Poll: Is Gameplay King Or A Release Schedule? [UNOFFICIAL]

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by DNA Cowboy, Apr 26, 2014.

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How important is the balance between a good game and the game's release schedule?

Poll closed Nov 26, 2014.
  1. Game play Is King I am prepared to wait until the the developers get it right

    95.6%
  2. I want the game released when they promised it would be irrespective of state

    4.4%
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  1. DNA Cowboy

    DNA Cowboy Avatar

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    [​IMG]
    This

    [​IMG]
    Or this?
     
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  2. Lord_Darkmoon

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    Gameplay is King and the devs should take their time if they can afford it. Especially if this means an immersive, lush, living 3D overland map ;)
     
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  3. Canterbury

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    The devs have committed to material they know they will be adding over time, post-release, ie: they know they are releasing the game "unfinished".

    That is their plan, and they have mentioned it many times. It is unambiguous, so why are we having a poll when we know their intentions already?
     
  4. Sir_Hemlock

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    That 'Not A Cartographer' is a great one, DNA Cowboy.
     
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  5. Kaisa

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    They should release this game when it is ready to be released. If that means delays then that is fine.
     
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  6. Lord_Darkmoon

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    The game will be reviewed and rated in the state it is in when Portalarium "release"' it. Regular gamers and magazines won't care if there will be more coming later. If it is unfinished then the unfinished game will be rated and it will leave a mark on the game which it may never recover from.
     
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  7. Margard

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    There is a lot of truth in this ... but there are appropriate ways to manage it as well

    Like - upon release - having a list of upcoming upgrades / with a strict and set deadline
     
  8. Lord_Darkmoon

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    But the score of the review would not include those list of upgrades as you can only rate that which is "there" at release. And this score would be and stay the in heads of gamers.
     
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  9. Eriador

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    Gameplay. And that includes better map. :p
     
  10. Margard

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    It also depends on the product that is released - it has to have "enough" promise - demonstrated by solid gaming and "core competencies" .... and minimal bugs

    The team has to "sell" both their ability to produce future content as much as the product itself

    In other words they have to get "buy in" ... admittedly a very hard thing to do ... but if they start to drop articles NOW about their approach

    They can get ahead of the problem before it becomes one - this project - has to be "very proactive" in shaping discussion

    If they do that - the player base - will defend the project

    Its a community centered approach in the absence of a marketing team

    of course if the product is not up to snuff - they should delay
     
  11. PrimeRib

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    I expect a soft launch of some sort. Neverwinter called it "beta" on launch but it was live. There was no wipe after that. So they had 6 months or so of saying "it's not really finished but you can still play." It's really easy to do something like this when you're not charging monthly fees.

    Years ago, L2 did the same thing launching the "prelude" chapter. Sort of play around in the sandbox while we get the chapter 1 content ready.
     
  12. Margard

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    I agree with this - its easier now - with the "indie movement" and "early access model" however I think that @Lord_darkmoon is correct in not underestimating the public's first impressions

    This project is not an ordinary one - there is a lot of expectations because of the names involved in the project
     
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  13. draykor darkale

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    If I have to wait till 2015 for the game to be at the right standard I don't mind, and yes that sure does include map changes, even though that particular discussion is dragging out.
     
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  14. Canterbury

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    That may be, however, it's still the plan as of right now.
     
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  15. Eriador

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    100% to gameplay is the king!
     
  16. mikeaw1101

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    There have been so many games in the past that had their potential crippled by inflexible release dates... I'm sure Portalarium won't make that same mistake.
     
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  17. abovenyquist

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    I saw this somewhere else on the forums, basically:

    Ship when ready -> Ultima VII
    Ship on schedule -> Ultima VIII and Ultima IX
     
  18. Floors

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    lol at the OP. Hard to disagree with that eh ?
     
  19. Floors

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    There was a reason you had to blow the generators up in U7

    Elizabeth and Abraham = EA

    http://ultima.wikia.com/wiki/Electronic_Arts
     
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  20. lonadar

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    Especially when the public has put financial backing into a project, the desire for results becomes more pressing because public image can affect so many things current and future. I strongly believe the current "release schedule" should be flexible, both of features and of the finished product, but I also believe that now that preview testing has begun, it should continue at a regular pace even if the desired milestone has not been reached prior. I know I personally would have more faith in logging into "Release 5.3" rather than having them claim "Release 6" with less than half the original goals implemented just because the calendar says it's time, as it appears they're in danger of doing.
     
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