@Animeware that would be interesting if happens, The interest in keep the pre-order pratice high is entirely from Beamdog... But i'm starting to lose interest in announce this fact. The damage will be entirely them, but on the future of course not now.
Atm they probally have the pre-order of 95% of the players (i doubt that more than 5% will cancel the preorder), but there's a BG2 project, a possible PS:T project and other projects maybe... while a delay can be evaluate by them as a better solution than a initial failure, the pre-order rate can drop significantly based on the current status of the problem.
Something different for those who pre-ordered and keep the pre-order after the delay can be a differential later on the pre-sale of the next games.
They avoid a metacritic bad review maybe at the cost of a gossip that will spread on the internet: "they delayed the launch 4 days before the agreed date...(the following statements that can become a problem)".
@Animeware that would be interesting if happens, The interest in keep the pre-order pratice high is entirely from Beamdog... But i'm starting to lose interest in announce this fact. The damage will be entirely them, but on the future of course not now.
Atm they probally have the pre-order of 95% of the players (i doubt that more than 5% will cancel the preorder), but there's a BG2 project, a possible PS:T project and other projects maybe... while a delay can be evaluate by them as a better solution than a initial failure, the pre-order rate can drop significantly based on the current status of the problem.
Something different for those who pre-ordered and keep the pre-order after the delay can be a differential later on the pre-sale of the next games.
They avoid a metacritic bad review maybe at the cost of a gossip that will spread on the internet: "they delayed the launch 4 days before the agreed date...(the following statements that can become a problem)".
That's cool to hear a BG2 Project when it does happen I will pre order this too and BG3 as well
As other posters have pointed out, Overhaul/Beamdog is not the first, nor will it be the last company to delay a game's release by months or years with very short notice. Anybody remember Alpha Protocol? That got pushed back a year the Day. Of. Release. with no note or explanation from the developers. I hate installing a game and then having to patch it right away; I'd rather wait for a game that really truly works as soon as I'm done loading it. I've said this already. Just...perspective, people. If you took vacation to play, I'm sorry, but you still have the day off. Go do something fun, even if it isn't what you intended. As to the "Why preorder anything?" question, it's not a requirement. Preorder or don't; it's entirely your decision. Sometimes I preorder for nifty perks; in this case, I did it to show support for the project. I still support the project, even if it'll take a little longer for it to come out. If it were a financial hardship to tie up that $18.52 (MasterCard charged me .53 for ordering something from Canada) for two months, I wouldn't preorder. I understand disappointment and annoyance at an inconvenience, but all the cries of conspiracy and scam and bad, bad business practice strike me as hyperbole at best. If the game released on Nov. 30 is still full of bugs and problems, then yes, it's bad business. If it's polished, perfect gaming gold, then hurrah for Overhaul's commitment to quality over deadline. I'd preorder from them again in a nanosecond because I'd know that the game would come out when it was flawless; to me, that's the best kind of customer service.
As other posters have pointed out, Overhaul/Beamdog is not the first, nor will it be the last company to delay a game's release by months or years with very short notice. Anybody remember Alpha Protocol? That got pushed back a year the Day. Of. Release. with no note or explanation from the developers. I hate installing a game and then having to patch it right away; I'd rather wait for a game that really truly works as soon as I'm done loading it. I've said this already. Just...perspective, people. If you took vacation to play, I'm sorry, but you still have the day off. Go do something fun, even if it isn't what you intended. As to the "Why preorder anything?" question, it's not a requirement. Preorder or don't; it's entirely your decision. Sometimes I preorder for nifty perks; in this case, I did it to show support for the project. I still support the project, even if it'll take a little longer for it to come out. If it were a financial hardship to tie up that $18.52 (MasterCard charged me .53 for ordering something from Canada) for two months, I wouldn't preorder. I understand disappointment and annoyance at an inconvenience, but all the cries of conspiracy and scam and bad, bad business practice strike me as hyperbole at best. If the game released on Nov. 30 is still full of bugs and problems, then yes, it's bad business. If it's polished, perfect gaming gold, then hurrah for Overhaul's commitment to quality over deadline. I'd preorder from them again in a nanosecond because I'd know that the game would come out when it was flawless; to me, that's the best kind of customer service.
