Developer Diary, Part 38

[6S.Manu]

Great news Zak, I really love the way you're managing this project.

Edited October 25, 2013 by 6S.Manu

[=RvE=Windmills]

The issue I take with it is that alpha access was imo the main selling point of the premium edition.

 

Not a single mention was made of it only being limited and at arguably far from ideal times for most.

 

I feel this is quite misleading, especially considering the amount of time I'll have to play it on those days is going to limited.

 

 

 

And you get to play it long beffore the release. That's a win-win, I think.

 

The early access is a product I paid for. Only stating at such a late point that it will be in a very limited fashion I find hard to sell as a 'win-win'. This might be a problem with English proficiency but still.

 

At the very least I'd like a technical explanation of why it's completely impossible to set up a secondary server we can play on while you work on the main one during downtime.

Edited October 25, 2013 by iLOVEwindmills

[Shea]

The issue I take with it is that alpha access was imo the main selling point of the premium edition.

 

Not a single mention was made of it only being limited and at arguably far from ideal times for most.

 

I feel this is quite misleading, especially considering the amount of time I'll have to play it on those days is going to limited.

 

 

 

 

The early access is a product I paid for. Only stating at such a late point that it will be in a very limited fashion I find hard to sell as a 'win-win'. This might be a problem with English proficiency but still.

 

At the very least I'd like a technical explanation of why it's completely impossible to set up a secondary server we can play on while you work on the main one while it's down.

+1 what not a secondary server?Most stupid beta i ever seen.What happens to people who cant make it between Tuesday and Thursday?

Edited October 25, 2013 by Shea

[=LD=Hethwill]

Many thanks for the update and to clear things up.

 

Your message is clear and explains the good measure of progressive increase in access periods; It doesn't bug me as anything unpredictable can happen during the first stages, especially during weekends, so all is good, mainstream week access it is. ( no need to be on weekend alert for a bang bang servers crash right ?  ) I sincerely hope that the server frame holds it up good for extended periods to be open sooner than later.

 

The whole running of the Friday's Broadcast of Stalingrad has been running with great anticipation every week by each one of us, if i may take the liberty to say so, and will definitely evolve and grow with the Early Access test runs and participation of the community.

 

Many thanks and see you on the runway in little notice.

Edited October 25, 2013 by =LD=Hethwill_Khan

[FuriousMeow]

What happens if they put up a secondary server for the few here to play round the clock, with a game approximately 30% developed, and the server crashes at night or over the weekend and isn't fixed for 12 to 56 hours?

 

Will you be understanding that they don't work 24 hours a day, or will we see more of what is going on in this thread?

[Requiem]

Thanks for the update about early access and the NDA Loft, its good to know we can use early access for video footage. I've been working on constructing training videos using BoS, so I just need BoS footage to reinforce the theory 

[DD_bongodriver]

I think people have every right to be dissatisfied with what they perceive as bad news................

[kestrel79]

Wow that's probably the most realistic rear gunner view I've seen. Looks great.

[dburne]

 I've been working on constructing training videos using BoS, so I just need BoS footage to reinforce the theory 

 

Great to hear Requiem, loved your ROF training vids - they were very helpful for me.

Edited October 25, 2013 by dburnette

[FuriousMeow]

This is not bad news. It may not be what some want, but it's far from bad news.

[DD_bongodriver]

This is not bad news. It may not be what some want, but it's far from bad news.

 

to you

[Shea]

This is not bad news. It may not be what some want, but it's far from bad news.

Well its not great news either

[FuriousMeow]

to you

 

To anyone with a realistic set of priorities.

[JtD]

Thanks for the update. The Il-2 looks really nice, and finally some fireworks. Interesting to see they look somewhat similar to the 4.12 effect for Il-2:1946.

 

I can understand the disappointment with the limited access - but look at it that way: Autumn is almost until Christmas. So maybe, we get full(er) access then, and the earlier start can be seen as a bonus, at least for some. Glass is half full, that way.

[DD_bongodriver]

To anyone with a realistic set of priorities.

 

in your oppinion

[FlatSpinMan]

Yep, everyone is allowed to voice their opinions - and some will naturally be disappointed.

 

Just make sure that the discussion remains reasoned and reasonable on both sides.

Don't attack the devs, don't attack the people (ideas are okay of course) who object to the news.

 

 

And everyone remember, for all that we are excited about it (and I am really, goofily excited)

IT'S JUST EARLY ACCESS TO A SODDING COMPUTER GAME.

 

SAID GAME WILL BE FULLY OUT SOME TIME AROUND Q2 NEXT YEAR. THAT'S NOT SO FAR AWAY.

 

 

 

 

 

To anyone with a realistic set of priorities.

 

 

NOT a helpful comment.

[theOden]

not happy.

[E69_Chipi]

I just have a question for the devs:

Why dont they want us to play offline 24/7? ???

