GP2 - Thoughts on the latest bad news.

I haven't posted comment and speculation on GP2 release dates so far, but the frustration level is reaching boiling point so here goes. Forget the 28th guys. I'll eat my T2 if said item puts in an appearance. Special Reserve are now quoting the 17th July, Premier quote 12th July, GAME quote 12th July and my local softco says his distributor advised him yesterday that it will be '3rd week of July' which puts it at the 19th I would guess. This is beyond a joke. The only way we are going to get this game it seems is to get a hacked copy of it. Fact is, if the mastering is complete, as others have reported, and all we are doing is pandering to some stupid marketing BS regarding British GP weekend, then a genuine release version will appear soon on the .warez groups, not the widely reported early alpha that is currently doing the rounds. Yes, of course I will still buy it, definitely, no question, but if a version appears now that works, I am not*** around until xmas for MPS to release it. No need for another flame war about piracy, I have a shelf full of commercial products, and a bin full of programs that weren't worth the disks they were distributed on. 'Let he who is without sin' and all that eh? Most of the games you can get off the net are so bugged that they are only good for evaluation use anyway. Incidentally, I work for a software company that's get's as annoyed as anyone when their work is copied illegally, but we will (nearly) always allow a prospective client a trial version if they want to gain confidence in it before signing up. MPS/SH/GC sent apologetic letters to the major chains in May when they missed the 27th April date, explaining that 28th June WAS THE DAY, DEFINITELY, NO COMPROMISE (this from the manager of my local GAME store). This will be the fourth or fifth 'official' date they have missed now this year. And this is for a game that I played for over an hour at the ECTS show several months ago which was, apparently completed. You can always add extra features to your software but the time does come when you have to go public with the damn thing and start earning some money on it. Interestingly, David Braben's stock fell enormously in many peoples eyes with the total debacle that was Frontier First Encounters. This was very late and very bugged. This man previously, as the co-author of Elite, was regarded quite rightly in the same 'coding God' category as Sid Meier and our Geoff. Is the same thing about to happen to GC? If the game is very late (it already is) but still bugged (maybe) then the man's credibility will have gone like a shot. MPS did things right with Civilization 2 IMO. The initial release had some minor bugs in which were fixed quickly. Now, eleven patches (!) later we have a game sporting a number of features that weren't in the original release through customer feedback. No patches = No opportunities to enhance. And all the time they were fixing those minor problems, I was playing the game. Would you all REALLY rather be kept waiting six months plus as we have for a '100% bug free version that Geoff is happy with' (it won't be), or buy a product rushed to release which has a number of bugs in it which get patched over the same period. I vote for the latter, without a doubt. It's easy to say no now, but if you had read the early reviews and then been asked whether you wanted a bugged version or to wait until July (at least) for the release, what WOULD we all have done? Bird in the hand and all that. Patience is a virtue, I have a number of them, but not this one. I'll buy/beg/borrow/steal the buggy beta and you can all buy the full version six months later ;-) Finally, Let's none of us forget that this game was good enough to review last March by more than one of the major mags. That means they got the review copy in January! Are they really saying it takes another SIX MONTHS to produce a release version? SOME TELLING QUOTES: 'It's been a long time coming, but the sequel to MPS F1GP is very nearly with us.' - PCZone Preview Sept 1995. OUCH! 'F1GP2 is one of the first games to support the new GLINT 3D graphics standard'. - Same PARDON? 'An absolute masterpiece, the finest game in a long, long time - 95%' - PCZone March 1996. LUCKY SODS '...I have been working on F1GP2 for two years now' - GC in PCZone March 1995!!! !?!!? FORTY MONTHS ?!?!?! Doesn't the man have a life? Or is the problem that he only works one day a week :-) Sorry if I've ranted and raved a bit. We won't have any problems finding things to talk about once it is released, I'm sure. This group is gonna develop a bandwith problem literally overnight. - ....We are dreamers, shapers, singers and makers. We study the mysteries of laser and circuit, crystal and scanner. Holographic demons and invocations of equations. These are the tools we employ.... -

Well Done Gary! I couldn't agree with you more. I especially like the quotes from the games magazines. Why don't they admit they reviewed an early beta version back in March. Not that this is a new practice; I remember an old Amiga magazine uses demos as the basis for their reviews. On the subject of release dates, it's beyond belief. I first phoned Microprose UK last November asking about GP2 release dates! Yet despite the continued disappointments I somehow convinced myself that the 28th of June was at last going to be the day. How foolish I was.

