Poll: Development time...

[The Wanderer]

Ok, something I'm worrying about here is that LEC and Raven are going to rush development on JO. One year isn't such a long development time. So my question is this...

 

Do you think whatever Raven can accomplish in a year is adequate, or would you be willing to wait an extra year worth of development time in order to insure that JO is a truly superior game?

 

Me, my vote is to wait the extra year.

[GonkH8er]

i think theyll make it....... its not like theyre lucasarts or something

[Guest ZeroXcape]

Ouch, heh.

 

Raven whips out quality games. If JKII isn't ready after a year, they won't release a crappy project. I think they'll make their deadlines...

[X-Vector]

Originally posted by ZeroXcape:

<STRONG>Raven whips out quality games. If JKII isn't ready after a year, they won't release a crappy project. I think they'll make their deadlines...</STRONG>

 

Isn't that a contradiction?

If Raven feel JK2 isn't ready by spring/summer 2002, they won't make their deadline.

 

To be frank, this is the one thing that bothers me about JK2's development.

From the moment I heard that the game should be out in a year even though it has only been worked on since last February, I've been a bit suspicious.

As I've mentioned earlier, I don't think it's possible to create a high quality FPS game from scratch in 15 months.

I'm counting on a late 2002 release myself and hope Raven will take the time they need to make JK2 really shine.

After all, they wouldn't want to be criticised for releasing a short game again, would they?

[Darth Simpson]

I sure hope they can stick to the current schedule, but if the game suffers from it, I'm all for a delayed release.

 

Take the time you need guys.

[Arragorn]

I read in a few prevews of the game that its single player scenario is going to be shorter than JK. What I always liked about SW games was their stories and correct me if I'm wrong but LEC is known mostly for their incredible scenarios that imense the player in their gameworlds...

So to answere your question, as I said before in another post, I wouldn't mind 2 years of developement for the game to be complete in every aspect...

[matt--]

Normally I would say that maybe they were working on jk2 before they told us about it. But the guy in the video said it was only greenlighted in February.

[StormHammer]

I too share your concerns about the development time. I don't think it's enough, even though they did produce Heretic 2 in record time and that was a good game.

 

Judging by the new vid, they have worked quite fast in getting up to speed with the tech for the game, and while that probably needs some tweaking, I don't think it's going to change radically before release.

 

That probably means the bulk of the time will be going into the level creation, weapons, scripted events and cut scenes, and enemy AI.

 

We already know that you will not be able to choose Light or Dark side - and to me that is a fundamental part of JK that is being omitted in the sequel. Without the moral play, I don't think it will feel like the same type of game. If nothing else, I think the development time should be extended slightly to put this feature back in.

 

I think the levels are going to need a lot of work...if they are aiming for the size and complexity of those in JK. And the secrets in JK were mostly well thought out, often making you stop and think about how to reach them. Will Raven have time to implement such features effectively?

 

I take the view that we've waited this long for a sequel, so it wouldn't really bother me if they aimed for the end of next year for a release date.

 

However, lurking in the back of my mind is a nagging little voice...which says by Spring 2002 the Q3 engine is going to be showing it's age, and although it will be helped immensely by Raven's modifications, it is not going to improve with age.

 

I imagine that Raven will be wanting to get their hands on the new DOOM tech as soon as possible, to tweak the hell out of that, and use it for their next set of projects.

 

Speaking of which...is there any chance of a Heretic III?

[Mafia_Jabba]

I think we WILL Be able to choose, because if you remember Kyle GAVE his saber to luke in fear he would fall to the dark SIDE...

 

Perhaps we will see some variation on this topic, unless I am missing something and mabe they will elaborate on this "FEAR" Kyle had??

 

Also...LEC did seem to be working quite rapidly, and it was looking good for the amount of time they worked. I am confident in them.

[Guest digl]

Anybody know the exact release date for Ep2?

Theyll probably try to release the game about that date, and if its not ready I hope they delay it, thatd probably be till christmas

I dont mind any delay after all the time Iv waited, I would only be upset if they decide to move it to Xbox2

[wardz]

I am not very clued up on these things, but isn't the lengthy part writing the game code?. If thats what they can do in 3 months I am very confident that this game will be "fully operational" (excuse the pun.)

 

But like someone said the engine will start showing its age soon-ish. Therefore its in our interests and theirs that this game is finished before it falls too far behind..

 

 

wardz

[bsbuckeye21]

Originally posted by digl:

<STRONG>Xbox2</STRONG>

 

You just scared the crap outta me!

