The Ghost of Christmas Future

[Ikpeip]

Good evening,

I think you read a bit too much into what loftar actually said.

Even if he didn't say what he meant or mean what he said, I think my points regarding the systems in need of improvement stand. These are not massive man-hour projects, either... but you and I have been over this before, and I don't expect to change your mind this time.

I do think you need a better assessment of the flaws in Salem's systems - as others have commented here, it's not common for developers to have first-hand knowledge of how their systems are working in practice. However, some way to get feedback and assess these problems is a key to success. Either collect raw data and analyze it, or take feedback from trusted players.

I think the latter is the correct course of action. The experience of Salem to-date has shown your standard crew of cronies aren't providing the feedback you need. You've decided the Tribe can't be trusted to provide feedback. I don't have an easy answer for you, but you do need to find faces who play the game and whose judgement can be trusted. Faces who don't just tell you that something is wrong, but can tell you *why* it is wrong.

Faithfully,

-Paul the Paymaster

[ZtyX]

-Frogs and crabs are relatively meaningless (although I have known some players to be fond of the new inspirational), because they don't have much of a use. Some sort of decoration item, cooking them to provide decent humor regeneration food, making them a component in some sort of augmented alchemy process, or making them provide some buff when cooked and eaten (similar to snuff - or a poison antidote that doesn't come with the laxative's side effects) all would have made this little critters more meaningful. Hell, even making them a low-level inspiration that can be used without much prep (a stray chestnut type item for coastal regions) would've worked. Implementing them so that a player could walk over them would also have made them less irritating - but instead we got useless critters that are hard to pick up and get in the way.

I don't have an easy answer for you, but you do need to find faces who play the game and whose judgement can be trusted. Faces who don't just tell you that something is wrong, but can tell you *why* it is wrong.

Do you call that solid feedback? ... It's as biased as anything can be. Crabs and frogs are preventing the tribe from raiding more effortlessly and you're not even mentioning something you're well aware of (that these are excellent for defending a base). Sorry, but this is probably why a developer has to make his own decisions instead of listening to players and doing as they say. Players always have personal motives and the most manipulative ones (such as yourself) will never show those motives if they can get away with manipulating a developer to satisfy their own needs and hurt their competition in the meantime.

[Nezrukas]

So, when be new update?

[jorb]

I think the latter is the correct course of action. The experience of Salem to-date has shown your standard crew of cronies aren't providing the feedback you need.

Who, again? You mean you and Chief?

It is certainly true that one may as a developer have blind spots. There are several areas of the game that I do not have any introspective insight into. On that same note, however, you yourself are entirely blind as to our development discussions and priorities.

True, not all of our implementations have been stellar -- far from it! -- but some have been pretty good. I think the artifice system, to name one, is a pretty nice thing, for example, and I entertain no immediate dissatisfactions with it. The argopelters were reasonably fun, albeit a bit underdeveloped.

When loftar said that implementing new content felt meaningless he was above anything else referring to the gluttony system, which is the main reason why we never bothered, for example, to implement tamed animals (as the thereof resulting food produce didn't excite us, for obvious reasons). He was also not in any way, shape or form "blaming the failures of previous updates on the pre-existing systems", but rather simply explaining how he felt more confident about future development.

I agree that node hunting should be eliminated. I agree that alchemy isn't great.

[jorb]

So, when be new update?

Soon (tm).

[jorb]

Mushrooms!

[jorb]

Crabs are useless!

You see how the gluttony system sucks?

[Tamasin]

More in the year to come.

Merry Xmas!

You changed your mind and won't give us any more hints?

[jorb]

We're almost done.

[Ikpeip]

Good evening,

Do you call that solid feedback? ... It's as biased as anything can be. Crabs and frogs are preventing the tribe from raiding more effortlessly and you're not even mentioning something you're well aware of (that these are excellent for defending a base). Sorry, but this is probably why a developer has to make his own decisions instead of listening to players and doing as they say. Players always have personal motives and the most manipulative ones (such as yourself) will never show those motives if they can get away with manipulating a developer to satisfy their own needs and hurt their competition in the meantime.

What sort of fantasy world do you live in where frogs and crabs are some sort of effective defense against raiding? You're showing your ignorance.

Mushrooms!

My point was not that mushrooms are too hard to boil, but that the poison debuff was meant to be a prelude of better, more interesting food effects to come. Something which could make things more interesting and less tedious, did not require interaction with broken gluttony, but which never materialized.

Crabs are useless!

You see how the gluttony system sucks?

I never said the gluttony system didn't suck. I did however, point out a plethora of other uses they could have:

Some sort of decoration item, cooking them to provide decent humor regeneration food, making them a component in some sort of augmented alchemy process, or making them provide some buff when cooked and eaten (similar to snuff - or a poison antidote that doesn't come with the laxative's side effects) all would have made this little critters more meaningful. Hell, even making them a low-level inspiration that can be used without much prep (a stray chestnut type item for coastal regions) would've worked.

I think the latter is the correct course of action. The experience of Salem to-date has shown your standard crew of cronies aren't providing the feedback you need.

Who, again? You mean you and Chief?

I'm not your crony, and my understanding is you and Chief are no longer an item. You know the group I'm talking about, and you do yourself a disservice pretending otherwise.

Faithfully,

-Paul the Paymaster