Troop/tactics balance problem

[Nikolay]

It's been two months since the release of the v12.19 update. Bombers and Demolition leave no chance for the defending player, even if he has an excellent Museum and Council for defense. There are no countermeasures. As a result, the defense players suffer, they are just punching dolls. And the attackers have relaxed and are losing interest, because they can play with a mug of beer in one hand.

@Harlems369th @TheWise @BHGAustin @BHGSarah when will the update come out that will nerf Bombers and the Mongol coalition? Where is the promised rebalance? After 12.20, the attackers are gaining momentum and strengthening the Showcase. Defense players get very few bonuses from it. Also, now there is a Museum event to search for artifacts of war and many attackers have already found artifacts with 3-4 identical benefits for damage/hit points of bombers. At the same time, the defense players already have everything they need and are running into the 85% limit.
This is no longer funny, the situation is turning into a big problem

 

[Seek]

I absolutely want to help any and every VIP and F2P player in DomiNations, I just don't have that kind of time or power. All I can do is be honest about the constraints of the team and our current objectives. We are putting a lot of energy into the features our design/leadership teams feel are crucial to this game's longevity. In addition, @Harlems369th who you love to give a hard time, is in every meeting day in and day out advocating for bug fixes and QOL updates that better the game for the players. We don't always deliver, but we are certainly trying.


I definitely don't think that this is the answer for everyone, and obviously that is not what I'm suggesting. That said, I've also been monitoring the forums since I started at BHG, and you just don't seem to be very happy with our game. That's obviously disappointing and if I could do anything to change that I would, but I believe people deserve to play games that they love. It's as simple as that.


Absolutely! They might not end up as your favorites, but I'm happy to share a few that I've personally spent way more hours in than I probably should.

No I am not at all upset with your response I actually applaud honesty of telling basically don’t like it than quit aka stop playing aka take break.
Since we are being honest
What most of are complaining and unhappy about is defense getting shaft on every aspect of the game and we are not getting told hey coalitions going be fixed mid Oct, what armor is coming will it help balance, we are adjusting the defense mythicals and anything that gives pure defense players a reason to continue to play. Then we continue not to get answers we or I get bored and start on forums complaining in threads

Would it be easier for folks to handle if y’all thought about the defense it been months of this I am even sick of hearing myself and others complaining. Which most of us complaining ones that love this game and play hard as hell so ya know.

Thank you again for your response honesty and advice

 

[King Crimson]

most of us complaining ones that love this game and play hard as hell so ya know.

Absolutely true!

 

[King Crimson]

Kids playing? I thought the majority player base was middle aged adults

That was my reference for all the tantrums being thrown on the forum

 

[nobodyknowsthetrouble]

Hey @Seek! Just a heads up, you should not expect 'live chat' response times from me (or anyone) on the forums. Not sure what your line of work is, but most folks feel a lunch break to be helpful in maintaining productivity. Not to mention the fact that you're not the only player sending me messages that need a response. I'd appreciate a bit more patience from you in the future.


I don't have dates to provide you with, as our release schedule is already packed tight with everything we have planned for the rest of the year, as well as the time needed to resolve pressing live issues and bugs. This has nothing to do with 'clearance,' and has everything to do with the fact that we have already provided you with all of the available information.

I absolutely understand the frustration of players regarding balance and the state of the game. This has been a complaint I've heard from my very first day with BHG and one I've heard every day since. No matter what we do, balance will never be perfect. If you're not currently enjoying DomiNations, I would absolutely urge you to take a break and come back to see if a future update aligns more with your preferences. I've got a few game recommendations I'd be happy to share; if you're interested just shoot me a dm. You are obviously welcome back any time at all, we'll still be here doing our best to maintain a game that is loved by many.

I think it's great that you're more talkative in all threads. Many thanks.

I don't think specific dates are that important. As far as I'm concerned, you don't need a fixed update cycle. It's better to test more and then release when it's ready. Even if it takes 7 or 11 weeks.

Information about the direction the game is developing in are more interesting. E.g.
- is the rebalancing for this year completed? I play in various alliances. In most of them, the defensive side is perceived as too strong or the game is described as balanced. The complaints about the defensive side having no chance here in the forum are not reflected in my alliances.
- Will the Mongols be drastically weakened in the near future, as is often speculated here?
I have several thousand tokens in each account. But before I spend them, I would like to know if my army can still be built in the same way in two months. The memory of the fighter artifact scam is still very fresh. Not again. I'd rather keep the tokens than buy something that will be useless a few weeks later.
- Will bombers be revised in the near future? If you believe the loud voices in the forum, then the base values would have to be drastically reduced so that the +300% museum bonus only reaches a medium value. Or the museum could get an upper limit similar to the -85%. But here too, I hardly see any superior bombers in my alliances, so I don't see the need for it. Nevertheless, it would be nice to have a statement on whether it is still worthwhile to develop in this direction. It doesn't have to be a plan for several years into the future, but maybe 3 months – that's how far your plan should reach at least, right?

