I also feel that this game is pretty far away from a Beta. I have a pretty popular YouTube video demonstrating the Alpha and today I heard that the Beta is out. I played for about 10-15 minutes and truth be told, I don't feel like much has changed from Alpha in terms of stability to warrant a "Beta" release. I am really disappointed that the UWE team would move their software production phase from Alpha to Beta this early when it has clearly not demonstrated or warranted such a transfer. The game is still mostly unplayable for me as there is massive lag spikes and stuttering problems along with HUGE lag when I encountered an alien while playing as a marine.
Perhaps UWE is running out of money as it has been said in this thread and they are going for a cash-grab by trying to hype their game, but I am beginning to feel less hopeful for this game as there is no way this current state and version of the game can generate any positive hype.
Please UWE, I know you guys have been doing awesome so far, and patching the game with really huge patches that address quite a bit of issues, but i'm sad to say that this game is just not ready for a Beta phase at this point in time. I'm getting flickering shadows, massive lag issues and connection issues. I am still hopeful that you guys will be able to correct this issues before shipping the game but please take notice that a lot of us feel that it is much to early to announce this game entering Beta Phase.
I've been checking in with this site every few months and bit the bullet yesterday when I realized they had confirmed release on Steam. Unfortunately I missed out on NS1 but I can see the huge potential with this fresh beta release.
I'm not so much concerned with the state of the game as I am with the bug reporting system. I've noticed the message in the top left corner of the screen and hope that it will be enabled soon as I'd be happy to do my best to provide useful information about problems if it were more streamlined. I think I've been spoiled on beta stages that were more for marketing than problem solving in the recent past, and I look forward to seeing what this game will become. Catch you all in-game.
<!--quoteo(post=1806869:date=Nov 19 2010, 04:35 PM:name=Revi.uk)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Revi.uk @ Nov 19 2010, 04:35 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806869"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->please folks just because you can play "other games" on your old ass computer doesn't mean you'll be able to have a flawless experience on a completely modern and unreleased game this is 2010-2011 we're talking about now remember. When you bought your "super-rig" that was probably 3 or 4 years ago now. Remember what games were around then? UWE need to future proof this game and by excluding the lower end of the market simply makes sure their game has a longer life later down the line.
In short; upgrade your computer.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What the hell are you talking about...
This isn't supposed to be Crysis 3 or a game that brings PC gaming graphics to new levels. Yes it looks good for what it is but it certainly doesn't look "this is next-gen PC gaming good". I doubt that had ever been UWE's intention as a small studio can't even do that...
And how did you ever come up with the idea of them wanting to "exclude the lower end of the market"? Last time i checked they still had these specs up in the pre-order faq: <i>"A 1.2 GHz Processor, 256MB RAM, a DirectX 9 level graphics card"</i>
To me that hardly sounds like they want to exclude the lower end, unless of course you want to qualify these specs as "high end". Bottom line is: It's unoptimized, nobody knows how much more performance they can squeeze out of the engine but right now i seriously doubt they ever gonna make the game playable with such specs.
The problem is not people's computers, the problem is the engines performance (i'm not saying that's a bad thing as we are basicly still in alpha and there probably is still alot of optimisation ahead) so stop claiming it's peoples computers. Just to give you an idea: Q6600@3,4 ghz, 4 gb ram, 5870. At 1920x1200 with medium details the game chugs along at 30-40 fps and tbh i don't think that's a really good performance for the delivered visuals and i certainly don't think that this performance comes even close to what i expect if i go by the specs in the pre-order FAQ.
Connecting to the fastest server took 1-2 minutes to join readyroom. Once inside RR I was frozen for up to 1 minute (could hear looping sounds and see hovering marines floating in space.
Next, I was able to move around RR, but with serious lag. Joined Marine team (huge FPS hit) mouse movement was so bad it was mostly unplayable. Rifle fire also echoed to the point of being annoying and hit registration nil to none. At one point i was pointblank with an Alien sentry couldn't hit it. Was killed a few times by skulks but never had a chance because of the stutter/lag that was going on.
