Face Changes are a Priority?

gentgeen
gentgeen Posts: 99 Match Maker
in MPQ General Discussion
So we have now had 3 or 4 face changes but we still can't fix the node locations?  Seriously... we get face changes which I am pretty sure no one has asked for, but I have to spend 10 mins trying to tap the right spot on this RIDICULOUS USE OF SPACE?






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Comments

  • DyingLegend
    DyingLegend Posts: 1,203 Chairperson of the Boards
    It is rather annoying....
  • jamesh
    jamesh Posts: 1,600 Chairperson of the Boards
    Most of the face changes have been paired up with new costume bundles that generate revenue (probably a side effect of separating the art into layers that can be used for the costume).  So yes, I suspect they are a higher priority than changes that bring in no income :-(
  • HoundofShadow
    HoundofShadow Posts: 8,004 Chairperson of the Boards
    edited April 2019
    Face changes = graphic artist

    UI changes = game designers / programmers

    I think spacing out the nodes might not be as simple as what we think. In the players' mind,  it's simply shifting the nodes apart. There might be a lot of legacy coding issues to deal with and after-change testing across all platforms.

    Secondly, I would think that shifting the nodes apart is way down the priority list.

  • Tony_Foot
    Tony_Foot Posts: 1,790 Chairperson of the Boards
    Surely they have just been asked to change the likeness if it’s thought they look too much like the actor? Image rights and all that? Then I would guess it does become a priority.
  • peterdark
    peterdark Posts: 151 Tile Toppler
    Don't forget, different devices use spaces differently. My mobile screen renders spaces slightly different to my wifes. It's the same with browsers on your computer, you might fix one thing on one device but will probably break it somewhere else. 
  • bluewolf
    bluewolf Posts: 5,733 Chairperson of the Boards
    How about some arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen allowing you to jump to the next/previous node?  If re-jiggering the node placement would cause lots of headaches due to different screens/operating systems/etc, maybe some "quick jump" buttons would be a solution.
  • Brigby
    Brigby ADMINISTRATORS Posts: 7,757 Site Admin
    HoundofShadow said:
    Face changes = graphic artist

    UI changes = game designers / programmers

    I think spacing out the nodes might not be as simple as what we think. In the players' mind,  it's simply shifting the nodes apart. There might be a lot of legacy coding issues to deal with and after-change testing across all platforms.

    Secondly, I would think that shifting the nodes apart is way down the priority list.

    Yes, that's correct. The artists are responsible for the artwork on the node and the background wallpaper, but not the node placement itself.
  • Wonko33
    Wonko33 Posts: 985 Critical Contributor
    edited April 2019
    it's weird that we usually only hear this  type of argument for video games.  We never hear:
    "I have to wait for my surgery but there is this guy moping the floor wasting hospital resources instead of fixing my knee"
  • abmoraz
    abmoraz Posts: 712 Critical Contributor
    Wonko33 said:
    it's weird that we usually only hear this  type of argument for video games.  We never hear:
    "I have to wait for my surgery but there is this guy moping the floor wasting hospital resources instead of fixing my knee"

    Given that I've had the same ACL replaced twice, and neither took so I live without one in my right knee, maybe that guy moping(sic) the floor could've helped...
  • Wonko33
    Wonko33 Posts: 985 Critical Contributor
    abmoraz said:
    Wonko33 said:
    it's weird that we usually only hear this  type of argument for video games.  We never hear:
    "I have to wait for my surgery but there is this guy moping the floor wasting hospital resources instead of fixing my knee"

    Given that I've had the same ACL replaced twice, and neither took so I live without one in my right knee, maybe that guy moping(sic) the floor could've helped...
    You've seen "Good Will Hunting" one too many times :)
  • The rockett
    The rockett Posts: 2,016 Chairperson of the Boards
    Brigby said:
    HoundofShadow said:
    Face changes = graphic artist

    UI changes = game designers / programmers

    I think spacing out the nodes might not be as simple as what we think. In the players' mind,  it's simply shifting the nodes apart. There might be a lot of legacy coding issues to deal with and after-change testing across all platforms.

