Dr Franknfurter Dr Franknfurter

[0.79] Bugs

[0.79] Bugs

Bugs seen in game version [0.79]

AI and Balance Issues:

Early game (turn 11) stacks of darklings/archers. Two stacks, of 5 and 4 here (~10 tiles from my starting city). (as well as lots more around).

The Archers are in an army made from 3 groups, two have 3 members and one stands alone. I'm not sure why. The darklings are all in parties 1 member big. (perhaps causing them to stack up so strangely e.g. 7xTrog archers = 3, 3, 1. 5xDarklings = 1,1,1,1,1 rather than a group with 5 darklings in each squad.)

Combat rating annoyance:
Trog archers have a combat rating of 10, attack 24, 33 HP. Ranged attack. Start at rear of battle. (But slow? not for an archer) *Hight Threat*
A Dire wolf has a higher combat rating 11, attack only 4, 14 HP. -low attack, low health, wastes first attack barking. (but fast!) *no threat*



Minor Display Issues:

Some sovereign skills descriptions are hidden by the 'must have the perk' writing in red:


 

Outpost button truncated text. "OUTP..."

 

Unit moves displayed incorrectly.
1. The Group has 0/3 moves remaining.
2. Naphaz is reduced to 0/4 (not 1/4 as you may expect)
3. Other units in group are displayed as 3/3 but actually have 0/3 and are unable to leave the group.

1. Group

2. Leader

3. Slowest minion (full of vim and vigour)

 

Health/experience bars fill-up when entering the unit screen. Both slowly and painfully, stuttering up towards full health.

...

67,536 views 48 replies
Reply #26 Top

I wonder if Fogbugz does support public bug lists.  I'll look into it.

Reply #27 Top

1. Demanding instant forum feedback from developers comes across as incredibility entitled. 


Using the word 'demanding' is incredibly defensive. It suggests an unreasonable and aggressive request. It attacks the nature of the presentation and not the content. It is saying "I wont respond if I don't like how you phrase your bug-reports". Feedback on bug reports is not, I think, an unreasonable request.

Also I don't see any demand for instant feedback... waiting 4 years for feedback is quite a long stretch from instant. More like... requesting eventual feedback which doesn't sound half as outrageous. Or wishing for some feedback, not shouting at a wall and hoping someone hears.

"comes across as incredibly entitled"... firstly there's the typo. incredibility suggests that you didn't read what you wrote before posting. Incredibly, meaning 'extreme or hard to believe', and then entitled 'deserving of privilege or special treatment'.

So you're saying asking for feedback on bugs posted is an arrogant demand. That expecting timely feedback is hard to believe, outrageous to expect and that by replying you're not just doing your job but actually going above and beyond it, bestowing your gifts and giving special treatment to a privileged few. It doesn't sound good. It sounds arrogant and condescending. It is also a direct insult to volunteers to not pay them with developer time, respect and courtesy.

 

2. Rivers... I'll happily post a new thread about rivers. I hadn't realised that they were a design choice. The river mouth is shown on the cloth map but it's not at the coast and there is no close-up river mouth graphic. I assumed incorrectly that it was an oversight and not a design choice... but I don't think you can, from that bug report assume I had full knowledge of both your aesthetic preferences, the fact that you knew about it and that it was intended for no rivers to reach the sea. And, that bug-reporters are maliciously adding design ideas into bug reports... for some reason. I already have a design thread, if I thought they were completely intended and not oversights (but I disagreed with them) I'd post things there. I wouldn't think-up ways to disguise them as bugs and slip them into a bug-thread that isn't noticed or commented upon in the vague hope they'd be tacked on to the end of some to-do list.

A lot of the things listed as "Bugs" are simply player preferences.


Shall we start with the words: A lot. I'm used to Heroes of might and magic and other games that gave you rough estimates of numbers using words. Here's the table from HOMM III:

Amount Range
Few 1–4
Several 5–9
Pack 10–19
Lots 20–49
Horde 50–99
Throng 100–249
Swarm 250–499
Zounds 500–999
Legion 1000–9999

Obviously it's not accurate in general usage but it's just meant to indicate that there are several steps below 'lots' that you could have used. Choosing lots is demeaning. It suggests that the bug-reporting is sloppy, that most of the bugs aren't actually bugs and so the entire thread is unworthy of feedback.

