Fix gameplay flaws before creating new content (opinion)

[Dudeface]

Personal opinion. Stop creating new content (looking at you re-vamp of Levania) until basic gameplay flaws get fixed.

Note: I play this as the mobile game it's advertised to be.

The first is strange character movement around fixed objects. Majority of the time the character will choose the long route around fixed objects. Not a random flaw since I've observed it happening more often than not. Designed intentionally?

Second, engaging in combat calibration. Tapping in the middle of a group of targets will occasionally cause player to run into the middle of the group without attacking. Other times tapping on an area clearly not part of the target (happens in story, trial, and arena) causes player to engage target instead of moving to the area.

Finally, resume auto-attack after moving issues. I've already created a post in the support forum where after basic troubleshooting steps I was told that if the devs didn't feel like taking care of it, then we the players basically just need to deal with it.

Will there be any fixes to these issues, or will devs continue to just create new and attractive content and let base gameplay glitches like this pile up?

[Kardinaal]

While I agree that bugs needing fixing, the people making 3D art and designing levels are not the same people that code the game engine, fix bugs,…

So don’t look at those changes like “this is time they could have spent bug fixing”. As in any company there’s different teams doing different things, for example the cleaning crew. But it would make no sense to stop cleaning the building because of bugs, and it would make just as little sense to stop the creative teams.

[Dudeface]

It's not a matter of which team is in charge of what. It's a matter of directing resources. Considering these bugs are ongoing issues then there has been a lack of resources dedicated to fixing them while there's obviously been a push of resources to the design.

Sure, different people have different jobs on any project. And one of those jobs is managing the overall project. That is/are the person(s) that are allowing glossy new graphics to continue being made while long term gameplay issues persist.

My original statement stands. Fix gameplay issues before creating new content.

[makilahy]

Dudeface I agree that these bugs are a huge problem. They plague me all the time, so like you, I really hope they prioritize fixing them.

However, as Kardinaal pointed out, there are different teams working on different things. The "resources" are their salaries. For those teams to remain employed, they need tasks to work on in their area of expertise. You make it sound like the company should lay these people off and hire more programmers to fix bugs. I don't think that's fair or reasonable.

With that said, some of these bugs are graphics-related. I've noticed that some movement bugs are due to some kind of layering issue. For example, if a mountain peak rises above the area the character traverses and you click on the peak of that mountain in the foreground, it will cause the character to try to run to a new location off-screen somewhere. There's an example in 2-24 "The Scent of Home," for example. Clicking outside of the playable area should be ignored by the game. The teams that put out these revamped zones should prioritize fixing that behavior.

[Dudeface]

makilahy I definitely agree that it isn't fair to lay off designers or anyone else actively working, or just hire more programmers. But other than the new (and equally unliked by many) Arena, I personally haven't seen any major gameplay changes since I started playing quite a while ago, but have noticed more bugs.

It feels to me like maybe the current programmers not fixing some of these known, documented, and long running gameplay issues aren't living up to their job and maybe don't deserve the "resources" you mentioned (salary). That would open more "resources" for programmers that will fix these issues.

Also, does it seem coincidental that there was a major graphics overhaul on so much right before securing the Steam account? I go back to my statement of company management organizing the overall picture, or lack thereof. But if their goal was to make the game prettier in order to attract more players on a new advertisement platform, I guess management is succeeding.

I understand there are different teams that work on different parts of the whole. But I can't foot stomp my original statement enough. Fix gameplay issues before creating new content.