Holy S***! NO Multiplayer Until Spring!

[Rhysie]

Originally posted by Nemo


If someone d/l's it with intent on buying it when MP comes out I think that that is not being cheap, but a want to not get ripped off and have to buy the SP 2 times. If there is no intent on buying it, then I agree that they are cheep idiots

Sure, you're right. BUT, if you don't think the SP is worth buying, why don't you just wait for the MP version and buy that? Then you have only paid for it once, and haven't downloaded anything.

And if you think the SP is worth buying but you don't think its fair to pay twice for MP, then buy the SP and then make the decision to download or not when the MP comes out. It will probably be free anyway!

Imagine if you paid for a fully loaded car, only to get a stripped down model, and have the dealer tell you, "you can get all the extras in 6 months, we just didn't have time to put them in right now. we are too busy"

This is a totally different situation. For a start, you haven't paid for the game yet. If you want the 'fully loaded game' and they are offering you a 'stripped down model', then simply don't buy it! Tell them you'll come back in six months. No one is forcing you people to own a copy of the game, if you don't want to pay for it without MP, then _PRETEND THE RELEASE WAS DELAYED_ and just buy it when the MP version comes out...

[ProfessorPhobos]

Originally posted by Bugs ****ing Bunny
Cheers, Phobos. It's always refreshing to encounter people who aren't afraid to exercise their pedantry within seconds of joining.

Feel free to substitute "Infogames" where appropriate.

I only joined to offer a more moderate, calm, viewpoint in the face of all this screaming.

I do think it's an important difference- personally attacking the Firaxians solves nothing. If you want to get something done, Infogames is the root of the problem, I think.

Personally, I'd mostly play Single Player anyway, so Multiplayer isn't a big deal. I'd give it a shot though. I think it's telling that 6 months is what's required to get multiplayer done- obviously it's not even close to ready now. I'm willing to wait. Patience, is, after all, a virtue.

[Leonidas]

Firaxis should have stood up to Infogrames - Sid's name has to mean something in the gaming world.

Ensemble stood up to Microsoft when it wanted Age of Empires released early. Ensemble convinced Microsoft that they had a hell of a product, but they needed more time and money to finish it properly. And the rest is history. . .

[Leonidas]

Sid's name is one of the most respected names in the gaming community.

I thought the last game in the world I would have to worry about being rushed out the door would be Civ3. . .

[Urban Ranger]

Am I the only person who found this hysteria hilarious?

[Fidel]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Am I the only person who found this hysteria hilarious?

no

[Leonidas]

If wanting to buy a quality product means being hysterical - then I'm guilty.

If being tired of downloading patches to fix buggy games means being hysterical - then I'm guilty.

If hoping for the best for Civ3 but receiving less means being hysterical - then I'm guilty.

If buying a game that has left out features because of a deadline means being hysterical - then I'm guilty.

If being a reasonable, thinking person in the face of uncritical acceptance of any game that is released means being hysterical - then I'm guilty.

If holding game companies accountable for their decisions and games means being hysterical - then I'm guilty.


I rarely voice my opinion about a game, except the ones I really care about; you know, the games that have the potential to rise above all the rest, and that offer a unique experience. . .

But on the flip side, there are those who don't care. . . . There are those who laugh, because any game is the same as another. . . any experience will do. . .

Yes, there are those who laugh. But after a while, the laughter becomes so loud and continuous that it becomes hysterical. . .

Strait jacket anyone?

[yin26]

Leonidas: Do you have a copyright on that? I especially like the "any experience will do" reference. So true. So sad and true. I think most of these people wanting the game yesterday are prepared to delete it off the HD the day after...because a new experience just got shrink wrapped.

[Robert]

Leonidas, you forgot one.

If several people start several threads because of one statement of an email containing an unconfimred rumor and hundredsd of people start to speculate over it means being hysterical...... then we're all guilty.

[Leonidas]

yin: no copyright. Thanks for the feedback

cybershy: if the lack of MP is just a "rumour", where is Firaxis' PR person to quash it?

The issue is not just over MP - that is just something else that MAY have been left out of the game. The issue really is over ALL the things that have been left out of this game. There are probably many other things that have been left out that we don't know about.

Again, I repeat - the issue is not about whether MP is in the game or not. The issue goes far deeper - it goes to the attitude that is being displayed towards the release of this game. Cuts are being made, compromises are being instituted, testing has been reduced. . . and all of it because of a deadline.

Remember, this is all happening because Firaxis is trying to meet a deadline date. You can bet this game will have bugs. It's just way to complex of a game not to have extensive outside testing.

Personally, I'm tired of paying full price for a game, only to be used as a beta tester for the "Gold Edition" that is released 6 months to a year later.

If you want to see an example of this, just check out Europa Universalis. This game has fantastic potential. But this game has also been through NINE patches. Yes nine. And it still crashes on many computers. The coming release of Europa Universalis 2 this fall, is basically what EU1 should have been.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Leonidas

cybershy: if the lack of MP is just a "rumour", where is Firaxis' PR person to quash it?

If it is more then just a rumour where is the Firaxis PR person to confirm it?

[Robert]

[qoute]The issue really is over ALL the things that have been left out of this game. There are probably many other things that have been left out that we don't know about[/quote]

I'm sure there are hundreds of things being left out.
I'm sure every game has more not included features than included features.

Pherhaps Firaxis had to decide between:
- good but slightly unbalanced SP and MP
- very balanced SP without MP

and they chose MP. We don't know.
Pherhaps MP will be included *and* balanced SP.

But the lack of 800x600 support and a demo doesn't mean the game is rushed or unbalanced. It just means that they don't think a demo will be good and 800x600 will be needed by much people.

If it'll cost $500,000 to make the game 800x600 while there are only about 1000 people left over with such a screen...........

Pherhaps they thought the time they need to build a demo could be better used for beta testing...........
Pherhaps they thought Civ3 is that excellent that any demo would only ruin the view people have about it because it's not complete.

the thing is that we just don't know anything.
Of course I'm really dissapointed that Mike from Firaxis was reading the forums for 30 minutes and didn't give any reaction.

That pretty sucks.
but we can't learn anything from the quality of the game through these things.

CyberShy

[mactbone]

Yay!!! The voice(s) of reason! I'm not alone! I've been arguing in a lot of threads about taking a wait and see approach on the MP/ noMP issue. Not everyting is cut and dried, give the developement team a break, it's not like every Civver on the planet isn't expecting the best game ever or anything.

[Leonidas]

No one is saying anything about the development team or even Firaxis.

Infogrames has set the deadline date. Period.

In turn, the people at Firaxis have had to decide what they can or cannot implement in the game by that deadline date.

Will things be left out of the game? Duh. . .

Will a series of patches be released to fix all the things the in-house testers did not find or have the time to fix? Duh. . .

Will an expansion pack be put out 6 months from now that will include many of the things that didn't make it into the game because of this release date? Duh. . .

[Mergle]

Well, I never play multiplayer (I simply don't have the time), but this scenario has got me very worried. The point (as many are saying) is that it suggests many other things are being left out.

Those who are saying "don't blame FIRAXIS, blame infogrames for setting the deadline" are missing the point. FIRAXIS should have negotiated a contract that they could fulfill. If they failed to judge how long it would take them to code their game, that's their lookout.

I will say I am dismayed by FIRAXIS' failure to confirm or deny this rumour. It would be so easy to deny, so I suspect it is true. It's a bit shoddy of FIRAXIS not to come clean with us now the cat's out of the bag, if it's true.