Release, a sacred graal ?

You will just need to be very clear in the release pr push that development is not over. 1.0 is your official seal of approval letting everyone know that the game has gone from "good" to "uber", but there is still more to come. A lot of people still think 1.0 means complete even though that wasn't even true in the 90s with TA.

We are pretty used to communicating what each version is supposed to be. Lots of people have lots of misconceptions about a lot of things. If we tried to take all of that into account we would never have been able to release anything due to paralyzing fear.

You probably want to edit your F.A.Q and homepage and remove them.

Don't call people ignorants if you tell the exact opposite of what the game will be. (in this case, DRM-free).

Server-side mods are probably out of question, you should remove the part where you are saying it's supporting mods too.

Because I'm not going back on DRM free. It's a feature like anything else and is prioritized against the rest of the work.

Server side mods are running right now. So I don't know what you are talking about...

The mod system is going to continue to get better. A lot better

I hope you are not going back on that, but for the moment and probably for the released version, this is not true.
ie. supcom1 wasn't DRM-free at release, but a patch came later removing the CD-check DRM.

It doesn't hurt removing that line in the website/FAQ, in order to avoid false advertisement for the time being.

I don't think releasing the server right now is good idea (it's not really necessary, few people have the PC or the bandwidth to make it run either way), but if you claim it's DRM free while it's not, you will get a real ****-storm.
If you think people were virilant about the Able Commander, wait to see what will happen with that.. And it won't be limited to this forum this time...

You can add it back on the site and communicate on it later when it become true (hey, free occasion to communicate on the game with a good news!)

Oh, sorry, it wasn't particularly put on front in the latest release. Is there a vault or anything for things that requires a client-side mod too (ie for custom units,...)?

You should communicate it more on that really. I don't really play PA currently because I don't like playing broken balances, but I'm following the forum, and I wasn't aware of it. I'm probably not the only one, not even talking of people outside the small scope of the forum...

This is probably because people talk about mods in the mod forum mostly.

Basically people can make server side mods and start games with them. When you join a modded game it downloads what you need. We have a lot more cool modding stuff we are working on now to make publishing mods and first class thing in the game.

A vault? Like PAMM? (raevn's PA Mod Manager)
All server mods force the new units and stuff, though some may require a client-side icon mod.

Also, the mod subforum has apost by Ubergaf about server mods.

So, Can we expect a possible official live-stream in the upcoming couple of weeks.

Yeah +1 love the live streams, watched all of them. I think a pre release live stream would be a great idea on the proviso you can spare the time...

Yeah, it'd be rad to do a few more, right? It's something I'd like to do. We had an issue with the computer that handles all the video / streaming a couple of weeks back. Now, we're looking at moving the set to another place (and maybe getting a few things we need in the process). In my head, at least, the next stream is a Wait and See thing. Putting a timetable on it might limit what we can do.

However, when we do our next stream, we're going to do it right.

With Howard and Matt (The lore writer)?

For me the offline mode is really unimportant and I will most likely be very happy with the 1.0. I played some PTE today and it looks awesome. After your explanation about the ladder, I'm convinced that it won't be that bad for the game to delay it.
But just like others pointed out I fear a big outrage. Why? I just looked on your website and if I read it without this forum or just before I buy the game, I get these impressions:

- The game has subs and massive bomber jets.
- The game has a multiplayer galactic war.
- I can have battles with up to 40 players.
- I can play on my own server or just offline.

This is on the front page of your website now, so no misconception. The steam shop page is much better because it clearly states that 40 players and offline mode are not done but will come later! The Amazon page in my country (Germany) just copies from your front page and translates it into German. The people buying there will freak out when they see they need steam. There are still people very skeptical about steam and their disappointment will be huge because when they see a game advertised as DRM free and with offline play it is very important to them. It might be a reason to buy the game for some people.

So we already know that there won't be subs and no server release in 1.0. I don't know if you add the 40 players limit and/or the galactic war multiplayer till then.

I'm just worried that many people won't read the steam page but the page of Amazon or your homepage and buy the game with wrong expectations for 1.0. I could buy it right now on Amazon or your website and would be under the impression that the features will be there. I think this is dangerous. And I think the steam shop page information should be on your page and on Amazon (altered a bit, because you don't need the Early Access specific information).

I don't know if I'm right about is, I just try to see this out of the eyes of someone who buys the game on Amazon right now with just the information there. I understand that you can't please anybody, that is totally fine. But having statements in a shop that are not yet true will backfire in the reviews (not the game magazines but the Amazon reviews for instance).

tl;dr
There are promised features on the homepage and Amazon page which I think you should edit. Otherwise I fear bad ratings (on Amazon or other shop pages with these informations) and maybe an outrage.

Oh, you mean the slightly altered copy and paste from the kickstarter campaign?

http://www.uberent.com/pa/ vs. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/659943965/planetary-annihilation-a-next-generation-rts

They need to be upfront and honest about the reasons why things are not in 1.0 and that might mitigate some of the shitstorms that will arise. This needs to be done as soon as possible the announcement has to be made to the widest audience. This can't be left like the Delta debacle it is extreme powder keg just waiting to go off. @BradNicholson so get the information out there.

Best wishes for the future of Planetary Annihilation.

Cody

i will just continue to patiently wait for advanced transportfunctions and hovercrafts

For me, when a game releases 1.0, i believe thats when the developers are happy to go public. The idea of it is to get your "main surge" of players, and thus funding. A 1.0 release will tend to have more features than other patches due to the rush to finish the game.

Mistimed 1.0 releases can damage the company, as disapointment spreads to new players, however, i think now is the time to release 1.0, any longer and you risk what happened to doom forever. I've been particularly picky about what i think 1.0 needs and trying not to go deep into any area. "what keeps players playing the game", gives me the reason to push ladder. I'm happy that its going to be incorperated, and i don't think I'm going to push anything else.

The feeling of progression is important, for devolopers, they can review their game experience and attempt to see if anything needs to be changed, but for players, its a bit hollow, you end up back where you were beforehand (Especially if you win). Which is why i think a basic ladder system is important. This is what keeps the players in the big titles - such as league of legends - playing.

Don't think that it means an end / reduction in updates. If the game sells well, you can expect more than before, money goes a long way, League can keep such frequent updates because of this.

Hopefully, everything goes well, I have been thinking of ways to get people to pay more after release, league has skins, in-game currency, champions. It would be nice to have something like that, but I have no idea what you would use it for

For me, offline is a big deal, when 1.0 comes out with offline, I would be able to play PA more and more , never the less I would play online from time to time

Neutrino,
regarding the bandwidth "issue" is it something which is definitly optimized or is there stil room for improvement ?
Would it be possible to release some kind of "light" server simply made to play locally ?
Thanks, and by the way, you're doing it right, I still can't believe how much improvement and polishing has been put in place so far. This game is now running so smoothly on my mid range PC, while it could not a few months ago.

Since this seems to be the only topic where the issue of offline is being addressed by devs I'll ask here and pray for a straightforward response.

Yes or no, will offline/LAN play/the server be included in the retail launch 3 days from now?

Legally binding contract with publisher.