I remember a little company called Blizzard refusing to release Warcraft III until it was where they wanted it to be, and having to wait several years for the release - I don’t think it did them any harm in the long run… In an age of people wanting things now ( so that they can then complain about it), do it right, and put it out when it’s ready. The true fans appreciate the hard work and polished finish.
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Totally agree - I’m desperate to play the new Mount and Blade game at the moment - I don’t care when it comes out, and I don’t care why it’s taking such a long time, I just want it to be a blindingly good game when it is finally released. Same goes for PP, they could take another 2 years for all I care, better that than a game releasing that’s half finished and/or full of bugs.
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I’ve got a mate who’s late every single time we go to meet at the pub. In general he’s a really good guy, but punctuality is a flaw of his. I know other people in our gang who used to get wound up about it, I just have a pint. I figure he’s not going to change so what’s the point in getting stressed over it.
And I remember another company refusing to release Duke Nukem forever until it was where the big boss wanted it to be. Delays can swing both ways, there is no arguing about it. I’m more worried by having the game postponed multiple times than having it postponed at all.
It’s one thing to say “it will be ready when it’s ready”, but saying “Ok we release end 2018, no wait, june 2019, no wait, september 2019, no wait, end 2018 …” kinda erodes one’s trust.
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Give people the chance to do things right. Do right by them, and let them do right in turn - then make your judgement. If you don’t have the patience to wait - then don’t wait. I’ve seen what these guys have done; I like it, and I want the whole game. I don’t want a premature release with multiple pay to play dlc’s. I want a mature game that I can play over and over again. If it takes them another two years, I’ll wait, because I’ve seen the start and I want the whole experience, and I’ve already payed but I want the game to stand up to what I’ve seen so far. I want to see it fully fleshed out, and I do not want them to cut corners. They can give me the real deal or they can take my money and run. If the latter is true, I’ll never buy from them again, but if the former is true they have a long time advocate.
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I am not sure what you are getting at here.
Of course, delays aren’t always a good sign. Sometimes games are years in the making and the final product turns out to be a turd for various reasons (ekm, see recent Anthem, and its messy development cycle).
But none of those games would be better if the development cycle was shorter. If PP is indeed running into some issues, giving it 3 extra months is surely the right thing to do. Sometimes solutions you thought will work, don’t and they need to be scrapped and redesign. Sometimes systems simply end up not being fun. Those things happen, and while they can be seen as setbacks they are part of a creative process. Unless, you are making that same game over and over again, roadblocks will appear.
PP might be bad when it releases, it might be good. If it’s having issues, would you rather have them release the game before attempting to fix it?
If your actual question is: “are delays indication that I should try to refund the game, and wait and see if the project will be good before paying for it” I don’t think anyone can help you with that.
To me, personally, the delays show developers commitment, not failures, though the frequency and timing of their announcement (just short time ago we got fancy trailer with September release) make the studio look a bit in disarray. I do accept the risks that the game won’t be good. Project still looks promising, and I happily chipped in money to see XCOM game with Gallop at the helm. I am still curious to see what they will come up with, whenever it will be something worth keeping on my disk or not.
Whenever, this delay shakes your trust in Snapshot competence in up to you to decide and act accordingly.
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If its end of december, that is almost 4 months delay.
So what re the good news for “late backers” that are delayed?
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That we will have more time to work on the game, meaning more polish and fewer bugs.
Everybody is always talking about we need to be patient and quality of the finished game comes first bla bla bla.
I have zero problems with waiting for a good game.
It’s the feeling of being lured with a carrot on stick. Several times I am thinking hmmz what to play: Oh PP should be nearly done now, let’s look: oh again 3 months, just like 3 months ago, and 6 months ago and a year ago. I rather have a deadline @ december 2020 and be suprised in july, than getting delay upon delay.
Any beta tester who can give insight in whether or not it feels like december will be reachable?
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During the Fig campaign and first livestream snapshot/Jullian admitted they copied the XCOM style squad based tactics because it is good with just a few differences: movement does not end after 1 click and targetting is realtime ballistics rather than a dice roll.
