Life By You - Delayed Again - June 4

[GemSixx]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQLu09M_YGY&t=117s

[Nationality]

😭

[The Prime Minister of Canada]

Oh well.

[Aeroprincess87]

This game ain't ever going to come out. At least not as an early access title. They might as well scrap early access and just release it when it is complete at this point.

[Licorice Popcorn]

This was the right decision. Let them flesh out and refine the game more before putting it out there. That benefits us in the long run. The animations really need the additional time. That was a weak point for me, and it's so crucial to the feel of a life sim. The characters also need some form of vocalization by early access as well, because it'll be weird for them not to speak. That's also now standard in a life sim. I just hope they gave themselves enough time. I wonder why they didn't say six months instead.

[Shepard-Commander]

I have a difficult time believing that they are going to implement many of the changes identified in the next 4 months if they hadn't already been done in the past couple years.

[Slphapalme]

Okay. Off it goes from my list Bye together

[Nationality]

I think they realized that a lot of people just don't understand what early access is. People have routinely judged LBY as a final product when it isn't even out. This is a good marketing decision, I'm a little annoyed that those of us with rational expectations are punished. That isn't Paradox Tectonic's fault. (pun not intended)

Originally posted by Shepard-Commander:

I have a difficult time believing that they are going to implement many of the changes identified in the next 4 months if they hadn't already been done in the past couple years.

First of all, it's been a single year, and second, a bunch of changes have actually been made. The performance and graphics are notably better. Feedback has been listened to.

[Norinia]

Originally posted by Nationality:

I think they realized that a lot of people just don't understand what early access is. People have routinely judged LBY as a final product when it isn't even out. This is a good marketing decision, I'm a little annoyed that those of us with rational expectations are punished. That isn't Paradox Tectonic's fault. (pun not intended)

Originally posted by Shepard-Commander:

I have a difficult time believing that they are going to implement many of the changes identified in the next 4 months if they hadn't already been done in the past couple years.

First of all, it's been a single year, and second, a bunch of changes have actually been made. The performance and graphics are notably better. Feedback has been listened to.

Early Access means beta, meaning we get to try it while it's being finalized in development. We give feedback for what we think of the current product, and the developers see how they can shape the game around that feedback.

So no, it's absolutely ridiculous to keep shoving back the release date, when we all know it's not going to be a finished product on released already.

[Nationality]

Originally posted by Norinia:

Early Access means beta, meaning we get to try it while it's being finalized in development. We give feedback for what we think of the current product, and the developers see how they can shape the game around that feedback.

So no, it's absolutely ridiculous to keep shoving back the release date, when we all know it's not going to be a finished product on released already.

You know what? I completely agree. Pushing back the date is a missed opportunity. That is months lost for people to test out the modding tools and start creating mods - and the game will need mods to be successful.

I think they got nervous and that's why they pushed the date. Ultimately it would've been better to have it in tester's hands earlier and just tank the irrational naysayers. I still hope they have a closed beta.

[Xautos]

one delay was fine, two delays? okay. but they do it a third time i'm gonna stop taking them at their word. they can't keep delaying. now they have put themselves in it with InZOI around the same window, since that is expected a few months later.

Paradox should take the estimate off the store page and put coming soon if they have no real idea when they are going to bring the game out, at least this way they can work without the window and they aren't burning their community and themselves from the community they burned.

i also wish they announced these things in blogs here on steam to help us understand why.

[Shepard-Commander]

Originally posted by Nationality:

Originally posted by Norinia:

Early Access means beta, meaning we get to try it while it's being finalized in development. We give feedback for what we think of the current product, and the developers see how they can shape the game around that feedback.

So no, it's absolutely ridiculous to keep shoving back the release date, when we all know it's not going to be a finished product on released already.

You know what? I completely agree. Pushing back the date is a missed opportunity. That is months lost for people to test out the modding tools and start creating mods - and the game will need mods to be successful.

