Dear Uber...

You made a good game

Oh yes, +1

+1

...and too few know this, due to the lack of professional reviews!

Meh, any professional reviews will get attacked by the Trolls (see 'petition' thread). The hate towards this game and Uber is totally irrational and frankly reflects very poorly on the gaming community.

Plus, like you said, niche of a niche genre. The fact of the matter is that this is an AMAZING game, but only for the people that would actually play it. A bit of a tautology, lol, but I mean that in reality this isn't the game for everyone.

As a programmer, I love all the interesting problems that the developers at Uber has had to solve, and the outstanding effectiveness of the engine's solutions to those problems. Pathing being a great example of this.

And yet also an example of something *everyone* (with no technical understanding of it) complains about being 'broken' when 1 unit out of the 1000 they are currently controlling doesn't do exactly what the expected it to I actually think how large groups of units 'flow' in PA is superb.

Well said sir.

++1

+1

Ive been here since the start of PA alpha and im still in love with this game....

+2

But is 'good' enough?

A good blowjob? Maybe.
A good lunch? Perhaps.
A good hiding? Sure thing.
A good game? forgettable.

Oh great, another 'rating inflation' person... I'll bet you view 8/10 in a review a failure too.

News flash, based on university marking paradigms, 40% is a pass, 60% is strong and 70%+ is the top achievable grade.

Yet in games anything less than 90% is bad apparently, and describing something as 'good' translates to 'mediocre' or 'forgettable'. So I'll translate for you, when we say 'good' please substitute 'f'king orgasmic' or whatever other over the top superlative you'd prefer.

40% is a pass but good luck getting a job earning enough money to feed your children. You would be better off staying at home masturbating for 3 years because at least then everyone isn't aware that you tried and failed.

When I graduated from University the first company I worked for didn't even look at my grades. In fact I hadn't even graduated fully when they hired me for a full-time position (that was three or four weeks later).
If I had to give an estimate of what influences your chances of getting hired I'd say ~50% contacs/knowing somebody (we call this "Vitamin B" here in Germany, where B stands for "Beziehungen", which means relationships), 30% Talend and 20% grades.

Lol, having been in several jobs before more recently starting my own company, I have never been asked what my scores were for my degree.... I'm an engineer, people engage me based on my massive portfolio of completed projects, many of which are in production products with a range of companies. Completing and successfully passing a degree, even with a lower grade is worthwhile imo, providing the qualification gives you useful knowledge for your chosen career.

Marks matter less and less as you get older.

Yeah the relationships thing is spot on. That's why face to face meetings and networking are so critical to business.

Interesting fact, the most successful (career wise) friend who I went through school with got a 2-2 classification degree in business studies, and is now a director at a large vegetable distribution firm earning silly amounts of money (purchased a brand new bmw 3 seriese outright the other day, no finance, had the cash in his account lol).

+ 3.14159265

Excellent stories.

Marks don't matter less as you get older, they matter less as you gain actual experience more closely relevant to the role you apply for.

I managed to get a first rate degree and walk into jobs without issues. I don't know anybody and I'm not particularly talented. I did it all through my own hard work.

Now lets relate this back to PA.

When the market is tight, or when new graduates/games are in good supply, the graduates/games that fall below a certain mark essentially fall off the scale.

If there are 100 jobs going, and 100 graduates, then you will get a job even if you scrapes through on a pass. If you were bottom of your class, and there were only 99 jobs going, then you will only get a job if you demonstrate that you are better than at least 1 other candidate.

Now. Lets say PA is a 'Good' game... 80%, 90%.. whatever... it doesn't matter on the 'rating', only the percentile when compared with all other games.

Now. If PA were an excellent game, it would continue to grow because it would continue to get good press, potential buyers would see all of the good reviews, and make their purchase. New players would come in, keeping the community alive, and Uber would have found a way to earn profit from existing players to ensure continual development can take place (Not by selling commanders, that is lame as ****).

Now. I would say PA is a 'good' game. I've even managed to get my friends involved (after several years) and they are enjoying it. They've asked me if they should get Titans... to be honest, I'm not so sure. The 'original' game grants the player the same amount of fun, and I'm not sure if Titans II is around the corner or not... so I can't advise them to get it.

Anyway, we're rambling on.. so..

Now. If PA were an excellent game... I really think it would be taking the world by storm. Instead of firing people, Uber would be hiring people because they know that they're onto a winner, they know there will be more development, and they know that they can turn a large player base into money through add-ons, privileges, tournaments.. whatever other games do to make money.. who knows? not me.

Now. As Uber is firing staff... and as Uber is not saying what they are working on.. if anything. Then I'm not sure it is an excellent game.

What would it take to take the game from 'good' to 'excellent'. The same amount of money again? Or just a fraction? I'm not sure. We all complained are all basically flat, well that's barely changed aside from custom maps. We all complain that you have NO IDEA what map you're selecting when hosting a game.. how hard is that really to fix? Honestly? We have all complained about a lot of things, a lot of small things it seems, and big things like there being only one faction.

Now. I'm of the belief that the game is only excellent when you consider its potential. You can have excellent games, sure. You can have a lot of fun playing this game, sure. But you can also have a VERY BORING TIME playing this game. I think the Uber team need to fix a few of the things that make this game boring to play. I don't think they will though, which is why I'd be hesitant to call this game 'excellent'. I'd be hesitant because if I told a friend it was excellent, and left them to discover the game on their own, I'm doubtful they'd have fun.

With all of that said... it is still a good game. I don't play anything else, but that's more because I'm a creature of habit more than anything else.

Well done Uber, on this good game you have developed for us. Shame you quit on the livestreams and started keeping secrets... but nobody is perfect.