC 464.

After that, I will let my imagination run riot!

Procedurally generated ice-cream comets! Licking cats loose in your ship! An inexplicable level of political influence based on delivering corruption reports to... no, forget that one, it's just too weird.
Click to expand...


Why don't you add 5 of your items to this thread. Most likely that aren't original and already exist. The point being, is that there are not an infinite list of ideas, the suggestion thread is evidence of that. And if ideas aren't posted there, then perhaps those people with the same ideas, can't be bothered to post elsewhere either.
 
Last edited:

Kirth

Kirth
JeffRyan said:
It's a great idea, they do a lot of this 'behind the scenes' but personally I'd rather they spent their time working on other stuff than reassuring me they're considering stuff.

We do actually get a lot of feedback.
Click to expand...

The perception that FD can only do one thing at a time is a very odd one. This isn't two men in a garage - this is a game still in development and still dependant on continual interest. If they can't allocate a tiny fraction of time to community feedback, then they will run into problems especially as suggestions to FD regarding future development as an item of engagement, has been and continues to be a very regular activity.
 

CMDR Byr Goefin

C
Let's see. I am, hypothetically, a DEV at any company.

I have deadlines set by my management, get this module done by date X, or my review suffers.

So I can do that, or I can come read and vote on a bunch of stuff on the forums and fall behind on my work....

um.
Right.
 

Kirth

Kirth
Psycho Romeo said:
No offense, but you're very new here. They're not gonna run into problems because the problems are ongoing.
Click to expand...

No offense taken, but my 'newness' isn't really relevant to my point. Problems in game development are par for the course. Its an inherent part of development; problem solving.

If they aren't generally viewed as 'able', then is that 'ok'? 'Thats just how they roll'.
They aren't in debt, they aren't a struggling dev and they have cash in the bank. Whatever their limitations, the ability to expand and to reach out isn't one of them.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

CMDR Byr Goefin said:
Let's see. I am, hypothetically, a DEV at any company.

I have deadlines set by my management, get this module done by date X, or my review suffers.

So I can do that, or I can come read and vote on a bunch of stuff on the forums and fall behind on my work....

um.
Right.
Click to expand...


Uh, no.

Effective time management is providing what is wanted. Not providing on time, (according to a deadline set by management) a feature that nobody wants. That is wasting everyone's time and time = money.

This isn't complicated.

There is a real reason why focus groups exist: to save time. Ever heard of being a headless chicken? You apparently advocate that.

The devs know what is best for us. They do not need to consult with the playerbase. I am sure they will deliver what we want. Being on time is all important, not user desires.

Um
Right.
 
Last edited:

CMDR Byr Goefin

C
Kirth said:
Uh, no.

Effective time management is providing what is wanted. Not providing on time, (according to a deadline set by management) a feature that nobody wants. That is wasting everyone's time and time = money.

This isn't complicated.

There is a real reason why focus groups exist: to save time. Ever heard of being a headless chicken? You apparently advocate that.

The devs know what is best for us. They do not need to consult with the playerbase. I am sure they will deliver what we want. Being on time is all important, not user desires.

Um
Right.
Click to expand...

DEVs don't get to decide what the feature set it, that is management.

THEY should be the ones you want here, not the guys with hands on keyboards.
 

samuelb

samuelb
vernonator said:
I would respectfully disagree with the feedback comment. At least from the bug report standpoint. I have reported 6 or so in the last few weeks and all I have ever gotten is a "we are aware of the problem and are investigating" after that not a peep...nada...nothing. Having been a developer for over 25yrs I cannot IMAGINE doing that and keeping my job. EVER....
Click to expand...

I empathise with this viewpoint (as a developer and architect myself) but you have to remember that the stakeholders (not the players) are probably very well informed and in the loop with regards to these issues. A small(ish) teams like FD cannot be expected to make known every bug report and outcome to the general public, that would be an innordinately stupid use of their time, surely? The lack of feedback has frustrated me at times too, then I remind myself I am not high enough in the food chain within this environment to warrant such feedback, just the way it is.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom