Dear Max, dear Dev-Team,
it has now been roughly 6 months or half a year that you implemented the GCD changes.
Regarding that, Max clarified the changes for us and why they had to happen:
MaxHayman wrote: ↑Mon May 23, 2022 3:00 pm
The recent changes that we pushed are part of a bigger effort on the ability system that would overall help the development of the project and the player experience in the long run. Thus, we initially refrained from sharing the bigger plan as it’s still in its earliest stage and at this very moment there are no observable benefits from it, but in the future, it opens several doors.
However, before we dig deeper into the global cooldown change, we would like to talk about the reasoning behind the bigger effort on the ability system and how that helps with future development and faster release of content in the future.
- Faster turn around time on ability changes
- Less knowledge required to do ability changes
- More consistent and accurate real world values from game data
- Easier way to recreate dungeon boss abilities, creature abilities and item related abilities
- Accurate ability and character window tooltips (damage and timers)
- Fixing some smaller nuances on how abilities worked
Lastly, we’d like to reassure you that we constantly strive to make the game better, create content, ease future development and bug fixing, however the tools that we have in hand are very limited and even created by our team over the years. Which is why some changes are introduced after many years of preparations. Moving forward, we will make sure to communicate game-changing implementations properly and firmly through our Community Management team.
Big changes have had, in my opinion, always an impact on the playerbase (e. g. nerfed buttons, GCD, cities, war crests). Even though they were often met with mixed resistance or enthusiasm from the playerbase, they were made in the hope to better the game for the future.
I in particular had personal problems with - not limited to but in specific - the GCD change. It made the game feel slower and more sluggish. But good reasons, like the evening out between players with higer and lower pings, were given so that rewards of this very change could be reaped in the future.
What is not sitting well with me however is that after 6 months, I have yet to see a clear improvement for the game made from this very change.
Where are for example faster turn around times on ability changes?
Ability changes in the past 6 months (and even before) have probably been at an all-time low. Here are some examples:
Engineer (17/08/22)
- Steam Vent is now dealing corporeal damage like tooltip states, previously it was doing physical damage.
Swordmaster (27/05/22)
- [20120] Phoenix Wing doesn't require enemy target within 5ft anymore
White lion (18/05/22)
- Cleave Limb: Corrected Action Point cost to match tooltip value (from 25 to 30)
- Primal Fury: Corrected Action Point cost to match tooltip value (from 40 to 45)
Is that what the GCD change was sacrificed for?
Most of the patch notes between now and the implementation of the GCD change did not contain any changes that regard game abilities (or other mentioned improvements on the game as stated above).
What I would like to have clarified is that if we are still in the
"early stages" and are
"several doors" still to be
"opened"?
Because what it feels to me right now is that a controverse, playerbase-splitting game change has been made with an argument for a better future in the game which after half a year of waiting I still have yet to see.
Or maybe I am just wrong and needlessly concerned.
Regards
Skellt