Release Date Now 12/4

[PlacidDragon]

Originally posted by Yolky
Hey at least they are holding off the game so they can fix it. From reading the CivIII PtW forums they are complaining with all the multiplayer problems they are having.

Kudos for delaying it only a week or so. I rather wait for a game that works with no problems instead of waiting for a patch to come out and play a game that is unplayable.

Davor

Not to sound negative or pessimistic, but that is simply the reason they are giving, and could be because that they know it will shut most of us up. I doubt a reason going along the lines of "IG had to delay because they are renegotiating the price on cardboard for the boxes" would have been anywhere near equally well recieved In any case, its finally just around the corner

[TheMaestro]

It doesn't matter how long they delay a game...if they've been finding bugs now, they won't have a miracle happen and fix them.

Companies that continually try to make games perfect...never do.

That's why some companies release a game earlier, saying it's, "Good." Make a dozen patches in the first month to make it "great."

Besides, if they wait too long, they'll lose all their money to Galaxies, Shrouded Isles, Red Faction II...Bounty Hunter, you know...the thirty great games coming out.

[Alex-C]

They may also lose money from people just getting fed up with the constant wait. Maybe not fans of the series like I and many others here, but strategy gamers who are wanting a game to play over the festive period and are somewhat free of the commitments of work/school.

While the Save game bug is essential to fix, i do hope that they are not merely trying to make the game entirely bug free, as to do so may take a lifetime, and i think that releasing a game with some very rare and minor bugs that would be solved by patching later on would be better as it would get it out to the masses during this oh-so important holiday time.

[Gargantua]

Well, I for example just canceled pre-order from amazon, I am just tired of their delays. Not that I cant wait. Its just not serious, pushing back so many times, and then finally last minute they found one more bug they havent noticed during last year. Lol, I dont belive that, I think they are not serious people, or irresponsible. I dont complain, but I ask myself and you: if they cant even state something definite about release date within a year, if their beta testers find obvious bugs days before release, if people who developed moo2 do not work anymore on moo3, will this game be what we all excepcted?

[PlacidDragon]

Difficult question to answer

Personally, i have gone from a "i *HAVE* to have this game" stance, to sitting on the fence judging for and against.

I used to be active on the official forum until (apparently the whole range of QuickSilver execs) went on a rampage helping themselves to moderator powers and deleting posts left and right (with no apparent purpose besides getting rid of anything not praising the game into the skies, they even deleted posts being totally unrelated to MoO 3).

That single act tells me all i need to know.

Then, you have the issues of them getting rid of Alan Emrich and others, which doesnt exactly speak for them either..

That is not to say that they cant put forth a good and enjoyable game, just dont expect me to take them seriously, or put any kind of faith into anything of what they are saying

The only thing i can say for certain is that i will not be rushing out to get me a copy.

[player1]

QS vs Firaxis (MOO3 vs Civ3): Pretty different thing.

While QS is trying to give bugless game whatever it takes, which means more delays (and Infogrames supports those delays)

Firaxis is trying to give playable game as soon as possibile, which can give some serous bugs sometimes (and Infogrames supports such kind of rushing too).


Still in both cases there is someone to complain and complain.

As for me, I think that this kind of delay in GOOD thing.

It's better to play then to be beta tester.

[georges bonbon]

Once again delayed.

On Amazon.co.uk the shipping date is now set for 18th of december.

This is beginning to look like PTW.

[MarkG]

Once again delayed.

On Amazon.co.uk the shipping date is now set for 18th of december.

never trust dates on stores...

This is beginning to look like PTW.

ptw was never delayed....

[yndy]

I've just seen a beautiful animated add at IGN.com with a countdown to the moment MOO3 will be in stores.

Current countdown 00 days 09 hrs 39 min 40 sec.

Heh, heh.

I think they miss something...

[Grumbold]

Originally posted by MarkG

This is beginning to look like PTW.

ptw was never delayed....

Except in the UK, Germany, Italy, to go by this sites headline news items alone....

[MarkG]

well that's an after-release release delay
we're talking about pre-release release delays here

[moomin]

Interestingly, QS's open community model seems to have bought them little but grief. That's too bad, because I feel there is much value to community input - it just has to be filtered properly.

Markos, perhaps offering Poly & her moderators as a clearinghouse between developers and community could be worked into a commercial model?

[MarkG]

from our interview with chantz

Apolyton: After the MOO3 experience, how do you see the role of a fans community during the development of a game?

Constantine Hantzopoulos: For me, it's interesting to note that when I started in this industry, the fans didn't really have an immediate way to contact developers about design ideas... sure, we got some phone calls, snail mail and the occasional 30+ page fax (!!), but the ratio of feedback was nowhere near what it is today. Since you got less, the quality of feedback was generally higher and much more articulate (thoughtful questions/suggestions), although I will note that most of it did come post-release. Now it's basically a wall of noise due to the fact that anyone can say pretty much whatever they want without any consequences to their actions/words... the point here is that you're sifting through a lot of BS to pick out the juicy bits, and it is getting harder and harder to find those juicy bits in relation to noise. It's easy to flame from far away without repercussions, a much different story when it is face to face. Fans need to remember that we are paid to work on the game and not sit on the discussion boards all day to answer questions; that being said, it behooves publishers and developer alike to monitor and read what the fans are saying; I'm all for dev diaries and plan files, monthly updates/screen shots, discussion/community boards, dev chat

I'm not trying to sound negative here, I DO thinks the fans play a very important role in the development process; I got into this industry because I am a fan; a fan created one of my favorite tactical on-line shooters, Counterstrike. I download tons of mods each week for all kinds of games; all that comes from community and that is what makes us all gel and share that common interest in gaming goodness. Heck, I don't know what I'd do without guys like Sencho, Xentax and Apoc and the rest of the crew; these folks monitor our MOO3 discussion boards (not an easy job!) and do it for free; really, how can I complain about that?

I'm also running a surprisingly first-rate external beta program (thanks to Apolyton!) using fans as testers... the feedback has been exceedingly helpful and, what's more, I am very pleased with the professionalism of the testers. These folks know their stuff and they've gone a long way in helping make MOO3 a better game. The only thing I wish I had done differently was start the external beta program a few months earlier.

So, taken as a whole, I've seen it as a positive experience.

[moomin]

He has to say that, hasn't he? They would take his suit away if he told us "we think our fans are whiny, stupid brats"

Nevertheless, I seem to detect a certain amount of weariness in that last statement of his that was posted here.

[MarkG]

They would take his suit away if he told us "we think our fans are whiny, stupid brats"

thare are... gentle way to say "we tried it, it didnt work out perfectly, we probably wont do it again"