Squidgallows
Honorable Pirate
Before I start this article, I ask that the Devs do not remove it. I am not here to be mean, I am here to give criticism, and talk about what could have been done better. Assuming the Devs are not extremely sensitive, and don't want to remove any form of criticism, I expect this article to stay here. That being said, lets talk about the poorly executed Febuary 3rd event.
Where do we begin? First, let me explain what was supposed to happen. On Febuary 3rd, 2018, the TLOPO crew had planned for an in-game event on the shores of Port Royal. The event was to start at 2:30 EST, and 11:30 PST. On the day of the event, the participating servers were packed. Over 100 people were at Port Royal, causing major lag. This however, is not an issue. Sure, there was some crashing, but that was because of the overload of people. The Devs are not to blame for that.
Starting at 2:30 EST, it was announced in-game that there was to be an invasion in 30 minutes. While it is rather annoying that the event would not start for 30 minutes past the advertised time, it's not a big deal. Again, don't give the Devs trouble for something that isn't necessarily their fault. As a matter of fact, it was better to wait 30 minutes, as they had a "surprise" for the players.
The surprise was that the Devs were going to give out codes to selected pirates, while undercover so no one would see them. This is were the first major problem occurs.
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The Problem with Codes
The code system was garbage. I want to stay respectful, but I need to be honest. It was poorly executed, and could have been handled much better. The way it was set up, was that undercover Devs would DM certain pirates with codes that could only be used once. While this sounds like a good idea, it was poorly done. The way it was executed, was that the Devs would DM several pirates at once with the codes. Whoever typed the code in fast enough, got the item. This left a system where people would type in all the codes, and wouldn't let anyone else have them, leaving many disappointed, and ultimately being a waste of time.
How this could have been done better...
The best answer would have been to give codes to INDIVIDUAL pirates. This way, if you were lucky enough to get a code, you would be able to use it. This allows for a balanced playing field, allowing people to get codes out of pure luck, and not have to scramble to use it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Problem with the Invasion
One of the worst problems in this invasion, was the fact that you could not see the actual enemies. This was the case for me, and many other pirates in my guild. This left people waiting for the enemies to appear, while getting attacked, and possibly killed.
Secondly, enemies "spawned" passed the barricades, making the barricades themselves useless.
How this could have been done better...
If the invasions had been tested on a private server, the Devs would have been able to root out these problems, and fix them rather than release an incomplete invasion.
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At the end of the day, this was simply a poorly executed Invasion, with incomplete graphics, a poorly thought out code system, and overpopulated servers that eventually just gave out.
I know that in the comments, people will say things like "The code system was fair, you are just upset that you didn't get a code. You wouldn't be complaining if you were able to use the code you got!" and "The game is in Beta, stop giving the Devs all this trouble!" Maybe Ill even see a comment that says "You just said that game was in Beta! How can you be this null?!"
To answer the first one, I agree. If my code worked, I wouldn't be complaining. However, it would still be unfair; I would just be blind to that fact. At the end of the day, if it wasn't me, someone else would've brought this up.
To answer the second one, I understand the game is in Beta, and I know it won't be perfect. I am not giving the Devs trouble, I am letting them know what went wrong, so they can figure out what to fix before they release the full game. You have to be a special kind of fool to think it is unfair to let the Devs know what needs to be fixed in Beta. Remember, this is BETA. They need to know what wasn't working so that they can fix it.
To answer the third one, I'll point to this section here, where I answer these potential questions.
I will happily reply to all of these comments that mention these things, and if you have any other things you think I missed, or though I unfairly brought up, I'll try to answer those to. It is important to remember that the Devs need this type of criticism so they can see what to fix. I'd like to thank you for reading, and I hope if the Devs are reading this, they understand that this is not to point them in a negative light, but rather to help them understand what went wrong.
Where do we begin? First, let me explain what was supposed to happen. On Febuary 3rd, 2018, the TLOPO crew had planned for an in-game event on the shores of Port Royal. The event was to start at 2:30 EST, and 11:30 PST. On the day of the event, the participating servers were packed. Over 100 people were at Port Royal, causing major lag. This however, is not an issue. Sure, there was some crashing, but that was because of the overload of people. The Devs are not to blame for that.
Starting at 2:30 EST, it was announced in-game that there was to be an invasion in 30 minutes. While it is rather annoying that the event would not start for 30 minutes past the advertised time, it's not a big deal. Again, don't give the Devs trouble for something that isn't necessarily their fault. As a matter of fact, it was better to wait 30 minutes, as they had a "surprise" for the players.
The surprise was that the Devs were going to give out codes to selected pirates, while undercover so no one would see them. This is were the first major problem occurs.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Problem with Codes
The code system was garbage. I want to stay respectful, but I need to be honest. It was poorly executed, and could have been handled much better. The way it was set up, was that undercover Devs would DM certain pirates with codes that could only be used once. While this sounds like a good idea, it was poorly done. The way it was executed, was that the Devs would DM several pirates at once with the codes. Whoever typed the code in fast enough, got the item. This left a system where people would type in all the codes, and wouldn't let anyone else have them, leaving many disappointed, and ultimately being a waste of time.
How this could have been done better...
The best answer would have been to give codes to INDIVIDUAL pirates. This way, if you were lucky enough to get a code, you would be able to use it. This allows for a balanced playing field, allowing people to get codes out of pure luck, and not have to scramble to use it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Problem with the Invasion
One of the worst problems in this invasion, was the fact that you could not see the actual enemies. This was the case for me, and many other pirates in my guild. This left people waiting for the enemies to appear, while getting attacked, and possibly killed.
Secondly, enemies "spawned" passed the barricades, making the barricades themselves useless.
How this could have been done better...
If the invasions had been tested on a private server, the Devs would have been able to root out these problems, and fix them rather than release an incomplete invasion.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the end of the day, this was simply a poorly executed Invasion, with incomplete graphics, a poorly thought out code system, and overpopulated servers that eventually just gave out.
I know that in the comments, people will say things like "The code system was fair, you are just upset that you didn't get a code. You wouldn't be complaining if you were able to use the code you got!" and "The game is in Beta, stop giving the Devs all this trouble!" Maybe Ill even see a comment that says "You just said that game was in Beta! How can you be this null?!"
To answer the first one, I agree. If my code worked, I wouldn't be complaining. However, it would still be unfair; I would just be blind to that fact. At the end of the day, if it wasn't me, someone else would've brought this up.
To answer the second one, I understand the game is in Beta, and I know it won't be perfect. I am not giving the Devs trouble, I am letting them know what went wrong, so they can figure out what to fix before they release the full game. You have to be a special kind of fool to think it is unfair to let the Devs know what needs to be fixed in Beta. Remember, this is BETA. They need to know what wasn't working so that they can fix it.
To answer the third one, I'll point to this section here, where I answer these potential questions.
I will happily reply to all of these comments that mention these things, and if you have any other things you think I missed, or though I unfairly brought up, I'll try to answer those to. It is important to remember that the Devs need this type of criticism so they can see what to fix. I'd like to thank you for reading, and I hope if the Devs are reading this, they understand that this is not to point them in a negative light, but rather to help them understand what went wrong.