Comp specs: Q6600 quad core overclocked to 3.2 ghz 4 gigs ram 8800 gtx vista 64bit
<!--quoteo(post=1807395:date=Nov 20 2010, 09:53 AM:name=Moose)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Moose @ Nov 20 2010, 09:53 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807395"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Here's a little constructive feedback, Hopefully.
Just played the new build.
Connecting to the fastest server took 1-2 minutes to join readyroom. Once inside RR I was frozen for up to 1 minute (could hear looping sounds and see hovering marines floating in space.
Next, I was able to move around RR, but with serious lag. Joined Marine team (huge FPS hit) mouse movement was so bad it was mostly unplayable. Rifle fire also echoed to the point of being annoying and hit registration nil to none. At one point i was pointblank with an Alien sentry couldn't hit it. Was killed a few times by skulks but never had a chance because of the stutter/lag that was going on.
Comp specs: Q6600 quad core overclocked to 3.2 ghz 4 gigs ram 8800 gtx vista 64bit
Hope you guys get this playable.
Also have to agree that this is not a beta.
Best of luck UWE<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
8800 is such an outdated card, you are living in the stone age.
Watching NS2 from the sidelines every now and again it was disappointing to see the Alpha actually grind development to a halt as its progressed rather than the expected increase.
It's kind of sad that 13 months ago this game was slated to be released, and this was in conjunction with pre order announcements. Over a year later and pretty much nothing works anywhere near the level it should networking or framerate wise with alot of content still not added. This is reminiscent of some of the big budget MMO Bombs of the last few years.
Tell me how this game is not another year away from release. You have so much work to do and such a small team and you have already shown over the last what 5? years of development that it doesn't matter how much heart or talent you bring to the table - you dont have the manpower to get things done in a timely fashion let alone overcome unexpected problems quick enough to get back to the original development tasks - your track record shows this over and over.
If the high profile gaming sites and general word of mouth people play this 'beta' it will be a PR disaster. The only thing you can show people at the moment is a game that barely works and is still deep in development.
Oh well back to the sidelines. If NS2 is good at release ill probably be there playing, but it wont change what a complete mess getting there was.
yeah I was under the impression a 'pre-ordered beta' would actually mean something why did I hand over my money ages ago when I could just have waited until now, same result. kinda annoying.
Is it a matter of time (a long time?) until the game plays well, or actually do they lack resources and staff to be able to pull this game off as we expected? Is it a case of things getting worse before they get better? :(
<!--quoteo(post=1807428:date=Nov 20 2010, 11:22 AM:name=fwd-Random)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (fwd-Random @ Nov 20 2010, 11:22 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807428"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->More bad news it seems.
Watching NS2 from the sidelines every now and again it was disappointing to see the Alpha actually grind development to a halt as its progressed rather than the expected increase.
It's kind of sad that 13 months ago this game was slated to be released, and this was in conjunction with pre order announcements. Over a year later and pretty much nothing works anywhere near the level it should networking or framerate wise with alot of content still not added. This is reminiscent of some of the big budget MMO Bombs of the last few years.
Tell me how this game is not another year away from release. You have so much work to do and such a small team and you have already shown over the last what 5? years of development that it doesn't matter how much heart or talent you bring to the table - you dont have the manpower to get things done in a timely fashion let alone overcome unexpected problems quick enough to get back to the original development tasks - your track record shows this over and over.
If the high profile gaming sites and general word of mouth people play this 'beta' it will be a PR disaster. The only thing you can show people at the moment is a game that barely works and is still deep in development.
Oh well back to the sidelines. If NS2 is good at release ill probably be there playing, but it wont change what a complete mess getting there was.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No offense but every point you've made here is just flat out wrong and could only be made by someone who isn't really aware of that UWE are in the process of achieving here.
