Several day's notice, not thoughtful or considerate.

hi. and thank you for making the time.

I would like to start off by saying, that Path of Exile, is a fantastic adventure, and only seems to get better with age. I appreciate all the hard work, the dedication of GGG, and more importantly the loyalty of the community. All of which are seemingly becoming rare in the gaming industry.

Keep in mind please, that what follows is only my opinion (as by default), and that while it probably doesn't matter to most, it does matter enough for me to make this post. thank you.

About the patch notes. or more importantly, 2.6 balance, tree and AOE changes, specifically. And why it takes, information that is critical to build planning, so long to forward to the community.

I appreciate "teasers", and I understand the importance of building hype, but I find it not thoughtful or considerate. that these possible changes, that potentially could have a massive impact on the life of current builds/meta (which is GOOD, shakeups are always GOOD), don't seem to hit the front page until two or three days before actual release. That is BAD. Especially incoming for 2.6, where it's looking like, some big changes are coming. To be fair, maybe I should say, "feels like".

When a game like PoE, with its tree depth and scope, working with tools like PoeSkillPlanner or Filtration (loot filter editor), PoE Wiki and it's community of streamers, only have a few days to edit, and then pass on, for the community to start designing, planning and preparing (a BIG part of the pre release hype as well), it takes a very fun part of the game, (at least for me anyway), and crushes it down to a crunch time, cram for finals type, of mentality, that simply lacks clarity or time to "brew", the excitement.

Possibly worse, are those, like myself, who have been planning and excited for the new patch, looking at a new theoretical build on a 2.5 Skill tree, and wondering what changes I will have to make to it.. or even if it's worth it at all to conceive to begin with. You see, it brings me back into the game, to play the possibilities. But then makes me log, because, no information on 2.6 is out.. and it feels counterintuitive.

I cannot believe that the reason (or part of the reason) for last minute release of patch notes, is because they are not finalized. I understand that maybe the late release, is based on some idea that it adds a fairness or equality to a start of league, by not giving TO much time to prepare. Not sure. but I would like to see there being more time, between initial hype, projected hype, leaked hype.. and actual patch notes, and at the very minimum, 1 week before release. I want to go full out! but nope. patch notes not out yet. :( back to Civ6 or something else, until 2 days of mad coffee and planning.


thank you and all the best.

They release them so late because they definitely are not finalized until that time. There have been times in the past where Chris has worked on a google doc online for us to see as they add or change things while assembling patch notes, and they are literally working on it until the last minute.

when you get into any kind of software development, last minute changes are inevitable. this is the nature of the beast, no way around it, unless you could predict the future.

i agree that somthign effect the builds need to be post some time b4 the game start we all have jobs and such and need time to read changes we are not 24/7 gamers that know what to in 5 mins of patch note comt out

They are generally kept under wraps right up to the point where they have locked the values, they could tell you weeks before but those values would change, passives would move, items that were buffed might be unbuffed

It's way more "inconsiderate" to post this info when it's still in a state of flux because people would be trying to abuse the system, pre planning builds, bulk buying items because they expect them to be buffed...people would get excited only to have the proverbial rug pulled from beneath their feet.

So it IS FINE how they are doing it just now.

"

Ocylix wrote:

when you get into any kind of software development, last minute changes are inevitable. this is the nature of the beast, no way around it, unless you could predict the future.

i agree to a point. especially when it comes to actual values. but when it comes to design and function, i disagree with you. planning a time line and projecting and outcome are part of the management of a project. a final release candidate should be well ready before 2 days prior. adjusting values to that candidate is completely acceptable, all the way up to seconds before release, though not desirable.

i would venture to say the 2.6 tree is complete. Values may still need to be adjusted, but at the very least place holders could be used. i would assume that any or all possible loot tables have been finalized and could be passed on to Filtration or the community at large, IF there are any changes at all. so that the community that edits their own loot filters could prepare. Significant balance changes, like AOE. Have more than likely been well thought out by GGG, and been worked on for a long time, making last minute changes look backwards to their design philosophy. After all, AOE is so important to so many builds, why would anyone want a couple days to take that in.

i have worked both on the software and hardware side of this industry for many years. (retired). most every client, vendor, ect. down the line understands the "nature of the beast" when the planning, for whatever reason, evolves into that beast. but that's not what i am referencing. those same clients and vendors appreciate better, timely communication and become more understanding of last minute changes.

thank you for your reply.

They don't stand to gain by being "considerate". They stand to gain by making a game we enjoy playing. They're doing a good job at that. Sometimes wanting something is more fun than getting it. That's what feeds this game. You want stuff. Keep wanting.

1. Discussing a change and then having to do last minute adjustments (for balance or technical reasons) always creates a flood of complaints and will be more harmful for the game and community then waiting until you're sure and giving out details. It's happened in PoE and many other similar games. People don't forget.
2. You write all of this as if they will release the tree and patch notes 9 minutes before the patch goes live and you won't have time to readjust, but we always get the tree in advance and a good part of the patch notes as well. You even wrote that we'll get it 2-3 days in advance. If you can't figure out a build with 3 days then 2 weeks won't help you either.
3. Can't build hype around a release if you give out everything 2 weeks in advance.