When you tease new features, it would be nice to have a rough timeframe. Should we expect the new munitions levels in September or more likely December? When are these teasers written? When the design team decides it's a good idea, or when the first version goes into QA?

Your backlog is getting longer and longer, with every update bringing new bugs while old ones remain unfixed. I think it would be really good if you focused on bug fixes for 2-3 months without working on new content.
Will half-finished projects such as dominationsworld still be continued? For example, we still need to sort the cities, improve the login process, and be able to change avatars and customize city icons. In addition, the bugs in the store should be fixed and font sizes harmonized. Just to mention something other than the long-running issues such as replays, museum, and QoL (less tapping).

 

[King Crimson]

Will bombers be revised in the near future? If you believe the loud voices in the forum, then the base values would have to be drastically reduced so that the +300% museum bonus only reaches a medium value. Or the museum could get an upper limit similar to the -85%. But here too, I hardly see any superior bombers in my alliances, so I don't see the need for it. .

The question whether bombers are too OP vs defense is too OP should be the catalyst for another survey - then we can get the opinions of the player base and not just a few diehards.

 

[Ezekiel]

This is how balanced the game is right now lol

 

[Pokusay]

This is how balanced the game is right now lol

59 seconds) He dropped a nuclear bomb on it?1

 

[Nikolay]

Hi @Nikolay! Thanks so much for bringing this back up. As you noted, in the last few months we have made some extremely impactful balance changes. These have not been forgotten and we have plans to continue to iterate and improve the state of the game. Updates on that will be shared as soon as we're comfortable doing so.

All that said, please refrain from tagging @BHGAustin and @BHGSarah in threads like these. They are engineers. Each time they are tagged, you inadvertently spend their time checking notifications instead of working on debugging code. It is the job of myself, @Harlems369th, and @TheWise to intermediate, allowing them to keep their heads down. Feel free to tag me in any post to which you'd like a response, and while not every post will receive a super detailed response, I will do my best to get you information. I appreciate your understanding.

Thanks for your reply. I'd also like answers to the questions I've been asking here for the past few years:
1) Every major update brings new bugs and breaks previously working functionality. Why are your testers so bad and unable to spot even the most basic bugs? What steps does management take to minimize the number of bugs players discover? Harlem also mentioned that you have a quality assurance department in your company; that's ridiculous, given that their work is absolutely worthless. Again, bugs and breakdowns occur after every major update...
2) Why can't the developers set up a rollback feature for the last update when critical bugs are discovered that interfere with or block gameplay? In any normal company, broken updates are rolled back to the latest working version, the developers fix the bugs, and only then reinstall the working release. In our situation, players have to endure and wait for weeks for an update that fixes the problems.
3) To minimize risks, I've repeatedly suggested using players for beta testing of updates, as was done with the Manufactory. We're ready to help, and I'm sure many players would agree. It's in our interests, after all. Why aren't we invited to beta test on a separate game server?

I'll simply describe the situation: an update is released, bugs appear in the new functionality, and some of the old functionality, which had been working smoothly, breaks. We endure for a few weeks, some of the bugs are fixed, but minor bugs remain. A new update is released, and the cycle repeats, with minor bugs accumulating from one update to the next, like a snowball.

We really need several full-fledged updates that will fix these minor bugs that have been accumulating for years. They're not critical, but they are an inconvenience.

 

[Harlems369th]

Thanks for your reply. I'd also like answers to the questions I've been asking here for the past few years:
1) Every major update brings new bugs and breaks previously working functionality. Why are your testers so bad and unable to spot even the most basic bugs? What steps does management take to minimize the number of bugs players discover? Harlem also mentioned that you have a quality assurance department in your company; that's ridiculous, given that their work is absolutely worthless. Again, bugs and breakdowns occur after every major update...
2) Why can't the developers set up a rollback feature for the last update when critical bugs are discovered that interfere with or block gameplay? In any normal company, broken updates are rolled back to the latest working version, the developers fix the bugs, and only then reinstall the working release. In our situation, players have to endure and wait for weeks for an update that fixes the problems.
3) To minimize risks, I've repeatedly suggested using players for beta testing of updates, as was done with the Manufactory. We're ready to help, and I'm sure many players would agree. It's in our interests, after all. Why aren't we invited to beta test on a separate game server?