Saying the "Bugs" (I'm picturing the air quotes here) are simply player preferences, and that these player preferences will be ignored/thrown away if they're not in the perfect form and place on the forums is so... immensely and deeply distressing it's hard to put into words.

the quickest way to get them to ignore you is to disguise your feature requests as bug reports.

don't throw away good feedback by inserting a bunch of personal preferences (rivers not ending at the sea is not a bug).

 

Anyway, since I mentioned typos and the impression of a lack of effort and intended insults:

Rivers trnches and such. Not every river starts at a mountain for instance. no early spies for [the] guardian just meant they weren't in yet (I've got a page of them).

I'm glad the Guardian is getting some spies... or sprites? or recipes? or specials? spells and skills? any would be good. But being clear and checking your writing would be even nicer.

still good to report and talk about but don't confuse lack of beta content or cosmetic choices to bugs.

I see here you don't consider missing content a bug. Should we avoid posting the missing descriptions? (shrills) missing tooltips? (sovereign skills) missing artwork? (portraits, icons, backgrounds) missing features? If you think we are confused to even mention them perhaps we shouldn't bother posting at all. I have asked, but without a reply I was erring on the side of caution, opting to be fastidiously thorough. If you have no Bug reporting guide, then complaining that bugs aren't in the correct format, that they aren't constructive but confused and shouldn't involve cosmetic issues... that is both strange and maddening.

Lastly, how are we supposed to know what's a cosmetic choice when it takes extreme poking over several months/years to get you to say anything? Are we supposed to divine your true intentions, compare then to the reality and never mention bugs if the sheep's entrails suggest you like rivers to have no mouths, or bridges, or accurate erosion algorithms?

 

I'll still provide feedback... I think the game needs it. But please don't think that means I condone your behaviour. I do not.

Many of your comments I perceive as back-handed compliments they may or may not be intended as such. I'm not trying to quote you out of context but pair up the give and take, positive and negative swinging back and forth of your words. The effect is that even the compliments are seen in a negative light, because they are followed in the same post by negatives it throws doubt onto the sincerity and true feeling behind each comment.
Great thread... disguising feature requests as bugs.
Carefully researched... confused.
a ton of very good, very useful bug reports... inserting a bunch of personal preferences.

I believe very strongly that you are wrong to suggest such things. It is rude and aggressive, demeaning, belittling and condescending. Treating volunteers so disrespectfully is, in my view, disgusting. Taking four years to fix a bug and then complaining and insulting those that mention old bugs is not good.

Reply #28 Top

"Entitlement gamer" has been successfully used by SD for years to lable and shame and silence dissenters, much like some people might use the word Commie or Liberal. 

 

I could list the personal experiences l've had with the fan boy attack dogs here, but I'm on my phone.

 

But here is one brief example.. Have you noticed that some people will add a qualifier to their post such as "with all due respect" before making a negative statement?

 

Reply #29 Top

"Entitlement gamer" has been successfully used by SD for years to lable and shame and silence dissenters, much like some people might use the word Commie or Liberal.

Here's the problem:

If a given customer wants to have a constructive conversation with a developer (or wants the developer to pay attention to what they write) there are terms and conditions under which this happens.  This isn't just true here but anywhere.  

Most developers don't participate on their own forums because they get so frustrated and aggravated in doing so. It's actually one of the most common topics that comes up when talking to other developers.  

"Don't read the forums" is practically a mantra with game developers.

However, I like reading the forums but I do apply certain terms and conditions to doing so and very clearly try to communicate those terms and conditions. The biggest one is: Don't act entitled.  

What is entitled? That, of course, is in the eye of the beholder and depends on the circumstance. In this case, it was people kvetching that a developer didn't respond to a thread within 24 business hours of its posting.  

 

Reply #30 Top

Quoting bmorris2, reply 12

Now see, as a person new to Stardock, that is extremely disappointing to hear that there are bugs which are years old and have not been resolved.