The Alpha didn't grind development to a halt, it actually provided a catalyst to the development phase and provided UWE with the info they needed to push NS2 towards completion (info they wouldn't have been able to get by any other means). Each patch is coming exponentially faster than the last and has noticable increases in FPS and reductions in lag. Yes there are issues still with memory leaks and the inability to connect but that's because it's a beta.
As for the "not enough man power" point read this:
Writing software isn't something you can speed up by throwing extra coders at it, here's the key fallacy: "If one woman can produce a baby in nine months, then nine women should be able to produce a baby in one month". I believe UWE have hired in others to do modelling/textures etc but as you can see from the vids here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/naturalselection2hd" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/naturalselection2hd</a> this part is pretty much complete.
Now it's down to the key people at UWE to stamp out the last remaining "show stoppers" before the final release, there's no doubt they have the skills and commitment to do this. This is a proper Beta, not a Starcraft 2 "Gameplay balance" beta that have given people the wrong impression about what a software Beta should be.
<!--quoteo(post=1806869:date=Nov 19 2010, 04:35 PM:name=Revi.uk)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Revi.uk @ Nov 19 2010, 04:35 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806869"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->please folks just because you can play "other games" on your old ass computer doesn't mean you'll be able to have a flawless experience on a completely modern and unreleased game this is 2010-2011 we're talking about now remember. When you bought your "super-rig" that was probably 3 or 4 years ago now. Remember what games were around then? UWE need to future proof this game and by excluding the lower end of the market simply makes sure their game has a longer life later down the line.
In short; upgrade your computer.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Umm I can play left 4 dead and call of duty with low res yes but those are big budgeted newer games. They told us that NS2 wasn't going to be pushing the need for all of us getting new comps. It is not a computer issue.
On a side note I really don't know how its supposed to not be demanding on computers with particles of umbra and spore everywhere, plus dynamic light, plus marines, skulks, crags, MACs etc etc all in the screen at times. Oh and if the dynamic infestation ever reappears...with that too. :S
<!--quoteo(post=1807425:date=Nov 20 2010, 06:03 AM:name=antacid)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (antacid @ Nov 20 2010, 06:03 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807425"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->8800 is such an outdated card, you are living in the stone age.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Are you joking? It's a fairly old card yes, but it was also a flagship card of it's time and still pushes out good framerates in most modern games. It's not a hardware issues at all as I still get not great framerates on a 4ghz i7 and an overclocked 5970.
<!--quoteo(post=1807478:date=Nov 20 2010, 02:12 PM:name=Phaeton)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Phaeton @ Nov 20 2010, 02:12 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807478"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Umm I can play left 4 dead and call of duty with low res yes but those are big budgeted newer games. They told us that NS2 wasn't going to be pushing the need for all of us getting new comps. It is not a computer issue.
On a side note I really don't know how its supposed to not be demanding on computers with particles of umbra and spore everywhere, plus dynamic light, plus marines, skulks, crags, MACs etc etc all in the screen at times. Oh and if the dynamic infestation ever reappears...with that too. :S<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think this game runs surprisingly well at beta considering it has dynamic lights everywhere... and the spore/fury effects/etc looks awesome, but do not seem to slow down my pc at all.
It might be on a laptop at 640x480 but it runs a treat, especially on my 22" monitor.
<!--quoteo(post=1807478:date=Nov 20 2010, 02:12 PM:name=Phaeton)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Phaeton @ Nov 20 2010, 02:12 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807478"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Umm I can play left 4 dead and call of duty with low res yes but those are big budgeted newer games. They told us that NS2 wasn't going to be pushing the need for all of us getting new comps. It is not a computer issue.
On a side note I really don't know how its supposed to not be demanding on computers with particles of umbra and spore everywhere, plus dynamic light, plus marines, skulks, crags, MACs etc etc all in the screen at times. Oh and if the dynamic infestation ever reappears...with that too. :S<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Both of which run on old engines. Left 4 dead 2 ( source engine, 2004) Modern Warfare uses the same engine they've been using since modern warfare 1 which came out 3 years ago. Also you can only play them at LOW resolutions which means that your PC is most definitely the problem here my friend. I have very few FPS problems running an i7, GTX 260 and 6gigs of ram.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1-->8800 is such an outdated card, you are living in the stone age.<!--c2--></div><!--ec2--><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Its a couple years old but its a power house card that gets constant 60-70 FPS on most new games with max graphic settings.