I'll simply describe the situation: an update is released, bugs appear in the new functionality, and some of the old functionality, which had been working smoothly, breaks. We endure for a few weeks, some of the bugs are fixed, but minor bugs remain. A new update is released, and the cycle repeats, with minor bugs accumulating from one update to the next, like a snowball.

We really need several full-fledged updates that will fix these minor bugs that have been accumulating for years. They're not critical, but they are an inconvenience.

1) Our QA team is phenomenal at what they do. They are a small team spread very thin, and they work countless hours and overtime to deliver the best information they can and quickly alleviate issues that pop up. Without them, you wouldn't have had the quick turnarounds you've seen over the last month. So, I would appreciate it if you refrain from insulting this team, as you often want to do; I will no longer tolerate you doing so.

You've been here long enough to know that I've explained this before: Our team testing for 40+ hours a week does NOT equate to the insane amount of access that hundreds of thousands of players run through in that same amount of time. You should look into a game studio's daily QA process to understand how issues can still pop up. Asking any QA team to test an infinite number of possibilities is not possible. Problems may only be basic on the surface but are, in fact, complex.

2) A switch to a feature can be dependent upon the type of feature that is being worked on. Sometimes things can't just be 'flipped off' without negatively interfering with other systems. Again, as you've seen me say before, our game is 10 years old and has many deep-rooted systems that can interact with each other in ways that the original team 10 years ago didn't think about because the ideas didn't exist then. Thus, today's team may run into those issues without realizing it.

3) Making a beta build requires us to essentially make a second build of the game, which would delay release timing and divert engineers from the main project. Because of this, we are very selective about what we'd like to test and in what capacity. Detachments was our last feature that we put in the hands of a very select few players.

 

[Harlems369th]

I think it's great that you're more talkative in all threads. Many thanks.

I don't think specific dates are that important. As far as I'm concerned, you don't need a fixed update cycle. It's better to test more and then release when it's ready. Even if it takes 7 or 11 weeks.

Information about the direction the game is developing in are more interesting. E.g.
- is the rebalancing for this year completed? I play in various alliances. In most of them, the defensive side is perceived as too strong or the game is described as balanced. The complaints about the defensive side having no chance here in the forum are not reflected in my alliances.

I am hard-pressed to give any time frame, as things can constantly change. We're not done making adjustments, but I think it'd be more honest to say we'll never be done making adjustments to the game as we release new features. With regard to our Combat Rebalance Initiative, it's not done and is still being discussed.

- Will the Mongols be drastically weakened in the near future, as is often speculated here?
I have several thousand tokens in each account. But before I spend them, I would like to know if my army can still be built in the same way in two months. The memory of the fighter artifact scam is still very fresh. Not again. I'd rather keep the tokens than buy something that will be useless a few weeks later.

I'm unsure with the specifics on what will be adjusted and how; it's still being discussed. Fortunately, with the new Legendary Store, you don't have to worry about buying a Legendary Artifact immediately. You can wait as long as you like before spending your tokens on a Legendary Artifact. Can your army be built the same in two months? Who can say! But like other games of our ilk, what may be a top-tier strategy may not be a top-tier strategy in a week, month, quarter, or year, and so on.

- Will bombers be revised in the near future? If you believe the loud voices in the forum, then the base values would have to be drastically reduced so that the +300% museum bonus only reaches a medium value. Or the museum could get an upper limit similar to the -85%. But here too, I hardly see any superior bombers in my alliances, so I don't see the need for it. Nevertheless, it would be nice to have a statement on whether it is still worthwhile to develop in this direction. It doesn't have to be a plan for several years into the future, but maybe 3 months – that's how far your plan should reach at least, right?

When we're ready to share something, we'll gladly do so! We are looking back at the -85% debuff cap and would like to revisit it. Much of the work was already done, but it needs to be adjusted based on what's in the game today. There is no timeframe for releasing this work. We're set on future content right now, but plan to circle back to tweaking things once the dust settles.

When you tease new features, it would be nice to have a rough timeframe. Should we expect the new munitions levels in September or more likely December? When are these teasers written? When the design team decides it's a good idea, or when the first version goes into QA?

If available, the teasers are written when we have a solid release window. You'll notice that often with a teaser, we'll say things like "Early summer". That's the goal to hit that date, and even then, it could get delayed to ensure a better quality feature. Sometimes we're just saying, "hey, we're working on this thing!" because maybe the community at large is asking for it, or because we think it's really cool and want to share it with you. Shoot, Silksong took 7 years to make without any release window or so much as a word after their Kickstarter ended.

