42 replies to this topic

[Odin]

Well, my take of it is, we'll see in summer what's what. Right now, I'm very confident PGI can pull this off. They are a very focused well structured team, working on CRYENG3. They are motivated, love this thing and kick °ss. It'll not gonna be the "Skyrim of Battletech, neither in therms of bugs, nor in a measure of content. We need a core. As bug free as possible, limited to the main pillars, as Bryan would put it. A number of well made Mechs, a few maps, 3-5 are sufficient, 12 Mechs and associated equipment - the RPG department must be (almost) full developed, we need contend to play around. The Innersphere - Randall?, should work - thats important. We need a world for our Avatars to live in. It don't have to be full skale at the beginning, but we need to see scope - it better feels grant! - right from the start - but it hasn't to be huge. The rest comes over time. Less is more, less content/starting smaller means less bugs , more fun, a good renown in the press.
My 2 cents

Edited by Odin, 03 December 2011 - 11:21 AM.

[Demi-Precentor Konev]

I'm guessing Summer 2012 will be a soft-launch-style beta that is fairly limited, not a full release.

[DICCCE]

honestly I am fine with them taking their time. A lot of games have bombed due to rushing. I do hope to see more on the content as we wait though. which we will. Most companies are quite good about releasing little spoilers

[Mechteric]

With no PVE content to have to create (at least at first), I'd imagine this could greatly reduce the perceived time to release. And maybe they'll do like World of Tanks and have an open beta at their launch date where you can already start to pay for items to keep them going.

[irony1999]

You might be over-estimating what a "released" version of this in 9 months might be like. It could very well be a _very_ bare bones game.

Team deathmatch on 2-3 different basic maps (perhaps with variants to give the illusion of more), short list of weaponry (lasers, missiles, MG, PPC, AC), only a few mechs per faction - most of which overlap (one each of light, medium, heavy and/or assault - only 1 or 2 unique per faction), very basic customization (pay for decals, color, merc corp, etc), and a very basic metagame (faction points per victory?).

Look at the above list... in a boxed game, that would be an Alpha. In a Free To Play game, thats a reasonable release/open beta feature list.

Edited by irony1999, 04 December 2011 - 05:50 AM.

[Kaemon]

I whole heartedly hope it's only Beta (please don't open a cash shop in Beta, it's a horrible idea and causes issues if you ever need to do a server wipe).

I had a thread going about player's wishlists for this game, I found some of those interesting because they had quite a few things the devs had already said 'we don't have time to do' or 'we'll look at them in the future'.

Why not move your launch date back a few months and implement them now? if 9 months is enough time to go from alpha to 'something' (closed/open beta) isn't another 3-6 enough to add in a PvE turtorial and some Conquest mode stuff?

I keep saying people come up with examples like 'oh the engine is easy to code for' then why is Hula so hard? Why are (IMO) key elements to flesh out the game (PvE content, Conquest mode) things that are being looked at 'some time in the future'?

It comes down to $ + time, the more time you dev, the more $ you spend, I get that, but we're pretty much betting the farm now, for a huge crop in the future, so why would we rush to havest when a few more months reap (ideally) much more yield?

I take solace in the fact that some players (probably far more in the know that I am) are not worried, and once again, sorry for the debbie downer post, I don't like seeing these in young forums but I did want to see where the community stood on the release date.

[Korbyn McColl]

Keep in mind this isn't a "traditional MMO". They don't need to create entire worlds and populate them. They don't need to implement countless quests. They don't need to create loot tables.

They need to establish core combat mechanics. The need to design mechs and cockpits. They need to create mission maps and they need to create a system to track the ebb and flow of battle. Compared to a traditional MMO, they have a lot less work to do.

Now, I'm not saying they don't have their hands full. I'm sure their busting their *****. But I can see them making the September 21st deadline (Summer ends Sept 22nd or 23rd).

[rollermint]

Its quite plausible, depending on the scope of the game.

Just don't go expecting 40-60 mech types available. We might be looking at 20 at most(probably 15 or even 12) with a dozen maps. And probably 2-3 game modes at best.

Its a F2P game so don't go expecting a full feature list that you'd expect from a 60 bucks retail game. But because its F2P, it allows the potential of continuous updates to the game. So expect it to be a whole lot bigger in scope and content in a year after launch.

Edited by rollermint, 04 December 2011 - 10:41 PM.

[Pave Low]

WerewolfX, on 03 December 2011 - 12:32 AM, said:

I've waited this long like the rest of the community I can wait a little longer.

