SiS Ready for Release?

[zolobolo]

Was glad to see that there is a release date specified, but isn't the 19th January a bit too close for comfort?

Playing the latest Steam version, there still seem to be a lot of unfinished tech, pop attributes and descriptions.

Small craft system overhaul is pending, and the AI needs to be a bit better on normal to pose a challenge.
Event system also does not seem to be fleshed out yet. There is an intriguing event (like Phidi exchange pop:)), but can't recall anything else besides the derelict ships and diplomatic requests events

[TheDeadlyShoe]

The unfinished stuff does need to be polished off, but the small craft overhaul can probably be pushed in terms of priorities. Worst case for events, they're turned off at release.

But perhaps my standards are low, owing to SOTSII-related trauma.

[zakblood]

Was glad to see that there is a release date specified, but isn't the 19th January a bit too close for comfort?

for some developers maybe so yes, but for these, who tend to work really fast and very well, 8 days to iron out some minor issues and put flesh on a already finished body, will be fine imo, release doesn't always mean stop and no more development, just the next phase of a journey into the next round of updates and alterations and builds and updates fixes, added new bits and remolded older ones, once more feedback has been gathered from a wider buyer base, game balance and tweaks may take longer, as not all data on everything is available all at once in the numbers to make a final call i'd guess on everything.

[Arioch]

We are finishing the refit and ship designer overhaul now; it should be available by the end of the day. We should have super-dreadnoughts, small craft revamp, some more events, and of course fixes to the missing or unfinished techs, graphics, etc. done by the 19th.

We've reached a point where we can't delay release any longer. There's still a lot more to do, like AI work, balance tweaks, and more event content, but we'll have to do it as patches after release. We'll still keep working.

[zolobolo]

We are finishing the refit and ship designer overhaul now; it should be available by the end of the day. We should have super-dreadnoughts, small craft revamp, some more events, and of course fixes to the missing or unfinished techs, graphics, etc. done by the 19th.

Impressive goal. Hope you succeed and the game fares well.
It is a damn fine work

[Dollars202]

All I hope to see is the dialog for tech descriptions and the right artwork without placeholders put in place. If you can finish super dreadnoughts too you'll be in a good position for release. I'll be honest that the game still feels unfinished as of the last update in december with so many techs like race mind, hyperspace cloud computing, matter transport, warp wells, super dreadnoughts, warp interdictor, civil fortifications, drop pods, and mentioning that there is no way to use the stellar surge beam to destroy a planet. Which brings up the point of recreating planets in some future update. *wipes brow* You seem to have lots of work to do. Best of Luck and I hope that the artwork is done by the 19th and super dreadnoughts do come out and lots of people buy your game because it is really fun the way it is now. I think that someone pressuring you(publisher) into a premature release would do your game more harm than waiting a week or month to improve the product so it is really finished before it comes out of early access.

[bjg]

We've reached a point where we can't delay release any longer.

Can't think of any good reason to support it. Can think of many bad reasons though.

There's still a lot more to do, like AI work, balance tweaks, and more event content, but we'll have to do it as patches after release. We'll still keep working.

This is the first time I see a (respected) developer saying "it's not ready, but we are releasing it any way". Releasing (buggy) betas became a standard "de facto", but developers where pretending they didn't know.

[Arioch]

We've reached a point where we can't delay release any longer.

Can't think of any good reason to support it. Can think of many bad reasons though.

I wasn't speaking figuratively when I said we can't delay; we have a publisher. I'm not trying to use the publisher as a scapegoat, but the fact of the matter is that they have the final decision on when to launch.

There's still a lot more to do, like AI work, balance tweaks, and more event content, but we'll have to do it as patches after release. We'll still keep working.

This is the first time I see a (respected) developer saying "it's not ready, but we are releasing it any way". Releasing (buggy) betas became a standard "de facto", but developers where pretending they didn't know.

I don't believe you heard me say it won't be ready. The game will have all the features we advertised. I said we'll continue to work on it after release, because there's always more to do. And in terms of bugs, I think the game is pretty solid; most of our bugs are introduced with new features and fixed quickly.

