a BIG call to arms

[unmerged(402727)]

... this is for you Devs:

Please, do not rush trying to finish this game because you already announced publicly that you would deliver it within the next three months. Rushing the game for an arbitrary deadline is how you piss off fans. Other game makers have made this mistake time and time again.

I hope I speak for everyone here in that while we want the game now, we are willing to be patient for the right game.

Things that need to be sorted out and perfected, in my opinion.

1. Pathfinding -- so the game isn't plagued with cars bunching up in single lanes
2. Cim integrity -- make sure each Cim actually does what you want and not bork out, screwing up the game play
3. Resource management -- double, triple, quadruple check that the game engine can handle the work exactly as you program it
4. Modding Tools -- ensure that these are truly robust tools that can allow imaginative players to dig deeper and alter the game's playability
5. Coding -- this is paramount, get this part right by making it predictable, malleable and robust and damn near infallible.


Anyhow, anyone who has worked on a big project knows that the last few weeks before a project is due is when people start to focus on meeting the deadline and lose sight of the real picture -- which is making a reliable, good outcome.

This is the BIG call to arms: We buyers may bitch and moan because we want it now. But after the game is released, people don't remember busted deadlines, we remember busted gameplay. Don't Screw It Up.





Cities:Skyline

 

[Inge Jones]

For every game, there are one or more people calling for it to be delayed so that more features can be added. This never happens once a date has been set. Delays only ever happen qwhen an unexpected bug has appeared that would either render the game unplayable, or land the company with legal problems (eg some rude words have accidentally been left in locale strings)

 

[avyensie]

While I would like to play Cities:Skylines as quickly as possible I'd have no trouble if they decide to delay the game by around a month to fix and/or add features that players would like to see.

People don't remember busted deadlines, we remember busted gameplay.

This catches the essence for me, take your time to do what is necessary. I'd be happy to pay more for each and every extra thing you add to the game, just make sure that it is done right!

 

[medopu]

I can't believe i'm having to tell this, but the decision about deadlines is made exclusively by publishers AKA Paradox.

What point would be for the devs to rush this game? When they finnish the game, the contract between them and publishers is finnished therefore they stop being paid. So if anything, the developers would actually have a tendency to do the exact opposite of rushing the game, but the people that force the devs to rush the game are the ones in charge. Paradox.

 

[Deville]

Another thread about this?

Additionally to everything already said, knowing CO, it doesn't matter much if a title is pushed back a few weeks or not, the more complex bugs will remain in the game forever.

I will buy the game some time after the release, but I won't pre-order it.

 

[uebs]

Another thread about this?

Additionally to everything already said, knowing CO, it doesn't matter much if a title is pushed back a few weeks or not, the more complex bugs will remain in the game forever.

I will buy the game some time after the release, but I won't pre-order it.

You wont pre-order even if they include a physical glass box model?

 

[uebs]

If they can have mod tools and a scripting language like lua then I think the community can create/fix the rest.

 

[Ivir Baggins]

If they can have mod tools and a scripting language like lua then I think the community can create/fix the rest.

The community shouldn't have to fix anything.

 

[uebs]

The community shouldn't have to fix anything.

It's impossible for CO to make a game that pleases everybody, that's why modding tools and a scripting language is important.

The only thing the community shouldn't be doing is fixing show stopping bugs like crashes to the desktop or tiny maps. SC4 vanilla wasn't all that great, It was a lot of work from the community that is why people still play that game a decade later.

I wish they would release design documents for the in game models (poly restriction, texture mapping info, LOD stuff) so we can start working on models for the game. They musthave this because their in house guys are doing models based on some kinda specs.

 

[FXben]

I wish they would release design documents for the in game models (poly restriction, texture mapping info, LOD stuff) so we can start working on models for the game. They musthave this because their in house guys are doing models based on some kinda specs.

I'm sure they said they will release some details soon....