the release date

[jwilkerson]

ORIGINAL: TR Shrum

I'm about to ask a very dumb or insulting question.  My apologies in advance.

Why all the secrets as to a general or tenative release date?  We're all going to buy a copy.
Why all the secrets as to how many scenarios are included and what they are?  There will be more than expected and we will all love it.  We'll then make our own.
Why all the secrets as to how many aircraft/ship types/classes there are?  We'll all be doing hand-springs over what's included.  Then we'll add more of our own.  If I want F5Us (Flying Pancakes) and they are not provided, I'll do it myself.

I understand marketing concepts but...

Maybe it's my low IQ, but why the suspense?

Might this be Terry Shrum of original WITP fame? (I'm one of those old timers myself - well at least minus the fame - but seem to recall your newletter - a couple of decades back).

Any who - there are no secrets about these items - most of these have been posted about over and over again - all except the release date - and the reason we haven't posted that is that no one knows the date - hence it cannot be posted! Once the game goes GOLD (i.e. the AE Team releases the game to the Production Team) then the release date will be "soon".

To recap the status (which has also been commented on numerous times) we hit a snag back in June with our inability to get the AI to do what we wanted it to do. So we wrote a new AI Processor - that is now done and we are working it through its paces. Otherwise testing and issue resolution continues.

[kaleun]

Cheers! Some news.
I vote for December 7th release.

[undercovergeek]

ORIGINAL: jwilkerson


Once the game goes GOLD (i.e. the AE Team releases the game to the Production Team) then the release date will be "soon".

To recap the status (which has also been commented on numerous times) we hit a snag back in June with our inability to get the AI to do what we wanted it to do. So we wrote a new AI Processor - that is now done and we are working it through its paces. Otherwise testing and issue resolution continues.

Dare i ask that you may have a 'rough idea' of how long YOU have to go before passing over the sacred item to the production team?

roughly

-ish

[Terminus]

You apparently "dare ask", but you won't get an answer... And you should know that by now...[:-][:'(]

[undercovergeek]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

You apparently "dare ask", but you won't get an answer... And you should know that by now...[:-][:'(]

sigh!!! a week of trying, retires to hole for another............... day to see if its ready tomorrow!!!!!

I know, i know, the thought occured to me, like the group that finally sent the cheque to Tim Robbins' character in Shawshank Redemption with a note saying please dont write to us anymore, that you would just cave and say 'Christs sake man - heres your early copy, now **** off!!!!'

[ny59giants]

December 7th is not too far away. [;)]
I imagine that date cannot get here fast enough for many members here as they will look for "something" to come out. Some here will need to get their anti-anxiety medications refilled before then. [:D]

As for me, I've already sent my letter to Santa telling him how good I've been this year and "only" want one thing for Christmas.

[MadmanRick]

Here's the thing, I have played WitP as much as the next fanatic, in fact I recently completed a multi-year campaign as the Japanese, that ran for a looong time. But, what I don't understand is all this "when can I have it?" stuff. I mean it isn't as though by continually asking, they'll relent and foist it upon us in beta form (hopefully NOT anyway). I am waiting to plop my bucks down like any other rabid fan, I just feel that as long as they are still at work on it, then at least in theory, it isn't vaporware and I can wait until it's ready! In the meantime, I've discovered a few other great games and that wouldn't have been possible, if AE had come out any earlier. Also, from a business point of view (which all game companies must be by default or design), I'm sure Matrix would like to release it as soon as humanly possible to begin to recoup at least some of the costs and to affect the bottom line. So if it were a releasable product they would have put it out already, it isn't as though they are withholding it to torture us.

[undercovergeek]

ORIGINAL: MadmanRick

it isn't as though they are withholding it to torture us.

do you know Terminus????? if any iota of release decision is within his grap - hes going to make you weep before you get it!

Dont get me wrong, i dont want an early release, or a beta or an unfinished project, i dont want them to rush it - all ive ever attempted to get out of the team is a rough release date to save me coming on here every day like a giddy puppy looking out for a thread in capital letters, and little fireworks around it, saying something like 'its GOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD' - its not going to happen, but i think its polite to ask just to show im still interested [;)]

[Terminus]

Well, luckily for you, no iota of release decision is within my grasp...

It's in the grasp of people who are much, much, MUCH meaner than I...[:'(]

[undercovergeek]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Well, luckily for you, no iota of release decision is within my grasp...

