Binky: PVP is a huge system and it is going to take SEVERAL publishes to get everything right. Pub 39 will not be the end-all-be-all publish for PVP either.

There are no promises being broken here. It's simply taking more time that some people would like. We are not going to be able to magically fix a system 8 years in the making in one Publish.

Also, let's try to stick with constructive posts. Flaming never helped anything.

Wilki:
1. The word promise was never used in conjuction with future development plans. To do so would be silly, as things routinely change as time goes on.

2. The very definition of a lie is:

1. A false statement deliberately presented as being true; a falsehood.
2. Something meant to deceive or give a wrong impression.

Now unless you're going to propose that we posted the lightning strike cap fix on the front of page of uo.com just for fun while we were purposefully not fixing it behind the scenes, then you can hardly call it a lie. A mistake? Sure. But a lie? Not even close.

3. As for Pub39 being "the" PvP publish, this was on uo.com at the top of the page for weeks in December:

"These changes are currently slated to be released with Publish 38 as the first fix for these issues, which we will continue to work on over the next few months."

I realize that pre-Pub38 we were talking about Pub39 as "the" pvp publish, but as we've dug deep into the issue, it's became quite apparent that there is a lot more work to do here than just make a few tweaks here and there. While we could fix crits and dog archers today, tomorrow we'll have the next "template of the week" that needs to be addressed.

That's the entire problem here: Combat has had bandages slapped on the symptoms for far too long, and needs some holistic attention to the underlying problems. That simply is not possible in one publish, or even two publishes. I don't have the list complied yet, but we'll be posting what we hope to put in Pub39 in the not too distant future. As always, things may change, and items may be removed (or maybe even added, but that's not as likely) from the list we post.

Wilki: Not quite.

That's a good way to get yourself totally ignored. We DO read the negative, yet civil, posts. We tend to skip over the rants and rude posts.

Wilki: I believe bows across the board may be adjusted in Pub39 (yes you will get to test it and give feedback before the numbers of finalized), thought I'm not 100% that is set in stone. We should know shortly.

As for the bandaid crit fix, yes, that needs to be fixed yesterday. I *might* have some more information on that tomorrow.

Wilki: Please note that he said "nonconstructive negative" not "negative". There is a pretty big difference between the two, as the former helps us tremendously, while the later wastes everyone's time.

Negative feedback is always going to be greater than the positive, as the players who are happy generally are in the game playing, and not on the boards repeatedly telling everyone how happy they are.

I'm not sure why the "nonconstructive" part of this message gets ignored/forgotten/pushed aside, as it's consistently said that negative feedback is fine, A-OK, loved, wanted, cherished and so on, while the lame ranting and name calling isn't.

We're all adults here, so why is that concept so difficult to understand? The local fast food places here mess up my order from time to time on a pretty consistent basis, but it's never occurred to me to go screaming to the manager asking for the order taker to be fired, and telling the workers to themselves that they're incompetent, worthless and need to be replaced.

Now, I might go tell the manager that my order is getting messed up a lot, and I think it's because the outdoor speaker system isn't very good and garbles up our communication.

Both are negative complaints, but one is worthless, rude and confrontational, while the other explains what the problem is and how and why I'd like to see it fixed.

And you know what? If I still wasn't happy? I'd go somewhere else. Though I'd find all fast food joints have the same problems, so maybe I'll just go eat where I like the food best and live with the occasional screwup.

That's not a perfect analogy, but hopefully it highlights the difference between negative feedback and nonconstructive negative feedback.

Wilki: You're welcome.

We've been discussing how soon and what we communicate to you about our next publish(es), and you should see a change in that process that hopefully will benefit all of us.

*types this as he listens to Draconi play a flute in his cube*

No, I'm not kidding!

Draconi: Ah, and this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you pwn your coworkers on the boards after work.

*stealths up on Wilki and blasts an E-Sharp in his ear*