Hi jhart1018 I understand what you are saying pale we need to support the development here and if we get more and more people to help out on pre order then it will show the team that they will try to develop BG3 we all want this.
This isn't something to say on chat box if it's a problem then talk to admin on the site... he be gladly to help you out....
I just read some info it's actually coming out on November 30th I though it was coming out on September 18th I am and not to upset is because the developers are working hard to make sure the game works correctly and no issues... or glitch and such.... to make it right...
Gives them 1 month and 1 week to test it out for glitch, bug issues, etc...
I wouldn't want a game where it's not working correctly or bug issues I prefer the development takes it time and keep their promise to have it by November 30th.
The point isn't what the customer individually think or want, the individual alone isn't the focus of a company, my posts try to foresee the outcome of this crisis.
The don't want to pre-order don't do it, ask refund... all those phrases are good enough to shoo the people flaming the devs, but as Irenicus say "the consequences are very real", an damage was done to Beamdog image, a scratch is done on Beamdog objective honor, they must heal the scratch not ignore it.
My point of view take for base a general consequence, if in the next game only 500 persons pre-order a game, this can do a serious damage for the following projects, that can be cancelled for example. pre-order is capital investment, a much needed tool in this business pratice.
Mark my words they can delay for a year the game and still i would not cancel my pre-order for BG, but atm, based on the actual behavior of the company (or on the lack of one), i don't feel inclined to pre-order the BG2 for example.
Of course i will almost certainly buy BG2, but unless i see a reason to pre-order it i will only buy the game after the release. For this reason i agreed with @Animeware and posted my previous comment.
The point isn't what the customer individually think or want, the individual alone isn't the focus of a company, my posts try to foresee the outcome of this crisis.
The don't want to pre-order don't do it, ask refund... all those phrases are good enough to shoo the people flaming the devs, but as Irenicus say "the consequences are very real", an damage was done to Beamdog image, a scratch is done on Beamdog objective honor, they must heal the scratch not ignore it.
My point of view take for base a general consequence, if in the next game only 500 persons pre-order a game, this can do a serious damage for the following projects, that can be cancelled for example. pre-order is capital investment, a much needed tool in this business pratice.
Mark my words they can delay for a year the game and still i would not cancel my pre-order for BG, but atm, based on the actual behavior of the company (or on the lack of one), i don't feel inclined to pre-order the BG2 for example.
Of course i will almost certainly buy BG2, but unless i see a reason to pre-order it i will only buy the game after the release. For this reason i agreed with @Animeware and posted my previous comment.
I want to say I'm sorry jhart1018 Every post has different rules...... I'm newbie around here please do not punish me
I knew there was something too good about this projekt. And it WAS just another load of hot air and a fancy website! See you in november for the release or another ship day delay announcement...
@Maciak87 and @analingus: Why the hell do you guys call yourselves fans if you act so haughty? Would you rather prefer a shoddy product over one that is delayed, but of higher quality? As I said in another topic, people like you two are part of the companies rushing games out of the door no matter the quality, because you can't have some damn patience and demand your games NOW. Oster's team is doing everything they can, give the guys some rest too, will you? They're still humans afterall, and that is what most 'fans' seem to forget.
@Maciak87 and @analingus: Why the hell do you guys call yourselves fans if you act so haughty? Would you rather prefer a shoddy product over one that is delayed, but of higher quality? As I said in another topic, people like you two are part of the companies rushing games out of the door no matter the quality, because you can't have some damn patience and demand your games NOW. Oster's team is doing everything they can, give the guys some rest too, will you? They're still humans afterall, and that is what most 'fans' seem to forget.
True fans are loyal to Boo. And Beamdog. This delay seems reasonable. The short notice is unfortunate, but again, I've waited so long I can wait easily 2 more months.
But I have to disagree with @Maciak87 I know personally more then 10 friends who aren't fans of BG1, who haven't even played it in their whole life who are interested, and who will buy it after it's release (namely, most of my old DnD group, and some university friends). So no, it is not directed to fans. It's on the open market That's the whole point of the iPad version.
