"Gamestar" Interview with Bernd

ThommoHawk · Post by **ThommoHawk** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 01:39

OK, so since release day I have had I sneaking, unpleasant suspicion of what is really wrong with XRebirth. It is Egosoft. Egosoft is in real trouble.

The CEO, Bernd himself, may be ill, or something like that. It is the main thing that comes to mind when I'm trying to explain his attitude to myself. He trashes past games trying to promote XRebirth and then;

Denial
Denial
Denial
Denial
well ok there are a few bugs to sort out but everything else is great ...

Denial
Denial
Denial

Old Proverb "The fish will always decompose from the head down".

Bernd ... mate ... sorry ... but

*** You Have Lost Recognition ***

but hey, cheer up, as we all know; recognition can be regained through some hard work and sincerity ...

jasonbarron · Post by **jasonbarron** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 01:52

ThommoHawk, you missed caplocking a few words there in your post...seriously, you people need to smoke some spaceweed and dial back the rage a bit. Egosoft sold you a game that you didn't like, they didn't steal your life savings.

The article, awkwardly translated from the German, clearly stated, among other things, that Bernd was very upset by the problems that have beset the release, is sorry that people are upset/dissatisfied, and reasserted once again that Egosoft is absolutely committed to continued support of the game in the form of ongoing patches to stabilize the program as well as future added content patches.

The fact that people are driven to rage by Bernd's statements in this article is like watching the zombie outbreak in World War Z

Noimageavaiable · Post by **Noimageavaiable** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 01:57

jasonbarron wrote:awkwardly translated from the German

I'm looking forward to your translation then, since mine is so inferior and seems to have missed the point entirely. I assumed Bernd was dismissing discussion of features with fans as pointless and talking about how the new game must be faster to draw in new players and if hardcore fans don't like that then thats too bad for them but according to your enlightened opinion it seems he was saying the opposite.

Lazerath · Post by **Lazerath** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 01:59

werewolves? wrote:Bernd essentially addresses everything that people complain about and request answers for, but of course this will all be completely ignored and we will still get all the "riddle me this Bernd!??" and "Y dun u apologise 2 me Bernd!!!" threads and posts.

So this is an acceptable answer to the following Question in your opinion? (Seriously want your opinion on this)

GS: So disregarding bugs the controls are especially in the beginning of the game good in your opinion?

Bernd: For the things you can do in the early game, yes. Trade with one ship, when you want to transport small amounts of goods, is sufficient. There are certainly things that can be improved but as long as you only have one ship it works actually. Difficulty arises when you want to concentrate on trade, which of course is something (not only) our old fans want. They want to control and build large fleets. We have yet to expand those features. There the UI isn't good.

Trade with one ship? He states that you can do a helluva lot more then simply trade with one ship and its advertised as doing a helluva lot more then trade with only one ship. Bernd talks about this in the videos about having a bunch of traders and stations and building your empire... Then admits that none of that really works the way its supposed too and only works well for ONE SHIP!

That is why I disagree with your statement and so much more I have not mentioned about his little Q & A session. But I am curious about your opinion from someone elses perspective!

jasonbarron · Post by **jasonbarron** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:05

@Noimage--if you really want my interpretation of the article, just read the post of mine your quoting from again.

Noimageavaiable · Post by **Noimageavaiable** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:08

jasonbarron wrote:@Noimage--if you really want my interpretation of the article, just read the post of mine your quoting from again.

I didn't ask for your interpretation, I asked for your translation. Since you were so dismissive of the other I figured you would obviously provide us with your own, superior version.

Sandalpocalypse · Post by **Sandalpocalypse** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:11

Any fan of space simulations will find the UI in X Rebirth easy to use and much more intuitive, but the 'Trade, Fight, Build, Think' gameplay elements and interaction remain as deep as X game fans have come to expect" - Bernd Lehahn

if you interpreted this as 'Rebirth will have every feature of previous titles' then you were incorrect. TBFT is Egosoft's design philosophy, not a features list. Every previous X game has emphasized TBFT, it doesn't mean they all have the same features.

If you poke around in the mission files for example you can see how the missions are themed along those lines. Trade, fight, and build are obvious. Think is stuff like hacking stations to manipulate prices.

Trade with one ship? He states that you can do a helluva lot more then simply trade with one ship and its advertised as doing a helluva lot more then trade with only one ship. Bernd talks about this in the videos about having a bunch of traders and stations and building your empire... Then admits that none of that really works the way its supposed too and only works well for ONE SHIP!

Not really sure what you are on about. You can trade with far more than one ship and build stations, bugs and economic difficulty notwithstanding.

