Week 9

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Mat on Sun, 2017-04-09 23:06

Üdv,

TL;DR: Wearing multiple hats in any project - at least if you're generally up for the workload - can be great. It means there are multiple sources to stimulate you - all the thrilling moments, the complex puzzles and challenges that a collided, composite role-set can throw at you. But on occasion it can be 'not so great' and that's what happened this past week.

My weekly tasks as a developer on the client side has been mostly hindered by bureaucratic issues related to our former studio. Parallel with that, we also had to find a compromise for the infrastructure related technical and financial questions for our game servers. The second was fair game (and Steve was helping me with some technical estimates and research), but the first caught me unguarded and pretty much ruined my week. I especially hated it because the whole situation didn't need me at all to have it resolved, and it certainly didn't need the amount of time it ultimately sucked up to get to the solution.  The situation was just really poorly managed. The only good thing about it is that it's about over now, though, for bureaucratic bullshit, one can never be sure.

I realize my pain might sound a bit hyperbolic, but the fact is, the more hats you're wearing, the more dependent the whole team (and the project) is on you. More hats on someone makes the whole workflow more fragile. Likewise, more hats make the specific person more fragile to unexpected events, and the toll goes exponentially with the amount of hats on the person. In a professional environment, we typically try to minimize these multiple hats situations; but with indie resources, you rarely have that choice. So while attending bullshit conferences or an avoidable meeting in a corporate environment feels like part of the business, it's a death trap for an indie. Really, for every unnecessary hour I spent on the matter that could be dealt without my participation, I felt my project was being robbed. Time spent focused on the project is the single most important resource for an indie.

To add some salt to the wound, we're really at the gates of releasing the CoA Creator.  We could already be inside the gates. Instead, we're still standing outside.  

Oh well. We can't stay outside ... forever.


Are we there yet? (sketch borrowed from Sándor)

Weekly Status:

Game Client

  1. I've updated the graphic assets, tested and included the final Heraldic Line Types - so everything Sándor has created for the CoA Creator is added now.
  2. Sándor was working on the two initial BBAPs and GUI elements during the week.
  3. I'm lagging behind actually adding them to the scenes but, at least, I updated a few of the underlying UI blocks again.


A screen that you'll soon be able to check yourself

 Platform & Game Server

  1.  MILESTONE Steve reached 'implementation done' status with his miletone goals for both the Player Module & CoA Creator. The server is ready for a test release.
  2. He continued to work on the Player Module Admin views.
  3. We've reviewed our old findings and also made some fresh researches and selected the infrastructure and technical details for the server hosting.

 Website

  1. Nothing happened.

 Next Step  

Basically, we're preparing for a closed release for our Vanguards for a first look, which could be quickly followed by a public one.

  • Client: pretty much the same goals as last week, minus the limited progress I had. :(
  • Server:
    • We have to set up and install the server for 24/7 service, so we can provide a release.
    • We shall make some CoA & Infrastructure tests
    • We've discussed an extra API for cross-platform bug reporting, which Steve will also add to the server features.
  • Site:
    • Some minor layout updates
    • If we have the time this week: test integration between the Player Module and the site.
  • Game Assets: finishing tasks on BBAPs and GUI for the current milestone.

Transparency isn't always about the merry melodies. Still, I thought it's important to show you the "downs" too, as it's part of the deal. Transparency, after all, isn't our only attribute. We are determined and persistent (and handsome!) too.

As a closing call: please don't forget to vote on your platforms if you haven't already - it'll have a serious impact on which platforms we're going to focus on with the CoA Creator (and future) releases.

See you in a week!