To those who are defending delaying the release on such a short notice: I'd like to remind you this a remake aimed at old fans, not the launch of a fresh, new game. Hiding behind "improving quality" seems a bit ridiculous when you take into account that Baldur's Gate already exists. All in all, a big thumbs down.
I'm an old fan, and to be quite honest I'm not bothered in the least.
Sure, when I first heard the news about the delay my heart sunk a little. But I'm just going to do something else until the release and keep updated here. I have work to do, as well as having the original game. Overall, I will probably get one or two playthroughs completed before the new game comes out.
If people haven't even played it, then it is unlikely that they will anticipate it quite as much as someone who is a fan of the original. That doesn't mean their opinion is any less valid, of course, but the overall impact of a delay is not as likely to be as bad.
One of the reasons for distributing this to Apple platforms and Android is to get it to as wide an audience as possible, and make as much money as they can, so I would disagree that it is only aimed at the old fans.
This is why most gaming companies do not state release dates till they have them set in stone. That way should it need to be pushed back for any reason they don't have people complaining, and them potentially losing customers. It kinda surprises me that Beamdog/Overhaul set a release date when there was still the possibility of not being able to meet it.
A good example of a company that waited to set the release date, till it was set in stone, was Arenanet with Guild Wars 2. People were clamoring for a release date and Arenanet kept saying we'll give you a release date when its ready. It was even up for pre-order 2 years in advance before it was finally released. That's what should have been done here.
On the topic of a Demo, technically we already have one called BG1. Though BG1 does not have the changes that were done for BG:EE, it could still be considered a demo.
I would like to make a small point (go to the end if you don't want to read the rambling), that a great number of companies have issued release dates only to hold them back. I said yesterday, for example, that Mass Effect 3 was held back by a little over three months, Assassins Creed 3 for PC was held back for around three weeks, and Prototype 2 for PC was held back for three months. Likewise, @jhart1018 said a similar thing about Alpha Protocol. This is a select few from a rather long list.
It is not the first company to announce a release date and not be able to stick to it. Unfortunate, though it is, but potentially unavoidable. Will it take up to the 30th of November to actually fix what is wrong? Who knows? Will it take a month to fix and a month of testing? Only the developers could tell you that. Will it only take to the 20th of November to finish everything off, but the 30th is a shout-out to all the original players? That would be nice, and possibly accurate, but no one can tell. I highly doubt that there is any conspiracy, though.
Atari, Activision, Rockstar Games, Ubisoft (#2), Electronic Arts, Square Enix, THQ, Bethesda, and even BioWare (which is obviously now owned by EA, but requested an extension to the deadline in order to polish off the gameplay), they have all reneged on deadlines before. Some of the reasons are more valid than others, but one thing is certain for all of them: the majority of release dates that are set are preliminary, some that are set well in advanced of the actual release are, more often than not, subject to change.
The thing with ArenaNet is that they had at least one, if not two or more, public beta weekends; that I know of, and a couple closed betas. If they had actually released the game on that first weekend, April 27, imagine how many people would have complained. Luckily for them and their reputation, that was never in the pipeline. However, as you said, people kept pestering them for a release date. Some companies would set a preliminary release date, subject to change, just to ease people's minds. Even though they managed to release on the date they announced originally, they are still patching the game. Neither are they without bad publicity.
But think about it for a minute; a view of someone else's perspective is often interesting, and you are free to agree, disagree, or disregard as you see fit: if there had been a game breaking bug in that last beta; some insignificant thing you had to do in order to trigger it, but something that would take an extra month past the release date to fix. They would work on; try to resolve it. A week before the deadline they come out - much like Bethesda with Dawnguard for PS3 - and say that it is proving more difficult than they thought.
The question in my head would be: would I rather get the buggy game, or the debugged game?
If everyone here was a beta, no one would really get any enjoyment out of it due to all likely the bugs. Proper beta testing work is a tedious job, and is often undervalued or under-appreciated by the masses. If you find a bug, you have to keep testing repeatedly until you find the source. Sounds like an easy day at work until you find out it is twelve hours a day, five or six days a week.