Hopefully UWE doesn't think along the same lines as you. If UWE were to think a 8800gtx is living in the stone age, their going to have major problems considering a large portion of gamers don't have anything close to a 8800gtx card.
<!--quoteo(post=1806449:date=Nov 19 2010, 02:40 AM:name=Zaggy)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zaggy @ Nov 19 2010, 02:40 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1806449"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yes the game needs more work <b>but it surely is playable now</b>, I like it!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
"It works for <i>me</i>, thus it must be working for everyone else!" - Well it doesn't. Time spent ingame playing since alpha release: 0 min. I am yet to be able to try NS2 without it crashing and burning.
<!--quoteo(post=1807439:date=Nov 20 2010, 01:05 PM:name=officerchops)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (officerchops @ Nov 20 2010, 01:05 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807439"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->yeah I was under the impression a 'pre-ordered beta' would actually mean something why did I hand over my money ages ago when I could just have waited until now, same result. kinda annoying.
"beta capped at 10,000" - what a joke<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The lesson to be learned is: don't pre-order games. Ever. It's never worth it, and the majority of the time what does get released is shameful and shambolic, especially if you've pre-ordered based on the game's predecessor. Black Ops being a good example of this, and that's an "experienced" developer with major funding.
Maybe a different matter if you pre-ordered as a form of payment for NS1 or just to support UWE. Quite likely this game/project will be a failure, it sounds like we're getting to the Catch 22 stage of needing to fix the game to release it and bring more money in, but being unable to fix it because there's no money as the game isn't in a releasable state.
<!--quoteo(post=1807425:date=Nov 20 2010, 06:03 AM:name=antacid)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (antacid @ Nov 20 2010, 06:03 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807425"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->8800 is such an outdated card, you are living in the stone age.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is incorrect, demographically. An 8800 is about the top-end of what you should expect the average NS2 demographic will have available. If by release NS2 isn't playable on an 8800 at least on medium (probably high) settings, then this game isn't going to go anywhere.
<!--quoteo(post=1807544:date=Nov 20 2010, 01:15 PM:name=cmc5788)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cmc5788 @ Nov 20 2010, 01:15 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807544"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This is incorrect, demographically. An 8800 is about the top-end of what you should expect the average NS2 demographic will have available. If by release NS2 isn't playable on an 8800 at least on medium (probably high) settings, then this game isn't going to go anywhere.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If its not playable on an 8800 then theres a serious problem.. he's right
<!--quoteo(post=1807554:date=Nov 20 2010, 02:18 PM:name=Zek)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zek @ Nov 20 2010, 02:18 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807554"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'm on a 8800GT and the game runs reasonably well already. NS2 will certainly be playable on that card once all the optimization is done.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, I'm on an 8800GT also, and I get around 30 FPS average. It's getting there -- the only thing that's really bothersome is that it still spikes lower in some particular situations.
<!--quoteo(post=1807537:date=Nov 20 2010, 06:48 PM:name=rofldinho)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rofldinho @ Nov 20 2010, 06:48 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1807537"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The lesson to be learned is: don't pre-order games. Ever. It's never worth it, and the majority of the time what does get released is shameful and shambolic, especially if you've pre-ordered based on the game's predecessor.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Disagree , there are many games that were released very early in alpha but are moving along just fine , and playable from the start. You get to see them grow over time , and can actively take part in shaping that growth. In some cases it's taking forever but you have a clear feeling it'll make it to the finish line. I'm not taking about small games or mods using existing engines , but multiplayer capable games created from scratch.
Unknown Worlds is starting to run out of excuses now , besides the obvious critical lack of money. And they really have no right to fail. Besides the huge trust investment of NS1 fans , they are a major figure of indie game development and can potentially ruin the whole alpha stage funding scheme for everyone else.