Your backlog is getting longer and longer, with every update bringing new bugs while old ones remain unfixed. I think it would be really good if you focused on bug fixes for 2-3 months without working on new content.

Yeah, that'd be really cool. After a few more updates, I think that will be the intent.

Will half-finished projects such as dominationsworld still be continued? For example, we still need to sort the cities, improve the login process, and be able to change avatars and customize city icons. In addition, the bugs in the store should be fixed and font sizes harmonized. Just to mention something other than the long-running issues such as replays, museum, and QoL (less tapping).

I don't think we implied that we would not finish what we started. Now, the regular requests for those longstanding fixes are still on our radar. We're just a pretty small team trying to balance creating new content for players at the end game, like yourself, and also returning to fixing/tweaking existing content.

 

[Nikolay]

1) Our QA team is phenomenal at what they do. They are a small team spread very thin, and they work countless hours and overtime to deliver the best information they can and quickly alleviate issues that pop up. Without them, you wouldn't have had the quick turnarounds you've seen over the last month. So, I would appreciate it if you refrain from insulting this team, as you often want to do; I will no longer tolerate you doing so.

You've been here long enough to know that I've explained this before: Our team testing for 40+ hours a week does NOT equate to the insane amount of access that hundreds of thousands of players run through in that same amount of time. You should look into a game studio's daily QA process to understand how issues can still pop up. Asking any QA team to test an infinite number of possibilities is not possible. Problems may only be basic on the surface but are, in fact, complex.

2) A switch to a feature can be dependent upon the type of feature that is being worked on. Sometimes things can't just be 'flipped off' without negatively interfering with other systems. Again, as you've seen me say before, our game is 10 years old and has many deep-rooted systems that can interact with each other in ways that the original team 10 years ago didn't think about because the ideas didn't exist then. Thus, today's team may run into those issues without realizing it.

3) Making a beta build requires us to essentially make a second build of the game, which would delay release timing and divert engineers from the main project. Because of this, we are very selective about what we'd like to test and in what capacity. Detachments was our last feature that we put in the hands of a very select few players.

I didn't mean to offend anyone in any way. Perhaps it's translation difficulties, as English isn't my native language, so I use a translator. My point is that for years we've been facing the same problems that are severely damaging, including to the game's reputation, with no sign of improvement. I wanted to know if there's been any progress or any problems. There are best practices that can be implemented into the workflow, or at least attempted. Developers can organize automated software testing of functionality, which will free up a lot of time for your testers. Obviously, many tasks will require visual analysis, so resources can be redirected to that.

After encountering yet another bug, we don't enjoy writing angry letters to you, and you won't enjoy reading them... We want the quality of the product to improve year after year, not stagnate. I hope for the best!

 

[Harlems369th]

I didn't mean to offend anyone in any way. Perhaps it's translation difficulties, as English isn't my native language, so I use a translator. My point is that for years we've been facing the same problems that are severely damaging, including to the game's reputation, with no sign of improvement. I wanted to know if there's been any progress or any problems. There are best practices that can be implemented into the workflow, or at least attempted. Developers can organize automated software testing of functionality, which will free up a lot of time for your testers. Obviously, many tasks will require visual analysis, so resources can be redirected to that.

After encountering yet another bug, we don't enjoy writing angry letters to you, and you won't enjoy reading them... We want the quality of the product to improve year after year, not stagnate. I hope for the best!

A translator can only translate what it was told, so I recommend you avoid belittling the people you're asking for help from if you'd like to continue having a space here to discuss our game.

Automating a testing system works the same way; it can only test as far as it's told, and you need to be specific. There are plenty of debugging tools available that can tell whether code simply works, but they don't necessarily tell if the code is having the intended result after being manipulated or interacted with in very specific ways. That's where our QA team comes in, working tirelessly to try and resolve/discover as much as possible with their limited time before a release. Sometimes, they even call for us to delay releases if things aren't lining up (e.g., the munition update that was left over in a previous update).

 

[Rollin]

oh you two... @Harlems369th @Davis - The Emissary

I really thank you for your enormous effort especially Davis BUT let me say something

Please don't tell me you don't know what the game balance is ? We have published hundreds of answers and data here in the forum so that EVERYONE knew that this balancing would completely fail and what happened ? impossible to play as a defensive player

Our offensive players are now at 400% EDST? The defenders DOESN'T EXIST anymore... the bombers are impossible to destroy and that's exactly what we said weeks and months before

Where I am most disappointed ? The mythic best defensive artifacts are SHIT as hell, Abu Simbel Bonus 20% Defender dmg, for what ? defenders never spawn ? Maori warclub I was shocked when I saw it GENERAL DMG AND HP ?? RLYYYY ?? I mean wtf ? the defender havent ONE mythical artifact with a meaningful bonus line, not a single one

