I’ve been insanely busy lately in RL, due primarily to the need to pay bills and make ends meet despite having recently been laid off from my day job, so I haven’t really been able to give C:SI the attention it deserves. I still only have one weapon for sale, and I’ve been getting a very large number of private requests for the Taketori and Wave weapons, far too many to reply to with any kind of consistency or in a timely fashion.
My apologies to everyone who has sent me such a request and never received a response.
It’s partly because of that situation that I’ve had to come to a decision that was very difficult for me. It’s fairly well known by now that the Wave Katana has some very serious issues. I’ve reviewed the code, and I think at this point that I have a pretty solid understanding of how to resolve those issues, but there are some pretty hefty obstacles that prevent me from being able to do so in a non-disruptive manner.
Firstly, fixing the issues would require a great deal more free time than I currently have at my disposal, not just for making the changes to the code but also to thoroughly test the changes and ensure that I don’t make the problem worse in some unanticipated way. Secondly, unlike my other weapons, there’s simply no way short of a full system update to ensure that everyone is using the same version of the Wave, which would only exacerbate the problem and is not an acceptable situation by any definition.
I’ve therefore decide that the only tenable solution is to stop sales of the Wave indefinitely. It may be possible to someday offer it again when the C:SI system goes through the next full-system update, but I don’t know when that might occur, so at least for the foreseeable future the Wave is retired.
I know a lot of people won’t like that decision, and I do understand, but I strongly believe it is the correct one to make in this situation.
For those who are interested in the Taketori, I will be making it available again Soon™. It’s a more involved process than I’d like to set up the networked sales server and vendors, so it will have to wait until I can find a solid chunk of free time, but depending on what happens with my RL schedule I am hoping that it’s this week.
26 Comments
Greetings, This news’s sad sound…
But… I’m going to understand your difficult selection.
Wave’s user, The person who fought with wave’s user, more…
Everybody will never forget having fought with wave.
Everybody will never forget having used wave.
I’m very unhappy about having to make this decision, and I feel like I’ve let a lot of people down, but I do think it’s the right decision.
Hi, call me dumb but what does it really mean? Existing Wave Katanas can still be used? Or is it status quo? i.e. Waves still usable but only no more slaes and updates (till u got the time?)
Thanks for the clarification.
Basically it means that existing Wave Katana will still work, but I will no longer be selling any new ones.
I just decided that it was time to stop equivocating and just make it explicit that I won’t be selling the Wave anymore, and will not be issuing any updates until the C:SI system has an ‘all weapons update’.
Why can’t you turn the wave off so that any kills with it are not registarted with the CSI web page?
Havent we had enough things turned off, Or taken out?
Sorry, i just havent seen this situation as good for c:si in any way, and no that has not been robbys fault.
Ahh, if i could go back to the start of summer, when people didnt complain and we had all the weapons.
Hi Robby, can you clarify “issues?” There are two arguments for and against the wave and I really don’t want to hear all the against celebrating with this blog post quoting you said it’s got issues.. (which they are doing). Issues is a pretty abstract statement.. Where many weapons have “issues” they still maintain balance within the system. Ninjaken get stuck in the air for 1-2 seconds when doing specials, Nagi specials AoE don’t follow users making it useless and the easiest special aside from ninjaken to avoid, and the dynasty has that annoying block sound. I’m sure if I want to think of “issues” for every weapon I can, but they are still very balanced.
Hi robby, i would also like to ask you to clarify as well. Which are the issues that you do acknowledge to be there, and which are not, because this is how rumors start. And I would just ignore the suggestion above, because it’ll start up another whole riot about the wave. Ahh, if we could go back to when people stopped jumping onto the whaaaamobile.
I can’t for reasons that are probably too complex and boring for a single blog comment, but I’m not sure that it would make sense to do so even if I could.
It seems to me that if I did that, I’d be doing even more of a disservice to Wave owners than I already have
I guess it is pretty abstract, and it was partly because of the pushback I expect and the inevitable pros vs. cons debates that I had left it that way. This situation has already caused far more trouble than it’s worth for everyone involved, and I’d very much like to be able to find a solution that would make everyone happy. Sadly, that’s not possible.
I’m well aware that there are many arguments to be made regarding whether the Wave is ‘balanced’, and there really isn’t anything new to be said there on either side, so I’m not going to go there.
What’s more important to me, and is the final reason that I made the decision, is that it is undeniable that the timing is significantly different from the other C:SI weapons, including the one that the Wave was based on (the Red Sunset).
That is my fault and my fault alone. I find it rather distressing that any decision I make might be ascribed to any particular person or persons, especially when pejorative terms are being used in the manner that I’ve seen too much of lately. Nobody has compelled me to make this decision by complaining, whining, or anything of that nature. I am basing this decision quite strictly on what I found when I reviewed the code that I hadn’t closely inspected in over a year.
