DEV BLOG Leaving Alpha & Early Access: some clarifications. :)

Discussion in 'News & Announcements' started by Hummel-o-War, Jul 22, 2020.

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  1. Ganelon

    Ganelon Commander

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    So... you came to the forum to check on the progress... and this thread is the one you locked on. Not the 5 years of updates that dramatically change the meta of the game? Not the tons of new features? Not the expansive Workshop content? Okay.

    And if "91% positive reviews " are NOT a thing one should focus on in determining the worth of loading and giving the game another look-see, then please explain how the supposed "the negative reviews will finally destroy the echo-chamber"?

    One more thing... "playing games in the "sci-fi space exploration" setting for over 20 years now"... is that an argument based on authority? Trying to demonstrate your bona fides to make criticism? Dude, enjoyment is subjective. It is totally cool to not dig a game because it isn't your huckleberry. Trying to qualify yourself over your preferences to give them weight is "sad".

    Play the game. Don't play the game. Whatever. Your cornflakes are your own, piss on them as you will. Leave the 91% alone.
     
    #261
  2. playlessNamer

    playlessNamer Lieutenant

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    Can you (the devs) pls clarify what is in your opinion stable for release and what will change in future patches.

    The techtree. is it a placeholder or will there be a other one anytime?
    The enemy models and animations, placeholder or will they get a overhaul?
    The Loot, will there be a variety of different stuff to find and play with or just matrixes/bridges and stuff from the workshop?

    There is a lot more that feels like alphastage placeholders. What will get a rework and what will stay like it is now?

    I feel sorry about it but actually it feels like a scam to sell the game as a non early acces and this will pretty soon end in tons of negative ratings.

    Is there any plan what comes next, what is planned at all or anything else? Cant find nothing. No developer diary, no "hello we are actually working this, look how amazing it is", any "we plan to overhaul this and this in the next xx month".
     
    #262
  3. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

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    lol... 2 threads, 14 pages on this one, and this comes up again ?

    Look at the post just above yours.
     
    #263
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  4. RedScourge

    RedScourge Commander

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    Hear hear, it's long overdue for a dev diary posted to the Steam page clarifying what's guaranteed to be added, what they'd like to add but ar not willing to guarantee, what things that are commonly requested they won't add, etc. Can probably avoid a lot of annoying repeating questions that way. Or maybe a short FAQ added to the forum. discord, and steam. I understand that the devs don't like making promises they can't keep, but we'd REALLY like to hear their thoughts. Perhaps after Beta v1.5?
     
    #264
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  5. playlessNamer

    playlessNamer Lieutenant

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    Just the read 2 pages back, not all the thread. But its obvious this is actual coretopic, wonder why?
    I personally dont feel scammed because i bought a early acces, a pretty early one and still enjoy creative building. I had enough fun for under 20€ in sale.
    But as a player that knows the game i can tell, like everyone of you that this is not a full version game. Its a game in alpha stage when you rate the state of the game itself and compare it to other early acces titles. Put another label on it makes it a scam! They left the comfortzone theirself, no one pushed them to release. Now they have other rules. People on Steam think thats a alternative to early acces games and they get scammed.

    Its version 1.4.5 in normal games you have a contentdrop at 1.1 and 1.2. This versionnumber, compared to other games and what people expect from this number is a scam.

    But they said theirself:
    Leaving Early Access DOES NOT mean this is the “final release” or finished by any means, because, as detailed above and in the initial announcement, everything else will literally not change a lot.

    but it was just a anniversary thing, aha. When their opinion is: the techtree is good like it is, the models and animations are fine, the weaponhandling feels good, the content ist motivating,... then i have to warn other ppl out there they wanna sell you a techdemo for fullprize.
     
    #265
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  6. Germanicus

    Germanicus Rear Admiral

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    Bullshit!

    Let me quote a famous Movie-Maker:
    "You ain't seen nothin' yet!"
     
    #266
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2021
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  7. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

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    Core topic for whom ? The players using scarecrow methods to force the developers to yield in to their requests or else they will get review bombed ?

    Ok. Let's try it.