A lot of what gets reported as a "bug" is often a difference of opinion on how the game should work.  That is, sometimes what one person considers a "bug" is simply something working as designed but might be a bad design.

Let me recap Dr. Frank's initial post. I also want to also express some frustration to the responses to his post because you'd think his post was full of a bunch of old bugs when in fact, they are not.  

I'm going to go through each "bug" in the initial post and describe them in engineer-ese.

  1. Too many enemies early game. (balance issue in current SK build)
  2. Combat rating  10 vs. 11 disagreement (is a wolf with howl tougher than an archer?, not a bug, but an interesting topic)
  3. Tooltip text uses the color red. (not a bug. Red is a standard way of conveying you are missing something)
  4. Outpost tooltip is misseplled (good catch, thanks! obviously new to SK)
  5. If unit leader is out of moves, all subunits are treated as having 0 moves even if they personally have units. (bad design, changing in next build)

That's it.

That is the entire original post in which we were accused of not fixing old bugs and various other charges of being "buggy".  Look at the subsequent comments to the post.

Later in the thread there is good, useful, postings and we do appreciate that.  But we're also human beings and by the time we get to post 6, no one even wants to pay attention to the thread because it's a bunch of histrionics. 

Now, I realize some people reading this are going to take what I"m writing as "defensive".  What I am trying to convey is that communication is a two-way street.  We WANT to work with you guys. We like you guys.  But if we feel like we're being treated unfairly we're not going to participate.  

If we're going to work together to make a great game together, we have to have some mutual respect and empathy.

 

Reply #31 Top

And BTW, my response isn't directed at Dr. Frank but rather the people responding to him.  

I know I very much appreciate having community support and people taking the time to go through these things. I do pay attention.  I would like to have others here pay attention too. But few people want to "visit the forums" because of the hostility that often exists in games.  And mind you, our forums are gentle compared to say the Blizzard ones.

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Reply #32 Top

I'm sorry if what I said came off as entitled, Brad. I didn't mean to.

 

I'll just go back to being productive and helpful. I guess I just got a little frustrated. My bad.

 

You guys are doing some really good things with Sorcerer King. I'll go back to being a cheerleader for it. Sorry if I veered off the path there for a second.

Reply #33 Top

Brad, to be clear, do you support building a process that provides quality feedback to beta testers as to what is and isn't a bug, is the issue logged already, is it a design issue (good or bad), etc? I think you are entertaining that idea, based on reply# 26, but do not want to assume. In other words, I would like ask if you were a beta tester: what process would you expect from SD in order to feel that your time spent on testing and providing feedback is worthwhile?

Reply #34 Top

I just want to clear one bug up:

Tooltip text uses the color red. (not a bug. Red is a standard way of conveying you are missing something)

That isn't the bug. The bug is that it doesn't show:

Unlocks 'slave pits'...

Which is the only important thing when deciding what tech/skill to aim for.

I would like it to read
[in white]: Unlocks 'slave pits'...
[in red]: Must have the malevolence perk

Or just: Unlocks 'slave pits'...

But for all things with a prerequisite it doesn't show the actual description of the skill. Because the writing in red hides it. So for a while I assumed they weren't in the game yet. I assumed a lack of description meant a lack of effect. That the description was reading from the xml/code and with no code the description was blank, only showing the icon. It was only when I had a longer look I realised that any 'Must have the...' warning replaces the description completely rather than being tagged at the bottom of it. It's secondary to whether such a description is helpful or needed... it isn't. It's obvious from the layout which techs/skills are required. So I still believe that you are wrong in dismissing it. I can't correct your oversights and unfair dismissal of ideas, bugs and feedback when you (as a company, not a person) don't provide feedback on bugs because I'm sure this isn't the only bug you've overlooked, or dismissed as confused player preferences.

 

Anyway, I think there was only really one really old bug worthy of getting people annoyed. That was the movement bug, which you've fixed. On mention of legacy bugs I had a look through the very first page of the elemental support section and jotted down the bugs and complaints I've noticed. I'm sure there are a lot more, so much of the feedback for the early versions of War of Magic is relevant because of the shared engine and design. Things like pop-ups coming in the wrong order, the mouse interacting with things in the wrong manner, standing on map items without interacting with them, units standing on the same tile in battle... there are quite a few old issues. I don't have time to go through 4 years of bug reports to fish them all out for you.

