The Ultimate PlanetTR Flame

PTR is one of the biggest TR fansites around. They have a podcast but of technical difficulties, they have been reduced to a blog...for now. I had the chance to read this in depth and often humorous (in the bad way) blog. Sit back and enjoy the blog and my comments. I was outraged by this blog (which is suppose to represent PTR, a website with over 5000 members).

By: Grier (the second hoster of the Podcast; first being Sahnik who quit TR)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008



As 1.7 looms ominously in the horizon, there have been a lot of questions brought up in the community. Are the Engineer nerfs for real? Is the aggro adjustment going to smother not just Snipers, but all of us? Will there be endgame content, ever?



Some of these questions have led to more. From outright declarations of subscription cancellation to "let's wait and see" logic from the more patient of forum denizens, there have been a wide array of opinions, statements, and out-and-out ultimatums declared on our little corner of the internets. "Give me endgame or I quit!" "Nerf my class or I'll quit!" Some of these statements, while certainly sensationalist, have shreds of truth behind them.



What's startling is that positivity on these (or any) forums is scant when compared to the negativity. This is a natural phenomenon: typically happy players will have less reason to frequent forums, because approval of a game is as simple as handing your money over to the company who provides it for you. Forums would be a very dull place if all the discussions were filled with fluff, sunshine, and carebears.



More often than not, game forums more or less become a free-for-all feedback form where people can discuss what distresses them. This is natural, as the feedback form in any game doesn't specifically ask you what the problem is. It's non-interactive interaction with the gaming company about what your problems are. Forums provide someone with feedback on their feedback, which is something a canned response in your e-mail inbox doesn't.



What does this all mean, anyways?



What it means is that despite the fact that negativity has climbed recently, Tabula Rasa is still a fine game with a promising future. I can say without a doubt that this is the best developer team I have ever witnessed, both in community interaction (despite the lack of an official forum!) and overall responsiveness. While there are speedbumps (incomplete patch notes, the tendency for new bugs to pop up frequently), sometimes that just happens. Just because these guys (and gals!) are paid to make a game doesn't make them cyborgs incapable of mistakes.



As an example, I play a Demolitionist. My class is going to receive a nerf that is currently on the Test Server. It was not in the patch notes. Specifically, Controlled Fission's central target damage is being halved, and the way it works is making it harder to combo with Explosive Nanites on hard targets. A class that already has a tough time with Striders is going to have an even tougher time.



A part of me wants to flip out, especially considering that neither the skill nor the class it's a part of are considered overpowered by any stretch of the imagination. However, it's quite apparent that sweeping class changes are on the horizon, so I'm willing to hold any judgement I have until 1.8/9 previews being.



Why?



Because the way I see it, right now there's a ton of things on the horizon. To name a few: PAUs, pet system, "sweeping class changes," PvP options, Clan CPs. We've heard about them all for a while now, and it wouldn't surprise me if they all got rolled out within weeks of each other, hitting us like a freight train of awesomeness pulling a payload of win.



Call me optimistic, call me a fanboi if you like, but despite the fact that this game offers frequent patching, large changes still have a tendency of happening all at once. Chances are different sects of the dev team were all assigned these tasks months ago at a centralized meeting. Chances are they're all going to come to fruition all at once. That's why you typically see large patches every six months or so in other games. We just happen to be lucky to have more frequent, incremental patches in between.



Now if you're bored with the game, and you've decided to unsubscribe, don't think I'm scolding you. By all means, if you've gotten your enjoyment out of what's provided already, I can't tell you to enjoy it and demand you fork your money over to NCSoft while waiting for changes. I happen to be having fun rolling alts, and I understand that's not everyone's thing. But I do encourage those who are "hanging it up" to stick around and see what happens. I'm rather confident that big changes are afoot, and I'm sure there are those that will doubt or outright refute my logic. That's fine; but at least keep yourself informed, because this game has monstrous potential; the combat alone keeps me coming back.

