140 replies to this topic

[evilbobthebob]

I'd just like to say on behalf of the team that we want to release the mod as much as you guys want to play it. However, we also want it to be as good as it can be- and that means polish! Unfortunately, polish is something that takes time, a commodity in short supply. So we ask, as always, for patience.

[smashedsaturn]

Not that you guys dont do amazing work, but I feel like you have the attitude of "releases have to be HUGE and months or even years apart", but there are auto patching launchers for several mods for C&C games out there that allow the team to release small updates very easily and keep people interested. If something like that could be looked into for 1.3 I think wed all have an easier time waiting. (This also allows for less stringent pre-release testing because problems can be quickly patched and fixed) We all love your work, but you guys are perfectionists and it kills us

[Kitkun]

I think it's more that the overhauls they needed to make were huge. Rebuilding land, AI, etc. are huge and going to take a long time no matter how you look at it.
And hey, it's nice to see actual quality work. I see far, far too much half-assed, hypocritical, and lying stuff to attract more people with low-quality work.

Edited by Kitkun, 30 January 2012 - 06:07 AM.

[Ghostrider]

I think it's more that the overhauls they needed to make were huge. Rebuilding land, AI, etc. are huge and going to take a long time no matter how you look at it.
And hey, it's nice to see actual quality work. I see far, far too much half-assed, hypocritical, and lying stuff to attract more people with low-quality work.

AI and Land were absolute monsters to do and both had to be built from foundations upwards. This broke Galactic Mode for about 9 months, but now they are in place, V1.3 is just edits and additions. Much quicker.

Edited by Ghostrider, 30 January 2012 - 08:33 AM.

[Phoenix Rising]

If it means anything, it's coming out this year. Sometime in mid to late December if my calender is correct.

Go ahead and circle February.

Not that you guys dont do amazing work, but I feel like you have the attitude of "releases have to be HUGE and months or even years apart", but there are auto patching launchers for several mods for C&C games out there that allow the team to release small updates very easily and keep people interested.

Auto-patching is something I've wanted to add, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen in v1.2. I haven't really had time to look into it. Any idea how difficult it would be?

I think it's more that the overhauls they needed to make were huge. Rebuilding land, AI, etc. are huge and going to take a long time no matter how you look at it.

This. To me, there were two obvious reasons that made v1.1 a disappointment (and, incidentally, prevented us from being labeled a total conversion): the too-early addition of land, and the fact that the AI was breaking down further with each new feature. How can you honestly put a new version out there that didn't address both of those deficiencies? I couldn't.

AI and Land were absolute monsters to do and both had to be built from foundations upwards. This broke Galactic Mode for about 9 months, but now they are in place, V1.3 is just edits and additions. Much quicker.

He's right - I wasn't able to play it for about a 9-month period while the AI still had kinks (testing went on without AI). That was pretty miserable. But those kind of fundamental changes are behind us now! I mean, AI was something that shouldn't have technically been feasible, and land is, without understatement, an entirely new game.

Slowly, incrementally, we're also finalizing features. There's normally a lot of reinvention that goes on throughout the process, so whenever we can definitively call something "done", that's a victory. Complement mechanic, done. Planetary advantage system, final. Mostly significantly, I think land combat will only need minute tweaks going forward. With the following release, we'll be able to fix planets to TES coordinates and Ghost will be able to start checking off campaigns. Every map that evilbob does, every model that Nertea completes puts us that much closer to completion.

[Brashin]

Sounds epic like what has already been stated....and Feb is circled in my calendar.

[TopAce]

Soo, on the other note. PR care to release beta version for us to test?

[smashedsaturn]

Not that you guys dont do amazing work, but I feel like you have the attitude of "releases have to be HUGE and months or even years apart", but there are auto patching launchers for several mods for C&C games out there that allow the team to release small updates very easily and keep people interested.

Auto-patching is something I've wanted to add, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen in v1.2. I haven't really had time to look into it. Any idea how difficult it would be?

I personally don't know, but know of several different mods that included it (cold war crisis, Vietnam: GO, a few more) with simple launchers that read the version of the mod and checked for a newer tag on the server to ensure it was up to date. I wouldn't think it would be too hard, but thats just an educated guess tbh, it could very well end up being a huge PITA.

