X4 : next release ?

Fleabum · Post by **Fleabum** » Fri, 25. May 18, 12:50

Sounds to me like Egosoft could do with a professional full time community facing member of staff that would interact with their community, the wider audience and press.

Maybe even go as far as weekly dev diary updates, showcase new features. Show new ship highlights, maybe a bit of real play of the ship in flight, anything to keep the community engaged.

But we know this isn't Egosofts style. It's the mushroom ethos, keep us in the dark... the dark expanse of space, till that bubbling tiny spark explodes into a shower of OMG, they changed what?

Regards
Flea

Post by **CBJ** » Fri, 25. May 18, 13:05

nemesis1982 wrote:Expectation management is very important...

Yes, it is. And that's exactly why we haven't given a more precise date, or plastered it all over the place too much. We are all too familiar with what happens when we give anything more precise. Regardless of how many caveats we give about it being an estimate or aim, it's still "pitchforks at dawn" the moment that estimate turns out not to be 100% accurate! It's also why we don't commit to issuing regular updates, because as a small team we cannot be sure that we will have the time available to do so.

Fleabum wrote:Sounds to me like Egosoft could do with a professional full time community facing member of staff that would interact with their community, the wider audience and press.

That would be lovely, but it's not something we have the resources to do.

Fleabum wrote:Maybe even go as far as weekly dev diary updates, showcase new features. Show new ship highlights, maybe a bit of real play of the ship in flight, anything to keep the community engaged.

Sorry, but even if we could afford the time to do this, the reality is that there isn't something new to tell people about every week. Development can be a frustratingly slow process sometimes, even for those frantically doing the work, let alone for those tapping their fingers waiting for a new game to appear!

Fleabum wrote:But we know this isn't Egosofts style. It's the mushroom ethos, keep us in the dark...

Really? We've done everything we are able to to change that this time around. I'm sorry if there isn't a non-stop flow of information, but we have given lots of information about the game already, and we will do so again when we have something new to tell people about.

Post by **Tamina** » Fri, 25. May 18, 14:12

Fleabum wrote:It's the mushroom ethos, keep us in the dark... the dark expanse of space, till that bubbling tiny spark explodes into a shower of OMG, they changed what?

- They have done 1h-livestreams of the game with live Q&As, two times.
- One big Q&A in this forum over several days (see sticky post)
- A live fan event in their HQ (also livestreamed for everybody not attending) where fans were able to speak with the devs in person.
- Also CBJ and Lino are constantly spooking this forum answering questions or more often link to the sticky-Q&A where the question was already answered.

They have given us so many information already about the core concepts and stats. The only thing missing is a release date, something they don't know themself.

adeine · Post by **adeine** » Fri, 25. May 18, 14:33

CBJ wrote: Yes, it is. And that's exactly why we haven't given a more precise date, or plastered it all over the place too much. We are all too familiar with what happens when we give anything more precise. Regardless of how many caveats we give about it being an estimate or aim, it's still "pitchforks at dawn" the moment that estimate turns out not to be 100% accurate! It's also why we don't commit to issuing regular updates, because as a small team we cannot be sure that we will have the time available to do so.

CBJ wrote: Really? We've done everything we are able to to change that this time around. I'm sorry if there isn't a non-stop flow of information, but we have given lots of information about the game already, and we will do so again when we have something new to tell people about.

Just chiming in to give +1 to the silent (on this topic) majority

Take as long as you need to to complete and polish the game or give us a development update. We'd rather things take longer and/or there were stretches of radio silence if it means the game will launch in a better, more complete state. If it's at all an option financially, don't be afraid to push back the estimated release if need be.

That said, I don't think anyone can reasonably argue you haven't gone above and beyond in answering community questions and letting us know where things stand.

You're doing just fine.

Post by **Ketraar** » Fri, 25. May 18, 15:09

Tamina wrote:- Also CBJ and Lino are constantly spooking this forum answering questions

Exactly, and frankly this has to stop. Its hard enough as it is, there is no need to go about spooking people willy nilly. #nospooking

MFG

Ketraar

Fleabum · Post by **Fleabum** » Fri, 25. May 18, 19:28

Thanks for the reply @CBJ.

Regards
Flea

spankahontis · Post by **spankahontis** » Fri, 25. May 18, 20:24

Ketraar wrote:
Tamina wrote:- Also CBJ and Lino are constantly spooking this forum answering questions
Exactly, and frankly this has to stop. Its hard enough as it is, there is no need to go about spooking people willy nilly. #nospooking

MFG

Ketraar

Feels like a crack addict wanting their next fix.
And for those out there, there are many more (Games) drugs out there to get your high from.

ajime · Post by **ajime** » Mon, 28. May 18, 04:55

spankahontis wrote:
Ketraar wrote:
Tamina wrote:- Also CBJ and Lino are constantly spooking this forum answering questions
Exactly, and frankly this has to stop. Its hard enough as it is, there is no need to go about spooking people willy nilly. #nospooking

MFG

Ketraar

Feels like a crack addict wanting their next fix.
And for those out there, there are many more (Games) drugs out there to get your high from.

but holding a pitchfork is much more emotionally fulfilling. It's exhilarating to fulfill the power of the dark side within.

birdtable · Post by **birdtable** » Mon, 28. May 18, 10:49

Plus the satisfaction of honing a fine point to pitchfork in preparation ,,, Ahhhh the anticipation...