The mythical offensive artifacts are extremely strong, Here you can see that you can do it IF U WANT, but not for the defensive artifacts ? Why not ? There are only 3 strong defensive artifacts and they are all useless. Defenders MUST use them because there is nothing else, sry but that's not fair. Not bad enough that we can't do anything anyway, we still get shitty artifacts

Is this supposed to be a bad joke ? because it really feels that way

You have contact with the best players in Dominations who know exactly what is good and bad, but you rarely communicate with us and you don’t accept criticism or cooperation why ? A lot of things could have been prevented

I really don't know how you want to fix this current problem

and believe me, the idea of removing the -85% cap will just make it worse, much worse than it already is. I think you won't believe me, but the truth and data don't lie and I can already guess, the offensive becomes stronger, u want that ? than do it

this game was so much fun..... now only frustration

Thanks for listening

 

[Seek]

oh you two... @Harlems369th @Davis - The Emissary

I really thank you for your enormous effort especially Davis BUT let me say something

Please don't tell me you don't know what the game balance is ? We have published hundreds of answers and data here in the forum so that EVERYONE knew that this balancing would completely fail and what happened ? impossible to play as a defensive player

Our offensive players are now at 400% EDST? The defenders DOESN'T EXIST anymore... the bombers are impossible to destroy and that's exactly what we said weeks and months before

Where I am most disappointed ? The mythic best defensive artifacts are SHIT as hell, Abu Simbel Bonus 20% Defender dmg, for what ? defenders never spawn ? Maori warclub I was shocked when I saw it GENERAL DMG AND HP ?? RLYYYY ?? I mean wtf ? the defender havent ONE mythical artifact with a meaningful bonus line, not a single one

The mythical offensive artifacts are extremely strong

Is this supposed to be a bad joke ? because it really feels that way

You have contact with the best players in Dominations who know exactly what is good and bad, but you rarely communicate with us and you don’t accept criticism or cooperation why ? A lot of things could have been prevented, believe me

I really don't know how you want to fix this current problem

and believe me, the idea of removing the -85% cap will just make it worse, much worse than it already is. I think you won't believe me, but the truth and data don't lie and I can already guess, the offensive becomes stronger, u want that ? than do it

this game was so much fun..... now only frustration

Thanks for listening

Guess I am not the only one lol Well said well said indeed …definitely Davis putting effort

Rollin definitely called it as it is …

 

[Harlems369th]

Please don't tell me you don't know what the game balance is ? We have published hundreds of answers and data here in the forum so that EVERYONE knew that this balancing would completely fail and what happened ? impossible to play as a defensive player

This isn't what either of us said; it is an entirely different conversation.

Our offensive players are now at 400% EDST? The defenders DOESN'T EXIST anymore... the bombers are impossible to destroy and that's exactly what we said weeks and months before

We appreciate the feedback, have considered it, and compared it to the data we see internally. We'll make adjustments as we deem fit.

Where I am most disappointed ? The mythic best defensive artifacts are SHIT as hell, Abu Simbel Bonus 20% Defender dmg, for what ? defenders never spawn ? Maori warclub I was shocked when I saw it GENERAL DMG AND HP ?? RLYYYY ?? I mean wtf ? the defender havent ONE mythical artifact with a meaningful bonus line, not a single one

What you're saying here is that the current slate of mythicals doesn't work for YOU. I hope that future Mythicals do, but there will always be give and take. Not every piece of equipment needs to be 100% useful for YOU; that's where choice becomes a factor. Other players may find uses for them and strategies they choose to pursue.

The mythical offensive artifacts are extremely strong, Here you can see that you can do it IF U WANT, but not for the defensive artifacts ? Why not ? There are only 3 strong defensive artifacts and they are all useless. Defenders MUST use them because there is nothing else, sry but that's not fair. Not bad enough that we can't do anything anyway, we still get shitty artifacts

We've not released ALL Mythical Artifacts; we are still rolling them out. No one said you HAD to use them. Your current playstyle or decisions might be uncomfortable right now, but that comes with a changing and evolving meta. If you don't like the direction of this meta, feel free to step away and return when things line up with your current playstyle again if they do.

