Avatar photoSteven Savage

No Man’s Sky: Why The Delay Is Good

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)

So if you’ve been following No Man’s Sky, and haven’t heard that A) the game was delayed, and B) some people had a meltdown over it, you’ve been living under an extremely insulated rock.

So anyway, the game is delayed.  Though I’d like to address some of the bizarre reactions on it (including death threats to the lead and to a reporter), as I’m focusing on the game I’d like to discuss the delay.  Also there’s only so much I can write “stop it you morons.”

So, NMS delayed.  Good.

Why do I say good?  Because that’s a sign of two things:

  1. That Hello Games knows that there’s more work to be done.
  2. That Hello Games will admit there’s work to be done and do it.

First, as noted earlier, the NMS team seems to be doing everything right to actually make the game work.  Right focus, right methods, etc.  The fact that they can outright say “no, we need more time” means they’re aware enough of what they’re doing to take more time.

Secondly, the fact they will admit this in public, for a game whose hype has become a living thing entirely separate from their own efforts, is a good sign for the final product.  Unless the problems were epic, they probably could have gotten away with a flawed game with a day 0 patch or something.  They didn’t – that speaks to an honest about getting a good product.

The delay tells me NMS is probably going to live up to the (actual, not imagined) hype.  The team can say “stop, wait” as opposed to tossing out a game that – let us be blunt – would probably get a lot of love anyway.

I’m reminded a bit of Starbound, another game that I’m looking forward to (and that sadly, I will have to play through before OR after NMS because its pure crack to me).  The team has taken extra time to work on it, but as of the last beta I played – and I played through the game 3 times Early access – it’s evolved amazingly.  Time can make a better product (ask Blizzard).

The delay may be painful for some of us, but it’s just another sign we’re going to get a good product.

– Steve

Civic Diary 6/3/2016

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com and Steve’s Tumblr)

Hello everyone, it’s the latest Civic Diary. As noted I figured I’d post this late or not at all considering the weekend, and I figured I’d just do one this week. Not exatly what I’d want to do, but I do acknowledge my limits.

So this weekend I attended Fanime 2016. I do a lot of conventions where I speak – but this time it was just recreational, cosplay, and hanging out with friends in a mini-reunion. This got me thinking.

Lately my usual work at a museum doing accessioning has been on hold due to remodeling. I just had my first event I haven’t spoken at in years. So having a sudden spate of not doing “my community thing” was insightful. I felt like something was missing, a visceral sensation.

That sensation is a guide to Civic Engagement that trully is something from “you.”

There is something we humans crave in engagement, the desire for meaningful activity that ties us together. Having a rare moment where I did not have my museum work, did not have speaking, made me aware of that lack.

It led me to rethink – and appreciate – my various forms of community involvement. What was important? What mattered? Why did I do it? What more can I do. I’m going to be re-evaluting my civic engagements in the weeks to come now that I have this “gut feel” about what’s important.

I think I need to sort of write up my “system” for civic engagement if that makes sense. This is, of course, part of it.

What else is up?

  • That local political meetup?  Got cancelled.  So I need to find out where the next one is.  I’m annoyed, but thats the way it goes.
  • With all the eventful activities I got behind on “The Little Book Of Revolution” – I’ll try to finish that soon. Its kind of a heavy read to be blunt – plus right now I’m not in the mood to learn to Change People’s Minds.
  • I’ve been thinking over my idea of Strong and Weak links in Civic Engagement -and I hate the terms. I’m thinking of them more as Strong and Diffuse links – do we build specific powerful structures or more of a networked system. Voter registration via a political party is a Strong form of Civic Engagement. Charity work to distribute food to the needy is more diffuse. Running an anime convention is Strong, running a general writer meetup is Diffuse.
  • People really, really should appreciate the power of their fannish groups, game clubs, and more. Those connections provide a lot of support and social structure – as my own experiences at Fanime reminded me.
  • I’ve gotten behind on writing my representatives – though I wonder I’ve overfocused – since usually as of late I write them on trans rights. Do I keep mailing on the same thing or try to keep discussing different important items? For instance, this time I wrote them on voting rights.
  • I keep forgetting my state reps. I really need to remember them.
  • I’ve seen a county political party encourage letter writing to the media. Does that work? I admit the media is a pretty giant mess but I wonder if, much like me writing my reps, it at least has a chance to work?

Thats it for now. More next week!

– Steve

Steve’s Update 6/1/2016

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(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)

OK got plenty of updates, so what’s been up?

Sailor Moon Book:

  • The Sailor Moon Book is back from the editor – and I plan to tackle it this weekend (fair warning, this might get interrupted). What’ll happen is I’ll go through the edits, then hand off to Bonnie with notes, then a final polish. The book seems pretty solid as is, so I’m quite positive on it.
  • We also are getting the sample cover for the book together, so I hope to do a print test run very early.

Way With Worlds:

  • The sample print copy of Book One worked pretty well – though there were some edits. I’ve got a second copy on the way now and if that works out . . . it’ll be good. So dropping in July looks quite likely!
  • I did note the draft copies that I get are kinda lower quality than final prints.  That has made cover formatting a tad harder.
  • I’m hoping to do some blog promotions on the book – and to share my insights!
  • Book Two is going to definitely be moved to November. The Sailor Moon book drops in September and the followup could be pretty busy. On top of that my editor is swamped so I’m giving her some breathing room.
  • Yes, the followup plans are still in place. Stay tuned – though you may not see them until December 2016 or January 2017.

Skills Transfer Book:

  • I’ve got a little minibook based on my previous column on skill portability. I’m rewriting and expanding the ideas to release a useful 99 cent guide.

Other Works:

  • I realized I sort of got to the end of my Job Skills For The Future posts and am evaluating my next writing goals. Maybe you have ideas . . .

Generators:

  • Yep the theme is still food for 2016, though right now I’m juggling at least 3 generator possibilities. Stay tuned.

Whew, that’s a lot.  How are you doing?

– Steve