Release deadline already missed. What is the new deadline?

[Cpl Steiner]

Hi JMM,

on 07/11/09, you posted a number of deadlines for the game in the news section:

http://www.histwar.com/news/deadlines-for-histwar.html

The release date deadline was quoted as "Before Christmas". Well as Christmas 2009 has been and gone, I guess you meant Christmas 2010!

Seriously though, this deadline needs to be revised and a new one posted in the news section.

[Boomer21]

Seriously it will be done when JMM says it is done and when he feels all the bugs that he can fix are done.

I mean we have a demo and soon to have a second one at least we have something to play so that is good enough, but seriously  

[Cpl Steiner]

Seriously it will be done when JMM says it is done and when he feels all the bugs that he can fix are done.

I mean we have a demo and soon to have a second one at least we have something to play so that is good enough, but seriously 

Sorry to disagree but a deadline should mean something or you may as well not make them. JMM said it would be done "before Christmas". It wasn't.

Sometimes being "nice" to someone isn't always the best thing for them. As I recall, the breakdown of the deal with <company name deleted> was due to JMM consistently giving over-optimistic release dates he couldn't actually meet.

We now have lots of people with pre-orders placed waiting for the game, so "when JMM says it's done" is not exactly fair to them is it?

[Duke of Earl]

Bonjour Messieurs,

Simmer down, simmer down  .... my money is on the table too  ....

There are a lot of game production details to attend to, not to mention snapping last minute source code bugs (which are complicated enough)  ....  and JMM is doing it all by himself ....

So, crack another cold-one, sit back, relax and enjoy the BCS Bowl Games ....  

Cordialement, DoE

[ArtVandelay]

So, crack another cold-one, sit back, relax and enjoy the BCS Bowl Games ....  

I like your attitude, Duke. We've all been waiting, but with all the progress in the last thirty days, I for one can wait a bit longer. We have the demo, and there is a lot to digest in that.

[Formaldehyde]

Having a brief statement on where we stand currently isn't a bad idea at all.  Particularly for those of us with short vacations .   

[Hook]

Sometimes being "nice" to someone isn't always the best thing for them. As I recall, the breakdown of the deal with <company name deleted> was due to JMM consistently giving over-optimistic release dates he couldn't actually meet.

Actually, it had nothing to do with that.  The fact that we've got a demo in our hands and a shipping date for the box version in January should make that obvious.  I'm too close to the source to do any open speculation, but I'm sure you could figure out another reason without any hints.  It wasn't release dates, and it wasn't that the game wasn't close to being finished enough to release. As for anything else, "I can neither confirm nor deny..."

We now have lots of people with pre-orders placed waiting for the game, so "when JMM says it's done" is not exactly fair to them is it?

So what's your pre-order number?    Mine is 22.  It would have been lower if I hadn't been on the phone with my bank at the time finding how how they handle a transaction in Euros.  And a hint:  JMM might be good to those who support him if what I read on the French forum is correct.  How good I do not know.

Hook

[Cpl Steiner]

So what's your pre-order number?    Mine is 22.

I haven't pre-ordered, I'm just thinking of all those who have. As I was only intending to get the digital download version I didn't see the point in pre-ordering. It won't help JMM much and I won't get it any quicker.

And a hint:  JMM might be good to those who support him if what I read on the French forum is correct.  How good I do not know.

From what I gather, pre-orderers are kind of a self-nominated beta-testing team who might get to see a pre-release copy of the game before anyone else. If so, good luck to them but it's the final release version I'm interested in.

[Hook]

it's the final release version I'm interested in.

Ok, just keep in mind that this isn't the typical commercial game release where the publisher shoves it out the door unfinished and pays the developers for 2 patches before moving on to something else and the game gets abandoned, finished or not.

JMM will be around for quite a while patching and enhancing.  The *final release* version might be around the bicentennial of Waterloo in 2015.  It's up to you if you want to play sooner.  I don't want to wait that long. 

We'll have a very nice playable version 1.0 some time in January according to the current schedule.  Opening pre-orders kind of locks in that date.  It won't contain British troops, for example, and it's sure to contain bugs, but both of those will be fixed soon enough.  It probably won't be as polished as a highly funded commercial release, but that will improve over time. 

If that's not good enough, well... let me know if you find any other good Napoleonic battlefield simulations (not games) so I can buy those too.

Hook

[Duke of Earl]

Bonjour Messieurs,

Simmer down boys .... be nice 

Cordialement, DoE

[LNDavout]

Work is in progress, we got a demo and an constantly answering JMM,

I´m happy with that, Pre Order Number 33 btw.

Even after the release we will get a game that is growning stronger day by day.

JMM had the chance of a nice mass testing ny the demo. Its normal that new questions arise with it.

I´m pretty sure you will see, soon you will play the full version.

[Franciscus]

The only things I am expecting now after pre-ordering LG are the ones explicitly stated with the pre-order:
- Access to the "Grenadiers" sub-forum (where the doctrine editor is available)
- Box shipping in january 2010.

[Darsh]

don't forget that the demo2 is coming soon for the grenadiers

[HarryInk]

From my PreOrder Confirmation email:

"Les Grognards Collector Napoleon will be shipped in January 2010. However, once the game is available, you will be able to download and start playing "HistWar: Les Grognards"! "

I got to be #11 and I have a pretty clear timetable for the main release and even, apparently, a demo v.2 coming up.  I'm happy.

[JCM101]

I have pre-ordered & don't mind having a bit of a wait, I don't even mind the inevitable bugs that are in pretty much every software release (I use Windows OS as the benchmark for bugs  )  The demo shows a few but nowhere near as many as some games I've seen.  I've waded thru enuf code to know it's a long job tracking these things down & some appear in the most unlikely ways.

I am happy to learn the ropes of the game from the demo for now & there is plenty of reading in the manuals released so far to keep me busy.
It is tantalising/frustrating to have release dates come & go, but JMM is pretty busy I think, just the idea of trying to answer all the questions here in multiple languages is a full-time job I think.  That has to impact his debugging time.

Personally I hope pre-ordering shows JMM he's not wasting his time with a tiny fickle customer base, & that the 'other companies' who failed to keep faith are the losers here.