Since the inception of the Dev Team, there have been a lot of ups and downs and lessons learned. A combination of problems and to a very small extent a lack of community support led to the team dwindling. In an effort to get the ball moving again on the dev team, a restructuring and a more defined setup needed to occur. After several weeks of thinking, writing, collaborating, and editing a plan was laid out and presented. Even before this announcement has been made, key parts of the plan have already started and are in use.
The below announcement will provide an overview of the plan. This is and will not be a comprehensive post that covers all aspects of the Dev Group in minute detail. Some points will be covered in separate topics. If there are any specific questions, please send me a PM in game (#54689) or in the forums.
Player Development Group
Previous Development Team
I would like to personally thank all those in the previous Dev Team for the effort and work put forward. Thank you Skyhawk, Feniks, Banger, Vane, Kangaroo, Clockwork, and Wazz.
Any and all previous Player Dev Teams are hereby dissolved. All official previous members are appreciated for the work they have done and are relinquished of all duties and responsibilities related to the Development Team.
All previous members are eligible to rejoin the new Development Group. Details on recruitment of members will be below.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Developer
- - This role is listed only as reference. The developer is the game developer and the defacto head of the Development Group.
Development Coordinator
- - Oversee the Player Development Group
- Assign Team Leaders
- Provide Status Reports to the Developer
- Coordinate Development Roadmap with Developer
- Provide Direction to Team Leaders
- Support the Development Teams
- Review & Clean-up of Approved Suggestions
- Coordinate & Perform any tasks directed by the Developer
- Support any duties of the Team Leader
Team Leader
- - Recruit and Oversee 2-3 Team Members
- Guide Development Discussion
- Review of Suggestions
- Clean-up of Development Forums
- Coordinate with Development Coordinator
- Develop and Implement Suggestion Templates
- Support other Team Leaders
- Support any duties of the Team Member
Team Member
- - Perform Tasks as directed by the Team Leader
- Work with other Team Members
Temporary Lead/Member
- - A community member recruited/asked by the developer/volunteered to oversee/directly assist in the development a specific suggestion/idea/task.
- Coordinates with Team Leaders and/or Dev Coordinator on status and development of the specific suggestion/idea/task.
Development Area/Categories
Development will be broken into 3 Main Categories
- General Discussion
- - General Discussions are forum topics primarily for the purpose of presenting and developing an idea. Topics posted here can cover any variety of game development.
- Discussions are a vital tool of the Development Group as they can be used to garner ideas, solve problems, and/or find what areas the community are interested in.
Suggestions
- - Suggestions are forum topics that should provide an idea that is ready to be implemented as a game feature.
Voodoo
- - Voodoo Suggestions are suggestion topics specific to the Voodoo game feature. Voodoo suggestions are specifically separated from other game suggestions due to the complexity and extent of voodoo.
Team Development Areas
Each team will have a development area that will garner their primary focus, a team priority. Team Priorities can change and are at the discretion of the Dev Coordinator and Team Leaders.
Recommended Team Priority Breakdown:
- Suggestions - 2 Teams
- Voodoo - 1 Team
Suggestion Categories
Suggestions will be broken into 6 categories. Each category provides details on where in the development status a suggestion is.
- Initial
- - This is the base category. No review has occurred.
- - The baseline idea behind the suggestion is worth further review and potential implementation
- - The suggestion has been fully reviewed and is ready for implementation as a game feature.
- - The suggestion as presented in the topic was implemented into the game.
- - The idea and/or details of the suggestion are insufficient, or do not meet the needs of the game.
- - Any suggestion that is no longer applicable, a variation of an existing feature that isn’t being implemented, or an idea that while good was not completed/approved for development.
Review Process
Both Voodoo and non-voodoo suggestions will use the same process.
Reviews must follow the following protocols.
- - Can only be initiated by a Dev Member
- Reviews must be done within the SLACK Dev-Review Channel
- Only 1 team can review a suggestion, multiple teams cannot review the same suggestion unless coordinated by the Team Leaders and Dev Coordinator
- Reviews cannot occur on a topic that is less than 14 days old.