    @EleonGameStudios : you were WROOONG getting out of early access ! Go back to it, or you will get tons of negative reviews, and you will not make any more money, and you will not be able to feed your family !

    And while at it, why not also starting to work on Empyrion v2 ?

    If you don't do this Eleon, you will be DOOMED !

    -----------------------------------------

    Now let's see how scared they are.
     
    #267
  8. playlessNamer

    playlessNamer Lieutenant

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    Thats not any "scarecrow methods" and i dont want to force anyone to anything. I just declared the actual state of the situation. The game is in worse state than most of the other early acces titles on steam and it has a wrong label on it.
    There are dozen of examples on steam with early acces games getting suddenly revealed 1.0 and never changed anything after the realease. Its a usual method, the players know this kind of games. When a thing happens on every third corner the people realize it and take care of it.

    When they drop a huge patch anytime soon with a big overhaul for a lot of things ingame then its absolute ok. But then i wonder why are they cutting every communication? They are silent like Blizzard. When the future is so bright, why are they hiding?
    But this doesnt change the point. My statement at this moment ist still right. The game has a wrong label on it. Its riding a wave of positive reviews from early acces stage wich they had never recieved as a full version game.

    They can do what they want with their game, but out of early acces you play by the full ruleset and against competitors out there on the gaming market.
    I am very thankfully to other players for leaving a devastating review to games that are left to die after a suddenly release.
     
    #268
  9. Germanicus

    Germanicus Rear Admiral

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    Be happy about whatever you see fit...
    The reviews speak a different language->
    screenshot from 2021-01-31
    Screenshot_2021-01-31 Empyrion - Galactic Survival on Steam.png
    screenshot from 2021-04-15
    Screenshot_2021-04-15 Empyrion - Galactic Survival on Steam.png
     
    #269
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  10. Spoon

    Spoon Captain

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    Emyyrion is not going to die off any time soon mate, there is too much potential for the game and the devs do keep working on the game.
    Yes it does need a lot of polish.
     
    #270
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  11. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

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    That was precisely addressed by the developers in both of the "Out of Early Access" threads, in the very first posts, which you missed since you only read the last 2 pages here. They were explicit that they did not intend to follow classical game development (which most players mention but have no clue what it really implies...).

    If players had any clue as to what they're talking about, they would simply stop making silly suggestions and comparisons. It's very much "cherry picking" examples of games that fit one's theory about how development should be or not be done, and foregoing all examples that demolish the theory. While it's fun to chatt on forums about things we ignore it's a waste of time for the developer to even read these, so don't hold your breath until you get an answer, you made no real, interesting suggestion that could be translated into real game material here.

    And that's where we are now : believe what you want, but try to be consequent with it. If you think the developer is lying to us all, than why are you wasting your time here with any kind of expectation ?

    If you believe what they wrote, then what did you miss ? Of course they're not going to engage with each and every player on the forum like clerks do in supermarkets. Players argue to no end, they know everything, they want to run the business, and they have an ego they never question. That's quite the recipe to be ignored when putting forward the "you're doomed" attitude...
     
    #271
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2021
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  12. playlessNamer

    playlessNamer Lieutenant

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    Oh god this argument...

    In the imagination of the players its so easy because its sure there will be tons of content soon because the world is so big and the possibillitys are endless. Where is the patchlog for this? Fantasys about what is possible dont count as a argument.

    But we will see in the next patch wich position is right. Maybe the next update is a big content and overhaul bomb and the game is suddenly a full version quality or they bring alpha 12.5.

    But the time is running against them. How long after 2021 will the players be happy with this weaponhandling, this very basic gamemechanics, all that stuff that feels like Playstation2 quality. Time is running, the game is allready outdated right now. The theoretically potential is still living in the head of players while playing a techdemo in full release version. tick, tick, tick,....

    I personally give up on the game. I enjoyed it and sure i see this potential too but anytime the reality strikes back. Why should they suddenly bring a gigantic never seen before epic patch right now? Because there was a anniversary? LUL?

    Just checking forums to see if the devs are still existing and prepare popcorn for the next update. Maybe they proof me lying, i wouldt be very happy about that!
     