As a hyperbolic example: If you click on the map icon while you're still in Candlekeep, then go into Candlekeep Inn, will there be a bug that breaks the game at the end by not triggering the final battle? Who knows? But if the betas, moderators, and administrators say they need more time, I'm content to do something else while I wait.
I'm going to conclude my ramble by saying this: I am not exactly an apologist, more of a realist. At the end of the day, this is not a unique case. While people have every right to be disheartened or annoyed by the delay, people should not be quite so harsh. Cancelling a pre-order will actually do nothing. Better communication would have been nice, certainly, but any number of variables could be the cause of this; that doesn't make them a 'bad' company, as some people are making them out to be in other places. Like I said, feel free to agree, disagree, or even disregard as you wish .
Edit: that is... considerably longer than I thought it would be. Apologies for the wall of text.
What bugs? Apart from a stand-alone excuse for an adventure, NOTHING already present could be changed in any way, expanded or modified, so basically we are dealing with three NPC's, two small locations and a buch of dialogues. You are quoting companies delaying ENTIRE GAMES, not a few add-ons. No new bugs could have been created due to the aforementioned "Can't change anything" policy. Putting that aside, does anybody actually believe the game will be released on November, 30th? Do you truly believe the developers will reject the temptation of simply stalling till Christmas, and releasing the game just before the biggest sales boom? I doubt it. And as such, we'll see the quality of this expansion...on Christmas Eve.
No matter what they do, bugs can be created for the most inane of reasons. Even without physically altering the bulk of the code, there could be problems with the resolutions and issues with display. Even altering the resolution in some games can make a mess of everything (think Summoner and having the textures limited to a certain size). I don't know and no one but the developers could tell you that. But one thing you have to remember is that a certain amount of the code most likely has to be changed in order to compile for multiple platforms. It's like the difference between programming something for Linux with Linux-specific code and having to change some of it for Windows, or vice versa.
Something that might seem rather insignificant, and suddenly the game becomes unplayable due to black spots appearing where images for the area should have been. I can't say what bugs are in this game because I'm not part of the beta group (though I wish I was), but when the developers say they need more time, it's usually for a good reason. The items I linked are indeed the delay of entire games; as is this, they are not just delaying some DLC, and while they are only remastering an old title rather than starting entirely from the ground up, it does not remove the fact that almost no developer or publisher is immune from delays.
What bugs? Apart from a stand-alone excuse for an adventure, NOTHING already present could be changed in any way, expanded or modified, so basically we are dealing with three NPC's, two small locations and a buch of dialogues. You are quoting companies delaying ENTIRE GAMES, not a few add-ons. No new bugs could have been created due to the aforementioned "Can't change anything" policy.
Not true. They've cleaned up the existing code heaps and corrected a crazy amount of bugs from the original game. That's the whole point of the Enhanced Edition. New content is icing on top.
I don't mind it being worked through, but I mind it being kept some kind of secrety secret! And why is there no news/blog section of the website?
The whole project is a brilliant idea, but you're pulling it off very unprofessionally.
It was sent out as an e-mail for anyone who pre-ordered. I received it on Fri 14/09/2012 09:05 PM. A short time after this thread was actually created.
There is also a message at the top of the forum topics that reads:
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition release date has changed, more information here.
I suppose it is assumed that anyone who is watching the release date closely will come to the forum and watch for updates. Those who don't bother pre-ordering probably aren't going to be bothered by any change in the dates, either.
Apologies if that sounds dismissive, and I sympathise with taking time off work and such. I had a trip to the UK that was partly work related on the 18th, this was set about four months ago, I pre-emptively asked for a rebook three weeks ago for the 19th so I could spend the day playing BG:EE, it cost me €152.78 including other charges to rebook my ticket for the ferry. But that was my fault, and I take responsibility for it without blaming it on the BG:EE team. Could I blame them? You bet. But, in reality, what would that really solve? I might not like it, but typing up an expletive ridden rant about them is not the way to go. That, and I'm too old to rush.
