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Shotbow 2016 Roadmap

Discussion in 'Announcements' started by HighlifeTTU, Jan 29, 2016.

Shotbow 2016 Roadmap
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  1. HighlifeTTU Network Owner

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    [IMG]

    Looking back at 2015, we decided to take a close look at the core goals for the network. While we’ve always committed to bringing innovative gameplay to our users, it was clear we’ve spread ourselves a little thin by trying to support every mode we’ve ever created. This resulted in us neglecting those modes that really drive the passion of our users, and in 2016 we have dedicated ourselves to reinventing Shotbow for the better. This will mean a lot of changes around the network, but we hope that bringing a laser focus to our most played modes will result in a great year for our players, our staff, and the network as a whole.

    To the Garage!
    First, we plan to take down a number of games that were either never meant to be supported long term or need to have some serious time with a developer. Many of these will make a return in a future arcade mode whereby users can group up together and compete by seamlessly playing a variety of mini-games (think WarioWare). Others will be recoded to be released as standalone offerings. But for the time being we are going to be bringing them into the Shotbow garage. These modes include Ghostcraft, Lightbikes, Crafting Mama, Hidden in Plain Sight, Flappy Chick, Sweepers, Craftybomber, Wasted, and Assault. For some, this will be difficult news, but the idea is that we can recode/refine these games to be relaunched at a later time in a much better format. This lets us focus on our core offerings.

    Community Feedback
    Community feedback will be a pillar for Shotbow in 2016. Starting in March, the lead staff member for each active game mode will open up a monthly feedback thread meant to identify game breaking bugs, balance issues, and get a general pulse on the community. We will then take that feedback and spend development resources accordingly. We hope that this is a big step towards ensuring the community is heard and changes are made in a rapid fashion. Why March? We plan to do a lot of bug fixing in February so we start things with a clean slate.

    Something New!
    We will continue to offer new game mode experiences and tweaks to our existing offering. Some things to look forward to in 2016:
    • Gold Rush: A fast paced pvp mode with a dynamic objective system. Our feedback on this mode so far is fantastic, and we anticipate you enjoying its frantic and balanced gameplay.
    • When in Rogue: Our beloved rogue-like came at a difficult time for the network and was released right before the 1.8 update. It fills a co-operative experience we feel is neglected in the community, and we plan to re-release WiR with a slew of updates. The new WiR will be an amazing experience, and we hope to impress the community with its redesign.
    • Wasted Sandbox: ABUDoctor is going to grab Wasted and give it a much needed overhaul. The new Wasted will address some of the issues we had with the old mode, while making it more fast paced and integrating a progressive upgrade system. Our design document is looking great for this mode, and old players can expect a refreshing take on our popular gun based sandbox mode. Gun Game and Control will be standalone offerings.
    • MineZ (Classic): We know there are some issues with damage and some major bugs in the game. These are a high priority and will be fixed rapidly.
    • MineZ 2 rebalance: Many people have wondered why MineZ 2 never took off. After a pretty close look, it is apparent that we tried to make MineZ 2 too much of an RPG and introduced way too much grind. Also, we severely hurt the PvP aspect of the game through a number of mistakes. Socom is heading up a major balance update to the mode, which plans to fix a huge number of major gameplay elements that should keep all of the great aspects of MineZ while expanding on those elements without adding additional grind.
    • Gun Game: Playable Now! We've re-released Gun Game as a standalone offering that players are sure to enjoy. Come check it out!

    Final Thoughts
    Shotbow was one of the original Minecraft networks and we are still going strong. However, it is apparent we are long due for some much needed housekeeping. We hope that by providing a slimmer offering we can focus more on our existing game modes while continuing to produce new experiences for players to enjoy. Want to help as a player? Let us know your thoughts on the forums and most importantly, tell your friends about Shotbow! We look forward to an exciting 2016.

  2. sunlost Retired Staff

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    Glad to see shotbow publishing it's thoughts for the members! I've wanted ghostcraft to get moved to the garage for a while, happy it's getting the attention it needs.
  3. demon_peanut Retired Staff

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  4. McJeffr When in Rogue Lead, Developer

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    "Make Shotbow great again" - It always was :)
  5. nintendoway Platinum

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    The roadmap looks very promising for Shotbow staff and its players to allow more efficient gameplay and management. I'm glad to see that Shotbow is putting the player's best interests ahead in order to create an environment that ties the community and staff members seamlessly.