 

I understand that they might not be able to support a full server 24/7 during alpha phase.

 

I also understand that they use alpha stage to collect valuable data and feedback.

 

But why not letting us play offline 24/7 or whenever we want/can? IMHO it is harmless except for our own eyes.

 

I don´t understand

Edited October 25, 2013 by Chipi

[ST_ami7b5]

Nice video!

 

About the limited access:

my glass half full response is that at least I will also have  some time left to fly RoF with my fellow Trolls!

 

[airmalik]

Loved the video! Especially the open canopy vibrating in the slipstream.

[Dutch]

Well, I seem to recall that there won't be any 'offline' content per se Chipi, as the game will follow the 'career mode' model in RoF, which requires an online connection.

The three days availability seems pretty sensible to me, as users will fly pretty intensively over the three days, then the devs make updates to the content and server and collate feedback, then we fly again, then they  update and react to feedback and so forth.

Different, but could work well for us.

Like the look of my old pal Sturmy. Very nice.

[E69_Chipi]

Well, I seem to recall that there won't be any 'offline' content per se Chipi, as the game will follow the 'career mode' model in RoF, which requires an online connection.

The three days availability seems pretty sensible to me, as users will fly pretty intensively over the three days, then the devs make updates to the content and server and collate feedback, then we fly again, then they  update and react to feedback and so forth.

Different, but could work well for us.

Like the look of my old pal Sturmy. Very nice.

 

I disagree with you when you say: "The three days availability seems pretty sensible"

 

I don't think that devs choosing MY playing hours for me is sensible.

 

Do they want to limit my early access? Fine. But at least let me choose when can I play.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Chipi

[FlatSpinMan]

Can we just stop to define terms here?

 

The words "Online" and "Offline" are unhelpful here, I think.

In the RoF world, "online" merely refers to logging into the central server when you start playing,regardless of whether you play Single player (quick missions, career mode) or Multiplayer (fighting with and against other humans).

This is how I imagine BoS early access will be.

 

RoF, and evidently the later stages of the early access, also have/will have an "Offline" mode, in which you can play Single player only, and your stats won't be recorded.

 

So, can we use the terms "Single player" and "Multiplayer" instead, please.

[falstaff]

I dont have an opinion on whether it is good or bad - simply that it seems the devs are doing what benefits them, and therefore the game. If this procedure works for them, and means a better initial release (let's not mention the obvious here) then there's something to be said for taking the long view.

 

There's also a good argument for not wanting any early access at all (which I am considering) which is simply to preserve the excitement, and sense of discovery, of a fresh release. But that's a separate debate I guess. The devs must be aware that unfettered early access might also mean potential unfettered early criticism. The early access limited condition might be part of an attempt to offset that...?

[dburne]

I would have thought the weekends would make more sense, as I am sure that would yield the most players signing in to fly and the most data/feedback.

I would think the majority of folks would have jobs, and the majority that due probably work during the week, thus limiting their available time to when they are off work during the week, like evening hours probably for most. But obviously they  have their own reasons for doing it this way...

Edited October 25, 2013 by dburnette

[E69_Chipi]

Can we just stop to define terms here?

 

The words "Online" and "Offline" are unhelpful here, I think.

In the RoF world, "online" merely refers to logging into the central server when you start playing,regardless of whether you play Single player (quick missions, career mode) or Multiplayer (fighting with and against other humans).

This is how I imagine BoS early access will be.

 

RoF, and evidently the later stages of the early access, also have/will have an "Offline" mode, in which you can play Single player only, and your stats won't be recorded.

 

So, can we use the terms "Single player" and "Multiplayer" instead, please.

OK. So then I define myself a SP player with permanent internet connection who plays mostly during weekends...

 

And I apologize if I lead to any misunderstanding.

 

I am asking devs to be able to play SP during the weekends. It's ok if they force me to log into a server. It's ok if they don't

[FlatSpinMan]

Not aimed at you, Chipi, and the points you are making are perfectly reasonable. I'm sure there's many that feel similarly.

[FuriousMeow]

dburnette, I'm willing to bet it's due to stability of the server(s). If they go down over the weekend, they aren't working on the weekends, and no one can play so no data is gathered and everyone angrily posts here about it.

 

During the week, they are in the office and working - so they can restart the servers or look into any issues with it - thus it can be dealt with quickly and we'll all be back up and testing, which truly is the whole point of this early access.

 

They also mention in this dev update that these days aren't always going to be the days it's available, they might change them later but initially it will be just these days.

 

Like I said though, I believe the primary reason for weekday only testing is because the servers aren't tested and verified to be stable yet with x number of people using them - and since no one is available on the weekends to fix any problems with them if they go down, it makes zero sense to leave them up initially.

[DD_bongodriver]

So basically some people will suffer because of a fear of criticism.

