Thoughts On Current R&D

[Boomik]

Canary is not about money, but people who actually can see bugs, and have time to analyze details. This is not something that should be available for money at all.
Canary are beta testers, and in all games they are selected by developers and they can't pay for it.

The exact opposite any other greedy devs would do. I know this isn't exactly a good thing, but how about have Payload Studios be bit more greedy and make more DLC for stuff you can't normally get? Because stuff like Canary status you have to earn which gives the devs a lot of hassle choosing who to add to Canary and they don't get much out of it. Nowadays, you have to EARN everything.

 

[Traveel]

The exact opposite any other greedy devs would do. I know this isn't exactly a good thing, but how about have Payload Studios be a bit more greedy and make more DLC for stuff you can't normally get? Because stuff like Canary status you have to earn which gives the devs a lot of hassle choosing who to add to Canary and they don't get much out of it. Nowadays, you have to EARN everything.

I'd actually hate it if this became a pay to play. Also, not everyone should be a canary, and I don't mind it being an earned position.

 

[rdoom2003]

The exact opposite any other greedy devs would do. I know this isn't exactly a good thing, but how about have Payload Studios be bit more greedy and make more DLC for stuff you can't normally get? Because stuff like Canary status you have to earn which gives the devs a lot of hassle choosing who to add to Canary and they don't get much out of it. Nowadays, you have to EARN everything.

Canary status should always be earned. It makes sure that developers get dedicated people. But You do Have a good idea brewing. So I have this plan instead

NEW DLC
CANARY
PRICE
10,000$
GET IT NOW ​

 

[streak1]

I honestly don't see why anyone would be disappointed by the assortment of EXP blocks you get with R&D. There is tons of EXP blocks: MT bearings, ball joints, trailer hitches, trailer wheels, ramps, plasma furnace, etc. Some of them need to be graduated sure, but they aren't yet, and even if they were we'd still have a lot. To say there isn't any variety there just isn't really true. Once they start working on more complicated block additions, we will probably see more stuff added to EXP.

Sure, lots of blocks lately have been going directly to unstable, but that's because they don't need extra testing. At least, not as far as needing to find bugs, just balance, but you want to have as many testers for that as you can anyway. Keep in mind that they have been putting most of their time into multiplayer recently, so they have focused on simple, easy-to-add blocks. Those don't need to be put in closed(ish) testing.

Also, the whole point of R&D is for supporting the developers and getting to test blocks before they are added to the game. Making some blocks permanently EXP defeats that purpose, at least the second part. Anything that is in R&D will, and should, be added to the game at some point, unless they have been scrapped. MT blocks will go to corps eventually; they just haven't decided on which ones, and they aren't stable enough yet.

The exact opposite any other greedy devs would do. I know this isn't exactly a good thing, but how about have Payload Studios be bit more greedy and make more DLC for stuff you can't normally get? Because stuff like Canary status you have to earn which gives the devs a lot of hassle choosing who to add to Canary and they don't get much out of it. Nowadays, you have to EARN everything.

...no.

The whole point of Canaries is to have a small group of useful, trustworthy testers, and to encourage the community to work up to that status. Tying it to R&D defeats that purpose. It doesn't give people an incentive to post bug reports, it doesn't ensure that the players won't leak everything, and it doesn't keep it small for testing things that need to start with a small group.

The devs certainly get something out of it.

 

[Traveel]

NEW DLC
CANARY
PRICE
10,000$
GET IT NOW

Just 10K? We gotta think in the EA mindset. I’m thinking 1,000,00 (maybe more).

 

[streak1]

Just 10K? We gotta think in the EA mindset. I’m thinking 1,000,00 (maybe more).

Nah. EA's mindset would be to put it in a lootbox, where you have a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of unboxing Canary access.

It's even more brilliant when you consider the excuses they could make to justify it.

 

[Lord Zarnox]

I personally think that the ramps, platforms, and MT joint blocks should stay in the EXP corporation indefinitely (unless they actually fit into another corporation, and by that I mean fit in with their style, rather than graduating into other corporations; Sorry for the bracketed rant).
After all, they are just generic construction blocks which don't really have much propose beyond what their collision box (and possibly their surface properties such as friction) allow. Sure, maybe the ramps and platforms could be graduated for use by non-R&D DLC owners in campaign and creative, but the MT joint blocks, well, even if they were to be more stable, the terrain would probably screw them over most of the time anyway, so they end up just working best in the R&D Test Chamber.

