5.3.2

[darkwind]

People who are interested in influencing this process can do so either as balance developers, but a much lower (near zero, really) barrier to entry would be participating in the playtesting process. You get to literally be there, on voice chat, trying changes and providing feedback. Ideas can be tried out in minutes -- provided they're number changes and not large-scale reworks, of course.

Balance is the department that sends out hundreds of playtest zips of the entire mod where previously something like that was unheard of. "Zero transparency" is such an absurd claim in that context.

Okay, playtest may indeed the answer. it was not very obvious such concept does exist and players can take part in it.
Some tutorial on getting started into balance dev contribution would be helpful for people to know how to participate in this process
Consider putting just one small document regarding balance dev processes getting started. At least very simple one mentioning what exists, how to communicate and onboard. and "pinned" in some very noticable place as one first pages.

Still in danger of you influencing all the playtesters towards your vision though and vetoing any possible balance that considers having fun though.

Your approach has been to make polls that effectively say "Hey, would you like everything you've ever used to be more powerful and better with no drawbacks (without considering that this might just make the game worse in general)?" You make the equivalent of polls asking people "Hey, would you like free money?" and then point at them and demand change. This is, indeed, not how it works, and I don't see myself ever operating that way. Especially not when it comes to balance.

You have rolled out Balance once again fully to the Balance Numbers only. You should consider sometimes thinking that if person played in specific way, and the gameplay existed at all:
- Cloaking smugglers
- Catching people by trying to intercept them while cloaked
- jump driving trading (to heck with multi jumps of trading ships, u could have left personal jumps present)
- Hyper Scanning coordinates
- playing in combat Capital vessels and using them in even PVE
u should not delete it out of gameplay entirely (or entirely disabling in every way), otherwise game-plays/factions around that will be gone together with players.
If you delete gameplay in every way, the players do not continue trying to squeeze into remaining 5% of remaining usability to item. the game play is just gone. Factions become gone. ( https://discoverygc.com/forums/showthrea...space+scan heck entire faction existed decicated to hyper scanning )

The new cloaking for example completely is not working to even jump scare people. It was difficult already before when u had TLAGSNET access and could ESTIMATE where person will appear and try CHASE the person to intercept him while remaining cloaked.
The current cloaks do not work at all to intercept people on trade lanes, since they run out of energy in less than a single trade lane. and person will just some base quickly instead of waiting for you to catch up with the person near some jump gate where he can't escape.

The problem is, any balance changes should be made with feedback and consideration to not removing gameplays entirely? for now balance changes for years look only pretty much removing possible gameplays entirely.
- Turning all the special equipment Disco had into only cosmetics that u can use for special effect only.
- Disco was special with Capitals, u see how many issues are present in trying to play them now?
- Nerfs to transports, having them the only ones slow as turtles and everything else easily able to intercept them?
What remains after all the balance changes? Snub fighters only?
You see there are people that are completely against playing by snub fighters (especially after removal of all possible noob tubes to defend themselves against aces)
playing snub fighters was historically too much painful, against people that already trained too much to ever defeat them.
there remains no possible gameplays to engage after all the removals to everything except Snub Fighters. People fear to engage in the only remaining snub fighting.

Your balance decisions for years are very difficult to see as anything except Lobbying for Snub Fighters to be ultimate Wunderwaffe (Super weapons).
As it was the only thing probably not nerfed. You claim balance, budget, numbers, and doing everything for the good of gameplay... it is very hard for people seeing as not good for snub fighters superiority and disabling all other present stuff.
And that is the reason why it was easier calling for Vote of No Confidence. your thinking is already established to what is good and bad. Problem is it is not really simple to see it as good for others except snub fighters for some reason.

How can things be even more related fixed? recap of all the mentioned choices:
- Trying to post balance changes before they are fully implemented and released. More transparency. ( taking example out of Starsector book: https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index...ic=35147.0 )
- We need balance devs with different views that will not be vetoed by Haste's vision as current balance lead in charge..
- Considering to invest reading/diving into materials how to balance without designing fun out of it.
- Still thinking ticketing system should be remade for author of a ticket being able to see his own ticket

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