Only tweaking is left

[JWE]

ORIGINAL: DaveB
Personally I think this is all getting to be rather beyond a joke, this expansion should be grabbed by the scruff of its neck and brought to market - as a mere customer my impression is that it's become a private plaything of the beta testers, and that nobody gives a hoot about the uncomfortable period it has overrun release estimate by.... I feel that Matrix are being rather complacent about their market, which was always going to be pretty small to begin with. Please don't bother with the 'do you want a bugged version on time or a fixed one later' rubbish - properly managed projects include bugtesting time.

Sorry to sound all grumpy, but I care about WITP and I'm beginning to think the 3 Stooges are managing it.

Yep, Larry, Moe and Curly.

You are now on the green button. Bovine feces don't go anywhere near far enuf.

[DaveB]

Okay,
you win - it's normal to estimate 'on the shelves' in 8 months and to be apparently still an unknown distance in the future 14 months later.
 
My apologies to anybody else I upset, I genuinely find it bizzarre to have been reading AARs for months while the projected release date falls further and further into the past.

[51st Highland Div]

Still waiting for Duke Nukem Forever...nearly 10 years later lol [&:] Just means more time spend honing (lack of) skills on Witp and thats playing the AI not an opponent..[:D]

[Anonymous]

I agree. that was a stupid and hateful post. I am learning about green buttons and follow you about who should go on it.

[wworld7]

ORIGINAL: DaveB

Okay,
you win - it's normal to estimate 'on the shelves' in 8 months and to be apparently still an unknown distance in the future 14 months later.

My apologies to anybody else I upset, I genuinely find it bizzarre to have been reading AARs for months while the projected release date falls further and further into the past.

Seeing AARs for months is not bizzarre if you understand programming at all. It does not mean the project is completed or even very near completion. All it means is that we are lucky enough to get a peek at what part of the team is working on. It is not playing for fun, it is the work that is required to make certain that WITP-AE works well upon release.

If you have been following all of the annoucements since the 1st one you would have seen how the "schedule" took a big hit when it was seen that in order to get things to work as desired a major re-write involving the AI was needed. Your saying that time for this should have been included in the original estimate is your right. But that in no way means you are correct or wrong.

You want WITP-AE now, I would like it now. But we both would scream bloody murder if it was released and was full of bugs. So the only viable option to me to get the best product is to let them test, test and test again. Rushing it to market is not a sound strategy.

Be well,

[witpqs]

ORIGINAL: DaveB

Okay,
you win - it's normal to estimate 'on the shelves' in 8 months and to be apparently still an unknown distance in the future 14 months later.

My apologies to anybody else I upset, I genuinely find it bizzarre to have been reading AARs for months while the projected release date falls further and further into the past.

Based on what passes for "normal" these days, normal just isn't good enough.

[Terminus]

When was it ever? Especially when people screaming about "normality" have no idea what they're talking about...[8|]

[CV Zuikaku]

I think we are all getting a bit too nervous! We saw those AArs, and that made us berserk [:'(] [X(]

[Terminus]

Unfortunately, not everybody is going berserk with a sense of humour. It's almost there, people. REALLY.

[Terminus]

ORIGINAL: flipperwasirish

Rushing it to market is not a sound strategy.

Exactly. Look what happened to AGEOD's WWI game, rushed out to meet the 11/11 date, and unplayable.

[DaveB]

Well the PR and boxart was out 14 months ago, maybe I am dreadfully wrong to wish that for once somebody would assume that the code should be given the same priority.
 
As for your last point T, I actually have had two commercial releases of software under my own name (and one non commercial), and whilst I wouldn't claim that they've been stupendously momentous occasions in the history of software I wouldn't classify myself as a complete beginner either. (All on time, by the way, two of them in areas where errors have serious consequences beyond your TF gaining a Japanese CO).
 
 I stand by my original point - these countless pages of 'this is what it's like' and 'this is how my latest AAR went' suggest a lot of beta testers having fun while everything is endlessly tweaked - that isn't a good sign.

[CV Zuikaku]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Unfortunately, not everybody is going berserk with a sense of humour. It's almost there, people. REALLY.

