Why was PA:Titans a total surprise?

Someone just asked on the steam forum and I have no idea why this might be the case. Can someone from Uber please enlighten me? Why did you tell no one about it? I am sure there is a logical reason that I am not thinking of. (No sarcasm intended, I do believe in Uber that they did this thinking it was the right thing).

Publicity. An event is something gaming press can report on. If everybody already knew about, it then it's just another software update.

Unfortunately, this might be a major communication problem. It is not about whether uber devs' great work deserves the PA owner discount price, it is about surprising your fans in a sad way.

Indeed, not a pricing problem, yet a communication problem.

Imagine, for a typical PA player, what was the mind state?

Kind of worried about if the game will keep being supported:
"
#2 [RLM]AndreasG : how long will you develop PA untill you drop it? for a sequel or anorther projekt
jables : We'll keep doing PA as long as we can afford to. We are hoping that is a long time
"(07.08.2015)

Personally, although the original release long ago was kinda troublesome, I got quite pleased by submarine, match making system upgrades and such. I shall say I got comfortable with the feeling of owning a improving game, and enjoy the anticipation when checking steam.

Now, the devs might feel that PA is quite complete:

"
Q3) Julien: are there any new balances changes coming with asteroids/halleys? At the moment with asteroids in a system they become more effective than anything else.
jables: currently no major balance changes going in. Game is mature enough at this point, making major changes to meta upsets casual players enough to make them quit playing as they don't want to relearn. so we are playing it safe on changes, bringing them in on a need to basis
"

Yet it should be noted that most PA players are not clear about this. No one told us that major upgrades have come to an end, and we certainly do not know that there is a expansion coming.

The release date for PA on steam is 5 Sep, 2014, it is within a year. If you really want to to compare TITANS to Forged Alliance, its 20 Feb, 2007 to 28 Sep, 2011. Why it is not a good surprise for many? Cuz, it is not expected.

Like many TA fans, I also hope PA can become the most popular RTS of our time. Many RTS fans love PA (I guess it is because of the superb new engine), yet had to express disappointment on how the "business" was done. TITANS is a great expansion, actually you can easily see that in exodusesports.com/article/planetary-annihilation-titans/ .

However, most people will read:

• An interactive tutorial
• A host of new units
• EXPERIMENTAL TITANS!
• A wider variety of terrain, including multi-level features
• Balance changes and improved bot / vehicle differentiation
• Unit wreckage to reward defence
• New bounty game mode
• Better notifications and sound alerts
• Lots more improvements

Are you kidding me? How could you put tutorial on the fist line............. I would say most PA owners will feel that the tutorial belongs to the original game (regardless if it is a right or wrong view). As for the new units, these are great great work done, yet you have to keep in mind that many PA owners have played TA or SC before, it is difficult to discern which units should count towards a standalone expansion.

Kickstarter backers are the core supporters. I am glad that uber made them happy this time. Among the rest PA owners, there are also many great fans for RTS genre and supporters for uber. I believe it is better not to let the group feel betrayed for PA to grow.

When I see the picture of the PA devs, I feel so fortunate that we these impossible people bringing this unique RTS to our time. I do hope uber can maintain a better image among any RTS player group than it has now (I am not sure why we even have this problem now, maybe people just expect too much from indie games?).

What if uber told the PA owner in advance that there will be a new expansion pack? I do not know for sure. Maybe PA owners will anticipate the new game and feel great when it is released, or maybe the surprise would simple be shifted forward yet uber could have done something more before release.


For now？ I am totally sure either. At least do keep up with the PA game experience and good communication, so that PA owners do not feel that they are forced to buy the expansion rather than offered or invited.