The Review Process will follow a basic 6 Step Process as described below:
Basic Process
- STEP 1: Is the suggestion still applicable?
- - Yes : Proceed to Step 2.
- No : Archive Suggestion, End Review
- - Yes : Accept Suggestion Begin Full Review
- No : Disapprove Suggestion, End Review
- - Yes : Proceed to Step 6.
- No : Pose question within the suggestion topic.. Allow time for questions to be answered. Proceed to Step 4.
- - Yes : Proceed to Step 6.
- No : Proceed to Step 5.
- - Yes : Dev Team completes the suggestion. Proceed to Step 6.
- No : Archive Suggestion, End Review
- - Yes : Approve Suggestion, End Review
- No : Archive Suggestion, End Review
Team Concurrence
Team concurrence or consensus is required for Archiving, Approving, and Disapproving of suggestions. There is 1 notable exception to this. If during Step 1 of the process the suggestion is determined to be no longer applicable, the Dev Coordinator or a Team Leader can unilaterally archive the suggestion without further involvement of other members.
If a concurrence cannot be reached within a team review, the Team Leader can request a Leaders Review.
Suggestion Templates
The Dev Coordinator and Team Leaders will develop a template laying out a format for posting suggestions. Templates will be posted in the respect forums and will be updated periodically or as needed.
General Discussion Topics
All Dev Members should review and participate in General Discussion Topics.
Any general discussion topic that is 30 days or older from topic creation or a previous review will be reviewed using the General Discussion Review Process.
General Discussion Review Process
- STEP 1: Is the content of the discussion still relevant to the current needs of the game?
- - Yes : Proceed to Step 2.
- No : Archive, End Review.
- - Yes : Archive, End Review.
- No : Proceed to Step 3.
- - Yes : Step 4.
- No : Update Topic, End Review
- - Yes : Create Suggestion, Archive Discussion, End Review.
- No : Archive, End Review
Leaders Review
A Leaders Review is a special review of a suggestion by the Team Leaders and if necessary the Dev Coordinator to determine a suggestions status.
Guidelines for a Leader Review
- - Leaders Review must consist of either 3 Team Leaders, or 2 Team Leaders and the Dev Coordinator.
- Occurs upon request of the Team Leader if a team cannot come to a consensus.
- Occurs at the request of any team member for a suggestion that was disapproved.
Completing Other Players Suggestions
In the circumstance where a Dev Member/Team decides to take up the development of another players suggestion, Dev Members are to:
- - Ask the OP before editing their suggestion
- If they consent or are no longer active, update the suggestion but use strikeout and different font color to notate Dev changes.
- If they do not want the Dev to take over the suggestion, create a new suggestion topic.
Tasked Development
There may be instances where the developer has tasked a team or team member with overseeing the development of a specific suggestion. These suggestions can be existing suggestions and/or relate to a general discussion. In these circumstances, a new suggestion topic is to be developed and created. Upon creation of the new suggestion, the existing suggestions and/or general discussion should be linked as reference and archived.
SLACK
All Player Development Group Members are required to use the Pirates Glory Slack Development Channels
Channels are listed as below:
- #dev
- - This is the public development channel for general development discussions.
- - This is a private channel for Dev Members. Primarily for team meetings, coordination, and taskings.
- - This is a private channel for Dev Members. Dedicated for reviews only. All slack discussions within must be in a review thread.
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Changes to the above will only occur after review and concurrence from the Dev Coordinator and Team Leaders.
If there are any questions in regards to the Development Team, please send a PM to DezNutz in-game (#54689) or on the forums.
I would like to Congratulate Skyhawk and Feniks for accepting the roles of Team Leaders on the Development Team. Any players that want to be involved within the Development Group can reach out to Skyhawk, Feniks, or myself. A Roster Layout will be provided in the subsequent post.