[zakblood]

i'm not knocking the developers here and fully support what they are doing, been testing for 20+ years and know there has to be a line drawn and a end date given sometimes, or most just keep adding wish lists and new idea's until the cows come home, like i said above, once released it means little, just more users adding data and comments, so more feedback which increases the feedback and notes on anything either left to do or game balancing etc, without this imo most by a given date would be either bankrupt, or which happens to some never comes out of EA.

so please support the team, not knock it, if you agree or not, it's been explained why, so it's not something that can be delayed any longer so they have moved on and now turn the attention to sorting out what's left, and not adding stuff others keep asking for, atm, even me can be called in this as i've suggested stuff same as everyone almost else, and i was only asked here to test, other parting comments were something i maybe shouldn't have done, like this post / reply for one

as i was asked here by the developers remember, but also didn't know a end date until i saw it on the steam site, not that a date matters to me either, post release patches, updates and fixes must be seen as a good thing, as it shows the game in question hasn't stopped development but has carried on, while some don't like it, others find it part of game ownership and sit back and enjoy the new bits, same as DLC's, to one it's an extra purchase which they don't like and support, and to others it's a cash cow so don't support, while others like myself find it a good way of updating and adding new content while still supporting a given set of developers if the newer content was buyer user base asked for or suggested.

[zolobolo]

I see now, I should have clarified what I mean under "ready" as almost everyone has a slightly different oppinion and the term also directly flows into a larger topic of game development as of late, where updates, DLCs, pre-orders and whatnot are alread commonplace

For me, the game is ready when the Developers would like to have it reviewed. It is the point in time when the program will be measured and given a verdict. It kinda goes back to the days when it was simply not possible to patch a game so all hands were off, but it is still relevant as this is ususally the time when reviews are given. So the main criteria are:
1. It does not have any game breaking bugs
2. There are no palceholders left (be that images, texts, or functions that go nowhere)

The first point is obvious. It is to be expected that a finished product is working - I didn't seen any such bugs in the latest releases but changes to existing fucntions can always have this result. The second point is more likely here hence my post. It is not impossible but will be a great feat if done due ot the amount of text, reaseach and images.

What everything the community has been promised during development phase, I would not consider here.
That is a topic of wether the game lives up to expectations (grounded or not).

As I would like the game to do well, my hope is that it at least fulfills the above two criteria when released as I believe that will be the stance which will be reviewed, and these will echoe through its lifecycle (Think of Empire TW, Sword of the Stars or even Stellaris for that matter - although it did have a huge marketing machine to offset the fuctional placeholders: Think how many reviews started along te lines: has great potential, but).

[bjg]

We've reached a point where we can't delay release any longer.

Can't think of any good reason to support it. Can think of many bad reasons though.

I wasn't speaking figuratively when I said we can't delay; we have a publisher. I'm not trying to use the publisher as a scapegoat, but the fact of the matter is that they have the final decision on when to launch.

This is one of the worst reasons possible.

There's still a lot more to do, like AI work, balance tweaks, and more event content, but we'll have to do it as patches after release. We'll still keep working.

This is the first time I see a (respected) developer saying "it's not ready, but we are releasing it any way". Releasing (buggy) betas became a standard "de facto", but developers where pretending they didn't know.

I don't believe you heard me say it won't be ready. The game will have all the features we advertised. I said we'll continue to work on it after release, because there's always more to do. And in terms of bugs, I think the game is pretty solid; most of our bugs are introduced with new features and fixed quickly.

The amount of the past promises can usually be argued about (unfortunately it is being argued about way too often). As for "all the features we advertised" you can learn a lot from law suits about "No Men's Sky" (just saying).
Even from the top of my head - the diplomacy is "half baked" at best (as well as terraforming, strategical zoom, race specific features), there is no real ending (cut scene? a big banner? something noticeable?), there was no "final" performance tweaking done (lighter textures, unused textures, unnecessary loops, etc.), the tactical combat (the reason to start SiS?) is at draft stage.
It seems like you haven't played the game a lot lately, but without "AI work" and "balance tweaks" SiS might be fun to play, but definitely not the "release quality" product.
And you have virtually no chance to release "bug free" without a "feature freeze" period, which you obviously have no time for.

[bjg]

BTW, I didn't bother to report certain bugs because they are not game breaking, and I thought you have a long way ahead working on the underlying mechanics. Don't flatter yourself - there are (quite old) bugs in the game you wont see the first half an hour of playing.

[SirDamnALot]

Will you continue the updater or will you fully migrate the update process to Steam?

[sven]

Will you continue the updater or will you fully migrate the update process to Steam?

Thanks to the help of all of you guys, the "private beta server" has been acting as a great resource for finding bugs in new content before we roll the patches out to a larger audience. I don't see any reason to change a system that's clearly working well as-is.

[SirDamnALot]

Will you continue the updater or will you fully migrate the update process to Steam?

Thanks to the help of all of you guys, the "private beta server" has been acting as a great resource for finding bugs in new content before we roll the patches out to a larger audience. I don't see any reason to change a system that's clearly working well as-is.

Happy to hear You could use the private server to test more experimental builds. Everyone who uses this one knows what they are up to.