Civ 4 release date pushed up

[H Tower]

Originally posted by Lancer
Two weeks does not the end of the world make.

QFT

[Harovan]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
This is bad news. If they're done early, then give them an extra month of debugging to make it even more solid. If this is just a moneygrab by the publisher......disaster looms....

Exactly my thought. I have mixed feelings about the earlier release.

[Nikolai]

I've had the impression that this game has been pretty far in it's development, but so far??? That was a surprise. We better cross our fingers.

[MarkG]

so we'll just have one more patch

[Harovan]

Disarming logic.

Indeed, who's unhappy with the earlier release, is free not to buy it until the first patch. If he has the patience to sit it out, that is.

[Drakan]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
This is bad news. If they're done early, then give them an extra month of debugging to make it even more solid. If this is just a moneygrab by the publisher......disaster looms....

I agree. They're doing this 'cause of TT's dismal 3Q results.

We all remember C3C:

-Oops the AI armies are broken
-Oops the Scientific Golden Age is broken
-Oops double gold bug
-Oops tha barbarians are broken
-Woops the ....

And there's no v.1.23 patch for the above. (well the double gold bug was fixed IIRC)

[Robert]

It's good news.
It means the game is finished.
They would never move the games 2 weeks earlier for financial reasons since that would hardly give any financial benefits anyway. (half a year earlier would)

If dates are pushed back, that means that things are wrong and they're working on it. In the end that means that you can never be sure that the game will be finished when it's released.

There's an agreement between TTI and Firaxis, TTI can't simply say: "we want it two weeks earlier".
This just means that Firaxis thinks it's finished.

Which means that the game if finished when the developper thinks it's finished which is really really good.

Oh, and of course it's even better that we get the game earlier!

[Wise Ass]

If you think about it a game usually goes gold two-four weeks before it's released so this probably more or less just changes amount of time the game will be sitting in a warehouse somewhere. Sounds to me like they want to tie up all loose ends at the end of the quarter and start the new one as strong as possible.

[Drakan]

Don't take me wrong, I love the game it's just that I'd rather wait more for it to be ready, that's all.

The bad taste of C3C is still in my mouth...

I've already preordered the game at Amazon UK so I won't be waiting for any patches. but my experience is that when they release things ahead of schedule it's always a money issue and the games are just not ready.

Well anyway it's only two weeks ahead, so hopefully it won't be such a big deal after all. Fingers crossed.

[Harovan]

Originally posted by Drakan
The bad taste of C3C is still in my mouth...

Spit it out. That's what I did, and I can assure you, that I feel much better now.

[Adm.Naismith]

Originally posted by Drakan
Don't take me wrong, I love the game it's just that I'd rather wait more for it to be ready, that's all.

The bad taste of C3C is still in my mouth...
(...) but my experience is that when they release things ahead of schedule it's always a money issue and the games are just not ready.

My same opinion.

Originally posted by Drakan
Well anyway it's only two weeks ahead, so hopefully it won't be such a big deal after all. Fingers crossed.

A couple of weeks can be plenty of time (as large as a whole patch, as MarkG suggested early).
Remember that Murphy Law?

If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done.

Originally posted by Yin26
Civ 4 was released last June to a limited audience in the Yap Islands. As soon as they develop the Trireme, I'm sure they'll send out the review boats.

Well, you are a more advanced Civ. Load an explorer or a scout on your trasport, escort it with enough battlecruiser and destroyer and contact them.
Estabilish an embassy, then put your spy at work!

[Addled Platypus]

Originally posted by Wise Ass
If you think about it a game usually goes gold two-four weeks before it's released so this probably more or less just changes amount of time the game will be sitting in a warehouse somewhere. Sounds to me like they want to tie up all loose ends at the end of the quarter and start the new one as strong as possible.

I gota agree with you

with the company I work for its all about getting good quarter results at what ever expense it needs to be


Pirates was a new game, look how long it took to decide it needed a patch...the other bad news

[MarkG]

meanwhile we havent had any kind of news of civ4 hitting beta stage so we're now going to go from (late) alpha to gold in a month? i tend to think it's just an accountant thing: "we're going to have some sales in november but we'll count them for october, ok?"

[Krill]

Good point.

Hey, what does everyone here think of paying $50 to be part of the beta test?

Because that is what is going to happen if they release this game in October. Mid-November is understandable. Late November would be fabulous, the best we could hope for.

I really hope that TT are the ones pushing for this, because if it is the designers...they had better get those first patches absolutely perfect...

[MarkG]

because if it is the designers

you're the designer. you've been working on the project for 3 years now. you find yourself ahead of schedule (no actual info that civ4 is ahead of schedule btw)

would you ever go to your publisher and say "it's done! take it"?

i'd be back on my pc doing a bit more polishing.....