Jump to content

Devnote Tuesday: A big announcement

SQUAD

By SQUAD
in KSP1 The Daily Kerbal

 Share

Recommended Posts

basic.syntax

basic.syntax

Posted
Posted

We want more features in KSP and bug fixing, it's endless. Squad said in the run-up to 1.0 that they would continue development as long as they can manage it, despite player worries that "1.0" would be The End and see Squad drop KSP for some other shiny thing. KSP was never really going to be "finished," and thus, by some player's standards, there would never be an appropriate time to "port" KSP to other platforms. But they are doing it, they are throwing their hats over the wall, as a challenge for themselves to find new sources of income, expand KSP, and clearly fix bugs along the way.

Nobody likes bugs, but it's a constant in software development. The developers are on record with embarrassment, in a couple Squadcasts, that 1.0.2 was needed just 6 hours after 1.0.1. The 1.0.3 patch is getting extra testing time in hopes that it will not repeat that scenario, hopefully it will be the last patch until v1.1 is ready.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
windows_x_seven

windows_x_seven

Posted
Posted
My biggest concern is that they're talking about UI changes. [...] I don't even want to imagine trying to do stuff in KSP with anything even remotely resembling a console style UI. [...] The only thing I hope for from a console version is that it not take away from the PC version.

Agreed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Woopert

Woopert

Posted
Posted (edited)

Horrible, horrible, horrible news. I'm losing faith in Squad. This always happens with early access indie games.

  1. Seems like a cool game!
  2. This game is amazing! My favourite game of all time!
  3. Oh, they're changing some stuff. It's okay but I'll deal with it.
  4. Why! Why? Why change things that are already perfectly fine?
  5. It's all lost! The game isn't good anymore.

It happened to Minecraft. I thought it would never happen to KSP because it seemed so perfect. This is a joke.

#PCmasterrace

Edited by Woopert
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Navy2k

Navy2k

Posted
Posted (edited)

I don't really understand why if you give something for free (like the devnotes) everybody seems to deduce a right to have this free thing and if not is willing to grab the torches and pitchforks to demand it?

So from my side (never owned a console after the atari 2600) its not groundbreaking news, but for someone it is.

All thats left to say is, thanks Squad for the nearly 1000 hours of fun! (Hm, just realising im also nearing the 2cent / hour mark for pricing, not bad i must say =) )

Greetings

Ben

P.S.: Thanks for Mr. Woopert to amplify my point: Only thing to say is PCMasterrace > all wähh wähh 0_O

Plus the signature is another whine about a problem that is fixed within seconds for anyone by a mod called "Stock Clamshell Fairings" Jesus!

Edited by Navy2k
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Laie

Laie

Posted
Posted
SQUAD proudly announcing the PS4 port for KSP...and the KSP PC community:

Well, that shouldn't surprise anyone. What's PS4 to the people on this forum? We've been eagerly awaiting news about 1.0.3, though...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hotaru

Hotaru

Posted
Posted
I don't really understand why if you give something for free (like the devnotes) everybody seems to deduce a right to have this free thing and if not is willing to grab the torches and pitchforks to demand it?

They're not obligated to share anything, but I think it's a little impolite to publish devnotes every week, then one week to say "Here are the devnotes" and then give us something that is the opposite of devnotes. "No devnotes this week, announcement instead" would've been more honest. Not quite torch-and-pitchfork material for me, but I can't help but be slightly annoyed.

That said, I really, really, really hope this works out. I love KSP and I still think Squad is a decent company, I've got nothing against consoles and nothing against companies doing what makes the most business sense.

But KSP on consoles? KSP with no mods, on weak hardware, without a mouse? I just can't picture it being successful. It seems like a bad business decision. I can't imagine the additional sales will make up for the time and money invested in the port. And the company doing the port apparently has experience limited to third-rate mobile games, I just can't see how they're qualified to undertake a project like porting KSP to the PS4. I hope I'm wrong, because if I am I think it will be for the best, but I just can't see it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Caelib

Caelib

Posted
Posted (edited)
I don't like where this is going. This is going to split the amazing community of KSP in 2.

Actually, it's not. It's going to add a community of players that will probably remain mostly silent. I play a lot of War Thunder and it's a cross-platform game and you rarely hear anything from the PS4 players, ever. And what is to say that just because they are playing on a console doesn't mean they will share in the experience and have just as much to contribute to the community as any PC player?

Keep in mind that KSP is not for everyone and the players who get involved in the community are *typically* a lot more mature than those found on most gaming boards. This isn't going to change with a PS4 port.

Edited by Caelib
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mithkabob

mithkabob

Posted
Posted

Hello, I would like to add my feedback to this discussion as a person who is considering whether or not to purchase your game. I have heard mention of some of the bugs in 1.0 and some people saying that the game was not ready to be called 1.0 at release so I have been checking here occasionally for news on progress regarding updates. I see this post expecting some good news about a patch coming out soon and all I find is something about a PS4 port?

Whether the negative impact of this on PC development is real or perceived does not matter, because the announcement and the reaction to it can really turn off a potential customer (me), who is now unsure of purchasing the game. I carefully choose what to purchase, watch videos of people playing, and read both positive and negative reviews. Seeing negative reviews on Steam from people with 100s of hours in the game not recommending it once it came out of early access because it didn't seem ready is a bad sign. Seeing YouTube streamers have to do little workarounds and have problems with glitches and even crashes and sometimes horrible frame rates for no apparent reason is another bad sign. Seeing them having to download several mods just to have a usable interface and decent looking graphics, yet another negative. Having to dig through this entire thread to find more information that should have been part of the main post was also quite frustrating.

