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DoubleFine has announced it will cease development on Spacebase DF-9 and release their Lua code for modders to carry the dream on.
The game had rather a lot of planned features listed that have been removed, but hopefully this won't be too hard on fans of the game with their plans:
It does make me wonder what happened internally for them to scrap their future roadmap. They are however putting in a tutorial and smoothing the game out to be less like an early access game, and more what you would expect from a finished game. There will also be goals to work towards to make the game feel more complete too.
No need to fret though as the game is already pretty damn fun as it is even when I played it a while ago, and these things can happen in development.
Their roadmap page has removed all previously announced possible features and replaced it with a small 1.0 release information section, but they did always state this:
There were always pretty open that nothing was "carved in stone" meaning none of their previously noted features were confirmed to be heading into the game. You can see that section using the way back machine.
They also noted on their big picture that Linux sold 2.37% for them.
See their official post on it here. You can also check it out on Steam. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
DoubleFine has announced it will cease development on Spacebase DF-9 and release their Lua code for modders to carry the dream on.
The game had rather a lot of planned features listed that have been removed, but hopefully this won't be too hard on fans of the game with their plans:
QuoteWe’re also pleased to announce we’ll be releasing the game’s full Lua source code a short time after 1.0, which will allow the community to create potentially far-ranging mods that add content, new features, and change some fundamental game behaviors. We’ll of course be sticking around a bit for bug fixing and support, but any new content for the game will now be in your hands. We’re eager to see what people do with this game!
It does make me wonder what happened internally for them to scrap their future roadmap. They are however putting in a tutorial and smoothing the game out to be less like an early access game, and more what you would expect from a finished game. There will also be goals to work towards to make the game feel more complete too.
No need to fret though as the game is already pretty damn fun as it is even when I played it a while ago, and these things can happen in development.
Their roadmap page has removed all previously announced possible features and replaced it with a small 1.0 release information section, but they did always state this:
QuoteNothing on this list is carved in stone, and we can’t promise any date for when it might go into the game. We may decide something isn’t worth it, or an idea may mutate into another thing entirely. We’re sharing this with you because we want to give an idea of where the game is headed!
There were always pretty open that nothing was "carved in stone" meaning none of their previously noted features were confirmed to be heading into the game. You can see that section using the way back machine.
They also noted on their big picture that Linux sold 2.37% for them.
See their official post on it here. You can also check it out on Steam. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Segata Sanshiro 18 Sep 2014
Well you just answered it there. The reason we are kicking up so much is because a hell of a lot of people didn't buy the game early but bought it on sale just a few weeks ago or even hours ago. What about our game time?
Yup, that's probably the most dickish thing they did. Without that, I would probably let them off the hook, but that kind of behaviour is the kind of thing a conman does, not "the lovable creators of Psychonauts".
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Well you just answered it there. The reason we are kicking up so much is because a hell of a lot of people didn't buy the game early but bought it on sale just a few weeks ago or even hours ago. What about our game time?Yup, that's probably the most dickish thing they did. Without that, I would probably let them off the hook, but that kind of behaviour is the kind of thing a conman does, not "the lovable creators of Psychonauts".
It's a bit like Valve did with TF2, but in fairness to them the game was released in 2007 and to this day is receiving updates.
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Segata Sanshiro 18 Sep 2014
I just found this, which has annoyed me even more:
That announcement was from a year ago, so they actually made a profit on something and then never even be bothered to finish...
Just look at everything they had promised (and now removed from their site, obviously):
http://web.archive.org/web/20131018054131/http://spacebasedf9.com/devplans
... and TF2 is now free, I doubt they will make Spacebase DF-9 free.
Spacebase DF-9 went into open alpha last month and recouped the entire $400k investment two weeks from that date. 85% of the revenue came in via Steam Early Access, and the other 15% via direct sales by Double Fine.
That announcement was from a year ago, so they actually made a profit on something and then never even be bothered to finish...
Just look at everything they had promised (and now removed from their site, obviously):
http://web.archive.org/web/20131018054131/http://spacebasedf9.com/devplans
It's a bit like Valve did with TF2, but in fairness to them the game was released in 2007 and to this day is receiving updates.
... and TF2 is now free, I doubt they will make Spacebase DF-9 free.
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FifteenthPen 18 Sep 2014
Although I am annoyed that I wasted my money on Spacebase: DF9, I would still encourage people to support Early Access games if they're appealing. The trick is to pay attention to how the development has been going before buying it. I should've taken Spacebace: DF9's incredibly slow development as a sign that it wasn't a good buy. I made the mistake of assuming that being backed by a reputable company would ensure its continued development. Now I know that the only good sign is frequency and quality of updates from the devs.
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Software has been a product that has been sold for decades now. I am amazed at what a clusterf**k crowdsourcing and early access is. It's not that hard: lay out a clear roadmap, define what is going to be completed by what time and at what cost, and sell. Instead, people put up flashy videos and concept art about how excited they are about us all making this great game together and they sell shares to people without ever defining what people are actually paying for, and then everyone goes home hurt and disappointed.
Scrap it and start over. Kictstarter and Steam Greenlight and Indiegogo need to shut their doors, hash this out, and re-open when they can manage software development like software development has been handled since AT&T did back in 19freatkn70.
