Alpha 13

[Noobshock]

Tynan is providing the closest thing there is to Dwarf Fortress that's actually playable and enjoyable by normal people and not just gaming addicts that don't mind spending copious amounts of time deciphering a no-fucks-given UI. That's gaming history being made right there. Have some patience.

[Mossy piglet]

A nice break can be a very refreshing thing. There's also something to be said about getting out from under obligations. Tynan mentioned that he's basically still working "25%" on Rimworld, because taking a break from having to work on Rimworld doesn't mean that he doesn't sometimes want to work on Rimworld. He also has a full time coder at the moment so that he's not the only person getting stuff done, which is where all the progress on A13 is coming from. That's the big thing, too, he's not coming back from holiday and then starting up development again, he's coming back, doing some polish, and giving us a new alpha to play with. Personally I think interpersonal reationships are going to be such great fodder for storytelling. (Plus as much as he feels it's beyond the game's scope, it seems he's actually going to add human reproduction, so all the people who want to found a multi-generational permanent colony can rejoice)

Where was human reproduction mentioned. It did not say anything in any posts about it. Actually, it even said specifically no kids yet. Also, I would like another progress update too. Now is about the time tyNan is getting back, maybe that is a good time. I think the time in between updates is fine, because this alpha looks huge.

[Devon_v]

Where was human reproduction mentioned. It did not say anything in any posts about it. Actually, it even said specifically no kids yet. Also, I would like another progress update too. Now is about the time tyNan is getting back, maybe that is a good time. I think the time in between updates is fine, because this alpha looks huge.

"Yet".

And maybe the thread got deleted because it degenerated into a bunch of bigotry but he commented on the fact that onces pawns have relationships, including sexual, the entire reproductive process is already in the game. All it takes is adding the human animal to the data and coding a limited-capability child life stage.

It's not in A13, but it's apparently been moved from the "out of scope" zone to the "future ideas" zone.

[RickyMartini]

There are 31 days in March.  As long as something happens before April he will have kept his promise.

Not really. If his blog quote is taken literally, he would even keep his promise if he came back March 31 and released A13 on April 30. He never said March is any release date whatsoever.

[RemingtonRyder]

Things can change significantly prior to a new release. Tynan sometimes asks for gameplay footage to use in a release trailer but, as I recall, only when things are nailed down for that particular release.

Tynan could spend hours putting together a post about this and that and it wouldn't be enough to satisfy the demand for information. So I suppose that he's spending his time cost-effectively by not doing that.

[Tynan]

I've accepted the fact that I don't really know when a certain feature or release will be finished. That's the nature of inventing or designing new things. It's not like building a house, where you've done it before and you know how long it'll take. It's unknown territory, so of course there's no way to know how long the path will be. Lots of people fool themselves into thinking they can predict this, and a lot of them suffer for it (hence the absolutely ridiculous rate of missed release dates by game developers).

So since I don't really know when it'll be done, I don't give (or even target) release dates. I just don't know. I could make up a guess, but that's all it'd be - a made-up guess. And that's worse than nothing, because it makes people think there is certainty when there really isn't.

I also think it's mostly a poor use of time for a developer to spend a lot of time pumping or managing public expectations. At the end of the day it's basically irrelevant what happens right now; once the next build is released all this gets wiped away. What matters in the end is the quality of the game, and that's what I prefer to pour all my energy into - not the endless, noisy, but ultimately unimportant expectations-managing publicity game. Because I'm sure you guys want a good game more than you want some blog posts telling you made-up guesses about what's going to happen.

Anyway, I'm happy to say what's happening now, since I don't have to guess at that. I've returned from my trip and am now fulltime+ on RW. Alpha 13 is in testing. Typically this phase lasts a number of weeks, but this one could be quite long given the amount of content that was added. Ison is on it full-time, coding, and I'm doing design and financial and legal work while getting back in the swing of things here. Unfortunately running a business involves ungodly amounts of paperwork.

