Combat results log

[Arryn]

Since IW seems to think that we, the fans of the game, don't need the ability to have text logs of combat results, I thought I'd put up a poll to (hopefully) demonstrate to them how much interest there is in having this feature added to the game.

[johan osterman]

I think this is an excellent development, pretty soon JK and Kristoffer won't have to make any decisions anymore, you can just put up a poll and vote for the inclusion or exclusion of any features. I certainly believe that design by polling is the way of the future in game design. I also am very certain that Kristoffer and JK will take great pleasure in not having to make any decisions on their own anymore. Illwinter is scheduled to change it's name to Gallup Game design any minute now. Of course there will first be a poll to approve the name change.

[ March 07, 2004, 11:57: Message edited by: johan osterman ]

[Aikamun]

Never mind.

[ March 07, 2004, 13:18: Message edited by: Aikamun ]

[PDF]

Useless poll IMHO - no offense meant Arryn, but I can't see your point :
Question 1 is a poll on a feature : combat log. Ok we can discuss about it, but a poll won't mean much...
Question 2 is pointless : of course Users are those who know what Users want, that's a syllogism , but the designers are those who decide what they will eventually put in *their* game !

[Aikamun]

The second poll question was editted, rendering it invalid. The meaning has been altered and toned down.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T,
Aikamun

[Gandalf Parker]

While this attitude would seem an obvious one to someone who has played games, its a big surprise if you administer a game to find out that the players are definetly NOT the right people to ask what a game needs. If anyone really wants a firm base in what admining a game means then look into MUDs. Psychology papers have been written on player styles, why MUDs go up by the hundreds and few survive a couple of years, Whats been done right or wrong. Some MUDs go back over 30 years (yes thats longer than PCs and almost longer than Internet)

What players WANT in a game is often quite different from what they NEED in a game to keep playing it.

Thats not saying that all players are clueless, short-sighted, narrow-focused. Nor that all developers have the answers. Its just that the "obvious" thing that players know whats best for a game really isnt true.

[Peter Ebbesen]

Originally posted by Gandalf Parker:

What players WANT in a game is often quite different from what they NEED in a game to keep playing it.

The old "Give the customer what he needs, not what he wants", eh?

Regarding turn-logs, there is a very simple justification for the need: AAR writing. Currently, the player who wants to write an AAR has to manually take note of everything of interest that happens in a given round when it happens, or he will forever be prevented from accessing that information. (Alternatively, he must make a manual copy of the turn file after each turn, for perusal later). Sometimes, the importance of certain turn outcomes only becomes obvious several turns after the event, but if you did not make a note of it earlier, all possibilities of time-wise correlation is lost.

Is helping those who write AARs and those who like examining trends important enough to justify the programming time that will go into dumping the logs (or even, god willing, sorting the log entries under different tabs) when compared to other enhancements or new development projects, now that is the responsibility of the developers and nobody else to decide, but the need for it is clear - there just might be greater needs.

[AStott]

Originally posted by Peter Ebbesen:
Regarding turn-logs, there is a very simple justification for the need: AAR writing.

In my experience, games that have turn logs that are used for AAR writing only end up in a number of AARs that are boring to read. Mostly because people use them as a crutch to actually writing something. Do I want to be innundated by dull AARs? No thanks.

[Arryn]

I'm delighted you approve. It's comforting to know that IW intends to listen to the fan base, and include features the fans ask for.

[Pocus]

Yes I can understand how this poll can be felt as offensive by IW, Arrynn. Particularly the second question.

Developpers are players, dont forget that (well its true for IW at least!). And the commitment they have done for dominions dwarf, by definition, any commitment that even the most zealout fan can do.