scottinplano wrote:
You said "It was first suggested about last November, so I think the developers get the idea it is required, no need to demand things every other day". That's true, but without a continuing and expanding chorus of gripes about it, they might not realize how fed up we're getting at not having it and the effect it is having on play and enjoyment of the game.
As a software engineer myself, I applaud and really appreciate their efforts in bringing this game to life, however I also know that it isn't that big of a deal to add. They've implemented far more complex things since November, yet they still refuse to implement a relatively simple "Voluntary Strike" button, or something like it. I believe that this is a design decision on their part, so increasing the number of gripes may help to change their minds. Note also that this a beta test and since this is the apparently the only way to communicate with the developers, this is the only way to hammer home a flaw that we, the testers, feel is important.
I know of at least 2 people who are real enthusiaists(sp?) about playing these types of games (we play this game with miniatures) who have quit playing because most of their games get stuck with a bunch of dismasted or crippled ships that can't hurt one another. They won't post anything, much to my annoyment, so there is no telling how many other people out there who have simply given up because of this.
An interesting question to the designers is 'How many games are stuck with ships unable to hurt one another?'.
If you would go back and read a few posts, the designers appear to be in full agreement that a surrender button is necessary, and they do plan to implement it eventually. Continual clutter on this topic in the forum isn't going to make it happen any faster.
As Nick mentioned recently, there are only a small handful of people working on this game. They work for free, and they lead other lives. Unfortunately for the game, but obviously the right decision in every other sense, those lives appear to be taking priority lately, and the developers haven't had as much time as they would like implementing new features. But they have fixed a lot of bugs in the last few months, and, honestly, the reappearing ghost ships and the rigging fouled with phantom ships were a lot more annoying and pressing in my opinion than the lack of a surrender option.
All of this is to say, cut the developers a break. If players are bothered that the game doesn't work perfectly yet, then they don't have to play. This is still a
beta, and all of us are supposed to be testing the game. If a few people's desire for personal pleasure or the thrill of winning is so great that they can't put up with the fact that this is a beta and with the sometimes slow pace of improvements, they can either volunteer to code the improvements themselves, or they can fund the site with a donation, or they can wait until the game is out of beta testing.
