Perhaps klei should hire more help?

[nimzowitsch10]

It's been 4 years since klei got sold to tencent and I'm wondering what positive we have seen from klei being acquired to one of the biggest game companies. I'm not sure how many devs klei has right now working on dont starve but the frequency of updates is not great in my honest opinion. I would have thought with the new gain in resources, they would have been way better off but the update frequency/quality is actually worse post 2020.

Is there something in the tuck? Are they working on releasing some big update they've been secretly working on with other devs? The updates I've seen the past few years have not been great to be blunt and alot of people have quit the game because of this. Of course there are many new players that are learning the game thanks to the anniversery sale but I feel the game is still a very long way from being finished in terms of  lore, types of content, possibly like 10 years down the road with the rate they are developing

Maybe its because i'm spoiled for wanting some huge update that majorly changes the game but in my opinion we are getting crumbs in terms of content nowadays. Every update some qol and a couple skilltrees. The year we got rifts was possibly the most agonizing year.

I know in the deal klei said to tencent basically just leave them alone but maybe it won't hurt to use some of the resources that tencent has to hire more devs.

[Captain_Rage]

? They are releasing substantial free updates for a game that is over 10 years old. The better question would be if Klei is making any money at all, which they most like don't. It is all good will and love at this point. I show my appreciation by buying new skin packs whenever a new update appears. The cosmetic items in DST are great so it is a good incentive.

[nimzowitsch10]

@Captain_Rage

Everytime someone makes a suggestion for something to be better the general response is the updates are free we should just be happy with whatever we get, that's such a bad mentality imo.

[Valase]

1 hour ago, nimzowitsch10 said:

Maybe its because i'm spoiled for wanting some huge update that majorly changes the game but in my opinion we are getting crumbs in terms of content nowadays. Every update some qol and a couple skilltrees. The year we got rifts was possibly the most agonizing year.

You just answered your own question

 

53 minutes ago, nimzowitsch10 said:

@Captain_Rage

Everytime someone makes a suggestion for something to be better the general response is the updates are free we should just be happy with whatever we get, that's such a bad mentality imo.

We only say that to bad suggestions, the good ones end up added to the game.

[PunkShark]

The team is big enough to handle everything. Otherwise there's the chances of huge lay-offs which is incredibly common in the video game industry lately. I don't want Klei to become part of that trend. It's better to have everything more controllable and knowing how much you require instead of more devs = efficiency just because they have money.

You have to understand that the content they produce is very fast for how much they put out in such a short time. They are not an AAA company and thankfully not. They do not use years to create updates, they follow a schedule. A schedule that they have used since the beta days of DS. pieces of content separated from each other so we don't have to wait long for more content, skins, cinematics and whatnot else. and if that schedule isn't appealing to you then there's not much they can do. If the game does not satisfy your needs, play a different game until then.

They even changed the schedule for us so we have more to chew on this year. Because we felt the content we got was too small for the amount of time we had to wait. Now we get even more content than ever before. You say that if this year only gave us skill trees, qol but it was a huge amount. And we haven't even seen how much they've been cooking up for rift content either.

[Frashaw27]

1 hour ago, nimzowitsch10 said:

Maybe its because i'm spoiled for wanting some huge update that majorly changes the game but in my opinion we are getting crumbs in terms of content nowadays. Every update some qol and a couple skilltrees. The year we got rifts was possibly the most agonizing year.

>Wants update that massively changes the game
>Gets update that massively changes the game by adding post game rifts that finally advance the armor and weapon systems which had remain stagnant for years along side several items that change up several aspects of survival and mega basing alike
>no, not liek that.jpeg

I can kinda understand your argument, but it simply doesn't make sense of how they're giving us "crumbs". Even if you don't like the skill trees, they massively change the character's they're focused on, almost entirely redefining their character entirely. Even if in the grand scheme of things it doesn't have much impact, I would still wouldn't call that a "breadcrumb" sized update. There is a clear and distinct difference between being angry that Klei isn't working on what you think needs fixing and completely ignoring the work they are doing.

To answer the point of this thread, no it wouldn't fix anything. Hiring more devs wouldn't innately make updates higher quality/come out faster/less buggy. Just like how adding a bunch of musicians to a band won't innately make the sound better, flooding a dev team with more devs won't make things be done faster. There is even a point that adding too many devs would muddy the whole development even further by having so much random work that needs to be reviewed and managed and corrected which would slow down the more veteran devs. A company will naturally hire more people to work on something, but that doesn't mean that the quality of the updates will sporadically jump up. It's quality over quantity.

