Crunch Harder or Die
by Netwyrm · 09/29/2015 (9:00 am) · 4 comments
Sometimes, getting up and chasing a bug for days on end, concepts like progress become kind of hazy. Those aren't the best days. Other days, all the names of all the variables are at hand. Those days are a little better.
Still, things do seem to improve with effort and time, especially as more and more things come out of the "idea" zone and begin to manifest in the game environment. Been at it steady this year, all crunch all the time, and if nothing else I'd like to see if the servers hold up under numbers greater than the alpha crew.
Problems we've in alpha encountered seem to center on zones. Debugging them is a nightmare, although in the course of it a helluva lot of optimization has resulted, which is a useful byproduct of sweat and tears.
In any case, going to run a three-phase beta. The first phase is two weeks of pumpkin-hunting, a special event put together just to see if the server survives beyond the alpha environment, with no purpose save testing the game's most basic systems. The game cycle itself won't be tested until the next phase, sometime in November, and likely won't be complete until December--it's "close" but hours just seems to disappear into the great yawning maw of getting there at this point.
The amount of fragility and risk is stressing me out. There's no content to speak of, a huge backlog of typing is waiting, but in order to stay on track some things have to run in parallel whether it's the way I'd order them by choice or not--I could seriously spend another year polishing and it would noticeably improve things.
Beta signup is open at our website www.worldofantra.com. You have to create an account, then the beta signup form is on the landing page when you login. We're mailing a manual and enclosed beta key out to participants in the U.S. (as part of the test is whether or not the key redemption system and site integration work smoothly). You must be eighteen, and space is limited.
Me, I'm just hoping I survive this... sitting in a chair and not sleeping for... years... LOL has taken its toll. It's not even so much building the game, there is so much outside the game to do too.
Still, things do seem to improve with effort and time, especially as more and more things come out of the "idea" zone and begin to manifest in the game environment. Been at it steady this year, all crunch all the time, and if nothing else I'd like to see if the servers hold up under numbers greater than the alpha crew.
Problems we've in alpha encountered seem to center on zones. Debugging them is a nightmare, although in the course of it a helluva lot of optimization has resulted, which is a useful byproduct of sweat and tears.
In any case, going to run a three-phase beta. The first phase is two weeks of pumpkin-hunting, a special event put together just to see if the server survives beyond the alpha environment, with no purpose save testing the game's most basic systems. The game cycle itself won't be tested until the next phase, sometime in November, and likely won't be complete until December--it's "close" but hours just seems to disappear into the great yawning maw of getting there at this point.
The amount of fragility and risk is stressing me out. There's no content to speak of, a huge backlog of typing is waiting, but in order to stay on track some things have to run in parallel whether it's the way I'd order them by choice or not--I could seriously spend another year polishing and it would noticeably improve things.
Beta signup is open at our website www.worldofantra.com. You have to create an account, then the beta signup form is on the landing page when you login. We're mailing a manual and enclosed beta key out to participants in the U.S. (as part of the test is whether or not the key redemption system and site integration work smoothly). You must be eighteen, and space is limited.
Me, I'm just hoping I survive this... sitting in a chair and not sleeping for... years... LOL has taken its toll. It's not even so much building the game, there is so much outside the game to do too.
About the author
My adventures in T3D are chronicled at http://www.worldofantra.com. Please be aware the subject is sword-and-sorcery, and the occasional bloody or bare body part may be in scope.
#4
But do go to the gym(or built one in your house etc.) once in a while as that will make you more fresh and much stronger
10/06/2015 (9:46 am)
Go on! :O)But do go to the gym(or built one in your house etc.) once in a while as that will make you more fresh and much stronger
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