View Full Version : Disingenuous communications
ClarenceDuPont
21.07.21, 18:29
Apology comes, thank you, but....
we've witnessed many of you comment on issues that have appeared since its implementation into the live game
Errm, they "appeared" since the first unity test and reported often, they didn't appear as a surprise in live.
We've been working diligently since then in trying to test, troubleshoot and find solutions for these issues.
So... working diligently since live implementation, not working diligently since initial reports in several test iterations over previous months?
some of you have had a negative experience
Some....??? Negative....??? It is BARELY PLAYABLE for EVERYONE.
next deployment in August.
Classic BB timeline - 10 days from now or 40 days from now? I guess we should be grateful it's not "shortly" or "in the coming weeks" :rolleyes:
Fed up being taken for a chump, will check in in August. Maybe.
Yeah, I read that ridiculous message.
There has not been any noticeable change / improvement from the last update on Unity test server. All the issues we are experiencing was reported then, and discussed on the Unity test forums. Everything.
If they have been working dilligently as they say then I wonder what they have been working on. Obviously not Settlers Online.
Apology comes, thank you, but....
Errm, they "appeared" since the first unity test and reported often, they didn't appear as a surprise in live.
So... working diligently since live implementation, not working diligently since initial reports in several test iterations over previous months?
Some....??? Negative....??? It is BARELY PLAYABLE for EVERYONE.
Classic BB timeline - 10 days from now or 40 days from now? I guess we should be grateful it's not "shortly" or "in the coming weeks" :rolleyes:
Fed up being taken for a chump, will check in in August. Maybe.
Very well said - I find it insulting that you could go ahead with this - as soon as announced many of us said - Please don't do this.
You then just told us some fake news about bugs been fixed - but just not implemented .well I don't believe in either Santa the tooth fairy or that BB can be sure bugs are fixed with no further testing.
You must have known this - why go ahead - is the leader of this someone without a brain- and are the rest of you just witless dummies ? - This might seem rude but it looks like a bunch of idiots jumping from a plane with no parashot's and being surprised they fall and kill themselves. This is supposed to be a game where some people pay to play. I myself used to - stopped it as it started to steer out of control when there was no real reaction to the flash problems. I will start to use money again if this turns into a game again with some logic management.
WildWizard
22.07.21, 02:56
The worst part for me from that communication was the link to fixing common bugs that is still talking about the browser flash client which hasn't existed for 6 months.
It's like they are not even trying.
The worst part for me from that communication was the link to fixing common bugs that is still talking about the browser flash client which hasn't existed for 6 months.
It's like they are not even trying.
yes you are right on that, - it is like they try to blame it on us and our computers when the thing does not work. Why they can even think that it is the computers when no players have a smooth game experience . Why would they need the name on our internet provider to get the game to work.
Harlequin_1963
22.07.21, 10:02
Why would they need the name on our internet provider to get the game to work.
Devils Advocate Mode : they may be using some ports that they shouldn't be, and need to see if there is a correlation between some errors on connections and the ports they used, and isp's blocking them.
I am more worried that the fact that there are errors thrown up as soon as it launches, and haven't been caught by the devs probably means that no one in the dev team has an external network connection to the game to actually test what a real player sees.
The first error that shows when the game launches is a 404 when it tries to load
ubistatic-a.akamaihd.net/0018/live/GFX_HASHED/loadingscreen/default.assetbundle ..... a bit scary that a file that was deemed essential at load time isn't there
it then fails to find b47c4480-9a2b-47af-ba69-06c8ccb87368 , another 404 error , and a couple of http-bind errors
the game now appears to load and unload assets to save memory : as per : ' Unloading 4 unused Assets to reduce memory usage. Loaded Objects now: 146296.'
They also get a message about cross-server cookie problems, beacuse two of their servers need access
Because a cookie’s SameSite attribute was not set or is invalid, it defaults to SameSite=Lax, which prevents the cookie from being sent in a cross-site request. This behavior protects user data from accidentally leaking to third parties and cross-site request forgery.
