Game Development: Under Pressure

[dageir]

Those player numbers are just a temporary set back. Usually there are 120 people (or alts?) logged on the three servers combined. We will get there again one day, Im sure.

[JeffGV]

Well, it was to be expected after game-changing patches like the purity one.
It is all nice and good (well, kinda) if your seed purity already matched the alchemical types you can find around your base.
But when it doesn't happen...well, you've either to start completely anew with your crops or find a place suitable and relocate there.
Trading every single item to match your preexistant seeds' purity composition isn't exactly viable, after all.
And after all of this, you should start the purity grind for wood. And wait, cause mostly is a matter of waiting for the trees to grow and boards to dry.
In the meanwhile, you just have to hope devs don't change idea again and overhaul the whole system another time. They have done it once, they could do it again, after all.
So, well, it is quite easy to see why the population has decreased. Getting screwed by the players is part of the game. Getting screwed by the devs, well...no.

Oh, i know, some will reply with "this is a beta". Yep. Open beta, that's the matter. Changes like this one had to be done earlier, like, in alpha.

[lachlaan]

This is a beta But no, seriously, would you not have been just as outraged had you spent the exact same amount of time on your stuff as you have now, except if you'd spent it during a closed beta? or during alpha? Ultimately it's about time you, and everyone else, consider wasted because they expected the status quo to never change. As new as I am to the game, I've still gotten the idea from numerous sources that the old purity system was never intended in the first place. Surely for someone that put more effort into the game than I did, you would know that this was the stance of the devs on the purity system. And thus would know that it'd get changed. I'm starting to feel like Jorb and Loftar would be better off just buying lots of candy and offering it to children as salary for beta testing.

[JeffGV]

This is a beta But no, seriously, would you not have been just as outraged had you spent the exact same amount of time on your stuff as you have now, except if you'd spent it during a closed beta? or during alpha? Ultimately it's about time you, and everyone else, consider wasted because they expected the status quo to never change. As new as I am to the game, I've still gotten the idea from numerous sources that the old purity system was never intended in the first place. Surely for someone that put more effort into the game than I did, you would know that this was the stance of the devs on the purity system. And thus would know that it'd get changed. I'm starting to feel like Jorb and Loftar would be better off just buying lots of candy and offering it to children as salary for beta testing.

A complete overhaul isn't something you should expect as a change in a beta, though. Cause that is what happened. The main problem is that this update makes your location (as in, forageables and water sources) one of the most important aspects in purity grind. Whereas we weren't even able to know the general purity of the area before - cause there wasn't any.
If i were to start anew, i would push crops toward the purity present in the area. Implementing it as they did, it means that if you wasn't grinding that exact alchemical component, well, you may as well start anew, cause aside from having to grind wood for the components you can achieve in the area, you'll also have to start anew with the crops as well.
Beside that, it also has caused further unbalancing. We still have byproducts of the old system, be it uberchars or high quality flour. Especially this last one is a problem, since the balance can't take in consideration levels that shouldn't actually be obtained

[ysbryd]

I do believe that a lot of those pre-purity chars will eventually decay... death, snakebite, boredom, stupidity, thrill seeking, etc etc.. If you have to start again then why not? Beat the new system, use what you have locally, like the game was meant to be played. Treat it as an opportunity to explore new avenues!

[lachlaan]

I personally wouldn't have expected to keep my progress at all at the end of beta, but given Jorb/Loftar's statement that wipes will be avoided if possible, and the fact they declared this open beta, I can definetly see why people would be confused and slightly outraged at the status quo changing. But while I do understand why people are angry, I still think all this changing will ultimately turn Salem into a complete game, which is what I'd like to play, when it's ready. Till then I'll stick to the solo testing, until my friends get lured back in

[agentlemanloser]

Oh, i know, some will reply with "this is a beta". Yep. Open beta, that's the matter. Changes like this one had to be done earlier, like, in alpha.

With all due respect, I believe you might be overestimating the concepts of alpha and beta, which have taken on much different meanings due to the connectivity possibilities of the internet. Gmail, for instance, took the route of remaining in open beta for many years, a flexible model made possible by not having a physical product to distribute in stores. Firefall is a current game that has remained in "closed" beta for an extended period of time, though it is a version of closed with a very large number of participants. Firefall is far from alpha, but it regularly introduces changes far more drastic that Salem's intended purity overhaul. Sins of a Solar Empire also experienced a long beta period that could be considered open, and it also made drastic changes to the mathematics governing combat and introduced content changes as well. Sure, in the 80s an alpha and a beta might have been defined by specific product states, because testing was a centrally located affair. Now, the terms have entirely flexible meanings. And let's be realistic: we all know that many more massive changes are due. We've all seen the development videos. We can expect the implementation of horses, witchcraft, and many more Lovecraftian creatures in the darkness and elsewhere, any one of which could prove to be a "game changer." I find the complaints a bit perplexing, because with such changes inevitable any assumption of a static game model are silly. In all seriousness, I would like Jorb to include a new creature, a troll, perhaps, in the new patch that is attracted to high-purity foodstuffs and is perfectly willing to mug players carrying it or break down walls to steal from containers, if only to reinforce the idea that at this stage of the game, we should be more concerned with bug testing and the pleasure of our own experience than with long-term planning.

[dmdisco]

its not like the changes are a brand new system, its "just" a refinement of the math behind it more or less.

and as long as they dont do a NGE (if you dont know search google) style change then im not gonna go all balistic just because it got alot harder to achieve somthing that was clearly too easy before.

and remember a few of the systems in place atm are placeholder like mining, combat etc.

and since its beta we can be sure this isnt the last change to purity math.

[dageir]

Im glad the dev dont dish out all the changes that they have in store in one go. That would cause havoc.

[ysbryd]

Im glad the dev dont dish out all the changes that they have in store in one go. That would cause havoc.

Lol but just imagine the thread