Beta is a beta. The only hype that really matters is when the game goes live on Steam for sale. The last patch hurt playability so naturally people will burn out. If 187 has tier 3 tech you can bet these testers will be back.
As for the issues about "value for money" and development time, NS2 is actually going to be very well positioned when it comes out for a few reasons:
1) it is insanely moddable. Modding is so easy and fast even an awful hacker like me can change it quickly. You guys have to realize that this isn't 1997 anymore -- NO CURRENT GAMES ARE MODDABLE. HL2 - ancient, no mod scene. COD: no, BF3: no, Arma2: tiny milsim niche, UT3: does anyone have this?, etc. NS2 will be basically the only easy-to-mod game/engine on the market. If promoted right and supported well (dev site, tutorials, great documentation, server-side auto-downloads, etc.) this alone is a powerhouse sales feature. It's not just a game but a friggin video game toolkit. Look at everything alien swarm did wrong in this department, and then do the opposite.
2) unique gameplay is still unique. NS2 is actually unique on 2 dimensions: asymmetrical aliens v. humans gameplay, AND FPS/RTS hybrid gameplay. If the FPS gameplay can be tight and visceral, and the RTS elements rich and rewarding, NS2 has a large market to appeal to. Nuclear Dawn is not a valid competitor: ND's RTS elements are shallow and corny.
3) aliens: colonial marines. The quagmire of DNF boned gearbox, but will help UWE. It is slated for a spring 2012 release date, so UWE will have the opportunity to piggyback on the A:CM hype machine and also beat it to market. With a diligent social media marketing effort, they can siphon interest and build awareness using the most revered brand in Sci-Fi. This cannot be organic but must be a disciplined, but subtle, effort.
hmm...ive never been "hyped" about an unfinished game. I look forward to games, but try to have realistic expectations(or preferably no expectations at all) so i can enjoy the game more when its finished.
As for NS2: I havent played 185 much. Two reasons: Since the tickrate-to-fps link i found most servers lagging too much to play, second reason is Red Orchestra 2, which i spend a lot of time playing these days(im a long time RO fan, as well as NS fan).
I'm personally not too worried about the time it takes.
I no longer play the builds but I do check the site for updates every day - it still excites me to see a new build and comments on it even though I won't download it.
I am a little worried with the new features if the game is going to be good in the end, but I'll give UWE the benefit of the doubt given that they produced an awesome game last time.
TBH worst case scenario and no game came out, I'd glad I contributed to UWE for the fun I had on NS1.
I'm still very excited for the game, absolutely love playing through the betas to see what's been fixed and the direction the game is going in. Been testing it out since the first alpha release. I think the devs really are doing a great job with their constrained resources.
For me beta play is a chance to get in early, provide feedback and help shape the development of a game that you love playing. The NS2 world is changing very quickly - it's an amazing game already minus some performance issues. It is still a fairly early beta so performance issues, glitches and bugs will be experienced - I used 185 as an excuse to upgrade my rig.
When the full release comes it will be a very well rounded and polished game due to the large amount of community involvement.
The decision to use their own engine is a bit iffy, but it appears to be working quite well and it does give the devs a lot more opportunity to develop the game the way they'd like to develop it.
In all I think it's going to end up being a better game for us to play.
Wait a minute..... I think I can see perfectly clear now.
Soon the NS2HD tournament starts and the devs want the game to be als much playable and be as much balanced as possible. It would be frustrating to release a patch while the tournament is running and thus changeing balance and game mechanics. Remember this time there is money and friendship and money don't mix....
Another reason is, that they <!--quoteo(post=1877779:date=Oct 2 2011, 09:15 AM:name=Squeal_Like_A_Pig)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Squeal_Like_A_Pig @ Oct 2 2011, 09:15 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1877779"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->... are taking so long with 186 because [they] want to get a patch out to the public that will be much more playable then 185, so that [they] can spend a good chunk of time on 187 getting in a lot of things we've had to hold off on. (...)
