Things would be so much easier if there were any foundation to that critique. IC has some big issues but trust me, if code was the only thing I was spending time on, we’d have far more urgent concerns than UA.
The UA issue doesn’t describe “only coding” at all; it describes my preference that we fix IC’s problems without compromising player autonomy and freedom.
If I was only coding I would not be talking with you and others on how to address the game’s underlying imbalances. I would not be discussing game design with the players, I would literally be only coding.
A disagreement over game design is one thing, but if I’m telling you guys “Hey I spend time on other things besides code.” and you guys are saying “No, you don’t. You only code.” then that’s just absurd.
This isn’t new; it’s as old as IC itself.
This was a problem in the Betas and in IC’s peak as well. Our mistake (well, Stefan and MM’s mistake) was that they tried to “fix” this with the IA rule instead of actually fixing the game mechanics that make IA so painful in the first place.
By applying that band-aid, they forever trained the players that the game can only operate with staff oversight. We’re still paying for that mistake.
The biggest misconception about IA is that the problem is actually IA. It’s not: IC is inherently imbalanced and needs to be fixed properly. Throwing band-aids back onto the problem is just a waste of our already limited dev and admin resources.
Your thread is a great example of the type of player-developer collaboration needed to solve the underlying issue. If only our original owners listened years ago.
Good thing the current owner is also involved in these things, and isn’t only coding. 