It's in the grasp of people who are much, much, MUCH meaner than I...[:'(]

[:D]

[Q-Ball]

There is a silver lining. Please confirm AE team, but I bet the longer it's being kicked around, the more you are finding, and fixing, bugs that would normally only be found post-release.

I for one don't want to start AE campaigns and have to restart them several times because of some serious bugs. I would prefer a later release and a cleaner product.

I am happy to wait if it's good!

[Terminus]

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

There is a silver lining. Please confirm AE team, but I bet the longer it's being kicked around, the more you are finding, and fixing, bugs that would normally only be found post-release.

We're finding plenty of stuff.

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: jwilkerson
To recap the status (which has also been commented on numerous times) we hit a snag back in June with our inability to get the AI to do what we wanted it to do. So we wrote a new AI Processor - that is now done and we are working it through its paces. Otherwise testing and issue resolution continues.

I will spare people the gory details of my experience with other projects, but Joe has pointed out the crux of the problem. When you are working on a massive software project (which is exactly what this is), things NEVER go exactly as planned. It's all well and good to lay out a high level organizational plan, with milestones and multiple parallel activities, but inevitably bugs appear that slow things down. Even worse, sometimes you discover architecture issues, and those can be serious enough to scuttle the entire project - at a minimum they'll accelerate hair loss and cause team-wide dismay, sometimes even disillusionment. It's enough to make a project manager weep, but you have to stay focused and work the problem. And usually it will all work out. But what it will NEVER do is this: Be exactly the product you envisioned at the start.

Trust me, it's a lot less frustrating to to be a mildly disappointed outsider then to be on the team and running the 50th mind numbing test on some esoteric part of the game that most people will never notice UNLESS you don't fix the #$$%^ thing.

(Edit to make it clear I'm not commenting on this as an AE Team member...which I am not)

[Andy Mac]

Only 50th I am up to my Century of long range v AI tests it takes time..... we are going as fast as we can.
 
I ran an AI v AI game until June 43 over last 48 hours and its starting to look good Japanese AI is starting to behave Allied AI needs more work but we are doing everything we can.

[m10bob]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

ORIGINAL: Q-Ball

There is a silver lining. Please confirm AE team, but I bet the longer it's being kicked around, the more you are finding, and fixing, bugs that would normally only be found post-release.

We're finding plenty of stuff.

I warned them of the now infamous "Brewster Buffalo bonus"..

[Terminus]

Warned us? We're counting on it![:'(]

[Kull]

ORIGINAL: Andy Mac

Only 50th I am up to my Century of long range v AI tests it takes time..... we are going as fast as we can.

You have my heartfelt sympathy [:(]

I ran an AI v AI game until June 43 over last 48 hours and its starting to look good Japanese AI is starting to behave Allied AI needs more work

That's very encouraging. It appears that the gardeners have the Japanese "forest" properly trimmed and arranged. And from the 50,000 foot level, I can sort of see why the Allied woodlands are going to be a challenge - especially the transition from defense to offense. [X(]

but we are doing everything we can.

No doubts here. [&o]

[mbatch729]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

The latter. Art is done by far more talented people than me.

Terminus,

I've got a pet project I'm working on (surface naval combat sim). Who'd be the best person for me to get in touch w/regarding the ship database? I'd like to "steal" it if I could. But, I'm guessing that Matrix (understandably), would like to keep it their property.

[Terminus]

You guess correctly. You'll either have to do your own research, or wait for the product to be released.

[MadmanRick]

ORIGINAL: undercovergeek

ORIGINAL: MadmanRick

it isn't as though they are withholding it to torture us.

do you know Terminus????? if any iota of release decision is within his grap - hes going to make you weep before you get it!

Dont get me wrong, i dont want an early release, or a beta or an unfinished project, i dont want them to rush it - all ive ever attempted to get out of the team is a rough release date to save me coming on here every day like a giddy puppy looking out for a thread in capital letters, and little fireworks around it, saying something like 'its GOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD' - its not going to happen, but i think its polite to ask just to show im still interested [;)]

Terminus will not be making any release decision by his lonesome, if at all. The development team will release what they consider the "finished" product and then Matrix will decide to release, if and when, they see fit. Terminus is simply reacting to the somewhat juvenile "is it here yet" questions and if you allow that kind of stuff to "torture" you, then go for it! The plain and simple point is that there is NO appox. release date that can be released. How can they set a date for something, when they do not know when it will finally be ready? As they squash one bug, 3 or 4 others may pop up in it's place, so how can they estimate when those things will be completed? It'll be done, when it's done, period.