Is development going alright?

[roachit]

Hey, just bought the first Freedom Planet and I'm enjoying it a lot. I noticed this sequel has been in development for a long time and people have been asking for a release date. All the updates seem to be rather old except for those streams. If anyone has watched those streams, can you summarize how development is going? Are there any signs of development troubles?
Thanks!

[Ikagura]

Give them all the time they need.

[roachit]

Well, that wasn't really the question but alright.

[Matthew]

Originally posted by roachit:

Well, that wasn't really the question but alright.

Well, yes, development is going alright. The thing here is that developers announced the game way too early because of hype or something like that, If I remember well. There were a lot of fight discussions in here because the game is taking too long to release, this happens because developers are taking they're time to polish the game and making it great. But yes, waiting is a pain, but that is good too haha

[roachit]

So nobody quitting, no running out of money, no medical issues, no floods or hurricanes or idolm@ster addictions, got it. That's good!
I don't know how many people are working on the game or the kind of schedule they have, but as long as progress is steady without any major roadblocks like the stuff I mentioned above, it should be fine.

[Gnidex]

Originally posted by Matthew Grey:

Originally posted by roachit:

Well, that wasn't really the question but alright.

Well, yes, development is going alright. The thing here is that developers announced the game way too early because of hype or something like that, If I remember well. There were a lot of fight discussions in here because the game is taking too long to release, this happens because developers are taking they're time to polish the game and making it great. But yes, waiting is a pain, but that is good too haha

I disagree. I think they develop the game too long and I'm surprised the company even exists at this point. I think 3-4 years are maximum and if it takes longer, it indicates either lack of staff or development hell. If it's former - then it's a case of mismanagement because same people working for longer cost the same as more people working for shorter. Maybe is even more expensive because people ask for raises. And the sooner money comes in, the sooner they can make the next game. I consider both lack of staff and development hell as "not going well".

[Gabby]

I assure you we are doing just fine. Small staff, big game, there's no magical timer on when a game comes out, but there's no way to take back a half-assed game either.

We're not in development hell. Insisting on it won't make it happen nor are there any combination of words that are going to cause us to release the game before it's done.

[Gabby]

Oh we don't argue that. We actually originally intended to keep it under wraps for a long while but the end of Steam Greenlight kind of forced our hand.

I've got to stress again, we're definitely not in development hell, if anything we've steadily increased our pace lately. As our stream in September showed a significant portion of the game work is done and since our art assets are complete for most levels we've already gone into the stage where we're refining and making the game perfect.

We funded the game independently with our own profits and we're steadily on track to completion. We'll give a release date when the game is done, not before. Good things come to those who can wait for them. And we're working hard to ensure we make the best possible game we can.

[Ikagura]

Please remember that: A delayed game is eventually good. A rushed game is forever bad

So let them take their sweet time making a great sequel to a great game.

[adz]

Originally posted by Ikagura:

Please remember that: A delayed game is eventually good. A rushed game is forever bad

So let them take their sweet time making a great sequel to a great game.

yeh i agree! unless if it takes 50 years to make than it will be a problem lol.

[funewchie]

This might give you some ideas of what to expect.

Strife streamed a sneak peek a while ago, and near the end of it showed the game's progress (as of September 2020)
Looking at their progress chart, they're making good strides with it.

Here's that stream, uploaded to YouTube.
(The progress report (as of September 2020) can be seen at 1:30:30)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgA4y-B-J-g

(...Also, Milla speaking Spanish = adorable! )

Originally posted by Gabby:

I assure you we are doing just fine. Small staff, big game, there's no magical timer on when a game comes out, but there's no way to take back a half-assed game either.

We're not in development hell. Insisting on it won't make it happen nor are there any combination of words that are going to cause us to release the game before it's done.

I'd imagine the pandemic hasn't done you guys any favors, either.

Still, that stream definitely scratched an itch, and certainly whet my appetite.
I'm looking forward to the game when it comes out.
(If I was able to wait over 6 months for The Sims 3's expansion packs to go on sale, then I can wait for this. Take your time.)

[Vesperion]

Originally posted by Gabby:

Oh we don't argue that. We actually originally intended to keep it under wraps for a long while but the end of Steam Greenlight kind of forced our hand.[...]

This is something that can be debated now imo cus i guess no one would have been mad if you did work on this game in secret just to announce it when it is done. I for myself would not really have any issue with that kind of strategy cus it mostly has way more impact on the fans then showing it right at the start "that something is in the work".

However many do not know that a lot of work is behind every game and some games take time to bring them polished rather then rushed for the sake of "being released but in such a terrible state that follow up patches/updates are required to iron things out". The main gripe however on the "we tell them that we work on the sequel" strat is that the longer it takes the less the interest for some will be until they maybe totaly forget about it.

[adz]

it will be fantastic when its all done and polished when the game is out, looking forward!

[TemmieNeko]

Originally posted by Ikagura:

Please remember that: A delayed game is eventually good. A rushed game is forever bad

So let them take their sweet time making a great sequel to a great game.

noman's sky is a pretty great game today.
it wasn't delayed, nor was it a good game upon release.

Mr Miyamoto's quote doesn;t hold water in this ag of internet, keep in mind he said this when games ONLY shipped to retailers, where you coulsnt just patch a bug fix in and download it same day.

please.

stop abusing thisout of time quote in 2021. itsimply doesnt work anymore.

[Ikagura]

Originally posted by TemmieNeko:

Originally posted by Ikagura:

Please remember that: A delayed game is eventually good. A rushed game is forever bad

So let them take their sweet time making a great sequel to a great game.

noman's sky is a pretty great game today.
it wasn't delayed, nor was it a good game upon release.

Mr Miyamoto's quote doesn;t hold water in this ag of internet, keep in mind he said this when games ONLY shipped to retailers, where you coulsnt just patch a bug fix in and download it same day.

please.

stop abusing thisout of time quote in 2021. itsimply doesnt work anymore.

No Man's Sky is an exemple of how not to sell an indie game. The fact it's good now doesn't excuse the poor release of the game.

Also Miyamoto literally made some of the best videogames ever made so his quote should hold as much as philosophers centuries ago (age of internet or not).

Nowadays AAA games are half made with day 1 patches and filled with lootboxes (guess why I turned to indie and retro games since a decade?)

And this quote should be taken into account by devs even more today.

[Zanzos]

That was a shockingly civil argument on both sides of the spectrum.