    In other news... That arcade mode with games from the previous Arrow Arcade looks especially interesting and exciting for Shotbow :)
  6. Meifot Gold

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    :D Wooo server overhaul time. Its time for a return to form. Great things are on the horizon. I look forward to this year and seeing all the cool things that the staff come up with.
    Tonkotsuramen921 likes this.
  7. FPSHater Obsidian

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    In regards to MineZ 2, it was only really spoken about in this post in terms of rebalancing. Is there anything anyone can speak about in the sense of actual gameplay features (i.e The Arena, New features to housing, new grenades that are already half implemeted, and that large list of potential features from player.me)? To maybe clarify further, I'm not really talking about Dungeons (as they already seem confirmed enough but other builders on the MineZ 2 forum), I'm talking about new features; in my personal opinion, something large that's holding MineZ 2 back is the large void that is its End Game Content, and I'd truly love to see that get addressed.

    If anyone needs anything clarified feel free to ask.
  8. JeTi_Brothers Platinum

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    Some short experiences on the gamemodes

    Goldrush: Can't wait for this, must be an incredible gamemode.

    Minez 2: Minez 2 always felt like it could have been on of the best gamemodes on minecraft, but it was released too early. Minez 2 needs dungeons, fixing of the hordes and the houses to give players the experience they want. I loved to do dungeons and all these hard parkours in Minez 1. After we got our house to a certain level we just basically ran out of things we could do. I'd play it from the moment it gets fixed.

    GG: As a pvp-gamemode, I love it. It is easy to acces, has a ton of fun maps to play on. Just lacking some quality kits. Ask some of the pvp'ers out here to help on that. Also GG is being covered by bugs which I would love to see go.

    Smash: Another great and original gamemode, always fun to play. Sadly the elo-system doesn't feel like it is working entirely correctly. (as a 1000 elo players getting ranked with the top 2 player) and it has a major crash issue.

    When in Rogue: Another gamemode with a lot of potential, I remember how hard I no-lifed that game at release, sadly it just got unplayable due to bugs and it having a limited amount of dungeons, what I heard of it so far means it is going to come back as one hell of an awesome game.

    Wasted: I was never really that wasted kind of guy, but my friends told me enough to know it was a great gamemode, hope to play it in the near feature once restored in it's glory.

    Ghostcraft: Probably the most underrated gamemode on shotbow, atleast from what I've seen. When I play it with friends it is lots of fun. Could use some few new things maybe. Add some new maps or make some new things to do and use to get those playercounts to a worthy level again.

    Most of the games going to the garage are all fun minigames that just lacked players due to bugs or being it so simple that it got boring after a while, I'm sure there are plenty of people here that know how to make crafting mama and sweepers much more enjoyable and longer lasting gamemodes.

    Very happy to see shotbow is going to take care of it's gamemodes and I cannot wait, to what the future will bring us.
  9. Axyy Network Co-Lead

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    AWESOME!
    Cant wait to play goldrush! :wink:
    Tonkotsuramen921 and Master_Nick like this.
  10. SakuraWolf Platinum

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    Very excited for all this change. Gamemodes being restored, gamemodes being fixed, just all the change in general gives off some real good vibes. This is gonna be one heck of a year. :stuck_out_tongue:
    Tonkotsuramen921 likes this.
  11. HighlifeTTU Network Owner

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    I say re-balancing, but many areas are being completely reworked. This won't be a new paint job on the mode, but rather a re-tune and replacement of a lot of the fundamental parts. More details will follow on MineZ 2.
  12. wmn Jr. Developer, Builder

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    Fantastic to hear that MineZ and other game modes are being brought forward for changes/fixes, I look forward to updates soon :>
    Tonkotsuramen921 likes this.
  13. _Lefarsi Emerald

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    RIP Ghostcraft, was the first ever game I played on Minecraft. :( Memories...
  14. Fluffoon Retired Staff

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    It will come back improved and polished :)
  15. Jerrybibo Emerald

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    Gold Rush seems really fun! Is there an estimated release date? Or is it still a mystery? :lmao:
    __Arty__ likes this.
  16. softsocks Platinum

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    I like how you guys are approaching this. I have been suggesting that they remove games that don't get played (Like lightbikes) Also it is nice how you guys are taking in player feedback :)
    Tonkotsuramen921 likes this.
  17. WildWargasm Platinum

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    I am incredibly excited to see When in Rogue return. My friends and I played the crap out of it until we exhausted its limited content. Look forward to seeing how it comes along! I am a bit disappointed to see no news of Annihilation updates, however.
  18. Superbob1000 Retired Staff

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    Epicness awaits this year. :)
  19. Jarool Mini Admin

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    All those gamemodes in the garage? Me? Sad about that? That's great news! It means you can focus very much on each of them! And finally having us play Arrow Arcade games seamlessly? Awesome!

    All the new stuff makes me excited! Too bad there's nothing on Annihilation (probably secret) or HCF (either secret or not currently being worked on). One thing that is actually missing is party passes working for more than Smash... need them for Anni, GG, Ghostcraft, Slaughter, etc...

    Super excited for this year!
  20. Superbob1000 Retired Staff

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    Well we are working on making Annihilation better. You can see some suggestions we have gotten here.
    Tonkotsuramen921 likes this.
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