Zontik on 3/3/2010 at 07:33
King's Story - change status please.
Beta-testing now.
SneakyJack on 3/3/2010 at 16:27
Anyone heard any news on Black Frog or the When Still.. campaign? Really looking forward to those two. I know that Black Frog is (hopefully) still being worked on and When Still... entered beta testing a while back - it'd be nice if mission authors kept their fans updated :laff:
We're excited about the work you are doing so let us know more often! ;)
Tannar on 3/3/2010 at 18:54
When Still is still in beta testing. I don't know how much longer it will be but things are progressing well.
SneakyJack on 3/3/2010 at 19:21
Great news - thanks Tannar!
Yandros on 3/3/2010 at 20:06
Gaetane was asking questions in The Editor's Guild recently so I think it's safe to assume Black Frog is still active as well.
SneakyJack on 3/3/2010 at 21:08
More great news! And thank you Yandros.
Renault on 3/3/2010 at 22:32
Quote Posted by SneakyJack
it'd be nice if mission authors kept their fans updated :laff:
Despite the smilie, that sounds like a bit of a jab. I don't think authors should feel like they have any obligation to do this, and tbh, I'd rather have them focus on getting the mission finished so it can be released.
SneakyJack on 3/3/2010 at 23:56
Quote Posted by Brethren
Despite the smilie, that sounds like a bit of a jab.
Not a jab at all - though you seem to want to make it into one. It was a joking remark about how excited people (myself included) get when they know a mission is nearing its completion. If anything I think giving fairly constant updates will excite folks even more and keep them more in-the-loop, and will in turn get the author much more (deserved) support to keep them headed toward the finish line. The authors deserve constant support so that they dont end up another "I lost my drive after the mission was nearly complete and scrapped it" story - those are always hard to read.
That, and if you honestly think that dropping by for 30 seconds to post "hey, my mission is coming along nicely" or something similar once every month or two on the forum will take away much needed dromed time - lets not get delusional. Thats just being silly. One post every couple months to let people know the project is still alive (and stir up support for the author) is not going to hinder building progress more than a minute or two.
If you'd rather people disappear from the community for months at a time and then either just show up one day and release the mission out of nowhere or scrap it altogether then that's your deal. Otherwise you are looking for a negative comment where there wasn't one - I was being very positive. The authors owe us nothing obviously - but I've never seen an update post that doesn't stir the community and garner lots of support and comments.
Keep digging.
The Watcher on 4/3/2010 at 00:19
Quote Posted by SneakyJack
If anything I think giving fairly constant updates will excite folks even more and keep them more in-the-loop, and will in turn get the author much more (deserved) support to keep them headed toward the finish line.
It's a difficult line to walk. On the one hand, regular updates are nice - I know that I like to hear how authors are doing, and the encouragement from players is very helpful and appreciated when talking about my own missions in development.
But there's the risk of giving away too much, too, and ruining the surprise for the community.
Finding the happy medium between them is not always easy.
SneakyJack on 4/3/2010 at 00:26
Quote Posted by The Watcher
But there's the risk of giving away too much, too, and ruining the surprise for the community.
Fair enough, but I don't think saying "Still working on my mission - last month it was at (x %) done and now its at (x %)" is going to give away many plot twists or vital information. :laff:
I use percentages as a silly example - but really just knowing the mission is still bring worked on is alot better than seeing all of these missions go into orange and then red with not so much as a word in a year or more. Not every "update" needs to be screenshots and plot details. Obviously the old way (rarely ever updating) is how I assume it will stay and there is no obligation for more updates more often but as a big thief fan mission fan it would be nice to see :)
