That timetable for a complete refactoring of the code and the related updates in other areas that it would necessitate would be impossible even for a large team, let alone a relatively small one like STO has. If they were to drop everything else and do that rework as a monolithic block of a project three or four years would be more realistic.
The better way to do it is the way that they have been doing it for years, tweaking and revamping code in situ (though they could still use a few more people working on it in order to pick up the pace a bit). It causes the least amount of game disruption despite sometimes stirring up bugs from revisions not working well with each other.
The requirements changes imply that they are putting effort into the code problems already, probably streamlining it and recompiling on a more up-to-date compiler (the current Microsoft compiler dropped support for the older DX versions a while ago, and part of the STO requirement change was most likely to enable them to use the current compiler) as well as making new features or whatever.
And the age of an engine is not as important in one made in-house like the Cryptic engine because they can and do update it, it is just not as obvious to the players because the changes are gradual and there are no published version numbers (the only reason to publish those is for marketing the engine to outside companies, something Cryptic does not do).
"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives. I rather believe that time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again." - Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek Generations
bowswa
Member Posts: 1 Arc User
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Also the devs have been working on things
The better way to do it is the way that they have been doing it for years, tweaking and revamping code in situ (though they could still use a few more people working on it in order to pick up the pace a bit). It causes the least amount of game disruption despite sometimes stirring up bugs from revisions not working well with each other.
The requirements changes imply that they are putting effort into the code problems already, probably streamlining it and recompiling on a more up-to-date compiler (the current Microsoft compiler dropped support for the older DX versions a while ago, and part of the STO requirement change was most likely to enable them to use the current compiler) as well as making new features or whatever.
And the age of an engine is not as important in one made in-house like the Cryptic engine because they can and do update it, it is just not as obvious to the players because the changes are gradual and there are no published version numbers (the only reason to publish those is for marketing the engine to outside companies, something Cryptic does not do).
https://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/startrekonline#/discussion/1245086/the-f-c-t-frequently-created-threads-list-2-0
Star Trek Online volunteer Community Moderator