This is why TBM Items and such is not getting done..

Man i just dont know what to think.. what a bad deal. I figured the team would be able to cross train and handle all parts of the game at this stage of the game. I mean there should be a book written that details how to do things on all parts of the game. /shrug its be around for 15+ years.. and because someone goes away all things in his wheelhouse comes to a grinding halt..

Seriously items are so FUBR its time to figure something out.

Surprise surprise

Anyone else remember that whole live stream where Holly & co. talked about no longer relegating one area to one developer only?

It would also be relevant to point out the new itemization dev was just put on itemization this expansion sooooo pretty sure ANYONE is as qualified.

I've heard complaining, everyday, over and over, and replying to every single message works though. Keep up the good work!

Oh... I didn't realize forums weren't for posting

Glad you are satisfied with your broken product though!

ps. The most effective way for getting changes done in EQ in the past is to constantly repeat the issue over and over and over.

if(armor == helm)
{
faerune = 1;
}

Where do I send my application?

Now do it in excel.

Seriously... where are those Chandrok spreadsheets?!

They don't have time to figure this out, they only have time to steal your money!

Unfortunately, a common mistake in the software industry as a whole is not allocating time into documenting how to implement pieces of the software, training, and time to refactor and re-architecture inadequate designs to make development easier and more manageable going forward. When push comes to shove, business features often win out over architectural features for a quick business win instead of the long term benefits the improvements to training or architecture would bring. There needs to be a balance. By the time the lack of maintainability becomes apparent to more than just the development team, it's usually too late, and the customers begin to notice.

Itemization in TBM is significantly different from all prior expansions. I'm sure all of the designers know the objectives of the new itemization scheme, but they wouldn't be up to speed on the specifics of implementation.

It would seem reasonable for there to be a backup person for anyone designing new features for an expansion. I'm guessing Daybreak ran into a problem of limited staff resources. Not good for us, since there is a lot of potential in the new itemization scheme that we want to try out.

I think they were trying something like this but kinda got all messed up. I think they tried to be cute trying to make this crap for a level 75 and up.. why, i have no clue, as if all the other expansion did not already cover level 75-100

Base Item = baseline stats (visible class armor would have appropriate stats) these would have all the focus and clickies.

Type 9 Augs
Caster Aug = More Mana than HP more Caster Stats
Healer Aug = More HP than Mana more Healer Stats
Tank Aug = High HP AC more tank stats no healer or caster stats

Type 5 Augs
Overall Heroic aug
1x each heroic to Focus on 1 Heroic and minimum others

Code name: "Pulling a TLP"

Or to quite a mediocre Simpsons episode:
Bill Clinton: Thank you, Lisa, for teaching kids everywhere a valuable lesson: If things don't go your way, just keep complaining until your dreams come true.
Marge: That's a pretty lousy lesson.
Bill Clinton: Hey, I'm a pretty lousy president.

I like how the special weapon ornaments can no longer go on the TBM weapons. the soulfire aug is type 20, the new weapon only takes type 21. I worked hard (for all of 15 min) to get this and I like the look. Why did you make them useless now?

The Livesteam with Holly (tm) is a part of EverQuest history now.

MMO developers should use it as a training video showing how everything could go wrong.

The type 21 slot was a bug that is fixed this patch.
Putting a BP ornament (type 21) would just be silly.

I know people are upset about the state of this expansion, but we aren't THOSE people are we? God forbid someone take a vacation. Lets think about this last year for someone assigned to EQ: switched ownership (which is always stressful. Dont kid yourself), busted their tails on a new expansion (if you say "no they didnt its still broken!" then you arent being reasonable), worked on making TLP the best it can be (which is something people have been begging for for years), and get to do all that while dealing with abusive customers. After all that, are you seriously telling me that you wouldnt take a vacation? You dont do your best work chained to a desk. You have to refresh once and a while. Sure, maybe you can grind through it and fix a few bugs in a week or two, but you wont fix the next one unless you step away and recharge. You're human. You need a break. You can only do so much.

As for cross training, thats pretty difficult at any job, let alone a small team on a legacy system. The developers that specialize on specific systems and have the most knowledge on them STILL create bugs. Imagine someone with less experience who is working outside of their specialty. Thats not setting someone up for success and it would likely take months for someone to feel comfortable with a new system. Think about where you work. Some people are just better at certain tasks than others and everyone has a role. Now factor in ancient frankenstein code that you have to unravel. In a perfect world every developer could do everything. Unfortunately in the real world its much more complicated.

with that said.

1. Stop trying to release content close to the holidays - Content should be release before October. This will give more time to have a polished product before taking long vacation for the holidays.
2. Never release 2 products at the same time - I cant believe they did a TLP and an expansion all at the same time. what a total mess. one should have been released and post release issues mostly fixed before moving on to another release. That way focus is on one product. this limited staff cant do both at once.
3. Never release a product regardless of how broken it is.. - TBM should still be in beta testing at this point. Maybe then it would be more polished.
4. Work within your means - It was not a brilliant idea to revamp the group gear with this limited staff. Going through with this is a train wreck. To throw salt on the wound, the person responsible is out of contact and no one else is willing and able to step in to fix all the issues.

^^ Nailed it. No one begrudges DBG employees taking vacation, everyone deserves a vacation, but the level of clusterfck exacerbated by all of the above compounded by vacations and other excuses is absolutely mind-boggling.

3 of the 4 reasons you just listed are outside the realms of developer control or decision making. They are the decisions of senior management. Unfortunately, the devs are getting the brunt of the complaints. (And if you don't know which one's I'm speaking of, it's 1-3). The devs could highly recommend these reasons as to why they feel the product shouldn't be rolled out, but ultimately, the final call isn't in their court.

I'm impressed you can hear text.