Discussion
I recently downloaded Sniper Elite VR. A week later the developers provided updates to fix some issues . I noticed that F1 2021 was recently released and that that, too, has had updates to fix some issues.
My understanding of what it takes to develop a new game is minimal. if I had bought a new item that, a week later, required an update from the manufacturer I would be annoyed.
Is it acceptable to sell something that less than a week later requires revisions? Or am I totally underestimating what it actually takes to produce a new video game?
My understanding of what it takes to develop a new game is minimal. if I had bought a new item that, a week later, required an update from the manufacturer I would be annoyed.
Is it acceptable to sell something that less than a week later requires revisions? Or am I totally underestimating what it actually takes to produce a new video game?
Yes you are totally underestimating what it takes to make a modern hugely complicated game all work optimally.
Even though they run huge testing teams, you cant account for every combination of pixels and physics when the game is out in the open.
The number of assets (sounds, models, texture maps, shadow maps etc etc) is phenomenal.
What you have to remember is they are creating something complex that has never been made before, so there is no "completed" working version to compare against to know whether you have "finished".
Plus, like operating systems, exploits are found all the time.
At least in this day and age the process of updates is virtually seamless (assuming you turn on background updates). In the old days it just wasnt possible to update or correct things in games, so it was a different mindset.
Even though they run huge testing teams, you cant account for every combination of pixels and physics when the game is out in the open.
The number of assets (sounds, models, texture maps, shadow maps etc etc) is phenomenal.
What you have to remember is they are creating something complex that has never been made before, so there is no "completed" working version to compare against to know whether you have "finished".
Plus, like operating systems, exploits are found all the time.
At least in this day and age the process of updates is virtually seamless (assuming you turn on background updates). In the old days it just wasnt possible to update or correct things in games, so it was a different mindset.
The_Jackal said:
Yes you are totally underestimating what it takes to make a modern hugely complicated game all work optimally.
Even though they run huge testing teams, you cant account for every combination of pixels and physics when the game is out in the open.
The number of assets (sounds, models, texture maps, shadow maps etc etc) is phenomenal.
What you have to remember is they are creating something complex that has never been made before, so there is no "completed" working version to compare against to know whether you have "finished".
Plus, like operating systems, exploits are found all the time.
At least in this day and age the process of updates is virtually seamless (assuming you turn on background updates). In the old days it just wasnt possible to update or correct things in games, so it was a different mindset.
While I agree generally with what you're saying - its also done simply because they can. The dev team will be under pressure to use the release & patch model to get it to market quicker. Given the leads times for physical production and marketing, they will provide something roughly workable to be released with the knowledge they can safely patch on day 1.Even though they run huge testing teams, you cant account for every combination of pixels and physics when the game is out in the open.
The number of assets (sounds, models, texture maps, shadow maps etc etc) is phenomenal.
What you have to remember is they are creating something complex that has never been made before, so there is no "completed" working version to compare against to know whether you have "finished".
Plus, like operating systems, exploits are found all the time.
At least in this day and age the process of updates is virtually seamless (assuming you turn on background updates). In the old days it just wasnt possible to update or correct things in games, so it was a different mindset.
The less scrupulous developers (looking at you CD Projekt Red) will skimp on testing and use the customer as the final test.
Although most companies do a level of testing, they cannot go through every scenario. Who knew that if you picked up the green key, shot someone in the head and then moved right it'll overwrite memory and crash?
There must be a temptation to not test as thoroughly as they would have done for a cartridge or pre-internet days (if anyone even remembers that) and as the above poster mentions, some companies don't care and will release on 'release day' knowing full well there are show stopping bugs and just hoping that they can patch before the reviews hit.
There must be a temptation to not test as thoroughly as they would have done for a cartridge or pre-internet days (if anyone even remembers that) and as the above poster mentions, some companies don't care and will release on 'release day' knowing full well there are show stopping bugs and just hoping that they can patch before the reviews hit.
Order66 said:
While I agree generally with what you're saying - its also done simply because they can. The dev team will be under pressure to use the release & patch model to get it to market quicker. Given the leads times for physical production and marketing, they will provide something roughly workable to be released with the knowledge they can safely patch on day 1.
The less scrupulous developers (looking at you CD Projekt Red) will skimp on testing and use the customer as the final test.
No company puts out a sThe less scrupulous developers (looking at you CD Projekt Red) will skimp on testing and use the customer as the final test.
t game if they can avoid it. But with multi million budgets and deadlines, sometimes they have to just make what they have work. Gamers tend to just think they can just snap their fingers and do things experienced industry people cant, because they only think about things from and end user view.And yes I did work in the industry.
The_Jackal said:
No company puts out a st game if they can avoid it. But with multi million budgets and deadlines, sometimes they have to just make what they have work. Gamers tend to just think they can just snap their fingers and do things experienced industry people cant, because they only think about things from and end user view.
And yes I did work in the industry.
Sure there's an element of truth in both, I remember when Fallout76 was released it contained a bug that also existed in the predecessors game that was well known and fixed by the community year prior.t game if they can avoid it. But with multi million budgets and deadlines, sometimes they have to just make what they have work. Gamers tend to just think they can just snap their fingers and do things experienced industry people cant, because they only think about things from and end user view.And yes I did work in the industry.
The_Jackal said:
No company puts out a st game if they can avoid it. But with multi million budgets and deadlines, sometimes they have to just make what they have work. Gamers tend to just think they can just snap their fingers and do things experienced industry people cant, because they only think about things from and end user view.
And yes I did work in the industry.
I own a software company. I am intimately familiar with the dev processes in the gaming and other industries. Some companies absolutely will put out untested dogst game if they can avoid it. But with multi million budgets and deadlines, sometimes they have to just make what they have work. Gamers tend to just think they can just snap their fingers and do things experienced industry people cant, because they only think about things from and end user view.And yes I did work in the industry.
t because they think they can get away with it and/or have belief that they can release a "1.1" fix in time for all the distribution dates. So mine is not just a "gamers" view. I see other software companies pull this crap all the time.The_Jackal said:
No company puts out a st game if they can avoid it.
Frontier Developments recently absolutely burned the Elite Dangerous player base by releasing the ludicrously buggy "Odyssey" paid DLC just in time to meet their quarterly sales predictions.t game if they can avoid it. They could have avoided it by disapointing their shareholders, instead they shovelled it out to massively negative reviews and have now made a series of apologies for the botched job, they've also had to delay the console release of the same DLC. Everyone saw it coming a mile off with the (paid) Alpha access (they decided they didn't need a Beta...) but no, out the door it went.
That decision came from the top, but the consequences will be more crunch for developers and an increasingly toxic subset of customers.
These thoughtlessly blinkered short term financial gains I think will haunt them for some time to come. I would not want to be a studio releasing through F-Dev for the next few years.
The games industry must be one of the very few where it's considered standard practice to release an unfinished product, then promise to fix it later. It would be like releasing a book with no final chapter, then say you'll be posted the extra pages at some point in the future. Yes you do sometimes get the likes of No Man's Sky where they do fix their mistakes, but you get plenty more Anthems or Arkham Knights where they just give up and move on to the next project.
The_Jackal said:
Well keep bhing then.
You clearly know better, and i'm sure will keep posting how other companies cant do what you can, and in the end we will all have no bugs to bh about.
Well that's definitely a thorough rebutable to all the points raised about "No company puts out a s**t game if they can avoid it"hing then.You clearly know better, and i'm sure will keep posting how other companies cant do what you can, and in the end we will all have no bugs to b
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