Ok. That was wrong and I apologize. And I also apologize if i’m Misinterpreting your posts. But you were basically saying that a Q&A shouldn’t happen because of how the loud minority will react. Everyone knows that that’s how the internet works, and the devs should be thick skinned enough to ignore the banshees and focus on the people who just want an honest and simple Q&A.
I actually don’t have an opinion on whether the Q and A “should” happen. I don’t see any value in it for MS so I’m willing to defend their inaction, but I’m generally in favor of developer fan interactions. But again, the community makes it clear that we won’t collectively behave like rational adults so how could I blame MS for not engaging? I wish I was wrong.
I am definitely against an “announcement” that KI is somehow over or finished or whatever your preferred language is. In part because it’s not (see the incoming patch) and in part because I think that’s bad messaging with no upside.
But again, if you think MS is making any decisions based on what I say in the forums, I’m flattered but I can assure you they don’t ask me before they do stuff. I don’t need that kind of responsibility. I’m just on here having conversations with people about KI and related topics that interest me. I am not standing between you and what you want.
2 Likes
Ok I watched the stream…I enjoyed it! It was nice to see @snickerdoodle in person and ofcourse seeing @KRAKENJIMMY vs Ken Lobb was great!
Thansk again to James for all his hard work wtht eh bugs an balance adjustments.
But… did I miss the release date on teh patch? Or is it already live? If so…whats the secret change???
2 Likes
Aw man I need to hang out on the forums more. I missed Andy’s truth bombs again.
2 Likes
Yeah, I’m gonna push back hard against this idea:
No developer is obligated or required to subject themselves to abuse, ridicule, or disrespect, and certainly not as a matter of course for interacting with their non-douchey fans for dubious gains. I as a supervisor would never subject my people to some requirement for such, and I’d fight against anything even resembling that incredibly hard if I were an employee. Unless you explicitly have some public facing role, “thick skin” is not a core job competency. James or Adam or Sam have no obligation to take abuse, ever, in the service of making fans feel happier about the state of the game.
I’ve said many times that people “ should play the games they want, the way they want, for the reasons they want.” I think that extends to developers as well: they should make the games they want, the way they want, for the reasons they want. That’s the only thing they owe to the fans, and the role of the fandom is to decide whether that vision is something they also enjoy and want to be a part of. If it is, then great! If it isn’t, then we vote with our wallets or otherwise move on or away from the product. Community interaction is awesome, and I wholeheartedly support and appreciate when a developer puts forth the effort to do it right. But it is never an obligation.
3 Likes
Just so you know, we have read this, not ignoring you all. If it was not apparent, the crazy stuff that broke for no reason for 2 months (for some and not all people and changed daily for the bonus fun) was our sole focus to find and fix. That’s done and we moved onto a backlog of stuff we had shelved to not risk anything else.
This next patch clears that plate, and we will have time finally to start catching up and hopefully grab a bunch of questions and do a Q&A. We hear you all, we do.
AND I did not mention the patch timeline on stream, it’s in test so probably shooting for 2 weeks. We will update officially once we have more info.
PS: On the secret thing, it’s not a gameplay changer or features or colors, or skins, I will tweet out a hint or 2 next week since I was a bit over the top with the trolling. Oh… whoops I did it again 
11 Likes
As always, thanks for the feedback James - it is much appreciated. 
Does enhanced Steam/X1/Win10 crossplay count as a “feature”? 
2 Likes
James is the best!
On another note, I’m very curious about the secret thing but I’m also scared.
1 Like
First off, this is probably the best KI-related post I’ve seen all year. 
Thanks a bunch for keeping us all in the loop, and it’s awesome to know that you’re not only still out there, you’re still listening and doing cool stuff behind the scenes, @KRAKENJIMMY!
It also gives me a good reason to put my Ultratech-branded tinfoil hat, and take a stab at the “secret thing” before we’re blessed with the Q&A, hints, and other textural info! Yay! Now if it’s not a “gameplay changer,” colors, skins, or a new feature(s), could it be…
A new Stage Ultimate?
A Season 3/3.X KI Game Card artwork featuring all of the cast from that season? (We got one of those for the first two seasons- why didn’t we get one for the third?
KI2 music for Practice Mode?
New Shadow Lord mission(s)?
Those are some of my best shots in the dark, am I even in the ballpark? 
-Zenek
Patch is not releasing today, but it is in final test, shooting for this week still. Will update once we have the confirmed release date.
7 Likes
Hey just curious if you have a free moment or two, and if you don’t, it’s cool, I totally get it. But could you let us know some of the stuff that’s in the backlog that you guys might be looking in to once the newest patch goes out?
I’m sure the answer to this is undoubtedly no, but is there any chance you guys would be willing to put a toggle in for the shadow move colors between purple and the old black ones? Or is that too much work or new assets?
It’s not even anything against the purple ones by any means. I just like the black ones too and it’d be cool to have a choice. 
Wait what… Over the top… was that a hint?? 
Any more hints on the secret thing?
Hey sorry to double post, but I was just curious if something like this might still be a possibility as well. I know you and Ken were nice enough to answer a few questions on the Xbox stream not too long ago, but a Q&A around here would also be greatly appreciated, I’m sure. I don’t know what questions you guys would be willing to answer about this or future KI, but anything you could say would be great! 
Thanks for the questions and reminder. So toggling shadow vfx is not an option, but would be cool.
Regarding the hints, so:
- Hanging out with friends, surviving shadows and being medium all have something in common.
- Enjoy your own path to the destination, the easy one is not necessarily better.
3 Likes
Unlock Gargos stage on medium intstead of Killer?
Yeah I had a feeling. No problemo. Thanks for responding and answering either way!
This makes me wonder if we’ll have difficulty levels for Shadow Survival. Maybe the shortest path has the hardest shadows??
If this is what you’re talking about, that’d be AWESOME. If not though, I’m still very curious to see what this is.
Thanks for all the work you do, man!
If I was to take a guess, “hanging out with friends” might be Lobby improvements, or maybe online Practice?
I’m looking forward to hearing what the patch will give us!
Maybe a new chat function synced with lobby? Or PC version synced with lobby? Discord? Or something like that?
yeah i was thinkin online training mode, sometime of arcade ladder, possible dojo mode for more characters
not sure about the being medium? hmmm
either way! I’m glad it’s happening!
(and im still hoping it’s ultimates ;D)
The patch is live! http://www.ultra-combo.com/patch-notes-3-9-13/
It will be a few weeks of focusing on watching the patch and feedback before we will be ready to start looking at a QnA session. Will update on this thread when we are getting closer.
2 Likes
So is the hinted thing, whatever it is, in this already?