Twitch Stream June 16th 2022 Summary
Internal Process and Team
Since launch, we have making small and incremental changes to how we run and communicate internally. As time has passed and our team has grown, we understand that we have made mistakes and missed the mark. We are sorry. During MO1, our team was small, making it was much easier to get tasks assigned and ideas across with the former format. It has been clear that this way of development is not acceptable at the scale we are growing internally and the scale we envision for the game of MO2. We would have noticed that this has affected the player experience recently and its clear we needed to begin changing.
One of our changes recently was prior to the Bounty Hunter Patch, we had hired a new QA Lead. This lead changed our process and made some shifts within the test team we currently have. We are proud with the work that the test team has put in the last few patches. There has been a major improvement. We recognize that there were some issues within the last few patches (including the broker issue last Friday) that weakened the player experience. The test team had approved the most recent patches for deployment, however due to a miscommunication from the developer team, a different version (untested) of the patch got released on multiple occasions. We recognize this was unacceptable and our current changes were not enough.
We have taken our new bug testing and reporting pipeline which has been re written by our QA Lead and expanded on it to the entire company in a new way. The team has changed some responsibility and positions around, how we flag and update tasks, and making sure accountability is better tracked for blunders. Both with this foundation and new ideas, we have transferred all our work within this new workflow program/system. This is very new and has been worked on for the last week and a half. This has likely caused a minor delay on the next patch, but we are mostly settled in and comfortable with the path forward. We hope that the next patches down the road will show, not tell, the improvements we have made.
These improvements since the end of January have not been limited to merely internal communication but external. Henrik continues to stream Q&As every Thursday most weeks. Early after launch we hired a Community Manager to be a liaison and direct link to the players. We have changed our ban policy in early May and have been more forward with our process. This has all led to us being more open than we have ever been and we hope to continue this method forward. We have some more feedback tools and drafts for other communication methods such as blogs, podcasts and more. We will announce anything new when we confirmed and finalized its existence.
Bug reporting and the GM ticket system are currently being transferred/integrated into our new internal system which will allow for faster feedback. This will also improve the reliability of our ticket system. We are aware that on occasion GM Tickets will simply not send or register, we are working on this issue. With the integrated ticket system, it will allow our GM tickets to be properly tracked outside the game engine, as well as in. For the players, this means that logging off or crashing will not make the ticket disappear entirely. We are confident in our Game Masters’ integrity and ability, but this system will add another layer of accountability. We do not have an exact timeframe for this, but it is currently being worked on. Regarding the in-game bug report system, we are working on UI and function improvements for bug reporting. It will allow for more categories and better organization. This should also apply to GM tickets soon after or at the same time. This is close to being finished, should be within the next 2 patches. Currently, we have 197 bugs and QoL changes that we are working on at this moment. Our next patch is focused on the new features and the proper delivery of such. It will include some bug fixes, but we plan to dedicate full patches to legacy bug issues and QoL post Necromancy patch. We appreciate your patience on this front.
Necromancy Rituals
The Necromancer patch is looking to be our biggest feature update post launch and we can’t wait until its ready for you all. For now, we wanted to talk a little bit about our ritual system.
There will be 3 “types” of ritual circles that can be used for animating your Ritual Pets. Each type will also have variations that may have specific or intended uses, such as a Tupilak Ritual Circle. Each ritual will require a new item called a ritual candle. More advanced circles will be capable of making more complex and stronger pets.
Portable Ritual Circle – As it sounds, this circle will be portable and more easily accessible.
Home/Furniture Ritual Circle Kits – These circles will work like furniture deeds and be placeable within your home. They will generally be more capable than a portable kit.
Rare Ritual Circles – These circles are placed within the world of Nave and will be riskier to travel to. These circles will carry capabilities and secrets the other two circle types will not have. They will remain in the spots they are hidden in.
New Player Experience and Haven
We understand and embrace that Mortal Online 2 is not like many games out there. Past Haven, the world is quite unforgiving at times, and it can leave new players confused on what to do next. From feedback from the players, and data within our system, we can see patterns of where some new players stop before experiencing what MO2 has to offer. We are working to improve this experience both in Haven and the early game of Myrland. We still have plans to make Haven a trial for the game. To allow players to experience some of the basic mechanics and make a hands-on and informed impression of MO2. We don’t have a timeline currently, but it is on our mind. This will require some new systems and tweaks to Haven which is not our focus at the time.
Territory Control and Sieging
We understand that many players are patiently waiting to return, start or experience our territory Control and Sieging systems. We want that too. Since we released our roadmap, we have introduced many foundational systems to help support TC and Sieging in the future. As we build towards TC, we will continue to add more systems until the main package is ready. We are always working towards this goal. Our push first towards polish and bug fixes will allow us to have a better footing with the new features going forward.
Other
Guild Name Rendering – This is part of our overall efforts to server optimization efforts. We are continuously working on this and hope to deploy changes like this soon as part of our polish and bug fix push. No timelines currently for an exact patch.
Points of Interests – We have started to add points of interest on the map with previous patches. We are set up to release more with every patch.
AI and Structure Attacking – We will be making a change soon that will have creatures more capable of attacking your home directly. Getting Mobs and AI stuck on house navmesh issues to defeat “risk-free” is not an intended mechanic and can be punishable. Players have been punished for this behavior.
