Steven Sharif Interview 8 July 2020

jahlon · July 2020

So Updates post interview that I did with Steven

They have moved out of the studio
Move in date for the new studio is late august / early september (subject to change due to California reopening phases)
Roughly 70 staff will be in house when they return to working in studio
They have had progress upticks with the working from home solution

The staff page on the website now only shows their team leads and execs. We talked about this during the interview so people don't freak out about the sudden team size

The Referral System and the Xsolla store removal were discussed. Steven acknowledges that these are important, however, they are limited by the amount of time the platform person has. That person has to balance the game development with the webpage development.

That said - I'm going to continue to beat the drum on this until we get a better answer or a deliverable - but he has addressed it

My.games Cosmetics - Intrepid has said they are going to work through this issue (that my.games players can't buy individual cosmetics) and while they aren't ready to talk about it today

We talked about Servers

There will be an EU server for Alpha 1 - located in Frankfurt
NA will be split into at least 2 regions for launch (West and East)
OCE/SEA is still too soon to talk about game servers for
Servers will still have their prime time windows where sieges will happen

We talked about the Housing and Node System

You won't be able to change windows and walls in your house
There will be exterior decorations and garden decorations but you won't be able to put a painting on the floor or a chair on the roof
Your apartment and house can be attached during node sieges, but your stuff is only lost if the node falls
Even if you lose "stuff" your furniture and decor items are returned
They are looking at changing how

We talked about UCCs, Active GMs, and Gold Buyers

They plan on having active GMs for the game
Steven feels that this is important and worth the cost
If you upload inappropriate crests, be prepared to have your account actioned
If you buy gold, be prepared to have your account actioned (including perma-banned)

We talked about the Divine and Military Node Blogs

Those will come after some design changes are finalized
There have been some design changes that need to be tested especially with Military Node Elections

We talked about Markets and Marketplaces

They are in fact two different items
Marketplaces are "constructables" in non-economic nodes
Constructables are the mayor footprint buildings

Corruption System

There is going to be a mechanic in place to ensure healers are not unfairly flagged
At the same time, you cannot be healed by a pocket healer who is not flagged

If you are looking for any specific information on the topics the link to the video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWguiuv9iyY

And I have added timestamps so you can jump around topics.

As always, if you have any Ashes of Creation Questions let me know.

Wizardry · July 2020

Ok i admit...guilty as charged,i have a terrible mmeory.I often get games mixed up from one to the other,too many games to keep track of.Even reading this list of things discussed looks pretty good but the more i was reading the more i was forgetting ...sigh.

So i'll talk about one proponent of the interview and again i hope i am getting the right game here?Were we talking about perks that were supposed to be given to players who got others players into the game that were not delivered or am i thinking of another game?

The answer you posted there does seem sketchy,sort of like beating around the bush.It appears he is creating an excuse that just because something is on the web page doesn't mean it is factual because he can't keep up with the web page.

Another topic "painting walls/floors".I find this VERY odd,why wouldn't they allow players to texture the floor and walls,why put in a half assed system?Matter of fact,this very idea came up 20 years ago when players were using game textures to paint their players.Some cried foul many thought it was cool.I am on the cool side of the fence,why not allow players to use ANY texture already in game to use in their homes,after all it is THEIR house.

Kyleran · July 2020

Good interview and terrific summary, thanks for sharing.

Any clue as when we can see the node system in action?
I
What is the rest of this sentence?

”They are looking at changing how "

Slapshot1188 · July 2020

The Referral System and the Xsolla store removal were discussed. Steven acknowledges that these are important, however, they are limited by the amount of time the platform person has. That person has to balance the game development with the webpage development.

That said - I'm going to continue to beat the drum on this until we get a better answer or a deliverable - but he has addressed it

LOL. Yup. "He has addressed it". You really held his feet to the fire with the hard hitting opening by laughing as you asked the question. Watch the video of how you asked him and how you actually lead him to answers through the segment. Everything he said you just nodded. No follow up with what he previously said. Nadda.

He basically just said "Ehh.. not very important now..." and you said "OK, you can take a deep breath now as we finished with all the painful stuff".

Whatever. I guess that's why he lets you do the interviews. Am I a harsh judge? Maybe... but do we know anything more than before you "interviewed" him? Nope. Do we have any estimate on when we might get actual information? Nope. Was there any point or worth to that segment? Nope.

They are your interviews so you get to do them however you like. But "he addressed it" is laughable. This is actual money... real cash... that he owes people and they have had absolutely no visibility to it all this time.

PS: I will say, to be fair, that adding the timestamps and summary of each section for the video was an outstanding addition.

jahlon · July 2020

Wizardry said:

Ok i admit...guilty as charged,i have a terrible mmeory.I often get games mixed up from one to the other,too many games to keep track of.Even reading this list of things discussed looks pretty good but the more i was reading the more i was forgetting ...sigh.

So i'll talk about one proponent of the interview and again i hope i am getting the right game here?Were we talking about perks that were supposed to be given to players who got others players into the game that were not delivered or am i thinking of another game?

