Poll: The Mastery Misery Mystery (fish And Trains)

Discussion in 'Troubleshooting' started by Factor41, Mar 27, 2020.

?
  1. Yes, bin it, it's broken and clearly never going to be fixed!

    14 vote(s)
    48.3%
  2. No, I love being let down - that's the only thing that's consistent in this [Train Sim] World!

    1 vote(s)
    3.4%
  3. Recycle it! Devote some resources to actually producing a working system, that can track every time!

    14 vote(s)
    48.3%
  1. Factor41

    Factor41 Well-Known Member

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    Assuming the whole Mastery debacle was the result of outsourcing the DTLive website project to a budget overseas development agency (it feels a lot like when my old company did something similar, despite my protestations that it would end badly; long story short, it ended badly) and nobody within DTG has the time nor inclination to dig through the messy peasant code to find how/why it doesn't consistently do complicated sums and counting, wouldn't the best option for everyone be to just remove it? Remove it from TSW. Remove it from the Fishing Sim. Remove it from the website.

    You don't have to do anything as complex as stripping out all the pointless code, just hide the links, then the new generation of players coming new into the game (I'm assuming from trophy completions that the business model is built on a rapid turnover of players) will be entirely unaware it ever existed and it will increase the percentage of game features that actually work correctly. Everyone's a winner!

    If you choose option 3, remember that you are asking DTG to maybe take a break from releasing DLC to focus on this - prioritising this feature over the next shiny new route.
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2020
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  2. BjornGroen02NL

    BjornGroen02NL Well-Known Member

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    I'd add a 3rd option:
    "Give it a massive overhaul and let DTG themselves develop it"

    Mastery is one of those thing that's currently used as a sell point for the game, while nobody except a few lucky people actually try to get the rewards of it. The rest of the players (an overwhelming majority) only get errors and their progress isn't tracked into the DTlive website.

    So as I said above, I still think this is a cool addition to the game(s), but it will need a massive overhaul. As you said, they have paid another company to do the work, it only works for 50% but they advertise it like 100%. Please DTG, fix the things that don't work before pushing out new (paid) content.
     
  3. Factor41

    Factor41 Well-Known Member

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    I've updated it as such, but I think that may have been an error - obviously everyone will want every feature to actually work so that's the most likely winner, however DTG's priorities are clearly in the moneymaking bits (rolling out new DLC within unachievable timescales, hype, marketing...) so any attempt they make will probably half-arsed and/or outsourced to a cheaper development resource in a lower-waged part of the world. Again.
     
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  4. Jez

    Jez Well-Known Member

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    I think it needs to stand testament as a reminder to all users to think hard before buying more DLC. A form of consumer protection. I also find it rather charming in its random tracking of my progress in the game in an "Aww, bless" kind of way.
     
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  5. synthetic.angel

    synthetic.angel Well-Known Member

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    For me - this issue is about priorities. And it's about priorities on what to count and when, and how to report the counting. And I think the following things are higher priority:

    - correct counting of completed scenarios (especially when you have add-on DLC);
    - correct counting of miles/kms travelled (the Intro modules do not get counted, for example);
    - correct (hidden) counting of anything that contributes towards a trophy/achievement;
    - a stats page in the UI that reports progress on all items that contribute towards a trophy/achievement;
    - correct award of trophies/achievements;
    - correct/useful counting of distance to objective (not as crow flies);
    - correctly oriented stop thresholds and stop objectives, so that AP can be counted correctly (see image below);
    - correctly counting the number of DLC in the PlayStation Store (Baby Bullet is still missing - in most countries you would be reported to Social Services if you didn't check that you had taken your Baby out of the car);
    - etc.

    There could be more issues that have more priority than Mastery, but who's counting....? Nobody. Nobody is counting. Not properly anyway.

    Switcher stop threshold errors.jpg

    Also - Mastery isn't just a counting problem. It's a Can DTG keep a server up with 100% uptme and working correctly problem. And the answer to that is no - no they can't - and the interweb connectivity between TSW and TS2020 and DTG is a primary cause for the worst UI failures - so why not simplify things and just drop all of the internet reliant features - until someone learns how to do it properly....?
     
    Last edited: Mar 27, 2020
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  6. JGRudnick

    JGRudnick Well-Known Member

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    I am at the point that I now wait a couple months before I buy a new DLC to see what other players think, wait for (if it ever happens) any bug fixes, and a sale (like 40% off).
     
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  7. JGRudnick

    JGRudnick Well-Known Member

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    I have been playing TSW since it first came out. Now, just today, I walked my first mile ( in Sand Patch Grade) according to the game. I know this isn't true, because I have walked the entire length of the CSX yard at least 5 times, and the yard is just under 1.5 miles. And yes I totally agree with you.
     
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  8. Jannerdunk

    Jannerdunk Well-Known Member

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    I was not at all impressed with DTG when they released the mastery, as synthetic.angel says, there were and still are, far more long standing issues that need addressing. Given that the Mastery partly duplicates the steam achievements, which lets face it don't always seem to work correctly as it is, it does seem priorities have been mixed up. I am glad I'm not the only where the stats don't add up and the intros don't count properly! I know DTG say its a different team and that they want to get it working better before introducing it for other routes, but at the moment it does seem very abandoned.

    However, I do like to earn the badges, maybe I got lucky , but I was able to work through them quite easily, and most drives seemed to be counted correctly. The problem is that the rewards are not really worth the effort, especially as without a multiplayer there is nobody to see them.

    Given that it's harder to level up, the higher level you get to, once again it will be the early purchasers that will have to work a lot harder to obtain the mastery levels if they ever release anything for the newer routes. This is where the criteria/ structure seems to be wrong. It should be reach level 10, not gain any extra 10 levels. That way anybody who has played a route extensively and reached level 10 before the mastery for the route is released automatically fulfils that criteria and is not penalised.
     
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