Squadcast Summary 2015/07/10

[micha]

Thanks for the summary, 5thHorseman.

Q: 1.0.5?

A: There are no plans for a 1.0.5. Straight into 1.1

Hmm, I'd still have liked to see a 1.0.5. No balance/aero tweaks, _just_ bugfixes.

There are still LOTS of bugs, some of which are pretty annoying. Yes, Claw's awesome Stock Bug Fix Modules help out, but they really need to be rolled into the release.

Apart from that glad the main thrust is on the rewrite for Unity5.

[Superfluous J]

I wonder how useful bug fixes would be on the cusp of changing over to Unity 5. Some of those bugs may just go away in the rewrite of code to work in U5. It could just be wasted effort to fix them now.

I'm all for waiting for 1.1.1 or 1.2 to pick up bugfixing again.

[smjjames]

Yeah, some of those bugs are probably due to Unity 4 which they can't really fix (aside from the ones which were patched with stockbugfixes), and I've also wished that they would devote at least one dev cycle to ONLY bugfixes, and many of them have solutions in the stockbugfix modules. Or rather they'd be a place to start.

[GusTurbo]

I hope they don't try to put in a bunch of new content in 1.1. Unity 5 sounds like enough work on its own.

[marach]

Thanks for the summary, 5thHorseman.

Hmm, I'd still have liked to see a 1.0.5. No balance/aero tweaks, _just_ bugfixes.

There are still LOTS of bugs, some of which are pretty annoying. Yes, Claw's awesome Stock Bug Fix Modules help out, but they really need to be rolled into the release.

Apart from that glad the main thrust is on the rewrite for Unity5.

Thing is there's no point in working on those bug fixes right now, with the shift to U5 their resources are better spent on that since any bug fixes they make to the U4 version of KSP are, to be perfectly honest, pointless. From the rate at which we're getting info on the U5 update I'd date it at 12-16 weeks out (at a guess) with many of the modules apparently getting major rewrites to work with the new U5 implementations. Many of these will likely include bug fixes which will also be assisted by the team working on the PS4 version (again working on the U5 version).

So in all honesty them focusing on U5 is the better option, why spend time and money on bug fixes that will only be good for a few months and need to be redone in 1.1?

[stevehead]

If the game was still in pre-release, then I would agree that their time would be better spent on focusing on the switch to Unity 5. But the game is now officially released, and that means their priority needs to be on the present state of the game, not the future. It could be a while before 1.1, so that means we have to put up with extremely annoying bugs until then. Any other good game out there will recognize these quality hindering issues and do what they can to quickly fix them. I'm getting tired of spending a lot of time designing something in the VAB only to find out I need to redesign it because of some random cubic octagonal struct exploding from overheating on the launchpad or having to revert my launches often because the launch clamps respawn in my rocket during ascent and causes it to explode, among many other issues. 1.0.x has been my worst playing experience due to bugs and performance issues ever since I started playing the game two years ago.

[GusTurbo]

Thing is there's no point in working on those bug fixes right now, with the shift to U5 their resources are better spent on that since any bug fixes they make to the U4 version of KSP are, to be perfectly honest, pointless. From the rate at which we're getting info on the U5 update I'd date it at 12-16 weeks out (at a guess) with many of the modules apparently getting major rewrites to work with the new U5 implementations. Many of these will likely include bug fixes which will also be assisted by the team working on the PS4 version (again working on the U5 version).

So in all honesty them focusing on U5 is the better option, why spend time and money on bug fixes that will only be good for a few months and need to be redone in 1.1?

It would be a waste of time in a sense, but from the other side, they currently have a product on the market as a full release that still feels like an alpha. So for the next couple of months, this game will be out there in its current state, and that may turn people off.

[basic.syntax]

Squad must chase after new customers to keep the money flowing; prolonging the development life of KSP for that reason, even if some current users feel 'owed' for bugs - will benefit everyone. A v1.1 with new bug fixes, upgraded game engine, and content - earns a splashy "new and improved" sales promotion on Steam, GoG, etc. That's clearly what they are aiming for, now that the whole team is working on the same page, coding for the U5 engine upgrade.

It worked on me: I was a fence-sitter with knowledge of KSP, when the big splashy Asteroid Redirect Mission came out. That sounded too cool to pass up, and I went from reader to player.

[stevehead]

Squad must chase after new customers to keep the money flowing

New customers also expect a released game to be polished and be able to stand on its own without new features, and for obvious bugs to be fixed in a respectable amount of time. What happens when word gets around that what is supposed to be a "released game" has many noticeable bugs, and that the game develops a reputation for rushed content releases?

Simple situation for us to ponder on: someone who has never played KSP before comes to you and asks "do you recommend this game for me?", what would be your response?

My pre-release response would have been: "The game is still being developed, but is pretty stable and tons of fun. You should definitely get it if you have any interest in space."

My post-release response: "The game is quite buggy, and there are numerous balancing issues with features that have been added since release. I would hold off for a while."

It hurts me to say that last bit as I have invested so many hours into this game, but it's the truth for me.

[basic.syntax]

Simple situation for us to ponder on: someone who has never played KSP before comes to you and asks "do you recommend this game for me?", what would be your response?

My response was, when I bought in at v23.5, and is now: look at the frequency of updates on the wiki. This game may be "released," but it's not abandoned, developer updates continue every 4-6 months, you're not dependent on other players and modders alone, to fix bugs and keep the game alive and fresh.

[tranenturm]

And my responce to someone looking to get the game is "great game! I've had no issues. Some people report some but they also appear to be doing crazy things. I've launched tons of reasonable missions no problem"

A game this complicated will always have bugs. There see to be a lot of moaning over aero on these forums, but the reality is that many players don't care or couldn't tell the difference. I'm here to launch rockets, not worry if every little physics aspect is 100% correct.

Great game squad!

[selfish_meme]

I too, would say, if they were a space/lego fan, this is the best entertainment money you will ever spend. There are a couple of bugs but many community workarounds and expansions mods. My own experience is I have have probably spent around a thousand hours over two years and no other game comes close to that sort of playability.

[Terwin]

The talk of Ring worlds and O'Neil cylinders gave me visions of Wackjob building a launcher for a fully assembled Cylinder or (Halo-sized) ring world.

You know he would...

[klesh]

I wonder why the insistence on playing the game while talking about development? I mean, what's interesting about anyone going to Minmus? Why not just rap about the game's development?

[basic.syntax]

I wonder why the insistence on playing the game while talking about development? I mean, what's interesting about anyone going to Minmus? Why not just rap about the game's development?

I would say... it's best to think of the occasional answers we get to development questions as a bonus feature, not Squadcast's main reason for existence. Maxmaps clearly enjoys playing and talking about general gameplay concepts, and he has a group of fans that enjoy watching and share jokes in the chat. I don't expect it to change too much. What some of us want is SQ to become a second official channel for developer info, after Devnote Tuesday. Perhaps a video version of Devnote Tuesday. But it isn't really, SQ is an informal channel, a KSP "show" somewhat similar to other Twitch 'casts, but it happens to be hosted by a Squad guy. Unwinding at the end of his work week, with a favorite drink by his side, most of the time. I don't think we should heap too much expectation on it.