Anyway, everything is on track and I'm pretty sure y'all are going to be happy at the end of the day.

[jzero]

lord Tynan has spoken. Silence your doubts

[forumaccount]

I love game mods, so I'm personally a fan of large, infrequent updates. If a game makes a bunch of frequent updates, modders get tired of keeping up with the updates.

[mumblemumble]

Difficult, detailed, worthwhile coding takes a very, very, very long time.

I know that if, hypothetically tynan agreed to do z levels, it could very easily go over a year in development, even with a bit of help (Though, this would be very worth it in my opinion, Sniper towers would  rock.)

Glad to see a life sign tynan. Say, if you are still reading, Would I have to re-apply for beta testing, or would I still have myself on the list? I'm contenting myself with bugfinding for doom mods (hideous destructor just had an enormous inventory revamp with tons o bugs), and other stuff, but I'd be happy to take a stab at rimworld again. (especially because, ill be honest, didn't care for the animal update very much.)

[IkeaSwede]

Yay, Tynan is indeed alive! Thanks for popping in and letting our minds at ease lol.
And good luck with the paperwork, I don't envy you

[Listen1]

I also think it's mostly a poor use of time for a developer to spend a lot of time pumping or managing public expectations. At the end of the day it's basically irrelevant what happens right now; once the next build is released all this gets wiped away. What matters in the end is the quality of the game, and that's what I prefer to pour all my energy into - not the endless, noisy, but ultimately unimportant expectations-managing publicity game. Because I'm sure you guys want a good game more than you want some blog posts telling you made-up guesses about what's going to happen.

Lately, i've been watching ExtraCredit's and Bakuman (An anime about wrinting a manga) and what Tynan told above is the most undeniable true. It just needs to be good. (If it is good it will be published!). If it is good we will play, if it is good people will keep playing and waiting for/creating more content.

It all sums up as: We need a good game. Tynan is building a great game.

[RemingtonRyder]

mumblemumble, you'll get your turn, don't worry. For now, the build is limited to private testers only.

Also, since Tynan has confirmed that A13 is in testing, I would ask everyone to please not pressure testers for information. Not only do testers get in trouble for revealing things that aren't supposed to be public knowledge yet, but they also don't know what the release will be like when it's done, so it's not like you would get an accurate picture of what's going on anyway.

Thanks in advance for your understanding.

[cultist]

I've accepted the fact that I don't really know when a certain feature or release will be finished. That's the nature of inventing or designing new things. It's not like building a house, where you've done it before and you know how long it'll take. It's unknown territory, so of course there's no way to know how long the path will be. Lots of people fool themselves into thinking they can predict this, and a lot of them suffer for it (hence the absolutely ridiculous rate of missed release dates by game developers).

So since I don't really know when it'll be done, I don't give (or even target) release dates. I just don't know. I could make up a guess, but that's all it'd be - a made-up guess. And that's worse than nothing, because it makes people think there is certainty when there really isn't.

I also think it's mostly a poor use of time for a developer to spend a lot of time pumping or managing public expectations. At the end of the day it's basically irrelevant what happens right now; once the next build is released all this gets wiped away. What matters in the end is the quality of the game, and that's what I prefer to pour all my energy into - not the endless, noisy, but ultimately unimportant expectations-managing publicity game. Because I'm sure you guys want a good game more than you want some blog posts telling you made-up guesses about what's going to happen.

I think you're handling this exactly the right way. So many early access games have broken their necks on souring the community with unfulfilled promises.

[mumblemumble]

just to clairify marvin, wasn't pestering for info, simply asking if I needed to "re-apply" once its open testing, or if it will remember me from last time.

I would THINK it would remember me, but I'm not sure, and I don't want the open beta to slip by without me doing a bit of bugfinding, simply because i made a stupid assumption.

[RemingtonRyder]

You weren't pestering, I was just putting that out there as a general thing.

You should have access to the Public Tester subforum. When a build goes out to public testers it will light up like a Christmas Tree.