DRUGS 1.0 - TOUCHING BASE & GETTING THE ACT TOGETHER
This starts now.
"The Patch" & Drugs In Vehicles:
Some time ago, a serious issue relating to the storage of drugs in vehicles surfaced; this, along with other complications that seem to have arisen following the recent server revision rollback, made it unfeasible for more drugs to be pumped into the server. A bug like this is, objectively speaking, game-breaking and has a massive impact on the player-base, particularly those that dabble in illegal role-play. Players were consistently losing their drugs, and with the refund requests mounting and general frustration rising, halting the introduction of drugs seemed like the right thing to do.
So what went wrong?
In the short term, the plan was to make a back-up of the drugs stored in vehicles and for a patch to be introduced once the issue had been identified. A lapse in communication between myself and the Head of Development meant that this was not done immediately. Until recently, I was under the impression that a back-up was made when I had asked for it: unfortunately, this was not the case. When I was finally able to identify the issue, it took a considerable length of time for it to be introduced to the server due to the Head of Development being abroad, amongst other disturbances; I am unable to make implementations off my own back which is why this caused such a delay.
Those who have lost drugs as a result of the recent issues may submit a refund request, with or without evidence. Whilst evidence will guarantee a refund, those who are unable to produce anything may still be eligible on a case-by-case basis. The refund requests that do not include evidence will be handled by myself.
Eventually, I was given a date (July 30th 2017) for implementation; this had to be pushed back to the 31st of July, and when the Head of Development was ready for it to go for the final stage of testing, I was occupied with some stuff of my own. Today (August 3rd 2017), the patch has gone live - and as a result, things can start moving forward again... finally.
If you still experience issues with the storage of drugs in vehicles, please let me know as soon as possible. Additionally, some unexpected behaviour relating to physical drug packages has come to light after the recent rollback of the pre-anniversary updates; if you have any information pertaining to this that could help me diagnose the issue, then please let me know!
The Drug Distribution Scheme:
As time has gone on, it's become quite evident that the drug distribution scheme in its existing form just does not work. This has been one of the most prominent issues as it has made it difficult for a real market to be established. Following community feedback, I will be coordinating with Faction Management to make the necessary amendments to the scheme.
Starting from now, factions will be approached individually by Faction Management for admittance to the scheme. I'm leaving the selection process in the hands of Faction Management, and it will be entirely up to them to decide who does and does not partake in it as per their own criteria. Each faction will be assigned a handler from Faction Management who will act as their point-of-contact for anything relating to the scheme. Following that, a Level 3 Game Admin from Faction Management will be able to distribute said drugs to the nominated faction member and any further requests will go through the aforementioned handler.
This should make things much easier and will remove a lot of redundancy from the existing process.
Transparency:
A lot of the concerns that the community have had could easily have been resolved with a little transparency. Whilst certain matters are private and are not appropriate for public consumption, I can definitely do more to ensure that you guys are in the loop. This post is the beginning of a revised attitude towards community relations and I hope that we'll all be able to benefit from it in the long run.
Future Updates:
I'm able to look at introducing updates to the drug system once again, and I don't intend to slack off any longer. The first order of business is going to be the introduction of drop off points. Drop off points will serve as a replacement for the so-called "drug warehouses" that exist at present. Whilst the concept of drug production facilities will still remain relevant in the future, drop off points will offer a more dynamic approach to the drug distribution scheme for eligible factions whilst offering a more immersive medium through which they can obtain their drugs. I aim to introduce this, amongst some other minor changes, by August 21st 2017. As per my last paragraph, any deviance from this timeline will be made clear to you.
Aside from that, what implementations do you want to see in the short term? Which changes could be made to greatly improve your experience? What minor features could be brought into play in the month of August? Let me know.
I thank you all for your patience.