17 replies to this topic

[Clan Elder 'Keen]

As we all know, currently orders are due on Wednesday night. Turns then process usually on Friday and the typical return time is either late Friday night or early Saturday morning. A couple times now turns have been early and were sitting in our email on Friday morning. But also twice the processing has been delayed till Saturday night or Sunday am due to a hardware problem and moving issues.

I have two concerns that are not really complaints, but explainations of how I would be better able to enjoy my Supernova gaming time:



1) Printing. I typically print out each turn in its entirety. There are some sections that I do not really need to refer to each turn, but the pdf files are not really set up for easy partial printing. I have been printing double-sided to conserve both paper and space on my bookshelves. It takes a little extra time but a stack of turns becomes more managable.

Regardless, my typical turn size has balloned due to standing orders (XEXPL, XOC, XLFE, XSKIM, etc), multi-ap colony routes, and longer and longer lists of production stockpiles, colony installations, characters, fleets, warp surveys, etc. I have reached the point where printing at home is becoming painful and I try to delay till Monday when I can do it at work instead (better printer with bulk consumables makes it less expensive per page).

Getting turns late Thursday instead of late Friday means I can print at work on Friday.



2) Weekends. As a working stiff with a family, quiet time to mull over a turn is most often found on a weekend, especially on a Friday or Saturday night after everyone else has headed to bed. With a two week turnaround, that gives me four prime nights (2 Fridays, 2 Saturdays). So with the typical turn being recieved late Friday, I lose one of those nights. A very late turn coming out late Saturday means I lose two of those nights which is nearly 50% of my available time for a two-week period.

Once again, getting turns late Thursday instead of late Friday means I have two entire weekends at my disposal.




My point is this... if the due date for turns remains every two weeks but moves up in the week by one day (ie due on Tuesday instead of Wednesday), would RTG be able to more consistanty return turns by Friday am? If so, we would still have the same number of days to do our turns as we always have had with the exception of a single turn cycle when we lose one day as we transition from Wednesday to Tuesday. But for some of us perhaps the weekend could be more efficiently utilized due to the above two points. Maybe Pete or Russ have other obligations or scheduling issues that would prevent this approach. But with such a long-term game (and time commitment) it's worth asking opinions.

[crossroads]

I would like this too. I am away for most of the weekends (no internet access) and for us in Europe the turns useally are mailed early Saturday morning. For me it means that at the earliest is can see the results Sunday evening. Almost two days lost. I would be very happy if the turns are send early Friday at the latest, so that we in Europe can take them with us for the weekend.

[octagon999]

I have to agree with Clan Elder Keen completely. Actually the due date was moved up a day quite awhile ago in order to get our turn results by Friday.

I think that most players I have talked to want the results by Friday AM for the same reasons I do. We want to get our turn results at work so we can print them out without paying for a new ink cartridge and ream of paper on our own budgets. i.e. we want to print them at work.

Whatever, schedule wise, it takes to make this happen, is what I would LOVE, BEG, and PRAY for to happen. If it means the due date is a FIRM Tuesday date, then make it so, please. If someone can't get a turn in with 10 days, then too bad, including if its me. Whatever the due date is, WHATEVER it is, there will be SOMEONE who will be late.

Its a Seldon Law.

I can guarrantee you that if you had a two month turn around time, there would be someone emailing Pete on day 60 asking him to hold off so he can get his GD turn in.

So, Pete, PLEASE make a Friday AM turnaround happen.

[ShadowKitsune]

You might want to post a Poll to see if the majority of the Board Users favor moving the Due Date to Tuesdays or not. There might be other outside conditions that we are unaware of in Pete's life that preclude such a move as well.

Personally, I am ambivalent to when the turn is due.

-SK

[Lord Valwyn]

I have been and will continue to be fully supportive of getting turn results back from RTG prior to close of business on Fridays for all the reasons mentioned above.

Mark

[The Boo Consulate]

Lord Valwyn, on Jun 17 2004, 03:55 PM, said:

I have been and will continue to be fully supportive of getting turn results back from RTG prior to close of business on Fridays for all the reasons mentioned above.

Mark

OOC:

Me too!

Shane

[Azuth]

Count me in too.

[octagon999]

ShadowKitsune, on Jun 17 2004, 02:36 PM, said:

You might want to post a Poll to see if the majority of the Board Users favor moving the Due Date to Tuesdays or not.

