To the KSP 2 Dev Team

[Dakota]

8 minutes ago, Moons said:

Serious question:

Do you - and the team - really think Discord is worth it? 

Yes. The Discord currently gets about around 10x the amount of daily active users that the Forums do - and there is not a significant overlap between the two platforms. There are plenty of people over there who are uncomfortable with this platform, just like how some of you are uncomfortable with Discord.

We're meeting people where they're at - and Discord has become a major part of gaming community culture over the past 10 years. It's been incredibly valuable for our team thus far, and I know the dev team has really enjoyed the relaxed nature of it as well. Nate spends way too much time in his day scrolling through the screenshots channel, adding a heart emoji to each picture he likes.

[EchoLima]

53 minutes ago, Dakota said:

I will support this comment. A lot of what we've been doing since Friday is internal. For some insight we've been having launch day post-mortems, rethinking our internal productivity tools to make sure we can handle the incoming workload, discussing feedback/bug report silos, tracking the current early modding scene, and much more I can't really talk about.

Thank you for sharing this! Really appreciate the glimpse into internal game development

[Fullmetal Analyst]

5 minutes ago, Dakota said:

There are plenty of people over there who are uncomfortable with this platform

do you mean all the rogue moderators? xD

[regex]

8 minutes ago, Dakota said:

Yes. The Discord currently gets about around 10x the amount of daily active users that the Forums do - and there is not a significant overlap between the two platforms.

Face it people, we're a dying, analog slow mode breed. It's a wonder these forums are still around.

[HebaruSan]

Kids these days!

[whatsEJstandfor]

2 minutes ago, regex said:

Face it people, we're a dying, analog slow mode breed. It's a wonder these forums are still around.

There's a place for both! The best game communities I've been a part of have had very active forums for thoughtful discussion, and IRC channels for chatting and proto-memery. I don't know what it is about Discord that makes me just not want to use it as much as I had used IRC in the past. I think it's UX stuff. Like, something I liked about IRC is that it's like shipping channels in the ocean very ephermeral. It was meant to be experience in the moment. If you left a channel for a day and came back, you just missed what was being talked about yesterday, and that was fine, because IRC was about being here and now with everyone else. Every time I load up Discord, I'm inundated with thousands of messages from previous days that I just don't care to read, even if I had time for it.

I'm introducing a change.org petition to migrate everyone on Discord to the official #kspofficial IRC channel, linked up in the menu bar

[Sea_Kerman]

A lot of Minecraft mods I use/help develop use Discord for support and communication with the devs. It works because there’s a lot less people and spammers get banned. Some even have bots that prompt you with the bug report format when you make a support thread and do basic triage of scanning the submitted log files for known incompatibilities and issues

Edited March 1, 2023 by Sea_Kerman

[Lisias]

8 minutes ago, whatsEJstandfor said:

I'm introducing a change.org petition to migrate everyone on Discord to the official #kspofficial IRC channel, linked up in the menu bar

I second that!

[Periple]

Just now, Lisias said:

I second that!

Okay then I'll start one to move everybody on the forum to rec.arts.games.ksp.official

[Dakota]

1 minute ago, Periple said:

Okay then I'll start one to move everybody on the forum to rec.arts.games.ksp.official

Pretty sure you'll scare off anyone born after 2000 by even mentioning the word "newsgroups" or "usenet."

[Periple]

Just now, Dakota said:

Pretty sure you'll scare off anyone born after 2000 by even mentioning the word "newsgroups."

Imagine how peaceful it would be

[Dakota]

2 minutes ago, Sea_Kerman said:

A lot of Minecraft mods I use/help develop use Discord for support and communication with the devs. It works because there’s a lot less people and spammers get banned. Some even have bots that prompt you with the bug report format when you make a support thread and do basic triage of scanning the submitted log files for known incompatibilities and issues

I'm actively working with the Discord mods to make the server much more user friendly. We added a bot that allows any user to report rule-breaking messages and there's a few more ideas in the pipeline that should help clean things up. The server was launched before I got here, so I'm doing quite a bit of triaging and implementing new ideas every week.

Also bug reports definitely can't go through Discord because the platform has an arbitrary 1000 thread-cap for some reason.

[Sea_Kerman]

Yeah it’s a difference of scale I guess

and of course bug reports through GitHub aren’t an option here

Edited March 1, 2023 by Sea_Kerman

[yipyop]

Quote

I'm actively working with the Discord mods to make the server much more user friendly.

However, make a note in 'information' before each structural modification of the discord. That way you don't make too many people angry and you cover yourself...("I warned you...")
Because it's a bloody good mess....XD
Between "me and my rocket picture", "me and my bugs", not to mention the conversations in between.

Poor moderator

[Jarin]

12 minutes ago, Dakota said:

I'm actively working with the Discord mods to make the server much more user friendly. We added a bot that allows any user to report rule-breaking messages and there's a few more ideas in the pipeline that should help clean things up. The server was launched before I got here, so I'm doing quite a bit of triaging and implementing new ideas every week.

Also bug reports definitely can't go through Discord because the platform has an arbitrary 1000 thread-cap for some reason.

What about a bot that tracks staff comments? Because right now there's information being posted about upcoming patches that are lost deep in the general chat replies.

[Dakota]

Just now, Jarin said:

What about a bot that tracks staff comments? Because right now there's information being posted about upcoming patches that are lost deep in the general chat replies.