I think they got nervous and that's why they pushed the date. Ultimately it would've been better to have it in tester's hands earlier and just tank the irrational naysayers. I still hope they have a closed beta.

Closed beta would be smart given the approach they appear to be taking. I personally think the early access model isn't a smart one for projects that have adequate funding, which it appears that this one does. If you have the money to get to 1.0, get to 1.0 and then release. There is no point in risking the reputation of your game in the long term in order to get it out in early access if you have the money.

I have no problem with them trying to have a more finished product. I just don't think four months is enough to make enough of a difference on the identified issues.

[GemSixx]

I don't like how they wait until it's almost to the date then they decide to push it back again. Less than 5 weeks to go and they push it back. It brings to mind the old cartoons where they dangle a carrot in front of the horse and the horse keeps going for it while never realizing they will never get the carrot. So, now it's going to be 9 months after the original intended date. Surely they had some clue that this was going to happen when they first announced the Sept. 2023 date.

If I could get my Red Dead to run without crashing, it may not have bothered me so much. But I can't, so the news totally ruined my day.

I could not bring myself to actually watch the video I posted. I just saw the date. I didn't need to know why.

[Nationality]

Originally posted by Shepard-Commander:

There is no point in risking the reputation of your game in the long term in order to get it out in early access if you have the money.

This is the thing. There shouldn't be a risk of reputation in the long term because players should be smart enough to understand that early access means unfinished. Yet how many people on this single discussion forum have had a difficult time understanding that?

Rod's central mistake (and my mistake, too) was expecting people to be smart and reasonable. I'm used to small communities and niche games where the player base really is both smart and reasonable. So I'm forced to agree that there would be long-term reputational damage, even though I think that's stupid. But I don't actually think that damage would be bad enough where releasing on March 4th would be a disaster. Any lost sales would be more than made up for by a healthier modding community on a 1.0 release. To me, an early release would be a short term loss, long term gain.

I really think the primary reason for the delay is they have gotten loud and irrational feedback about how the game looks, and that has scared them more than it should. I do believe that most players are sane, but sane people are quiet. Insane people are loud and tell you to drink bleach in response to a joke that went over their head. Insane people tend to have a lot of influence proportional the numbers they have in the community. It is tempting to try and placate and appease insane people simply to stop them from being insane, but they will only take appeasement as encouragement and they'll find something else to scream at you for.

[Shepard-Commander]

Originally posted by Nationality:

Originally posted by Shepard-Commander:

There is no point in risking the reputation of your game in the long term in order to get it out in early access if you have the money.

This is the thing. There shouldn't be a risk of reputation in the long term because players should be smart enough to understand that early access means unfinished. Yet how many people on this single discussion forum have had a difficult time understanding that?

Rod's central mistake (and my mistake, too) was expecting people to be smart and reasonable. I'm used to small communities and niche games where the player base really is both smart and reasonable. So I'm forced to agree that there would be long-term reputational damage, even though I think that's stupid. But I don't actually think that damage would be bad enough where releasing on March 4th would be a disaster. Any lost sales would be more than made up for by a healthier modding community on a 1.0 release. To me, an early release would be a short term loss, long term gain.

I really think the primary reason for the delay is they have gotten loud and irrational feedback about how the game looks, and that has scared them more than it should. I do believe that most players are sane, but sane people are quiet. Insane people are loud and tell you to drink bleach in response to a joke that went over their head. Insane people tend to have a lot of influence proportional the numbers they have in the community. It is tempting to try and placate and appease insane people simply to stop them from being insane, but they will only take appeasement as encouragement and they'll find something else to scream at you for.

Yeah, we have to accept the world as it is, not as we wish it would be. Many gamers have been soured on early access, and understandably so. They aren't going to grade something more easily because it's early access anymore, particularly when it comes to performance. A game like this can't afford to get a flood of negative reviews in early access.

[The Prime Minister of Canada]

I just noticed that they updated the screenshots on the store page.