Comments
A list of rather forceful motivation tools, not exactly sure of the meaning though.
I also feel that this game is pretty far away from a Beta. I have a pretty popular YouTube video demonstrating the Alpha and today I heard that the Beta is out. I played for about 10-15 minutes and truth be told, I don't feel like much has changed from Alpha in terms of stability to warrant a "Beta" release. I am really disappointed that the UWE team would move their software production phase from Alpha to Beta this early when it has clearly not demonstrated or warranted such a transfer. The game is still mostly unplayable for me as there is massive lag spikes and stuttering problems along with HUGE lag when I encountered an alien while playing as a marine.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp0W5aZH0mQ&feature=email&email=comment_reply_received" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp0W5aZH0mQ..._reply_received</a>
Perhaps UWE is running out of money as it has been said in this thread and they are going for a cash-grab by trying to hype their game, but I am beginning to feel less hopeful for this game as there is no way this current state and version of the game can generate any positive hype.
Please UWE, I know you guys have been doing awesome so far, and patching the game with really huge patches that address quite a bit of issues, but i'm sad to say that this game is just not ready for a Beta phase at this point in time. I'm getting flickering shadows, massive lag issues and connection issues. I am still hopeful that you guys will be able to correct this issues before shipping the game but please take notice that a lot of us feel that it is much to early to announce this game entering Beta Phase.
I'm not so much concerned with the state of the game as I am with the bug reporting system. I've noticed the message in the top left corner of the screen and hope that it will be enabled soon as I'd be happy to do my best to provide useful information about problems if it were more streamlined. I think I've been spoiled on beta stages that were more for marketing than problem solving in the recent past, and I look forward to seeing what this game will become. Catch you all in-game.
In short; upgrade your computer.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What the hell are you talking about...
This isn't supposed to be Crysis 3 or a game that brings PC gaming graphics to new levels. Yes it looks good for what it is but it certainly doesn't look "this is next-gen PC gaming good". I doubt that had ever been UWE's intention as a small studio can't even do that...
And how did you ever come up with the idea of them wanting to "exclude the lower end of the market"? Last time i checked they still had these specs up in the pre-order faq: <i>"A 1.2 GHz Processor, 256MB RAM, a DirectX 9 level graphics card"</i>
To me that hardly sounds like they want to exclude the lower end, unless of course you want to qualify these specs as "high end". Bottom line is: It's unoptimized, nobody knows how much more performance they can squeeze out of the engine but right now i seriously doubt they ever gonna make the game playable with such specs.
The problem is not people's computers, the problem is the engines performance (i'm not saying that's a bad thing as we are basicly still in alpha and there probably is still alot of optimisation ahead) so stop claiming it's peoples computers. Just to give you an idea: Q6600@3,4 ghz, 4 gb ram, 5870. At 1920x1200 with medium details the game chugs along at 30-40 fps and tbh i don't think that's a really good performance for the delivered visuals and i certainly don't think that this performance comes even close to what i expect if i go by the specs in the pre-order FAQ.
Just played the new build.
Connecting to the fastest server took 1-2 minutes to join readyroom. Once inside RR I was frozen for up to 1 minute (could hear looping sounds and see hovering marines floating in space.
Next, I was able to move around RR, but with serious lag. Joined Marine team (huge FPS hit) mouse movement was so bad it was mostly unplayable. Rifle fire also echoed to the point of being annoying and hit registration nil to none. At one point i was pointblank with an Alien sentry couldn't hit it. Was killed a few times by skulks but never had a chance because of the stutter/lag that was going on.
Comp specs:
Q6600 quad core overclocked to 3.2 ghz
4 gigs ram
8800 gtx
vista 64bit
Hope you guys get this playable.
Also have to agree that this is not a beta.
Best of luck UWE
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwiUGEzWEUg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwiUGEzWEUg</a>
In this video you'll see the issues I run into.
Be happy that you're allowed to test it for them.
Just played the new build.
