Nevrax Announces the Addition of Industry Veteran to Production Team

[kibsword]

Thanks for posting so much Jessica, glad to see your really into community communication

Hope this continues,

Kibsy

[vinnyq]

As with every other development team, bugs have to be prioritized for fixing and testing. Naturally, the most harmful ones go to the top of the list, which means less pressing bugs get pushed down the list.

What usually happens over time, then, is that you get a stack of low priority bugs that you have a hard time getting around to, because there always seems to be more pressing issues that need attention. So even though it may seem like a bug you reported headed off into the aether somewhere, it is still on the list. For obvious reasons, we just plain don't have the time to notify everyone who files a bug report of the resulting follow-up.

Or, to put it another way: We could do it, if you're willing to accept that I would have to use scarce resources to do so and less other work would get done because of it. No offense, but I choose to use those man-hours on other work.

...

While it is not necessarily a bad idea, again: Do you want me taking other work hours for this right now, resources that could go to fixing bugs? Keeping something like this running and current would be a full-time job for someone. I suppose I could shift someone from game dev or coding to do it...

Wouldn't it be simple then to just publish this list that the devs refer to when choosing which bugs to fix? Or is there a danger in publishing this list?

[xenofur]

first off, thanks for answering so fast
next, of course i understand that none of the things i spoke about are something that could be attended in the next few months, everything i speak about is just things that i'd like to see sometime in the future, not even necessarily this year or something(i have lots of patience)

regarding the bugs: i fully understand that bugs have to be prioritized and that smaller bugs can be pushed back, i also understand that not every bug reported can be answered to(esp. with the amount of double reports that are bound to be submitted), well, i even think some of this issue could vanish with the next patch(xavier wrote of 100+ bugs being worked on)
my issue in this was a certain kind of attitude, in order to make it easier to understand i'll give an example:
every piece of armor has a dodge and a parry value, these have (iirc) been there since early beta, as both of these are valuable bonuses for fights.
since april last year harvesters have been searching for materials with high values on those aspects, crafters have been searching for receipes which would yield high values on those aspects and melees have been paying high dappers for equipment that was supposedly dodge/parry-optimized. the catch: until some patch that happened early this year, these values have always been zero. since april last year there have been discussions about the functionality of these things, long threads with people trying to prove that it was working or not. and also as many questions about it, which have all been met with silence until the patch which finally enabled those values.
this issue touched every player who was not an exclusive range-nuke magician, yet for ~10 months noone found the time to put out a little message: "erm dudes, it's not working right now. you can stop arguing, but we're working on it..."
now, i'm still a noob in the mmo area and thus will only ask: is this behavior standard and accepted protocol on the mmo-industry? either way, i'll accept your answer and shut up after this

@bug-database: thanks for the answer, i'm more than happy by seeing that you'd actually realize it if time, money and ressources would permit

ah, something i forgot last time: do you think it could be possible to reduce so-called "stealth-patches" in the future? =)

[golden7]

Jessica, just have to say, love the open, frank communication!

Two thumbs up!

Now get to work! -j/k

[rrwfreak]

Aye, want to say thanks as well to you Jessica and nice job so far. Like the frank and concise responses from you that we are getting.

I've read your articles, and I must say I like your philosphy and take on things. I'll try not give your ego too big of a boost or put to much pressure on you ........ but I want to give Nevrax a big hand in getting you aboard as you are a nice breath of fresh air, and I think you may be the catalyst that can help take Ryzom from being a good game that is running under the radar to being a great game.

[iciak]

Wow. I must say, mucho kudos for actually reading the forums, listening to what we have to say, good or bad, and taking the time to respond, openly and honestly. That is very refreshing, and greatly appreciated. As you well know, having worked in this industry as long as you have, player patience can stretch a long way, as long as they are kept "in the loop" about what is going on, and they feel that their words mean something, and that you are listening. It is obvious that you are, indeed, listening. I've also read your Bite The Hand column, and dug back a ways. You handle feedback well, and are honest with yourself as well as us. Please, please, help Nevrax build this game into the masterpiece that we all believe it can be. Of all the games I've played over the last 15 years, I don't think that I've ever seen one that has the potential that this one has. We expect great things from you. And thanks, again, for the openess. It IS greatly appreciated by your player base.

[Jessica Mulligan]

ah, something i forgot last time: do you think it could be possible to reduce so-called "stealth-patches" in the future? =)

We're working on it. The goal is to give you as complete info as possible befoe the patches are made, For emergency patches (as when we find a crash bug), that isn't always possible.

[Jessica Mulligan]

Wouldn't it be simple then to just publish this list that the devs refer to when choosing which bugs to fix? Or is there a danger in publishing this list?

I wouldn't call it a danger, but the list tends to change frequently, which is perfectly normal in a development situation; bugs get fixed daily. Better that we just give you a general idea of the major beats we are working on, so you can be prepared. For example, we are spending quite a bit of time on outposts right now, along with the normal bug fix routine.

Also, I'm busy working with the team to establish what we think our priorities should be in terms of work on the the Live game over the next 3 to 5 months. Once we have a list we think makes sense (sometime shortly after E3 next week), we'll then publish that list and ask for your comments and observations.

[defalgar]

i can only say that this sounds very good and comforting

[vinnyq]

Thanks for the answers, Jessica.

So ....

How's it going then?