Release of Shroud of the Avatar postponed again

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Lord_Darkmoon, Dec 4, 2016.

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  1. Lord_Darkmoon

    Lord_Darkmoon Avatar

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    On the steam website it now says:

    Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?
    “We hope to reach Beta by mid 2017 and launch shortly after that but we will not be launching until the product is ready.”

    http://store.steampowered.com/app/326160/

    I think those are very good news. SotA still needs a lot of work!
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2016
  2. Numa

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    Agreed. Six more releases (after R37) sounds about right. A strong contextual storyline benefits all playmodes - singleplayer, multiplayer and even PvP
     
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  3. E n v y

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    Bit concerning regardless of what mode you really want to play. Add to that they keep mentioning that they will not look to advertise to get more players until launch......."Beta by mid 2017" certainly isn't launch.......will launch be December 2017? 18? 19? Never?

    Regardless of how we see the current state of the game, the consistent and what is now predictable pushing of dates does nothing for Portalariums credibility and is now at the point now where it is indefensible. It certainly wouldn't be unreasonable to ask why this is being pushed again, why experts in the industry are unable to give a real definitive date and for once hit the targets that they have set themselves.
     
  4. Canterbury

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    Looking for the good in it, I guess the best thing I can say is that at least there's an acknowledgement that there's a lot of work still to be done. It shouldn't be that way, of course, but at least it's acknowledged.
     
  5. E n v y

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    Indeed but I would love to know why they are consistently missing their own targets. I mean it's not like someone else is setting these.........why are they persistently missing their own deadlines. Good job they are not contractors they would be building the game for nothing by now!
     
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  6. Andartianna

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    It is far less expensive to hold the game in beta until it is finished then release it with advertising which is incredibly expensive and have it not work correctly. Negative press from a launch flop is way more damaging to the game then holding it longer in beta. Now as to why they might miss goals there are a ton of reasons. Most often while testing they find that something effected a much wider area then planned so they have to fine tune it. Frequently this takes a lot of extra man hours to adjust something. They have a very small team working on this and people can only program so many hour a day before they need to have a real life. While it might be nice for them to be open about what happened sometimes that is not a good idea for the health of a company. Sometimes it is better to leave the players in the dark then expound on a wide variety of internal problems the team might be having.
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2016
  7. majoria70

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    I do have some thoughts on it and I am taking it as a good thing. I was starting to get very concerned that we were going to rush to release with a product that is so not ready for prime time when it is still missing important game play elements, like for one reason to play, choices matter, and ui stuff, and more coding to do it right. So yay if this is the plan. We still need time, and I was also very happy to read the announcement posted to hire another person for animations and stuff. So I'm hoping that will be a great help to get the necessary missing elements into the game. ;)
    *cheers*

    edited.
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2016
  8. E n v y

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    I'm sure there are but as I say they are setting their own goals and targets and publishing them. Why can they not hit any of them? they are the ones setting these.

    I hear this argument far too many times. When you set a target it should be realistic in terms of what can be achieved so the fact that they are a small team and have a "real life" is already taken into consideration.
     
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  9. ldykllr

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    I would rather have them delay and have a more complete product. There is no way they would have been ready by mid 2017 for launch. I think they haven't done too bad compared to some other Kickstarter'd titles and they could do worse. As long as I see progress each release, I'm happy. Missed goals are a unfortunately a common thing in game development, for various reasons (i.e. problems with tech, scope creep, etc). When you should really be worried is if they are making no progress at all and not telling you anything. I think they have been pretty forthright with the issues and in communicating with us.

    But hey, that's just my opinion and I'm sure someone here will tell me I'm absolutely wrong ;)
     
  10. Kambrius

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    This is great news! :)

    Edit: Where are you reading this @Lord_Darkmoon ? It still says "We estimate reaching a Beta version with all features and content sometime in Q1 2017. All features and plans listed here are subject to change. We may modify, add or remove features as we see fit during the development process."

    Edit: Nevermind. Looks like two sets of information given. Hedging bets I think. ;)
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2016
  11. syxs

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    Kind of strange that you have to watch notes on other websites to find that the planned release date to change instead of them being open and honest about it on the main one. Also didn't they just have a 12 hour life stream to support the game without saying anything about release? How do you just notice less then a week later no were going to need at least 6 months and that's just to get to beta phase when for the past 3-6 months.

    You were saying Launch Q1 2017 now its "hope to reach Beta by mid 2017 and launch shortly after that but we will not be launching until the product is ready" it shouldn't be that hard to say, "Here is our roadmap to launch" and push out what your working on for the next 6 months.

    *edited for missing works and formating*
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2016
  12. psteg

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    I am all for it. I applaud the team for being honest about the delay. The more work put into the game the better the game. As far as I am concerned if they took another year or more, it would not matter as long as they made the game better. Keep punching guys you are bound to make a hit.:)
     
  13. Roycestein Kaelstrom

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    They already gave road map on what they are working as part of Ep1 milestone. We already have access to play the game. I don't see any difference between what we have right now and what call as "launched" beside they will start spending money on marketing after that.
     
  14. Frederick Glasgow

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    Without knowing their particular timelines,what design and coding issues they are up against,it seems pretty easy for people to be critical of timelines moved or release dates pushed back. If they release a unfinished product and the release gets bad reviews,that is bad. If they wait until it is finished to release and the "BETA" testers complain it is taking too long,that is laughable. Most who are here now are supporters and backers of the game, and as such we need to do everything we can to assist the developers in finding bugs and reporting them and making suggestions that are productive. Constant negative comments without productive solutions is a waste of time and counterproductive.
    At my ripe old age I have been part of 100's of games that were in Alpha and Beta testing and the one constant I see is people with negative comments without positive solutions. If you feel you are an expert on timelines,maybe contacting the developers directly would be a better use of your time and theirs. Because all the people I know personally from past games have told me about design and coding issues that have to be overcome and although everyone thinks it is a cake walk, it is far from it. :rolleyes:
     
  15. Xail

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    Yes great news....let's hope they will release even after that....like mid 2019.....who doesn't work a perfect game?
     
  16. E n v y

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    Forget whether the game is ready or not......that is not my point. We can ALL agree that the game is in no way in a fit state to launch.

    My point is why do Portalarium continually set and publish their own target and then miss it by a country mile?

    You may think i'm being unreasonable, it might be that my expectations of a professional company is much greater than others. Personally I think it's more than reasonable at this stage to have a definitive launch date for the completion of Episode 1.
     
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  17. Satan Himself

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    This puts a serious damper on my Christmas 2016 final release party. :confused: Does anyone need 4,000 coconut bras?
     
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  18. Ravicus Domdred

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    Get In MY BELLY!
    Plenty of time for a wipe then!!! :D
     
  19. Ristra

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    Yep, a final wipe is the best thing they could ever do!
     
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  20. E n v y

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    Whether people like it all not it was stated clearly there would not be another wipe. In addition there have been far too many real world transactions that have been "blessed" by Portalarium.

    Another wipe would be the death of the game.
     
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