How many are working on EU IV?
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I imagine it changes over time, depending on the need for programmers, 3D and 2D artists for new EU4 DLC and patch work vs. demands from non-EU4 projects (e.g. HOI4, CK2 etc.)
Our regular team size is a lead, two to three programmers and a scripter. EU4 also has Johan as Lead Designer/programmer and we have a couple extra people attached at the moment. In addition to that we have shared resources like Art & QA who work on multiple games, so the actual amount of people actively working on the game changes from week to week.
Heja
Thanks for this information! And greetings to all of your team members, me and my buddies over here in Switzerland appreciate your work and can't wait for AoW!
Greetz
Bragi
So normally only 3 or 4 people develop a game? Wow. I always thought it would be sth. like 15 or 20!
That's the people who are *always* on the game, to be clear. When you add up art, QA, marketing, etc, it obviously gets to be a bunch more.
Well that's a small team, I respect you guys for that, this is the single player game that I played most in my life and I'm still having fun.
Most AAAs these days have a marketing budget that's higher than the development one.
And of the development budget, a very significant proportion of it is dedicated to 'polish', for extra art or animation.
Paradox obviously has a very loyal fanbase that acts as a free marketing machine, and this fanbase has an extreme tolerance for glitches, another burden for Q&A removed. The low quantity of art in the games also cuts down on that part of the budget. So we are left with a very slim and efficient team, that even gets help from modders.
And of the development budget, a very significant proportion of it is dedicated to 'polish', for extra art or animation.
Paradox obviously has a very loyal fanbase that acts as a free marketing machine, and this fanbase has an extreme tolerance for glitches, another burden for Q&A removed. The low quantity of art in the games also cuts down on that part of the budget. So we are left with a very slim and efficient team, that even gets help from modders.
Low quantity of art? I think EU4 is comparable with all but the biggest AAA titles on this subject...
While I appreciate the sentiment of your post, I certainly don't agree. For one, this fanbase is extremely opinionated. Granted, we do still buy a lot of DLC while whining about the bugs, so it might not affect the bottomline.
Obviously I don't expect major patches to be released without bugs, that would be ridiculous. However, there are always some that are so glaringly obvious that it makes people wonder if anyone actually tests anything at all. For example republics being broken with the Charlemagne patch in CK2. Like most times, the handling after the fact is pretty impressive, but it is interesting why that sort of thing isn't picked up before release. Has the QA team moved on to AoW too soon? Were there last-minute untested changes added? Do the testers all only play the standard countries or just the things that got new mechanics? Who knows?!
Again, I am very impressed with how paradox handles the bugs after release, nowadays. Especially if you compare it to a year ago, when most bug reports would go unanswered for at least a month.
Also, the amount of art or marketing is entirely irrelevant. Marketing will always focus on the next big new thing, and art is done in big chunks for release of the original game mainly, with some little things to add in DLC's and unitpacks. The last of which are (I think) mostly used to fill in the gaps in their workload.
Anyway, I think paradox is mostly doing a great job, so there I agree with you
No way. It never was, and never will be. Graphics are ok, but not great. They are simple. Compare it to the total war series: I mean, from gameplay point of view they are boring, too easy, but graphics, especially in tactical mode, are way more elaborated that in any game from EU family.
Isn't that the initial devlopment teams (pre-release) are larger than those dedicated to DLC and patching as well?
The fact you're now project lead on EU means you don't work on other games ? (such as HOI which could use some of your AI magic
)
The battle gameplay of the Total War series is by far superior to the EU4 one, so i wouldnt call the whole game boring and easy. Only the campaign mode is.
The battles too are boring and easy at least in most total war games.
Not really, it's pretty normal. Internet forums tend to be used for criticism far more than praise. Generally only the people who have a problem with your product bother to go online and gripe about it. This can result in the impression that the fanbase is unhappy with your product (or is at least 'opinionated'), but (as in this case) the online community only represents a tiny fraction of your customers.
So for all the complaining and whining you see here, the majority of the fans are still playing (and paying!).