Resolve this issue by updating the attributes of the cookie:
Specify SameSite=None and Secure if the cookie should be sent in cross-site requests. This enables third-party use.
Specify SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax if the cookie should not be sent in cross-site requests.
Devils Advocate Mode : they may be using some ports that they shouldn't be, and need to see if there is a correlation between some errors on connections and the ports they used, and isp's blocking them.
I am more worried that the fact that there are errors thrown up as soon as it launches, and haven't been caught by the devs probably means that no one in the dev team has an external network connection to the game to actually test what a real player sees.
The first error that shows when the game launches is a 404 when it tries to load
ubistatic-a.akamaihd.net/0018/live/GFX_HASHED/loadingscreen/default.assetbundle ..... a bit scary that a file that was deemed essential at load time isn't there
it then fails to find b47c4480-9a2b-47af-ba69-06c8ccb87368 , another 404 error , and a couple of http-bind errors
the game now appears to load and unload assets to save memory : as per : ' Unloading 4 unused Assets to reduce memory usage. Loaded Objects now: 146296.'
They also get a message about cross-server cookie problems, beacuse two of their servers need access
Because a cookie’s SameSite attribute was not set or is invalid, it defaults to SameSite=Lax, which prevents the cookie from being sent in a cross-site request. This behavior protects user data from accidentally leaking to third parties and cross-site request forgery.
Resolve this issue by updating the attributes of the cookie:
Specify SameSite=None and Secure if the cookie should be sent in cross-site requests. This enables third-party use.
Specify SameSite=Strict or SameSite=Lax if the cookie should not be sent in cross-site requests.
Well the errors must have been recorded - we all have them - we reported them - but they are still here - dont think they even care.
BB_Trafffer
22.07.21, 12:16
The Unity Test Server was very helpful to our development team and would not have been so helpful without you players. The hard work many of you have done has been very important to the Unity version, even though some of you may feel it was "useless".
If you look at the changelogs, you will see a very large number of issues fixed. I don't want to throw away random numbers, but we had one single update that fixed over 35 bugs.
Some issues, such as the memory problem, were fixed and we did not receive any further reports until the live version was released, which could be for various reasons.
We still have bug reports from Unity Test Server waiting in the queue to be fixed. Most of them are related to graphic/UI.
Our top priority right now is to fix the "Game Breaking" issues we have, and the next update is scheduled for August, once the update is ready. The dev team is working hard to provide it as soon as possible.
The Unity Test Server was very helpful to our development team and would not have been so helpful without you players. The hard work many of you have done has been very important to the Unity version, even though some of you may feel it was "useless".
If you look at the changelogs, you will see a very large number of issues fixed. I don't want to throw away random numbers, but we had one single update that fixed over 35 bugs.
Some issues, such as the memory problem, were fixed and we did not receive any further reports until the live version was released, which could be for various reasons.
We still have bug reports from Unity Test Server waiting in the queue to be fixed. Most of them are related to graphic/UI.
Our top priority right now is to fix the "Game Breaking" issues we have, and the next update is scheduled for August, once the update is ready. The dev team is working hard to provide it as soon as possible.
You missing the point. So many players telling you there were critical issues on Test making game unplayable, and these same issues are still in Live Version, which again is unplayable. Like slow responsiveness, bad refresh, constant lags and micro-freezes, messed up Star Menu which means sending explorers and geos is either impossible or a time consuming nightmare. As the Star Menu is central to many operations it messes up most of the game functions. These are not new issues. They were the reason I stopped going to test, cause with all your "fixing" these were not fixed at all. Even with that small initial Test server island, things were going slower with every new building built etc. Bottom line, what you released does not work for probably vast majority of players, not just for some. Even though we told you beforehand.
ClarenceDuPont
22.07.21, 14:20
Exactly.
