devtrackers.gg
I need to read up in here tomorrow but just wanted to pop in to give an example of how this isn’t true:
We currently have a bug where gnomes drop their loot even if they run away.
This bug is in the backlog.
The bug we plan to fix first in the next 48 hours is the missing January monthly login reward calendar.
This is just one small example, but also the timing of these 2 things and how they’ve been prioritised was sort of perfect for this thread lol.
Just a rough guide to how bugs are prioritised and it’s certainly not as simple as this list but it goes something like:
- Game blocking bug: some examples:
- Swathes of players cannot access the game at all
- Core game play feature completely blocked and unable to be accessed/used at all
- Purchase issues affecting an entire platform (either cannot purchase or can purchase but rewards not received)
- Server down
- Feature not working as intended, but it is playable, but it’s going to either destroy the game economy or affect the company’s financials (we have to be able to pay our bills or we have no game)
- Feature not working as intended, but it is playable
- Bugs affecting gameplay but only small numbers of players, also still playable, just not as intended or frustrating
- Visual issues, or other issues that don’t affect the game play
Ontop of ALL that and everything I haven’t mentioned because I can’t list everything off exactly off the top of my head on the fly:
There are bugs that require client fixes and bugs that require server fixes.
- Server fixes mean that the team can edit a file and push the file out to the live game whenever the fix is ready
- Client fix means we have to do an entirely new game build and submit it to all the stores the game is on (7 stores), and those stores will run their own tests and put the build through a submission process before we can then release the fix.
Ontop of all of that there is also effort vs impact:
- How much time is required to fix the bug and how big of a difference is fixing the bug going to make to the game.
- This does not apply to game blockers - game blockers must be fixed asap
So ie. Loot Gnome bug above vs calendar issue:
- Loot Gnome bug involves checking the code and rewriting it, probably a client fix, we could hotfix it or wait until the next update
- Calendar issue involves editing a couple of things in a tool, probably doesn’t involve additional coding, so we’ll try to have that fixed tomorrow
Lots and lots of thought goes into the development schedule and how things are prioritised, some things are quite out of our control as well such as when client fixes are required and the timing of those (not entirely, but to an extent).
Anyway, hopefully this was interesting to someone, we have a very small team and a very ambitious game (not excuses, just a fact I think is often forgotten when considering everything).
We release new content and events several times a week to like 5 different platforms (if we don’t count the different console versions) and have like 4+ updates per year (I didn’t go count don’t quote me lol) that we submit to 7 stores. Would it be great if there were less bugs? ABSOLUTELY. We want less bugs, we want to continue improving things to have fewer and fewer bugs. But as a CX team member who has worked on 10+ games over the years and for much larger teams with larger budgets and less hectic schedules than Gems of War, I am damn proud of this team for everything they achieve every week.
I get frustrated to, I’m your voice in house, I feel you, but I also get to see behind the scenes and all the crazy stuff the team manages to achieve every day and you can take my word for it or not, but it’s really something honestly.
Anyway, I’m not ever sure I’ve publicly said how proud I am of the team and everything they handle, because I’m usually so focused on investigating and reporting issues and getting on everyone’s backs about what the community is saying and feeling. I’m a bit of a party pooper in the office whenever I open my mouth honestly.
Also just as a disclaimer in case it doesn’t convey well in text:
I’m not feeling defensive or argumentative or anything like that while writing this post.
I’m feeling calm and just trying to provide some information/transparency and also share my view of it from the other side of the curtain, because I sit with a view from both sides. I should probably say all this to the team’s face so they get that I get it despite being on their backs all the time with complaints and bad news 
2nd disclaimer: As mentioned I sit with a view of both sides of the curtain, I help communicate for the team to the community and from the community to the team and while I did just tell you how great the team do despite all the issues, I was literally this morning complaining to the team about ongoing, recurring and new issues. So I am balancing the comms here, it’s just I can’t really share everything that goes on internally.