SDk? anyone?

[Tyranausaurus]

Okay, so for sure the SDK is well past the release date. HULLO IT IS MARCH THE FIRST, I'm not having fun saying that... , when will the SDK be released, I know we want it complete and bug free, but it's late.

@ Firaxis... Can you please kindly give a 'new' release date? It's no fun having to wait for such a thing for a long time.

 

[SailorLazarus]

True true, Trex. It is not fun waiting for such a thing. They know that. They also know that they can torment us by promising it and then pulling it away from us over and over and over again. Also, just like squareenix and microsoft, they feed on our pain and suffering. Last time I checked FF7: Advent Children is set to release in the US sometime in the year 2020.

 

[Tyranausaurus]

they can torment us by promising it and then pulling it away from us over and over and over again.

... and over and over again, then suddenly, guess what? there is an expansion pack on the way, "c'mon civ fans, it's pay day for us, buy the expansion pack" and we'll all flock to the nearest computer shop to buy an expansion pack only to make us starve for the SDK even more.

 

[Red Door]

Whenever the next patch gets released, SDK will be with that.

 

[SailorLazarus]

Whenever the next patch gets released, SDK will be with that.

Is that an official promise?

 

[J_Period]

Last time I checked FF7: Advent Children is set to release in the US sometime in the year 2020.

At least there's an unofficial way to get AC...

 

[SailorLazarus]

At least there's an unofficial way to get AC...

We know NOTHING about what you are saying. Thats right RIAA, NOTHING.

<suddenly the door breaks down>
NO ONE EXPECTS THE RIAA INQUISITION!!!

 

[zx1111]

I already expected that.
When I posted my disappointment on missing release date on Feb 9,
I was wise enough NOT to expect they would release it sooner or later.
I lowered my expectation on them. Now, I expect that final release date will be more like coming *June*. Maybe 30th of of the June.. Less expection, less disappointment...

From other thread....

I remember that they quoted end of Jan. or early Feb. for SDK in some interview...
Now, well in February...No new news on SDK.. or patch..
I guess we had to wait at least till End of Feb.
Or should I lower my expectation to first half of this year to avoid disappointment?

 

[vbraun]

I bet Firaxis is working as hard as they can on the patch. New bugs can slip in during the testing process which could delay the patch.

 

[TheLopez]

I bet Firaxis is working as hard as they can on the patch. New bugs can slip in during the testing process which could delay the patch.

This is very true. I was supposed to release the Merc. mod last week and I had to slip it one week due to bugs. Such nasty creatures.

 

[Haarbal]

This is very true. I was supposed to release the Merc. mod last week and I had to slip it one week due to bugs. Such nasty creatures.

then KILL 'EM ALL

 

[zx1111]

give firaxis a break
If they release it on schedule it'll be buggy and you'll all hate them (like with civ 4)
If they release it late you hate them too.
The only thing they've done wrong is to underestimate the time that it would take to make it. So what almost every project ever made went over schedule.

That's why I think that software production is not yet an Engineering..
In most other field of engineering, they have a metic that can measure and predict schedule quite exactly. See construction. shipbuilding, and aero industry and engineering. Sometimes they miss schedule, too. But not as frequently or consistantly miss the schedule as software industry does. And even in such case, it is not as wide on mark as they are. Software is more like hand craftmanship or black magic than engineering.
What makes it worse, we don't see any improvement or faint light of hope to mitigate this dismal situaltion of software industy.. ( No silver bullet..... )
Software engineering? what an oxymoron!!!

 

[Kael]

That's why I think that software production is not yet an Engineering..
In most other field of engineering, they have a metic that can measure and predict schedule quite exactly. See construction. shipbuilding, and aero industry and engineering. Sometimes they miss schedule, too. But not as frequently or consistantly miss the schedule as software industry does. And even in such case, it is not as wide on mark as they are. Software is more like hand craftmanship or black magic than engineering.
What makes it worse, we don't see any improvement or faint light of hope to mitigate this dismal situaltion of software industy.. ( No silver bullet..... )
Software engineering? what an oxymoron!!!