Is this supposed to be a bad joke ? because it really feels that way

You have contact with the best players in Dominations who know exactly what is good and bad, but you rarely communicate with us and you don’t accept criticism or cooperation why ? A lot of things could have been prevented

I really don't know how you want to fix this current problem

We continue to monitor and track feedback, but not all feedback is immediately actionable and doesn't necessarily align with the direction of the game that we want to pursue. Some feedback: We don't have the headcount to action until after completing a few other tasks. It has been said many times that we're a small development team and many of our 10-year-old game changes take some time to work. Our game is so old that we don't have the same team that we did 10 years ago, and often, some systems and how they impact other parts of the game are lost to those developers and left undocumented. So again, something that appears 'simple' may have a domino effect, so we take extensive time to tackle certain features and fixes.

Historically, we have brought in veteran players for previous updates and will continue to do so as we see fit and within our chosen capacity. We have communicated in the past, but you may remember that when we do, we often get told that 'we don't know what we're talking about', or 'are making up the feedback', or the most vocal here outright denying the data we receive from our community at large. So if you feel like we've shied away from being more accessible, look inward.

and believe me, the idea of removing the -85% cap will just make it worse, much worse than it already is. I think you won't believe me, but the truth and data don't lie and I can already guess, the offensive becomes stronger, u want that ? than do it

So true, the truth from data doesn't lie, so we'll stand behind the decision this time to reevaluate the -85% debuff cap to better fit the state of DomiNations as it is now. Our data on how everyone plays the game at varying levels helps to back up our decisions and give direction on moving forward with our changes.

this game was so much fun..... now only frustration

Thanks for listening

I'm sorry you're not currently enjoying your time in DomiNations. Not all meta changes (forced or naturally found) are for everyone; we understand that. If a strategy isn't working out for you currently, it may be time to adjust, or keep playing the way you always have, or take some time away until your winning strategy returns. You're always welcome to return whenever you see fit, as we'll be here still tuning a game that many here find enjoyment from beyond the confines of this forum, openly vocal or otherwise.

 

[Davis - The Emissary]

Let me make a few things clear, and please take some time to read my thoughts and process what I've said. @Nikolay @Seek @Rollin @King Crimson and anyone else who feels similarly to them - please read.

First, I want to address releases and the resulting bugs. I've said this earlier but I don't think everyone fully understands. Our code base was originally created over 10 years ago. The then team created an incredible game, but there are systems that have been implemented since that they hadn't even dreamed would exist, so they didn't build those systems to accommodate or work with all of the many newer features. Some systems have remained relatively untouched since then. All of this code coexists, which is what causes the large majority of the issues we are all forced to face. If we were to rip out entire portions of that original code, we'd see massive bug outbreaks upon releasing the new version, because of the incredible complexity and expanse of the DomiNations code base. A perfect example of this on a small scale is the recent work to refactor the troop donation system. Yes there were absolutely bugs that resulted from this work, but we now have also upgraded a part of the code base that hadn't been touched for many years, making the system more stable as a result. To rebuild everything from the ground up would take an incredible amount of resources and is not a business decision to take lightly.

Next, I'd like to address the blame you seem to think belongs on our QA team. Release stability is a studio wide effort - no one group should take the all of the blame just because you need someone to be angry with. Our collective efforts produce the end result. Be mad at all of us. I assure you that none of us want to work overtime to get our features working properly. We care about the success of this game as much as you do - our careers depend on it. And of all the departments to blame, you really want to choose QA? They're some of the most hardworking people who have worked overtime for many of our releases this year and are always quick to respond and work late nights when issues come up. Please refrain from offering unsolicited advice on how we run our business - this is not the space for that. The forums are a place for players to discuss the game itself, so please keep conversation to that.

So to that point, I'd love to contribute to a discussion on the game's balance. These are the positive conversations that influence the choices our team makes. Please also understand that just because you see others that agree with you, does not mean there are not those who disagree. @Rollin I've had this situation with you a while back, you were telling me one thing about the game's balance and another player told me the complete opposite. In that situation, most changes we could make would be hated by someone. That means we have to consider data from multiple sources. Yes, we go on Reddit because we want to know if people like our game. We read threads on the forums because we want to improve and your feedback fuels that; but there are many differing opinions and internal data points that we have to consider as we navigate the changes we make. Please try to understand and have some more empathy for the folks I work with.

Thanks all who read, and apologies for the novel~

 

[Seek]

I didn't mean to offend anyone in any way. Perhaps it's translation difficulties, as English isn't my native language, so I use a translator. My point is that for years we've been facing the same problems that are severely damaging, including to the game's reputation, with no sign of improvement. I wanted to know if there's been any progress or any problems. There are best practices that can be implemented into the workflow, or at least attempted. Developers can organize automated software testing of functionality, which will free up a lot of time for your testers. Obviously, many tasks will require visual analysis, so resources can be redirected to that.

After encountering yet another bug, we don't enjoy writing angry letters to you, and you won't enjoy reading them... We want the quality of the product to improve year after year, not stagnate. I hope for the best!

