So when is Tynan returning?

[JimmyAgnt007]

Ludeon Studios is still working on the game, thats all you need to know.

Excellent Summery.  Everything else is noise.  Just relax, enjoy testing some mods, play other games so you can come back to the next alpha refreshed yourself.  Ive got a feeling Tynan is going to blow us all away with the new content.  Not just with what hes told us but with the things he hasnt told us.

[RemingtonRyder]

I may be thick, but could you point out the unfounded criticism in those posts, you quoted, MarvinKosh? As far as I can see, the only unfounded criticism is "this game is doomed".

"Taking a six-month break mid-development is a bad sign." - thinking that it is makes it so?

"I guess it's the problem with throwing so much money at a guy just starting out." - again, pointing out a problem that doesn't exist.

"If I was a betting man I would put money on him starting a new project once gets home and effectively abandoning Rimworld." - Pure speculation.

"Taking a 6 month break while a game is in alpha is inexcusable and unforgivable." - Perhaps it would be, if there was nobody working on the code base, but there is, so this is unfounded as well.

"Devs like this hurt the entire gaming community. If you cannot finish, the DO NOT START!" - Okay well first of all, Tynan went through several prototypes before coming up with what we now know as RimWorld. Is anyone complaining about the prototypes that didn't make the cut? Again, development of the next version of RimWorld is well in hand, so the 'OMG you cannot finish' is, as you said, melodramatic.

There's no real foundation to the notion that Tynan is abandoning RimWorld as far as I can see. It's just instigated hysteria. Which, by the way, I said would happen. At least I'm pretty sure I said that somewhere.

[RickyMartini]

There's no real foundation to the notion that Tynan is abandoning RimWorld as far as I can see. It's just instigated hysteria. Which, by the way, I said would happen.

/thread

[Listen1]

"Taking a 6 month break while a game is in alpha is inexcusable and unforgivable." - Perhaps it would be, if there was nobody working on the code base, but there is, so this is unfounded as well.

Just this. I believe that this topic is done, more of it will be just spam. The aswer was given already, around March/2016.

[nuschler22]

"Taking a 6 month break while a game is in alpha is inexcusable and unforgivable." - Perhaps it would be, if there was nobody working on the code base, but there is, so this is unfounded as well.

Just this. I believe that this topic is done, more of it will be just spam. The aswer was given already, around March/2016.

I've been around with this game for a while (early Alpha stage, I think Alpha 3) and I felt similar.  It's astonishing how some people place trust in people we've never met.  I don't distrust the developer specifically, but there have been numerous ones that take off in the middle of game development, and taking a six month break in Alpha stage is never a good sign.

Who takes a six month break?  I've never had a six month break. 

So, bottom line.  Hopefully he returns and completes the game.  My guess is he will.  But unless you know him (or his character) personally, let's not be judgmental of the people who are skeptical. 

Edit:  Just wanted to throw in the caveat that the game is more than playable, I've got my money worth (and then some, with all the playable Alphas) and that if this was the final condition, I'd be fine with it.

[TheVoidDragon]

"Taking a 6 month break while a game is in alpha is inexcusable and unforgivable." - Perhaps it would be, if there was nobody working on the code base, but there is, so this is unfounded as well.

Just this. I believe that this topic is done, more of it will be just spam. The aswer was given already, around March/2016.

I've been around with this game for a while (early Alpha stage, I think Alpha 3) and I felt similar.  It's astonishing how some people place trust in people we've never met.  I don't distrust the developer specifically, but there have been numerous ones that take off in the middle of game development, and taking a six month break in Alpha stage is never a good sign.

Who takes a six month break?  I've never had a six month break. 

So, bottom line.  Hopefully he returns and completes the game.  My guess is he will.  But unless you know him (or his character) personally, let's not be judgmental of the people who are skeptical. 

Edit:  Just wanted to throw in the caveat that the game is more than playable, I've got my money worth (and then some, with all the playable Alphas) and that if this was the final condition, I'd be fine with it.

Sure, there's a possibility that he could just abandon it and never return like i expect some other developers have done before, but there is no reason at all to believe that is a likely event. There's nothing to suggest anything like that is going to happen. It's pretty unfounded in this case.

In what way is this break a bad sign? He stated several times that it was going to happen and he'd be gone for a while. Tynan has been working on the game pretty much by himself for the past few years, a break from it for a while isn't a sign of anything bad at all. If this was far earlier in development then that would look pretty bad, but he's put a lot of work into the game over the past few years without really having any time off up until now (at least as far as i know).

Besides, development of the game has not stopped at all and Tynan actually still is working on it to some degree. So it's not so much a a case of 6 months with no work on the game and more like 6 months of non-public development/working on it in the background.

[porcupine]

Sure, there's a possibility that he could just abandon it and never return like i expect some other developers have done before, but there is no reason at all to believe that is a likely event. There's nothing to suggest anything like that is going to happen. It's pretty unfounded in this case.

I don't understand why people keep saying this.  Do I personally think it's going to happen?  Not really.  But do developers usually announce that they're disappearing with the remains of their startup capital when they disappear?  No.  It's always unfounded, and unlikely, until it happens.

In what way is this break a bad sign? He stated several times that it was going to happen and he'd be gone for a while. Tynan has been working on the game pretty much by himself for the past few years, a break from it for a while isn't a sign of anything bad at all. If this was far earlier in development then that would look pretty bad, but he's put a lot of work into the game over the past few years without really having any time off up until now (at least as far as i know).