(For me), this isn't about a bug list, or how many are ticked off, or pending, or awaiting treatment, this is about a product that is broken, was broken on test, and is broken on live. It's not about this or that action doesn't have the correct outcome, or this button doesn't work - it's about porting the base product to a new platform and rendering it unplayable. People (PLAYers, CUSTOMERS, potential customers) cannot log in easily, see their island easily, scroll their island easily, send their specialists on tasks easily, see how many troops they have easily, read their mail easily, collect loot easily, see where their friends are easily, check how their production chains are easily, buff themselves or their friends easily, chat to their friends and guildmates easily, view an accurate build queue in a special building easily, send long attacks on adventures easily, use blocks on adventures easily (yeah yeah, blocks are game construct, not official blah blah). IT IS BROKEN
How many templated bug reports with superfluous technical info do you need that the fonts are difficult to read or the zoom out isn't going far enough to play effectively or the star menu clicks hit the base map? IT'S UNIVERSAL, IT'S BROKEN.
Give your dev team the day off, send them home if they're not already at home, and tell them to try and PLAY THE DAMN GAME, these are not nuanced, specific actions to repeat, bugs, this is a BROKEN platform, they'll see that in 5 minutes.
The game is in such a bad state now there should not be a need for any bug report. If someone at BB spend 10 minutes playing the game they will have a long list of issues.
If they are not able to see the problems themselves then that is like walking through Sahara for a week and not notice the sand.
[QUOTE=ClarenceDuPont;364797]Exactly.
(For me), this isn't about a bug list, or how many are ticked off, or pending, or awaiting treatment, this is about a product that is broken, was broken on test, and is broken on live. It's not about this or that action doesn't have the correct outcome, or this button doesn't work - it's about porting the base product to a new platform and rendering it unplayable. People (PLAYers, CUSTOMERS, potential customers) cannot log in easily, see their island easily, scroll their island easily, send their specialists on tasks easily, see how many troops they have easily, read their mail easily, collect loot easily, see where their friends are easily, check how their production chains are easily, buff themselves or their friends easily, chat to their friends and guildmates easily, view an accurate build queue in a special building easily, send long attacks on adventures easily
pretty much sums it up
Some issues, such as the memory problem, were fixed and we did not receive any further reports until the live version was released, which could be for various reasons.
It's called "Going Dark", Traf. It's when you've had some much contempt and disrespect shoveled at you that you give up. You find a sack full of gallows humour and a nice high point, and start knitting life jackets for the rats while you gleefully watch the ship sink beneath you.
EdwardTheSlayer
24.07.21, 11:42
Exactly.
(For me), this isn't about a bug list, or how many are ticked off, or pending, or awaiting treatment, this is about a product that is broken, was broken on test, and is broken on live. It's not about this or that action doesn't have the correct outcome, or this button doesn't work - it's about porting the base product to a new platform and rendering it unplayable. People (PLAYers, CUSTOMERS, potential customers) cannot log in easily, see their island easily, scroll their island easily, send their specialists on tasks easily, see how many troops they have easily, read their mail easily, collect loot easily, see where their friends are easily, check how their production chains are easily, buff themselves or their friends easily, chat to their friends and guildmates easily, view an accurate build queue in a special building easily, send long attacks on adventures easily, use blocks on adventures easily (yeah yeah, blocks are game construct, not official blah blah). IT IS BROKEN
How many templated bug reports with superfluous technical info do you need that the fonts are difficult to read or the zoom out isn't going far enough to play effectively or the star menu clicks hit the base map? IT'S UNIVERSAL, IT'S BROKEN.
Give your dev team the day off, send them home if they're not already at home, and tell them to try and PLAY THE DAMN GAME, these are not nuanced, specific actions to repeat, bugs, this is a BROKEN platform, they'll see that in 5 minutes.
This is it in a nutshell, this post should be pinned to the wall so devs can read it daily.
lordloocan
24.07.21, 12:18
The Unity Test Server was very helpful to our development team and would not have been so helpful without you players. The hard work many of you have done has been very important to the Unity version, even though some of you may feel it was "useless".
If you look at the changelogs, you will see a very large number of issues fixed. I don't want to throw away random numbers, but we had one single update that fixed over 35 bugs.
Some issues, such as the memory problem, were fixed and we did not receive any further reports until the live version was released, which could be for various reasons.
