Fallen
12-13-2004, 07:54 AM
Taken from the Official Boards.
Setting The Record Straight ·
I'm quite honestly flattered that everyone on these boards refuses to blame me for the delays in the spell and instead heaps it on Simutronics and Warden. Unfortunately, this particular heap of blame is being laid incorrectly. The failure to meet AD deadlines, deadlines that I set (not Simu), is my fault alone.
The process for setting AD deadlines was a bit dissimilar to what usually takes place. Rather than being handed a deadline and being told to meet it, I was asked when I could have the spell done, I responded, and those dates were set as deadlines. Unfortunately, I woefully underestimated the complexity of the spell and the free time that I would have available on several occasions. This is my failing, not Warden's and not Simutronics's.
Some of you have mentioned that I've been pulled for use on other projects that should have been dedicated to Animate Dead. This is not the case, since I began work on the spell, this is the only thing I've worked on in my capacity as a GM.
Some have also stated that I should have had additional coding resources assigned to me for completion of this spell. This is also not the case. Had I asked for coding help I am sure resources would have been allocated to me. I didn't do so, because I don't feel like it would have helped to speed this project up. Animate Dead involves a large amount of code and systems that intertwined with our BCS creatures, our non-BCS creatures and other systems. The intertwining systems are the alchemical processes I've set up, the actual animation, and control. Each system is crucial to the other and it is for this reason that a project like this is best worked on, in my opinion by one coder. Coordinating all these distinct pieces to fit together would have delayed the process because of the immense amount of coordination that would be required and would have likely resulted in problems.
Contrary to popular belief sorcerers have just as many resources dedicated to them as the other professions and systems in the game. At one point sorcerers (and wizards) had more resources allocated to them than other professions in the game. Attrition and turn over has lessened the disparity between sorcerers and other professions that existed when this new design structure was implemented, but sorcerers are certainly not understaffed. If anything they had too many resources allocated relative to other professions and what all of you inevitably see as the slowing of the design processes from where it was say a year ago, is more a normalization rather than a slowing. Could Sorcery use more coding resources? Sure it could, so can any number of systems and professions. Unfortunately, acquiring resources is difficult and something that in and of itself initially slows down design processes (someone needs to train new coding resources).
Some have also complained here about a lack of communication between Simutronics and the players. This too is my fault, the lack of communication was because I failed to communicate sufficiently, not because Simutronics did, partly because of the work I've been doing on the spell. This has been brought to my attention and I aim to rectify this; but the fault is my own.
Simutronics and Warden have been extremely supportive. I was offered coding resources to help bring this spell to conclusion just a few days ago. I turned them down, as once again, I felt this would not get the spell out to you guys faster.
The failings of the spell are entirely my own. The biggest issue, and one that I can't in good conscience blame on anyone else is that I continually and erroneously underestimated design times. Not purposefully, but it hapenned nonetheless, on several occasions.
Some of you may see this as me taking the blame for Simu, it is not. If a project that I'm working on fails to meet a deadline because of Simutronics or one of my superiors, I would be the first one on here posting that it isn't my fault, and that it is Simu's fault. I don't take blame that is not mine to take. In this case it is mine.
On a positive note, the reason I'm spending time posting here is because I've done what I can for the night on the spell and just sent out my latest round of revisions to QC, which has been excellent and timely. I'm now awaiting responses so I can make further revisions based on those responses. I'd like to say it won't be much longer, and it probably won't be, but I won't say that, because I have a bad track record of estimating time lines when it comes to Animate Dead. It'll be out when it finishes QC, and that's it. There aren't any current delays it's just a process that needs to be worked through.
All of you are now sitting and waiting for a fabulous spell. I think you'll all be pleased, I know I am pleased with it. However, fabulous is not synonymous with perfect. I warn you now. When the spell is released, there are going to be kinks. There are going to be a lot of them. This is a given. I'll be here to correct them. When you guys start playing with it and start noticing the kinks, you'll undoubtedly bombard me with complaints like, "I waited six months for this expletive and it doesn't even work right!" I expect that and all I can do is request that you be patient as we use your feedback to work on them. The design of AD is much different than what you all experienced with Minor Summoning. Minor Summoning was designed from the ground up. Animate Dead was retrofitted to existing systems, namely creatures. Animate Dead is much more like Animal Companion than Minor Summoning. When Animal Companion was released it had kinks, lots of them, and they took a while to fix. It probably still has kinks (although I'm just guessing as I don't know much about AC's current state). I think the spell will be enjoyable and fun to use and usable from the start, though, kinks aside. Take that for what you will.