[Dutch]

Can we just stop to define terms here?

 

The words "Online" and "Offline" are unhelpful here, I think.

In the RoF world, "online" merely refers to logging into the central server when you start playing,regardless of whether you play Single player (quick missions, career mode) or Multiplayer (fighting with and against other humans).

This is how I imagine BoS early access will be.

 

RoF, and evidently the later stages of the early access, also have/will have an "Offline" mode, in which you can play Single player only, and your stats won't be recorded.

 

So, can we use the terms "Single player" and "Multiplayer" instead, please.

Yup. But the single player campaign will still need to be 'online'. So there is a 'single player online' 'single player offline' and 'multiplayer'. Which would cover all bases. My understanding is that there will be no 'single player offline' content to begin with, but maybe I've misunderstood....

Edited October 25, 2013 by Dutch

[JaMz]

Thanks for the update

[FokkerH]

i can't wait 

 

 

 

Regards.

[E69_Chipi]

dburnette, I'm willing to bet it's due to stability of the server(s). If they go down over the weekend, they aren't working on the weekends, and no one can play so no data is gathered and everyone angrily posts here about it.

 

During the week, they are in the office and working - so they can restart the servers or look into any issues with it - thus it can be dealt with quickly and we'll all be back up and testing, which truly is the whole point of this early access.

 

They also mention in this dev update that these days aren't always going to be the days it's available, they might change them later but initially it will be just these days.

 

Like I said though, I believe the primary reason for weekday only testing is because the servers aren't tested and verified to be stable yet with x number of people using them - and since no one is available on the weekends to fix any problems with them if they go down, it makes zero sense to leave them up initially.

 

I think most people play during  the evening, dont you agree?

 

If you are playing in Western Europe, let's guess between 2000 and 2300 UTC, I don't think that there would be anyone aveilable at 1C offices to reset the server (thats 2300-0200 moscow time).

 

I have no clue what the reason is, but if you are right then european players are screwed.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Chipi

[FlatSpinMan]

As I read it(and I have no inside info), there is currently no offline at all, so the term is redundant.

[FuriousMeow]

Yes, but that's only 12 hours maybe - vs 30+ hours.

 

It's probably just one of the reasons, never mind the fact that the game will be very, very incomplete so unlimited play will just net you flying in a MP server with the same airplane with little to do.

[Pupo]

i really cna't figure out in my head why would the close the earl access on weekends. Just let the last stable version running during that time.

 

Personally this is very bad news. I did exepct some sort of cuts in the early access, but something like "we are sorry but we foudn a huge bug an for th enext 3 days we will have to close the testing", but not a pre-programmed limit  to it.

 

In my case the days offered to play are the ones i'm usually more tired and have less time available to play it, so if this lasts until january (winter as they said), i wont be able to enjoy the game at all, since the only reason i bought the early access is because i wont be here for 6 months - 1 year starting february

[FuriousMeow]

As I read it(and I have no inside info), there is currently no offline at all, so the term is redundant.

 

Yes, as with RoF - there are two modes. One is logging into the login/stats server, and the other is "offline" or not logging into the login/stats server. The latter means that career mode can't be played, just QMB and the few stats that are generated will be saved locally until the next time the login server is utilized. This "offline" mode will not be available for quite a while.

 

But even though we are logging into the login/stat server, I believe it is also MP only initially with no QMB or any other single player experience.

[FlatSpinMan]

We don't know the reasons but whatever they are, that's what they have decided. I think there's no point guessing about such matters.

 

So that leaves us with the fact that currently they intend to open the servers Tues - Thu.

[mudpuppy]

_{Thanks for the update, especially the footage of the Il-2.  The clarification on the limited access time is a bit of a surprise to me but not that disappointing when I think of the reasons for it.  The developers are opening Alpha access with the goal of improving gameplay and stability for a Beta.  Since they don't work 24/7 this has to be in the hours they are available.  I'd still bet they will be slugging away at code in some weekend hours as well.} 

_{I still feel good about my early access purchase, even though I'll not have as much time during the week to play.  Also I doubt my PC will be able to handle the sim at very high settings; but I'm thinking of the future of this game and a hotter PC in my future.  My purchase has supported the developers up to this point, my gameplay (even if limited times) supports future development and then seeing how the sim plays on my rig will drive my "wish-build" decisions for the coming year.}

_Derek

Edited October 25, 2013 by mudpuppy

[=RvE=Windmills]

I think most people play during  the evening, dont you agree?

 

If you are playing in Western Europe, let's guess between 2000 and 2300 UTC, I don't think that there would be anyone aveilable at 1C offices to reset the server (thats 2300-0200 moscow time).

 

I have no clue what the reason is, but if you are right then european players are screwed.

 

Servers can be made to automatically restart at certain intervals, doesn't require someone to sit there.