An Update from Chris

I agree with the people calling bullshit.

Its so easy to come out in hindsight and say "ye you were right" when the community is already unanimously shitting on you. We call that damage control. What really matters isn't how synthesis will be fixed, but how future updates will look.

And maybe, instead of more useless filler grind, it'll actually be good content again.

I'm happy to accept that Synthesis league was an OK one but not great and just wait for the next league. You can't be expected to do everything perfectly and sometimes ideas just don't come through and work the way you want them too. I myself would be happier for the GGG team to focus on the future patches and expansions and just call synthesis league another learning experience.

The best thing about PoE is that at its core it will always be a really great game with great mechanics and gameplay. The content releases are frequent and exciting and if one doesn't turn out so well, don't lose sleep over it, there is always something exciting just around the corner. I look forward to 3.7!

"

fruitsofthesun wrote:

I agree with the people calling bullshit.

Its so easy to come out in hindsight and say "ye you were right" when the community is already unanimously shitting on you. We call that damage control. What really matters isn't how synthesis will be fixed, but how future updates will look.

And maybe, instead of more useless filler grind, it'll actually be good content again.

What are you arguing here?

Chris mentioned GGG themselves is not happy with the way Synthesis worked out. They will not be adding it to core game, which is very significant development considering how much work was dedicated to develop the league.

Chris specifically identified what lead to the situation where Synthesis is not as good as it could have been--incorrect scoping and sizing of work and time required and not enough time to test the league before it went live.
They also mentioned some issues with Synthesis were fixed, some improvements were deployed but eventually not everything that could have been done will be done due to other commitments--release of PS4 version of the game, ExileCon preparations, improvements to console version of the game, working on 4.0.

This needs to be stated 100 more times:

Beta test before launch
Beta test before launch
Beta test before launch
Beta test before launch

The last thing we want as dedicated POE community is content that doesn't work or works for half of the people.

Please don't let the next season big ANOTHER big wet turd. TEST TEST TEST delay release if needed. DON"T release it broken.

As I look for something else to play while I wait for the next league in POE I find myself disappointed with everything else out there. POE is the best game! Good job everyone and I can't wait to see what's next

Grim dawn, epoch, and BL3 soon.

When synthesis not that bad as i said before, synthetised items are disaster. That dude who did those items never wasnt playing PoE or did very bad work. All my synthetised items were tragic vendor trash.

"

Chris wrote:

Some studios make their teams work 14 hour days to pack every patch full of the most fixes and improvements possible. Sometimes when we read our own Patch Notes threads and community feedback, we feel that we are being asked to do the same. I will not run this company that way.

Please consider extending this same courtesy to your players as well.

14 hours a day? What are player averages during the first week of a league?

Why did you design your game to expect such a time commitment from players?

"

SudianX wrote:

"

Chris wrote:

Some studios make their teams work 14 hour days to pack every patch full of the most fixes and improvements possible. Sometimes when we read our own Patch Notes threads and community feedback, we feel that we are being asked to do the same. I will not run this company that way.

Please consider extending this same courtesy to your players as well.

14 hours a day? What are player averages during the first week of a league?

Why did you design your game to expect such a time commitment from players?

Hahaha, that is priceless!!! I don't think Chris understands that most people live in the real world, have real jobs and by the time they get home from work, they are lucky if they have two hours of "leisure" during which time they need to feed themselves, do laundry and clean house. They play games because they'd just like to have a small part of the day that is fun, rather than work, and they often sacrifice sleep just so they can have an hour to play.

People aren't leaving/not being retained by the game because the devs aren't working hard enough. It's because POE is all about Chris's personal vision (trade manifesto is just one waffling example) and the "unfun" of indulging his personal vision is driving us away.

This is the most nauseating and self-serving post I have seen from Chris yet. If he really doesn't want to run his company like that, then he shouldn't even be talking about it.

By suggesting that "other studios" overcome these issues by overworking their staff, Chris is tacitly creating a work environment where "being a team player" means working 14 hours a day - voluntarily. It has been a recurring theme in most work places I have worked in. The management stand on the sidelines, self-promoting their personal commitment to work-life balance, while leaving it up to the workers to achieve increasingly impossible goals. Nobody wants to be seen as "not being a team player", so most end up working extreme hours to meet insane goals.

I don't see Chris mentioning anything at all about being responsible and taking it on himself to ensure that the amount of work that needs doing is well matched to the number of staff, their skills, and what can realistically be achieved in a given timeframe.

I see a "marketer", and marketers are the number one bane of every programmers life. They are ones who make impossible promises to customers and then leave it up to the devs to make it all happen. Because no-one wants to be seen as not being "a team player".

Just look at the language Chris uses in his post: "not optional", "we need", "how companies die" - all management code for "the staff have to work harder and harder while I prance around the world selling my personal vision or else everyone will be out of a job". But no, I won't run my company as a sweatshop.

Im with you 100% I am done with POE and have played since the beginning on PC (currently on Xbox). They just don't care and rush everything. Chris is the problem. Hopefully the bill in legislation now to ban play to win, microtransations, loot crates takes affect.