I'm not really sure what else is expected from them. Most other developers do it similarly. BioWare/EA has the BioWare Social Network and EA forums, and all genuine updates are posted there, even the masseffect.com site didn't get the update about the delay of ME3 until the BSN dev post made its round. Overhaul/Beamdog has this forum.
Actually, having said that, when Mass Effect 3 was delayed I didn't even get an e-mail from BioWare/EA.
oh well I was going to wait, but I have decided to install my original BG2+TOB so that will keep me busy until pure awesomeness arives in November:) I also can't help but feel that the community is partly to blame. (Read the new GUI thread lately?) They are probably just trying to please as many of the fans as possible and that equates to more time 'polishing' Quality first right?
21 pages of this stuff?? Seriously? Really? Im glad I took a break from the forum for a while, I am so very glad I am not @Tren_Oster or @Tanthalas or any of the other people who have to deal with this.
And wow, the ignorance of people about what "Beta Testing" actually is astounds me...almost sound like people who have never actually worked a technical job in their life.
I would like to make a small point (go to the end if you don't want to read the rambling), that a great number of companies have issued release dates only to hold them back. I said yesterday, for example, that Mass Effect 3 was held back by a little over three months, Assassins Creed 3 for PC was held back for around three weeks, and Prototype 2 for PC was held back for three months. Likewise, @jhart1018 said a similar thing about Alpha Protocol. This is a select few from a rather long list.
True companies do change release dates but not that close to the release date. Think for a second if BW/EA had changed their release date for SWTOR on December 17th of last year, 4 days before release. They would have been in major trouble, why you ask. Cause hard copies of the game had already been shipped to the stores by that date. In fact some stores had already shipped the hard copy version to customers the day before for those that had pre-ordered. Waiting till 4 days before release to announce a delay is not done no where in the industry. Game companies may push the game back during development, maybe even during beta. But once they hit that final month before release, that's it they have to finish it up and get it to stores.
So if a game company say wanted to delay an October 31st release date, they likely would make an announcement this month not in October. Why you may ask because in October their manufacturing the hard copies of the disc and shipping those to the stores for on time release. Or in the case of some who pre-ordered their shipping before release date. In the case of SWTOR they shipped 5 days before release date to customers who had pre-ordered. That means they shipped to the stores at least 5 days before that. And it likely took a week or more to manufacture all the discs for the game that had been ordered by the stores. Release dates just are not pushed back 4 days before release, its just not done.
@APhantasm your entire point is moot because there is no hard copy of this game.. They can delay 1 day before release and it would still be fine because all they have to do is put the game on their server for people to download. The only thing they have to worry about is community backlash which has actually been largely Supportive of the delay.
True companies do change release dates but not that close to the release date. Think for a second if BW/EA had changed their release date for SWTOR on December 17th of last year, 4 days before release. They would have been in major trouble, why you ask. Cause hard copies of the game had already been shipped to the stores by that date. In fact some stores had already shipped the hard copy version to customers the day before for those that had pre-ordered. Waiting till 4 days before release to announce a delay is not done no where in the industry. Game companies may push the game back during development, maybe even during beta. But once they hit that final month before release, that's it they have to finish it up and get it to stores.
So if a game company say wanted to delay an October 31st release date, they likely would make an announcement this month not in October. Why you may ask because in October their manufacturing the hard copies of the disc and shipping those to the stores for on time release. Or in the case of some who pre-ordered their shipping before release date. In the case of SWTOR they shipped 5 days before release date to customers who had pre-ordered. That means they shipped to the stores at least 5 days before that. And it likely took a week or more to manufacture all the discs for the game that had been ordered by the stores. Release dates just are not pushed back 4 days before release, its just not done.
I'm not sure if I have it correct. So if not, feel free to let me know:
So, if that is correct, the entire argument about distribution of hard copies is null. It would only take a day or two to load it onto the servers and do stress testing before actual release.
I order the game I hope everyone who pre order the game early can get something special like special rare item 1 or 2 that would be neat....