[CaptainRAVE]

Yeah, thats an awsome amount of work in three months!!!!! Look what they can do with it in the rest of the time thry have. Hopefully with this kind of prduction it wont be delayed!!!!

[Wilhuf]

Given that Raven won't have to pour the majority of their effort into developing the game engine, I think they'll produce a decent product in time. There is certainly enough time to develop content. Remember it is not just Raven who is doing the work. LEC are also putting in effort.

 

The wait has been long, and Q3 tech should do fine, even early next year. Given that JKO will feature those high polycount models, and that some gamers will have pretty high-end rigs by then, I think JKO will look and play great.

 

Sure, Doom 3 tech will blow Q3 tech away, but then again, the dated look of Jedi Knight (even by 1997 standards) didn't ruin that game.

[Masamune]

Remember that they are modifying the QIII Team Arena engine, not starting from scratch. That alone would cut a siggnificant amount off the development time.

 

Judging from what they had in the 2nd video, they've been working hard and doing an excellent job.

 

They'll make their deadline, and if they don't, we'll still have a quality product, which is what we really want.

[StormHammer]

Originally posted by Wilhuf:

<STRONG>Given that Raven won't have to pour the majority of their effort into developing the game engine, I think they'll produce a decent product in time. There is certainly enough time to develop content. Remember it is not just Raven who is doing the work. LEC are also putting in effort.</STRONG>

 

Yeah, you're right, Wilhuf. My concern wasn't whether or not they'll meet the deadline they've set themselves - I'm sure they will.

 

My only concern is that they will simply omit something that would made JKO a great game.

 

So far they have stated the the Dark/Light Side decision tree is being omitted, and I feel that was an integral part of what made Jedi Knight different from every other FPS on the market. It introduced the aspect of moral play, which is usually a feature only seen in some RPGs. It allowed you to choose between Light and Dark, as and when it suited your mood, and take the rewards or consequences of your choice. It does not have to be anything too sophisticated. But what I would like to see is slight changes in how the game progresses depending on whether you are turning to the Dark Side or not. Such changes would take extra time to implement - so it is unlikely we would see them.

 

<STRONG>The wait has been long, and Q3 tech should do fine, even early next year. Given that JKO will feature those high polycount models, and that some gamers will have pretty high-end rigs by then, I think JKO will look and play great.

 

Sure, Doom 3 tech will blow Q3 tech away, but then again, the dated look of Jedi Knight (even by 1997 standards) didn't ruin that game.</STRONG>

 

I'm personally not worried about whether JKO will look as good as some other games. It may not - but that's not a problem for me. I played JK because it was a great game - much better than Quake II, which came out around the same time and looked better. I played QII twice to the end. I've played JK many times to the end.

 

My point was really about Raven as a developer having to keep abreast of the tech. With so many PC games in development, many of which look stunning, they are going to be literally fighting for game sales against very strong competition, and they cannot remain tied to the Q3 engine indefinitely. I don't see it being a problem if the game is released in Spring of 2002...but if JKO was released at, say, Christmas 2002, then the Q3 tech will start looking old.

 

So there is a problem that they might not be able to extend the development time too far beyond their original target (even if the budget allowed them to), for fear of the game appearing dated. It would not matter at all to me - or indeed, to many JK fans - but to new gamers or those testing the Star Wars FPS waters for the first time, it may be an issue.

 

So my fundamental point is that some of the stuff we have been hoping for, which might need additional development time, may not even be considered so that they can get a decent game out before the tech starts looking old. That would be a shame, IMHO, but I would certainly understand the reasons behind it.

 

They will make it as well as they can make it. And hopefully, it will last.

(shameless reference to a quote from Blade Runner ).

[KillerBee]

well alot of the modifications they wanted to do to the engine are prolly already done.. which should cut out a lot of the dev time (hell a game with a new engine can be done in 2 years.. they got the base already there)

if they have that video done in 3 months. then it looks promissing.

personally I expect summer or fall rather then spring.. I would prefer that anyway, spring would intefer with my Year 3 uni exams... I dont want to fail more exams due to a LEC game

[MaDMaN1587246505]

With all the improvements they have made to the Q3A engine and using Ghoul tech it should last the test of time. As for the release date I cant add anything that would be useful xcept that Raven has been consistant in doing as they say.

Thanks for listening

[CaptainRAVE]

They have probably finished work with the Quake 3 engine. The only stuff they'll have to work on now is story, weapons etc....