- VR cancer research and development
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- Joined: 06-April 06
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Hi everyone.
It's end of April and I know there has been a lot of expectations (including mine) for a release date.
One may ask, since the game is working, translations are done, the graphics are done, and the music is done, what's the hold up then?
I could enumerate a list of things but I'll concentrate on the 3 major aspects:
- Beta test is still going on: the game is super stable but some bugs are still being found. We can't, in our right mind, ignore those and go for release and rely on patches from day one. As long as there's a bug, there will be a fix until the game is as smooth as the original.
- Never-ending perfectionism: During the development not only did we program some enhancements to the game such as the Director's Cut, but also some other improvements are being made to make Pier Solar better in usability and gameplay. Some of these improvements came a bit late in the project but we considered them essential for this release. Don't worry. We're not adding new things every day, our scope is 100% closed by now, but some extra dev time was added due to those new features.
- There's bureaucracy involved: Only after the game passes WM's internal QA can we consider it Gold Master, and send to our distribution channels (Aka: Steam, PSN, XBLA, e-Shop...) and this process not only takes a bit of time but it also makes sure that our game is compliant with their standards. Only after we're certified, we'll be able to get a final release date.
Believe me when I say, nobody wants this date more than I do; however, due to these factors and some more, it's impossible for me to determine a final date. With that said, I'd like to get PSHD out and released before E3. While I can't be 100% sure that we'll make it in time, it is extremely important that we release in the month of June and not a day after it.
Other topic I'd like to mention is regarding the lack of communication. Well there's no excuse for it and I take full responsibility. What happens is that apart from the graphics, PSHD is being handled by two people: Our awesome programmer Chui and I. Chui is 100% focused on code, and I handle everything else... anyone who developed a game knows that there's much more to it than just code, graphics and music. And this "everything else" consumes a hell lot of my time. Along with Chui, everyday I'm clocking in at least 12 hours a day of nonstop work... and since I am the only one with access to post on Kickstarter and give news, days go by, then weeks and when I notice it has been over a month since the previous update. My sincere apologies: I'm really trying my best but working in game has been #1 task among everything in my life.
Last thing I'd like to talk about is about our recent focus on Dreamcast features. At the beginning of the updates we didn't give proper time to the Dreamcast stuff and I felt like compensating about it recently. Apparently I overcompensated and caused the PC backers to feel left out. Again it was my fault and I apologize. I'll cover platforms equally as much as I can in future updates.
One thing that PC backers can rest assured, as I explained previously is that all platforms are developed in parallel, and the way we set up our framework means that one development serves all platforms, so there's no delay on the PC when we work on Dreamcast and vice-versa, in fact, all features we implement are actually tested on the PC first then on any other machine, it's more practical that way since there's no need to get up from the chair to test.
<appleStyle>One more thing...</appleStyle> Xbox 360 backers are probably wondering why there aren't any news about it. Well, our current license with Microsoft only allows us to publish on Xbox One, but for 360 it is still pretty much the same complications as the ones that everyone knows about. We didn't give up yet, but if a 360 release does happen, it will be after the main release of PSHD. So once we have a release date, I will send a survey to the 360 backers with an option to switch to their platform of choice.
I'm sorry that this update isn't exactly cheerful but I just wanted to assure you that at WM we are always transparent and want to make sure you're understanding all that is happening during the development of the game. I know the updates aren't as frequent as you (and I) would like them to be but rest assured that the delayed updates are simply because I'm crazy busy, and not because we're avoiding to talk about those things. WM was originated from the community of gamers and today, like yesterday and forever, you will always be our number one priority.
Until next time (soon I hope).
Tulio
It's end of April and I know there has been a lot of expectations (including mine) for a release date.
One may ask, since the game is working, translations are done, the graphics are done, and the music is done, what's the hold up then?
I could enumerate a list of things but I'll concentrate on the 3 major aspects:
- Beta test is still going on: the game is super stable but some bugs are still being found. We can't, in our right mind, ignore those and go for release and rely on patches from day one. As long as there's a bug, there will be a fix until the game is as smooth as the original.
- Never-ending perfectionism: During the development not only did we program some enhancements to the game such as the Director's Cut, but also some other improvements are being made to make Pier Solar better in usability and gameplay. Some of these improvements came a bit late in the project but we considered them essential for this release. Don't worry. We're not adding new things every day, our scope is 100% closed by now, but some extra dev time was added due to those new features.
- There's bureaucracy involved: Only after the game passes WM's internal QA can we consider it Gold Master, and send to our distribution channels (Aka: Steam, PSN, XBLA, e-Shop...) and this process not only takes a bit of time but it also makes sure that our game is compliant with their standards. Only after we're certified, we'll be able to get a final release date.
Believe me when I say, nobody wants this date more than I do; however, due to these factors and some more, it's impossible for me to determine a final date. With that said, I'd like to get PSHD out and released before E3. While I can't be 100% sure that we'll make it in time, it is extremely important that we release in the month of June and not a day after it.
Other topic I'd like to mention is regarding the lack of communication. Well there's no excuse for it and I take full responsibility. What happens is that apart from the graphics, PSHD is being handled by two people: Our awesome programmer Chui and I. Chui is 100% focused on code, and I handle everything else... anyone who developed a game knows that there's much more to it than just code, graphics and music. And this "everything else" consumes a hell lot of my time. Along with Chui, everyday I'm clocking in at least 12 hours a day of nonstop work... and since I am the only one with access to post on Kickstarter and give news, days go by, then weeks and when I notice it has been over a month since the previous update. My sincere apologies: I'm really trying my best but working in game has been #1 task among everything in my life.
Last thing I'd like to talk about is about our recent focus on Dreamcast features. At the beginning of the updates we didn't give proper time to the Dreamcast stuff and I felt like compensating about it recently. Apparently I overcompensated and caused the PC backers to feel left out. Again it was my fault and I apologize. I'll cover platforms equally as much as I can in future updates.
One thing that PC backers can rest assured, as I explained previously is that all platforms are developed in parallel, and the way we set up our framework means that one development serves all platforms, so there's no delay on the PC when we work on Dreamcast and vice-versa, in fact, all features we implement are actually tested on the PC first then on any other machine, it's more practical that way since there's no need to get up from the chair to test.
<appleStyle>One more thing...</appleStyle> Xbox 360 backers are probably wondering why there aren't any news about it. Well, our current license with Microsoft only allows us to publish on Xbox One, but for 360 it is still pretty much the same complications as the ones that everyone knows about. We didn't give up yet, but if a 360 release does happen, it will be after the main release of PSHD. So once we have a release date, I will send a survey to the 360 backers with an option to switch to their platform of choice.
I'm sorry that this update isn't exactly cheerful but I just wanted to assure you that at WM we are always transparent and want to make sure you're understanding all that is happening during the development of the game. I know the updates aren't as frequent as you (and I) would like them to be but rest assured that the delayed updates are simply because I'm crazy busy, and not because we're avoiding to talk about those things. WM was originated from the community of gamers and today, like yesterday and forever, you will always be our number one priority.
Until next time (soon I hope).
Tulio
Got the Dreamcast version coming to pair along with my Genesis/Sega CD version. So stoked, Pier Solar is excellent.