I never really got a chance to play BG 1 or 2 I'm looking forward to this game and keep up the good work Team
It's because my area where I live it's very hard game to find and I never really got around to BG since I got free time I really want to play the Enhanced edition....
no offense but i always hated the pre order and get a special item that no one else does. it leaves out players and they turn to torrents and stuff to get the special items. If they want to do something nice, then cool, but if it's an item or two, let it be something that's consumable with very limited charges, or something that has no effect. I don't want the game unbalanced, and i don't want items that my wife won't have because she doesn't want me to pre order her copy.
Why i was thinking demo, assuming they gave themselves a comfortable 2 week to month window, a demo would help draw people in when they play it and see, hey, this is a really interesting game. And it would tide us over.
Hmm why should people who pre-ordered have more than others ? Didn´t we get 2$ of the full price ? Should we now return the preorder, and get 20 $ instead, just to make us happy ? Narhhh, ill just wait and see...20 $ aint ruining my day, if it does yours, you can borrow them of me.
I loathe the 'pre-order, get items' thing, too. Let me see - you want me to buy something that hasn't been reviewed, just because I can get a knife of soul stealing, +½ against...
@APhantasm your entire point is moot because there is no hard copy of this game.. They can delay 1 day before release and it would still be fine because all they have to do is put the game on their server for people to download. The only thing they have to worry about is community backlash which has actually been largely Supportive of the delay.
No my point is not moot cause you missed the point. Announcing a delay that close to release is not done, cause its bad for business regardless of there being a hard copy or not. You just don't do it. While yes the majority has been supportive. Its not the majority they have to worry about its the minority, the people cancelling pre-orders, that are taking their money and either going elsewhere or not buying it at all. That is bad for business for any company that is trying to make a profit. I understand this cause as I said I own a business. No matter how many people are supportive (and I am one that is supportive of the delay), loosing the minority is bad for business. Especially when the minority could get on the internet and tell about their side of things and create bad publicity, no company wants that.
What Overhaul/Beamdog should have done was announced it a heck of a lot earlier, like at least a couple weeks. That would have lessened the number of people cancelling pre-orders, or even complaining about the delay outright.
Comments
Atm they probally have the pre-order of 95% of the players (i doubt that more than 5% will cancel the preorder), but there's a BG2 project, a possible PS:T project and other projects maybe... while a delay can be evaluate by them as a better solution than a initial failure, the pre-order rate can drop significantly based on the current status of the problem.
Something different for those who pre-ordered and keep the pre-order after the delay can be a differential later on the pre-sale of the next games.
They avoid a metacritic bad review maybe at the cost of a gossip that will spread on the internet: "they delayed the launch 4 days before the agreed date...(the following statements that can become a problem)".
keeping my pre order
I understand what you are saying pale
we need to support the development here and if we get more and more people to help out on pre order then it will show the team that they will try to develop BG3 we all want this.
This isn't something to say on chat box if it's a problem then talk to admin on the site... he be gladly to help you out....
I just read some info it's actually coming out on November 30th I though it was coming out on September 18th I am and not to upset is because the developers are working hard to make sure the game works correctly and no issues... or glitch and such.... to make it right...
Gives them 1 month and 1 week to test it out for glitch, bug issues, etc...
I wouldn't want a game where it's not working correctly or bug issues I prefer the development takes it time and keep their promise to have it by November 30th.
The don't want to pre-order don't do it, ask refund... all those phrases are good enough to shoo the people flaming the devs, but as Irenicus say "the consequences are very real", an damage was done to Beamdog image, a scratch is done on Beamdog objective honor, they must heal the scratch not ignore it.
My point of view take for base a general consequence, if in the next game only 500 persons pre-order a game, this can do a serious damage for the following projects, that can be cancelled for example. pre-order is capital investment, a much needed tool in this business pratice.
Mark my words they can delay for a year the game and still i would not cancel my pre-order for BG, but atm, based on the actual behavior of the company (or on the lack of one), i don't feel inclined to pre-order the BG2 for example.
Of course i will almost certainly buy BG2, but unless i see a reason to pre-order it i will only buy the game after the release. For this reason i agreed with @Animeware and posted my previous comment.
Every post has different rules...... I'm newbie around here please do not punish me
And Jhart1018 I 100% Agree with you....
Kamuizin I also 100% Agree with you....
And it WAS just another load of hot air and a fancy website!
See you in november for the release or another ship day delay announcement...
But I have to disagree with @Maciak87 I know personally more then 10 friends who aren't fans of BG1, who haven't even played it in their whole life who are interested, and who will buy it after it's release (namely, most of my old DnD group, and some university friends). So no, it is not directed to fans. It's on the open market
Sure, when I first heard the news about the delay my heart sunk a little. But I'm just going to do something else until the release and keep updated here. I have work to do, as well as having the original game. Overall, I will probably get one or two playthroughs completed before the new game comes out.
If people haven't even played it, then it is unlikely that they will anticipate it quite as much as someone who is a fan of the original. That doesn't mean their opinion is any less valid, of course, but the overall impact of a delay is not as likely to be as bad.
One of the reasons for distributing this to Apple platforms and Android is to get it to as wide an audience as possible, and make as much money as they can, so I would disagree that it is only aimed at the old fans. I would like to make a small point (go to the end if you don't want to read the rambling), that a great number of companies have issued release dates only to hold them back. I said yesterday, for example, that Mass Effect 3 was held back by a little over three months, Assassins Creed 3 for PC was held back for around three weeks, and Prototype 2 for PC was held back for three months. Likewise, @jhart1018 said a similar thing about Alpha Protocol. This is a select few from a rather long list.
It is not the first company to announce a release date and not be able to stick to it. Unfortunate, though it is, but potentially unavoidable. Will it take up to the 30th of November to actually fix what is wrong? Who knows? Will it take a month to fix and a month of testing? Only the developers could tell you that. Will it only take to the 20th of November to finish everything off, but the 30th is a shout-out to all the original players? That would be nice, and possibly accurate, but no one can tell. I highly doubt that there is any conspiracy, though.
Atari, Activision, Rockstar Games, Ubisoft (#2), Electronic Arts, Square Enix, THQ, Bethesda, and even BioWare (which is obviously now owned by EA, but requested an extension to the deadline in order to polish off the gameplay), they have all reneged on deadlines before. Some of the reasons are more valid than others, but one thing is certain for all of them: the majority of release dates that are set are preliminary, some that are set well in advanced of the actual release are, more often than not, subject to change.
The thing with ArenaNet is that they had at least one, if not two or more, public beta weekends; that I know of, and a couple closed betas. If they had actually released the game on that first weekend, April 27, imagine how many people would have complained. Luckily for them and their reputation, that was never in the pipeline. However, as you said, people kept pestering them for a release date. Some companies would set a preliminary release date, subject to change, just to ease people's minds. Even though they managed to release on the date they announced originally, they are still patching the game. Neither are they without bad publicity.
But think about it for a minute; a view of someone else's perspective is often interesting, and you are free to agree, disagree, or disregard as you see fit: if there had been a game breaking bug in that last beta; some insignificant thing you had to do in order to trigger it, but something that would take an extra month past the release date to fix. They would work on; try to resolve it. A week before the deadline they come out - much like Bethesda with Dawnguard for PS3 - and say that it is proving more difficult than they thought.
The question in my head would be: would I rather get the buggy game, or the debugged game?
If everyone here was a beta, no one would really get any enjoyment out of it due to all likely the bugs. Proper beta testing work is a tedious job, and is often undervalued or under-appreciated by the masses. If you find a bug, you have to keep testing repeatedly until you find the source. Sounds like an easy day at work until you find out it is twelve hours a day, five or six days a week.
As a hyperbolic example: If you click on the map icon while you're still in Candlekeep, then go into Candlekeep Inn, will there be a bug that breaks the game at the end by not triggering the final battle? Who knows? But if the betas, moderators, and administrators say they need more time, I'm content to do something else while I wait.
I'm going to conclude my ramble by saying this: I am not exactly an apologist, more of a realist. At the end of the day, this is not a unique case. While people have every right to be disheartened or annoyed by the delay, people should not be quite so harsh. Cancelling a pre-order will actually do nothing. Better communication would have been nice, certainly, but any number of variables could be the cause of this; that doesn't make them a 'bad' company, as some people are making them out to be in other places. Like I said, feel free to agree, disagree, or even disregard as you wish
Edit: that is... considerably longer than I thought it would be. Apologies for the wall of text.
