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CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

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Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#21

Post by f6v »

notJim wrote: post #19
f6v wrote: post #3

If you watch game footage, it's obvious it's half-baked. However, so many people violated the number one rule: no preorders. This is literally the only thing gamers can do to incentivise developers to not release buggy games. But here we are again.

Eh, I always appreciate the early adopters who provide feedback and pressure on devs to fix the games so that I can play a much better game 6 months or a year later.

Well yeah, same here. But seems like CDPR is happy about preorders. That's too many adopters to be called "early".

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#22

Post by theSIRius »

The whole project feels terribly mismanaged. Even from the character editor it is obvious the game had to be scaled down in the last year to even ship. Considering the amount of crunch, it is heartbreaking it ended like this for every interested party.

I find it hard to believe that the launch of the new consoles did not have an effect on the launch date. CD Projekt could have taken the Rockstar approach, release the game on the last gen or PC and Stadia first, then polish and release on the second platform and then finish with the next gen. Releasing on seven or more platforms at the same time would not go well even before covid.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#23

Post by platz »

d1egoaz wrote: post #18

Game wasn't ready for consoles, they just lied about it. And it looks like even the PC game feels incomplete "It's all style but no substance.". https://steamcommunity.com/id/outxider/recommended/1091500/ "Janky. If I can describe it with one word. 8 years of hype to launch what looks like an Early Access game. It's glitchy, it's buggy, it doesn't run well unless you have an RTX card and DLSS enabled. And that's bare…

Cyberpunk 2077 review: dad rock, not new wave - Polygon

https://www.polygon.com/reviews/22158019/cyberpunk-2077-revi...

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#24

Post by angelbar »

f6v wrote: post #15
jontaydev wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a theory that development was restarted several times, most notably in 2018 to incorporate Keanu into the main story. It seems like they couldn't stick to a singular vision and shifted goals too many times.

Which I never understood: how is an actor supposed to suddenly carry the whole game? I mean, he's got those cool movies(where he plays the same guy over and over again), but he's no Jesus to be worshiped like that.

Or Maradona

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#25

Post by platz »

f6v wrote: post #15
jontaydev wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a theory that development was restarted several times, most notably in 2018 to incorporate Keanu into the main story. It seems like they couldn't stick to a singular vision and shifted goals too many times.

Which I never understood: how is an actor supposed to suddenly carry the whole game? I mean, he's got those cool movies(where he plays the same guy over and over again), but he's no Jesus to be worshiped like that.

You make it sound like having a leading role in a game is the highest honor in the land one can bestow upon an individual.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#26

Post by CamelCaseName »

pavlov wrote: post #7

This company has probably the shittiest gamified bonus system that I've ever heard of: "CDPR leaders would hand out tokens every month to staffers who went above and beyond, and those tokens were supposed to be transferrable into bonuses if the game met “certain criteria, like critical acclaim and a timely release,” according to the report." [1] Get paid in "crunch mode experience points" handed out by middle manager…

Doesn't sound much different than getting paid in equity at a startup.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#27

Post by _cs2017_ »

Wasn't it obvious to anyone who play-tested on last-gen consoles that the game is nearly unplayable and so will receive horrendous reviews? Presumably CDPR employees are not afraid to convey such bad news to the management. So why did the management still decide to go ahead with the release this year?

After reading this transcript, I didn't find the answer to these questions.

"Underestimated the scale and complexity of the issues": it's not like they needed to estimate anything. This is not an MMO that behaves differently after the million users log in. This is not a PC that behaves differently on unpredictable end-user's systems. This is not a game where problems only occur under some rare combinations of factors.

"We ignored the signals about the need for additional time to refine the game": signals implies some indirect evidence that can be interpreted differently. It seems, however, that the management would have a pretty unambiguous information at their disposal.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#28

Post by polishdude20 »

Merman_Mike wrote: post #8

> Hi, this is Michał Nowakowski – the second question; would having more developers help deliver the game on old-gens? In terms of delivering the game at a certain point, it’s really not about the number of people; it’s not like throwing in – in the last month – 200 or so people would actually help. So, the answer is no; this is not related to the fact that we could have thrown 300 or 500 more people into the fray an…

Yeah it confirms the sort of teachings of the mythical man month.

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#29

Post by niea_11 »

Merman_Mike wrote: post #8

> Hi, this is Michał Nowakowski – the second question; would having more developers help deliver the game on old-gens? In terms of delivering the game at a certain point, it’s really not about the number of people; it’s not like throwing in – in the last month – 200 or so people would actually help. So, the answer is no; this is not related to the fact that we could have thrown 300 or 500 more people into the fray an…

There is a maxim from the essay "The Mythical Man-Month" saying that adding people to a late software project makes it later.

It takes time for new people to become productive, communication becomes difficult and some tasks can't be "parallelized".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooks%27s_law

Re: CD Projekt Conference Call with the Management Board [pdf] (Dec 14)

#30

Post by maerF0x0 »

f6v wrote: post #3

If you watch game footage, it's obvious it's half-baked. However, so many people violated the number one rule: no preorders. This is literally the only thing gamers can do to incentivise developers to not release buggy games. But here we are again.

is the inverted side of "no preorders" also "No epic games"? Something has to fund development and at a certain point investors will not risk the lack of sales. Versus a preorder is an actual sale.
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