Post by **Santi** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:14

Thanks Cyb3rNinja for the link and Noimageavaiable for the translation. Nice interview, early access is a very positive note, as it the commitment to keep patching and upgrading the game, but that is something that Egosoft has always done before. The much praised AP is the result of 10 years of development by Egosoft and the Community. I see Bernd really confident on what the engine can deliver. Yes, he is not falling on his knees and pulling at his hairs and throwing ashes in his face. He is the CEO of Egosoft, he knows that the launch was bad, reviews terrible, and you can see he is quite angry with himself for the mistakes made, but he needs to support his team, and keep them working in making the game better, and motivate them in the face of negative attitudes on the forums because of the bad release.

There are also a huge amount of players that are happy with the purchase and the game, that are happy to wait and see, what the future brings. Good sales for X Rebirth is really good news, that means that Egosoft has the cash to fix and improve the current game.

Architekton · Post by **Architekton** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:14

Well it sure is funny to see the forum rage reach a entirely new level each time Bernd goes on record. Maybe, just guessing here, the way things are getting communicated by him, could do with a bit of polishing?

It doesn't exactly require a psychology PHD to know that apologizing while simultaniously backstabbing everyone who gives a damn, doesn't produce a feeling of the genuine article with the average person listening in.

Lets wrap it up:

-We have new landingspads. Apparently the old landingpads were even worse than the new ones.
I can only imagine just how much worse but they must have been an utter disaster for this to get any priority that late in the development-cycle of a game.

-A lot of features were added quite late in development too.
Given the fact the final game isn't exactly feature-rich, one can only
deduct the game must have been something along the lines of a vacum starbowl before this happened.

-The UI isn't going to get changed much. Makes perfect sense to me.
I haven't read anyone commenting something bad on the UI so why go there indeed.

-Performance issues will get top priority. Things will be tested and any issues encountered will be ehm...yeah. What exactly? Gone? Probably not.
It's not like engine-coding comes with a bunch of switches stating 'If you find yourself needing extra performance, please apply these!'

-The game was tested a bit late. Ah well. Things happen. No biggie.
I'm sure all testers involved just rolled over stating 'Great Game!'
Or did they? Poor testers of Rebirth. Not only did they waste their time,
they also get a nice boot-print on their asses for a thank you.

The game is bad. When performance will be improved by 5%, most of the showstopping bugs will be squashed and some much needed content
will be released via 'forgive us please' DLC format, it will still be bad.
Everybody knowing something in the industry has spoken unanumously.
Everyone thinks its a bad game. Everyone except for those not giving a frak or those getting rich by not giving a damn.

jasonbarron · Post by **jasonbarron** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:19

Noimageavaiable wrote:
jasonbarron wrote:@Noimage--if you really want my interpretation of the article, just read the post of mine your quoting from again.
I didn't ask for your interpretation, I asked for your translation. Since you were so dismissive of the other I figured you would obviously provide us with your own, superior version.

Sorry, Noimage--I misunderstood your point. No, when I said "awkwardly translated from the German" I was not in any way referring to the job you did translating it (in truth, I didn't even know you translated it at all), I was simply referring to the fact that translating with Google leave lots of room for mis-interpretation in an article of that length.

Alee Enn · Post by **Alee Enn** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:21

leecarter wrote:It's a pretty disgusting way to treat your customers really, but you know what they say, fool me once...

George Bush says hello

ThommoHawk · Post by **ThommoHawk** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:24

jasonbarron wrote:ThommoHawk, you missed caplocking a few words there in your post...seriously, you people need to smoke some spaceweed and dial back the rage a bit. Egosoft sold you a game that you didn't like, they didn't steal your life savings.

... snipped ...

The fact that people are driven to rage by Bernd's statements in this article is like watching the zombie outbreak in World War Z

Hey jasonbarren, thanks for the cooldown advice - when I looked at my post again I scared myself even, so I have toned it down a bit just for you mate ...

Well, I'm not mad about Rebirth at all really. I have had thousands of hours of gameplay from Egosoft and don't care about giving them a few bucks for Rebirth. It may even turn out that in the future I will like it (a bit).

What gets me is this: It is the many instances of Bernd's talking-down of the previous XUniverse games in order to promote XRebirth that takes the cake. That does make me boil a bit. I don't understand it at all.

Bernd; please stop trashing the XUniverse (Trilogy) games! Your own games man! yeah.

Wise saying: "Do not make poo in your own nest, or you will soon be out of nest with arse on ground".

Philbie · Post by **Philbie** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:31

Wow! he dances around the questions like a fairy. He should take up politics; he’d fit in nicely.

calvindude · Post by **calvindude** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:42

Lazerath wrote:He lied saying that the game would scale across low, mid and high end systems, then admits they never even tested it on high end systems or owned any so how could he claim it scales on them when its never been tested..