Let me make a few things clear, and please take some time to read my thoughts and process what I've said. @Nikolay @Seek @Rollin @King Crimson and anyone else who feels similarly to them - please read.

First, I want to address releases and the resulting bugs. I've said this earlier but I don't think everyone fully understands. Our code base was originally created over 10 years ago. The then team created an incredible game, but there are systems that have been implemented since that they hadn't even dreamed would exist, so they didn't build those systems to accommodate or work with all of the many newer features. Some systems have remained relatively untouched since then. All of this code coexists, which is what causes the large majority of the issues we are all forced to face. If we were to rip out entire portions of that original code, we'd see massive bug outbreaks upon releasing the new version, because of the incredible complexity and expanse of the DomiNations code base. A perfect example of this on a small scale is the recent work to refactor the troop donation system. Yes there were absolutely bugs that resulted from this work, but we now have also upgraded a part of the code base that hadn't been touched for many years, making the system more stable as a result. To rebuild everything from the ground up would take an incredible amount of resources and is not a business decision to take lightly.

Next, I'd like to address the blame you seem to think belongs on our QA team. Release stability is a studio wide effort - no one group should take the all of the blame just because you need someone to be angry with. Our collective efforts produce the end result. Be mad at all of us. I assure you that none of us want to work overtime to get our features working properly. We care about the success of this game as much as you do - our careers depend on it. And of all the departments to blame, you really want to choose QA? They're some of the most hardworking people who have worked overtime for many of our releases this year and are always quick to respond and work late nights when issues come up. Please refrain from offering unsolicited advice on how we run our business - this is not the space for that. The forums are a place for players to discuss the game itself, so please keep conversation to that.

So to that point, I'd love to contribute to a discussion on the game's balance. These are the positive conversations that influence the choices our team makes. Please also understand that just because you see others that agree with you, does not mean there are not those who disagree. @Rollin I've had this situation with you a while back, you were telling me one thing about the game's balance and another player told me the complete opposite. In that situation, most changes we could make would be hated by someone. That means we have to consider data from multiple sources. Yes, we go on Reddit because we want to know if people like our game. We read threads on the forums because we want to improve and your feedback fuels that; but there are many differing opinions and internal data points that we have to consider as we navigate the changes we make. Please try to understand and have some more empathy for the folks I work with.

Thanks all who read, and apologies for the novel~

@Harlems369th and @Davis

Well first and foremost I am not really mad about the QA team or any single person and I have been in jobs that are ones that take heat and lives being at stake. So I get it and do apologize for any actual offense. My aim was to bring to light problems from in game. I am not the technical guy that point mistake/ bugs or problems with code etc those I leave to folks like Kc Lust Nikoly and Nobody.

I will not however apologize for being critical of the balance of the game currently esp at end game levels, with lack of fairness, lack of action to address and more. Yet no offense personally is ment.

Now too me it should not be that hard to have adjusted something by now to fix balance. This is where players frustration kicks in. Saying we will adjust when we ready ? Don’t like it take time off aka Quit. Really these problems were brought up before update came out and we are months and still no adjustments. The code excuses I won’t pretend to understand I am an old grunt, but come on you have players that have been loyal spent thousands and not even a slight adjustment has been made for defense.

As for the Defense Mythical to say they might work for someone else is not entirely correct in my view. I say this because they are only 1 to 2 per line better than Legendary versions and most got Gen DPS/HP. Compare the jump in stats from Offense ones to Defense ones also. Not to mention the number of D mythicals is smaller in numbers. Not calling you liar or meaning to offend, just stating my view.

Yes I know I am little rough but I been with Exiles longtime not trying to hurt anyone feelers just want to have a fair chance to play

 

[King Crimson]

Next, I'd like to address the blame you seem to think belongs on our QA team. Release stability is a studio wide effort - no one group should take the all of the blame just because you need someone to be angry with. Our collective efforts produce the end result. Be mad at all of us. I assure you that none of us want to work overtime to get our features working properly. We care about the success of this game as much as you do - our careers depend on it. And of all the departments to blame, you really want to choose QA? They're some of the most hardworking people who have worked overtime for many of our releases this year and are always quick to respond and work late nights when issues come up. Please refrain from offering unsolicited advice on how we run our business - this is not the space for that. The forums are a place for players to discuss the game itself, so please keep conversation to that.