Nosscar · Post by **Nosscar** » Mon, 28. May 18, 10:54

I spent a full afternoon yesterday reading the stickies, rewatching the streams too, and realised just how much info there is compared to what was given at this stage for XR.

Keep up the good work, i am eager for this game too, but let's get it right, so take the time you need.

Scarecrow · Post by **Scarecrow** » Mon, 28. May 18, 19:52

At 70 yo I'm hoping it gets released in time for me to play it

Hopefully you still have plenty of time to get it right, I'm not planning a Celestis trip any time soon.

Karvat · Post by **Karvat** » Mon, 28. May 18, 21:46

Please take all the time you need, but give us the best space experience ever seen, I'm sure you will succeed

Falcrack · Post by **Falcrack** » Tue, 29. May 18, 15:36

Scarecrow wrote:At 70 yo I'm hoping it gets released in time for me to play it

Hopefully you still have plenty of time to get it right, I'm not planning a Celestis trip any time soon.

If you are waiting around for Star Citizen, I would be concerned, but I think this title is more likely to be released in a reasonable time frame.

LittleBird · Post by **LittleBird** » Tue, 29. May 18, 15:55

CBJ wrote:
nemesis1982 wrote:Expectation management is very important...
Yes, it is. And that's exactly why we haven't given a more precise date, or plastered it all over the place too much. We are all too familiar with what happens when we give anything more precise. Regardless of how many caveats we give about it being an estimate or aim, it's still "pitchforks at dawn" the moment that estimate turns out not to be 100% accurate!

Just do it the right way:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9SVhg6ZENw

Honved · Post by **Honved** » Wed, 30. May 18, 17:32

The biggest problem with pre-release information is that it takes time and effort to present, which could otherwise have been spent on developing the game. When you're big enough to be able to afford job titles like a full-time spokesperson, even if they're covering several games by that developer, it's a nice luxury, but when it's more of a hand-to-mouth company, you simply can't afford the extra paycheck.

I work in a small electronics company, where there are only 3 of us designing, building, and shipping specialized industrial and medical video products. We don't have the resources to dedicate someone full time to "trivial" details like sales, accounting, or inventory control, much less "expectation management". Egosoft may be larger, but they're still limited as to how much can be done, so interfacing with the players is pretty far back on the list of "things to do".

Miniding · Post by **Miniding** » Wed, 30. May 18, 18:22

Falcrack wrote:
Scarecrow wrote:At 70 yo I'm hoping it gets released in time for me to play it

Hopefully you still have plenty of time to get it right, I'm not planning a Celestis trip any time soon.
If you are waiting around for Star Citizen, I would be concerned, but I think this title is more likely to be released in a reasonable time frame.

Totally agree!!!

nemesis1982 · Post by **nemesis1982** » Thu, 7. Jun 18, 13:34

@Falcrack: At my current 35 years of age I'm already worried of not seeing SC going live

nemesis1982 · Post by **nemesis1982** » Thu, 7. Jun 18, 14:15

@CBJ: I would like to be very clear that I meant no offense and I do understand what you're saying.

I would like to add though that a lack of communication is not expectation management. However I do understand it's not much fun being on that end of the pitch forks.

Also much of the communication could be read as being aggressive. For instance the following implies that you're offended by the statement and could be construed as a very emotional and offensive response:
"Really? We've done everything we are able to to change that this time around. I'm sorry if there isn't a non-stop flow of information, but we have given lots of information about the game already, and we will do so again when we have something new to tell people about."

Saying something in the lines of:
"I'm sorry you feel this way. We've been working hard to change the way we communicate. It's been difficult providing a consistent stream of information however we do feel we're getting better. We feel that we've already given a lot of information and cannot give much more at the moment without impacting the experience. As soon as we feel we have new information to share we will do so."

Post by **CBJ** » Thu, 7. Jun 18, 17:48

No offence taken. Regarding lack of communication, the point is that that isn't the case this time around. We have already communicated quite a bit, and we'll continue to communicate when we are ready to do so. Constant "updates" with no new information won't add anything to that process, but they will impact on development.

Regarding the wording of responses, I'm well aware of the difference between a a "corporate" tone and a more personal one. In informal discussions such as this one, I think the other participants appreciate that developers who choose to take part in them do of their own accord and as individuals. Occasionally that can mean that a little impatience shows through, but a gentle reminder that the developers are (mostly) human is not always a bad thing.

Post by **radcapricorn** » Thu, 7. Jun 18, 18:08

CBJ, "mostly" human? Are you guys secretly hoarding an actual Betty AI or something?

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

X4 : next release ?