It's been THREE MONTHS -- can we PLEASE get a status update?

hustin1 · June 2016

Dear devs and designers:

In past blogs you've pointed out how you need to better communicate with your playerbase. This is one of those times.

For the past three months, the Foundry has been inoperative. That alone is an excessive time to have a key feature of the game inoperable, but having players wait that long with no communication as to what is going on is, in my opinion, wholly unacceptable.

So let me ask again, in clear, unmistakable terms:

What is the status of the Foundry?

I'm not asking for a timeline. I'm asking for an honest status update.

We don't know if you're trying to fix it.
We don't even know if you plan to remove it.
We have heard nothing and are left only to speculate.

For me this isn't a matter of keeping customers happy. When asked a simple question such as, "what is going on with 'x'", the POLITE thing to do is offer some sort of answer -- especially when people have been asking for MONTHS.

What is the Foundry status, devs?

demonmonger · June 2016

@strumslinger

santralafax · June 2016

hustin1 said:

We don't know if you're trying to fix it.
We don't even know if you plan to remove it.
We have heard nothing and are left only to speculate.

It will return as a key feature of a new mod--a la CN. About 9 months out, I reckon.

samaka · June 2016

I hope the Foundry comes back... one of the main reasons my partner and I chose to play Neverwinter was the ability to create quests and play quests created by other players. Admittedly, we probably should have checked out the forums, but honestly, I didn't expect such a majorly advertised feature of the game to be down for so long.

An update on the Foundry would be great. I realise it may not be getting any updates this year, but will it at least be brought back online so it can continue to be used without any updates? Has the issue with republishing quests been fixed, or is it even currently being worked on?

kalina311 · June 2016

Sad to say I dont think it is ever coming back
They have to upgrade their buggy tools and then nerf the front end so we cant access certain features
clean up the interface a bit and then make sure we cant create buggy exploitative maps
and look at loot tables etc
a very very very tall order tons of beta testing without getting forced to release a crippled version of tools
not to mention quality of life requests foundry developers/authors have asked for years ..

HOw are we supposed to create our own pvp maps if its down lol
HOw can they have an events and contests and Prizes if its down

xbox and ps4 dont/wont have it

extchickenman · June 2016

The Dungeons were also a major selling point for this, a Dungeons and Dragons, game....and look at how long they were gone..
I suppose you could base guesses of a timeline on that

valynstarfire · June 2016

The problem is (as I understand it, and I don't understand WHY this is), after each Mod/Update, the ENTIRE Foundry Adventure database must reload from scratch. there are hundreds, if not thousands of Foundries by now. It has been taking longer and longer for this database to reload. A few weeks before Alliances, the Featured Foundries had begun to appear, this was about 2 months after the last Mod. Once all the Foundries finally reload, then the editor becomes available.

However, since it took 2 months for this process to take place, the Foundries will once again just start to enter the game before this next Mod comes in (in August), so then another 2 months again after that ... And this all sucks because I would like to correct one dialog detail, and maybe get a couple people to play my latest Foundry so I could at least get the Book Imp (I think I'm about to get it anyway).

beckylunatic · June 2016

valynstarfire said:
It has been taking longer and longer for this database to reload.

While it does take longer, what happened last time was the republish process was actually stopped for undisclosed reasons, which may or may not be related to why the editor has remained offline. They actually did start republishing again shortly before Alliances came out, but that update brought everything down again and so far no quests have reappeared.

A comment every few weeks that "we're still working on it" is only barely better than nothing.

silence1x · June 2016

Unless they change the loot table/rewards for running Foundry quests, it can stay dead as far as I'm concerned.

silverkelt · June 2016

When I first started playing this game 3 years ago, I would do a foundry or two a week, during the hourly quests, to get some extra ad and play around with some of the story lines.

Even then it wasn't done right, because it wasn't officially reviewed and stamped for approvals.

They should have had reviewed and officially "ok"ed foundry quests to be part of the line.
Then unapproved ones, and until it was reviewed and stamped, it should drop no loot, do not count against mob kills rewards and not interact with thing like hoards.

This way it could've prevented alot of the cheating revolved around them, but they also could've made official approved ones, give much better rewards in the end.

After the removal of the hourly questing, foundry was all but dead to me, removal of leadership killed any other incentive for me. Time is too limited to waste it on doing activities, that do not reward you.

There is two activities in game.. those that give AD and those that give boons. Due to how poor the return of playing time is, you dont have time to do anything else and still play the game. Its pretty simple. Foundry is a great and novel concept, never really used to its full capacity and they do not seem to be willing to do so. Except for a few authors who really like to build stuff, most players have all but ignored it since removal of leadership AD. We the players, simply do not have time to bother with spending 25-30 mins doing basically nothing in game.

Return of the foundry, and the resources involved, if not totally revamped and incorporated into a broader spectrum of the game, will not really bring that much to the broader player base.

Im simply stating this as a player, unless they bring a reward system for foundry, it will do nothing.

mrgiggles651 · June 2016

hustin1 said:

What is the Foundry status, devs?

Removed from promotional materials. See the main page.

therealprotex · June 2016

silverkelt said:
There is two activities in game.. those that give AD and those that give boons. [...] We the players, simply do not have time to bother with spending 25-30 mins doing basically nothing in game.

Allow me to contradict you in this point. There is only one reason for the vast majority to play this game: fun. The definition of fun may be individual, but it is surely not reduced to the two points "gain AD" and "get boons".