We still have bug reports from Unity Test Server waiting in the queue to be fixed. Most of them are related to graphic/UI.
Our top priority right now is to fix the "Game Breaking" issues we have, and the next update is scheduled for August, once the update is ready. The dev team is working hard to provide it as soon as possible.
Hya Traffer, not sure if you actually play the game but if you do then surely you must see how useless it now is, and if you don't then maybe worth making an account to see.
I was one of those who spent time on Test2 trying to help prepare the issues with Unity. The reason the bug reports stopped after the ''memory problem' was fixed is dead easy, most of us became unable to login meaning there was a massive drop in those able to report.
You say that the next update is scheduled for August, hopefully August 2021 to clarify.
So until then are you expecting players to bother with a game where they cannot send explorers as the time involved is ridiculous, cannot send geologists as the time is similarly daft, they can just about do an adventure though they cannot block and need to do one fight at a time at best - took me over an hour yesterday to do YWC for my guild quest when I can normally do 3 in an 2hrs without rushing, sending a simple trade has become a chore, and chat is a killer as it will randomly open some unrelated building and/or the zone will refresh so unless the player logs off fully the chat does not re-appear?
That is what we have been given, why would we stay?
Hya Traffer, not sure if you actually play the game
Yes he does. He's one of us. (at least that's what he said) But he can't blast BB as we do cause he is on their payroll. :)
So he understands all our wows and arguments I assume, but he's bound by loyalty to BB. :)
Chris-8989
25.07.21, 13:30
The Unity Test Server was very helpful to our development team and would not have been so helpful without you players. The hard work many of you have done has been very important to the Unity version, even though some of you may feel it was "useless".
If you look at the changelogs, you will see a very large number of issues fixed. I don't want to throw away random numbers, but we had one single update that fixed over 35 bugs.
Some issues, such as the memory problem, were fixed and we did not receive any further reports until the live version was released, which could be for various reasons.
We still have bug reports from Unity Test Server waiting in the queue to be fixed. Most of them are related to graphic/UI.
Our top priority right now is to fix the "Game Breaking" issues we have, and the next update is scheduled for August, once the update is ready. The dev team is working hard to provide it as soon as possible.
"The rules are simple: they lie to us, we know they're lying, they know we know they're lying, but they keep lying to us anyway, and we keep pretending to believe them.”
Elena Gorakhova: "A Mountain of Crumbs" (2010)
You know that the issue is not a few bugs and you know that you did not fix many of them (if any). We know that you know that the issue is not a few bugs and that you know that you did not fix many of them (if any). You know that we know that you know that the issue is not a few bugs and that you know that you did not fix many of them (if any). Nevertheless you keep insisting that the issue is only a few bugs and that you are working to fix them. However, I am not pretending to believe you, and neither do many others.
I urgently advise you to come clean: Why was this obviously unplayable version put out? Why did you skip quality control and proper testing, or why did you ignore the results of quality control and testing? Was some unexperienced project leader afraid to tell the management the truth? Is there an problem with license fees for the client as somebody insinuated somewhere? Why otherwise did you burn bridges and made it impossible to go back to the client (as a quote from a BB staffer somewhere here on the forum states)? What has actually led to this horrible situation?
What many people do not understand: openness and honesty make people much more sympathetic towards you. Lying, especially telling obvious lies, and hiding what is actually going on makes them angry. It is high time to switch to a different communication strategy.
https://www.partypeople.company/uploads/1/7/6/2/17627711/s454377924454347902_p784_i31_w1010.jpeg
BB_Trafffer
27.07.21, 11:28
Hya Traffer, not sure if you actually play the game but if you do then surely you must see how useless it now is, and if you don't then maybe worth making an account to see.
I play the game and I'm not alone in the team. We have more Settlers here.
We are aware of the current situation, and since the same version of Unity has been released in all instances, we are not unique among the others.
I know it's currently very difficult to play for players who have islands and star menu full of buildings/items as taking action is really time consuming but we are doing our best to fix the issues.
I also got feedback from players who were finally able to get into the game after a few months because the temporary client didn't support some operating systems. They are happy to see their islands again, see their friends, but they also face the same problems as we do.