When the other C:SI devs agreed to let me join, they let me know their expectations in no uncertain terms, and I believe that those expectations were completely reasonable. One of those expectations was that I would use the same timing as their weapons, precisely to avoid situations like this one. For reasons that are too exhausting to get into, I thought I was effectively doing that, but I was mistaken: The timing is noticeably not the same. Since there is no good way to resolve that, the only logical thing I can think of is to not make the situation worse.
It is irrelevant to me whether the weapon is balanced or not, at this point. I simply don’t find that to be as important as the fact that I cannot feel good about myself if I knowingly sell a weapon that is not following rules that I agreed to in good faith.
I know that answer will not be satisfying to some, but I think that’s going to be the case no matter what answer I have, so I hope that it will do for now.
I can understand your decision, Robby.
To the people talking about disabling existing Waves, I’m going to guess that there will probably be a stigma placed on Waves now, and people will stop using them anyway. I can think of at least three times in the past something similar has happened.
Thanks for all your efforts and commitment to the samurai Robby. As they say in my field, “Take care of yourself so you can take care of others.”
P.S. I agree totally wth Colin.
Greetings, Japanese peoples are also hearing and lamenting this notice.
I will write details a report about your determination on blog for japanese.
PS.
I think that anime of taketori is the most wonderful.
However, It’s only mere a few compared than other ones.
Yes, if anime of taketori is 10, anime of other katanas is 9.9.
I will use wave sometimes for only in order to see anime.
Robby said “It seems to me that if I did that, I’d be doing even more of a disservice to Wave owners than I already have”
I agree from a business logic. Turning it off would surely mean that some people would ask for there money.
I love the Wave, but I love C:SI more. I think Robby has made the correct decision. Rightly or wrongly the Wave has become the (or rather the latest) big issue which is distracting us from enjoying the art of swordmanship: part of which is acceptance that life and swordsmanship is always a question of understanding and overcoming inequalities rather than moaning about them. If the Wave really has become stigmatised, well I’ve had a lot of pleasure with it, but I guess I will have to go back to one of the other katanas, though against better fighters I seem to get to eat just as much tatami whatever katana I wield. Big deal. Maybe we should all just fight with the freebie bokken and have done with it – oh no- hang on..that avatar has longer arms….. You say it is laggy? your computer is slow? your ping is bad? your opponent wears too many prims? the weapons are unbalanced? well – fight or don’t fight – simple.
Okay, listen… I’m willing to listen to feedback, even angry feedback, but I’m not willing to have people insulting others on my blog. I’ve seen far too much of that here, and I’ve pretty much had my fill.
For crying out loud, I wish people would quit blaming this on ‘the minority’ or ‘the whiners’ or whatever the hell else people are blaming it on.
This is a messed up situation, and it’s my fault and I’m sorry for that. I’m not taking anybody’s weapons away, I’m simply not going to continue selling a broken weapon. If someone has a better solution, I’d love to hear it. Truly.
I sent you an email with a solution.
I certainly respect and understand you decision. I’m certainly looking forward to being able to purchase a Taketori. I think it’s my favorite sword and I only regret not getting it before the vendors went down. Saphire will be disappointed that the Wave will no longer be available. She was certainly an advocate for keeping them
On a side note, I’m 4 pages into the process of writing a white paper on the dynamics of the SL client-server relationship and how it affects the C:SI combat simulation system. I know you’re not incredibly pleased with SL but, if you have time, I’d like to have you review it and get your thoughts before it’s widely distributed.
Well thank you for that, I appreciate it. I’m very sorry to have disappointed Saphire and others
Certainly I would be willing to review it, though I’m not likely to have much time until this weekend or after.
Well, I’m not sure I’ll have it finished this weekend. I’m only on page 4 and there is a lot more I’d like to cover. When I am finished how would it be best to send it to you?
The most reliable way is probably via notecard, but you can also try sending it to takuan @ this domain. I have some trouble with email after recently having my domain used as a spam remailer and getting over ten thousand bounced spam, but if you let me know via IM when you send it I can check before the spam filter eats it forever
I will send via notecard. That’s how i plan on having it in-world so it works fine. Hope to see you there sometime. I know you’re not happy with SL and i don’t blame you. Plus you have your Blue Mars development now. Good luck, however you decide to proceed.
i am very saddened by this news. now csi has definately lost a fine dev. wish you the best in your future endevours robbie. take care
I really appreciate the comment (and compliment) Julianna, but I think it may be premature…
I’m not leaving C:SI, though I’m currently not terribly active. I am, however, shutting down this blog for reasons that are not really related to Second Life or C:SI.
Having a public blog just sitting out there on the Internet which never gets updated anymore just makes me feel guilty. It’s easier to get rid of the blog than it is to find something interesting to say, I guess
Robby, you have never disappointed me
the admiration I have for you can not be measured.
I DO love the Wave
its a real weapon and weapons are deadly.
You are Bushido and always will be. I am honored to know you. Saphire Bows and Smiles
By the way, if you want some good feedback on your Taketori update, send a beta version to myself and Kenshin Sonoda and we will give you some honest information on it. Love you Robby
Thank you.