CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14) • Hacker News Board

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#251

Post by setpatchaddress » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:09 AM UTC

jasondigitized wrote: post #229

lock-free wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm playing on a Ryzen 3800x, a GTX 2060 Super with 32GB of 3600 MHz Ram. I think the game looks bad (with playable settings) and hasn't been compelling enough for me to sink that much time into it, while the missions are pretty grindy. I'd say play GTA V and the Witcher 3 for a comparison in immersive open world story telling and high caliber graphics. I haven't played Spiderman (2018, 2020) but in gameplay footage…

Just get a copy of Ghost of Tsushima and enjoy a top rate open world gaming experience.

This ^^^^ absolutely stunning on a PS4 Pro.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#252

Post by majormajor » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:13 AM UTC

anonunivgrad wrote: post #245

munk-a wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, and most software developers in Vancouver aren't participating with foreign companies at those rates. The laws remain how they are mostly to disenfranchise QA testers which remain a very hard labour segment to mobilize. There are thousands of "I can make money playing games?!?" folks out there that drown out the really good QA folks and insure that EA can maintain its churn. For regular dev jobs, I think the ma…

Any decent software employer in the US will have good insurance that basically guarantees your max out of pocket health expenses won’t exceed a few thousand dollars. That doesn’t really account for the difference.

Out of pocket maxes in the 10-20K range aren't that uncommon in the US. Even when I've seen places with plans where it's <5K, that's only for single workers, and it doubles with a partner or family.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#253

Post by Godel_unicode » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:19 AM UTC

sfkdjf9j3j wrote: post #216

michaelt wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plenty of companies recognise contributions by handing out tokens that can't be cashed in immediately, that have a value that depends on the fortunes of the company, and that might fall in value precipitously. Just usually they name the tokens "stock options" or "pre-IPO shares" I agree there are plenty of shitty practices in the games industry, of course.

It would also be weird if managers were to capriciously hand out options to employees as short term performance bonuses.

Weird, normal-and-accepted, guess it depends what part of the industry you work in.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#254

Post by indigochill » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:20 AM UTC

nootropicat wrote: post #224

avianlyric wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah that is annoying, but you can do the same back. My primary issue with overheat is not the mechanic itself, but the complete lack of education in game on how best to defend yourself. The whole quickhack, netrunner aspect of the game is completely lacking in tutorials or explanation. Which is a real shame, because it looks like a really interesting mechanic.

The game gives you a quickhacking tutorial at the very beginning. The mission with four tutorials in total, two optional

Yeah, but for instance I don't remember any callout of the cyberdeck inventory section, which is critical if you're playing a combat hacker. It only occurred to me to look into it after I got past a point where the devs had previously advertised all the hacking opportunities and I realized my character might be underdeveloped there somehow.

Not that I'm complaining much. There've been tons of bugs and wonkiness for me, but I've been enjoying the heck out of the game anyway (wonkiness is par for the course in a AAA open-world game anyway). But it definitely has lots of room for polish. Given how above and beyond they went on TW3, I have no concerns it'll receive it eventually (hopefully -after- a well-deserved Christmas break).

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#255

Post by Arelius » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:21 AM UTC

_cs2017_ wrote: post #27

Wasn't it obvious to anyone who play-tested on last-gen consoles that the game is nearly unplayable and so will receive horrendous reviews? Presumably CDPR employees are not afraid to convey such bad news to the management. So why did the management still decide to go ahead with the release this year? After reading this transcript, I didn't find the answer to these questions. "Underestimated the scale and complexity…

Don't underestimate the ability for people to dilute the impact of bad-news as it moves up the chain. I'm sure people play-tested it and tried to raise alarms, but bad news regularly get's softened, maybe to accept less blame/responsibility?

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#256

Post by indigochill » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:21 AM UTC

avianlyric wrote: post #241

nootropicat wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The game gives you a quickhacking tutorial at the very beginning. The mission with four tutorials in total, two optional

Yeah I did the tutorial, but found it very basic. Really looking for something that helps better explain how to fit quick hacking into broader combat. I have really progressed beyond pings and optical reboots, which makes me feel like I’m leaving at lot on the table, but the games hasn’t really expressed what that is.

You need to go to a ripperdoc and buy a cyberdeck upgrade. Then you'll go from only 2 program slots to something like six (depending on the upgrade you buy) as well as more RAM. Really opens up combat hacking options, and as far as I've seen this is never explained.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#257

Post by Arelius » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:22 AM UTC

pier25 wrote: post #104

_cs2017_ wrote: post #27

Wasn't it obvious to anyone who play-tested on last-gen consoles that the game is nearly unplayable and so will receive horrendous reviews? Presumably CDPR employees are not afraid to convey such bad news to the management. So why did the management still decide to go ahead with the release this year? After reading this transcript, I didn't find the answer to these questions. "Underestimated the scale and complexity…

> So why did the management still decide to go ahead with the release this year? The game should have been delayed until Xmas 2021 but CDPR probably had contracts they couldn't break with Sony, Xbox, or maybe even Nvidia.

There may have been contract issues, but more likely the cost of an additional year of development vs getting holiday profit made a lot of the decision.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#258

Post by Latty » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:27 AM UTC

frakkingcylons wrote: post #108

pavlov wrote: post #7

This company has probably the shittiest gamified bonus system that I've ever heard of: "CDPR leaders would hand out tokens every month to staffers who went above and beyond, and those tokens were supposed to be transferrable into bonuses if the game met “certain criteria, like critical acclaim and a timely release,” according to the report." [1] Get paid in "crunch mode experience points" handed out by middle manager…

CDPR is paying their staff the full bonus for Cyberpunk 2077 due to the circumstances of the release. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-11/cd-projek...

Making it less terrible after-the-fact, after tons of bad press and outside pressure, and when you desperately need the devs to stay on and fix the problems left after the launch they no doubt told you was not going to work… not sure that deserves much praise.

Don't get me wrong, it's better than not doing it, but it doesn't fix the underlying issue with the system there.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#259

Post by Godel_unicode » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:29 AM UTC

blackearl wrote: post #139

fastball wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you not know about the tokens when you were hired? Why is your first reaction to "riot" instead of just "quit"? Unless it's in your contract, you don't deserve a bonus.

I can't imagine HR going into it any more than "there is possible bonus compensation" when hiring.

My company's HR people and recruiter both spelled out the bonus plans in great detail (cash vs equity, what you're rated on, typical amounts for my incoming level, etc etc). Don't just accept wishy-washy answers, this stuff matters.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#260

Post by TheGuyWhoCodes » Wed, Dec 16, 2020, 2:29 AM UTC

TheGuyWhoCodes wrote: post #42

Having played cyberpunk on PC it's mostly a fancy light show and not a lot of substance. You can't even customize anything past the creation screen, no car paint jobs no hair cuts and no body modification, no transmog system.. They tried to hide the console issues while reaffirming time and time again that current-gen console will be a first class citizen, that's an EA tactic not something that CDPR I thought I knew…

I'm not saying it's all bad. The art style is amazing, the sound track is awesome. The lips sync, facial expressions and body movement are pretty damn good. Yes there some nice side missions and the main story line is ok I guess but it's not really cyberpunk or really engaging. They advertised it as a cyber punk open world RPG and promised so many things and then literally changed the marketing of the game to an action shooter after the game came out...