The Importance of Patch Notes

I'm sure developers have many other things on their mind around launch day than scribbling together some patch notes. You know, like keeping the new guy away from the patch servers.

But scribble they should. Often and with fury.

For someone entering an MMO for the first time, the information processing requirements can be overwhelming - especially for an MMO as complex as Champions. There's the interface to learn, the geography, power sets, game mechanics, combat mechanics - and many decision to be made where a lack of information can be crippling down the track.

Add to that a deluge of patches - as is the norm for MMO releases these days - and the information bar, set high as it is, keeps moving. Not to mention the ever present spectre of a nerf of your favourite power - or the tantalising hope for a buff.

So players flock to patch notes. They feed us the precious nectar of information that helps us navigate the game world. And they give us a momentary glance behind the veil of development.

For this reason, compiling comprehensive, accurate and detail patch notes should be as much a part of the patching process as is rolling it out smoothly. Patch notes should go live as the patch is made available for download - not 12 or 24 hours later. They should provide an exhaustive account of changes, even ones that seem banal.

And they should offer reasons. Not justifications or technical mumbo-jumbo, but real reasons for the change: "X was reduced in effectiveness n% in these circumstances because it is intended to be balanced with Y and was out-performing it."

The excuse that a patch was rolled out before the individual responsible for the patch notes had a chance to post them is not good practice. If you're not putting the patch notes together when building the patch, then you're doing it wrong.