Rebirth release date. - Part 2

Ratzsa · Post by **Ratzsa** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 12:14

The Steam thing is interesting. I have seen games being on preorder for half a year on Steam, and it's not uncommon for games to get a page on Steam exactly for preorder reasons.
But if you don't get bonuses for preordering, you don't have a reason to preorder. And I haven't read anything about any preorder bonuses. So it probably means nothing.

jamesormiston · Post by **jamesormiston** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 13:42

I don't want to be one of those guys who just bitch and bitch, but I feel really let down here

I've been following this game since it was announced and chose to believe throughout this whole communications blackout that they were just trying to build towards something big, needling us with little things for a while, then slowing to a stop to whip everyone into a frenzy before "BOOM!", big reveal!
But even that optimistic idea has broken down, cause it feels like even if they are doing that they've overplayed their hand by a long way now

We just want to know that there is still going to be a game this year, cause it's been 2 years now with little more than a few pictures of drones to go on...just feels like a harsh way to trust inexplicably loyal fans...
I'm not having a go at the developers, I'm sure they're working hard to get this game out in a reasonable time to a fantastic quality, this is directed at whoever at the top chose this "no communication" approach...it just seems counterproductive and in the long run has, I'm sure, lost them a lot of respect

Post by **X2-Illuminatus** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 13:53

jamesormiston wrote:We just want to know that there is still going to be a game this year

[url=http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=4026642#4026642]Here[/url] CBJ wrote:
delray wrote:It's not 2013, is it?
We're still on track for a release this year.

Ratzsa · Post by **Ratzsa** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 14:16

Look at it this way: It could be much much worse. You could be lied to by an arrogant dick claiming the game would be super amazing and have fantastic graphics, and when it releases it has graphics barely worthy of a PS2 and everything works like shit. And when people protest the AD tries to distract you from it by talking about an older game. Has happened recently. Think Aliens.
Sometimes ignorance IS bliss.

jamesormiston · Post by **jamesormiston** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 14:25

delray wrote:
It's not 2013, is it?

Here CBJ wrote:
We're still on track for a release this year.

I know what they've said, but they said that in 2011 too...and 2012...
Its getting harder and harder to trust their optimism

Voyadjyer · Post by **Voyadjyer** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 15:13

jamesormiston wrote:

delray wrote:
It's not 2013, is it?

Here CBJ wrote:
We're still on track for a release this year.
I know what they've said, but they said that in 2011 too...and 2012...
Its getting harder and harder to trust their optimism

I agree! We already heard it, twice.

eladan · Post by **eladan** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 15:22

jamesormiston wrote:I know what they've said, but they said that in 2011 too...and 2012...
Its getting harder and harder to trust their optimism

Soooo, let me see if I have this right...

You want someone to tell you that the game will be released this year, but you won't believe someone who tells you the game will be released this year.

I think my brain just exploded.

Voyadjyer · Post by **Voyadjyer** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 15:30

I want screenshots or movies or release date at last! or at least some information about what stage is the development of, what troubles and problems faced by developers. at least some information.

jamesormiston · Post by **jamesormiston** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 15:49

eladan wrote:
jamesormiston wrote:I know what they've said, but they said that in 2011 too...and 2012...
Its getting harder and harder to trust their optimism
Soooo, let me see if I have this right...

You want someone to tell you that the game will be released this year, but you won't believe someone who tells you the game will be released this year.

I think my brain just exploded.

Read it again, I'm not asking for a simple confirmation that yes, the game is going to be out this year, I'm asking for some proof that it will be...
This information blackout has lead a lot of people to wonder if anything at all is actually happening behind the scenes and if the game is progressing?
Maybe the company is struggling?
Maybe Rebirth is being considered for cancellation by the higher ups so they don't want to release new info till they decide if it will go ahead?
Maybe its already cancelled and someone, somewhere is fighting for its reinstatement before the cancellation is announced formally...?

Those last two may seem like quite a stretch, but that's my point, we just don't know. This game is about a year past the stage at which a mod would be declared "dead" by its fans if no one saw progress for so long.

I know that a few people have written this game off as "dead" in their own minds, I have friends who are X fans who have totally given up on it due to this systematic shunning by those in the know, and I very nearly joined them myself.

Assuming the game is still progressing and all is genuinely well...I don't see what their game is here....how is this helping?

Dupin · Post by **Dupin** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 15:55

I do not care when the game comes out - this year or next. But I want that to "Rebirth" was complex and technologically advanced, ofcourse it takes much time. Video and screenshots of the alpha-version are already obsolete. When progress in development comes, EGO will show us something.

jamesormiston · Post by **jamesormiston** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 16:06

Dupin wrote:I do not care when the game comes out - this year or next. But I want that to "Rebirth" was complex and technologically advanced, ofcourse it takes much time. Video and screenshots of the alpha-version are already obsolete. When progress in development comes, EGO will show us something.

This was my position a year ago o.o

EmperorJon · Post by **EmperorJon** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 16:16

Considering that as far as anyone outside knows X:R is the only project they're working on right now, I doubt it'd be cancelled... That would be suicide for the company. I think I'll say this for this last time only... This game's delay is smaller than many I've seen before. Not only that, but you should consider we never actually got an official date. If they'd aactually said "The 15th of October 2011" and missed it, then I would understand, but the highest level of accuracy they gave was effectively just "This year, probably near the end."

jamesormiston · Post by **jamesormiston** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 16:26

EmperorJon wrote:Considering that as far as anyone outside knows X:R is the only project they're working on right now, I doubt it'd be cancelled... That would be suicide for the company. I think I'll say this for this last time only... This game's delay is smaller than many I've seen before. Not only that, but you should consider we never actually got an official date. If they'd aactually said "The 15th of October 2011" and missed it, then I would understand, but the highest level of accuracy they gave was effectively just "This year, probably near the end."