FEBRUARY.... awesome

[Stormhawk]

We've waited so long, another month is nothing. This post made my day.

I'd like to offer again my infinite gratitude for all your work on this amazing project. I and many others eagerly wait to enjoy the results!

[Tropical Bob]

every model that Nertea completes puts us that much closer to completion.

Speaking of which. Is Nertea only doing models for Land, or is Space open for the love?

I mean, a good Land half will be awesome, but it's Star Wars. Space, man. New Class Modernization Program and more call for proper PR justice.

[TopAce]

Pardon me but wasnt the original plan to overhaul space portion for the 1.2 and do land for next release? What made you change your mind?

[Ghostrider]

every model that Nertea completes puts us that much closer to completion.

Speaking of which. Is Nertea only doing models for Land, or is Space open for the love?

I mean, a good Land half will be awesome, but it's Star Wars. Space, man. New Class Modernization Program and more call for proper PR justice.

Focusing on Land at the moment. The space roster is pretty solid at the moment but there is so much MORE to add in land. Once the priority land developments are under way we can possibly look at other stuff. But that's the future.

Lets get 1.2 done and out there first before designing 1.3!

[Tropical Bob]

Lets get 1.2 done and out there first before designing 1.3!

Nonsense!

[Phoenix Rising]

Pardon me but wasnt the original plan to overhaul space portion for the 1.2 and do land for next release? What made you change your mind?

Same reason as when it was rushed for v1.1: we got a vehicle modeler. The original one (not Nertea) didn't work, which is why you ended up with an unpolished pre-alpha of land combat. Without Nertea joining, I probably would've cut it back to vanilla for v1.2. I don't think I can understate how badly we need technically-skilled artists.

I must be clear though: this isn't a v2.0 complete land combat. Design and coding are solid, but other aspects have holes. There are no custom particles, no new infantry models, the vanilla units are often mis-rigged for our purposes, the tech tree is shallow, etc.

For the sake of space combat though, it's better that it happened this way, because it now stands to benefit from everything I learned doing land. That doesn't happen if land is attempted from the beginning, and might not either if it's put off.

Lets get 1.2 done and out there first before designing 1.3!

Nonsense!

Let's just say there's a roadmap in place next time. There are some detours, but they're optional given time constraints on v1.3. For the most part, we know what needs to be done already.

[Henry X]

February eh?

You'll get no complaints from me. Alright, you got four weeks kid.

[sargeantsandwich]

So are you planning to go 1.3, 1.4, 1.5 etc. in smaller patches till the 2.0 release?
hopefully you can et it done in three! I couldn't think of a better birthday present

[Phoenix Rising]

I have concepts in mind, so it's just a matter of prioritizing them. I'm only looking one version ahead and really trying to narrow that down to the changes that are urgent. Aligning our galaxy to TES will be the top priority for v1.3. Ideally, that will set the release date, but we'll see how it goes... it'll be an experiment in becoming more agile.

I will say one thing about v2.0 though. I don't expect it to be a major push, so much as a milestone, mostly because the work that remains to get us there is largely out of my control. There will be some unit design and some rigging involved, but I think the timeline will be set by particle artists and unit modelers.

[Henry X]

As long as they can kill each other, I'm happy.

Hopefully though, 1.2 will be able to hold my attention better than 1.1. Land combat really sunk this mod for me, but it seems like you guys have gotten a lot of work done.

[Phoenix Rising]

Yeah, I know. I figured people were auto-resolving the vanilla land battles anyway, so it'd make no difference what state they was in. That's long behind us now.

[Stormhawk]

Yeah, I know. I figured people were auto-resolving the vanilla land battles anyway, so it'd make no difference what state they was in. That's long behind us now.

Speaking of auto-resolve, is it improved now, for land and space? I remember my friend and I once tried multiplayer GC on Tropical Bob's 1.1.2 mod, but it didn't work out because we sent in massive fleets against pirate planets but would fail to take them or take huge losses we never would have taken had we fought the battle tactically.