Tutorial

[JamesM]

Those screen shots are superb, but they indicate that a number of tutorials will be needed to help players fully understand them and the game engine.

[Dimitris]

We agree, and we have already put together several scenarios dedicated as tutorials (with instructions to the player etc.).

[Tophat1815]

Well I'm gonna ask................when?[;)]

[mikmykWS]

When its ready[8D]

[jodi319]

&when is that?

[Tophat1815]

ORIGINAL: jodi319

&when is that?

Don't ask,they won't tell.

I'm just curious if its an expected before Fall of 13' release.

[wodin]

What ever you do don't go ask when it's due out in your first post on their forum..just a word of warning. It's seen as bad behavior and troll like. Not sure why as to me it's a legitimate question and shows enthusiasm..I had a little chat about it with the mods etc..but got nowhere.

So keep these questions here as you wont be called out on it.

[Tophat1815]

What bothers me is I already bought one harpoon game here back in the digital river days...........before that I bought harpoon and admirals edition harpoon for the computer. At origins in 2003 or 2004 when Larry bond showed up in Columbus told him my college roommates and I in the 80's loved his tabletop Harpoon miniatures game. He was most gracious and interesting.

Fast forward to now I simply don't get a welcoming feeling from a team that supposedly wants to sell a game at some point. But i won't ask and will probably buy it whenever it comes out. It does really make me appreciate other game developers that work through matrix.[;)]

So still interested,know its top secret guess i better ask a Russian.......[:D]

[Erik Rutins]

Hi Tophat1812,

Larry is indeed a very gracious guy. It's hard for us to be as welcoming on the internet as we can be in person, but I assure you we would like you to feel comfortable with the idea of Command and the support we will provide to it. The team involved is very dedicated and professional and they are simply focused on making this as great as it can be. Release date questions are a perpetual problem for any in development game, as we often don't know the release date ourselves when customers are asking and our own internal focus is best described as "when it's done" rather than any artificial date. We do our best to keep things in development and testing until we've all signed off, to make sure the result is the best quality product possible.

Regards,

- Erik

[wodin]

Erik..this forum is fine..their own forum though for me is another matter. I stopped posting there as I found certain staff\mods to be abrupt and lack customer service skills. On more thna one occasion I've seen someone accused of being a troll for no apparent reason.

As I said I broached this subject with them..but they didn't see my point of view. Infact I was eventually called a passive aggressive (I joked when someone who had been called a troll for asking about a release date was actually a decent lad and I said I knew he wasn't being a troll with a wink and a smile. I was then warned for being a passive aggressive)..even though their fans could easily have been accuse of the same thing.

They seem quite paranoid over this sort of thing saying they know instantly when someone is being a troll and considering everyone can easily be misinterpreted on a forum due to lack of tone and body language I found this to be rather odd statement. Everyone can easily make a mistake along those lines no matter how experience din forum participation we are. It just struck me they weren't bothered about selling their game and making the forum welcoming to new members. They also seemed to be only interested if you can contribute in a detailed way..which isn't always the case as some people may not be that on the ball with this sort of game but still have an interest.

It's not the fact that they don't know a release date yet but how they go about dealing with those who ask in their first forum post. Actually accusing the person of trolling!! This certainly gives out an unfriendly vibe from the get go and you end up scared to ask about anything in case the troll word is mentioned.

I think they need some guidance from you i.e Slitherine here on how to relate to future customers.

It's a relief that I'm not the only one to feel this way.

[GBS]

You are not alone Wodin....

[mikmykWS]

ORIGINAL: jamesm

Those screen shots are superb, but they indicate that a number of tutorials will be needed to help players fully understand them and the game engine.

I think this is one of the bigger takeaways from our beta as well. We've got some tutorial scenarios already constructed and expect to construct more to release and beyond.

Our excellent beta team has been constantly teaching us what we need to pay attention to.

[mikmykWS]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Hi Tophat1812,

Larry is indeed a very gracious guy. It's hard for us to be as welcoming on the internet as we can be in person, but I assure you we would like you to feel comfortable with the idea of Command and the support we will provide to it. The team involved is very dedicated and professional and they are simply focused on making this as great as it can be. Release date questions are a perpetual problem for any in development game, as we often don't know the release date ourselves when customers are asking and our own internal focus is best described as "when it's done" rather than any artificial date. We do our best to keep things in development and testing until we've all signed off, to make sure the result is the best quality product possible.

Regards,

- Erik

The dev team more of less agrees what Erik is saying although we might add that by nailing down an exact date we have to start reigning in development. That is not a bad thing but we are having a good time with it. Right now our goal is 2013 and we will get more specific when it makes sense to for all of us.

Just so you know we're not a large company but just four guys trying to develop a game in our free time. As such we can't always spend a whole lot of time on peripheral things like managing the web forum etc.

Our forum strategy these days is to let consensus govern and act only if we get complaints from active posters that have been around for awhile. Nobody even draws a ban unless a member complains (unless its a spammer or something like that). That is how all recent complaints have been handled.

That being said we hear that some have issues loud and clear. We'll work to come up with a better strategy. It might even mean handing the keys over to some fans who have more time.

If anybody has a specific issue please feel free to contact me via PM anytime.

Thanks!

[Tophat1815]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Hi Tophat1812,

Larry is indeed a very gracious guy. It's hard for us to be as welcoming on the internet as we can be in person, but I assure you we would like you to feel comfortable with the idea of Command and the support we will provide to it. The team involved is very dedicated and professional and they are simply focused on making this as great as it can be. Release date questions are a perpetual problem for any in development game, as we often don't know the release date ourselves when customers are asking and our own internal focus is best described as "when it's done" rather than any artificial date. We do our best to keep things in development and testing until we've all signed off, to make sure the result is the best quality product possible.

Regards,

- Erik

Sorry Eric I was out of line. Hope this title succeeds and sells many units,I'm certain I'll be buying it myself.

[wodin]

Tophat..no you weren't out of line at all. I wanted to bring this up but as no one else has said anything decided to leave it.

I do think though it's important issue and maybe Slitherine can give them some guidance eon this issue.

I will buy the game anyway but I worry if they are that defensive now god knows what they will be like when it comes out and they get customers complaining or asking for something or annoyed about a bug etc.

[RoryAndersonCDT]

Yeah, I gotta agree with wodin. The devs and community organizers of this game are very touchy and defensive especially towards potential customers.

I think it is something they need to work on.

[Dimitris]

Thanks guys! We really appreciate your concern for our commercial endeavor and our customer interaction. We do what we can with our resources and we're confident we'll do even better in the future.

As Mike said, we may eventually have to delegate the day-to-day forum management & moderation to community volunteers in order to fully concentrate on product development. If/when that happens it will mean new slots for people more experienced than us in PR & client management to step up and take the mantle. So anyone willing to show us How It's Done (TM) will have the chance [:)]

[JRyan]

I am sure it might seem that way but I have known these guys for years [8D]and I understand the hesitation on their part. I will leave it at that and let them concentrate on releasing what I expect to be a great sim.[:D]

[heyhellowhatsnew]

I want to give you money for this game now

[Erik Rutins]

Hi guys,

If you knew what the developers have been through in another community, you'd probably understand their caution. That's really what it is rather than defensiveness, but I can assure you that their focus is on making the best possible product and they have put their hearts into this project. It will be well supported and customers well cared for.

Regards,

- Erik