KSP Quality Declining Rapidly

[DocMoriarty]

Is it just me or is KSPs quality going down the train since Take 2 took over? Not that i'm too surprised, Take 2 has a huge track record of pusing unfinished buggy games to the market.

Tried 1.4.3 today, had 2 show stoppers within less than 30 mins of playing. Thinking about quiting this excrements forever. I mean hey it started already with the first mission in the expansion not working when it came out. In former times Squad would have never dared to upload something as buggy as this.

It certainly used to be one of my favorites but now i consider it unplayable.

 

[GoSlash27]

2 hours ago, DocMoriarty said:

In former times Squad would have never dared to upload something as buggy as this.

DocMoriarty,
 I don't share this memory. I remember most new releases being laden with bugs, including memory leaks and crashes to desktop. Quality certainly hasn't improved since Take 2 assumed control, but no... I don't think it's gotten worse.

Best,
-Slashy

 

[klgraham1013]

I've been around for quite a while and this is, unfortunately, status quo.  Despite any version numbering or a lack of an early access label, releases are still handled the same way they were 5 years ago.  It really doesn't feel like updates are treated any differently, or with any more care.  Thankfully, some of us old timers have learned our lesson and keep backups of older versions.  Personally, I was still on a modded 1.0.4 until 1.3.1.  Now I'm staying on that for the foreseeable future.

 

[Johnny Wishbone]

10 minutes ago, GoSlash27 said:

DocMoriarty,
 I don't share this memory. I remember most new releases being laden with bugs, including memory leaks and crashes to desktop. Quality certainly hasn't improved since Take 2 assumed control, but no... I don't think it's gotten worse.

Best,
-Slashy

 

I agree with this. I really dont see anything different between now and years ago when I first got the game.

I think the issue here is expectations. I think a lot of people expected things to improve when a big money publisher took over, and the lack of improvement is now seen as a decline due to those higher expectations.

[klgraham1013]

3 minutes ago, Johnny Wishbone said:

I think the issue here is expectations. I think a lot of people expected things to improve when a big money publisher took over...

Even before that.  I was expecting more care to be taken once they hit the big 1.0 and left early access, but here we are.

[wumpus]

3 hours ago, GoSlash27 said:

DocMoriarty,
 I don't share this memory. I remember most new releases being laden with bugs, including memory leaks and crashes to desktop. Quality certainly hasn't improved since Take 2 assumed control, but no... I don't think it's gotten worse.

Best,
-Slashy

DocMoriarty,

You probably can't access 1.0.0,1.0.1, and 1.0.2 but they were not only some of the worst KSP releases I have ever seen, but they were also certainly the highest profile releases Squad has ever made.  Squad has taken the "move fast and brake things" mantra a bit too far, and it long predates Take 2.

Also the numbers of bugs produced per new line of code is largely a function of size and age (especially coder turnover), I'd expect quality to inevitably decline as long as new features are added.  If a release is particularly bad (such as the initial "Making History" release), I'd expect a number of point releases until Squad is confident in the code.

[StrandedonEarth]

5 hours ago, DocMoriarty said:

Tried 1.4.3 today, had 2 show stoppers within less than 30 mins of playing

Care to elaborate on what these show-stoppers are?

[Kerbart]

7 hours ago, DocMoriarty said:

Is it just me or is KSPs quality going down the train since Take 2 took over?

It's just you.

I haven't seen a decline in the quality of the work that Squad delivers. That's not to say that this release is flawless, far from that. But neither is it a deviation from what was delivered in the past.

[53miner53]

It definitely seems more buggy than 1.2.2 or 1.3.1, based on some of the recent posts on the forums, but I haven’t encountered much, despite running several mods. 

Only bugs I’ve noticed was a Kraken attack,  while docking two heavily clipped test payloads for a heavy shuttle, and runway alignment seems questionable once again.  No Kerbals were harmed by either, but I’ve got a debris field to clean up. 

[Tex_NL]

For the last few versions QA has been a laugh. Every one of the last few updates had several 'in your face' bugs that even a twelve year old with half a brain would have seen. If they actually did some basic game play that is of course.

[AngryKitty]

Actually don't agree. I think 1.4 introduced some significant improvements in performance that can't be overlooked. I play this game on a late 2013 MacBook Pro, and while the specs were excellent at the time, it's definitely getting a bit long in the tooth. 1.4 seriously bumped up the frame rates and everything is much smoother. Couple that with the extra parts, and I've been pretty happy.

Obviously, there are bugs. The landing leg issues and contract notifications, in particular, drove me up a wall. Now that those have been fixed, I really don't have any problems with 1.4.3.

Paid for the game and for the DLC and play largely stock, and I've gotten my money's worth. I say keep up the good work.

[Clockwork13]

I'd have to agree with OP here. Squad definitely has a track record of buggy releases, but following MH and 1.4 it seems like there is a noticeable quality decline IMO. Not to mention, 1.3 and 1.4 both lacked content tremendously compared to past major releases. MH still doesn't have workshop support. Not to mention, the DLC lacks integration with stock gameplay. As for 1.4, KSP has reportedly also been sending data out, which is a big red flag for a fully offline game.

[Gargamel]

Aside from the lack of a round of QA testing in 1.4:

 

 

Edited April 29, 2018 by Gargamel

[Majorjim!]