Internal Process and Team
Since launch, we have making small and incremental changes to how we run and communicate internally. As time has passed and our team has grown, we understand that we have made mistakes and missed the mark. We are sorry. During MO1, our team was small, making it was much easier to get tasks assigned and ideas across with the former format. It has been clear that this way of development is not acceptable at the scale we are growing internally and the scale we envision for the game of MO2. We would have noticed that this has affected the player experience recently and its clear we needed to begin changing.
One of our changes recently was prior to the Bounty Hunter Patch, we had hired a new QA Lead. This lead changed our process and made some shifts within the test team we currently have. We are proud with the work that the test team has put in the last few patches. There has been a major improvement. We recognize that there were some issues within the last few patches (including the broker issue last Friday) that weakened the player experience. The test team had approved the most recent patches for deployment, however due to a miscommunication from the developer team, a different version (untested) of the patch got released on multiple occasions. We recognize this was unacceptable and our current changes were not enough.
We have taken our new bug testing and reporting pipeline which has been re written by our QA Lead and expanded on it to the entire company in a new way. The team has changed some responsibility and positions around, how we flag and update tasks, and making sure accountability is better tracked for blunders. Both with this foundation and new ideas, we have transferred all our work within this new workflow program/system. This is very new and has been worked on for the last week and a half. This has likely caused a minor delay on the next patch, but we are mostly settled in and comfortable with the path forward. We hope that the next patches down the road will show, not tell, the improvements we have made.
These improvements since the end of January have not been limited to merely internal communication but external. Henrik continues to stream Q&As every Thursday most weeks. Early after launch we hired a Community Manager to be a liaison and direct link to the players. We have changed our ban policy in early May and have been more forward with our process. This has all led to us being more open than we have ever been and we hope to continue this method forward. We have some more feedback tools and drafts for other communication methods such as blogs, podcasts and more. We will announce anything new when we confirmed and finalized its existence.
Bug reporting and the GM ticket system are currently being transferred/integrated into our new internal system which will allow for faster feedback. This will also improve the reliability of our ticket system. We are aware that on occasion GM Tickets will simply not send or register, we are working on this issue. With the integrated ticket system, it will allow our GM tickets to be properly tracked outside the game engine, as well as in. For the players, this means that logging off or crashing will not make the ticket disappear entirely. We are confident in our Game Masters’ integrity and ability, but this system will add another layer of accountability. We do not have an exact timeframe for this, but it is currently being worked on. Regarding the in-game bug report system, we are working on UI and function improvements for bug reporting. It will allow for more categories and better organization. This should also apply to GM tickets soon after or at the same time. This is close to being finished, should be within the next 2 patches. Currently, we have 197 bugs and QoL changes that we are working on at this moment. Our next patch is focused on the new features and the proper delivery of such. It will include some bug fixes, but we plan to dedicate full patches to legacy bug issues and QoL post Necromancy patch. We appreciate your patience on this front.
Necromancy Rituals
The Necromancer patch is looking to be our biggest feature update post launch and we can’t wait until its ready for you all. For now, we wanted to talk a little bit about our ritual system.
There will be 3 “types” of ritual circles that can be used for animating your Ritual Pets. Each type will also have variations that may have specific or intended uses, such as a Tupilak Ritual Circle. Each ritual will require a new item called a ritual candle. More advanced circles will be capable of making more complex and stronger pets.
Portable Ritual Circle – As it sounds, this circle will be portable and more easily accessible.
Home/Furniture Ritual Circle Kits – These circles will work like furniture deeds and be placeable within your home. They will generally be more capable than a portable kit.
Rare Ritual Circles – These circles are placed within the world of Nave and will be riskier to travel to. These circles will carry capabilities and secrets the other two circle types will not have. They will remain in the spots they are hidden in.
New Player Experience and Haven
We understand and embrace that Mortal Online 2 is not like many games out there. Past Haven, the world is quite unforgiving at times, and it can leave new players confused on what to do next. From feedback from the players, and data within our system, we can see patterns of where some new players stop before experiencing what MO2 has to offer. We are working to improve this experience both in Haven and the early game of Myrland. We still have plans to make Haven a trial for the game. To allow players to experience some of the basic mechanics and make a hands-on and informed impression of MO2. We don’t have a timeline currently, but it is on our mind. This will require some new systems and tweaks to Haven which is not our focus at the time.
Territory Control and Sieging
We understand that many players are patiently waiting to return, start or experience our territory Control and Sieging systems. We want that too. Since we released our roadmap, we have introduced many foundational systems to help support TC and Sieging in the future. As we build towards TC, we will continue to add more systems until the main package is ready. We are always working towards this goal. Our push first towards polish and bug fixes will allow us to have a better footing with the new features going forward.
Other
Guild Name Rendering – This is part of our overall efforts to server optimization efforts. We are continuously working on this and hope to deploy changes like this soon as part of our polish and bug fix push. No timelines currently for an exact patch.
Points of Interests – We have started to add points of interest on the map with previous patches. We are set up to release more with every patch.
AI and Structure Attacking – We will be making a change soon that will have creatures more capable of attacking your home directly. Getting Mobs and AI stuck on house navmesh issues to defeat “risk-free” is not an intended mechanic and can be punishable. Players have been punished for this behavior.
