[GS] Future Update?

[pokiehl]

Hoping against hope for a teaser today!

 

[blackcatatonic]

This is a bit of a devil's advocate question... but can anyone educate me as to the advantages of testing DLC in a completely hidden environment? Why would they not want us to know they were working on something? Wouldn't it just increase hype and interest in the game - or are they worried about hurting Platinum Edition sales?

Avoiding leaks must seem like an obvious one but as I recall GS was leaked quite extensively before the announcement, which had nothing to do with SteamDB...

 

[WillowBrook]

You mean we hope/anticipate there are ways to test things like that
The same way we hope/anticipate a corkscrewlike shade in blurred picture is concept art of a new leader

No, we know that it is currently possible to test games on Steam depots that are hidden from steamdb. We don't know if Firaxis is using or has used this option.

This is a bit of a devil's advocate question... but can anyone educate me as to the advantages of testing DLC in a completely hidden environment? Why would they not want us to know they were working on something? Wouldn't it just increase hype and interest in the game - or are they worried about hurting Platinum Edition sales?

Avoiding leaks must seem like an obvious one but as I recall GS was leaked quite extensively before the announcement, which had nothing to do with SteamDB...

Marketing. They want to reveal things on their own schedule. Also, if it's clear they are testing an unknown depot, many people would assume it's a full expansion. If it turned out to be a small DLC, the disappointment could hurt sales. That said, I don't see how the leaks and steamdb activity could have hurt GS sales.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

Central America should not be represented by the Aztecs only.

Good thing is the Aztecs weren't actually in Central America. All the more reason for the Maya to come.

 

[Jeppetto]

This is a bit of a devil's advocate question... but can anyone educate me as to the advantages of testing DLC in a completely hidden environment? Why would they not want us to know they were working on something? Wouldn't it just increase hype and interest in the game - or are they worried about hurting Platinum Edition sales?

Avoiding leaks must seem like an obvious one but as I recall GS was leaked quite extensively before the announcement, which had nothing to do with SteamDB...

You can ask this question about any kind of obscurity and why it has such degree. Why not outright tell from the start what they are working on and updating us on-the-go of what vision worked, which didn't, what's new in creative process etc. Wouldn't that give even more hype than just saying they do work no something?

LoL, for example, while not too transparent, is much more open. Prior to release of Senna we already knew we'll be getting Non-traditional Marksman. With her release (Supportive Marskman), we learnt next releases will be "Lunari that changes weapons like the moon changes phases" -> "Ionian underground fighter that absorbs damage as rage and then bursts it all back, destroying his enemies with bare hands" -> "Fiddlesticks Rework" (they outright showed us what he'll look like and teased he'll have ways of scaring the poo out of enemies) -> "Volibear Rework" (showing his concept art and proclaiming focus of God of Thunder theme) -> "whimsical jungler" -> "edgy midlaner".

Senna has been released for few weeks, this week we'll be getting Aphelios, the Lunari with many weapons. That gives you idea that the edgy midlaner will be released as new content somewhere in Summer of next year. And yet he's already announced. What do we know about him? "edgy midlaner". That's literally it. Because they theirselves aren't so deep into the process to be sure what theme they'll land on. We got display of Fiddle's model despite the fact he should release at around end of Jan start of Feb of next year. No model for Voli because it's not finished yet, we only know his concept art. There alread were official teasers of the fighter's abilitiey names or actions.

So all it boils down to is developer's choice of how they build hype. Civ wants it fully covered and then burst all the cards, Riot periodically gives "Dev Updates" where they outright explain what choices they considered for theme, what they landed on, how they want it to translate to gameplay, and even that is only one per month or two months.

All it further boils down to is confidence. You may retire some announced idea because it won't work and people who won't understand it had to be scrapped will be de-hyped and go "Man, I was so looking forward to that". Or you don't think it looks good now prior to finish and feel like people will always judge based on this half-baked product rather than the finished one. Or If your company is all over the place project might be canceled all together and trust damaged. I suppose given that 2K is the master of coin for them, they might not be fully confident in their project's exact release form and would rather wait until sure.

 

[Wielki Hegemon]

No, we know that it is currently possible to test games on Steam depots that are hidden from steamdb. We don't know if Firaxis is using or has used this option

We are in a trap of wishful thinking mixed with a lack of information. That's what we know for sure

 

[The Kingmaker]

Any thoughts on the prospects for this week? I think we may be getting too close to the holidays for an effective announcement at this point.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

Any thoughts on the prospects for this week? I think we may be getting too close to the holidays for an effective announcement at this point.

The chances of an expansion announcement are very low at this point. I'm just hanging on for a patch maybe next week. This week probably isn't going to happen since we haven't seen the Mac/Linux approval builds update yet following the Mac/Linux qa build updates we saw last week.

 

[pokiehl]

Any thoughts on the prospects for this week? I think we may be getting too close to the holidays for an effective announcement at this point.

All anyone can do is baselessly speculate so your guess is as good as anyone's.