I agree o.o But from a confident estimate of Q4 2011 to one of (most likely) Q4 2013 is still a bit of a setback, and such a movement with no contact to the fans as to the reasoning still seems a little thoughtless.

Night Nord · Post by **Night Nord** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 16:28

1th April: Bernd official open letter: "We have an exiting news today: we absolutely surely confirm that there is still no release date available! And, BTW, we still in love with Steam."

EmperorJon · Post by **EmperorJon** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 16:44

But they HAVE given is reason: the game isn't finished yet!

Post by **CBJ** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 16:56

jamesormiston wrote:Maybe the company is struggling?
Maybe Rebirth is being considered for cancellation by the higher ups so they don't want to release new info till they decide if it will go ahead?
Maybe its already cancelled and someone, somewhere is fighting for its reinstatement before the cancellation is announced formally...?

The game has not been cancelled and to my knowledge there has been no consideration of cancellation. As I have said on numerous occasions, all of us are still working hard on it. I wouldn't be reading this thread and posting replies saying we were working on it if this were not the case, because a) that would make me a liar and b) I would probably be out of a job if the game had been cancelled anyway!

I'm afraid I don't fully understand the logic of writing something off as "dead" just because you don't have an endless stream of information about it. It is perfectly normal for there to be a fanfare at initial announcement time, then a long-ish pause, and then a much bigger fanfare in the month or two leading up to release. It's perhaps worth reminding people that a key component of any marketing campaign is timing. Running one too far in advance of release makes no sense, as you want the game to be in people's mind when it's available, not months before. Similarly running one for months on end, or giving away too much information before you start, risks spoiling the impact of the campaign with people feeling that you're just re-hashing material they've already seen.

Of course I do understand the frustration of wanting to know more about something you are looking forward to. It's like wanting to know what's in the carefully-wrapped presents you see around the house in the days or weeks leading up to Christmas when you're a kid. And in some ways, the reasons parents don't let you peek are the same reasons that developers and publishers save up the best material for the pre-release publicity.

Perhaps another reason people seem to be expecting something different is the recent explosion of crowd-funded development, which requires a completely different approach. This is essentially because they are asking people to "buy" the product at the start of the development process rather than at the end, and that, of course, means that marketing has to start right at the beginning of the process rather than towards the end. It also means that those people who have already put up money have to be kept informed, much as a developer following the traditional model needs to keep their publisher or other financial backer informed. Different development models require different approaches, though, and the fact that this is the right approach for a crowd-funded game does not suddenly mean that it's the right approach for a traditionally-funded game.

EmperorJon · Post by **EmperorJon** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 17:15

Well said.

Freeman_79 · Post by **Freeman_79** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 17:32

Amen CBJ.

jamesormiston · Post by **jamesormiston** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 17:37

CBJ wrote:
jamesormiston wrote:Maybe the company is struggling?
Maybe Rebirth is being considered for cancellation by the higher ups so they don't want to release new info till they decide if it will go ahead?
Maybe its already cancelled and someone, somewhere is fighting for its reinstatement before the cancellation is announced formally...?
The game has not been cancelled and to my knowledge there has been no consideration of cancellation. As I have said on numerous occasions, all of us are still working hard on it. I wouldn't be reading this thread and posting replies saying we were working on it if this were not the case, because a) that would make me a liar and b) I would probably be out of a job if the game had been cancelled anyway!

I'm afraid I don't fully understand the logic of writing something off as "dead" just because you don't have an endless stream of information about it. It is perfectly normal for there to be a fanfare at initial announcement time, then a long-ish pause, and then a much bigger fanfare in the month or two leading up to release. It's perhaps worth reminding people that a key component of any marketing campaign is timing. Running one too far in advance of release makes no sense, as you want the game to be in people's mind when it's available, not months before. Similarly running one for months on end, or giving away too much information before you start, risks spoiling the impact of the campaign with people feeling that you're just re-hashing material they've already seen.

Of course I do understand the frustration of wanting to know more about something you are looking forward to. It's like wanting to know what's in the carefully-wrapped presents you see around the house in the days or weeks leading up to Christmas when you're a kid. And in some ways, the reasons parents don't let you peek are the same reasons that developers and publishers save up the best material for the pre-release publicity.

Perhaps another reason people seem to be expecting something different is the recent explosion of crowd-funded development, which requires a completely different approach. This is essentially because they are asking people to "buy" the product at the start of the development process rather than at the end, and that, of course, means that marketing has to start right at the beginning of the process rather than towards the end. It also means that those people who have already put up money have to be kept informed, much as a developer following the traditional model needs to keep their publisher or other financial backer informed. Different development models require different approaches, though, and the fact that this is the right approach for a crowd-funded game does not suddenly mean that it's the right approach for a traditionally-funded game.

I get this, and I wasn't suggesting the game were actually cancelled as I pointed out, just that I have seen the alienation of the fans in all this secrecy, and as great as the final reveal may be what does a few screenshots or a goodwill video of content already announced (maybe a flyby of a capital ship, it need only be 7 seconds long) to keep everyone placated hurt in the sales or hype department as it wont hurt your final reveal? A few months of darkness, as you said, builds tension, but a couple of years makes the fans feel like they've been forgotten in favor of obscure marketing tactics, and the true strength of this game series lay, and still lies, in its fanbase...so it doesn't seem economically viable, let alone, polite, to leave them hanging for so long.

LTerSlash · Post by **LTerSlash** » Thu, 28. Feb 13, 17:57

The problem is, releasing a teaser video 2 years ago and them nothing, literally, make people belive the game was cancelled or its about to, every person i told and shared that teaser with, today, they either dont care or think the game was cancelled.