The dev team is working really hard to get The Settlers Online on the right rails, and many reports in the dedicated thread along with the Unity Test Server have been very helpful.
Once we got the details on the next update, we will share it.
I know it's currently very difficult to play for players who have islands and star menu full of buildings/items as taking action is really time consuming but we are doing our best to fix the issues.
Good to know that this is one of the main issues bogging the game down, not that we can do much about it but at least we know that some observations made by players have also been made by the devs and are getting attention. Hopefully there is enough "out of the box" thinking instead of trying to solve it in a linear way with the 1 on 1 transfer to unity
So for all of us who have spent real cash for prem are we going to be refunded for lost time due to being unable to do anything other than the basics and even those are painful to do?
as usual there will most likely be no specific compensation, just a general compensation for all regardless of gems bought/spent and time running on pfb or premium
I play the game and I'm not alone in the team. We have more Settlers here.
We are aware of the current situation
I can see traffer commenting angry from his settler account demanding money back and calling devs jerks for basicly ruining the game and then switch to blue BB traffer and then goes all official-everything is ok mode
stonewaller
27.07.21, 17:54
I can see traffer commenting angry from his settler account demanding money back and calling devs jerks for basicly ruining the game and then switch to blue BB traffer and then goes all official-everything is ok mode
lol, marvellous
so only real question is it you or Urd ;)
...And the winner is (envelope envelope envelope)...
I know it's currently very difficult to play for players who have islands
These problems was the once i warned you about in chat the week before it was deployed and i was told by you that they would all be fixed on live, cause it had more power and that was the only problem with the test.... well guess that was another lie and that didn't solve anything.
All these problems could have been solved, by making the client and unity working site by site, so that ppl who had no other choice could have done, how they want it...
u cant run 2 different engines on the same database as it calls on em in different manners - that would be a recipe for disaster with currupted data and game fully down.
Ofc these issues with unity would have had to be solved in a better and more robust way- like by copying a live server to test and run it on a real environment- That would have clearly shwon issues with massive data handling when people have a full blown economy.
But we know BB has a poor track record on listening to feedback from test. Whatever Bb Traffer says about how they listen- history has shown that they are deadline driver and not data driven and a few weeks before a deadline, test feedback just gets ignored. On an event it is fixable with an emergency maintenance, now they are up the creek without the proverbial peddle though and no quick fixes in sight
u cant run 2 different engines on the same database as it calls on em in different manners - that would be a recipe for disaster with currupted data and game fully down.
I have to disagree with you purely based on empirical data. I have seen and used a game running simultaneously on both the Flash and Unity for about 2 months or longer. I don't have IT expertise to detail to you how it was accomplished but can assure you that your comment is incorrect simply based on the evidence I experienced myself.
I have to disagree with you purely based on empirical data. I have seen and used a game running simultaneously on both the Flash and Unity for about 2 months or longer. I don't have IT expertise to detail to you how it was accomplished but can assure you that your comment is incorrect simply based on the evidence I experienced myself.
Would u trust BB to run that scenario? :P
Would u trust BB to run that scenario? :P
That's not the point in question is it. Trying to sidetrack does not cover up for you giving false information, so rather address that instead of playing "smart".
Whether I trust them or not is irrelevant, I still wish they kept dual system until Unity worked.
General_hux
29.07.21, 08:35
I play the game and I'm not alone in the team. We have more Settlers here.
We are aware of the current situation, and since the same version of Unity has been released in all instances, we are not unique among the others.
I know it's currently very difficult to play for players who have islands and star menu full of buildings/items as taking action is really time consuming but we are doing our best to fix the issues.
I also got feedback from players who were finally able to get into the game after a few months because the temporary client didn't support some operating systems. They are happy to see their islands again, see their friends, but they also face the same problems as we do.
The dev team is working really hard to get The Settlers Online on the right rails, and many reports in the dedicated thread along with the Unity Test Server have been very helpful.
Once we got the details on the next update, we will share it.