Connecting to the fastest server took 1-2 minutes to join readyroom. Once inside RR I was frozen for up to 1 minute (could hear looping sounds and see hovering marines floating in space.
Next, I was able to move around RR, but with serious lag. Joined Marine team (huge FPS hit) mouse movement was so bad it was mostly unplayable. Rifle fire also echoed to the point of being annoying and hit registration nil to none. At one point i was pointblank with an Alien sentry couldn't hit it. Was killed a few times by skulks but never had a chance because of the stutter/lag that was going on.
Comp specs:
Q6600 quad core overclocked to 3.2 ghz
4 gigs ram
8800 gtx
vista 64bit
Hope you guys get this playable.
Also have to agree that this is not a beta.
Best of luck UWE<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
8800 is such an outdated card, you are living in the stone age.
Watching NS2 from the sidelines every now and again it was disappointing to see the Alpha actually grind development to a halt as its progressed rather than the expected increase.
It's kind of sad that 13 months ago this game was slated to be released, and this was in conjunction with pre order announcements. Over a year later and pretty much nothing works anywhere near the level it should networking or framerate wise with alot of content still not added. This is reminiscent of some of the big budget MMO Bombs of the last few years.
Tell me how this game is not another year away from release. You have so much work to do and such a small team and you have already shown over the last what 5? years of development that it doesn't matter how much heart or talent you bring to the table - you dont have the manpower to get things done in a timely fashion let alone overcome unexpected problems quick enough to get back to the original development tasks - your track record shows this over and over.
If the high profile gaming sites and general word of mouth people play this 'beta' it will be a PR disaster. The only thing you can show people at the moment is a game that barely works and is still deep in development.
Oh well back to the sidelines. If NS2 is good at release ill probably be there playing, but it wont change what a complete mess getting there was.
why did I hand over my money ages ago when I could just have waited until now, same result.
kinda annoying.
"beta capped at 10,000" - what a joke
Watching NS2 from the sidelines every now and again it was disappointing to see the Alpha actually grind development to a halt as its progressed rather than the expected increase.
It's kind of sad that 13 months ago this game was slated to be released, and this was in conjunction with pre order announcements. Over a year later and pretty much nothing works anywhere near the level it should networking or framerate wise with alot of content still not added. This is reminiscent of some of the big budget MMO Bombs of the last few years.
Tell me how this game is not another year away from release. You have so much work to do and such a small team and you have already shown over the last what 5? years of development that it doesn't matter how much heart or talent you bring to the table - you dont have the manpower to get things done in a timely fashion let alone overcome unexpected problems quick enough to get back to the original development tasks - your track record shows this over and over.
If the high profile gaming sites and general word of mouth people play this 'beta' it will be a PR disaster. The only thing you can show people at the moment is a game that barely works and is still deep in development.
Oh well back to the sidelines. If NS2 is good at release ill probably be there playing, but it wont change what a complete mess getting there was.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
No offense but every point you've made here is just flat out wrong and could only be made by someone who isn't really aware of that UWE are in the process of achieving here.
The Alpha didn't grind development to a halt, it actually provided a catalyst to the development phase and provided UWE with the info they needed to push NS2 towards completion (info they wouldn't have been able to get by any other means). Each patch is coming exponentially faster than the last and has noticable increases in FPS and reductions in lag. Yes there are issues still with memory leaks and the inability to connect but that's because it's a beta.
As for the "not enough man power" point read this:
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mythical_Man-Month</a>
Writing software isn't something you can speed up by throwing extra coders at it, here's the key fallacy: "If one woman can produce a baby in nine months, then nine women should be able to produce a baby in one month". I believe UWE have hired in others to do modelling/textures etc but as you can see from the vids here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/naturalselection2hd" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/naturalselection2hd</a> this part is pretty much complete.
Now it's down to the key people at UWE to stamp out the last remaining "show stoppers" before the final release, there's no doubt they have the skills and commitment to do this. This is a proper Beta, not a Starcraft 2 "Gameplay balance" beta that have given people the wrong impression about what a software Beta should be.
