I suppose I didn't express clearly why I disliked Valve's "regular updates". I am not against updates-per-se. What I think is that these updates tend to break many existing features instead of merely introducing new ones. It's not just a matter of restarting the server - That would be the case if you run a very clean Source server with no mods or 3rd party plug-ins. The update on Friday was not the first time we've seen Valve rollback patches, and frankly version thirty-something after a just a few months shows either how active Valve is in updating HL2 or how shoddy it was when it was first released.
My guess is that it is somewhere in between, but my personal bias would have me think it is more of the latter rather than the former. While Steam is a good way to release updates in theory, in practice it's still not that good in handling the update load, although I would admit it's come quite far since CS1.6 required it. I don't think each version increase represents a significant improvement. It seems that it takes about 5-10 versions to introduce a significant new feature. I still think that they should bundle more features together before releasing a particular patch. It would also be really nice if they could at least test it for 1-2 weeks before deciding that it is stable enough to cause less heartache. I tend to agree too that it'll be close to impossible to agree on a good day to release updates, although it would be nice if we could fix it on one particular day since there are so many updates that it is more than just an occasional feature on the calendar. The hassle of maintaining Source servers is just grossly disproportionate compared to any other game server I've hosted, and while I might not be able to pin down one particular reason for this, it might be due to a combination of various factors, of which I concede that my incompetence might be one of the many. Anyway cheers to all and I hope everyone has a good week ahead. Regards, Chris
From: "Ben" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [hlds] Please reduce update frequency and improve patch timing Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 22:30:41 +0100 Reply-To: [email protected] To be fair, although I agree with your points about testing the updates, we're talking about a multiplayer game here, not banking infrastructure, and you are the only person I have seen who doesn't like regular updates :) Regards, Ben -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Deadman Standing Sent: 20 May 2005 22:52 To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [hlds] Please reduce update frequency and improve patch timing I chuckled when I read this. Never thought I would hear someone complain about a game company was making too many updates. If it helps Choo when an update is released they say if it is a mandatory or an optional update. You might just try updating only when it is mandatory. Just a side note keep in mind that CS1.6 is a product that has been on the market for years. Mature products tend to require fewer updates.
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