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> and I bet the <i>things</i> will be released at November 27th or maybe a little later. So build 186 will be there for approximately 2 months. Why the november 27th? NS2HD said that the tournament has to be over at that date, because ..... we will see and it has something to do with his t-shirt ;-)
Source: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XifTjz_ajLg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XifTjz_ajLg</a> at 4:35
Anyway I am looking forward to build 187 and I think the devs have chosen the right way.
<!--quoteo(post=1877779:date=Oct 2 2011, 11:15 AM:name=Squeal_Like_A_Pig)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Squeal_Like_A_Pig @ Oct 2 2011, 11:15 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1877779"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->We have found that it is very difficult to add the more "interesting and fun" features into the game when we are on a constant patch release schedule.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I think the community would understand if UW decides to drop fully bug-tested releases to once every 6+ weeks, as long as that intention is conveyed. Keep us informed -- that's all I ask.
I think the main problem comes from a mostly playable public release followed by something that basically breaks the game. (This is of course the nature of beta testing, but that makes little difference to the masses). If the player base could choose which release to use, this would be less of a problem. Unfortunately, the automated steam updates make this nearly impossible.
<!--quoteo(post=1877853:date=Oct 3 2011, 06:30 AM:name=Hakujin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hakujin @ Oct 3 2011, 06:30 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1877853"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->1) it is insanely moddable. Modding is so easy and fast even an awful hacker like me can change it quickly. You guys have to realize that this isn't 1997 anymore -- NO CURRENT GAMES ARE MODDABLE. HL2 - ancient, no mod scene. COD: no, BF3: no, Arma2: tiny milsim niche, UT3: does anyone have this?, etc. NS2 will be basically the only easy-to-mod game/engine on the market. If promoted right and supported well (dev site, tutorials, great documentation, server-side auto-downloads, etc.) this alone is a powerhouse sales feature. It's not just a game but a friggin video game toolkit. Look at everything alien swarm did wrong in this department, and then do the opposite.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I would still like to have more modability than NS2 currently offers. The lua-scripts are nice and all, but as soon as you trespass the engine's territory, you'll get stuck. It's quite a sandbox. Ideal for gameplay-mods, for something more fundamental not so much. I would also point out Cryengine 3's SDK, as well as Doom 3's impending GPL-ing.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2) unique gameplay is still unique. NS2 is actually unique on 2 dimensions: asymmetrical aliens v. humans gameplay<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> Why do people still call it asymmetrical? It's pretty obvious both sides are a lot more leveled in NS2, not completely, but nothing like NS1.
My interest is actualy rising. I used to play ns 1 a lot. When the development on ns 2 started i choosed to wait and see how it evolves before prepurchasing it. I wasn't sure if i could like it when they said it will be different from ns1. I visited the website on a regular basis to stay informed. In august i finaly decided to give it a try as it seemed it has reached a development level that indicated this game was realy goning somewhere. Maybe i f would have preordered it from the first day it wouldn't be so interesting for me anymore to follow every new build. But right now i'm interested.
Comments
As for the issues about "value for money" and development time, NS2 is actually going to be very well positioned when it comes out for a few reasons:
1) it is insanely moddable. Modding is so easy and fast even an awful hacker like me can change it quickly. You guys have to realize that this isn't 1997 anymore -- NO CURRENT GAMES ARE MODDABLE. HL2 - ancient, no mod scene. COD: no, BF3: no, Arma2: tiny milsim niche, UT3: does anyone have this?, etc. NS2 will be basically the only easy-to-mod game/engine on the market. If promoted right and supported well (dev site, tutorials, great documentation, server-side auto-downloads, etc.) this alone is a powerhouse sales feature. It's not just a game but a friggin video game toolkit. Look at everything alien swarm did wrong in this department, and then do the opposite.