    Secondly, I would think that shifting the nodes apart is way down the priority list.

    Yes, that's correct. The artists are responsible for the artwork on the node and the background wallpaper, but not the node placement itself.
    Hmm... very interesting indeed.  As the veil continues to lift. 
  • ThaRoadWarrior
    ThaRoadWarrior Posts: 9,388 Chairperson of the Boards
    The rockett said:
    Brigby said:


    Yes, that's correct. The artists are responsible for the artwork on the node and the background wallpaper, but not the node placement itself.
    Hmm... very interesting indeed.  As the veil continues to lift. 
    I guess I find this less interesting and more expected, being in industry myself. Assets would be created in Photoshop, Illustrator, or similar by an artist whose job (and generally skillset) is limited to the creation of art and art assets, at the direction of a designer. On a smaller team, the UX designer is almost certainly also a UX developer who does both design and implementation. On a truly small team full of unicorn hires, all three of those roles might be filled by one person in the form of a tech artist.

    That being said, I would expect it is not particularly hard to move nodes around assuming a logical implementation - I imagine that each node is a game object that has some code-behind telling it when to go active etc. that is defined in the engine, and it's position on the screen is almost certainly something that can be adjusted at whatever the UI layer of the engine is. I've read that these games use a bespoke engine (as opposed to something off-the-shelf like Unity or Unreal), so it's possible the tools to do that are not as easy to work with. Again, this just me looking at the issue and leaning on experience elsewhere, I've not got any special insight into what happens in their office.
  • Dragon_Nexus
    Dragon_Nexus Posts: 3,701 Chairperson of the Boards
    Wonko33 said:
    it's weird that we usually only hear this  type of argument for video games.  We never hear:
    "I have to wait for my surgery but there is this guy moping the floor wasting hospital resources instead of fixing my knee"
    I work retail and connected to me is a money bureau for exchanging foreign currency. I often hear "Why isn't she helping with this queue?" or "That guy's stood doing nothing, can't he come help out?"

    Neither of us has a clue how to do the other's job. So in my line of work it definitely happens =)
  • ThaRoadWarrior
    ThaRoadWarrior Posts: 9,388 Chairperson of the Boards
    edited April 2019
    Here is a great blog post about assigning relative effort to an item in the backlog. The allegory given is:

    You have a backlog of 2 items of similar value - a "simple" brain surgery, and licking 1,000 stamps. Your staff consists of a brain surgeon, and a child. If you agree with the conceit that these two things take similar amounts of time, good, and if no, adjust the number of stamps until you do. Next, you must assume the right person will do the job. You do not assume the child will spend 12 years going to medical school before she performs the brain surgery, you assume the brain surgeon will do the surgery. How long something takes/hard it is to do is just a piece of the picture when it comes to prioritizing.

    https://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/blog/its-effort-not-complexity

    Another thing that's easy to do is criticize decisions for which you (rhetorical you, no particular forumite being targeted here) don't have the full context. Maybe it's like that because of some outside or inside pressure, maybe there is some tech debt that everyone agrees is sub-optimal, but would take too much effort to rip out, maybe these maps looked great on the iPhone 4s, but were coded in such a way that they aren't responsive...who knows? 
  • Malcrof
    Malcrof Posts: 5,971 Chairperson of the Boards
    Can i borrow one of the art guys to update my face?
  • ThaRoadWarrior
    ThaRoadWarrior Posts: 9,388 Chairperson of the Boards
    You'll need to put it on the backlog, and have the product owner prioritize it against whatever was there. If you interrupt a sprint, you have to scrap the whole thing and replan it...
  • OzarkBoatswain
    OzarkBoatswain Posts: 693 Critical Contributor
    In my opinion, 3* Cap Marvel's face was a notable visual embarrassment from the beginning, and it should have been changed sooner.
  • Chrono_Tata
    Chrono_Tata Posts: 719 Critical Contributor
    Don't have much complaints if they want to update faces although there are other characters who sorely need art updates much more than the ones who did get them. 4-star Blade comes to mind.

    Also 5-star Kingpin needs his entire art replaced.

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