Still, I see so much potential with the game and how much fun people can have playing it, that I am very interested in it and want to see it succeed. I wish you luck, but I think I will wait to purchase this until you have a stable 64-bit Unity 5 client.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ShadowZone

ShadowZone

Posted
Posted (edited)

The entire discussion could have been avoided.

In perfect world, this would have happened:

1) Squad would have released the PS4 announcement in the proper "Announcement" section of the forums.

2) The announcement would have had not only a picture, but also the following information: The port will be produced by a different company, control issues will be adressed during the port, the port will be released 2016. It would also mention that additional console sales would help PC development.

3) There would have been a separate Dev Note (linked to in the announcement), reassuring the community that the PS4 port will not affect PC development. It would also mention that 1.0.3 is still very much in development and everybody is working hard to get it released. It would also mention that Flying Tiger (the company doing the PS4 port) have already supported Squad in doing the Unity 5 revamp.

4) HarvesteR himself would have assured the community in the Dev Notes that PC development of KSP would always be the main focus and that there will be no dumbing down of the main game to accomodate console input or performance issues.

5) The community would have congratulated Squad on their efforts, reacted happy to the mention of 1.0.3 and the fact that new money will help the development of their favorite game.

Besides 4 and 5 all the relevant information was provided, but only in tidbits scatterd across 3 different platforms (Forum, Twitter, Reddit).

And I am still hoping for 4 to happen, so 5 could be possibly reached...

The lesson here is: Communication is key. It's as simple as that.

Edit:

And finally, please be more respectful towards Squad. Constructive criticism, questions and even some scepticism are all fine, but in the end you're a guest on our forums and we do expect you to behave as guests.

In this forum every user may be a guest, technically speaking. But in your balance sheets I am your customer. Twice. I bought the game on Steam and then again on the website so I could have two parallel installs - and I didn't mind paying twice, because no game has given me the amount of satisfaction as KSP did. I have clocked in 2005 hours according to Steam - and I am pretty sure I am not the only one playing it that much.

Your community are not merely guests. They have actively contributed to the success of your game, by basically financing if through early access, by providing you with feedback to make the game better, by promoting KSP to their friends an family. So please understand if we tend to get emotional about how things are being done regarding this part of our lives (yes, I have said it). And don't forget, where you are coming from. You have big time success and console deals and I am happy for you. But your backbone is the community. And the more you turn to other shiny opportunities the more you are risking to alienate said community - who are in reality your strongest marketing force. Do not forget this.

We get that you use Twitter and Reddit to reach a bigger audience. I myself do it as well to promote my own stuff. But why can't you show the forums more love? Why aren't you able to condense all important talking points into one forum post? You already have all the info somewhere. Put it here as well! It's little things like this that keep customers loyal to a product. Have you noticed how the mood of this thread changed as soon as you started reacting and trying to put our criticism into perspective? People do not want to react negatively out of principle. It is neglect for your roots and the people who contributed to your success that creates the increasing backlash.

This is me as a former seasoned journalist and communication guy, with IT experience, a degree in business administration, some law education and currently a very challenging job trying to keep customers and developers in our company from starting to hate each other because of wrong expecations and faulty communication. This is not bragging, I am merely trying to make you realize that there are some people here who have had experience in a lot of situations that you have went through in the past and are still going through. And I believe there are a lot of people here that can offer a lot more valuable input than me.

Yes we are guests. As are guests in a restaurant. But guests in a restaurant can still expect to be served what is on the menu and not what the chef suddenly decides he likes to cook. And like guests in a restaurant we pay for your product. Please keep that in mind. And keep listening. Thank you.

Edited by ShadowZone
Reaction to KasperVld
Link to comment
Share on other sites
regex

regex

Posted
Posted
This (a few example links) looks like communication to me. Many of these plans were delivered. Some didn't make it. I think they have a larger roadmap, in pencil or post-it notes on a whiteboard that get moved around probably monthly, and choose not to share it, partly for that reason.
So, in other words, they really never had a long-term plan of how the game should develop. Amazingly that's exactly what I've been saying.

A feature like Career Mode should have been laid out long before work began. As it stands now it plays like a bunch of unrelated features were literally thrown at a velcro wall to see which would stick, and the dev notes indicate that's pretty much exactly what happened. That's been a problem with KSP for a very long time, no long-term plans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Zesty

Zesty

Posted
Posted
Wow, what a bunch of ingracious, self-entitled BS i see in this thread.

You didnt get a devnote? TOO BAD! NOBODY OWES YOUR ONE!

Why would somebody be MAD at the fact that a game they like of going to be on another platform? YES! OMG ITS FOR MONEY! BLESPHEMY! Are you mad that squad isn't spending all their time for you/ your platform specifically? Making THEIR game fit whatever image you happen to have in mind? Are you MAD that they want money to continue coming to squadHQ and spending all day working on KSP?

Squad is a business that relies on (OM MY GOSH!) money to pay their employees. Without employees, THERE IS NO FURTHER UPDATES TO KSP. Its not a @(&%^@ charity people. Your one time payment of whatever does not buy you slaves that work for the rest of their lives updating, tweaking, supporting, and upgrading KSP. Its money that makes it worth their time. The costs continue month after month and if the income doesnt, IT GETS SHUT DOWN. So dont be so suprised and offended when they do something to secure future funding for KSP.

ITS A BUSINESS! ITS NOT EVIL TO PURSUE MONEY! GET OVER IT!

Finally someone speaks some sense. So much entitled whining. Even a former dev throwing a tantrum.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
This thread is quite old. Please consider starting a new thread rather than reviving this one.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...