Poll: Polish or Clientside-Server?

Assuming for business reasons that they could not delay a week longer on their goal for release which they personally are working with and we don't know the details, which would you prefer?

Given that delay isn't an option for above reason, that isn't an option.

This assumes the current speed of the game running, and assumes client side will run at worse case scenario: only as fast as servers run the game right now if you are 8g ram 2.8ghz cpu 1g gpu, and only as fast as start game and never dropping from start if your 16g ram I7 3g gpu.

Which would you choose if you could?

The game functioning only at current polish and with all current bugs, but with clientside server offline yaddy yadda?

Or the game running on the servers, but with all bugs fixed and servers run 30fps start to finish (the bottleneck would start being the players machine with understandable levels of result depending on machine strength)?

This is all speculative, I am still pretty sure if any 2 features can be hit together, it would be these 2. Basically, this is a "which celebrity out of 2 would you sleep with?".

Client-side because the alternative is not acceptable.

Unit cannon because I'm a troll.

I sure am glad YOU didn't make the poll. Go make your own, someone's bound to make 17 more of these...

Both are important, even as a backer i'd say delay the release until you got a level of polish you're pleased with and offline-modes.

That said, 1.0 is somewhat arbitrary if the game is supposed to be continually updated, especially when it comes to polish. Therefor offline mode goes first for me. A DRM-free game was promised, and 1.0+retail are generally considered as full games, not matter if people still work on it or not. That's also the version which will get reviewed.

Not releasing an offline version would be pretty disappointing. Internet is sometimes unrealiable, server have their limits, and there is just no point in logging in for a single skirmish against the AI. I just don't want to bother with this kind of nonsense in a full version, there are by far to many games shitting on consumers to fight the imaginary threat of pirates, whose influence could never even be proved until now.
To avoid misunderstandings, i don't think that's uber's motivation of delaying the offline mode. It's just the effect when relying on internet connections and server for no good reason.

edit: Although the unit cannon is a strong argument... ^^'

Personally I rather be rid of the online requirement. That said, most people out there are blessed with bandwidth far exceeding what I have to live with and will likely never experience major problems playing on Uber's servers.
My impression is that only idealists really give a damn about the current online requirement. But I am sure everyone cares about getting a product that is polished when it comes to its key features. Gameplay first, and all that.
Thus I think Uber are better off going for polish.

Both are important. But between selling unpolished product and incomplete one unpolished is lesser evil. Especially if we're talking about physical release.

I just now voted. I have a detailed explanation lying around the forums somewhere recent why client serverside is important, including the possible belief it is cheaper for the business to rid themselves server stress and more expensive for them to pay and prep for servers to handle such a load...

...but my reason here, is just that the current polish, especially last build, is definitely already acceptable, and more polish doesn't add as much... While serverside adds multiples onto what people get.

While people keep pledging unit cannon, don't make me slap you, if anything is worth sacrificing polish OR serverside, it is save-loadable game-replays. THAT FEATURE is the ONLY intensive as hell feature to achieve that is also AS LARGE A CONTRIBUTION TO PLAYABILITY to argue over the function of polish or the function of serverside.

So thankfully I am moral enough not to add that to the poll because of greedy reasons. Because it is a great arguement. To me. While unit cannons are to y'all. And unit cannons are a terrible arguement.

Well, those features are a bit incomparable. Unit canon, saving, balance and polish are game features, while clientside server is a product feature. Deciding between the two is like deciding if your food rather be tasty or edible. The first is pointless without the second.

Jack In The Box Tacos beg to differ. They are burnt cardboard laced with flavor (or LSD, can't figure out which)

They are greezy, thin, and charred, yet you can easily eat 10 and want 10 more.

Online-only with dem replays and load from any point from one, that would be a jack-in-the-box taco for me. Again, it would tempt me, a GOOD taco could have real cornmeal, fresh dating, plentiful lettuce and tomato, even onion and shreded cheese for good measure, and fluffy moist well seasoned taco meat... but I still might choose against the obvious one because of preference.

A poll like this shouldn't even exist. I thought the purpose of kickstarter was to allow the devs to work separately from a publisher which would impose various restrictions and force the devs to provide a release 1.0 version by a certain date. So why are the devs at Uber in such a rush to get a "release 1.0 version" out so quickly? There is absolutely no excuse for not providing the client offline files with the 1.0 version. If it is not ready yet then the game should not be deemed ready for a full 1.0 release. I don't mind the devs continuing work after release, but something like offline mode is NOT a trivial feature, It is a core part of the game and should not be something that is released after 1.0.

If Uber is rushing to release the game due to deals in the background, like a deal with the people who are providing the boxed release I am going to get really mad and undoubtedly I won't be alone.

By releasing the game without a core feature like an offline mode Uber is just shooting themselves in the foot. Do you think reviewers will stay silent once the game is deemed 1.0? Do you think that gamers will stay quiet? and do you think various popular youtubers like TotalBiscuit will stay quiet?. I don't think so and you'd be stupid to think otherwise. Should the game be deemed 1.0 without critical features such as offline mode being present, there will be hate and there will be a lot of it.

Do your community, actually no do this for your own sake. DO NOT RUSH THE GAME RELEASE!

Uber do yourself a favor and rethink this. I do not want to see a game with so much potential also be the center of a huge negative controversy. Again do not rush 1.0. It may cost you more, but in the long run a good release will do nothing but benefit you.


Edit: also with the poll there should be an option for both. If Uber can not adequately achieve both things then the game is simply not ready for release.

And a Ladder, and Global Chat, and Match-Making, and a Delta 2.0 Commander, and a Tier 2 Nerf, and "Biome 2.0", and god knows what else.

Edit: AND SUBMARINES. How could I forget submarines!?

As someone without internet (except from cell phone 3g) offeline mode is a must.

This game uses up a lot of data really fast, and verizon charges a Lot for each gb.

Define what polish exactly is first.

Polish, especially on server functioning, so that when they do release the offline server client you don't have to deal with all the server crashes and things.

Polish ! (Feature lockdown, only bugfixes and minor cosmetic changes pushed)

Latest patches have pretty fair balance. Feature complete is going to matter in the long run, especially in terms of public view and reviews.

@destravous and @nicb1

Totally! Offline mode should be a high priority.

I suffered frame rate stops in EVERY single match that I have played. That's a sign that my internet connection is somewhat weak...

If Uber servers go offline for whatever reason without an offline mode, how can I enjoy planet smashing, unit cannons, and the like if I can't even play the game? Polish wouldn't even matter at this point.

Here's the thing a lot of people forget: Your bandwidth and your access to the internet is only half the issue. Uber need to do the exact same thing. It's a two-way street and I think all games that have driven down it have proven it's paved with tears and burning microchips.

This is a really bad poll. For me, it gives the impression that Uber have only just started working on polish/performance. It also conveys that the current level polish/performance is mediocre at best. If I were an Uber dev I would find this pretty insulting.

Most of the posts in this thread imply that we know more about making a game then Uber, and that they are idiots for not listing to us. In the past, that hasn't gone down too well with the people at Uber.

If you like interacting with the devs of this game, it's best not to piss them off too much.

OK, I have had my rant and know I am happy.