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...release this this month. I am going to purchase Across the Dnepr2 tonight - I DO NOT need the bad news that you've released this in May!

That's me with my selfish head on! [:D]

Oh there is nothing like a challenge! [;)]

Dave - I'm being serious [;)]

It's not a challenge! I've been waiting on this game for ages...I do NOT want you to release it when I'v espent my gaming budget!

But next month is fine! [;)]

JD - that's just like putting the snow shovel away and hoping the snow's gone for the year! Expect a blizzard [:D]

Judge my friend we agree on many things...but here I draw the line....then again I can't afford it on release myself....however I shall find away oh yes I shall...

ORIGINAL: Arjuna

Oh there is nothing like a challenge! [;)]

More like reverse psychology.

I wanted to buy this game while there was still some snow on the ground in New England, but I can always celebrate Christmas in July.

Joe - you saw through me. (I expect Dave did too).

I know it's pointless - Dave isn't going to release the game until it's ready...the last 2 years have taught me that! But it's just a "different" way of letting him know we care [;)]

Hurry up Dave [&o]

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

Joe - you saw through me. (I expect Dave did too).

I know it's pointless - Dave isn't going to release the game until it's ready...the last 2 years have taught me that! ...

Developers can be so different; Paradox releases titles that apparently were never beta-tested, then they re-sell the newly patched product w/a clever subtitle.

But Panther Games will dot every "i" until they perfect their product, even if it takes two more years!

Just goes to show how long it really takes to get as bug free a product as possible.....thats all great...my worry though is when Dave says he needs good sales this time around to carry on the series....maybe if he pushed the game out a little earlier and released two or three patches he could get started on the next title quicker...thus having a quicker turnover and more chance we will see furutre games...to be honest I am fretting that this maybe the last game or second to last we see from them due to financial worries. It will be a massive blow for PC wargaming in my humble opinion. To think of never having this engine in an East front setting is deeply worrying...as that wil be my wargame heaven.

Well don't forget that I think development on this was stifled because Dave had some defence work to carry out. Whilst he loves making games and would probably love it to be his sole business, he's got a head on his shoulders and knows the difficulties.

I don't think anyones sales suffer as a result of making people wait (unless another product of similar ilk is released - which they have no fear of). All that can come from Panther Games taking their time and getting a "close to" bug free product out the door is good customer will...and good feeling and good words from your customers is priceless and an intangible product so many companies either refuse to recognise or genuinely do not "get".

BtfB will be a polished game - it won't be bug free...it's impossible to make a bug free product - I genuinely believe that. The PC market is so full of differeing systems, someone somewhere will come across an issue. But it will be near bug free and when it's released, everyone who buys it can run about telling everyone else about the amazing system.

Sales problem solved [:D]

Paradox releases titles that apparently were never beta-tested,

I used to think so, but it seems this is not true.  There was indeed some beta group with HoI, etc.

While it may seem they recruited the worst players in the world, the real problem is most likely on the developer's side.  Often issues brought up are simply ignored when crunch time comes around.

You might not be able to release a bug-free product, but you can release one where the bugs are so trivial or rare that the vast majority of players never even notice them.

I was thinking back to a discussion I had on Total War games recently, making your game work properly counts for a lot. I'm never buying another TW game because they perpetually introduce dysfunctional new features whilst rarely sorting out errors or fallibilities in existing features. I mean, I swear the battlefield AI has got worse since Medieval:TW 1. How does that happen?

So I have to say, whilst my patience does get very sorely tested, at least I can feel happy I'm not risking my money on a half-broken game. That's why Panther gets my £££, and the likes of Creative Assembly does not.

Yeah, too many times we get a patch that only deals with compatability issues but doesn't fix the main gameplay bugs. I reallly don't care if joe blow can't get transparencies on his ATI vidcard but I DO care if my hastati end up killing more of each other than the enemy and then routing! In general I've found the COTA patches actually fixed things that really didn't have a major impact on what I was doing, except when I was losing and probably cursing the designers for being outright nasty! BFTB will be well worth waiting for.

Regards

Well, having bought all of Panthers titles, they do have bugs - I just never can recognize them. I think there was one exception - a couple releases ago the divisions would advance, occasionally with the command hq in the lead. IT was squashed pretty quickly IIRC. . .