2) unique gameplay is still unique. NS2 is actually unique on 2 dimensions: asymmetrical aliens v. humans gameplay, AND FPS/RTS hybrid gameplay. If the FPS gameplay can be tight and visceral, and the RTS elements rich and rewarding, NS2 has a large market to appeal to. Nuclear Dawn is not a valid competitor: ND's RTS elements are shallow and corny.
3) aliens: colonial marines. The quagmire of DNF boned gearbox, but will help UWE. It is slated for a spring 2012 release date, so UWE will have the opportunity to piggyback on the A:CM hype machine and also beat it to market. With a diligent social media marketing effort, they can siphon interest and build awareness using the most revered brand in Sci-Fi. This cannot be organic but must be a disciplined, but subtle, effort.
As for NS2: I havent played 185 much. Two reasons: Since the tickrate-to-fps link i found most servers lagging too much to play, second reason is Red Orchestra 2, which i spend a lot of time playing these days(im a long time RO fan, as well as NS fan).
Gona play 186 when its out though :)
I no longer play the builds but I do check the site for updates every day - it still excites me to see a new build and comments on it even though I won't download it.
I am a little worried with the new features if the game is going to be good in the end, but I'll give UWE the benefit of the doubt given that they produced an awesome game last time.
TBH worst case scenario and no game came out, I'd glad I contributed to UWE for the fun I had on NS1.
I think the devs really are doing a great job with their constrained resources.
For me beta play is a chance to get in early, provide feedback and help shape the development of a game that you love playing. The NS2 world is changing very quickly - it's an amazing game already minus some performance issues.
It is still a fairly early beta so performance issues, glitches and bugs will be experienced - I used 185 as an excuse to upgrade my rig.
When the full release comes it will be a very well rounded and polished game due to the large amount of community involvement.
The decision to use their own engine is a bit iffy, but it appears to be working quite well and it does give the devs a lot more opportunity to develop the game the way they'd like to develop it.
In all I think it's going to end up being a better game for us to play.
I think I can see perfectly clear now.
Soon the NS2HD tournament starts and the devs want the game to be als much playable and be as much balanced as possible. It would be frustrating to release a patch while the tournament is running and thus changeing balance and game mechanics.
Remember this time there is money and friendship and money don't mix....
Another reason is, that they <!--quoteo(post=1877779:date=Oct 2 2011, 09:15 AM:name=Squeal_Like_A_Pig)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Squeal_Like_A_Pig @ Oct 2 2011, 09:15 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1877779"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->... are taking so long with 186 because [they] want to get a patch out to the public that will be much more playable then 185, so that [they] can spend a good chunk of time on 187 getting in a lot of things we've had to hold off on. (...)
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
and I bet the <i>things</i> will be released at November 27th or maybe a little later. So build 186 will be there for approximately 2 months.
Why the november 27th? NS2HD said that the tournament has to be over at that date, because ..... we will see and it has something to do with his t-shirt ;-)
Source: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XifTjz_ajLg" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XifTjz_ajLg</a> at 4:35
Anyway I am looking forward to build 187 and I think the devs have chosen the right way.
Edit: now I hyped myself again ;)
I think the community would understand if UW decides to drop fully bug-tested releases to once every 6+ weeks, as long as that intention is conveyed. Keep us informed -- that's all I ask.
I think the main problem comes from a mostly playable public release followed by something that basically breaks the game. (This is of course the nature of beta testing, but that makes little difference to the masses). If the player base could choose which release to use, this would be less of a problem. Unfortunately, the automated steam updates make this nearly impossible.
I would still like to have more modability than NS2 currently offers. The lua-scripts are nice and all, but as soon as you trespass the engine's territory, you'll get stuck. It's quite a sandbox. Ideal for gameplay-mods, for something more fundamental not so much. I would also point out Cryengine 3's SDK, as well as Doom 3's impending GPL-ing.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2) unique gameplay is still unique. NS2 is actually unique on 2 dimensions: asymmetrical aliens v. humans gameplay<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Why do people still call it asymmetrical? It's pretty obvious both sides are a lot more leveled in NS2, not completely, but nothing like NS1.