See their friends? lucky them, I cant see any of mine, happy to see their islands again, just not sure that they saw any buildings on the island I would guess. If you play, as you suggest that you do, do you operate prem? will you be getting the days that you havent been able to fully use the prem back? Lots of people on there have lost, and are losing, out on their purchased prem time. That should be replaced.
I am sorry traff, but until there is something tangible, then every coment you make currently just whittles away at your reputation and people's perception of the integrity of BB.
Would u trust BB to run that scenario? :P
i wouldnt trust them to lie flat in bed right now
Forum over and out for me
This is my last post on this forum. I have decided it is not worth the trouble. I have seen more of more of removing treads and post that is not according to what BB think is right. They don't like criticism, but then if they don't like that they need to be perfect, if you are not you should be able to take both positive and negative responses.
I also don't like that they don't care enough about their players to give a proper excuse with out putting blame on players, and an explanation for launching a version of the game they must have know as well as we did in advance that was not playable.
The most appropriate response put here by a player was removed because it was seen as an advertisements, if you cant laugh at yourself if you do something this stupid, then I lose the last of my respect.
I don't like censorship, I don't like people with no sense of humor.
This is the rules they say -you cant even discuss them - then you are banned. Well that is their right. I also have right, I can chose to lose no more time on this and go doing something else, and so I will.
If there is no sign of any change, in the quality of the game, or even better, a proper explanation and excuse for this mess, on front page within the next 2 weeks, then I om just out of forum, but also out of game.
BB_Trafffer
29.07.21, 11:16
This is my last post on this forum. I have decided it is not worth the trouble. I have seen more of more of removing treads and post that is not according to what BB think is right. They don't like criticism, but then if they don't like that they need to be perfect, if you are not you should be able to take both positive and negative responses.
Hello Urd.
I have already responded in-game to your concern about the one thread that has been removed and explained the reason to you. The creator of the thread also received a message from me stating the reason. You seem to realize this, as you mention it in your post. We only delete posts that violate the rules or, in the case of a dedicated report thread, that are not bug reports. I am surprised by this opinion as it shouldn't take long to find negative posts over the forum/in-game - we have no problem with that and we understand the reason why players are posting them. If you follow the forum/in-game rules, your post will not be deleted.
I also don't like that they don't care enough about their players to give a proper excuse with out putting blame on players, and an explanation for launching a version of the game they must have know as well as we did in advance that was not playable.
I don't remember any message from us that would put "blame on the players." As I have mentioned many times in the forum and in-game (which you can also read on the website) we are fully aware of the technical issues and the dev team is working to fix them. The decision was made to switch from Flash to Unity technology because the Flash life is simply over and I'm sure I don't need to explain it here as everyone knows this topic well. The Unity Test Server was a great help to the dev team and the reports played a big role during the process. We were aware that with the launch of Unity some issues would hit the live servers, but these were only considered as visual/graphical issues, so bugs we consider as "game breaking" will not hit the Live Servers (you can read my old post here (https://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/38404-Live-date-for-UNITY?p=364149&viewfull=1#post364149)). After launch, some old issues (considered as "game-breaking") reappeared and we have to fix them, which the dev team is currently working on. The update will be released as soon as it's ready.
Currently, we can only apologize for the current state of the game and I want to assure you that the team is doing everything we can to bring the game to the state we all want it to be.
DorotheusII
29.07.21, 11:53
We were aware that with the launch of Unity some issues would hit the live servers, but these were only considered as visual/graphical issues, so bugs we consider as "game breaking" will not hit the Live Servers (you can read my old post here (https://forum.thesettlersonline.com/threads/38404-Live-date-for-UNITY?p=364149&viewfull=1#post364149)). After launch, some old issues (considered as "game-breaking") reappeared and we have to fix them, which the dev team is currently working on. The update will be released as soon as it's ready.
This exposes a fundamental flaw with the Test server. For many years we have been told that some bugs seen on the Test server only exist because it's the test server and that the live servers are different. This means there are going to be bugs which don't reveal themselves in the Test cycle leaving BB having to deploy a HOTFIX with just about every new deployment. So despite being slapped in the face for many years you now find the game smashing you over the head with a baseball bat.