The answer you posted there does seem sketchy,sort of like beating around the bush.It appears he is creating an excuse that just because something is on the web page doesn't mean it is factual because he can't keep up with the web page.

Another topic "painting walls/floors".I find this VERY odd,why wouldn't they allow players to texture the floor and walls,why put in a half assed system?Matter of fact,this very idea came up 20 years ago when players were using game textures to paint their players.Some cried foul many thought it was cool.I am on the cool side of the fence,why not allow players to use ANY texture already in game to use in their homes,after all it is THEIR house.

So I 100% agree with you about it being a half assed answer. However, they still have a job posting at https://intrepidstudios.com/careers that they need to hire their Full-Stack Developer.

Steven actually fired a number of people over the webpage debacle. Now, I don't personally have the skillsets to go in and fix the issue they have. I have seen the issue they are having fixed on projects that were under my control, but I also had a team of 10+ people fixing the issues.

I can't really bust his balls about the system, or more specifically I could which I guess is what Slapshot would have had me do, but then its going to just get me an answer of: Well, we can't really address that issue until we get the Developer onboarded, and we are running into issues finding the right fit for the team given the Pandemic.

The trick is now, this soundbite is out there. If it goes another year and isn't addressed, then next year it becomes "Ok, so you've been jerking us around on this referral system. If all the information is there, why not just run a query on it?" Same with Xsolla. I mean, fundamentally it should not take 17 months to swap out a store, however, we have no idea what state the previous web team left the page in. It could be a matter of finding someone who is even willing to untangle the mess left.

Again though, now we have a snapshot answer which someone can follow up at a later date, even if that person is me in my 2021 interview.

Kyleran said:

Good interview and terrific summary, thanks for sharing.

Any clue as when we can see the node system in action?
I
What is the rest of this sentence?

”They are looking at changing how "

Oh They are looking achanging how Node's atrophy. Instead of nodes "deleveling" to a prior stage of development, it is possible that if they accumulate too much negative/atrophy XP, they will just stop existing akin to the results of a siege.

Slapshot1188 said:

The Referral System and the Xsolla store removal were discussed. Steven acknowledges that these are important, however, they are limited by the amount of time the platform person has. That person has to balance the game development with the webpage development.

That said - I'm going to continue to beat the drum on this until we get a better answer or a deliverable - but he has addressed it

LOL. Yup. "He has addressed it". You really held his feet to the fire with the hard hitting opening by laughing as you asked the question. Watch the video of how you asked him and how you actually lead him to answers through the segment. Everything he said you just nodded. No follow up with what he previously said. Nadda.

He basically just said "Ehh.. not very important now..." and you said "OK, you can take a deep breath now as we finished with all the painful stuff".

Whatever. I guess that's why he lets you do the interviews. Am I a harsh judge? Maybe... but do we know anything more than before you "interviewed" him? Nope. Do we have any estimate on when we might get actual information? Nope. Was there any point or worth to that segment? Nope.

They are your interviews so you get to do them however you like. But "he addressed it" is laughable. This is actual money... real cash... that he owes people and they have had absolutely no visibility to it all this time.

PS: I will say, to be fair, that adding the timestamps and summary of each section for the video was an outstanding addition.

So, every answer given is an answer given. You don't like the answer. That's fine. You don't have to like the answer.

I got mostly the answer I was expecting. As I said above, they don't have the web developer on staff yet.

So, going full bore on it would have been met with "That's right up at the top of the list for the new web developer" and then that's it. That's the answer.

At least this way, we got some words down. We have something we can come back to in six months, a year, or x days after that job posting is no longer listed for Intrepid. You may not see the worth or the value, but what you also fail to realize is now he has said "something" on the topic. The route of playing the ostrich and sticking his head in the sand and pretending like the problem doesn't exist is now gone to him. If he were to try to go that route three months down the road, referecing back to an interview he had given would be twice as daming.

And yes, I laughed about it when i started the segement. I think the issues they are having are unacceptable. I say the Xsolla and the Referral Systems are MEMEBALE on the same level as Nodes 3, but they are signficant situations. Plus, we did hear from him that European accounts may not have that cash out option. That was something we had not heard before.

Slapshot1188 · July 2020

Dude... doesn’t this issue go back to 2018? It’s July 2020 now. He was “on the record” when it first happened. It’s unacceptable and while you say you agree you did not present that at all to him. You laughed and smiled and nodded through the segment.

Like I said, there is a reason he gives you an hour of his time and it isn’t because of the hard hitting questions.

But it’s your interview so you get to do it however you want. I’m just gonna point back to 2018 and shake my head.

jahlon · July 2020

Slapshot1188 said:

Dude... doesn’t this issue go back to 2018? It’s July 2020 now. He was “on the record” when it first happened. It’s unacceptable and while you say you agree you did not present that at all to him. You laughed and smiled and nodded through the segment.

Like I said, there is a reason he gives you an hour of his time and it isn’t because of the hard hitting questions.

But it’s your interview so you get to do it however you want. I’m just gonna point back to 2018 and shake my head.