So can I, that's not an issue. Everyone is asking if release deadline is realistic? As in MORE time may be needed. Should devs be giving themselves more time to complete the development milestones? No AI programming to worry about which is good but this thread just got me worried re. launch is all.

[rollermint]

Pave Low, on 04 December 2011 - 10:33 PM, said:

So can I, that's not an issue. Everyone is asking if release deadline is realistic? As in MORE time may be needed. Should devs be giving themselves more time to complete the development milestones? No AI programming to worry about which is good but this thread just got me worried re. launch is all.

Well...i think there may be precedents regarding MMOs being pushed back beyond initial launch estimates

[Pave Low]

rollermint, on 04 December 2011 - 10:05 PM, said:

Its quite plausible, depending on the scope of the game.

Just don't go expecting 40-60 mech types available. We might be looking at 20 at most with a dozen maps. And probably 2-3 game modes at best.

Its a F2P game so don't go expecting a full feature list that you'd expect from a 60 bucks retail game. But because its F2P, it allows the potential of continuous updates to the game. So expect it to be a whole lot bigger in scope and content in a year after launch.

It will be F2P I won't forget & even with several mechs to choose from this game should be a blast.

Devs though seem to be going for in-depth, faithful to the canon game experience though which is admirable & interesting if people are going to be able to develop 'their' mechs & play on the different houses/clans/merc groups in the conflict. That part could take a while.
Bare-bones it will be ready to play Summer 2012, I guess.

That is not as bad as I originally thought!!

[Pave Low]

rollermint, on 04 December 2011 - 10:43 PM, said:

Well...i think there may be precedents regarding MMOs being pushed back beyond initial launch estimates

rollermint, on 04 December 2011 - 10:43 PM, said:

Well...i think there may be precedents regarding MMOs being pushed back beyond initial launch estimates

Very true rollermint, I guess we shall see what's on the targeting computer then!

[CobraFive]

When world of tanks launched it had two half tech trees (Half of Russian tanks and half of German tanks). Now it has three full trees (Germany, Russian, USA), plus many premium tanks, and is getting another tech tree soon (France). In addition to many many maps.

And world of tanks has progressed very slowly in terms of F2P games (in fact I would criticize it heavily in this regard, in spite of all that content!)

That is the beauty of F2P the model, what features does it have at the end of development? None, because it is never done with development. Initial launch probably will be sparse, but then, you don't have to pay till you want to.

[John Clavell]

I think you'll be surprised what a team of about 60 developers can do in 9-8 months on sprint & scrum. There biggest task will be doing all the art (including art related programming) and balancing. They said they are aiming to put out the core of the game, then begin expanding and fleshing it out. They only have to focus on the multiplayer, no singleplayer. It seems very doable to me, considering the engine is in place, and they obviously have playable prototypes already. The bigger question is not 'If it will be ready' but 'will it be quality'? PGI said they were committed to a quality product, I have no doubts that they wont deliver this until proven otherwise by them.

[jojobear]

Well they already have a working engine from the 2009 promo video. All they have to do is dig out the pseudo-code and type it up for Cry3. That's the big meaty part. Right now they are probably building features and content.

[Drogo-MA]

Honestly, I think the best thing is to just be patient and wait. After all we are just the gamers and nothing else. I myself would like to be a part of the beta testing process when it comes to pass. Until then, I will play the board game and enjoy reading the readouts. Take care all.

Long live the Federated Suns. All others are crap.

[Woodstock]

Summer 2012 was the first thing to be posted ... Back when the site went live!

Thats right isn't it? or is my age showing?

[Type ZERO]

Only time will tell... but I've got faith. =)

[Galen Shannow]

Demona, on 02 December 2011 - 07:57 PM, said:

I think they're holding content back. It's perfectly reasonable to assume a lot of the work on the MechWarrior reboot has been/is getting retooled for MWO. The release window is completely realistic to me.

This post has to be the most unrealistic ever. They just announced an engine deal, there was no/little work done outside of design work (and please if you bring up that movie from 2009 again I'll hit you...IT WAS A MOVIE, RENDERED, NOT GAMEPLAY...duh)

Why would they hold content back? Why would they not post A...SINGLE...SCREENSHOT....? Why? Because they don't HAVE any. Seriously people , be excited for this game , I am, but be realistic and stop embarrassing yourself. If this thing is in Beta by summer it'll be a miracle.

[Odin]

woodstock, on 05 December 2011 - 05:29 AM, said:

Summer 2012 was the first thing to be posted ... Back when the site went live!

Thats right isn't it? or is my age showing?

Nope, woodstock you got that right, its them, not your age