Ubisoft wants you to go to Sweden

[Oh. daesu]

Apparently, over at ubisoft, Massive is seeking submissions for those interested agents to join them in some sort of division corroboree.

If you're interested pop over to the ubiforms.

And just a reminder. Here, at The Division Forums, we are a fan site not associated with ubisoft in anyway. So, don't ask @g1nt3r whether he has any spare plane tickets.  :15_yum:

Join the Elite Task Force! | Forums:

http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/1486769-Join-the-Elite-Task-Force

"After the details surrounding Update 1.4 were announced yesterday, it’s now time to give you all a bit of extra insight as to how we’re going get there. We’ve said before that building and improving on our game is something that we want to do “with the community”, and in this case we mean that in the most literal sense.In two weeks, we’ll be bringing people from the community to Massive in order to help make Patch 1.4 as valuable to our players as possible. This type of direct interaction between us on the development side and those of you that are out saving New York in The Division every day is definitely one of the key ways to improve the experience for all players. With that said, consider this a call for submissions; we’re looking for anyone within the community that wants to be a part of critical workshops and discussions at Massive in Malmö, Sweden. You don’t need to be a world famous YouTuber, gigantic streamer or podcast hero to be involved in this conversation either! If you play The Division, are willing to join us for a couple of days at Massive and are keen to speak up then we want to hear from you. 
 

• You’ll need to be available from September 7th – 9th
  
• We’ll pay for the flights, hotel and food
  

."

 

[quinch1199]

So they can't afford me normally now tempting me with free flights AND FOOD!

Fools on them I don't have a passport anymore. 

lol!

 

[quinch1199]

Actually would be nice to consult with them but they may not like my ideas ... been there, done that with a couple of developers. 

"Here are a few ideas that would not only fix your game but promote it and encourage more players"

"No, sorry, that's not the game we want to make, we prefer it broken" (but two years later implement the changes suggested)

 

[Oh. daesu]

Fools on them I don't have a passport anymore. 

lo

You took the brexit kind of hard then?

 

[quinch1199]

You took the brexit kind of hard then?

ha! noooo.. (but yes I did! I'M A EUROPEAN DAMMIT!) Don't think I've been overseas since I used a MOD90 

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

I'd love to do that but it would suck to make the time investment and then see the game basically get dropped or nothing happen. 

 

[g1nt3r]

This is a great idea, I love how the developers are really trying to improve the game. I hope this turns things around.

 

[supercat]

Just watched SkillUp video, I don't know if he's talking based on actual source by the dev or just speculating on his own, but he says Massive is trying to revamp the game mechanic from the ground, such as the loots, balance, DZ, etc.

Also, Massive is hiring new people as they are jumping off the ship. The latest one who jump off was Natchai. LOL

 

[RimBlock]

If still open.  I will probably be applying.

I actually got the nod from the wife  :1_grinning: .

1 in a [insert very large number here] chance but why not.  

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

1 in a [insert very large number here] chance but why not.  

That number probably isn't as large as you think.  And if you're on PC, you're probably one of a 1/2 dozen players so your odds are probably even better.  ?

 

[RimBlock]

We'll see  :1_grinning: .

If I do, for some reason, get chosen and I am not locked down from talking about it before the time with a NDA or the like, I will post up for ideas so I can take some of this communities feedback over there.

I have my own ideas and views but I am happy to pass on anything else of value others may wish to put in front of the Massive team.  

That reminds me, I really should note down my own ideas before I forget them  :10_wink: .

 

[Oh. daesu]

"Entries for our Elite Task Force Workshop will close at Tuesday 9am CEST / 3am EST / 12am PST "

 

[RimBlock]

Cool, a couple of hours ago then.

 

[DeadSockPuppet]

Cool, a couple of hours ago then.

Well then, kinda takes care of that, doesn't it.  ?

 

[quinch1199]

Any of you guys get in ... remember i'm just a conference call away. 

Most of my dev work has been done in the past via Skype & TeamSpeak to be honest (mainly as they've been based in Eastern Europe).

If they're serious about rebuilding the game from the ground up then they've got a chunk of core recoding to do! 

 

[RimBlock]

Any of you guys get in ... remember i'm just a conference call away. 

Most of my dev work has been done in the past via Skype & TeamSpeak to be honest (mainly as they've been based in Eastern Europe).

If they're serious about rebuilding the game from the ground up then they've got a chunk of core recoding to do! 

Agreed,  considering they are aiming for Oct I fear the changes will be less deep than anticipated.  Just hoping they are not going to be purely superficial.

 

[quinch1199]

Agreed,  considering they are aiming for Oct I fear the changes will be less deep than anticipated.  Just hoping they are not going to be purely superficial.

Firstly, the question that needs answering is - What longevity are they willing to invest in and foresee for this title?

IS this a long term, continuously evolving and expanding project with a lifespan of 3-5 years minimum? OR is the investment and lead team geared up only for the next 24 months?

If the scripted lifespan of the title is 24-36 months from launch then any changes they review or are suggested now can ONLY practically be superficial. For anything more the development team must be looking at a significant investment of in excess of 3 years or more ... is this a singular title of the genre that will be built upon ... or are they already working on The Division Part Deux?

I don't think they can solve problems by building a fresh game, they have to build upon the framework currently in place I feel.

The Division is the "Suicide Squad" of games....there's a great product here...hidden beneath some god awful gumpf layered on top and what appears some late stage changes to initial direction and execution. 

 

[RimBlock]

Whilst I have not seen a great deal about Snowdrop, I would expect they would try to sell or develop on it some more and creating a successful game on it would help that no end.

If Snowdrop is like UE4 then I would hope the changes would hit the code layer to some extent as well as the scripting (blueprint) level.  It just depends where the controlling code is for aspects like skills, AI toughness / damage, loot drop determination etc.

Of course this all depends on how many monkeys are hammering away at how many typewriters as to the length of time it would take them.  Massive are listed as a 500+ employee company on LinkedIn.  Of course someone may have slipped in an extra 0 by mistake...

 

[Oh. daesu]

Ubisoft has said they plan to have a Public Test Server for Division PC.  no date, so may not by 1.4.

 

[RimBlock]

Whilst that sounds like a pretty good move, what with this being the Interwebz, it will probably turn in to a massive mistake if they do not restrict access.

It may also provide people making money from hacks a door to get at unsecured testing 'bits' and find issues they do not report so they could leverage them after the release goes live.

I am sure we will see if they go the safe, secured, trusted community members as testers route or get the popcorn in if they don't.