I see a lot of tongue in cheek replies in here, and I guess that levity is good, as it at least attempts to keep the mood of the community up and in good spirits, but I'm hoping these "tidbits" are more substantial that that word implies. Honestly at this point they simply need to drop a release date. If the game is going to be pushed back to 2021, that's fine, but at least give us a solid date. If on the other hand they are still releasing in 2020 that a date is needed at this point. There are a number of apologists on these forums for Hardsuit Labs and Paradox, and while I can respect the people who want to maintain goodwill towards the devs and publisher, the half a year long silence has done them no favor in my eyes, and is cause for criticism, imo.
I feel that the backlash they received last Summer has made them gun shy, and reluctant to give out any info or a solid release time frame, for fear of possibly (however unlikely) having to delay again and facing even more ire. The thing is, if they were to delay again that would be a serious matter, but one of their own making, so they would deserve what ever backlash they would receive from it. Regardless of potentially upsetting the community, I still believe that a solid date should be released at this point,for better or worse, as should a host of new media, not just at this upcoming event, but a steady flow needs to be happening between now and the games eventual release. Failure to do that would simply be irresponsible on the devs part, and I can say with almost absolute certainty, would hurt the overall sales of the game, due to poor marketing and lack of communication with the public.
I'm not trying to be nasty or negative to Hardsuit Labs. I know they are not a AAA developer, and do not have the resources that many others in the gaming industry possess, but they have bungled the marketing for this game consistently with their total lack of communication to this point, and they are ultimately a company (along with Paradox) that are looking for our money in exchange for their product. The lack of a solid release and this limited amount of content shown thus far has done nothing to help their product or bolster goodwill with their potential costumers. So while I'm not trying to be blindly negative, I am critiquing how they've done things thus far, and saying that if they continue doing such at, and after, this event on the 13th, then they will deserve all the negativity and bad press that comes from not presenting their product properly.
I hope I end up eating my words though, come the 13th, and we are given an appropriately large amount of new info, plus a solid release date. If they go forward from this point and start marketing this game properly, it will do much to assuage the issues I've had with them to this point. I'm hoping that is the case, and the 13th ends up being a day of rejoicing. Also it will be nice to see the blind defenders of these forums no longer having to protect the good honor of two companies who's job it is to provide us with a product and entertainment, while we provide them with an income. The lengths some have went to defend the poor decisions of Hardsuit Labs and Paradox to this point is a bit asinine. Yes, hope for the best for any company that is providing you with something you desire, but don't do so blindly. Be willing to call them out and critique them when need be, such has been the case with the months of radio silence on this game.
Either way, I guess we'll see what the 13th brings us...
