The stats come years too late

[Pessimus Prime]

Recently I noticed there are suddenly personal statistics available regarding multiplayer, singleplayer, factions and blah blah. But they ignored about 95% of my gameplay so far and the official release of the game was in september 2023. So this is a half-baked ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and I guess most people already more or less done with the game like me.

And the game is still OK and an interesting mix of things despite the simple combat-system, the bad AI and many not really more intelligently behaving players in the small remaining multiplayer if they at least not quit after the first problems or right within the minutes after start. But this is not the first time that features come months or even years too late. And always again changes still. I think after official release a game should be rather more than less completed... Just mention. 8-)

[Soho]

Originally posted by Pessimus Prime:

I think after official release a game should be rather more than less completed...

I think the last RTS game that was able to do this was Warcraft III, so we are talking 20+ years ago... the CD you bought with the game on it was more than less completed

Certainly there were numerous balance patches after that but you could (and still can) load up the game from the CD and play it as is

Major shifts in gaming industry especially given digital downloading and an eschewing of marketing physical copies of games has led to a model where frequent balance patches & updates come to every RTS after release, all the way up to a new version of the game being released- As examples I would give Company of Heroes 2, which was not really a 'complete' game until more than ten years after its release, and updates to it have only slowed down to where they are just about stopped since the release of the new version, Company of Heroes 3

Another example, Starcraft II, had updates and changes discontinued after about twelve years from official release, and three expansions. Up until then, there were frequent balance updates and changes, through all three expansions, but now that no new expansions are planned and continued support is stopped, you could consider the game now as 'more than less completed' (again, almost 16 years later now)

So while I think your complaint is a valid one, and sure I too would have liked the newest features to have been included at the official release rather than now, I don't think it is unreasonable that they should come better late than never and personally I am glad of them- I am enjoying two new Conquests and the new multiplayer/skirmish maps are a good addition as well (they are like playing a whole new game in multiplayer). It is honestly how game companies (especially relatively smaller studios) are able to produce eventually a really great game because you can't keep development going without an income stream... which Early Access, official release and DLC's provide. When you get improvements like this down the road you can look at it as they reinvested some of that to make the game better, which I have to say is a great thing... Just mentioning 8~]

[Pessimus Prime]

Yes, I confess I clearly prefer the good old times when you bought a quite completed game in a shop in a nice box and in a little bit earlier times even with a touchable manual inside and put it into the shelf. And with a CD or DVD that you put into your PC. And imagine: singleplayer-games you could play INDEPENDENTLY from the internet and services like Steam! :-D Then maybe one add-on or patch and this was it. Gaming changed negatively in this download-"culture" in my eyes - regarding many things. OK, you get more frequent patches and upgrades in these times - but also more half-baked games that NEED these patches and updates... And Im not the one who plays games for several years in general. This means if I would buy one in that Early Access ♥♥♥♥ I probably give it up before official release or right after it. And so some communities in some games look. And Early Access is REALLY half-baked usually...

The problem in these days: a few multi-million dollar AAA productions and the rest more or less indie-games that partly look like from decades ago. BETWEEN these two extremes is less and less. And they both either need a lot of time or a frequent money-stream - or both. So they mix the development-process with the play-time of the players more and more. I not really like that. Because so it often looks and gets played...

But I think there are nice-to-haves and must-haves. To get a new campaign with another faction (but principally still very similar gameplay) or a new map ist a nice-to-have and can get provided later. But stats or principal gameplay should be ready at official release. And I think so difficult this with the stats cant be...
Lets take House Harkonnen for example. Before the first major-update after official release I liked to play with them after I gathered some experience with it, now not really any longer. One reason is that I no longer like the updates for the army and only like to fill ONE slot regarding the most units. Instead I like Corrino more now. Other things also changed, for example the way to gather some ressources or the kill-time. So, basic gameplay should not change too often and too much after release I think.

