Hey everyone,
We’re getting the next patch together and want to check in. There’s been a lot of discussion about how to make the game as playable as possible while we’re moving through this (admittedly slow) transition.
Fortunately, these growing pains are expected as we consolidate our code base, perform content inventories, and prepare for an expanded team in 2018.
Our goal is to have the next build ready before Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, we’re considering the three most stable builds for the rollback, which we will deploy based on your response.
Option 1: Circa 2015. Old world and graphics, but ran well. Missing recent content (dragon customizer, new dragon model, new terrain, skybox, shaders)
Option 2: Circa last summer. Open world and graphics update (Unity 5, new terrain), but runs slow. This build showcases Dragon’s capabilities but is not optimized for most machines. Some flight and UIX issues. Very pretty, but you’ll may have to manually adjust your draw distances and graphic settings if you experience hanging.
Option 3: Transition to world map and zones. Little game play ready. This is where the game is headed but there is admittedly not much to do. (Basically, no change)
A second consideration is whether you would prefer the rollback version to appear on the main branch (the default) or the beta branch (accessible via Steam console). The latest version of the game will be accessible through whichever branch is not used by the rollback.
We’d like to move away from expecting players to opt in or out of the beta branch. Not everyone knows how to access the beta branch through the Steam console, and Steam doesn’t notify players when the beta branch updates. We’re considering a new build which will allow players to choose between the current stable build or the beta in-game. This build would be uploaded to the main branch.
*Please share your preferences for the rollback - both your preferred option and which branch you’d like to see it on - in the “Making Dragon Playable” thread in the forum.*
The rollback will occur by Wednesday11/8. If no preferences are expressed or no consensus can be reached, we will push Option 2 to the main branch and leave the beta as-is.
Thanks for your help!