 

[steveg700]

This is a bit of a devil's advocate question... but can anyone educate me as to the advantages of testing DLC in a completely hidden environment? Why would they not want us to know they were working on something? Wouldn't it just increase hype and interest in the game - or are they worried about hurting Platinum Edition sales?

Avoiding leaks must seem like an obvious one but as I recall GS was leaked quite extensively before the announcement, which had nothing to do with SteamDB...

You see, all those guys out there engaging their fans and customer community are labeling themselves as small fry. Publishing dev diaries? Well, that's surely a pathetic, desperate, amateurish clamoring for attention.

Firaxis is successful enough and big enough that everything is done by committee with lots of internal processes in place to forbid community engagement without proper approvals. A proper company with proper procedures. So changes are announced in a momentous fashion.

 

[AntSou]

Good thing is the Aztecs weren't actually in Central America. All the more reason for the Maya to come.

What do you mean?

You see, all those guys out there engaging their fans and customer community are labeling themselves as small fry. Publishing dev diaries? Well, that's surely a pathetic, desperate, amateurish clamoring for attention.

Firaxis is successful enough and big enough that everything is done by committee with lots of internal processes in place to forbid community engagement without proper approvals. A proper company with proper procedures. So changes are announced in a momentous fashion.

Actually, most companies large or small do communicate with fans... and then quite often under-deliver on the promises.

 

[pokiehl]

What do you mean?

The Aztec are part of North America; he's saying that the lack of Central America representation may make it more likely for the Maya to show up.

 

[Jkchart]

Ah, Civfanatics, you never let me down. A Firaxis employee could post on Twitter, "I bought a cat this Sunday" and we would be like, "A cat? Cats were revered in Egypt! This must be a clue that we're getting an alt leader for Egypt. And Sunday . . . Sun . . . the sun god! The new alt leader for Egypt will be a worshiper of Amun-Ra!"

Poor Sarah and the constant scrutiny we give her over her love of cats

 

[steveg700]

Actually, most companies large or small do communicate with fans... and then quite often under-deliver on the promises.

Yes, and the two approaches I described comprise the actual spectrum for such communication, actually.

At the one end you have the one-man-show developer who posts in forums and posts diaries non-stop, and at the other extreme there's a company like Rockstar that sets the internet on fire whenever it posts a 10-second video or a nondescript screenshot.

But actually, the level of communication doesn't reflect the actual level of delivery.

TLDR: Actually!

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

There's a little bit of irony this morning. 2K announced that they created a new studio just to work on Bioshock 4 which won't be out for a few years, but we are in the dark about short to mid-range plans for Civ.

Edit: And it looks like the head of the new studio was pulled from Firaxis. I wonder how much of the staff is ex-Firaxian.

 

[oSiyeza]

It's not finished yet.

Haha, well the only close thing in modern times to a cold war is economic trade wars, and that is probably more a China is the New Russia kind of situation

I comment on this cause this is the most obvious new feature that could be added to the game. Corporations, monopolies, tax paradises, countries offering cheap manufacturing labour. To add a new layer of conflict and diplomacy and to justify armed conflicts in the late stages of the game.

 

[criZp]

This is a bit of a devil's advocate question... but can anyone educate me as to the advantages of testing DLC in a completely hidden environment? Why would they not want us to know they were working on something? Wouldn't it just increase hype and interest in the game - or are they worried about hurting Platinum Edition sales?

They want to create hype for sure, but they want to do that with planned announcements at planned dates.

 

[bbbt]

Edit: And it looks like the head of the new studio was pulled from Firaxis. I wonder how much of the staff is ex-Firaxian.

Oh wow, that could also have caused some delays (though probably more likely in Xcom 3/whatever Firaxis's unannounced game is). People often bring folks with them from prior jobs. I wonder if this is related to the recent spate of positions Firaxis posted.

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

Oh wow, that could also have caused some delays (though probably more likely in Xcom 3/whatever Firaxis's unannounced game is). People often bring folks with them from prior jobs. I wonder if this is related to the recent spate of positions Firaxis posted.

The new studio, Cloud Chamber, is located in the Bay Area near 2K HQ. So whoever moved over from Firaxis would be moving across the country. I'm pretty sure Sarah isn't because she hasn't mentioned moving far away. And none of the other devs that I follow on Twitter have either.

Edit: With regards to hiring positions, I've noticed that they tend to put out hiring notices at the beginning of projects. I think they have an employment cycle where they lay off non-core staff after development of significant products ends and often employees just move on to other studios on whims after their projects are done.

There was a spate of hiring this past summer that may be attributed to the console ports. The recent bunch may indicate a product of some kind (not necessarily Civ-related) in Q2 or Q3 2020.

One hiring notice that I saw over the summer was for a freelance digital artist specializing in real-time hair. I don't think that was for the console ports.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

What do you mean?

Mexico is considered North America where the Aztecs are located. The Maya were also located in eastern Mexico but also in Guatemala, Belize and Honduras which is considered Central America, a subcontinent but still part of North America as well.
Of course you probably meant they were both located in Mesoamerica which would be indeed accurate.