[Shin-Shin]

Haven't read much, but saying combat is basic is crazy. If you're the kind of guy who waits until the end to attack when you have a full army to right-click next, I understand, but try playing against really good players with a faction like Fremen or Smugglers - if you're not micromanaging and taking advantage of anything you can, you'll die pretty quickly. I agree with you on the rant about unfinished games though, even if I think this model has its place, and that Spice Wars doesn't deserve such shortsighted criticism.

[Pessimus Prime]

If you read not much then I suggest you also say nothing about what you not read. And if you compare this lemming-chaos here regarding combat with true tactical games where you need a good teamwork of tanks, helicopters, snipers, close-combat-soldiers, rocket-launcher-soldiers, anti-aircraft, aircraft, artillery,...then you PERHAPS understand what I was talking about. ;-) Combat was even more complex in the original "Dune 2", although a pioneer-RTS of course and ONLY combat and base-building there unlike here.

So, years too late also some tutorials (maybe) come I just realised again. I was clearly leading in economy, clearly leading in the Landsraad, second-best in hegemony and increasing, stepped far regarding research, got powerful military on the brink to expand...and then such a slimy, pathetic rat got a successful assassination. Because either some ♥♥♥♥ here not worked or I remembered too late how to counter it. Very badly explained. I had two good counter-spies but never got the third slot. Thats the first ♥♥♥♥. But the worst is I detected some hostile cells but my units just did nothing. Either it not worked or I clicked on the villages with a wrong icon. Whatever. In consquence I proclaimed myself as the winner by DQ but it still ruined an until there good battle for me. Assassination and the counter is one of the most complex things here and so why we not finally got a tutorial about THAT?! 8-( I see there are four more slots in tutorial, so finally fill them before nobody any longer is interested in that game...

[Shin-Shin]

i read even less that much

[Siderite]

better late than never

[DasaKamov]

Originally posted by Pessimus Prime:

But they ignored about 95% of my gameplay

We all ignored at least 95%, if not 100%, of your gameplay. :b

Originally posted by Pessimus Prime:

I guess most people already more or less done with the game like me.

You guess wrong, but bye then.

[Pessimus Prime]

The state of multiplayer says something different, and no, NOT better late than never in THAT case because these stats now are half-baked ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ that not represent what really happened so far. 8-)

And as I have to tell these degenerated nerds of these days over and over again: if you have nothing to say then consider just to let it be... ;-)

PS: Oh, and do you know what is not MUCH better than hack-cheating? Hidden Teams. ;-P Be cautious if people suddenly join the lobby at the same time I say. I mean, it is OK if temporary alliances get forged by the circumstances in the battle. But it is NOT OK, if two honkytonks work together from the beginning on in a non-team-battle - and usually one plays the role of the slave/♥♥♥♥♥ and one the role of the master then.

PPS: Also great that we get a registered auto-"defeat" now every time we have to restart a lobby because one or two idiots once again piss off after some minutes or did not get a connection if we are not the last member. ;-P

[SpicyCrab]

Originally posted by Pessimus Prime:

The state of multiplayer says something different, and no, NOT better late than never in THAT case because these stats now are half-baked ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ that not represent what really happened so far. 8-)

And as I have to tell these degenerated nerds of these days over and over again: if you have nothing to say then consider just to let it be... ;-)

PS: Oh, and do you know what is not MUCH better than hack-cheating? Hidden Teams. ;-P Be cautious if people suddenly join the lobby at the same time I say. I mean, it is OK if temporary alliances get forged by the circumstances in the battle. But it is NOT OK, if two honkytonks work together from the beginning on in a non-team-battle - and usually one plays the role of the slave/♥♥♥♥♥ and one the role of the master then.

PPS: Also great that we get a registered auto-"defeat" now every time we have to restart a lobby because one or two idiots once again piss off after some minutes or did not get a connection if we are not the last member. ;-P

Lol go away. This game is brilliant if you don't get it, just say you dont' get it. No need to say just obviously false things that come from a lack of understanding.

[Pessimus Prime]

As I said: If you have nothing to say, just let it. 8-)