I loved to play some of the foundrys just for the story of it. I remember a foundry quest series that narrated the (canon) treachery of some of the gods around Helm and Tyr for example. I gained nothing from it, no boons, no ADs (in fact, since I spent ADs to the author I even lost ADs), it was just fun to play it.

Some foundry quests were lame, others were made just for the cheating that was mentioned, but some quests were purely adorable and for those alone, I miss the foundry.

torontodave · June 2016

I made a song about the Foundry.

iandarksword · June 2016

@strumslinger Some kind of response, regardless of whether it's positive or negative news would help quell the fears and speculation about what's going on. We as players don't get to have a say in decisions made at the management level, it's good to have a head's up if there's going to be a feature removed.

valcontar73 · June 2016

torontodave said:
I made a song about the Foundry.

Hell let's hear it!!

torontodave · June 2016

theslotharmy#3268 said:
lol the last thing I remember them saying was that foundry was not one of their priorities, basically they are ignoring it still.

There's a difference between "we're not doing anything new with it" and "we're not even going to put it online anymore" .. =X

samaka · June 2016

silverkelt said:
There is two activities in game.. those that give AD and those that give boons. Due to how poor the return of playing time is, you dont have time to do anything else and still play the game. Its pretty simple. Foundry is a great and novel concept, never really used to its full capacity and they do not seem to be willing to do so. Except for a few authors who really like to build stuff, most players have all but ignored it since removal of leadership AD. We the players, simply do not have time to bother with spending 25-30 mins doing basically nothing in game.

Return of the foundry, and the resources involved, if not totally revamped and incorporated into a broader spectrum of the game, will not really bring that much to the broader player base.

Im simply stating this as a player, unless they bring a reward system for foundry, it will do nothing.

I would have to say speak for yourself, not all players. Personally, I would love to see the Foundry return, both so I can create some epic quest lines, and so I can play other epic Foundry quests.

I am looking for those Foundry quests that may take an hour or more to complete and may even be part of a campaign chain of quests. I do not expect anything in return, other than a good time doing the quest itself.

This attitude that everything you do in-game *must* be rewarded with AD or Boons is silly, why not just explore and experience the quests the Foundry has to offer simply for the sake of doing the quests and experiencing some great stories?

Sadly, the Foundry started repopulating right as my partner and I started playing, then next thing we know there is a patch and all the quests are gone and we find out the Foundry itself hasn't been available for players to create quests for two months before we started playing, now it has been offline three months.

Seeing it being removed from the promotional materials makes me very sad... I really, really wanted to create Foundry quests, now I am wondering if I am going to get the opportunity!

valcontar73 · June 2016

"In past blogs you've pointed out how you need to better communicate with your playerbase. " It's a lie. Time has shown it.

They only care about the sales on the shop and how to make you spend money in the game, nothing else.

It's a shame that they use the D&D logo, when D&D has nothing to do with the politics of this game.

torontodave · June 2016

tweet the people at DnD here

@Hasbro
@Wizards_DnD
@ChrisPerkinsDnD (portobello)
@Trevor_WotC (dnd communications)
@mikemearls (dnd lead designer)

valcontar73 · June 2016

torontodave said:
tweet the people at DnD here

@Hasbro
@Wizards_DnD
@ChrisPerkinsDnD (portobello)
@Trevor_WotC (dnd communications)
@mikemearls (dnd lead designer)

Some of us already did that, then, they automatically said "There's no bandwith for the foundry" and "There'll be no updates on the foundry this year."

So... it seems that we hit their ego, and they reacted like a mollycoddle child.

wildfirede · June 2016

Now the issue is not that there are no uptades, even at its old version it is not working a few dungeons being playable for 1/10th of the year being the exception.

iandarksword · June 2016

It's like that car at a mechanic that sits because the owner can't get money for the parts. The mechanics go fiddle with it now and again, but unless the owner has some good fortune, it's just going to sit there.

melinden · June 2016

@terramak has indicated in the Patch notes thread on the Preview server that they are still working on the Foundry.

strumslinger · June 2016

I'm sorry to say, but there is no real update on the Foundry. They're still working on it when I bring it up every week, but so far, no dice. I'm also sorry for the lack of communication from me on this, but it's disheartening to keep saying "there is no update" every week

.

arabatur · June 2016

strumslinger said:
I'm sorry to say, but there is no real update on the Foundry. They're still working on it when I bring it up every week, but so far, no dice. I'm also sorry for the lack of communication from me on this, but it's disheartening to keep saying "there is no update" every week .

Disheartening as it maybe, is it not your job to communicate with the playerbase, for better or worse? Silence is just offensive to most of us, especial after Overmeyer clearly stated communications would be improved.

rapo973 · June 2016

To be pragmatic, the current priorities are the NW PS4 version and the new module in August.
99,9% of the time is dedicated to them because the work goes where the money flow (it's not a critic, but normal business). Between the lines, they already told us - you can google some interviews released few months ago- that this year the foundry is not addressed.
I think that the community would appreciate a lot if a clear statement is published about it so that we can put our expectations in stand-by.
The path they are following is clear: give priority to new contents every few months more than fix what already released.
The day this trend is over, we will see some improvements...I hope..

wylonus · June 2016

anything about new wall/floor textures?

for cold/frozen looking walls, icy floors that was built so long ago instead of caverns types?
same for lava effect walls and floors warmed to touch?

i really like that "25th level" artifact quest that we did trigger planar floors becoming solid in old crypt. please add more something like that too.

ghostly-like walls and floors for "Dream-quest".

It's been THREE MONTHS -- can we PLEASE get a status update?

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