09/01/09 Short Term Goals

[Ross Przybylski]

Dear Hero Mages community,

I just wanted to take a moment to share what we have in the works for the next release of Hero Mages, v1.2.0.  It’s not often you get to see the developer’s side of view, and I know from the gamers’ side that it can be very frustrating facing bugs or wondering when the next new feature is going to arrive, so here I am to give you the scoop and listen to what you have to say.

Right now, our primary focus is resolving the Memory Leak issue that has been causing crashes and frustration for everyone.  I'm happy to report that after considerable work, we have nearly eradicated this problem and should have our next update ready very soon (end of this week or early next week).

Other issues we're planning to take care of in this release are the various bugs and game lock-ups caused by the Imprison spell, the missing-card line of sight issue, the "I can't see my screen because the combo boxes are in the way" issue, and a few other minor bugs.

New features for this release will include staggered turns for random team games, the ability to group random teams together for those custom maps of yours, and some enhancements to the interface to allow you to view game spectators.

We'll also be making some changes to the ranking and leaderboard system that should benefit everyone- and- if you're lucky, you might also see a new game mode

I know many of you will be disappointed that the ability to rejoin dropped games will not be included in this release, and I wanted to explain that this is due to the sheer complexity of storing the game state as data.  Currently, all games require synchronous updates from the players as moves are made (this ensures minimal bandwidth and optimal performance, allowing you to enjoy Hero Mages even on low connection speeds).  Hence, to implement this will require careful consideration as to how to store the game data most effectively.  I want to build it so that the feature not only supports mid-game joining for spectators and players alike, but also the ability to save games and even replay your matches for later review and/or bragging rights.  As such, this will be the focus of v1.3.0 or v1.4.0 depending on how complex the other new features we’re planning are to build, and it may take a few more weeks.  Rest assured, v1.2.0 will relieve many of the crashes/issues you were facing in the meantime (minimizing the need to rejoin games in the first place).

Keep us posted on your needs and wants in the forums as you’ve been doing- we listen and respond!

~Ross

[maerrick]

This sounds great, Ross. Do you have a target date for the release of v1.2.0? I know, I know, the fans are insatiable, but that's what happens when you make a great game. Haha.

[diesbudt]

Oooo and how is the leaderbaord/ranking gonna change?

[Ross Przybylski]

v1.2.0 is planned to release either late this week or early next week

Changes to the leaderboard/ranking will include the following:

1) Unranked games will no longer count towards your hero statistics.
2) Maintaining your position on the leaderboard will require a minimum number of ranked games played each week (to discourage players achieving high ranks and then playing unranked games exclusively to avoid losing rating points).  This way, all active players have a fair shot at the top.

Edit: We are also considering to only reflect ranked wins/losses in your mini-player profile (seen in lobby user list).  In this case, your unranked games would still be tracked, but they would no longer be displayed in this prominent area.  Our hesitation with this is that we like the way it currently works as it's easy to identify and welcome our new members.

[maerrick]

Within a week, very impressive. I was expecting sometime between 2 and 3 weeks. Sounds great! Keep up the good work and much thanks for all the hard work.

[diesbudt]

Ross, only problem I see with the ranked games minimum (which I play ranked anyways... lost from 1400- 1260 in 2 team games   60+ points a loss...) but a lot of people wont play the higher ranked players knowing they have a good chance of losing. (some will yes, but Sometimes its hard enough to find a player(s) to do ranked games [I sworn off ranked FFA, as I see too much ganging up on 1 player as of late, and valor isn't enough to save them] and teams (which requires 4 people) or duels (which only half of HM will play a ranked duel with me).

Also unranked games, I would like you to keep them in the view profile area, but would be happy to see them off the Lobby W/L count and added in the #games player. if you take the wins/loses off the total profile.

[diesbudt]

Actually just thought of another good question:

Since it is games per week, will this only affect the Overall leaderboard? or the Separate Leaderboards too?

Because Playing (x games), Of each type a week, might be a bit much for those who only get on for a game or 2 a week (with knowing FFA can take more than an hour per game).

Which if This is the case, since I dont play FFA, would my FFA board hurt, which in turn hurt my Overall board, since I can tell there is some equation using duel/teams/FFA rating to make an overall rating, even though I play more than enough team games/duels?

[Ross Przybylski]

Well, v1.2.0 was released today, and I'm happy to have delivered it in accordance with our time frame.  There's a lot more I wanted to do (in particular, erradicating the last hiding memory stealer) but there's always room in the next update.  I hope everyone's enjoying the new Assassination objective; I can already sense a move among players to have it count for rating.  I still owe the community an explanation on how the rating system currently works so we can move forward productively- expect this from me in the coming days.  Until then, thoughts on the current patch are welcome.  I'd love to know how you feel we're doing with keeping you satisfied with the game.