Except for the fact that he hasn't been working on his own?  He's had hires doing music, graphics, some coding, etc.   The website goes to length to ensure it's clear it's not a one man show, presumably because people don't want to be perceived as such, it's bad for sales amongst other things.

Also, Tynan has taken vacations several times, like any normal person, as could be seen by no updates in his daily work logs (which good on him for keeping the community up to date of course).  He took a week off for Christmas 2014, a week off in that summer, two weeks off in that spring, 2 weeks off Christmas 2013, another 3 weeks off in the fall of 2013, and long weekends here/there.

Is any of that unreasonable?  Not in the least.  But to say he's been working himself to the bone, non-stop?  That's over a month of vacation a year, more than many get.

Besides, development of the game has not stopped at all and Tynan actually still is working on it to some degree. So it's not so much a a case of 6 months with no work on the game and more like 6 months of non-public development/working on it in the background.

People keep regurgitating this line, which again harks back to the first quote.  There is development ongoing, which produces zero visible results, and nobody can verify, as nobody knows the developer, and nobody can see the results, no testing is ongoing, no discussion of what said development is, etc.  All you have is Tynan's word to go on there.  Do I think he's being dishonest about this?  Unlikely, but again, like any of you, I know nothing on the subject, and that's where speculation originates.

This thread alone is one of the reasons startup developers shouldn't and typically don't disappear for 6 months.  If you ran across this thread on Google while contemplating buying the game, would you be likely to purchase?  I bet not.  Bottom line is that unusually long hiatus' hurt development, hurt sales, and hurt the community (are any other topics this divisive?!)

[gnomeknows]

Besides, development of the game has not stopped at all and Tynan actually still is working on it to some degree. So it's not so much a a case of 6 months with no work on the game and more like 6 months of non-public development/working on it in the background.

Lol.  Be realistic guys.  There's a ton of other games out there with actual non-fantasy development/communication.  If Tynan really cared he would have hired of a go-between to interact with the community with actual information to keep the community invigorated.  It's not like it's expensive or he can't afford it.

Or...zomg, spend a couple minutes during his 6+ month vacation to poke his head up and say something.

Instead I check on this thread every few days and see nothing but die-hard fans puking out the same unverifiable quotes and forum moderators looking for an excuse to lock yet another thread about this.

Don't set  yourselves up for disappointment, just move on.   There' still dwarf fortress, and a new project that literally combines minecraft with dwarf fortress, which is imo the "final form" of this genre, and it looks spectacular.

[A Friend]

Or...zomg, spend a couple minutes during his 6+ month vacation to poke his head up and say something.

https://ludeon.com/forums/index.php?topic=17246.msg187125#msg187125
He seems pretty pissed though.

[gnomeknows]

too little too late, I just don't believe it.

[StorymasterQ]

too little too late, I just don't believe it.

Wanna bet?

[Lys]

too little too late, I just don't believe it.

Jesus then why are you still here? If this project is so done then you can move on to something else, can't you?
Oh wait no, you can't even check a post history and see that he's been posting a few times during his vacation, so what the fk are you complaining about? If you'd be on some time out from your work (and this forum is somewhat work for him), would you still show up at your workplace every week to say hello to everybody (and help out or do whatever)?

[gnomeknows]

Ohh, another die-hard quoter.  Ya I read his comment about that, he wants the nay-sayers to put up even more money.

What really got me was that he said keeping the community informed and alive is less important that work on the actual game.  Does he not realize there is no game without a community?

User was warned for this post: Rule 2

[RemingtonRyder]

There is a community. If it slows down a little bit between releases, that is to be expected.

If there's something which is harmful to a community, it's one guy with an agenda to tear that community apart with whatever dirt he can conjure up.

Anyway, I'm done entertaining the notion that this topic could go somewhere nice. You guys had your chance, now I'm locking it.

[RemingtonRyder]

Also, I thought I would add, given that Tynan has set himself a particular timeframe for his break, does it make sense for him to drop what he's doing every few days and come and set things straight? No, it doesn't. That's not taking a break.

Something you should also remember is that when a game is in alpha, it may have bugs. The 'stable' versions that you have played are no exceptions, but the internal builds are likely to be worse still. So if you feel like you have expectations that there should be some quick and dirty screenshots and videos, well all you'll see is the game crashing because it hasn't been through intensive testing yet.

To quote the FAQ over on the blog:

Ludeon uses an iterative, evidence-based, dynamic development process that changed direction often. This is the best way to create the strongest game design, but it also means we have no way of knowing how the game will develop before it does. So to reduce stress, wailing, and gnashing of teeth when the designs change (as they always do, for good reasons) we won't answer questions about future developments. Because honestly – we just don't know the answer! This leaves us free to iterate and change things as needed without worrying about pissing off players who were expecting a certain feature to work a certain way. It also saves us a lot of time that would otherwise be spent constantly managing and updating community expectations, which means that we can get the actual game to you faster and better.

And yes, I fully expect some naysayer to say 'well that's just an excuse to not update the community.' We go through this every alpha, the only difference being that more time is elapsing between versions. If you want livestreams every week with designers, there are other dev studios that do that. Go watch them not doing any designing for a couple of hours, and let me know how that makes you feel.