The difference is that engineering is typically a set activity with well understand process's and deliverables. To design a house, or a car is a known process. There may be a few new minor changes (and those minor changes may delay the project) but by and large they understand what they are going to do and how they are going to do it from the begining.

Software is the creation of a brand new object from the ground up. Its like designing a building out of materials that have never been used before, in a way that has never been attempted, to sit on the shore of an island that is going through change by constant storms.

 

[TheLopez]

Software is the creation of a brand new object from the ground up. Its like designing a building out of materials that have never been used before, in a way that has never been attempted, to sit on the shore of an island that is going through change by constant storms.

Very well put Kael, very well put.

 

[CrazyAce]

I have lowered my expectation on the SDK a few months ago. Take The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion for example. It has been promised to be released several times and yet they just now decided to release it by March 20th. I like to see what happens on March 20th, will it be released or not?

The same goes for the SDK.

 

[zx1111]

The difference is that engineering is typically a set activity with well understand process's and deliverables. To design a house, or a car is a known process. There may be a few new minor changes (and those minor changes may delay the project) but by and large they understand what they are going to do and how they are going to do it from the begining.

Software is the creation of a brand new object from the ground up. Its like designing a building out of materials that have never been used before, in a way that has never been attempted, to sit on the shore of an island that is going through change by constant storms.

You are right and that's why I dismiss software as voo-doo engineering.

We don't have components or parts that we can easly buy and assemble to build software, like components of cars.
We don't have standardrized process of building or measuring softwares.
We don't have enough understanging on the true nature of software.
If each car is made from the scratch only with metals and plastics materials and designed from scratch from engine to bumper and all in custom, tailor-made design, it would have same difficulty as in software prodction. The old classic cars were built manually by craftsman in this way as does softwares are built today. By innovation of Henry Ford and his model-T, car-making become standardized and become true engineering.
So software industry today is in its infancy as does auto industy was before circa 1920. This goes same to game industy. No standardized way to plan, schedule, design, and produce game yet. No accepted way to measure the quality, progress and predict time schedule of the production. Don't blame on creative process of software production. Movie or show-biz industry are in far higher stage of industralization and standardrization and has much more predictable schedule and accurate estimation on time and efforts than software production. Can you call such ad-hoc disciples as an "engineering"? It's just euphoria...

 

[I_batman]

The difference is that engineering is typically a set activity with well understand process's and deliverables. To design a house, or a car is a known process. There may be a few new minor changes (and those minor changes may delay the project) but by and large they understand what they are going to do and how they are going to do it from the begining.

Software is the creation of a brand new object from the ground up. Its like designing a building out of materials that have never been used before, in a way that has never been attempted, to sit on the shore of an island that is going through change by constant storms.

OK, I must take exception with what you have stated.
I want to be clear, when building code I completely agree with you. I have tried to build enough code in my life (and more often than not failed) to understand the difficulties of creating something from nothing.
But this SDK is NOT building something from nothing. What the SDK is is essentially the core C++ code, (assume 1.52), and nothing more. Soren has already stated that people expecting documentation of this code will be disappointed.

Unless they are fixing bugs in the current post-1.52 code, there is nothing stopping Firaxis/2Kgames from releasing the code tomorrow.

We have been waiting for code that has been been built months ago.
WHY THE WAIT???

Can someone enlighten me on where my logic breaks down?

From a cynic's perpective, the only scenario I can envision is that the market share interested in modding the game is so small, that is not cost-effective to spend valuable time of anybody associated with either company to release the SDK when they still have buggy code to fix for the mainstream player.

 

[vbraun]

the patchs could very well be fixing code that would be in the sdk.

 

[Locutus]

We have been waiting for code that has been been built months ago.
WHY THE WAIT???

You answered your own question:

Unless they are fixing bugs in the current post-1.52 code

 

[Willem]

Is that an official promise?

Consider it an unofficial, official promise. It will be here soon, when the bugs have been dealt with in the next patch.