I asked you:
If there could be a blogpost about anything, what it would be?
I asked you:
If there could be a blogpost about anything, what it would be?
And you guys made it pretty clear! So I’ll do my best to fill you in, based on how it looks to me right now.
The date today is:
Friday 1st July 2016
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The reality
I think we’ve all worked it out now, myself included. As much as I'd like it to be, the next beta is not going to be “soon”, regardless of many times it's been said. Too long It's been ages since the last beta, and the unfortunate truth is that it's going to even longer, for reasons I will explain. The purpose Hopefully this blogpost will answer all your questions, and give you a better understanding of my development plans! So without further ado, let's dive straight in! |
Testing releases
The good!
Beta releases are awesome! A chance for the entire community to try the game out, together, for free. And while everyone is busy playing, I can sit in the control room, confirming that all the code is running smoothly! I assume that one of the main reasons Ducktards has the following it does right now, is a result these events. The not so good. But like everything, there's a bad side too. As you may know, I'm terrible with deadlines. I find it impossible to get everything done by the dates I set. I end up spending the last week in a frantic rush, cutting every possible corner. |
The aftermath
Bug ridden, and unstable code plagues the project file. I probably don't need to explain why this is bad. Once the happiness from the release subsides, the dread sets in. I know I have to undo that entire week's worth of code, and it's then, that I wonder what the point of pushing that beta was.
Hold up a second
Are you saying that you're going to stop doing betas?
Of course not!
I refuse to release Ducktards behind a paywall, until it's been thoroughly tested.
If I ever change my stance on that, slap me. It's scummy to knowingly charge for a potentially broken product.
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The plan
As I'm sure you know, a week ago, I started Ducktards over. And I intend for this to be the last time I do. But, this time around, there won't be any rushed code at all. Careful progress Everything will be implemented at a sensible pace, tested beforehand extensively, in a separate environment, to make 100% sure it works. |
We've come a long way!
Over the last few years, I've learnt an exceptional amount about programming. And I can honestly tell you, that 90% of old the code in Ducktards is completely obsolete. Rather than trying to fix it, I'm just going to scrap it.
An alternative? Of course I could just leave everything how it is, and continue building. But it's inevitable that at some point, I'm going to discover a huge, untraceable bug. And it's going to be buried so deep in the old code, I stand absolutely no chance of finding it. Forgotten code I won't remember how any of the old stuff worked. It would literally take more motivation than I'll ever have, to go back and relearn the code from beginning to end, in order to potentially find the error. Potentially. |
Entering hibernation I consider it unfair for people to stumble across Ducktards, only to be told that it's miles away from release. So I've temporarily taken down the marketing. It's not like it's an accurate representation anyway! Progression course I'm going to develop Ducktards to a much more finished standard, before pushing anything else to the public. And of course, if you follow my daily blog, I'll take you on the journey with me! |
Duck toast by Super302
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The usual speech
I've said it a million times already, but I'm going to say it again! My goal I want to make Ducktards to be the best game I possibly can. And if I don't do something about this mess, I will forever live knowing it wasn't. Dropping out I understand if you're losing the will to stay. It honestly means so much to me that people even visit my blog in the first place! If you wanna go, I've got a solution for you! |
Throwing it out there
If you'd like, I can email you on the next event. Whether it's just an occasional progress update, or a full release! I have a lot of stuff I need to do before we release, and you may not be interested! Here's an alternative for you!
If you'd like, I can email you on the next event. Whether it's just an occasional progress update, or a full release! I have a lot of stuff I need to do before we release, and you may not be interested! Here's an alternative for you!
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Either way!
Thank you so much to everyone that reads this blog. You're literally my motivation to keep working.
irg, Ninonoids, Xubiod, amusudan, Acr515, Palkia, DaWashbaer, Magickmaster, yopg, and of course those that silently read!
Thank you <3