23 hours ago, klgraham1013 said:

Even before that.  I was expecting more care to be taken once they hit the big 1.0 and left early access, but here we are.

I was expecting to not have to redesign craft after every post 1.0 update but... Sigh...

[Wjolcz]

You guys are being serious about Take 2? Really? The lack of proper KSC models, lack of dV calculator and procedural craters on more bodies than one never bothered you? Not even 1.0 not being actual full release? Ok, I guess 1.0 was intended to be the way it was. Who needs dV and other essential tools when you have mods amirite? We have to blame Take 2 for all this. Indie games can't be bad unless taken over by big companies!

Don't get me wrong. I don't think big companies like EA are always a good thing but how much of a fan boy and hypocrite do you have to be to see lack of quality of some features only AFTER it's been sold to a big company like Take 2?

Edited April 29, 2018 by Wjolcz

[pandaman]

I don't think it's got worse overall. 1.0 was pretty bad and that is way before T2.

There is a pattern though.  The buggiest releases seem to be when they announce a release date in advance.  i.e. when they have a set deadline and are therefore rushing to meet it and so have a limited time to include what they want and iron out even the serious bugs before the deadline arrives.

IMO their best option is if they really want to announce a date is, when they know they are close, to give a...

'We aim to have it ready for xxxx date, subject to testing and QA.  We will keep you posted'

Style announcement (and then actually keep us posted).  That way they have some wiggle room.  I know some will still take the given date as set in stone and get annoyed when it's late, but at least Squad hasn't broken promises and are much less likely to release an unplayable version.

Edited April 29, 2018 by pandaman

[klgraham1013]

1 hour ago, Wjolcz said:

You guys are being serious about Take 2? Really? The lack of proper KSC models, lack of dV calculator and procedural craters on more bodies than one never bothered you? Not even 1.0 not being actual full release? Ok, I guess 1.0 was intended to be the way it was. Who needs dV and other essential tools when you have mods amirite? We have to blame Take 2 for all this. Indie games can't be bad unless taken over by big companies!

Don't get me wrong. I don't think big companies like EA are always a good thing but how much of a fan boy and hypocrite do you have to be to see lack of quality of some features only AFTER it's been sold to a big company like Take 2?

Saying "you guys" implies most of this thread is blaming Take2, which seems to be the opposite of what is happening.

Edited April 29, 2018 by klgraham1013

[Superfluous J]

1.4 and its updates - and in particular Making History - is the buggiest update that I can think of (though I remember being pretty unhappy with 1.0, I think that was more because it was still in Beta but they were calling it done) but I don't think it has anything to do with Take 2 and I don't think it means things are getting worse in general.

One update has to be the worst, and this is just that one.

One data point is not a trend. If 1.5 is a buggy mess worse than 1.4, then we may have something to talk about. But so far all we have is one blip on the radar.

Edited April 29, 2018 by 5thHorseman

[Bill Phil]

1 minute ago, 5thHorseman said:

1.4 and its updates - and in particular Making History - is the buggiest update that I can think of (though I remember being pretty unhappy with 1.0, I think that was more because it was still in Beta but they were calling it done) but I don't think it has anything to do with Take 2 and I don't think it means things are getting worse in general.

One update has to be the worst, and this is just that one.

One data point is not a trend. If 1.5 is a buggy mess worse than 1.4, then we may have something to talk about. But so far all we have is one blip on the radar.

Let's hope it stays one blip on the radar.

[Vanamonde]

This discussion of the game's development has been moved to Development Discussions. 

[GoSlash27]

10 hours ago, Wjolcz said:

Who needs dV and other essential tools when you have mods amirite?

Wjolcz,

 I think when we're talking about "quality" in the context of the OP, we're talking about game- breaking bugs making it out the door, not a lack of features or polish. I concur with @klgraham1013; most of us are actually *not* blaming Take2.

 As for your specific example of DV calculators/ displays, I disagree. I've never used 'em (mod or otherwise), never needed 'em, never wanted 'em. People disagree on which features should be in the game, but I don't think that reflects on quality.

Best,
-Slashy
 

[Gargamel]

17 hours ago, Wjolcz said:

The lack of proper KSC models, lack of dV calculator and procedural craters on more bodies than one never bothered you?

None of those have ever bothered me. 

[severedsolo]

It's amazing how short memories some people have.

1.1 anyone? Wheels and landing legs being basically unusable? The body you were landed on rotating underneath you and NOT taking the ship with it (on low gravity worlds)? Ships randomly dropping out of orbit?

So to answer the OP - no quality is not getting worse. IMO the "honour" of "buggiest update" goes to 1.1.

[RatchetinSpace]

I personally haven't found many problems with the latest release. No performance issues and no game-breaking bugs. I've only had the landing gear bug to deal with but a few bugs here and there is not unusual for a KSP update.

That doesn't mean you aren't allowed to criticise buggy releases, but I don't think this is a result of the TakeTwo take over, even if you don't agree with such ownership. What are the 'show stoppers' you've run into?

[Gargamel]

14 hours ago, RatchetinSpace said:

but I don't think this is a result of the TakeTwo take over

There is speculation that the 'rushed' release of 1.4 and the DLC was due to the end of TTI's fiscal year.  They wanted to get it out and show the sales for this year.    I think if the timing had been better, the QA round would have happened.