Good idea, we're actually working on something similar right now to highlight certain dev responses - ala  "bluetracker."

[Pthigrivi]

"In my day you used to call the internet on the telephone!"
"Okay grampa lets get you back to bed."

Edited March 1, 2023 by Pthigrivi

[atomontage]

@Dakota, if you want feedback - I can give a few.

> I'm a bit new around these parts and, I'll be the first to admit, I'm still figuring out what works best and what doesn't. Each community expects different things communicated in different ways, and I'm grateful for y'alls patience.
If I've understood correctly, you're new to community management? Okay. Then our feedback might have more value to you.

1. When you're going to post negative news (like very high sys reqs), you have to sweeten the pill and calm ppl down. For example, you may say 'we understand its quite high, optimisations will come and sys reqs will become lower over time, and currently those are here to ensure that it at least runs on your pc'. Yeah its not gonna make the game sell better, but as you said before it was not your job.
You don't tell your girl-/boyfriend that their father have died and then turn away and go do you?

2. Do not troll or make fun of community that is afraid and is close to enrage. I remember you saying 'no there will be no career mode XD' (we know its not quite true - there will be Exploration mode) or 'heheheheh' when releasing BIG NEWS™ earlier than was previously announced.
You don't tease your buyers or clients when they're literally bringing you money do you?

3. Stay true to the schedule. For example, when you told us there will be BIG NEWS™ next friday - I've prepared to start the stream earlier and told my community that on Friday we'll know something new. Then you released the news on Thursday. That was not good.
People tend to prepare for something. Like free their day for a big event, take vacations or order pizza for that exact evening.

4. Never lie to the community and never say anything you're not completely sure in. (Important: I'm not saying you did that, but I could not leave this item without mentioning. //waves to mr. Simpson//)
Do you like hearing lies? No one likes that I think.

Now to the good.

1. Its good that you admit that forums are also important. And its good that you finally made it here. Its not only Discord that lives, we're also here.
2. Its good that you admit your mistakes. Most of us never knew how to get to Duna the right way the first time we started the game did we?
3. Its good that CMs hear our feedback. They really do (or at least you respond to it). I saw the Twitter post that said that terrain rendering was broken and the KSP account responded to it. It is quite valuable for those who are in charge of a great hopes admit their mistakes and accept criticism.

Keep up that way but, as Scott Manley said, don't mess this up again. Please. We love Kerbal Space Program.

Sincerely, yours.

[Dakota]

7 minutes ago, atomontage said:

If I've understood correctly, you're new to community management? Okay. Then our feedback might have more value to you.

Appreciate the feedback. Just to be clear, definitely experienced with dealing with gaming communities. Did grassroots for a long time, worked at Activision Blizzard for a number of years, and then launched God of War Ragnarok last year.

7 minutes ago, atomontage said:

'no there will be no career mode XD'

I don't think I've ever commented on the lack of a career mode, and if I did I wouldn't have like that!

[atomontage]

14 minutes ago, Dakota said:

Appreciate the feedback. Just to be clear, definitely experienced with dealing with gaming communities. Did grassroots for a long time, worked at Activision Blizzard for a number of years, and then launched God of War Ragnarok last year.

I don't think I've ever commented on the lack of a career mode, and if I did I wouldn't have like that!

I've searched the logs - it was not you. Sorry for that quote then.

[Pthigrivi]

I don't know the discord can be wild but the nice thing is its a lot less formal. Its nice the devs and CMs can relax and mess around. I mean I've been looking forward to KSP2 as eagerly as anyone but it is in the end a game and games are meant to be fun. I've never particularly liked the way every little quote becomes an inquisition. 

[atomontage]

4 minutes ago, Pthigrivi said:

I don't know the discord can be wild but the nice thing is its a lot less formal. Its nice the devs and CMs can relax and mess around. I mean I've been looking forward to KSP2 as eagerly as anyone but it is in the end a game and games are meant to be fun. I've never particularly liked the way every little quote becomes an inquisition. 

I agree. Devs and CMs are people too - they need a place to informally mess around and have fun.
(But still their words are taken quite more seriously than others'.)

Edited March 1, 2023 by atomontage

[Jarin]

1 hour ago, Dakota said:

Good idea, we're actually working on something similar right now to highlight certain dev responses - ala  "bluetracker."

Exactly what I was thinking, glad to hear it!

That is always the biggest problem with Discord. I love it as a social platform (seriously, I run my own; it's great for what it does), but it is The Worst for information reference.

Edited March 1, 2023 by Jarin

[Tazooka]

16 hours ago, Dakota said:

Appreciate the feedback. Just to be clear, definitely experienced with dealing with gaming communities. Did grassroots for a long time, worked at Activision Blizzard for a number of years, and then launched God of War Ragnarok last year.

Wow! You've had some great past-experience for gaming and CM

16 hours ago, atomontage said:

I've searched the logs - it was not you. Sorry for that quote then.

I think they're changing it, as in instead of funds its now going to be resource based, like ore

[dragonart777]

i been in the ksp discord for a good bit now . but i did not see no ksp2 channel into last night.    all i seen was ksp1 and  a place to post art that was done in ksp2   the discord had everything hidden by defult   this is discord for you.  but now that i clicked on show all threads  i can see that the ksp2 channels is very active and everyone is talking and devs  up to date info.    i do not know if you all set this up like this  or if discord is just being that pain in the *** like it always is.   i am not new to discord  i use it daily in my own channel for other games.