[nimzowitsch10]

Maybe I am just frustrated we have been in a char rework phase for 4 years now and possibly another year or two till we are finally over with it. Very little has changed since 2020 and maybe more devs can add a different direction to the game

[ChintzyGnat]

I wouldn't talk about developer space without knowing more about it. I don't know much but I can understand that more people doesn't always help, as a team can be much more efficient than more people who don't gel. Not that klei would hire someone who would upset this balance anyways.

[Bumber64]

Too many Warlys in the kitchen spoil the bone bouillon.

[Mike23Ua]

4 hours ago, Captain_Rage said:

? They are releasing substantial free updates for a game that is over 10 years old. The better question would be if Klei is making any money at all, which they most like don't. It is all good will and love at this point. I show my appreciation by buying new skin packs whenever a new update appears. The cosmetic items in DST are great so it is a good incentive.

Because I am an Xbox player, and not a PC player I am extremely familiar with a games “Expected Lifespan” for us Console gamers with franchises like Tony Hawk for example this was roughly 2-4 years before they would Intentionally shutdown the online servers for the Older games so players would have to buy the newest entry in the series.

If your on PC even if they DO shutdown your servers, mods can let you create or host your own.

This was 90’s-2000’s gaming.

But today things are a little different, we live in an All Digital (and also mostly always online..) world of gaming where games that are Decades Old either get completely free updates, or they will get re-mastered and re-released all over again (to also still probably get completely free updates exclusive to the re-master..)

If you need evidence of this look at Dead Rising (Released on Xbox 360) And Dead Rising (Released on Xbox One) andddd Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (Releasing in September on Xbox X/S)

GTA V 360, Xbox One, X/S..

And while these games were re-sold to us all over again… they all got new content, for game that was a decade old.

Now then, there are ALSO the games that haven’t been re-sold to us over and over again that got completely free updates too- Such as Minecraft, No Mans Sky, State of Decay 2, and DST.

All of these titles are still going strong, because they continue to get updates and support not as if they were a 10 year old game getting stingy free updates, but as if they were a BRAND NEW GAME Releasing for a whole new generation of gamers.

And I think that is why people have every right in the world to be dissatisfied with DSTs updates- I personally careless if the updates to it are free.. I never asked for, nor did I want “Free” if Klei wanted to charge me 15$ for HUGE high quality DLC expansions on par with Hamlet and Shipwrecked, I wouldn’t hesitate to save up money and buy them.

But… you need to look at it from the bigger picture, Klei has this game that they’ve added an ocean to, they have these characters that they’ve Re-worked, Re-Reworked, and now also Skill Tree Reworked.

This ain’t Ya Granndaddys DST anymore… and Klei needs to stop looking at it like “Decade old game still getting free DLC” and start looking at it as if they were trying to make their game better- Period.

Now this does NOT mean cater entirely to the newcomers & casuals, there needs to be some good stuff for long term fans too… Look at a game like state of decay 2, they have Green Zone difficulty for players who want a mostly stress free relaxing chill playthrough, then they also have nightmare difficulty where one tiny mistake could be fatal to your entire community. 

Look at No Man’s Sky and how it eases newer players in with a more detailed Tutorial and beginning Area, but those planets they can now venture out and explore are now full of much harsher weather effects and hostile creatures.

There’s a handful of super super late game mobs that have been added to DST, but so far from what I’ve seen.. the Requirements to reach those late game content is more difficult than the actual late game content that comes after it.

Anyone who can beat Crab King & CC will never ever have any problems with Brightshades trolling their gardens and smacking them when they get too close.

after reworking, re-reworking & Skill Tree Reworking characters in DST- It shouldn’t be being treated as a Decade old game getting free DLC, it’s it’s own brand NEW thing and now Klei needs to solve the problem of-

“How do we make this exciting and fun for players joining in for the first time, while also still offering new stuff for the veterans?”

If you want my opinion DS/DST was always a game that to me the longer you survived the more difficult things got, new weather hazards, new mob behaviors, resources you may have over relied on for fishing and frogs like the ponds small freezing over in winter etc.. Not knowing what an Antlion is and not fighting or appeasing her = more sinkholes.

It was a franchise where the longer you lived.. the more the game tried to kill you.

And I really think that a “Through the Ages” style content update is strongly needed for DST at this point.