So yes, the issue stems back to December 2018 for the numerous webpage debacles. This is only one of them.

He did fire that entire web development team shortly thereafter. They have struggled to get their house in order.

Slapshot1188 · July 2020

jahlon said:

Slapshot1188 said:

Dude... doesn’t this issue go back to 2018? It’s July 2020 now. He was “on the record” when it first happened. It’s unacceptable and while you say you agree you did not present that at all to him. You laughed and smiled and nodded through the segment.

Like I said, there is a reason he gives you an hour of his time and it isn’t because of the hard hitting questions.

But it’s your interview so you get to do it however you want. I’m just gonna point back to 2018 and shake my head.

So yes, the issue stems back to December 2018 for the numerous webpage debacles. This is only one of them.

He did fire that entire web development team shortly thereafter. They have struggled to get their house in order.

And firing the people that screwed it up does not mean he escapes responsibility because... as the Creative Director... HE screwed it up since it's his team/project. I simply think that you let him skate by and even actually nod when he talked about how other things were more important.

Seriously. Go to 29:50 and watch how you ask the question. You make a joke out of it. It's not a joke. It's serious. This guy promised people (including you) actual CASH.

Just look and count how many times you nod at his non-answers from when you ask the question to when he ends. I counted 16 and may have missed one or two. No matter what non-answer statement he was making you nodded. No follow up... just yet another "joke" about how he's past the painful stuff now and can take a deep breath.

So I will legit ask this of you. Even if you previously have done so. Please go and watch the section I am referring to. Watch how you ask the question and what tone that sets. Then watch how many times you nod at the non-information he provides.

Then come back and tell me if I as a viewer with a concern about that specific issue (who you actually told you would question Steven about this) should take this interview seriously. I am not joking. I think you had good intentions but I think if you actually look at how it came off on camera you would understand my point.

jahlon · July 2020

Multiple Posts

jahlon · July 2020

Double Post

jahlon · July 2020

Slapshot1188 said:

jahlon said:

Slapshot1188 said:

Dude... doesn’t this issue go back to 2018? It’s July 2020 now. He was “on the record” when it first happened. It’s unacceptable and while you say you agree you did not present that at all to him. You laughed and smiled and nodded through the segment.

Like I said, there is a reason he gives you an hour of his time and it isn’t because of the hard hitting questions.

But it’s your interview so you get to do it however you want. I’m just gonna point back to 2018 and shake my head.

So yes, the issue stems back to December 2018 for the numerous webpage debacles. This is only one of them.

He did fire that entire web development team shortly thereafter. They have struggled to get their house in order.

And firing the people that screwed it up does not mean he escapes responsibility because... as the Creative Director... HE screwed it up since it's his team/project. I simply think that you let him skate by and even actually nod when he talked about how other things were more important.

Seriously. Go to 29:50 and watch how you ask the question. You make a joke out of it. It's not a joke. It's serious. This guy promised people (including you) actual CASH.

Just look and count how many times you nod at his non-answers from when you ask the question to when he ends. I counted 16 and may have missed one or two. No matter what non-answer statement he was making you nodded. No follow up... just yet another "joke" about how he's past the painful stuff now and can take a deep breath.

So I will legit ask this of you. Even if you previously have done so. Please go and watch the section I am referring to. Watch how you ask the question and what tone that sets. Then watch how many times you nod at the non-information he provides.

Then come back and tell me if I as a viewer with a concern about that specific issue (who you actually told you would question Steven about this) should take this interview seriously. I am not joking. I think you had good intentions but I think if you actually look at how it came off on camera you would understand my point.

Yes, I laughed. The entire thing is a fucking laughable meme at this point. So much so, I couldn't even keep a straight face.

Let's be honest, the only acceptable answer to the question would have "it's our top priority when the new webpage guy gets on staff"

Let's be honest twice, we know it's not their top priority. We knew the answer we were going to get wasn't going to be a good one.

So yeah, it's god damn funny to me in a tragic sort of way.

I am a content creator for Fractured as well, and among all the things they do, the odd thing is their referral system actually works. I’ve gotten my second cash payment from it, and I can actually see the names of all the people who signed up using my referral code.

At Ashes, I get a number, but I have no idea if that number is accurate or not because I have no way to confirm with my audience if they are on my list.

So yes, I laughed. Its a fucking meme at this point. Coupled with that, plus the verbal gymnastics of justifying Alpha 1 sales reopening, I mean there’s not much else I can do.

I’ll go back to keeping it on my list of pending items when I do videos and just keep working with an answer of Soon™

Slapshot1188 · July 2020

Ok. Sure.

Kyleran · July 2020

Slapshot1188 said:

Ok. Sure.

Masterful, yet subtle troll sir, we who live under the bridge salute you.

Slapshot1188 · July 2020

Sometimes the best response to a wall of text is a simple word or two. Think Indiana Jones and that sword master.

https://giphy.com/gifs/indiana-jones-RJOYRvEEeMlby

On phone so you’ll have to click the link for now

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Steven Sharif Interview 8 July 2020

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Steven Sharif Interview 8 July 2020

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Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV