Developers should show something new

[kondi754]

Maybe they'll show something new because of Christmas

[Sourdust]

Why "something new" - so far they haven't shown anything at all! No dev diaries, no graphics, just a placeholder trailer. Personally I prefer Paradox's way...

[K 19]

Maybe they ran out of money due to all the time and expense they put into the 'new and improved' 3d graphics engine.

[IainMcNeil]

The team are working hard. We hope to have something to show soon but we don't want to release anything before its ready or you'll all be complaining about how it doesn't look right It needs to look good but keep the essence of Panzer Corps and be familiar and in 3D. There are also a host of new gameplay features and its in a completely new engine.

[cicciopastic]

The team are working hard.

i knew that! but still is really awarding to ear someone telling it!

plz give some hints .... i am sure you may take a little step further ... there must be some corner stone you are sure about and you may share with as .... for istance:
there will be (or not) a pacific scenario ...
or a pacific scenario is not planned now but may be possible later on ....
or ... on this version names of cities will be well printed on the map!
or ... border of countrie will be clearly indicated on the map ....
or ... there will be (or not) plenty of animations on the new game

or whatever you want .... but say something ... plz plz plz plz plz plz plz

[huckc]

There are also a host of new gameplay features...

That would great to hear, graphics aside!

[janscas]

Men! some pictures... even not of the game itself.. a render or whatever!!! PLEASE!!!!

[Sourdust]

I think if you're going to announce a game far in advance of release, it makes sense to have some kind of ongoing player community engagement. Dev diaries are a great way to do this, and are absolutely do-able even for small studios. You don't have to do a full Paradox weekly update thing - have a look at Unity of Command 2, where Tomas is doing an excellent job of maintaining momentum and enthusiasm for the game with a meaningful update every now and again.

[cicciopastic]

hope the game will be more interesting than this blog ....

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....zzzzzzzzzzzzzz... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Ryben]

The fact that there are no news or pics and creators are still getting ideas from the community makes me think that this project is still in a veeeery early development stage

[Sourdust]

The fact that there are no news or pics and creators are still getting ideas from the community makes me think that this project is still in a veeeery early development stage

I suspect the period for meaningful community input is long past. Sure people are still posting ideas in the forum, but there's no dev engagement with those ideas and no signal from devs that major design decisions are still open.

[AlbertoC]

Just a bit more patience guys, please we'll have something to show very soon.

[kondi754]

Therefore, we wait impatiently

[verstaubtgesicht]

Just a bit more patience guys, please we'll have something to show very soon.

This is becoming somewhat ridiculous. The game was announced almost a year ago and there are no timelines for the launch. I like to pick a game and then stick to it for a considerable time while mastering every detail. I loved PzC and when this announcement came, I sort of postponed looking at anything else (took a stab at OOB, but it doesn't work properly on Mac) hoping to replicate the countless joyous hours playing PzC in 2018. is it possible to know whether this will be released in the June or Dec. timeframe, or maybe even 2019?

[13obo]

You do realise games can be developed sometimes for 5 years or even more before release, right? 1 year of development means nothing if they announced the game in very early stage. So be patient, fix your OOB and go enjoy it while waiting for PzC2.

[verstaubtgesicht]

You do realise games can be developed sometimes for 5 years or even more before release, right? 1 year of development means nothing if they announced the game in very early stage. So be patient, fix your OOB and go enjoy it while waiting for PzC2.

I don't care if it's 1,3, or 5 years. I think it would be nice that we get the planned launch date, even if it's a year from now.

[13obo]

That's not how things work in game development or any other industry for that matter. A product is shown when there's something good to show, not just anything, because then questions start why things look bad. Game development starts by building the "skeleton", "muscles", "organs", etc, of the body you want, and the last thing you put is the skin, which is what you'll see on the screenshots.

So again, be patient and do something else in the mean time.

[Sourdust]

That's not how things work in game development or any other industry for that matter. A product is shown when there's something good to show, not just anything, because then questions start why things look bad. Game development starts by building the "skeleton", "muscles", "organs", etc, of the body you want, and the last thing you put is the skin, which is what you'll see on the screenshots.

So again, be patient and do something else in the mean time.

Well, devs have a range of practices here. I have to say the games in development right now that I'm most excited about are Unity of Command 2, Sunless Skies, and Thea 2. I'm excited about those games because they are all sequels to games I love, and because the developers (all of them small indie outfits) do a great job of bringing you along the development pathway. It's not just about showing screenies, it's about letting you know what the devs are excited about, what they're working on, etc.

For all of those three games, there are periodic updates of various kinds. Failbetter even posted their Development Roadmap for Sunless Skies, which was a fascinating look into how they do things. Unity of Command dev posts occasional questions to the player community, has posted early art and asked for feedback, and let's players know what game mechanics he's wrestling with, and why he's making certain design decisions. Muha (Thea 2) shows off all kinds of stuff, including some behind-the-facade looks at their event editor etc.

I'm not all that excited about Panzer Corps 2, because I don't know a thing about it, other than its name and the fact that it is 3D. Flashback's website says "We will disclose more details about the game as we move through the development process and we’ll be updating this page with features, images, screenshots and more. Just as with the original Panzer Corps, we want you to be part of the development process. There are still chances to incorporate your ideas and suggestions into the game, so come to the forum and tell us what your dream Panzer Corps sequel would look and play like. You can follow the development process in our DevBlog."

Basically no part of that quoted paragraph has been implemented. No blog, no dev engagement in the forums, no details about mechanics or dev pathway or design decisions or concept art or anything.

The DevBlog is literally empty. Not a single post since the announcement 11 months ago. So I don't feel like I'm "part of the development process" at all. It's got me scratching my head as to why they announced the game at all, if there was no real capacity to engage the player base.

Don't get me wrong, if it's a good game, stable and with decent reviews by players I trust, I'll buy it and all of the above won't inhibit my enjoyment of the game. I just think the devs are missing out on an opportunity to get more people excited and keep them excited up through release and after. And missing out on opportunities to share game design thinking with the player community and gain valuable feedback on it.

In the meantime, back to Tyranny for me. Great game by Obsidian, which incidentally has done 44 dev updates for Pillars of Eternity II, including lots of concept and early art, behind-the-scenes stuff, game lore, design decisions, etc.)

[13obo]

A fair and well said point. Hopefully, you get what you want.

My experience is that the quality of a game is unrelated to how much marketing/promotion the studio/publisher did beforehand as seen from AAA games. Ultimately, the hype of dev blogs help for more sales, but that could be offset by having to hire someone with the specific task of doing the promotion.

Early access games are of course an exception, and the studios should be engaged during the process with the players, but this is not such a game.

[Sourdust]

Yes, I'd agree with that in general. There are exceptions, where I do believe good player engagement has improved the final product, but in general there's no link between pre-release marketing/engagement and game quality. Certainly there have been games (Civ, I'm lookin' at you) with plenty of pre-release info and hype, where the ultimate product I have found disappointing.