DLC Release Date

[laughing_lunatic]

So far that has been a compete lie since it is now June and we have not even seen a single new table yet.

Well, let's try not to get over emotional here. To say it's been a lie would imply malice aforethought. A lie is a deliberate act and as getting paid by us, their client, is their livelihood I can't believe that Farsight is any happier about this than we are. It wasn't a lie, it was an unfortunately shortsighted promise.

 

[PiN WiZ]

They way I see it, If an established developer like Zen Studios, who's been in the digital market for over five years now, can't get their DLC released on time, what chance does FarSight have of ever making their monthly DLC schedule on consoles a reality? I think it's about time FarSight announces a change in the DLC schedule due to the long approval process on consoles that they did not anticipate. As I recommended before, they should release two tables a month on Android, iOS and Kindle Fire and four tables every two months on Mac, PS3, PS Vita and Xbox 360.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

As I recommended before, they should release two tables a month on Android, iOS and Kindle Fire and four tables every two months on Mac, PS3, PS Vita and Xbox 360.

I was not in favor of this before, but I think it has become necessary given the lengthy approval times on the consoles. If nothing else it would help get consumer expectations more in line with reality.

 

[laughing_lunatic]

I think it's about time FarSight announces a change in the DLC schedule due to the long approval process on consoles that they did not anticipate.

Absolutely agree. It's the decent thing to do.

 

[squidlr]

Well, I'll happily wait until it's ready. It's not like I've paid for anything in advance and entitled to anything. I'm sure Farsight said they aimed to release DLC every month, and did not promise it each month. Even if they did promise, big deal. They seem to have been very transparent about the issues they have faced with approvals to the various app stores.

 

[George Klepacz]

Pin-Wiz, with your proposed release schedule, what if their submission is rejected?

 

[PiN WiZ]

Pin-Wiz, with your proposed release schedule, what if their submission is rejected?

With my proposal, they have eight weeks to get their tables approved, so if they're rejected, they have time to correct anything they need to and resubmit the tables as they're doing now. Eight weeks should be sufficient time to cover a rejection whereas four weeks is not.

 

[Richard B]

Get them to us as soon as possible, whether that means one month, two months, or six months. Screw all this stuff about "four every two months" just to be consistent. When Microsoft (and Sony) decides to put them online is when we get them. End of story. Now, if this is pissing off a lot of people, their official line could be every six weeks, or every other month, or whatever, but behind the scenes, if they're ready for submission, they shouldn't hold back just so Facebook people won't complain.

 

[PiN WiZ]

Get them to us as soon as possible, whether that means one month, two months, or six months. Screw all this stuff about "four every two months" just to be consistent. When Microsoft (and Sony) decides to put them online is when we get them. End of story. Now, if this is pissing off a lot of people, their official line could be every six weeks, or every other month, or whatever, but behind the scenes, if they're ready for submission, they shouldn't hold back just so Facebook people won't complain.

This proposal makes the DLC schedule more realistic and keeps consumers off FarSight's back. No one said anything about holding back DLC. If the DLC is ready early, then FarSight can release it accordingly and surprise consumers with an earlier than expected release.

 

[ND3G]

This proposal makes the DLC schedule more realistic and keeps consumers off FarSight's back. No one said anything about holding back DLC. If the DLC is ready early, then FarSight can release it accordingly and surprise consumers with an earlier than expected release.

Personally I did a facepalm when Farsight announced MB & Gorgar as the June tables. They are just shooting themselves in the foot needlessly. Farsight has made their share of blunders with TPA and they really need to hire a competent marketing/PR manager.

 

[PiN WiZ]

Personally I did a facepalm when Farsight announced MB & Gorgar as the June tables. They are just shooting themselves in the foot needlessly. Farsight has made their share of blunders with TPA and they really need to hire a competent marketing/PR manager.

You think they were wrong for announcing tables that they should begin rolling out within the next two weeks?

 

[Emmanuel Papillon]

I don't mind waiting for tables too much, but I DO mind waiting for the visual upgrades and bug fix.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

For those wondering about the 360 tables, FarSight just posted an update on their Facebook page. The trouble stems from a technical limit Microsoft places on the size of the core executable update. Because FarSight's new tables require code updates larger than this size (and probably cannot be made small enough to fit under the limit - 4 MB is not a lot of space), there was an impasse. This apparently has just been resolved (by FarSight convincing MS to grant an exception to their size limit), but the tables must be resubmitted.

So yes, this really was Microsoft's fault.

 

[Butterkins]

So yes, this really was Microsoft's fault.

Mmmm, sorta, maybe, not really.

When asked about the 4BM limit some time ago, FS were pretty confident of it not being a problem:

There are ways to handle large updates. Also, Microsoft has increased the size limit on title updates as well. And as Serenseven said, you can also just update content separately from the executable.

So, something went wrong with this strategy.

FWIW, Zen has run in to similar problems. Pinball FX 2 hasn't been updated in ages, and they've shunted proposed bug fixes in to a supposed Pinball FX 3, rather than the proposed 2.5. So much for agile development and releases...