Take your time, we can wait for another year or two! [8|]
And now, it is the time to put my flak jacket on and duck for cover! Incoming! [:D]

[Terminus]

Quite frankly, DaveB, I don't care how many software projects you've done. You're not in this one, so you don't know what you're talking about.

[pompack]

ORIGINAL: DaveB

..and this "The Admiral’s Edition expansion is currently scheduled for an early Summer, 2008 release." was therefore PR spin, or somebody not appreciating what the job entailed - both are still under the general heading of management of the project Don.

[8|]

Green button time again

[Yamato hugger]

What this moron, and yes I will call him a moron, doesnt seem to realize (although it has been said time and time again on the boards) is none of us are being paid to work on this and thus isnt a "formal project" that needs a budget and beancounters beating our brows. It has taken longer to do than a "normal" project simply because we have real jobs and other issues that dont allow us to each work on this 40 - 60 - 80 hours a week.

Private to DaveB: Put together your own team and do your own thing. No one is stopping you. I mean clearly you have the knowledge and skills to do it in no time flat since you see fit to comment on it. Have at it, I will be happy to see what you come up with. Take care.

[Dixie]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Quite frankly, DaveB, I don't care how many software projects you've done. You're not in this one, so you don't know what you're talking about.

It's too late Terminus, I now have a new hero and idol [:'(]

You don't need me to say it, but just keep plugging away chaps, no-one wants a horrible buggy game released too early. Except Dave maybe? [8|]

P.S. Now? [:D]

[Captain Cruft]

It was clear when this was announced that it would be a long time coming. That's why I bugged out for a while and only started looking at the forums again recently.

When you look at all the goodness thus far revealed, I really cannot see how any form of complaint is even remotely justified. They're doing it in their spare time!

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: DaveB

I stand by my original point - these countless pages of 'this is what it's like' and 'this is how my latest AAR went' suggest a lot of beta testers having fun while everything is endlessly tweaked - that isn't a good sign.

Having been the project manager for a Mod almost as large as AE (EB for RTW), let me assure you that Beta Testers aren't "having fun". The coders make a bunch of changes, the beta testers play a short way in to make sure the changes worked as advertised (maybe, maybe not), they write detailed reports for project management, and then the whole process repeats with the next set of changes. Do that a hundred times, and "fun" is not what you're experiencing. It took me two years before I actually wanted to play a full EB Campaign in RTW.

If you're detecting joy at the moment, it's probably a combination of "I can't believe this is actually working" and "the end is finally frickin' in sight". Nobody wants to release this more than those guys, believe me.

[DaveB]

Okay,
have fun all. Flipperwash, thanks for the reasoned argument - it wasn't visible when I sent my last post otherwise I'd have posted a thanks sooner, similarly to Kull...although to me it still gives the wrong impression to see so much posted over such a lengthy period.
 
To the rest, I'm sorry you feel the need for abusiveness in reply, I do hope you all get AE eventually, and that you enjoy playing it. Goodbye.

[jwilkerson]

ORIGINAL: DaveB

..and this "The Admiral’s Edition expansion is currently scheduled for an early Summer, 2008 release." was therefore PR spin, or somebody not appreciating what the job entailed - both are still under the general heading of management of the project Don.

Well I would be the "Project Manager" you are hunting to beat on. I've been doing software projects for plenty of eons, but this one actually seems to more resemble publishing a book, than creating a piece of software. The traditional, scope, schedule, resources paradigm, is still there to be sure, but the publisher gets to change the priorities of what the team thought we were doing and also gets to have "great ideas" at random points through the project. Also, the publisher doesn't put a priority on dates. That's probably the biggest difference between this project and those I do "in the real world". In my day job, dates rule. Not on this project. Also the nature of our team and our "comp model" is such that while we can have plenty of resources, you can't motivate someone by threatening their job - in fact most team members would probably be joyous if I let them quit! [:D].
As has been mentioned a number of times - the key disconnect in the prediction of when we would be done was the AI. The publishers expecations in that regard were different from our team - and after we got aligned - we realized we had to rewrite the AI "script processor" to get it do work the way we needed it to work for AE. That aspect of the project essentially explains the delay - and while this has been mentioned a number of times, we can't expect everyone to keep up - so I'll mention it again!