 

To XWerewolfX, I don't think you were in the wrong. I don't think you said anything that deserved being singled out and picked on. I was just as annoyed as you, I'm much more vocal and offensive (if anything I expected some more direct personal retribution for my comments, not Frogboy's friendly fire incident). Your post was merely an honest plea for some comment. You do eXplorminate stuff ffs! &?@#!#%&! eXplorminate is one of the few curators (that aren't Stardock) to recommended Sorcerer King! I see you as a loyal, long-standing member of the community (2006 onwards). An avid fan and passionate gamer of many years who has been casually insulted, demeaned and demonised for speaking out about wanting bugs fixed with only a few simple comments asking for comment. It's just unfortunate for you that it was Frogboy that decided to respond. He is quick to anger (he called me arrogant so many times I was tempted to change my name to ArrogantBoy), quick to speak (all those Typographic errors do suggest a rush) and very slow to apologise (He never said sorry for labelling my review abusive, or for the much more relevant 4 year old movement bug discussed here). Also he very often misses what is staring him in the face, (as anyone who saw him surrender to the Sorcerer King can attest) and he himself has openly admitted his other failings (Wikipedia page for War of magic, linking back to the Elemental forums):
"...my own catastrophic poor judgment in not objectively evaluating the core game play components."

To have the guy with self-confessed catastrophic poor judgement evaluating bug reports and replying in an obviously not-objective, off-the-cuff and offensive manner is... well it has predictable results. You have many people on your payroll... I was hoping to get ScottTykoski to respond... I like him. He's polite, he asked for specific feedback and I was happy to give it. I thought he was the bug-guy and he'd be responding to more bugs.

Reply #35 Top

Quoting AlLanMandragoran, reply 33

Brad, to be clear, do you support building a process that provides quality feedback to beta testers as to what is and isn't a bug, is the issue logged already, is it a design issue (good or bad), etc? I think you are entertaining that idea, based on reply# 26, but do not want to assume. In other words, I would like ask if you were a beta tester: what process would you expect from SD in order to feel that your time spent on testing and providing feedback is worthwhile?

I generally like all discussion. I even like debates on what different combat ratings should be.

Where I tend to draw the line is calling something a "bug".  Could be too many years spent in engineering but that is a term that has a very strong meaning.  It is the equivalent of someone in a discussion saying "This is factually incorrect".  

Hence: A spell that says it will do 10 damage only doing 4 damage is a bug.   But stating that an Elf is stronger than an Orc is a bug is not a bug, it's an opinion.

Reply #36 Top


Quoting Frogboy, reply 35
I generally like all discussion. I even like debates on what different combat ratings should be.

Where I tend to draw the line is calling something a "bug".  Could be too many years spent in engineering but that is a term that has a very strong meaning.  It is the equivalent of someone in a discussion saying "This is factually incorrect".  

Hence: A spell that says it will do 10 damage only doing 4 damage is a bug.   But stating that an Elf is stronger than an Orc is a bug is not a bug, it's an opinion.

Thanks. On my end, the ideal process flow for me as a beta tester would be:

  1. Quickly determine if that "thing" I discovered has been identified previously by someone else
  2. If not, log it. I may not know if it is a bug, a design decision, or what have you. I'll leave that up to SD but I have done my part by informing SD.
  3. If it has been documented, read status. For instance, SD has it down as a design issue, not a bug. If I feel I disagree, find or start a thread debating the merits of the design decision else continue testing. Or it could be under research, etc.

In short, the process flow above is all I would need to feel satisfied. Here are my thoughts on the success of the current process:

  1. Without spending X amount of time searching the forums, I have no idea of someone has already recorded the issue. This is waste in the process (not to mention clouding the forums). I can feel moderately frustrated by this.
  2. This is ok - I log issues. I see something, I say something - DHS, doh! Not a frustration issue currently.
  3. I have no idea what status is unless it is fixed. If it's not fixed, I have no idea if it's a bug, a design, or if it's lower priority. I can feel severely frustrated by this.

