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Originally Posted by Vaxxx  In terms of patch notes, yes I realize how many different people are working on different things and the amount of information flowing around is staggering but really, get the guy to put the information together and if it's a big patch have a meeting and make sure that it's right. Secondly be clear and concise in the patch notes. It really seems like you guys and other companies try and just slide stuff through. |
I agree that an automated method of collecting changelist data is preferable over doing it manually. As someone who did hundreds of patch notes manually, trust me when I say I would have gladly severed limbs if it meant I didn't have to sift through folder after folder of release notes myself.
However, patch notes are only as good as the original explanation given by the people making the changes. While some devs put great thought and effort into detailing every last change they make, others are very general or much less complete. I spent countless hours translating devspeak into plain English so that the patch notes were as thorough and clear as possible.
But again, it's a case of garbage in, garbage out. A coder might make some change and explain the
details of the change but not the
implications -- two very different things. Many times in the course of investigating a seemingly mundane release note I would stumble upon a "holy shit!" change that needed to be explained in great detail.
So yeah, that's why patch notes can seem deceptive. A dev makes a checkin with the text "Adjusted ranger DPS abilities to be more consistent," which could mean that a dozen abilities got nerfed, boosted, or changed completely. And if you don't track down every single change, somebody on the message board will do it and probably make it sound ten times more severe than it actually is.
Despite the insistence from leads that team members provide clear release notes, sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. That doesn't make them bad developers; some people are just better at communicating than others.
That leaves some poor stooge (typically either a community manager or some kind of producer) to do the best they can while resisting the urge to pull out all their hair. While I enjoyed putting together patch notes for the most part, it's a time-consuming job that nobody appreciates when it's done right and serves as grounds for lynching when there's a problem.
In those cases of incorrect or incomplete data being provided, it's highly doubtful anyone is trying to lie about something. More likely it's a case of something getting misinterpreted in the process. It's not like players won't figure out what all the changes are, so trying to lie about them would be stupid anyway.
The other thing to keep in mind is that patch notes aren't just written with the hardcore ubergeek in mind; they're also supposed to summarize recent changes for the casual person who just logged in for the first time all month. While providing complex formulae and detailed breakdowns would appeal to the former, the latter is every bit as much the target audience. Satisfying both needs is a real challenge.
My ultimate revenge on those who go on tirades about patch notes would be to hire them and make them write patch notes. I'm all about sharing the pain.