    #272
  13. Spoon

    Spoon Captain

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    You call it fantasy, fine. This is a discussion, you have your opinion and I have mine. It's good to differ.

    Not sure what you are doing on about. No one is expecting the next update to fix everything.

    Players have been playing this game for many years. people will still buy it. How long for, who knows. Many years I will guess.

    I haven't played in a bit. I'm playing Minecraft at the moment. Even a big team like theirs can bite off more than they can chew. 1.17 update (which was due middle of the year) has had to be put into 2 sections, the second one coming out at the end of the year.

    Check out this thread.
    https://empyriononline.com/threads/announcement-version-1-5-brief-prospect-of-2021.97513
    Sounds like you are not going to be happy for a long time.
     
    #273
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  14. playlessNamer

    playlessNamer Lieutenant

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    ...we plan to release another bugfix patch...addressing some hacking issues...big chunk of internal code work for preparing future updates...minor game functions reworks...new concept for AI management...testing new code...HUD is planned to get an update...fully reworked the game start...rework of the loading screens and new models...test candidates are weapons and tools...

    Reasonable for alpha state game, cant get over its release version. I feel like accomplice when supporting this behaviour without criticism. Morally not ok!

    So looking forward for 2022 or 2023 for some further version. A long time after release to expect a playable final verison.
     
    #274
  15. As has been said probably thousands of times now, the game IS NOT released yet.

    The devs explained this before they even left the early access model. Feel free to read it yourself.

    Yes, they did make things confusing for players by changing the version to 1.
    However, the game IS NOT fully released yet.
     
    #275
  16. playlessNamer

    playlessNamer Lieutenant

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    https://store.steampowered.com/app/383120/Empyrion__Galactic_Survival/

    At wich position on the shopsite did i missed this what you say? Where do the devs explain it there? How can a new player, thinking this is a full version game see this is a alpha game?

    There is no marker early acces, its a versionnumber high over 1.0, in the text no warning, nothing.
    As i been said probaly a thousand of times now, its a scam to sell this game under wrong label!
     
    #276
  17. Germanicus

    Germanicus Rear Admiral

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    STEAM is a SELLING Platform NOT the Website of the Gaming Company. If someone searches for more info about the Product the Gaming Companies have it on THEIR Websites. Each and everyone.
    An Example:
    Recently SWTOR was made available on STEAM. Do you find ALL Info on STEAM about the Game? NO!
    You have to visit the Game-Company Website or that of the Game itself to learn more.
     
    #277
  18. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

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    It is not needed, and players can see the negative reviews and make up their mind as they want. I bought many games that had lots of negative reviews, because many of these are not related to the reality of the product. I gave many examples in several threads following the v.1.0 event to show how many of the negative reviews were not reliable (and many of the positive too in fact). "Can't start the game" (have minimum requirements? No clue). "Spent 100 hours and now I'm frustrated, so don't buy". (No comment). "This is not a finished game, thumbs down". (ok. But is it fun or not?).

    It's hard to believe that 80% of the new buyers are just too stupid to see they have been robbed, don't you think ?

    You have to trust the average player's intelligence, and the developer's too. The positive/ negative ratio has been relatively constant over the years, and compared to many other titles in the same genre Empyrion has nothing to be ashamed of. Players that really hate their experience can get a refund, but if you look how often this happens you will see that most players still enjoy the game after purchase.

    The perspective of continued development is what counts here. The great majority of games are really dropped at v1.0 with few patches in the following months, and that's it. That is not the case here, and I would think it's pretty obvious just by looking at the update notes on Steam, which are at the top of the page when customers come looking. It's even better integrated now in the new (ugly) Steam client when clicking on a game : latest updates and news are shown upfront.
     
    #278
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  19. playlessNamer

    playlessNamer Lieutenant

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    You can sugarcoat it like you want, it seems you get a bit offended by the topic. Your arguments getting more and more far fetched.

    Suddenly bad reports are usefull. Suggest to check the website before (and hopefully find that specific helping thread). Defending the wrong label on that game. The refund ratio prove anything...