I hope this helps clarify my position and what I feel is the general consensus of your other passionate fans. There's alot of passion in this thread, and it's coming from well-intentioned places. :D

Reply #37 Top

Quoting Dr, reply 34

I just want to clear one bug up:


Tooltip text uses the color red. (not a bug. Red is a standard way of conveying you are missing something)



That isn't the bug. The bug is that it doesn't show:

Unlocks 'slave pits'...

Which is the only important thing when deciding what tech/skill to aim for.

 

I would say that's not a bug, that's a feature request.  A GOOD feature request.  But if we didn't implement that feature, that doesn't make the game buggy.  There are a lot of areas we need more tooltips and I would say that is a prime exampe.

 



I would like it to read
[in white]: Unlocks 'slave pits'...
[in red]: Must have the malevolence perk

Or just: Unlocks 'slave pits'...

 

Agreed



Anyway, I think there was only really one really old bug worthy of getting people annoyed. That was the movement bug, which you've fixed. On mention of legacy bugs I had a look through the very first page of the elemental support section and jotted down the bugs and complaints I've noticed. I'm sure there are a lot more, so much of the feedback for the early versions of War of Magic is relevant because of the shared engine and design. Things like pop-ups coming in the wrong order, the mouse interacting with things in the wrong manner, standing on map items without interacting with them, units standing on the same tile in battle... there are quite a few old issues. I don't have time to go through 4 years of bug reports to fish them all out for you.

I would imagine there are a ton of behaviors people wish would be changed.  I'm just saying that sometimes, people don't agree on how something should behave.

Now, I am in the camp that believes that individual units should have their own moves, even within an army.  But I can assure you, that opinion is not universal which is why this wasn't previously addressed.  There are other people who feel that there should be a penalty for leaving an army to prevent cheesing. 

The other gameplay issue with movement I've asked to be addressed is left over unit moves on auto move.  


 


To XWerewolfX, I don't think you were in the wrong. I don't think you said anything that deserved being singled out and picked on. I was just as annoyed as you, I'm much more vocal and offensive (if anything I expected some more direct personal retribution for my comments, not Frogboy's friendly fire incident). Your post was merely an honest plea for some comment. You do eXplorminate stuff ffs! &?@#!#%&! eXplorminate is one of the few curators (that aren't Stardock) to recommended Sorcerer King! I see you as a loyal, long-standing member of the community (2006 onwards). An avid fan and passionate gamer of many years who has been casually insulted, demeaned and demonised for speaking out about wanting bugs fixed with only a few simple comments asking for comment. It's just unfortunate for you that it was Frogboy that decided to respond. He is quick to anger (he called me arrogant so many times I was tempted to change my name to ArrogantBoy), quick to speak (all those Typographic errors do suggest a rush) and very slow to apologise (He never said sorry for labelling my review abusive, or for the much more relevant 4 year old movement bug discussed here).

Well I do stand by my opinion of your original review.  I don't recall you apologizing to me for the things you wrote in your review. :)  I mean heck, I think you even went off on some Linux tirade in your original review.

I think you're arrogant because you believe some of your opinions to be fact and that is very grating.  

Also he very often misses what is staring him in the face, (as anyone who saw him surrender to the Sorcerer King can attest) and he himself has openly admitted his other failings (Wikipedia page for War of magic, linking back to the Elemental forums):
"...my own catastrophic poor judgment in not objectively evaluating the core game play components."

I am definitely a flawed person.  That said, it is a bit of poor form to throw my willingness to accept responsibilities in my face whenever we don't agree on something.  

I singled out XWerewolf's comment earlier because of the implied expectation that a developer should respond to bug report posts within 24 business hours.  That is an expectation that just can't be met.

The reason the Stardock forums have been so successful over the years is because we interact with players so directly.  But it has to be a relationship of equals. It can't come across as a master / servant relationship.



Reply #38 Top

On bugs:

Where I tend to draw the line is calling something a "bug".  Could be too many years spent in engineering but that is a term that has a very strong meaning.  It is the equivalent of someone in a discussion saying "This is factually incorrect".

