Patches breaking savegames

[[to_xp]Gekko]

I noticed that Kael tends to postpone fixes and features that would break savegames unless they are something VERY important.

what do you guys think about this?

I have no problem at all with patches breaking savegames, I'l gladlyl give up a started game in return for fixes and features

 

[Gelvan]

well yes, I don't do have a problem with patches breaking save games.
but it could be, that the devs have another reason (i.e. testing purposes) that we are not aware of, which lets them decide to not break save games. so the thierd option would make sense. they do break save games from time to time, and they say so in the patch description, therefore "keep it the way it is" makes also sense.
I voted for the second

 

[arcticnightwolf]

Gekko ... you're thread-maniac! ((

to topic: I don't play long games, so I haven't problems with "break savegames"

 

[Sofista]

It is only natural that after a new release there will be a period of intense patching. Me, I like the new toys, and the longer games can wait the few days until the team fully focuses on the next version.
In short, second answer. As breaking patches will eventually have to arrive, earlier implementation of the changes means earlier playtesting.

 

[woodelf]

Some patches have to break games. Finish that game and then patch if need be.

 

[rusty217]

Well you're not being forced to download a save breaking patch, so it doesn't matter to me if they break any save games...

 

[WCH]

I like the current system. Patches don't break saves, new versions do. Patches come out twice a week (roughly), new versions are about monthly. So you can patch away gleefully and continue any games started in the current version, knowing that the next one will probably be full of lots of great content and general ass-kickery.

 

[rusty217]

I like the current system. Patches don't break saves, new versions do. Patches come out twice a week (roughly), new versions are about monthly. So you can patch away gleefully and continue any games started in the current version, knowing that the next one will probably be full of lots of great content and general ass-kickery.

Actually some patches do break saves.

From the FFH 2 0.33 bug thread: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=287291

Patch "c": (will break save games)

 

[Kael]

Yeah, it all depends on how I have to fix the problem. Sometimes I need to break saves to fix something. Most of the time though I can fix things without breaking saves.

Then there are the sorts of issues where I will need to rewrite the way things work to address them. These arent bugs as much as architecture problems. These are the sorts of issues I tend to put off until full versions. The reason being that I want to play test it a bit first before distributing it publically. I also hate to make significant changes with only a few days to think about it. There are a lot of gears working together to make FfH and if I give myself mroe time Im more likely to fix it right the first time rather than fix one thing and breaking another ad naseum.

Lastly we have new features. These I also like to wait until full version for both of the reason I mentioned above. Also I try to shut down "patch week" as soon as possible so I can concentrate on writing the next version rather than patching. Though sometimes I run with 2 versions at once (supporting the old while working on the new) its confusing and things often get missed, so I try to avoid it as much as possible. If Im adding new features on the fly those features are likely to have bugs which require new patches and we end up with 20 or so patches trying to straighten things out. Not to bad for you, but it stalls my development time by weeks.

With all that being said the real reason I try to never break patches is that I dont want to waste anyones time. If you have been playing a FfH game for 4 hours and your in the late game only to find that it starts CtDing you should be able to download a patch to fix it and continue your game. I dont want to put players in the position where they cant play because of a bug, but they cant patch and keep their game.

 

[sputnik323]

Thanks Kael for your hard work and this explanation!

 

[bc1]

With all that being said the real reason I try to never break patches is that I dont want to waste anyones time.

For those of us with limited time to play FfH thank you this is a critical consideration.

 

[onedreamer]

I vote for let the devs do their job

 

[Gray-Z]

Keep it the way it is. I have no problem with patches breaking savegames so
let the devs do whatever they please.

I pick all 3 options.