I don't think its the due date that is the crucial issue, I think its the turn around date that is what people are concerned with. Only Pete knows his schedule, so I'm even cool with him saying, hey, this is the date it needs to be in by in order for me to get turns out on Friday this week. Whatever that day is, I can live with.

OK, I've said enough. I will shut up now.

[Vince]

Day of the week the turn is due matters not to me. Everyone needs to keep in mind that RTG has other "irons in the fire" and may not be able to accommodate, as it may affect their processing of other games.

"We want to get our turn results at work so we can print them out without paying for a new ink cartridge and ream of paper on our own budgets. i.e. we want to print them at work." - octagon999 Posted on Jun 17 2004, 08:35 AM


Octagon - you must be one of the pirates the "Galactic Senate" is sooooooooo worried about. Tsk, Tsk - condoning the stealing of paper and toner from a place of business - How shameful.......................

[Ur Lord Tedric]

Well, this certainly gets my vote although I wouldn't get to benefit - Being 7 hours in front!!!

But it would get me out of bed on a Saturday - and, thinking ahead to my holiday, might even mean I could take it with me rather than have to wait a whole week..........

Mx

[EternusIV]

I agree with Octagon. If the turn around time for turnstakes, say ...3 full days...I see no reason why turns couldn't be due on Monday or Tuesday of that week so that we get them before Friday.

I don't think we'll see many players oppose this suggestion. However, RTG has Victory! to juggle, too.

We can hope, though!

IC:

'Vince'-

In my view, piracy is for cowards. I don't fear it as much as I loathe it. I think the pirates have more to fear once the Senate is in a position to stand against it.

OOC: I think piracy is a pretty friggin cool feature of the game and I think the mere mention of it adds a lot to the RP-part of the game Don ye eye-patches all ye want matie.....argggghhh

Back IC:

Pirate scum

[Paradigm]

I guess I'll "speak" my mind even if it annoys some people.

Personally I would like to see RTG do a better job of setting and meeting deadlines. RTG is a business after all and many businesses have to meet deadlines despite many difficult to control variables and processes not entirely under their control. IMO consistency is more important than the actual completion date and time. If I knew the results would be processed within a reasonable range (say, +/- 6 hours of a published date and time) I could plan my own schedule around that whenever it may be. There are certainly plenty of unexpected problems and such that crop up during a turn run, and the total number of orders and players probably has impact, but with planning and contingency plans such as on-line backup systems, on-call (part time?) employees, excess capacity, time buffers, etc., I'll wager they could hit a 12 hour target window. Even if that includes a 24 hour buffer that they can normally use to spot check for problems and such.

I would also like to see better feedback on turn processing progress and an updated completion time. Ideally this would be a simple web page automatically updated by the turn processing software that gave an estimate on progress (10% completed, 20% completed, etc.) and an estimate on when the results would start to hit the email server. Worst case would be a web page manually updated by RTG staff every 8 hours or so, even if that means it takes them another net hour to complete the job. The most frustration I experience is when results are running later than usual and I have no idea when to expect them. I further waste my time by checking for results which later turn out to be many hours away.

Computers are a double edged sword here. Once the customer knows it only takes hours to get their results after they are completed, the arrival time because very noticeable and expectations rise. This isn't unique to RTG's business.

Save your keyboards and don't bother jumping on me about being tough on RTG. Business is business and the customer is king. I'm assuming of course that the revenue from SN3 is an important part of RTG's balance sheet. If SN3 is just a hobby, that's a different story.

[EternusIV]

QQ more? :lol:

JK (kind of)

Hey man, speak your mind all you want.

Just remember, its Pete....and Russ. Two guys. Two computers. They have lives outside of RTG just like we do.

I give em some leniency for deadlines in that regard.

I can't recall a week that has gone by recently that we haven't received a reliable ETA on turns.

Just cuz the ETA doesn't suit you, doesn't mean they aren't posting them

[PhaseDragon]

As stated before, my only concern is that we all receive turns at the same time...whatever that time may be. I am completely flexible on the turn due date.

[Lostworlds]

I guess your also asking that if they were a business they would charge for every service. Want a question answered and it will be a 1.99 a minute. I think we are just too spoiled. However, I can imagine who will be whining when they start getting into a real fight. Boo hoo.

Lostworlds
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