Since the original XCOM, I’ve played every version and spin offs of xcom and jagged alliance I could find. Always hoping that their would ever come a good successor. Firaxis is the first to really nail it. So good it brought the genre back to life. I think I remember Jullian mentioned in the beginning that FiraXCOM succes was the reason he dared to attempt PP.
@unstableVoltage please correct me if I’m wrong
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Julian certainly did like some of the things that nuXCOM did. It can’t be denied that the Firaxis games were successful and we’d be foolish to ignore their innovations.
Gameplay and mechanically, Phoenix Point is far closer to X-Com UFO/Apoc. Probably the biggest major similarity to nuXCOM is that there are now soldier classes.
The nuXCOM UI is certainly better than the originals - but remember those were made 25 years ago and designed for DOS era computers with a mouse. They were never intended to run on high resolution screens or support controllers. Back then, UI’s took up half of the screen space, as it meant there was a smaller space on screen to render the actual game. UI design has come a long way since then. We also wanted nuXCOM players to feel at home with Phoenix Point - so our UI is deliberately similar.
Julian has had the idea for Phoenix Point for quite some time. He was actually planning to bring it to Kickstarter many years ago, before nuXCOM. However, just as he was about to, Firaxis announced nuXCOM - so PP got shelved and he pitched Chaos Reborn instead.
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Please be more creative, even if that is truth. Since it has been said couple of times
and “now sounds like Boy that cries wolf”
Too bad delays, delays, platforms hurt Jullians good name.
Out of Chaos, Chaos was born. New XCom was good in its beginnings,
now its really annoying, as people of new gen think there was not XCom before.
As owner of Chaos Reborn on Steam, I can say its quite abandoned on several levels,
and it would be better if “all forces on PP” began earlier, for us today.
Firaxis influence is clearly visible, but the game doesn’t play like XCOM. Firaxis updated overall design to modern standards, and Snapshot is simply benefiting of those innovations. It also helps then in the way they develop the same game. However, Snapshots’ sensibilities are far different from firaxis’.
Two changes you mentioned are massive. Two point system, and roll based damage calculation are core elements of XCOM gameplay. Ballistic system influences core elements of gameplay, as cover acts differently, and weapons require to be balanced differently. Add to that targetable limbs, mutations for enemies, fog mechanic, inventory system, no pods, drivable vehicles, bigger squads, boss aliens, limited resources. I won’t go into strategic layer as we haven’t seen enough of it, though already it looks much different then firaxis take. Look beyond couple screenshots and you will see that this game departs quite a bit from modern XCOM design.
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PP looks like xcom the same way xenonauts looks like the classic. Snapshot is not denying it. There is no need to defend it. To copy some fundamentals that are good and then develop and improve upon it with a unique creators twist is excellent. It’s nothing to be frowned upon. Thats how you get better and better games.
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So there is a big chance that Jake is waiting on PP similarly…oh boy…Xcom 3 already feels overdue…:(
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At this point I assume you are trolling. Gbye.
Oh come on. There are two colorful movement range lines and there is couple of icons on the bottom of the screen for abilities. Thus it is 100% like Firaxis XCOM and Snapshot is not denying it. 
EDIT: Oh sorry and half- and full-cover icons on tiles.
Unlikely. With a backing of a powerful publisher, I doubt Firaxis has to worry about PP overshadowing their next game. XCOM3 will break through by pure power of glamour and at this point it is the more established series. And as I mentioned those games aren’t that much alike and hopefully both will appeal to their respective audience with a healthy overlap.
Keep in mind that Jake was personally involved with expansion this time around, so if he is helming XCOM3 as well, likely the development hasn’t started until WotC was finished. It might take a bit more time this time around.
It’s not been the PR line either so far. Julian and Jake have always praised each other’s works and never hid the fact that they found inspiration in each other’s creations. The market for turn based tactical game is neither huge nor saturated, which makes it an even better strategy.