    Its getting ridiculous.
     
    #279
  20. Kassonnade

    Kassonnade Rear Admiral

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    Wasn't it from the very start ?

    Just as a side note : Serious Sam 2 got a big update recently ( March 23, 2021 ). That game is 15 years old, sold and cold... Here's the patch log :

    What’s new:

    Sam can now wield a brand new weapon called the BeamGun (aka The Ghost Buster from the original Serious Sam design document)

    • Enemy multiplier option is now available in singleplayer and co-op. Go, create your own Legion System in Serious Sam 2.
    • Duke it out on 12 previously unreleased multiplayer maps, coming to you straight from the dusty basement at Croteam HQ. Those include Yodeller, Stadium, Hole, Desert Temple, and more.
    • A brand new Flame-Thrower weapon is now available to all you modders out there, and so is the napalm item, so you can feed it.
    • Sam finally learned to dual wield all of his toys. That’s pretty cool if I do say so myself.
    • You know what else is cool? The ability to sprint. Well, Sam can do that now, too.
    • He can also Rocket Jump, just like in the classics.
    • Get lost no more with the brand new Enemy, NPC, and Objective radar.
    Stability and performance fixes:
    1. Fixed the notorious profile corruption issue. It’s been five million years, but we got there.
    Gameplay changes and fixes:
    • The RollerBall in “The Road to Ursul” level will no longer self destroy!
    • Uzis firing speed has been doubled and the damage per bullet reduced from 10 to 9. Such balance!
    • Fixed statistics menu not showing correctly when skipping movies.
    • Colt Reloading has been added.
    Visual changes:
    • Hud, menu, and mic textures have been upscaled by 2x!
    • All fonts are now available in shiny high definition, thanks to the House Of Sam.
    • Improved animations for the Chainsaw, Rocket, and Grenade launchers.
    • Screen and Bullets animation fix for Minigun.
    • Menu fonts no longer force proportional shadow direction and shadow distance in the menu parameters.
    • Fixed mapping for the Uzi weapon mesh.
    • Fixed mapping for the Minigun weapon mesh.
    General changes:
    • Crosshair selection has been added, and it comes with different color and size options!
    • New menu image and menu music have been added!
    • Added a new "Special Thanks" section to the Extras menu.
    • MODDING – Added the ability to specify mouse cursors.
    • MODDING – Added saved cvars to show/hide the cheats info, and paused message.
    • MODDING – Added debug menu available in the editor to control debug variables. Invoked with the '.' key.
    • MODDING – Added "sam_bSkipMovies" saved cvar to skip the level intro and outro movies. Applies during gameplay and also stops the menu "attract" movies from playing.
    • MODDING – Added visible version of Entity ID to the Serious Editor 2 entity properties panel.
    • MODDING – Added ability to specify mouse cursors (In the Serious Editor).
    =================================================

    That's a cool example of a game being still looked upon by its developers, even if it doesn't have a fraction of the replay value of Empyrion, nor the extent of its modding features. What is even more interesting is that no players ganged up on forums to ask for this, it came solely from the developers.

    I think players being vocal here, for Empyrion, about the impending DOOM of the game because of a version number, are just being paranoid. We have been told many times that small fixes and patches can come up frequently, but for more important matters the developers would have to go silent for longer periods, and some players may not feel comfortable with this, although it is required for bigger changes.

    But the "Echo Chamber" did not get its name out of the blue : some players NEED to get some feedback, so they poke the forum with a stick to see if it's still alive, but that's not where the bees work...

    Some games are still being sold more than 10, even 20 years after they were officially "completed". Some of these still get updates.

    Paranoia is that tendency to only collect facts that fit the paranoid vision, and to exclude all facts that can open up to another version of reality.


    So instead of trying to get everyone else's enthusiasm down the drain, I suggest there are many things that can be done by this community to help make the game better, even if just by making suggestions ( even silly... ) and show ways in which they can enhance gameplay for more than 1 player...

    But hitting the same nail constantly even if seeing no results, that's the nature of crazyness.

    .
     
    #280
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