Whatever has been "reported", the game has NOT yet mastered, but almost certainly will be released by June 12th - this straight from the folks making the game (not MPS). I've waited for literally years, another two weeks isn't going to kill me. Cheers! John _________________________________ __ _____| |_____ __ _________| |__| :| John Wallace | |__| |_________ \ :| |::| :| Team WW Racing TSW | |::| | / > :| |::| :|_________________________________| |::| | < / :|__|::|____:/ Sim Racing News \.____|::|__| \ /_______:/ \::/ http://sneezy.dcn.ed.ac.uk/simnews/index.htm\::/ \._______\

Bravo! It's about time someone balanced the tremendous load of adoring tripe that's passed for logic on Goeff/MPS/GP2.

:Whatever has been "reported", the game has NOT yet mastered, but almost ^^^^^^ :certainly will be released by June 12th - this straight from the folks ^^^^^^^^^ The guys *writing* the thing don't even know when they'll be done! ***y hell - given that there is only two weeks to the British GP, and the pressing and distribution will take at least a week, it's cutting things a bit fine... :making the game (not MPS). : :I've waited for literally years, another two weeks isn't going to kill :me. I went to a hypnotist recently, and was told I was waiting for the sodding thing in at least three of my past lives... I'm going to be away for a long weekend over the 12th, and I'd really love to think I'll be missing a couple of days on the track, but I've had my hopes dashed just too many times to care. Ken

On Thu, 27 Jun 1996 23:36:30 +0100, John Wallace

Quoted text (12 lines)

>>Fact is, if the mastering is >>complete, as others have reported, and all we are doing is pandering >>to some stupid marketing BS regarding British GP weekend, then a >>genuine release version will appear soon on the .warez groups, not the >>idely reported early alpha that is currently doing the rounds. >Whatever has been "reported", the game has NOT yet mastered, but almost >certainly will be released by June 12th - this straight from the folks >making the game (not MPS). >I've waited for literally years, another two weeks isn't going to kill >me.

Hi John, fine magazine by the way. I take it you meant July 12th, not June 12th 1997. Seriously, I wish I had your faith. I place even less credibility on the 12th/15th/17th than I did the 28th. Especially given that nobody can agree on the date this time, at least the 28th was widely publicised. - ....We are dreamers, shapers, singers and makers. We study the mysteries of laser and circuit, crystal and scanner. Holographic demons and invocations of equations. These are the tools we employ.... -

I have subscribed to PC Zone for two years now and the only reason I buy regularly is because I trust them to call a pants game a pants game. I don't believe they would have reviewed a beta unless MPS were pretty damn certain about it being imminent. Remember, PC Gamer reviewed it during the same month as well. Something definitely did happen to stop it being released and send them back to the drawing board IMO. - ....We are dreamers, shapers, singers and makers. We study the mysteries of laser and circuit, crystal and scanner. Holographic demons and invocations of equations. These are the tools we employ.... -

Strangely enough, that CAME from the guys writing the damn thing.... _________________________________ __ _____| |_____ __ _________| |__| :| John Wallace | |__| |_________ \ :| |::| :| Team WW Racing TSW | |::| | / > :| |::| :|_________________________________| |::| | < / :|__|::|____:/ Sim Racing News \.____|::|__| \ /_______:/ \::/ http://sneezy.dcn.ed.ac.uk/simnews/index.htm \._______\

I total agree with you, and now that im really pissed of with Micropose, I,m going to get a pirate copy of the warze groupes, and Micropose can wait 6-8 mounths for my money,because I will, buy the game ***only when I want to buy it, and Ill use the money I had set aside for this game to buy some other game. I will also send Emails to Micropose telling them that I will buy the game from them at the end of every mounth for about 8 mounths ,and then just tell them I have delayed my payment as my money printer has a bug in it :).