Its okay to cater the beginning area to casuals- Like No Mans Sky babies them into the game….

But when you live longer than that, when you build a vessel and explore past that- Klei needs to rip the safety mat right out from under their feet.. This doesn’t just apply to new players, they need to add new weather, mob behaviors and challenges for veterans that aren’t tied to a ridiculously long quest line and fighting several bosses.

Most people who played DS/SW/Hamlet felt like they were playing a game where they were being “Punished” the longer they stayed Alive…

And that’s why I feel like at this point- DST needs that through the ages update.

[Gashzer]

5 hours ago, nimzowitsch10 said:

It's been 4 years since klei got sold to tencent and I'm wondering what positive we have seen from klei being acquired to one of the biggest game companies. I'm not sure how many devs klei has right now working on dont starve but the frequency of updates is not great in my honest opinion. I would have thought with the new gain in resources, they would have been way better off but the update frequency/quality is actually worse post 2020.

Is there something in the tuck? Are they working on releasing some big update they've been secretly working on with other devs? The updates I've seen the past few years have not been great to be blunt and alot of people have quit the game because of this. Of course there are many new players that are learning the game thanks to the anniversery sale but I feel the game is still a very long way from being finished in terms of  lore, types of content, possibly like 10 years down the road with the rate they are developing

Maybe its because i'm spoiled for wanting some huge update that majorly changes the game but in my opinion we are getting crumbs in terms of content nowadays. Every update some qol and a couple skilltrees. The year we got rifts was possibly the most agonizing year.

I know in the deal klei said to tencent basically just leave them alone but maybe it won't hurt to use some of the resources that tencent has to hire more devs.

Do you support klei by buying item skins?

Because if you don't its abit hypocritical of you to ask klei to pay for more staff to release bigger free updates, if you yourself don't buy skins to support them.

Have you been playing DST for years? Because the amount of money you have saved by playing DST over buying new games is insane. DST is already such a deep and challenging survival game that goes on sale for absolutely nothing and has 1000s of hours worth of gameplay potential.

I think you are just fatigued with DST, happens when you spend years playing the same game. If you leave DST for 6 months and comeback you will have an appreciation for it again.

[lowercase skye]

6 hours ago, nimzowitsch10 said:

The updates I've seen the past few years have not been great to be blunt and alot of people have quit the game because of this.

Respectfully, the sentiment of "the recent updates have been bad and a lot of people are quitting the game because of it" is something that is said with every single update chain, but any sort of website for Steam charts will always show that actually the game is steadily growing all the time (with occasional peaks on free weekends and sales), and that's just here in the west. The quality of the updates is subjective from person to person, but Klei's certainly doing something right, the game is performing very well 10 years later.

[Evelo]

6 hours ago, Captain_Rage said:

I show my appreciation by buying new skin packs whenever a new update appears. The cosmetic items in DST are great so it is a good incentive.

  
I am in this picture, and I sure do like it. I'm not even employed right now and I purchased skins because I play this game so much.

[Theukon-dos]

No, definitly not.

Just "hiring more people" rarely helps in game development. Sure, you may have more hands on deck. But then you also need to make sure all those people on the same page and working towards the same goal. A lack of man power can very, very easily turn into a lack of logistical power if you try to take more people on.

 

More than that though, hiring more developers would only help if their problem was a lack of developers in the first place, which it definitly isn't. Make no mistake, I despise the Rift and Skill tree updates too. But they are, objectively, very substantial updates. Atleast in terms of the amount of development work they'd need.

No, if Klei has a problem, then it's not a lack of power. It's a lack of planning and foresight. Joe has claimed that Klei does have a plan, but frankly, I doubt that it's any more substantial than a grocery list.

[Kwaik]

9 hours ago, nimzowitsch10 said:

@Captain_Rage

Everytime someone makes a suggestion for something to be better the general response is the updates are free we should just be happy with whatever we get, that's such a bad mentality imo.

I'm all for criticizing the quality/frequency of the updates. IMO this year is a massive downgrade to say last year. 

But the poster is correct you're talking about a tremendous amount of free updates to a game that came out a decade ago. Saying they should spend more money investing into developing this game is silly. 

At this point if they're going to make substantial financial investments it's gotta be into the sequel, assuming that's in the long term plans, but that's an entirely different subject. 

The issue at this point is are updates better or worse since the cadence/style of updates changed this year. And personally I think it's a huge step down. But money and investing is not the problem or the solution