Most kids by the time they are 5 have learnt the lesson of if it hurts don't do it again, yet here you are having failed to have learnt that entering into your teens. You need to sit down and have a good think about how can you redesign the test cycle so that it causes both you and us less grief. It's time that you proved to us you have got more smarts than little Johnny on his first day at kindergarten.
I don't remember any message from us that would put "blame on the players."
This comes from misinterpreted post from German forum about in-game lag and freezes being caused by too many items on the islands and in Star Menu. Not sure if it was distorted intentionally by players or just a sarcastic joke or if someone forgot to think before posting, but for a while there was a line of posts complaining about BB blaming players for the problems.
I think pretty much everybody who put a little bit of thought into the situation knows where the game is and what's going on. It's just the fact that communication from BB was not very clear and we had to fill in the dots ourselves. On the other hand I am impressed by the way you respond to Urd (personalty I will not miss his posts). Nevertheless, if this level of responsiveness from you (BB) was applied throughout the "crisis" and before Unity went live that would have prevented number of misunderstandings and suspicions from us.
You probably take this thread as personal attack and I think you are now doing much better job to help clarify things and maybe prevent or at least reduce such accusations in future.
BB_Trafffer
29.07.21, 12:36
This exposes a fundamental flaw with the Test server. For many years we have been told that some bugs seen on the Test server only exist because it's the test server and that the live servers are different.
Yes, this is correct.
This means there are going to be bugs which don't reveal themselves in the Test cycle leaving BB having to deploy a HOTFIX with just about every new deployment.
Not exactly. Please note that it was a really big operation. It wasn't just an "update". We changed the game technology (engine), but it also requires changes around the game (systems, website, infrastructure). In the regular updates, you don't make so many changes at once. However, there is always a chance that something will not go as planned. We will do our best to make sure this will not happen again.
It's just the fact that communication from BB was not very clear and we had to fill in the dots ourselves. On the other hand I am impressed by the way you respond to Urd (personalty I will not miss his posts). Nevertheless, if this level of responsiveness from you (BB) was applied throughout the "crisis" and before Unity went live that would have prevented number of misunderstandings and suspicions from us.
You probably take this thread as personal attack and I think you are now doing much better job to help clarify things and maybe prevent or at least reduce such accusations in future.
If I took all the messages I see or receive as a personal attack, I would probably be elsewhere already ;)
While the "crisis" happened, I did post in the hottest threads & in the game but due to the number of messages and new threads I realized it was just lost and decided to wait a while until the situation will cool down so my messages would be more visible. Also, keep in mind that the dev team also needed to figure out what exactly was going on so we could communicate what's next - and they need time for it. This was the reason why the Web-Post did not come out on the same day, but a day later.
I consider all the feedback I received and I will try to improve, so if anything similar (hopefully not!) will happen again, I will react differently.
I'm here for you my dear community. ::E::
There is no longer any 'testserver' - since unity testserver was started only af few of the reported bugs were fixed ( at least only a few made it to be included in game updates ) - most bugs mentioned in change logs were not reported by players. - and testservers has not had any update since July 8th. ( no change log to tell what was fixed ).
Sorry trafffer, but your reply to DorotheusII misses the point, and the point even us non geeks fail to understand. Having a test server to test the game and find bugs BEFORE it is released to live, is absolutely pointless if it is different. There should be as little difference between the two in order to be sure all bug fixes have been caught , fixed and are not free to re-materialise because of those differences. If you need proof, this release is case in hand.
Not exactly. Please note that it was a really big operation. It wasn't just an "update". We changed the game technology (engine), but it also requires changes around the game (systems, website, infrastructure). In the regular updates, you don't make so many changes at once. However, there is always a chance that something will not go as planned. We will do our best to make sure this will not happen again
We all know this was not going to be a simple update, we all know it was a major task, we gave you enough time since the original announcement (16/10/2020) to get it done. What has been presented to us, as a lot of work, barely resembles a months work for anyone with credentials as a programmer. The other thing I can not get my head around, with such a major change why did you not save the client as a backup? You changed us from flash to client, yes not totally smooth sailing, but surely a rollback from unity to client wouldn't be that much more complicated than that which you already achieved from flash, you've had the experience.
