swarf
Hi, Swarf here. Lead dev on Battle.
.NK.
- You promised us repeatedly that the battle system (I refuse to call it zOMG because that's the dumbest ******** name I've ever heard) would be out by ______. You've reached the deadline again and it's still not out. Now what's the deadline that you most certainly won't miss?
I hate deadlines. We all do. And it's not because we're lazy. Trust me, our team has been here till 1am more than I like to admit. I've put in more hours by the end of September than most Americans will through the end of the year. But deadlines don't determine when the game becomes good. So we have two choices:
1. Release an inferior product.
2. Wait and release a better product.
I know that you value quality. You're holding Gaia to a high set of standards (as you should be). I hope you can similarly support putting out a quality game, rather than a quick one.
You're absolutely right, we all don't mind that it's taking so long. It's the fact that you keep setting deadlines (I hate them too) and getting our hopes up. I understand that it's more than just Gaia setting the deadlines, and I know how stressed you guys must be, but your dates should be a little broader to save everyone the hassle of getting upset. I feel sorry for you guys having to work your butts off, but I'm also proud that you're so dedicated. By 2005 I was sure it was just an idea left behind. But I'm very glad and proud to see it coming so far, regardless of how long it took. You guys have presented us with real evidence, and that's really all I needed.
Quote:
- You promised us that the battle system would be free. But it's not, and it won't be. There will be premium items that make you/the experience better, I can guarantee it.
Quote:
Again, let me present two choices:
1. There are premium items that are entirely optional and you can ignore, but you can play the game.
2. Gaia can't afford to make the game and no one can play
Those of us who are making the game are working really hard and we hope Gaia continues to pay us. But Gaia can't do that unless there is some means for revenue.
And Battle is free at the core. Sure there are premium items. If that bothers you, don't buy them. The content is all open to you. You can see the whole world, use every ring, collect every item, and do every quest without spending a dime. Personally I think that's a pretty awesome gift to the community. At least that's what drives me to make the game better.
Yes, that
is good. I'm pretty sure that no one knew that Battle would cost so much. I certainly never would have thought, seeing as it seemed like it would be pretty small.
I'm glad that we now have some
actual insight as to how Battle and the premium items will work. The details were so vague, it seemed as though we might have had to pay just to continue into the game (as in you can play in one area, but if you want to go beyond that you have to pay). It's a huge relief that it won't work like that, and I'm very glad that that's the case.
Quote:
We could have easily had an Easter event, but couldn't, because too many people were working on the BS
Quote:
Believe me, we have too few people working on Battle. This is a gigantic project. Anyway, the event team is a totally separate team and none of them have worked on Battle. Plus, no event is ever "easily" done. Sometimes we just don't have time to make one. They are a ton and a half of work. We do them because you guys are such fun
wink
We were told by Lanzer himself at the time of the Easter event that the teams that would normally work on the event were busy with Battle, and that everything was spread so thin that there was no chance of it happening.
I didn't mean to imply that the event is easy to make, but what we're most upset about is the fact that items that seemed like they were made for the event were put in the cash shop instead. That was like a double burn. The artists had time to make Easter CS items, but not even one item to give out for an event.
Thank you very, very much for taking the time to reply to us. We really appreciate it. :] Keep up the hard work on Battle, and I hope you guys get a vacation soon.
50
200
100
