Able Commander - officially postponed

Does that mean the current Able just goes away or will he (she/it?) be re-introduced at a later date?

I have to concur with clopse and others.

Uber believed that the PA community would be gracious enough to understand that they were under schedule pressure to bring Planetary Annihilation to fruition for all of us and and generous enough to be willing to share something of little consequence to help the disabled share a passion we all love, computer gaming. The result of their faith stands before us in this thread.

Twenty years from now, which will be more important to you: exclusive access to a small digital model in a videogame or the respect and positive regard from a great many people, myself included, that evaporated this week?

Able is going away, and people who purchased it will get the new Able when it comes out.

Why not hold a contest?

Who ever can design the best Able Commander replacement, Wins

That way, you guys dont need to do alotta work, and the community can have a chance to have a commander of their own design in for charity :3

Its a win-win

So even though the Progenitor's unique model was fought tooth and nail to preserve the Artists work on the current Able was now all for nothing? That kinda stinks.

[Edit]

That kinda thing takes time and resources though. Who do you think will be the ones sifting through all the entries and discussion a potential winner?

Do you really think there would be that many "proper"Candidates?

Mike

There doesn't need to be many. Just one good one.

Was never really about exclusivity it was about sticking to their word. What is more important to me as a disabled gamer is a more inclusive gaming culture that allows accessibility features without attacking people who speak up for themselves. Trust me I can't be done through donating to charity. Making it unacceptable to attack people advocating for people with disabilities not just in the realm of video games has to be done in society-at-large. That is more important.

A way it could be done is by having X number of submissions then narrow it down to five. Provide a poll for the community to vote on or you could use instant-runoff voting.

Having a community developed Commander is a good idea, but it's something we can't do right now. Despite the work being offloaded, we'll still need artists to make sure whatever model fits the theme, the vision, the tone, and all the other checklist items that a Commander needs. We're not in a position at the moment.

Still, great idea. Appreciate the thought. Just wanted to say something before someone goes too far down this road and creates something that we can't accept due to production stuff.

I don't think eh intent was in the mind set of a "quick fix" as much as a possible option for when you guys can get around to it again. It would also have the added benefit of being able to star the community working a month-or so "Before" you guys are ready to accept it generating more visibility for it.

Mike

Too late

Atleast files dont expire XD

Im pretty sure some people have already made their own awesome commanders that they cant wait to mod into the game XD

How about keep it, but rename it 'Cain.' Let only the AI have access to it so no-one gets offended. This would preserve the artists work, and being the AI it will normally be the enemy and people can vent their frustrations in the game rather than here.

A cool way to go about this would be to add a pack of alternates for a couple commanders. Some spiky decorations on the commanders.

Neither, quite frankly. But that choice is missing the point by a country mile, anyways.
Actually, I am quite happy how Uber handled this in the end. Able getting support, the backers keeping their unique model, Uber saving face. Thumbs up for Uber's damage control skills!

I completely approve of Uber's decision to honor their agreement with their kickstarter backers based on terms and definitions well-defined and thoroughly used widely by multiple industries all over the world.

It's sad about the commander being postponed, but such things happen when big decisions like this are made. I hope that any donations the Able commander receives will still move forward towards the charity, and it's not like uber can't put a [?] box in the armory above the Able's name to generate curiosity, and still gain money for charity on top of that. A lot of posts about the Able commander were indeed completely out-of-line, and others ban-worthy in my opinion. That does not mean the message, as badly-conveyed as it was, was not a legitimate concern at it's core. I think some people here forget that.

The charity does not lose anything by gaining a new commander that does not use an already unique and pre-promised commander model. Other models can be used, and new ones can be made. The money already earned will not disappear. The backers, however, would lose their promised unique commander model if the Able kept it's original model base, and that, in a nutshell, is why the forums exploded. It should not have exploded the way it did, and many posts I saw were unprofessional and flame-baiting.

They all, however, carried the same message. That message, and that message alone, I will stand and fight for all day every day. You did good, Uber, and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Keeping your agreement to those who funded and made this project possible is not disappointing, disgusting, nor toxic. It's honorable, commendable, and very professional. Respect.

People will argue no matter the premise. It was those against the Able, now those who "defend" Uber cry out.
I believe Uber was protecting themselves. They didn't "comply" with those who wanted the Able off. Kickstarter is legally binding. The kickstarter stated a unique model. By most peoples definition, not Uber's, a model is comprised of those raw untextured polys you see. Do you understand now why it was taken off? Well, thats my little theory.
No matter what, complainers ruin the community, so stop complaining so I don't need to rant about you. word

Stop complaining about someone complaining about other people complaining or I will not be able to stop complaining about you complaining about someone complaining about other people complaining Goddamnit