Nilven
"The great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances as though they were realities and are often more influenced by things that seem than by those that are." -- Machiavelli
Setting The Record Straight ·
I'm quite honestly flattered that everyone on these boards refuses to blame me for the delays in the spell and instead heaps it on Simutronics and Warden. Unfortunately, this particular heap of blame is being laid incorrectly. The failure to meet AD deadlines, deadlines that I set (not Simu), is my fault alone.
The process for setting AD deadlines was a bit dissimilar to what usually takes place. Rather than being handed a deadline and being told to meet it, I was asked when I could have the spell done, I responded, and those dates were set as deadlines. Unfortunately, I woefully underestimated the complexity of the spell and the free time that I would have available on several occasions. This is my failing, not Warden's and not Simutronics's.
Some of you have mentioned that I've been pulled for use on other projects that should have been dedicated to Animate Dead. This is not the case, since I began work on the spell, this is the only thing I've worked on in my capacity as a GM.
Some have also stated that I should have had additional coding resources assigned to me for completion of this spell. This is also not the case. Had I asked for coding help I am sure resources would have been allocated to me. I didn't do so, because I don't feel like it would have helped to speed this project up. Animate Dead involves a large amount of code and systems that intertwined with our BCS creatures, our non-BCS creatures and other systems. The intertwining systems are the alchemical processes I've set up, the actual animation, and control. Each system is crucial to the other and it is for this reason that a project like this is best worked on, in my opinion by one coder. Coordinating all these distinct pieces to fit together would have delayed the process because of the immense amount of coordination that would be required and would have likely resulted in problems.
Contrary to popular belief sorcerers have just as many resources dedicated to them as the other professions and systems in the game. At one point sorcerers (and wizards) had more resources allocated to them than other professions in the game. Attrition and turn over has lessened the disparity between sorcerers and other professions that existed when this new design structure was implemented, but sorcerers are certainly not understaffed. If anything they had too many resources allocated relative to other professions and what all of you inevitably see as the slowing of the design processes from where it was say a year ago, is more a normalization rather than a slowing. Could Sorcery use more coding resources? Sure it could, so can any number of systems and professions. Unfortunately, acquiring resources is difficult and something that in and of itself initially slows down design processes (someone needs to train new coding resources).
Some have also complained here about a lack of communication between Simutronics and the players. This too is my fault, the lack of communication was because I failed to communicate sufficiently, not because Simutronics did, partly because of the work I've been doing on the spell. This has been brought to my attention and I aim to rectify this; but the fault is my own.
Simutronics and Warden have been extremely supportive. I was offered coding resources to help bring this spell to conclusion just a few days ago. I turned them down, as once again, I felt this would not get the spell out to you guys faster.
The failings of the spell are entirely my own. The biggest issue, and one that I can't in good conscience blame on anyone else is that I continually and erroneously underestimated design times. Not purposefully, but it hapenned nonetheless, on several occasions.
Some of you may see this as me taking the blame for Simu, it is not. If a project that I'm working on fails to meet a deadline because of Simutronics or one of my superiors, I would be the first one on here posting that it isn't my fault, and that it is Simu's fault. I don't take blame that is not mine to take. In this case it is mine.
On a positive note, the reason I'm spending time posting here is because I've done what I can for the night on the spell and just sent out my latest round of revisions to QC, which has been excellent and timely. I'm now awaiting responses so I can make further revisions based on those responses. I'd like to say it won't be much longer, and it probably won't be, but I won't say that, because I have a bad track record of estimating time lines when it comes to Animate Dead. It'll be out when it finishes QC, and that's it. There aren't any current delays it's just a process that needs to be worked through.
All of you are now sitting and waiting for a fabulous spell. I think you'll all be pleased, I know I am pleased with it. However, fabulous is not synonymous with perfect. I warn you now. When the spell is released, there are going to be kinks. There are going to be a lot of them. This is a given. I'll be here to correct them. When you guys start playing with it and start noticing the kinks, you'll undoubtedly bombard me with complaints like, "I waited six months for this expletive and it doesn't even work right!" I expect that and all I can do is request that you be patient as we use your feedback to work on them. The design of AD is much different than what you all experienced with Minor Summoning. Minor Summoning was designed from the ground up. Animate Dead was retrofitted to existing systems, namely creatures. Animate Dead is much more like Animal Companion than Minor Summoning. When Animal Companion was released it had kinks, lots of them, and they took a while to fix. It probably still has kinks (although I'm just guessing as I don't know much about AC's current state). I think the spell will be enjoyable and fun to use and usable from the start, though, kinks aside. Take that for what you will.
Nilven
"The great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances as though they were realities and are often more influenced by things that seem than by those that are." -- Machiavelli