Hi everyone,
I have heard unconfirmed rumors that they have been some big layoffs at Cryptic studios, in particular with the Netherwinter and STO teams. Apparently Smirk (aka Trevor), and Matt Miller were made redundant, which is probably why we have not seen them around the forums much anymore. I have also heard that this took place a month ago, if so why has it taken so long for us to find out, not even officially? The devs are keeping a very closed lip about this, apparently also closing threads with leaked info.
I guess this means that Cryptic may be going downhill... Not good for us, but this is probably the reason why they are money-grabbing ( getting rid of the pearls maybe?) , because they actually really need it. Then again if they continue to upset customers, then they will loose even more business. Seems like almost like a no-win scenario. I think instead of grand and big new season updates, if they got rid of all the bugs in the existing content and polished things up a little, it will have a greater impact to players then another buggy season after another.
See these articles about the redundancies...
http://massivelyop.com/2015/03/17/crypti...18-people/
http://massivelyop.com/2015/03/17/perfec...e-layoffs/
http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showth...?t=1401971
EDIT- Sorry I didn't realize that this was common knowledge by now- only just found out a couple of days ago.
AAAICT
(05-14-2015, 03:58 PM)aaaict Wrote: [ -> ]I have also heard that this took place a month ago, if so why has it taken so long for us to find out, not even officially? The devs are keeping a very closed lip about this, apparently also closing threads with leaked info.
http://massivelyop.com/2015/03/17/crypti...-18-people
That article that I left in the OP is dated Mar 17th. So not sure why your just hearing about it now but the layoffs have been pretty much common knowledge since the day it happened
whoops, I only just got word now...
I would say if they got down to the basics of doing missions and STFs.I would also suggest making ot easier to get rep gear lowering the requirements or even bring back Roxy.Player just don't have time to grind for these.
I got toons I got omega,maco and honour guard and borg assim gear from Roxy.
I don't see how things are going to improve as long as the game is broken. The servers are so old they can't handle the netcode in the new content, that's where the lag is coming from, and if you're not a DPS'er you're left out of the end game content. I've seen someone doing 50K DPS go into an elite STF with people that he helped with all of there builds still lose because they weren't doing enough damage. Until the game is fixed, and I don't mean just the servers, I have no intention of spending anymore money on it.
Well, certainly, they won't improve "as long as the game is broken," given that that is the main rubric for judging their improvement or lack thereof.
That said, yeah, when I first read this stuff, it was a bit jarring... especially considering how I don't almost ever read positive press about STO... that said, it's hard to tell what restructuring means at a company and I'm not super-familiar with who's who at Cryptic and PWE.
As it is, I would agree with folks here... that it would probably help Cryptic's bottom line to invest in having servers and networking infrastructure, as well as core code, that can support the user base they're going for. You've got a lot of people blaming command skills, etc., but the game is always laggy and broken with new releases and during events. There's a reason for this: the traffic spikes.
There's another trend I've noticed... whenever there's a major release or big-time event, people, good people who make the game a lot more enjoyable for me, quit, sometimes for good.
Sure, it's annoying that there's lag pretty much all the time... especially once you're able to really perform in the game in popular STFs... but the real problem is that the very moments when Cryptic is trying to drive up the user base and sell lots of "product," the very mix of the promotions and their hardware and code base infrastructure makes the game nearly unplayable.
I honestly think people could stomach the nerfs, the difficulty stuff, the changes in reward value after the fact, etc. etc. if the game performed better.
As far as difficulty goes, I think it's a mixed bag... some people dig the challenge, some people just want to have fun... somehow, both camps, are often unsatisfied, which is kind of notable.
All this said, it's the people that make the game fun for me... and I think there's been a lot of tremendous work done on the game. I still have a great time and the game looks beautiful, even on my wack graphics settings... just sad to see good people go and can't really fathom what it must feel like to have a LTS at times.
(05-15-2015, 07:04 PM)puckalish Wrote: [ -> ]Well, certainly, they won't improve "as long as the game is broken," given that that is the main rubric for judging their improvement or lack thereof.
That said, yeah, when I first read this stuff, it was a bit jarring... especially considering how I don't almost ever read positive press about STO... that said, it's hard to tell what restructuring means at a company and I'm not super-familiar with who's who at Cryptic and PWE.
As it is, I would agree with folks here... that it would probably help Cryptic's bottom line to invest in having servers and networking infrastructure, as well as core code, that can support the user base they're going for. You've got a lot of people blaming command skills, etc., but the game is always laggy and broken with new releases and during events. There's a reason for this: the traffic spikes.
There's another trend I've noticed... whenever there's a major release or big-time event, people, good people who make the game a lot more enjoyable for me, quit, sometimes for good.
Sure, it's annoying that there's lag pretty much all the time... especially once you're able to really perform in the game in popular STFs... but the real problem is that the very moments when Cryptic is trying to drive up the user base and sell lots of "product," the very mix of the promotions and their hardware and code base infrastructure makes the game nearly unplayable.
I honestly think people could stomach the nerfs, the difficulty stuff, the changes in reward value after the fact, etc. etc. if the game performed better.
As far as difficulty goes, I think it's a mixed bag... some people dig the challenge, some people just want to have fun... somehow, both camps, are often unsatisfied, which is kind of notable.
All this said, it's the people that make the game fun for me... and I think there's been a lot of tremendous work done on the game. I still have a great time and the game looks beautiful, even on my wack graphics settings... just sad to see good people go and can't really fathom what it must feel like to have a LTS at times.
I totally agree with what you have said... I think that the players would receive a total server and infrustructure revamp far better than another buggy season or even expansion. The question is why don't they do it? I suspect that it is likely due to a cost issue. ( like almost everything else about Cryptic) When they had that april fools 'joke' about retiring holodeck, I found it so ironic as it is actually what the game needs.
What I'm talking about when I say things won't improve as long as the game is broken is that people are going to spend less and less money as long as the game is like this. This is the only F2P game I've spent money on but until the game is fixed I'm done spending money. What happens when to many people get the same attitude I have and the game isn't making enough money any more.
I don't know if it's old infrastructure or just terribly written code that is causing the lag, but I agree with you guys that getting it fixed first before any new content would go a long way towards improving the bottom line. Just like any other product people want something that isn't broken first and foremost. What good is new content if you can't get in to play it!
(05-16-2015, 01:25 PM)eaglescoutdjb Wrote: [ -> ]What I'm talking about when I say things won't improve as long as the game is broken is that people are going to spend less and less money as long as the game is like this. This is the only F2P game I've spent money on but until the game is fixed I'm done spending money. What happens when to many people get the same attitude I have and the game isn't making enough money any more.
This. I see. Things won't improve for Cryptic's bottom line. Truth. Heck, the only time I paid money to Cryptic was after they fixed the Mac client after S9 broke it. I wasn't buying a ship or gear or anything - I literally thought of it as a donation in thanks for fixing the game (a little). I don't think I'm alone in having this mentality.