THATS A LIE, THATS FALSE ADVERTISING!

No, that was an incorrect assumption on his part--an assumption that I guarantee nearly every single person on this forum would have made. That assumption is, "If this program works well on a mid-range computer, then it will definitely work well on a high-end computer." This assumption is wrong, yet not obviously so. It's easy to make that assumption. Hell, that's the whole reason why you base your decisions on the *MINIMUM* specs for games instead of whether it's been tested on your specific computer layout.

Pharoah · Post by **Pharoah** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:53

calvindude wrote:
Lazerath wrote:He lied saying that the game would scale across low, mid and high end systems, then admits they never even tested it on high end systems or owned any so how could he claim it scales on them when its never been tested..

THATS A LIE, THATS FALSE ADVERTISING!
No, that was an incorrect assumption on his part--an assumption that I guarantee nearly every single person on this forum would have made. That assumption is, "If this program works well on a mid-range computer, then it will definitely work well on a high-end computer." This assumption is wrong, yet not obviously so. It's easy to make that assumption. Hell, that's the whole reason why you base your decisions on the *MINIMUM* specs for games instead of whether it's been tested on your specific computer layout.

A proper game developer wouldn't have made that "assumption"

calvindude · Post by **calvindude** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 02:57

UnclePaulie wrote:Its a mess and staying that way ............................ thanks lovers

Less than 2,000 players today ....................... I take it all the new fams only play offline ???

This interview has confirmed my worst fears, its time to crank up the refund campaign .

I think you might need to take a break from venting on every forum in existence. I can spot your posts instantly now.

ThommoHawk · Post by **ThommoHawk** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 03:03

OK, I take it all back... apologies to Bernd for my previous lapse of faith.

So Bernd;

*** You Have Gained Recognition ***

thanks to LV himself!
link (about 3/4 page down):
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php? ... c&start=30

LV has returned! ... and I always pay close attention to this one, as the force is great indeed. (Hi LV) no, im NOT being funny, I mean it.

Read it or Perish.

oh I am so confused I don't know what to think anymore ... time for a quick StarCraft 2 binge or something. Nothing like something with definite beginning and a conclusive ending atm ...

kuplo · Post by **kuplo** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 03:08

Trillsiker wrote: Any fan of space simulations will find the UI in X Rebirth easy to use and much more intuitive, but the 'Trade, Fight, Build, Think' gameplay elements and interaction remain as deep as X game fans have come to expect" - Bernd Lehahn

Every time that I see that quote from Bernd, it seriously gets me all steamed up

Lazerath · Post by **Lazerath** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 03:33

kuplo wrote:
Trillsiker wrote: Any fan of space simulations will find the UI in X Rebirth easy to use and much more intuitive, but the 'Trade, Fight, Build, Think' gameplay elements and interaction remain as deep as X game fans have come to expect" - Bernd Lehahn
Every time that I see that quote from Bernd, it seriously gets me all steamed up

Thats another one of his lies..

Show me how the 'Trade, Fight, Build, Think' gameplay elements and interaction remain as deep as X game fans have come to expect" Bernd... The game I have installed on my PC called X-Rebirth is NO WHERE near the depth of the previous X Games. Your damn UI only properly handles ONE, COUNT IT, ONE FRACKING TRADE SHIP... You even says so in your interview...

Sigh.. Sorry.. getting worked up.. Was simply going to post that I agree with you... leaving the forums for a bit as I am letting this crap get me too aggrivated!

Cheers

thedesertwolf · Post by **thedesertwolf** » Thu, 5. Dec 13, 03:58

An amusing fact. Less than 30 years ago all business based "Success" was wholly related to "The Bottom Line" meaning that within three generations we have shifted away from what egosofts CEO is rather fond of quoting.

The reason being, at least from someone who has spent a bit too much times on the forums as of late, is as follows. I think he is from those generations and that sort of mindset does not easily bend or change gears. We shifted away very very recently from that mindset and quite a few people in positions of power and leadership are not exactly the greatest at adaptability or change.

On an aside, darn good to see LV around again. Provided some amazing little toys in his time and heck, looks like he'll be putting more up for AP. Happy to see that.

As far as the overall tone of the piece, not exactly certain where the rage is coming from other than he is attempting to stick with the values that he believes to be the most important for egosofts continued existence. For the design choices made during X:R, not what I would have chosen by a long shot and from a critical viewpoint deserving of the ratings it got, but at least they did state the following - I'ma paraphrase here because I can.

"We are going to stick with it and fix it up. It's what we do." - Egosoft is good at this end though this time around they won't be getting nearly as much help from the modders community from the sounds of it. Too much alienation going on there.