Money probably has a lot to do with it too. Guesstimates for XBLA update expenses range from $USD20K to $40K. And that is Microsoft's fault.

 

[phantomfriar2002]

For those wondering about the 360 tables, FarSight just posted an update on their Facebook page. The trouble stems from a technical limit Microsoft places on the size of the core executable update. Because FarSight's new tables require code updates larger than this size (and probably cannot be made small enough to fit under the limit - 4 MB is not a lot of space), there was an impasse. This apparently has just been resolved (by FarSight convincing MS to grant an exception to their size limit), but the tables must be resubmitted.

So yes, this really was Microsoft's fault.

Not buying it. Seems like this was something FS should have and could have figured out ahead of time.

I don't want to complain too much either, and I've been trying to be patient, but they've really hurt themselves with the failure to get the DLC and updates out. They keep saying the Xbox is their lead platform and yet it's going to be far and away the least supported of all of these different versions, without the proper lighting of the PS3 version never mind new tables. Seems this multi-platform launch was a case of them jumping in before they were really prepared for it. Hopefully they'll learn and move on from here, but going from April until July (as it now stands) without new tables or big updates for the Xbox has been a failure on their end.

 

[Frostyglitch]

So we'll be resubmitting all 4 new tables tomorrow and rolling them out to you just as quickly as we can. We'll announce the date when we know it.

Well color me superbly disappointed. The last thing I was anticipating was yet another re-submission. We're looking at another 3-4 weeks before we see any new tables now.
I was also rather frustrated that FarSight didn't official announce that any left-over funds for the current Kickstarter would be going to a new one for ST: TNG. While this seems
like the only reasonable thing to do, people want reassurance that this is what will happen. In fact folks are refusing to even donate at this point until the new Kickstarter begins.
I noticed they updated the current Kickstarter page as well, but still didn't touch on this subject. What a shame.

The way I look at it, there's no point in getting upset because none of us can control these blunders. It's just disappointing because fans are already upset as it is, if they've gotta
wait another 3-4 week...Facebook is going to be utterly full of negative comments. That's if they bother sticking around at all. At the end of the day FarSight is the best at what they
do, so we just gotta hope this doesn't leave a permanent scar on their image.

 

[Richard B]

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say **** YOU MICROSOFT AND YOUR 4 MB LIMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Well color me superbly disappointed. The last thing I was anticipating was yet another re-submission. We're looking at another 3-4 weeks before we see any new tables now.
I was also rather frustrated that FarSight didn't official announce that any left-over funds for the current Kickstarter would be going to a new one for ST: TNG. While this seems
like the only reasonable thing to do, people want reassurance that this is what will happen. In fact folks are refusing to even donate at this point until the new Kickstarter begins.
I noticed they updated the current Kickstarter page as well, but still didn't touch on this subject. What a shame.

Actually, they did formally announce excess funds over $55K would go to ST:TNG and that a new kickstarter would be launched for the difference, but it's buried in the FAQ at the bottom of the project page.

It would be nice if MS fast-tracked the DLC submittal since they've granted the exception for an oversized core update. Unfortunately I have zero hope that such a thing will actually happen.

 

[Butterkins]

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say **** YOU MICROSOFT AND YOUR 4 MB LIMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really cannot stand Microsoft (and I don't use their OS) but to be fair to them, their XBLA limitations were well known in advance.

This was always going to be a problem for any XBLA app that needs code updates. Zen Studios and others have faced exactly the same problem. It's one of the reasons why Valve gave up on Microsoft, and did the Steam-PSN integration.

I want FarSight to succeed and I wish them well, but it's very late in the day to even imply that the 4MB limit is the real problem here. FarSight would have known a long time ago that updating an XBLA title frequently is going to be (a) technically problematic, (b) time-consuming and (c) costly.

But don't get me started on XBLA/PSN certification costs...

 

[Frostyglitch]

Actually, they did formally announce excess funds over $55K would go to ST:TNG and that a new kickstarter would be launched for the difference, but it's buried in the FAQ at the bottom of the project page.

Given the amount of confusion that has revolved around this subject, it would have been very beneficial for them to clear this up with the latest Kickstarter update.

I really cannot stand Microsoft (and I don't use their OS) but to be fair to them, their XBLA limitations were well known in advance.

This was always going to be a problem for any XBLA app that needs code updates. Zen Studios and others have faced exactly the same problem. It's one of the reasons why Valve gave up on Microsoft, and did the Steam-PSN integration.

I want FarSight to succeed and I wish them well, but it's very late in the day to even imply that the 4MB limit is the real problem here. FarSight would have known a long time ago that updating an XBLA title frequently is going to be (a) technically problematic, (b) time-consuming and (c) costly.

But don't get me started on XBLA/PSN certification costs...

Supposedly someone questioned FarSight on that very issue, and FarSight claimed they didn't think it was going to be a problem.

That being said, there was no proof and I didn't see it for myself.