#0 - April 14, 2009, 8:49 p.m.
What's the purpose of undocumented changes?
#5 - April 14, 2009, 9:16 p.m.
Q u o t e:
Why not include them in the patch notes? I've never understoon this...
It's rarely intentional. It's a matter of successfully reporting and compiling information collected from hundreds of developers. Some times specific changes slip through the cracks. If you follow along with PTR note updates as well, you'll see certain changes go in only to get reverted or further tweaked. Some changes are iterated upon countless times until we're happy with them, or feel they're ready for live release.
The patch notes document is very malleable over the course of a few months with features constantly changing. We do our best to get all information and changes documented, but it's not an absolute science with so many different people working to add and tweak content.
The process of generating and updating the patch notes through the testing cycle is quite complicated.
#8 - April 14, 2009, 9:22 p.m.
Q u o t e:
Hundreds?! I sure hope you're including graphic artists and testers.
Artists and programmers, not testers.
#23 - April 14, 2009, 9:34 p.m.
Q u o t e:
So the fact that a spell has a new icon is worth mentioning in the patch notes, while a complete overhaul to a staple talent goes undocumented?...
The point of the matter is it's a matter of compiling the information sent to those in charge of creating the patch notes. If a note about a spell icon is in the notes, it means it was successfully reported in time to those compiling the notes.
#41 - April 15, 2009, 12:10 a.m.
Q u o t e:
Does this then mean that the patch notes are set in stone once the patch itself goes live? What prevents whichever group that compiles the notes from issuing an updated set of notes once undocumented changes are confirmed?
I previously came back to WoW after a somewhat lengthy absence, and I remember that to figure out all of the changes to the game I had to go through all of the patch notes that came out while I was away. After that, I had to go to 3rd party fan sites (i.e. WoWWiki) to figure out what else had changed during those patches. Having complete and accurate notes on the official patch notes site, even if it has to be edited after the fact, would have been preferable.
Yes, changes are constantly made to the web and forum notes if we've missed anything. For instance, a note was added to the notes listed here about five minutes before they were posted: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=16403300172&sid=1
Q u o t e:
Well, stop generating the patch notes manually, and generate them from a report in your change management system. n00bs
It just really doesn't work that way.