At the very least, this will add more incentive into buying the R&D DLC further along the development line, such as after 1.0.

 

[Nightblade Greyswandir]

Sure, lots of blocks lately have been going directly to unstable, but that's because they don't need extra testing.

It is not about need for testing, it is that we payed to have it before those who do not have R&D.
Steam quote:
"Preview access to experimental new parts, features and game modes, before they come to the main game
A test-lab themed environment allowing unlimited building with new and existing content
Access to a private discussion forum with the developers"

I personally think that the ramps, platforms, and MT joint blocks should stay in the EXP corporation indefinitely (unless they actually fit into another corporation, and by that I mean fit in with their style, rather than graduating into other corporations; Sorry for the bracketed rant).
After all, they are just generic construction blocks which don't really have much propose beyond what their collision box (and possibly their surface properties such as friction) allow. Sure, maybe the ramps and platforms could be graduated for use by non-R&D DLC owners in campaign and creative, but the MT joint blocks, well, even if they were to be more stable, the terrain would probably screw them over most of the time anyway, so they end up just working best in the R&D Test Chamber.

At the very least, this will add more incentive into buying the R&D DLC further along the development line, such as after 1.0.

This!

 

[streak1]

It is not about need for testing, it is that we payed to have it before those who do not have R&D.
Steam quote:
"Preview access to experimental new parts, features and game modes, before they come to the main game
A test-lab themed environment allowing unlimited building with new and existing content
Access to a private discussion forum with the developers"

The key word there is experimental. As in, not finished. It doesn't say, "Preview access to *all* new parts, features...". It is about a need for testing.

Plus, I feel like it would be a pain to have to put every single block they make into R&D first when they are already finished. If it is easy to add and doesn't need further testing, it should go directly into unstable/stable. I think it's a waste of time otherwise.

I personally think that the ramps, platforms, and MT joint blocks should stay in the EXP corporation indefinitely (unless they actually fit into another corporation, and by that I mean fit in with their style, rather than graduating into other corporations; Sorry for the bracketed rant).
After all, they are just generic construction blocks which don't really have much propose beyond what their collision box (and possibly their surface properties such as friction) allow. Sure, maybe the ramps and platforms could be graduated for use by non-R&D DLC owners in campaign and creative, but the MT joint blocks, well, even if they were to be more stable, the terrain would probably screw them over most of the time anyway, so they end up just working best in the R&D Test Chamber.

At the very least, this will add more incentive into buying the R&D DLC further along the development line, such as after 1.0.

R&D doesn't need any more incentives to buy it. That's not the point. It's a donation with tester status. Locking off content for the sake of incentive goes against the whole idea of R&D, and turns it into pre-day-1 DLC.

This isn't just my opinion. They have a whole steam topic just on this:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/285920/discussions/0/612823460275774145/

The R&D pack is about 2 things:

1. Advance access to Tech parts in an experimental development stage, before we have balanced them or decided which Corporation they will belong to
   
2. Access to a private forum, to discuss this experimental content, and anything else

Every part that goes through R&D will eventually reach the main game (unless we cut it completely for some reason - they are experimental, after all!)

So, to be completely clear:

• You don't need the R&D Pack, and you are not missing out on part of the game if you don't get it.
  
• It's intended for those people who want to be more involved in the evolution of TerraTech.
  
• If you just want to play the game as it's meant to be played, the Standard Edition is for you.

Plus, this is a response to some negative press they were getting at the time, which is still around to an extent. Not only would making MT parts permanent EXP go against the idea behind R&D, but it would piss off the community. Maybe not you, maybe not Nightblade, maybe not anybody who has R&D now, but definitely lots of people who don't have it and might not want it. It's a terrible idea regardless if it makes sense or not.

 

[Nightblade Greyswandir]

The key word there is experimental. As in, not finished. It doesn't say, "Preview access to *all* new parts, features...". It is about a need for testing.

This is why i got warning last time... so I will stop... you are not right, but you have force on your side.

 

[streak1]

This is why i got warning last time... so I will stop... but you are not right, but you have force on your side.

?

I don't mean to be insulting or anything. I'm just saying that is what the devs meant by it, as they have told us before, in that topic and elsewhere. You could have payed to have more sure, but that isn't what they have advertised.

If you want R&D to be more than just testing, fine, but I don't think the devs are going to change that, and I don't think they should. But that's just me.