cog-td-f

=Cog=

Tech Doc Feedback
Summary - if it looks critical below, its probably because you said so much, so don't feel bad! Thanks for going into so much detail. The main weaknesses are: lack of apparent database knowledge, and, some hard-to-justify money figures.


 * readability - generally OK, but needs a table of contents page, and more charts of numbers, and diagrams of the network infrastructure
 * target platform - what about VISTA? still lots of it around for some time; why MySQL Gold - why not use [|the free edition] considering the number of staff you will have? Why RAID 5 for artist computers, wouldn't RAID 1 (mirror) be more appropriate?; doesn't the figure of 100k concurrent players cause some fear as you seem to lack enough knowledge of the actual technical details of running such a network;
 * dev kit - 'stackless python', is this available across all your target platforms, when will it be stable?; art dept specs&costs wrong, why £9.5k, why PC (wouldn't they want macs)?; the 'databases' section seems to be guesswork;
 * staffing - we don't want full-time accountants, just get one for an annual fee to check the books, it'll cost a few hundred quid a year (rather than per day for a suit in a room.); in general this looks like a steady state model - how do you build up towards this, affordably?; marketers too - why not just outsource the non core activities?
 * costing - lack of granularity in the pre- and post- models; give a per-quarter breakdown; big numbers - is VAT included or not?
 * payback - if someone offered you a target platform exclusive deal, you would defintiely *not* accept it?; I don't believe that your worst case scenario is millions of profit (isn't it a £14m loss?) - turn this into a year-by year profit and loss statement to allow easier checking of the logic of your reasoning; who's going to give you £14m (Fred Goodwin?)

Notes for self: (Durandal)

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2008/09/total-operating/

http://kotaku.com/361780/wow-killer-would-cost-a-billion

http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/06/13/what-wow-cost/

(we aren't that expensive looking at it....)

//Draft Mark: 40%//

Final feedback: You have added in some justifications for what you have originally said, but the document isn't a vast improvement.


 * Final Mark: 45%**