Well said. (TL; did read)
Yes you've all mentioned the 'old code' plenty of times but I'd just like to make one comment on the above: I often use the term "devs" because I'm referring to the entire team - in as much as I don't hold the Q&A people responsible for the way things were, are going or end up - I hold the entire BHG company accountable as a single Q&A collective. You're all part of quality control and excuses like "it's too complicated at this point" (yes I'm talking about the heli range) is an easy cop out.
Yes, the programmers from 10 yrs ago aren't here but I imagine the old code isn't as sophisticated as today's code or today's programmers. The new breed are supposed to be smarter - even without ai - so let them prove it.
Excuses only work if you can't fix the problem, not if you choose not to.

 

[Nikolay]

What you're saying here is that the current slate of mythicals doesn't work for YOU. I hope that future Mythicals do, but there will always be give and take. Not every piece of equipment needs to be 100% useful for YOU; that's where choice becomes a factor. Other players may find uses for them and strategies they choose to pursue.
We've not released ALL Mythical Artifacts; we are still rolling them out. No one said you HAD to use them. Your current playstyle or decisions might be uncomfortable right now, but that comes with a changing and evolving meta. If you don't like the direction of this meta, feel free to step away and return when things line up with your current playstyle again if they do.

I'll try to explain. There are only four legendary artifacts in the game that are good for defense and used by the best defenders: ASDIC Type 113X, Gemini 8 Gloves, Maori War Club, and Ramesses II's Abu Simbel.

And all four of these artifacts have already appeared in Mythic versions.

If you ask any defense player, they'll tell you that the new (sixth) artifact row doesn't play a big role in defense for Maori War Club and ASDIC Type 113X.

And the starting percentages of all benefits for Ramesses II's Abu Simbel are somehow too low compared to offensive artifacts.

Meanwhile, mythic offensive artifacts have a new (sixth) benefit that's very useful for attacking.

Accordingly, there are no other defensive artifacts and there won't be any for now, and we, as defense players, are extremely upset by this imbalance.

 

[Rollin]

I'll try to explain. There are only four legendary artifacts in the game that are good for defense and used by the best defenders: ASDIC Type 113X, Gemini 8 Gloves, Maori War Club, and Ramesses II's Abu Simbel.

And all four of these artifacts have already appeared in Mythic versions.

If you ask any defense player, they'll tell you that the new (sixth) artifact row doesn't play a big role in defense for Maori War Club and ASDIC Type 113X.

And the starting percentages of all benefits for Ramesses II's Abu Simbel are somehow too low compared to offensive artifacts.

Meanwhile, mythic offensive artifacts have a new (sixth) benefit that's very useful for attacking.

Accordingly, there are no other defensive artifacts and there won't be any for now, and we, as defense players, are extremely upset by this imbalance.

thank you !!!!! unfortunately @Harlems369th it will not understand I guess. He thinks the defense has 100 possibilities to play. What is the defense supposed to do with the general damage and HP ? It's exclusively an offensive line; the offense can't even use it, maybe for a showcase, but use 1000 tokens for one offensive line ? And why do offensive mythical artifacts not have a defensive line then ?

Do you know why so many people think you don't understand your own game ? Because you discuss something that 99% of players already know and understand, but you try to prove the opposite to the community ? Generals are a useless line, there's really nothing good to say about it for Defens ?

EVERY SINGLE mythic offensive artifact has received the PERFECT extra mythic line (maybe the ring is not perfect), EXCEPT the defensive artifacts why ?? we only have 3 artifacts....

@Nikolay explained it here with data and a very nice picture

We've not released ALL Mythical Artifacts; we are still rolling them out. No one said you HAD to use them. Your current playstyle or decisions might be uncomfortable right now, but that comes with a changing and evolving meta. If you don't like the direction of this meta, feel free to step away and return when things line up with your current playstyle again if they do.

It doesn't matter anymore. You've destroyed the best artifacts, that's it. There are no better artifacts, even with an extremely strong mythic line. There is NO room to discuss it. Abu Simbel, ASDIC and Maorie Club are the best artefacts

unless you release a completely new defensive mythical artifact

I'm sorry you're not currently enjoying your time in DomiNations. Not all meta changes (forced or naturally found) are for everyone; we understand that. If a strategy isn't working out for you currently, it may be time to adjust, or keep playing the way you always have, or take some time away until your winning strategy returns. You're always welcome to return whenever you see fit, as we'll be here still tuning a game that many here find enjoyment from beyond the confines of this forum, openly vocal or otherwise.

What Meta @Harlems369th do you mean ? its not a "Meta" its not a change. It is a complete destruction of the defensive players. Should I publish the times here how quickly the best defensive players are destroyed ? you can't even play, EVEN IF YOU WANT TO

Weve been saying that for weeks !!

I'm sorry that I'm communicating with you so directly. This isn't an attack on you, but I get the feeling that you just don't want to understand things