I think of bugs in different terms (from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/bug):

5. An error in a computer program or system:

With the synonyms: fault, error, defect, flaw, imperfection, failing, breakdown;

Many of the things I post are imperfections, flaws, failings or breakdowns of the UI. Some are simply:

informal Annoy or bother (someone)

These things bug me. I'm not saying they are lies, factually incorrect or correct. But they are imperfect. Each time you agree that the design isn't clear I say that you are agreeing that it is a bug by the above definitions and synonyms. It may not fit your very clear, firm and inflexible view of the use of the word. But it is not morally wrong to label badly designed features, failing interfaces, unhelpful tooltips or any other feedback on annoying features as bugs. They bug me, they annoy and bother me, they are flaws, inconsistencies, they fail to show the required information or give wrong or unhelpful information to the player (like with combat strength, missing tooltips, incorrect skill and spell descriptions). In almost every way they are indeed bugs. They just aren't numerical faults, like showing ?? instead of 4. Or showing two sets of eyes on characters (something I used to have on my old computer in Elemental games due to some really old driver bugs, which were real, proper bugs by your definition... but things that I dismissed as uninteresting quirks of using a rusty old laptop rather than serious gameplay issues worthy of attention.)

On the issue of the bad review

I rewrote the review twice. I bent over backwards to remove any reference to the comments you had thrown at me. I still think it's bad form and a sign of hostile developers to start labelling your reviewers or customers arrogant in any situation or business. I'd fire the customer support section of a business if I found them insulting people, blocking reviews is almost as bad as charging a fee for bad reviews, dismissing feedback... that's unforgivable. I was careful not to use the word sorry as that implies guilt. That by giving a bad review I was committing a crime and that I only changed it because I was guilty. I still stand by what I said. I just agreed that it wasn't helpful to new customers wanting something a little more succinct and only covering game-mechanics. That it was indeed far too emotional and personal. But no less emotional and angry than reviews involving ASCII art, I've seen many a middle finger on bad games. I think those are useful, clear and important even if the feedback isn't in a very nice format. (pretty but unpleasant, it serves as a warning to customers and to the developers that something is amiss)

On saying sorry

I am sorry for bringing up the pain of Elemental War of Magic. But I'm not sorry for bringing up the fact that you failed before with your handling of Elemental. Incapable of judging the game impartially because you really enjoyed coding it. You dismissed feedback on game-design, mechanics, balance issues and bug reports (I linked to a thread all about combat mechanics and glass-cannons from 4 years ago, to bugs still around today and movement issues you've just fixed). I really hope you open your eyes to feedback and don't ignore it once more. I should, in the interests of being polite have stuck with the more light-hearted 'surrendering to the SK' comment. But I avoided deleting the quote as it shows that it is more than just your anger, impolite and rushed responses that make you less than ideal for communicating with customers and being the face of customer support for this game. I sincerely want *someone* to liaise with customers. But I don't appreciate rushed responses that dismiss bugs, insult bug-reporters and label lots of bugs as arrogant personal preferences that can be ignored or thrown away.

It's no great hardship for anyone if I do not apologise for the views I hold. But is it ok for the CEO of a company not to say sorry when he agrees that a four year old movement issue was annoying enough to fix? (there is an obvious design failing, even if you refuse to call it a bug) Is it ok to dart around the issue of legacy bugs by throwing insults and trashing the quality of bug-reporting?

On arrogance

Anyway I'm arrogant (I'm opinionated, certainly not vain or pretentious but bumptious, overbearing, high-handed... etc.) but does that mean it's ok for you to keep calling me arrogant? Should you be calling anyone names as the CEO of a company?
The bugs thread includes design issues and balance feedback (which was even requested of me in the last thread. I wasn't including balance issues before that, there are lots of things I've not been including but could have if I had unlimited time and resources)

Is it ok to turn around and dismiss the feedback that doesn't (now) fit your definition of bug?
Is it ok for you to respond angrily and defensively to people wanting bugs to be fixed?
Is it ok to pick on people because you don't like how they say things or think they're asking too much?

