New Staff Position: Consultant

[Mark Sir Link]

All other video games rely on people to generate ideas for
A.) How the storyline should work
B.) How goals should be accomplished.

In an ideal situation, the LAT Admin would do exactly that - they would not be responsible for a large amount of levels/scripts/graphics, but they would have to give out assignments and design how the game works.

However, we've blinded ourselves into believing that the most talented LAT should be the LAT Admin. To date post NPC-Server, this has not worked well.

My suggestion is, since the LAT Admin position is taken by the best of the developers, a new position be created to actually lay out how the game working should be. They should create the storyline, and actually have the ability to give out assignments to the designers.

Either that, or make the next LAT Admin someone not caught up in their own work, but in what the team does.

[Crono]

shouldnt this be the job of the manager?

[Mark Sir Link]

Originally Posted by Gerami

shouldnt this be the job of the manager?

it should be, but we've all seen how effectively it's done.

[Tyhm]

Everyone wants to dictate policy, especially when they won't be required to explain how it'll be possible.

My vote's for voting. The LAT Admin comes to a crossroads - "I can either do the Lizardon Shield Temple, revamp the Gravity Tower, or figure out how Shovel 3 is needed to form Sword 3...", he puts it up to a vote. Maybe something like that...the trouble was, I had Ragnarok's original notes to guide me for plot elements (and even then it was sketchy).

Well, perhaps Classic should have a writers' contest. Everyone writes up a plot for Classic - the Baddies kidnap the hero's baby sister, or the Lizardons have joined forces with the Lunarians to destroy Graal, etc - they write up a short version, the top 5 write up longer version, the #1 becomes the Plot of Graal - which hopefully contains all the information needed, including things like "Why is there an earthquake machine in the first place? Where did all these named villains come from? How is this advancing the evil overlord's plot, or is it just coincidental that everyone who has a useful tool for the hero happens to be trying to destroy the world in their own unique way?"

Things like that.

[Crono]

Tyhm why don't you come back to Classic? Let alone Graal?

[soulwazza]

Masterstorm should show us what hes done in the last month :[? cause ive seen nothing i dont know i could be wrong perhaps? i bet this would meet some response "working behind the scenes". New manager for classic if nothing happens in the next month.

thats my opinion if you dont like it good for you. just the fact in life if you dont do your job you get fired.

[Tyhm]

That's always the problem with Graal; a lot of people's work is, by its nature, invisible. I was lucky to work in the LAT during the development heyday - when I made something you could see it, when I fixed something I could report it. But this, this finegaling - "I fixed the z-intercept of the thrown projectile script"? You spend all day developing and have nothing to show for it, it's barbaric.

Worse was Peach's job. GP Captain in peacetime. If nothing happens, he's doing a good job - if you even see him online, he's let one slip.

Point? *shrugs* I quit the LAT because I knew someone else would care about the job more than I did. Com was a better scripter than I was and had (at the time) more time to dedicate to it. Turned out he didn't last all that long - mostly because the position of LAT Admin is/was primarily administrative, hirings and firings and directing and cajoling and trying to get the team to work at the same purpose, very little actual scripting involved...(oh great, now I'm catching a cold, perfect...)
It's the system, man. The Beast. Massokre and Masterstorm spend all their time reworking a massive ugly script that basically says "Act just like Classic used to when movement and damage were default. But so it works with serverside scripting and the NPCServer." Then who's free to develop, to decide which of the 9 maps of Classic is the right one, to bring back baddies and say "This is the Baddy script, it is not negotiable"?
I'd do it if I wasn't working, but I doubt anyone'd let me in all fairness. I had my chance.

[jake13jake]

Originally Posted by Tyhm

Massokre and Masterstorm spend all their time reworking a massive ugly script that basically says "Act just like Classic used to when movement and damage were default. But so it works with serverside scripting and the NPCServer."

Actually, Storm made a massive ugly script. I wrote a new script for the system that I use to actually develop things (opposite boots, gravity boots, horses, hammer, trident, drunk movement, etc.). It's called abstraction. Several things can be developed on the basis of one thing being developed. The fact that I wrote the movement system with horses in mind really helps a lot.

The main massive ugly problem lies within storm's old scripts that are still being used (projectiles, staff for the most part). The recoil/death system, since movement was uploaded before my damage system was made, is also a little bit ugly, but can be worked with.

Meanwhile, Storm wanted movement to be completely rescripted again (he's jealous that I made something better than he could). However, HR was opting to just build on top of my systems for the most part (much cleaner).

[maximus_asinus]

Originally Posted by jake13jake

...he's jealous...

Maybe a tad hypocritical coming from me, but you sure are conceded.

[jake13jake]

Originally Posted by maximus_asinus

Maybe a tad hypocritical coming from me, but you sure are conceded.

Well, explain how after my movement system was uploaded he immediately started working on a new movement system (that still doesn't come close to mine) instead of improving other things on the server with the new system?