refractor of the scuffed code pt 2something big is coming.
I'm a software developer and I can tell you it's not normal. Not in the slightest. Their current roadmap being as vague as it is this late in the process absolutely SCREAMS disfunction from a game design/management standpoint. When half of your points are "improve <x>" then you're almost assuredly flying by the seat of your pants.Then again im not a software developer so my layman's vieuw on it has no actual grasp of how difficult it is but I dont think its normal in the industry for this 'stage' of development to take this long...
I was not a software developer, but I spent 15 years troubleshooting and evaluating suppliers projects for a large Telco.I'm a software developer and I can tell you it's not normal. Not in the slightest. Their current roadmap being as vague as it is this late in the process absolutely SCREAMS disfunction from a game design/management standpoint. When half of your points are "improve <x>" then you're almost assuredly flying by the seat of your pants.
Then again I suppose this is more normal for EA than it is for a normal product, not that that's an excuse.
They literally didn't use a design doc for this game.That's of course, just a general hypothesis. You never know for sure till you've actually evaluated the situation. But this looks like a falied project and a start-up that failed in its growth.
how do u know?refractor of the scuffed code pt 2
literally.They literally didn't use a design doc for this game.
I was not a software developer, but I spent 15 years troubleshooting and evaluating suppliers projects for a large Telco.
From the outside, this looks suspiciously like several failures I've had to dissect... A small team start-up that gets bigger and fails to organize.
There are organizational pitfalls for developing companies. You can do wonders with a "garage team" of motivated developers with a creative and charismatic leader that orchestrates everything around his/her vision.
Try to do the same with 50 people or more and it frequently implodes... You need documentation, organization, proper roadmaps etc... The guy that was so good at driving 5 or 6 people often gets frustrated at being forced into such chores. Might even call such organization "a load of bull****" (I've heard that from a senior developer in actual audit...) Quite often the more "tech" guy needs to recruit someone else to take the reins.. Or sell the company and start something else. I've seen both scenarios.
That's of course, just a general hypothesis. You never know for sure till you've actually evaluated the situation. But this looks like a falied project and a start-up that failed in its growth.
of course, no interest, no new revenue. the game is doa. i can't believe they took a decade to produce this.
He did, but it didn't work out and the manager guy took off a couple of years ago. We don't know about anyone new managing this.Quite often the more "tech" guy needs to recruit someone else to take the reins..
The lack of a new beta is disappointing but statements from Devs about what they are working on are reassuring that much needed work is going on.
I'm taking a break for now but look forward to playing more soon. It's also a question of not getting completely burnt out so I have the desire to play new updates (and someday finished game) still.
I dunno - wouldn't they be worse at giving estimates given their track record at being bad at giving estimates?He did, but it didn't work out and the manager guy took off a couple of years ago. We don't know about anyone new managing this.
My theory is that the tech/owner guy undermined the manager guy by establishing a laid back, lazy workplace culture where he still makes the major decisions, which should be the manager's prerogative.
I think the manager guy had a developer background too, without the needed touch of ruthlessness to be an effective manager. The breaking point (this is pure speculation) was when they stopped planning and removed deadlines altogether because they couldn't track their progress at around 2016 or so (they were confident they would release in 2016 just a year before, probably based on some kind of a plan that failed spectacularly).
Since then, they are simply unable to predict any dates, so you could guess there's no real planning and tracking. The proof of this is the release date estimate - at the EA release in March 2020, it was "about a year" and in March 2021 "about 9 months more" and it won't stop there.
They should be very effective at producing accurate estimates by now, since they had years of experience. Yet still they fail to keep their own deadlines. You could teach this project as a failure in project management at management courses.
Learning is supposed to be progressive, but not in the sense of a progressive neurological disease.I dunno - wouldn't they be worse at giving estimates given their track record at being bad at giving estimates?
I mean - technically, they can get better at being worse, right?
For people who missed it, it was here, in the second paragraph.literally.
To be honest, it's fairly hard for the original tech/owner to gracefully pass the baton. I have great respect for those I met that did. It was the right move, but not an enjoyable one...He did, but it didn't work out and the manager guy took off a couple of years ago. We don't know about anyone new managing this.
My theory is that the tech/owner guy undermined the manager guy by establishing a laid back, lazy workplace culture where he still makes the major decisions, which should be the manager's prerogative.
This is backed up by Glassdoor reviews of former employees, usually interns on the way to something greater. But the basic problem remains the same, the mentality of a small indie studio that caused chaos and delays when they expanded beyond a tight-knit group of fairly competent, self-motivated developers.I'm dubious about "laid-back and lazy". Looking back at the previous M&B products, they probably worked hard.
Interesting post from Mexxico, ThxFor people who missed it, it was here, in the second paragraph.