Why I'm annoyed

I'm annoyed with what you say far more than how you say it. I'm annoyed when you dismiss feedback. I'm annoyed when you wriggle out of addressing old bugs. I'm annoyed when you call me a liar, dishonest, arrogant, confused, sneaky, manipulative or imply those things by suggesting that I should be more honest next time, or that things are being disguised as bugs. I'm annoyed by quibbling over the definition of words to excuse failings. Things that aren't technically bugs... just bad design decisions... what's the difference? Both are human errors that cause the game to be less perfect. Classifying the type of bugs, differentiating between say technical and design bugs, or between GUI, mechanics and balance, or rating from trivial to severe, codes for crashes and performance issues etc. Those are all extremely useful labels... but only if they are used constructively and not harmfully. With a clear system in place for how they should be used.

Can you expect people to post balance feedback in the balance section if you don't actually have a balance section? If not where am I supposed to post things after being asked to provide balance feedback? I don't know... there's no helpful documentation and that bugs me... I've posted about it... which feels about as constructive as writing it in the sand as the tide comes in. Without any clear guidelines for reporting bugs is it ok to belittle bug-reporters for providing sub-par bug reports?

I haven't felt this angry since I saw my review was blocked... that anger is still with me. If anything it's just grown with each additional comment. Volunteering bug reports currently feels like I'm buying a round for the guy that stole my wallet. Chatting at the bar while he berates me for concealing my wallet in such an obvious place. And mentions that he can see my house from here, and oh, isn't my partner pretty. The little comments that feel so insulting because of the context as well as the content, the simple insults and the implied insults.

I need to take a break from Stardock. I'm sure you'll be happy that I do. But I don't think the game will be better if bug-reporters avoid posting bugs for fear of being attacked, insulted or merely ignored in return for giving their free time. I'm sure the loss of one bug-reporter (me) isn't going to make a difference at all. But I don't think you should be proud of driving people away with your comments.

Reply #39 Top

Wow.

If I ever told my boss that it just wasn't possible to respond to customers in 24 hours, I'd be shown the door. And customer service isn't realy even of my job....:)

Reply #40 Top

@borg Clearly you're not familiar with customer service. :)

That is indeed the basic misunderstanding here.  I look at the forums as a way for us to work together on soe thing I assume we want to enjoy together. But I get the feeling that some people see me as their employee Or servant.  I'm not. 

I want to make cool games WITH you guys. Not FOR you guys. I just ask that you treat us the same way you'd have me treat you.

 

 

@dr frank,

I read the way I'm spoken to and can't help but shake my head at the double stanndard.  I've had almost nothing but praise for the feedback you've Given. I ask that you please reread what I wrote and just what I wrote without the baggage you've attached to it.  Your feedback had not just been appreciated but taken to heart.

I've been making games for 20 years. I enjoy discussing the making of them. It's my primary motivation. im here so I can interact with you guys. but it pains me when I see me or my team treated like we're servants, expected to not push back If we disagree.

if I've written somethinc unreasonable in this thread, please call me out on it. But at the same time, if someone wants to critique a feature I'm going to discuss that back. Especially if there's going to be a half dozen posts talking about "all the old bugs" when in fact we are only talking about one item that wasn't a bug but rather a way the game worked that annoyed some people.

I even talked to Derek on it today and the movement feature was done that way to prevent a cheese strategy from long ago. It's not applicable le in SK so we're changing it. But co e in, suggesting that here's some huge list of issues from WOM that are present in SK is ridiculous. 

 

Reply #41 Top

Also, while my writing can be abrupt, it's not out of anger but mostly due to doing most of my posting via an iPad.

Reply #42 Top

But co e in, suggesting that here's some huge list of issues from WOM that are present in SK is ridiculous.

Just because you can't see them or refuse to see them doesn't mean they're not there, nor does it mean they haven't been reported before.  I don't doubt that you see the game on a completely different level than we do, but imo it's bad form to be so utterly dismissive of your paying customers who are emotionally invested in your product. 

We try to help you, but you refuse to listen and call us ridiculous.  Way to go.

Reply #43 Top

As someone in customer service (I manage a help desk for a university), I think this is probably dead at this point and should probably be moved to PM's.  They (stardock) have said what they consider this or that.  The customers (Dr.FnF and others) have voiced their disagreement.  Stardock has the right to change or not change their opinion of whatever and the customers have the right to go someplace else with their money if they want.  At this point, it's pretty much flogging a dead horse.

