Apocalypse Rising Post Mortem Notes

[OWA]

Apocalypse Rising Post Mortem

Here are the notes from the AR post mortem that we conducted a few months back. Apologies for not getting this written up sooner.

The goal of this post mortem was to reflect on the project post-release in order to identify what went well, what didn’t, and how future development can be improved.

Let's dive in.

Introduction: Game Content & Features

In this section, we aimed to break the ice by talking positively about what we liked about the game.

• Favourite Units Discussion: Team members shared their favourite units (e.g., Mirage Tank, Apocalypse Tank, Tanya, Attack Dogs, Grizzly Tank).
   
• Upcoming Features:
  • High excitement for the "Flying Egg" (Soviet IFV-style air unit).
  • Interest in naval units (Dolphins, Destroyers, Aircraft Carriers).
  • Multiplayer campaign and survival modes discussed as future goals.
  • Cursor steering for Terror Drones and other control improvements suggested.
  • Localization and streamer-friendly features (e.g., hiding player names, removing blood) needed for Chinese players.

Vibe Check

In this section we aimed to ask a few general questions to gauge the general vibe of the project. Here are the results:

Overall opinions on development leading up to the release was mixed, but the future of development looks mostly positive.

Port Mortem Points

Moving into the main body of the post mortem, the team were asked to write about the points they felt most strongly about and them vote on their importance using stars.

Here are the broad results.

From these results, we have determined the following points, grouped into 5 categories.

Testing & Release Process

• Recurring Issues:
  • Test builds often not ready on time.
  • Last-minute changes cause delays or cancellations.
• Suggestions:
  • Test builds should be prepared at least 24 hours in advance.
  • Consider moving tests to weekdays.
  • Automate patch building and deployment if possible, as relying on one person is a bottleneck and introduces "bus factor"

Project Management

• Branching Strategy:
  • Need to separate dev and release branches clearly to allow hotfixes without disrupting ongoing work.
    • The purpose of these branches needs defining
  • Use tags and back-port critical fixes.
• Tooling:
  • Improve use of Taiga for task tracking.
  • Provide onboarding for Taiga usage.

Community Engagement

• China-Specific Needs:
  • Streamer mode (hide names, chat, kill feed).
  • Remove blood for compliance with Chinese Streaming platforms.
  • Recruit Chinese moderators and developers.
  • Improve localization tools and workflows.
• General Engagement:
  • Continue supporting content creators.
  • Improve FAQ and onboarding for new players.
  • Update website and forums alongside Discord.
  • Rank System needs bringing up to date to drive player retention.

Asset & Engine Management

• Encryption:
  • Debate over asset encryption vs. openness.
  • Proposal to selectively decrypt non-sensitive assets.
• Optimization:
  • Focus on CPU-bound performance issues.
  • Consider simplified collision meshes and LODs.
• Open Source Engine:
  • Mixed opinions on viability of OpenW3D.
  • Concerns about fragmentation, lack of compatibility, and management overhead.
• Modding SDK
  • More content examples need releasing to the public

Team Dynamics

• Development Approach:
  • Changes should not be made for the sake of change
    • Respect the established gameplay paradigms and ensure that any changes being made lead to an objectively better experience
  • Avoid making "shadow changes" that bring about un-desired change without prior discussion with project leads
• Post-Release Fatigue:
  • Many team members expressed burnout.
  • There's a need for structured post-release planning.
• Communication:
  • Public disagreements between devs should be avoided.
  • Internal channels should be used for debates.
    • Respectful, constructive feedback is encouraged.
  • If a developer is not completely confident on giving information on a subject, they should not speak about it with the public.
• Motivation & Recognition:
  • Contributions should be acknowledged and celebrated more.
  • Leadership should avoid making promises that they cannot keep.
  • Remember to encourage fun and collaboration when developing. This is a hobby

Action Points

Here is a list of proposed action points for the points listed above.

Testing & Release Process

• @ OWA Ensure that test builds are prepared 24-hours ahead of time.
• @ OWA Establish separate dev and release branches.
• @ moonsense715 @ cyberarm Automate patch building and deployment pipelines.
• @ OWA @ moonsense715 @ TeamWolf  Schedule regular post-release content planning meetings.

Project Management

• @ OWA @ moonsense715 Clean up and standardize Taiga usage.
• @ OWA Provide onboarding documentation for project tools.

Community Engagement

• @ OWA @ moonsense715 @ FRAYDO Develop and publish a modern FAQ.
• @ FRAYDO Create a Discord role/tag for AR developers.
• @ OWA @ FRAYDO Improve onboarding channels (welcome, rules, etc.).
• @ FRAYDO Reach out to Chinese community for collaboration.
• @ OWA @ moonsense715 Implement streamer mode and localization improvements.
• @ moonsense715 Rank System needs bringing up to date to drive player retention.

Assets & Engine Management

• @ OWA @ moonsense715 Identify and selectively decrypt non-sensitive assets.
• @ OWA Share example assets and maps with modding tools.
• @ moonsense715 @ ChopBam @ TeamWolf @ ryknow69 Optimize terrain and physics-heavy assets.
• @ OWA Continue evaluating OpenW3D feasibility.

Team Dynamics

• @Staff Moderators@StaffAvoid making changes for the sake of change and avoid shadow changes.
• @Staff Moderators@StaffEncourage respectful, constructive feedback. Avoid toxic behaviour.
• @Staff Moderators@StaffAvoid public disagreements; use internal channels.
• @Staff Moderators@StaffAvoid speaking on uncertain topics in public. e.g. avoid speculation on upcoming feature and plans
• @Staff Moderators@StaffRecognize and support contributors more moving forwards. Celebrate wins.
• @Staff Moderators@StaffMaintain a fun and collaborative environment.
• @ OWA Avoid making promises that cannot be kept

Closing Notes
There's definitely some work to do here when we resume development on AR. It's clear that we need to start structuring the planning of this project better and also engage with the community more. There's a lot here to do, but I think that over the coming months we should be able to action a fair amount of what's here in order to set us up nicely for the future.

If anyone has any further points that they would like to raise, please feel free to reach out to me privately or leave a message in this thread.