You ( BB ) deployed it on test and received bug reports, especially concerning play ability, you deployed fixes, but nothing that corrected these main, basic, issues. Your (BB)`excuse' that this may have slipped by, was because you did not get further reports ( duh because people could not get in, or were fed up talking to a brick wall ) Did your dev team ask? obviously not from what I've read. ( Some may have interpreted that as pointing the finger of blame at players, just a thought )
If you want to do your best so this won't happen again, you need to re-think test server and make it a mirror image to what you want to deploy on live. You need to treat your testers with respect and act on their issues and then show them your fixes and work with them as a team. Test your fixes. Is this even being considered? My opinion from what I am seeing, nope. Your not going to change because you (BB) know best. Your doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. Well we all know what that is the definition of. ( save Googling it, it's Insanity Lol) What I see is live servers being returned to a beta testing game, Devs stumbling along in the dark, making small inroads to things that often don't effect the main play ability ( Lag/functional UI ), and throwing out more promises of fixes in the `next' update.
When you start listening and not just hearing, you'll improve, but time is running out, patience is running out and confidence in BBs Devs is in pieces.
With regard to the hilarious and fitting removed post, well it brought a smile where one was desperately needed. Rule break? hmm fine line you have to walk to not alienate the few players you have left in such troubled times me thinks. Personally, having a `happy hour ' thrust in my face when the game has been broken is far more insulting to myself as a player. But rules are rules, and BB inappropriate actions which cause me offense are not covered by rules. Devs expect payment no matter what they do or don't do. Funny thing is upset me and you'll have to look elsewhere for your money, I reward competence without being asked, those that don't deliver get nothing.
Edit: Well I give the community Manager a hard time, so that's something :p
The test server isn't pointless as a lot of issues and bugs will be present across all instances. The various language servers will all be slightly different as well i bet- They have to make some choices where to test what. It is far from ideal but a test server will catch most big issues in time.
Unity is a whole different ballgame- But i think they approached it wrong on test 2. Probably the best option would have been to request players for a closed beta with copyíng over their accounts to test and have test 1 run the "normal" test environment (or the other way around as test1 was moved to unity after test 2 was live)
That might have caught these issues and pushed back the unity release till after gamebreaking issues were solved
Anyway i think my definition of gamebreaking also isnt the same as BB as i never found test playable even after their fixes - and that was without full islands or full star menu
lordloocan
30.07.21, 12:44
The Unity Test Server was very helpful to our development team and would not have been so helpful without you players. The hard work many of you have done has been very important to the Unity version, even though some of you may feel it was "useless".
If you look at the changelogs, you will see a very large number of issues fixed. I don't want to throw away random numbers, but we had one single update that fixed over 35 bugs.
Some issues, such as the memory problem, were fixed and we did not receive any further reports until the live version was released, which could be for various reasons.
We still have bug reports from Unity Test Server waiting in the queue to be fixed. Most of them are related to graphic/UI.
Our top priority right now is to fix the "Game Breaking" issues we have, and the next update is scheduled for August, once the update is ready. The dev team is working hard to provide it as soon as possible.
This is full of company management speak and weak attempts at pacification whilst brushing the true issues away.
Of course the test was helpfu (But was much actioned?)l and yes down to the players (1st pat on the back for us) Lots of hard work by us (2nd pat on the back for us)
Maybe good to list the bugs you fixed here than people having to trawl through a line of changelogs?
I never had the memory issue on test so no report on it there from me, but now get it on live, on exactly the same gaming laptop.
Be a good idea to fix the 'Game Breaking' issues as they make the game broken - good to see someone acknowledge this publicly.
Any particular date in August? Start/End? And can we assume this is August 2021?
I'm here for you my dear community.
it does not look like you are Trafffer : (
I like Traffer. He just could tell more jokes about his bosses. :)
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