In short; upgrade your computer.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Umm I can play left 4 dead and call of duty with low res yes but those are big budgeted newer games. They told us that NS2 wasn't going to be pushing the need for all of us getting new comps. It is not a computer issue.
On a side note I really don't know how its supposed to not be demanding on computers with particles of umbra and spore everywhere, plus dynamic light, plus marines, skulks, crags, MACs etc etc all in the screen at times. Oh and if the dynamic infestation ever reappears...with that too. :S
Are you joking? It's a fairly old card yes, but it was also a flagship card of it's time and still pushes out good framerates in most modern games. It's not a hardware issues at all as I still get not great framerates on a 4ghz i7 and an overclocked 5970.
On a side note I really don't know how its supposed to not be demanding on computers with particles of umbra and spore everywhere, plus dynamic light, plus marines, skulks, crags, MACs etc etc all in the screen at times. Oh and if the dynamic infestation ever reappears...with that too. :S<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think this game runs surprisingly well at beta considering it has dynamic lights everywhere... and the spore/fury effects/etc looks awesome, but do not seem to slow down my pc at all.
It might be on a laptop at 640x480 but it runs a treat, especially on my 22" monitor.
On a side note I really don't know how its supposed to not be demanding on computers with particles of umbra and spore everywhere, plus dynamic light, plus marines, skulks, crags, MACs etc etc all in the screen at times. Oh and if the dynamic infestation ever reappears...with that too. :S<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Both of which run on old engines. Left 4 dead 2 ( source engine, 2004) Modern Warfare uses the same engine they've been using since modern warfare 1 which came out 3 years ago. Also you can only play them at LOW resolutions which means that your PC is most definitely the problem here my friend. I have very few FPS problems running an i7, GTX 260 and 6gigs of ram.
Its a couple years old but its a power house card that gets constant 60-70 FPS on most new games with max graphic settings.
Hopefully UWE doesn't think along the same lines as you. If UWE were to think a 8800gtx is living in the stone age, their going to have major problems considering a large portion of gamers don't have anything close to a 8800gtx card.
"It works for <i>me</i>, thus it must be working for everyone else!" - Well it doesn't. Time spent ingame playing since alpha release: 0 min. I am yet to be able to try NS2 without it crashing and burning.
why did I hand over my money ages ago when I could just have waited until now, same result.
kinda annoying.
"beta capped at 10,000" - what a joke<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The lesson to be learned is: don't pre-order games. Ever. It's never worth it, and the majority of the time what does get released is shameful and shambolic, especially if you've pre-ordered based on the game's predecessor. Black Ops being a good example of this, and that's an "experienced" developer with major funding.
Maybe a different matter if you pre-ordered as a form of payment for NS1 or just to support UWE. Quite likely this game/project will be a failure, it sounds like we're getting to the Catch 22 stage of needing to fix the game to release it and bring more money in, but being unable to fix it because there's no money as the game isn't in a releasable state.
This is incorrect, demographically. An 8800 is about the top-end of what you should expect the average NS2 demographic will have available. If by release NS2 isn't playable on an 8800 at least on medium (probably high) settings, then this game isn't going to go anywhere.
If its not playable on an 8800 then theres a serious problem.. he's right
It was meant the other way around.
Yeah, I'm on an 8800GT also, and I get around 30 FPS average. It's getting there -- the only thing that's really bothersome is that it still spikes lower in some particular situations.
Disagree , there are many games that were released very early in alpha but are moving along just fine , and playable from the start. You get to see them grow over time , and can actively take part in shaping that growth. In some cases it's taking forever but you have a clear feeling it'll make it to the finish line.
I'm not taking about small games or mods using existing engines , but multiplayer capable games created from scratch.
Unknown Worlds is starting to run out of excuses now , besides the obvious critical lack of money. And they really have no right to fail. Besides the huge trust investment of NS1 fans , they are a major figure of indie game development and can potentially ruin the whole alpha stage funding scheme for everyone else.