firaxis- do they really care about the game?

[m_m_x]

this saturday, i finally made up my mind that they do care!!!
Jeffrey Morris has posted on the forums 3-4 times within that night, only to keep us inform on how things are going...(and asked to email him personally about problems with the patch).

We'll be pounding on it all night, so if you find any problems, please email me directly at jmorris@firaxis.com.

dan has updated the site from his home,at his free time.
imho that is an example for devotion to the game and to the civ community!we all should be glad for that,and not to worry about future support for the game,they are civer's, like us

[Libertarian]

[H Tower]

how are you still a chieftan if you joined back in the very begining?

[yin26]

I don't know if this qualifies as 'Firaxis caring about the game.' I've seen a lot of terrible movies but the cleanup crew comes in quite nicely to try scrape the gum off the floor.

Doesn't make the movie any better after the fact.

[Juggernaut]

I reckon they do care, but only if they earn another billion on a XP pack.
Because there w i l l be one. The signs couldn't be clearer. Omitted techs, civs and units, lack of MP, no wonder movies etc. What we basically have here are but the sketchy outlines of a good game.

[yin26]

What we basically have here are but the sketchy outlines of a good game.

Superbly said!

[Zanzin]

Originally posted by yin26
I don't know if this qualifies as 'Firaxis caring about the game.' I've seen a lot of terrible movies but the cleanup crew comes in quite nicely to try scrape the gum off the floor.

Doesn't make the movie any better after the fact.

That's like comparing apples and oranges yin!! If we all went in and saw the movie again after the cinema was cleaned....well, guess it wouldn't actually change the movie!

Yeah, I'm still pissed about the lack of wonder movies - it definately looks like they'll get tacked in on an expansion pack

[yin26]

Well, that's my point, actually. The 'movie' can't be changed significantly enough at this point by a patch. The best we can hope for is some of the most annoying things (the gum on the floor) will be cleaned up before playing the next round.

Mind you, of course, having a clean theater is half the battle, but I think the true caring should have taken place during the writing, casting and filming, so to speak.

[Zanzin]

Originally posted by yin26

Mind you, of course, having a clean theater is half the battle, but I think the true caring should have taken place during the writing, casting and filming, so to speak.

I completly agree with you. Seeing as that they got a sizeable percentage of the game "right", it was a pity that Firaxis couldn't go the whole hog and do it 100% right. Also, considering the amount of time spent on development, the total number of new features (culture, "armies" and new winning condidtions) is rather disspointing. I'm thinking they actually reset the entire project after Reynolds left, so as that they couldn't be accused of stealing any of his ideas.

[MarkG]

Originally posted by yin26
I don't know if this qualifies as 'Firaxis caring about the game.' I've seen a lot of terrible movies but the cleanup crew....

yeap. yin not satisfied this time either....

[yin26]

I'm thinking they actually reset the entire project after Reynolds left, so as that they couldn't be accused of stealing any of his ideas.

You may well be right, though I would think that Firaxis actually 'owned' any ideas Brian put in place prior to leaving. But there can be no doubt that many of the ideas Brian might have had in place never saw the light of day as Firaxis scrambled to meet a deadline without their star designer / programmer. (I now think of Sid as more like the Godfather -- no more pulling triggers, just giving directions now and then from some dark corner of the room.)

[yin26]

yeap. yin not satisfied this time either....

Tell ya what, Markos: When the next patch gets released without the 'installer grabbing the wrong exe,' I'll give some thought to how much this shows Firaxis cares.

[MarkG]

Originally posted by Zanzin
Also, considering the amount of time spent on development

2.5 years is not a long time for a game.... we've seen far worse....

I'm thinking they actually reset the entire project after Reynolds left, so as that they couldn't be accused of stealing any of his ideas.

not exactly, but....

[Mike_Breitkreutz_FIRAXIS] Hmmm... Civ3 actually started long before I was working for Firaxis but most of it was rewritten when Soren, Jacob Solomon and myself started in May 2000.

this is important especially for Soren Johnson as he is listed as the second designer after Jeff Briggs....
and the three mentioned above are half the programming team!

[MarkG]

Originally posted by yin26
Tell ya what, Markos: When the next patch gets released without the 'installer grabbing the wrong exe,' I'll give some thought to how much this shows Firaxis cares.

hmmmm remembering a negative issue when the discussion is about a positive thing. how is that called again?

[yin26]

By definition, a good patch fixes things. Sending out the wrong exe is the sign of not having "good" patches go out the door. Did they scramble to fix it? Sure. Should I giving a standing ovation for doing so?

Hell no.