Scrap it and start over. Kictstarter and Steam Greenlight and Indiegogo need to shut their doors, hash this out, and re-open when they can manage software development like software development has been handled since AT&T did back in 19freatkn70.
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The game engine is most likely the already-open-source Moai, which Double Fine has used on other projects and which uses Lua for the scriptingIf this is true I will be buying the game.
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Unknown Zombie 18 Sep 2014
I like how, while reading their blog about the game going 1.0 next month, there is the link in the top right that reads "Buy Now! Early Alpha."
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Well, The Cave is now off my wishlist, but what to do about Grim Fandango. That's gonna be hard not to buy. Until Steam has a straightforward way for buyers of abandoned games to get refunds, no early access for me. I resisted Wasteland 2 and will hopefully be playing over the weekend.
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Cheeseness 19 Sep 2014
Whilst it seems very much that the full potential of this game won't be realised, the game as it stands at the moment (without the next month's worth of improvements) is enjoyable (Linux performance issues aside).
It'd be great if people held off on judging until the final shape of the game is clear.
It'd be great if people held off on judging until the final shape of the game is clear.
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Whilst it seems very much that the full potential of this game won't be realised, the game as it stands at the moment (without the next month's worth of improvements) is enjoyable (Linux performance issues aside).Are you actually saying I - and others - ought to believe that a game can and will automagically jump from ALPHA 6 to 1.0? Like, in fact, Alpha 7 is beta and the beta is so good it's a full-fledged release?
It'd be great if people held off on judging until the final shape of the game is clear.
Man. I like you, Cheese, but it's not a matter of judging. It's a matter of recognizing we're getting shafted. The game may be enjoyable, but 1.0 is STILL really just an Alpha 0.7. No wordplay, PR bulldung or anything is gonna change that. They're removing further alphas, skipping beta, and calling it a day.
(and a game without beta is a bit like the Elder Scrolls. Except, worse.)
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Cheeseness 19 Sep 2014
Are you actually saying I - and others - ought to believe that a game can and will automagically jump from ALPHA 6 to 1.0? Like, in fact, Alpha 7 is beta and the beta is so good it's a full-fledged release?It sounds like you don't recognise that terms like "alpha" and "beta" are arbitrary.
I do believe that it's possible that a release ready game could come out of what's there right now. I don't know if it will happen, but it's definitely possible.
They're removing further alphas, skipping beta, and calling it a day.This is silly "beta" doesn't actually mean anything. I've worked on projects which have gone from "alpha" to release. I've also had projects which have needed more than two distinct pre-release phases and have gotten to gobble up many more letters of the greek alphabet.
Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love to see the game get another 3 - 6 months' development, and I honestly believe that it has enough potential in it to warrant more than that.
I put money into this project to see a game made. Since that's what's coming out the other end, it seems silly to feel cheated regardless of how disappointing it may be that development won't be stretching out longer (it's also worth noting that this sort of stuff happens often in the industry - we just don't get to hear about it).
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It sounds like you don't recognise that terms like "alpha" and "beta" are arbitrary.Indeed. Call me old-school, but I still think alpha is for games that aren't feature-complete, beta is for feature-complete-but-not-there-yet-there-might-be-bugs, and release is for did-our-best-fingers-crossed.
One month isn't nearly enough to go from alpha to release and...
Oh wait. Spacebase is NOT feature-complete. It IS an alpha.
I do believe that it's possible that a release ready game could come out of what's there right now. I don't know if it will happen, but it's definitely possible.A release-ready HALF-game.
I bought the game based on a feature list which they o so conveniently flung under the rug as fast as possible, knowing FULL well that this dung wouldn't go unnoticed.
This is silly "beta" doesn't actually mean anything. I've worked on projects which have gone from "alpha" to release. I've also had projects which have needed more than two distinct pre-release phases and have gotten to gobble up many more letters of the greek alphabet.I know, one look at Minecraft is enough. But seeing how the game was still in development, and how suddenly almost 50% of the features are scrapped and 1 month is enough for RELEASE-WORTHY QA? Nope. Nope. Nope. Not stupid enough to gobble THAT.
Don't get me wrong, I would absolutely love to see the game get another 3 - 6 months' development, and I honestly believe that it has enough potential in it to warrant more than that.And I'm a huge "when it's ready"-lover, as long as you don't keep people in the dark. Spacebase is NOWHERE near ready.
I put money into this project to see a game made. Since that's what's coming out the other end, it seems silly to feel cheated regardless of how disappointing it may be that development won't be stretching out longer (it's also worth noting that this sort of stuff happens often in the industry - we just don't get to hear about it).So do I. I put money to see the ADVERTISED game made. I back a plane simulator, I don't want an Air Control on release. I can understand one or two things being scrapped, major or otherwise. HALF the feature list is another matter entirely.
And indeed, we don't hear about it. We don't put money in it either. I'm not sure the shareholders are too pleased when you try to shaft them, either. :)
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Cheeseness 19 Sep 2014
I'd love to get into a detailed discussion of it, but sadly I don't have time. I will recommend that you avoid comparing it to Air Control and that you try to accept that whilst things aren't ideal, it doesn't mean that the game is necessarily going to be abysmal.
Good luck!
Good luck!
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