FORUM ARCHIVED

Hold up with the patches, do this RIGHT

Discussion in 'Dungeons of Dredmor General' started by BobbyKRichardson, Jul 19, 2011.

  1. These guys are trying to pump out the patches too fast, they don't even have time to test them properly. Do you really think they've been able to fully test this patch since Friday? There could be an epic game breaking bug on the final level, and they won't know because they didn't have time to test it properly.

    To people who keep saying the save game incompatibility is "unavoidable", I'll repeat what other programmers have said, it's not unavoidable, they just rather would send up the update today instead of taking the time to make it compatible.

    Be smart about your updates guys.

    Fix the big crash bugs, roll your patches out slowly. But don't @((!@ with MY time.

    And please raise the price of your game, I it's worth more (as long as you don't (@!@! with my time) xD

    But I can't recommend it to people if your updates break saves.
     
  2. kbe

    kbe Member

    I agree 100%.
     
  3. Leaf

    Leaf Member

    Yes cause we so needed another thread on the same topic *rolls eyes*.
     
  4. MOOMANiBE

    MOOMANiBE Ah, those were the days. Staff Member

    Does anyone even read? It's been stated multiple times that this update changed savegame format specifically to avoid this from happening in the future. Lordy, such DRAMA.
     
  5. Greg72

    Greg72 Member

    They fixed the problem of being able to have compatible saves, in the future they (likely) won't break. YOU can and already should have solved this issue by burning off automatic updates. I have dreadmor 1.02 and 1.03 on my pc. Don't blame the developer for you having poor settings on your steam client. Leaving on automatic updates for -any- pc game is a no no. Always check the forums/patch notes before you install a patch this is something any gamer should strictly do.
     
  6. actually, this is the first i've read of that. still angry, but I can recommend it to people, if it is true.

    they should still raise the price of the game, and it's probably best to do it while people are still slinging mud
     
  7. Embolus

    Embolus Member

    Then you should probably read the patch notes more carefully, shouldn't you?

    - Rewrote the save game format so we can add items without breaking everything. (Oops.) (This may also break current save games, although we tried our hardest to make sure this isn’t the case.)

    Justification from the Devs regarding why they priced the game the way it is: better to have people say "it's underpriced" and buy it, than say "it's fairly priced" and don't buy it.
     
  8. kbe

    kbe Member

    Greg that is the worst defense of a developers screw up I've ever heard, it's 100% gaslamp's fault and they even apologized for it.
     
  9. Greg72

    Greg72 Member

    Just finish playing your game(s) before installing a patch, or make multiple versions, its a very small game and easy to do (not taking up much space).
     
  10. srulz

    srulz Member

    What they actually need are some kind of "stable" and "development" builds.

    So people who just want to play the game "as it is" can just chill out and relax in the knowledge that nothing in the "stable" game would change, nothing will break (asides from the bugs that are already in the game), but on the other hand they will get no new content, a least for a much, much longer time. Maybe they will get mini-patches for crashes/CTD and stuff like that, but nothing major as in content-addition.

    Others however, can opt to be the "beta testers" in the "development" builds. CTD etc may happen, weird bugs may occur, but most importantly, they will be able to experience new contents! And will also be able to help the developers! By ironing out the bugs and all.

    After the "development" builds had stabilized, then it can then be integrated in the "stable" builds. So, that should be win-win for everybody.

    I personally would opt for the "development" builds, since I have lots of spare time in my hands anyway, and this game HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL TO BE SO AWESOME that the developers deserve my time fully.
     
  11. Embolus

    Embolus Member

    You call this a developer's screw-up? Oh boy. I'd hate to unleash you on some other game developers...
     
  12. falkor99

    falkor99 Member

    >> To people who keep saying the save game incompatibility is "unavoidable", I'll repeat what other programmers have said, it's not unavoidable, they just rather would send up the update today instead of taking the time to make it compatible.

    Absolutely agree with you. The people saying losing saves is unavoidable are not programmers and it shows. I've been programming for almost 20 years. You have the code to load 1.02 saves into memory and you have the code to load 1.03 saves into memory. All you need to do is make any adjustments in memory then write it out in 1.03 format. Very basic. Happens all the time. You would lose your job at any real company if you broke customer data because you didn't want to bother coding this during an update.
     
  13. Greg72

    Greg72 Member

    I'm not defending the developer, they should have had the foresight to plan for patches in advance yes, but YOU can easily avoid it simply by finishing your games before installing the patch, in any game. @ Kbe
     
  14. Embolus

    Embolus Member

    I direct you again to this.

    - Rewrote the save game format so we can add items without breaking everything. (Oops.) (This may also break current save games, although we tried our hardest to make sure this isn’t the case.)
     
  15. Here's a bug in the current patch that actually deletes your save game when you tell it specifically NOT to delete it.

    http://www.gaslampgames.com/forum/discussion/331/bug-in-confirmation-dialogs-when-quitting-game#Item_2

    They can hotfix the crashes, but if you don't test major patches this is what happens.
     
  16. Serith

    Serith Member

    @falkor99
    As someone else said to you, if it truly isn't unavoidable, what is stopping you, a programmer of 20 years, from making a way to convert it? I mean, you speak of it like it is incredibly simple. It's basic after all. :)
     
  17. Greg72

    Greg72 Member

    Yeah, as a programer of 20 years (cough) you should have known better than to install the patch before reading the patch notes. Lol.
     
  18. falkor99

    falkor99 Member

    @Serith

    I suggest you familiarize yourself with the basics of software development before you try to sound clever. What you want to google is what is source code and what is assembly.
     
  19. Embolus

    Embolus Member

    It's amazing how many programmers and game developers show up whenever there's an outcry against developer actions, isn't it?

    If only the same thing happens in other professions.
     
  20. because we know better.