Originally posted by PlanetTR



What it means is that despite the fact that negativity has climbed recently, Tabula Rasa is still a fine game with a promising future. At the rate it`s going now, i highly doubt it. It does have great combat and the components to be an excellent game, but it`s no use when the dev team is full of mangos.

I can say without a doubt that this is the best developer team I have ever witnessed, both in community interaction (despite the lack of an official forum!) and overall responsiveness. While there are speedbumps (incomplete patch notes, the tendency for new bugs to pop up frequently), sometimes that just happens. Just because these guys (and gals!) are paid to make a game doesn't make them cyborgs incapable of mistakes. Now I found this paragraph completely idiotic. I can admit I`ve seen the odd dev posting their feedback to our feedback. BUT, the lack of official forums is just a complete idiotic choice by Destination Games and NCSoft. Lately, the devs seem to be purposely aggravating the players; constant tweaks to spy and snipers when other classes need them much more. TONS of players complaining about end-game content and something other to do then get to 50. I think Grier here is complimenting the devs on their involvement in the PTR forums (again, OFFICIAL FORUMS WANTED) but that is no use when they have the planning power of a chimp. I can admit the game is new and it needs more time to bake (much more) but games like Age of Conan are promising (and I`ve played it in beta) 10x as much stuff as the TR devs did + the content is not just empty promises.

A part of me wants to flip out, especially considering that neither the skill nor the class it's a part of are considered overpowered by any stretch of the imagination. However, it's quite apparent that sweeping class changes are on the horizon, so I'm willing to hold any judgement I have until 1.8/9 previews being. I know you want them so bad Mr. Grier but I highly doubt the devs have enough brain power to realize not just spies and snipers need revamps. I would guess for a 2.0+ patch before anything noticable starts happening.

Why?



Because the way I see it, right now there's a ton of things on the horizon. To name a few: PAUs (promised over 5 months ago and still not even in coding), pet system (the AI in Pong was better. Fix that too devs), "sweeping class changes`` (ala snipers and spy changes or useless nerfs to already  crapped-out classes),PvP options, Clan CPs (one aspect of promised content I actuallt see being finished in the following months. Still, one thing in a big list of vapourware). We've heard about them all for a while now, and it wouldn't surprise me if they all got rolled out within weeks of each other, hitting us like a freight train of awesomeness pulling a payload of win. No. No they will not. Not even close. I can see Clan CPs hitting by the beginning of July or even August. PAU`s maybe by September. Everything else will be... actually I don`t even want to think about it.



Call me optimistic, call me a fanboi if you like, but despite the fact that this game offers frequent patching, large changes still have a tendency of happening all at once. Chances are different sects of the dev team were all assigned these tasks months ago at a centralized meeting. Chances are they're all going to come to fruition all at once. That's why you typically see large patches every six months or so in other games. We just happen to be lucky to have more frequent, incremental patches in between. In reality these patches usually fix bugs while bringing along more annoying bugs. 5 months and there is still game-crashing poop and all this vapourware (some of which promised before release) is still not in-game. Sorry, but this game is still in early beta imo (and many other peopl`s opinions too).



Now if you're bored with the game, and you've decided to unsubscribe, don't think I'm scolding you. By all means, if you've gotten your enjoyment out of what's provided already, I can't tell you to enjoy it and demand you fork your money over to NCSoft while waiting for changes. I happen to be having fun rolling alts, and I understand that's not everyone's thing. But I do encourage those who are "hanging it up" to stick around and see what happens. I'm rather confident that big changes are afoot, and I'm sure there are those that will doubt or outright refute my logic. That's fine; but at least keep yourself informed, because this game has monstrous potential; the combat alone keeps me coming back.

 Grier (or anyone who knows him), we`ve met (you can probably guess who this is) and I respect your opinions. Yet to publically post them as `Behind The Front Lines` blog was foolish. People like myself may misinterpret this into a statement on how PTR feels in general. Far from it; I`ve seen your Rants and Flames forum and it is not pretty. Again, have all the fun you want, but to type up the opposite of reality (good dev team..no) and stick it up there for the world to see was foolish.