Interesting new interview with Richard Garriott - release estimate included

It's in Russian so you have to translate it with your browser.

http://forums.goha.ru/showthread_82_0_t1214524

As for the release estimate by Richard Garriott:

"When you finish the game?

Soon. When we finish. We hope to finish it by the end of this year, although there is not much time left."

 

Thank you! Is that the source article? When was it published? I'm interesting to know what the actual Russian reads on that. There's no way this game can be finished by the end of the year.

 

I think that is the source and it was published on 16th of November.

 

I think the "chose team for myself" stuff is a little lost in translation, but the monetization... sore spot for me with all the telethons and the dev time used for creating new buyable things. Too much focus in microtransactions. Guild Wars is free and microtransaction don't affect game balance. This is both not the case with SotA.

 

If I can remember well all they said for now is that they are gonna talk or say something about release day before end of the year (december?). Is all I heard from them in telethons or forums.

 

That is part of the issue. At times, it seems like there is a different version being told on and by the "official" German and Russian sources. No doubt part of it lost in translation.

 

Wasn't it already announced that the official release was pushed to '18? A few months go?

UPDATE: Yes, it was!

In the Q4 update (Found here: https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/forum/index.php?threads/q4-2017-schedule-update.100684/)

DarkStarr said: "When is Launch?: You have probably noticed that we do not list one of these releases as a launch release. While we feel we are definitely getting closer to launch readiness each month we do not believe that launching before the end of the year is going to be the right time. Before the end of the year however will be the right time to announce a firm launch date; so stay tuned!"

I thought this was part of a release instruction or patch note post, but alas, I got that part wrong. It's part of the much discussed post from this past September, linked and quoted above.

 

Yes therefore it is strange reading a new interview saying something different.
Either there was something lost in translation or they hope to finish the game by end of the year and then release it in January...

 

I recall Starr’s statement was that the release date would be announced end of the year. From this I and others deduced that release would be pushed out into 2018. Technically both statements “Release end of the year” and “Release announcement end of the year” don’t contradict each other.

 

At Sotacon, Starr talked about a "going dark" period where (as I understand it), the QA server would stay up continuously while they worked the last things in. The past few weeks, I've been thinking that the R49 period, which is extended due to holiday scheduling, would be a naturally good time for that to happen. So nothing more than a hunch, but it feels right.

 

Release won't be this year. Hopefully we have 2018 to get performance where it should be and fine tune any systems. Then after releasing we can keep working on systems that still need more updates such as fishing, agriculture etc. We can then start to discuss our boating and mount system and more.

 

Guys please stop giving yourself unrealistic deadlines that you miss, you are literally shooting yourself in the foot by saying it'll be finished this year. Be honest with us and just say how long it will take. I'd rather accept a 6 month delay than repeated missed deadlines.

 

Maybe it is not possible to delay it any longer? I don't know. Do they have the funds for that? Are players that patient after three years of seemingly endless Early Access while the game already is persistent and is sold?
Maybe hardcore fans here would understand a big delay but how would others react to it? A game that stays too long in Early Access gets a bad reputation - especially when it is persistent since one and a half years...

 

I think the part was lost in translation. By the end of the year they hope to announce a reliable release date

 

Agreed, it is a matter of money. Plus, don't forget the collector’s edition they have to send on release. How much this is going to cost? As we don't even know if they start the production on those.

I don't think the end of the year is realistic, however maybe Q1 2018 .

 

Read the stand-ups. Multiple times a week, someone is working on on shipping preparation, for a very long time.

 

The move making it persistent was a mistake. It will be another mistake if they release early.

 

they repeat, pretty constantly, that its trivial to create the add on store assets. it represents a very low % of their focus. new add on store items being added looks like a lot to the end user that cant see all the big stuff happening to the code base behind the scenes. the add on store assets also fund their salaries and the development of the game. its a very, very good thing. without it and the telethons, you wouldnt have a game at all.


add on store = low cost/low investment, high return

 

Also interesting is that even Russians ask why they chose Black Sun as the publisher in Russia. A company next to no one seems to know.

And Garriott thinks that only the Guild Wars team is the only team which makes a great game? And he would choose this team for a new project? Strange...

 

Well, one thing I feel confident about, Falcon Heavy will most likely launch before Release is declared, and certainly before release happens.

Maybe they should create a blocker JIRA for "Falcon Heavy Launch", just for the funny.