Reply #44 Top

Quoting Frogboy, reply 40

@borg Clearly you're not familiar with customer service. :)

That is indeed the basic misunderstanding here.  I look at the forums as a way for us to work together on soe thing I assume we want to enjoy together. But I get the feeling that some people see me as their employee Or servant.  I'm not. 

I want to make cool games WITH you guys. Not FOR you guys. I just ask that you treat us the same way you'd have me treat you.

 

I think this is the first time you've ever addressed me by name, albeit indirectly. :)

I understand customer service, but I deal with internal rather than external customers. Typically it's the operations management folks that want to understand the financial impact of an initiative they are undertaking, and they need it fairly quickly. It requires legwork to gather the necessary information from a variety of sources and put it together into a cohesive analysis. So, just like fixing bugs, it takes time.

I think servant is too strong a word, but while I don't report to the Ops folks, I do work for them. If I told them sorry, it can't be done within 24 hours..that would be a problem.

Reply #45 Top

To be clear, while I understand your message, Brad, I'm not a big fan of your delivery. I don't think that I've really come off as you're pegging me and I don't think my post was particularly whiny. I have been an avid supporter of you and your games for much longer than my forum account was created. I've been a part of many healthy discussions about your games. Sure some of that entitlement has crept up from time to time and I try to keep that in check, but I don't think it was really necessary to "call me out". Sure, maybe you could have addressed the fact that I was expecting too much, but your delivery left me pretty frustrated. I won't tell you what I originallu wrote in response because it was brash and arrogant and emotional. 

 

At the end of the day, I just want the best for the game. I'll do my best to remain focused on that goal as I don't like these diversions, but I did want to point out that I apologized for my post, but still don't think it was as entitled that you've labeled it. Anyway, I'm just ready to move on.

Reply #46 Top

@werewolf, I dont think you come across as an entitled gamer.  My frustration was seeing a series of posts that accused us of being non responsive that culminated with the assertion that we have a responsibility to have someone comment on these posts. 

 

Anyway, this thread has gotten way too heated.

So let me sum up and then I won't be responding further:

A feature request or a design change you want isn't a bug If it's not implemented.

A developer not implemenrinf a change you want doesn't mean the developer isn't listening.

We do read every single post and add reports to fogbugs. We don't usually respond to posts.

We ask you treat us the same way you would want to be treated. 

 

 

Reply #47 Top

XWerewolfX, I saw the first version of your post. I felt your pain and frustration. It was part of what made me so angry. I don't think fans deserve to be hurt by one person in a game company lashing out at people. I'm glad you feel better now, but that doesn't excuse Frogboy for the hurt he caused.

bmorris2, I agree with you. I think when two sides have opposing opinions with no hope of changing their views... then other then some external third party there is little use in getting even more frustrated by thing. It's just hard not to get angry.

AlLanMandragoran, I completely agree with your ideas for a better system of communication. It's problems with communication that are key to all this anger. I've mentioned better, publicly accessible bug-tracking before. I mentioned using MantisBT or Mantis Hub for public bug-tracking... but there was no reply or comment.
http://forums.sorcererking.com/459135/page/1/#3504929

Borg999, I don't know about you but the

Clearly you're not familiar with customer service. :)
jab would have annoyed me. It's insulting and patronising and implies a lack of experience on your part and not a failing on Stardocks. I don't think it's deserved or a reasonable response. Each time I see Frogboy posting a :) it's so often tagged onto the end of an insulting snarky comment that isn't helpful or kind.

 

mqpiffle, I think we're both flogging the dead horse at this point.

 

Frogboy, I have replied to you in kind. Ignoring bug reports is just as insulting as calling people names. On insults, I have picked out each word said, explained why I found it insulting. Saying that I was wrong is not the same as saying you didn't mean to imply those things. The two are similar. But one is insulting me and saying my perception is faulty. The other is admitting that your words were poorly chosen and easily misconstrued... or that you said insults, intending to get away with them and were caught out. And you still haven't addressed all the old bugs brought up.

 

Reply #48 Top

You've worn out your welcome. Goodbye.