Boycott Civ 3

[Takeshi]

I think Firaxis made the right decision. They had on their hands a choice of releasing Civ III early (wadn't all they wanted) and to at least make so we have it and change stuff after. Or, they could have put a release date of 2 or 3 months more for some stuff they could in fact arrange in a patch.

*sigh* Did you actually read this thread? It is the publisher, INFOGRAMES, who makes the decision on release dates and not the developper, Firaxis. Compris?

[David Floyd]

Yeah, and I hope no one misunderstood me above, least of all Dan...

I'm actually very happy with the delivered product, sure it could be improved, like anything else - and scenarios are but one example of that potential for improvement - but I think they made an excellent game. From my understanding, it was Infogrames that forced them into an early release (but I also know they can't really comment negatively on their publisher ), but kudos to Firaxis for concentrating on the game itself, rather than "extra" things like scenarios, multiplayer, etc. I'm confident both of those issues will be fixed in the near future, because of the amount of interest in them.

[Bakunine]

Originally posted by David Floyd
blowjobs of course

LOL

All i could think of was BlackJack!!!

[David Floyd]

Hehehe

[Q Classic]

boycott civ3?

kinda late for that.

besides, i like it.

i wish for a better editor; but i am content to wait.

[Sarxis]

Boycott Civ3?

What are ya, Yin reincarnate?

[TCO]

Originally posted by Dan Magaha FIRAXIS


If you're referring to the "Open Letter... " thread, I can't speak for anyone else, but I was under the impression it was a thread for organizing comments that would be compiled and mailed to someone hereDan

Dan, say these words out loud, "O...pen...Le...ter". Get it?

[Hoek]

Oh well, I'm still not paying until I get some satisfactory answers. It's ridiculous that Firaxis isn't responding to this (Dan still hasn't answered ANY questions) or the open letter. I don't need to buy their stinkin game if they aren't going pay any attention to us. I understand the pressures Firaxis was under by Infogrames, but that is no excuse for excessive vagueness about future patches.

Mark: you feel like licking me? ewww...

I was originally annoyed that the game had inadequate modification tools, but now I am really pissed because Firaxis is now just pretty much ignoring the concerns. They don't keep us informed, and they pretend to keep the community involved, when the truth is that they keep us in the dark. All I am asking at this point is to keep us informed.

[Rasbelin]

Re: Boycott Civ3?

Originally posted by Anunikoba
What are ya, Yin reincarnate?

Oh my goodness! That would be too much for me.

[Jolard]

AAAHHHH No. Having way too much fun, can barely breathe, can't drag myself away from screen, wife considering divorce, children rebelling, finances in ruins, career off track.

It is way too late to worry about an editor. I would have loved one, but the game is incredible as it is! Want editor, really want game.

[Hoek]

Could someone explain the process by which a computer game gets produced and distributed? I have an idea of how it works, but I'm not absolutely sure.

This is what I gather the process was for Civ 3:

Firaxis is a developer, and wanted to make Civ 3. It had to find a company to actually manufacture and distribute the games, so Infogrames agreed. Financing goes like this: Firaxis spends its own money on making the software and Infogrames spends its own money manufacturing and distributing the game. There is then a formula as to the division of profits; Firaxis gets a portion for each sale and Infogrames gets a portion for each sale. Apparently, Infogrames set a deadline for when Civ 3 was supposed to hit stores, and made their agreement contingent on that deadline. Firaxis, then, had to budget their time and couldn't do all they wanted because time restrictions were too great. Now that the game has shipped and is being sold, Firaxis can create and post patches independent from Infogrames, but that is up to them. Since there is no profit in making patches, and no deadline, there is little manpower dedicated to it, and there is no rush to produce a patch for something like the editor. Is this a correct description of the production process?

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Hoek
Firaxis spends its own money on making the software

actually that's more like "Firaxis spends Infogrames' money on making the software"

Now that the game has shipped and is being sold, Firaxis can create and post patches independent from Infogrames, but that is up to them.

that's kind of wrong too, infogrames has a large part of the tech support and probably assits in the patches with their QA teams

any firaxians out there, feel free to correct me

[TCO]

Actually the publisher/game developer relation also has the valuable attribute of allowing blame shifting. No one knows who's responsible for anything. The people who market to us aren't responsible and we never hear from the people who are, etc. etc.

Reminds me of building contractors and architects...

[techumseh]

So, Firaxis contracted with Infrogrames to manufacture and distribute Civ3, rather than Ifrogrames contracting with Firaxis to design it? Very interesting indeed! So then how can Firaxis blame Ifrogrames for insisting on an early release date? Surely then, Firaxis must have made the call...yes?

[MarkG]

Originally posted by techumseh
So, Firaxis contracted with Infrogrames to manufacture and distribute Civ3

no, it's the opposite. i got a note from a firaxian that my post was correct. which means that infogrames has been the financial basis for the development of civ3 the last 2.5 years...