They better come the 30th november with a perfect polished BG1:EE without any reloading bug!!!
If not, there will be a free distribution of tar and feathers on this forum : I'm starting stockpiling
Pun intended!
Well I prefer a fully debugged version of BG1:EE, but 2,5 monthes delay... My faith falters...
Have a nice day,
JPR out!
HOW ABOUT YOU PUT THAT ON YOUR FRONT PAGE ? ? ?
www.baldursgate.com ? ?
In BIG fucking CAPS ? ?
I've gotten time off work and gathered my party for this weekend and only NOW, as I dare journey to the fora, do I learn it's been pushed months.
I don't mind it being worked through, but I mind it being kept some kind of secrety secret!
And why is there no news/blog section of the website?
The whole project is a brilliant idea, but you're pulling it off very unprofessionally.
Something that might seem rather insignificant, and suddenly the game becomes unplayable due to black spots appearing where images for the area should have been. I can't say what bugs are in this game because I'm not part of the beta group (though I wish I was), but when the developers say they need more time, it's usually for a good reason. The items I linked are indeed the delay of entire games; as is this, they are not just delaying some DLC, and while they are only remastering an old title rather than starting entirely from the ground up, it does not remove the fact that almost no developer or publisher is immune from delays.
There is also a message at the top of the forum topics that reads: I suppose it is assumed that anyone who is watching the release date closely will come to the forum and watch for updates. Those who don't bother pre-ordering probably aren't going to be bothered by any change in the dates, either.
Apologies if that sounds dismissive, and I sympathise with taking time off work and such. I had a trip to the UK that was partly work related on the 18th, this was set about four months ago, I pre-emptively asked for a rebook three weeks ago for the 19th so I could spend the day playing BG:EE, it cost me €152.78 including other charges to rebook my ticket for the ferry. But that was my fault, and I take responsibility for it without blaming it on the BG:EE team. Could I blame them? You bet. But, in reality, what would that really solve? I might not like it, but typing up an expletive ridden rant about them is not the way to go. That, and I'm too old to rush.
I'm not really sure what else is expected from them. Most other developers do it similarly. BioWare/EA has the BioWare Social Network and EA forums, and all genuine updates are posted there, even the masseffect.com site didn't get the update about the delay of ME3 until the BSN dev post made its round. Overhaul/Beamdog has this forum.
Actually, having said that, when Mass Effect 3 was delayed I didn't even get an e-mail from BioWare/EA.
And wow, the ignorance of people about what "Beta Testing" actually is astounds me...almost sound like people who have never actually worked a technical job in their life.
So if a game company say wanted to delay an October 31st release date, they likely would make an announcement this month not in October. Why you may ask because in October their manufacturing the hard copies of the disc and shipping those to the stores for on time release. Or in the case of some who pre-ordered their shipping before release date. In the case of SWTOR they shipped 5 days before release date to customers who had pre-ordered. That means they shipped to the stores at least 5 days before that. And it likely took a week or more to manufacture all the discs for the game that had been ordered by the stores. Release dates just are not pushed back 4 days before release, its just not done.
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is not getting any hard copies, at least not yet. They are currently only looking into it and is proving unlikely.
So, if that is correct, the entire argument about distribution of hard copies is null. It would only take a day or two to load it onto the servers and do stress testing before actual release.
Why i was thinking demo, assuming they gave themselves a comfortable 2 week to month window, a demo would help draw people in when they play it and see, hey, this is a really interesting game. And it would tide us over.
But the pdf of the manual would be awesome too.
Didn´t we get 2$ of the full price ?
Should we now return the preorder, and get 20 $ instead, just to make us happy ?
Narhhh, ill just wait and see...20 $ aint ruining my day, if it does yours, you can borrow them of me.
And btw, its a delay not a cancel.. !
What Overhaul/Beamdog should have done was announced it a heck of a lot earlier, like at least a couple weeks. That would have lessened the number of people cancelling pre-orders, or even complaining about the delay outright.