Now that DG2 has crossed the magic $250,000 mark i was wondering if the 360 version of containment will be released alongside the PC version?
Also, will that mean that the 360 graphic engine will be improved? - would we be able to switch betewwn "old" and "new" similar to games such as R-Type Dimensions and Halo Anniversary.
At this point in time it is unlikely there will be 360 versions of our work. That could change, but for now, all focus in on a PC version of Containment, and a PC, Mac, and Linux version of DG2.
OK i must admit that was not what i was expecting to hear.
Out of intrest, how long after the PC did the 360 version come out?
Well, we worked on the XBLA version first, and would have finished it without making a PC version, but then halfway through development new management came on at Microsoft and they decided to delay our release slot a year from Sept 2008 to Sept 2009. So, we switched gears, released on PC in December 2008, and then released in September 2009 when they allowed us to do so.
I was hoping you guys would release DG1 on the PS3 eventually but i guess that isn't as simple as it sounds.
I only play on XBLA and I backed the DG2 Kickstarter knowing in advance that it was unlikely we'll see the new expansion on this platform. I wanted the poster, shirt, and USB tower for the DG 1 memories.Originally Posted by combatcolin
OK i must admit that was not what i was expecting to hear.
The freezing and bugginess of the DG XBLA version is really unfortunate. I can't help but be reminded of Valve's TF2 for Xbox 360. Fun to play, but unbearably laggy for the majority of games. I don't think it was ever 100% fixed, then the Xbox version didn't get any new content like the PC version (memory limitations I believe) and felt abandoned. Ditto for Fez, when Polytron decided it wasn't worth the money to put out another patch and fix a crippling save bug caused by patch one that affected a small percentage of users. Now I'm not saying HP is just like Polytron or just like Valve. But the thing is that it's on a short list of games that I would consider to be in a broken state. I would think that if HP were to continue with DG development on Xbox, they would be better served in putting time and energy in finding the root cause of the bug(s), and financing a patch push. My 2c, anyway. Chances are it's much more complicated than that. ;-)
All that being said, I'm determined to power through the final Gold medals I need for the Dead Potato achievement, freezing and all.
Cheers,
MyEasyButton
Totally agree MEB. We want anyone who buys our game anywhere to have a great experience and we actually go out of our way to make sure that the game is great. We tested the game on Xbox 360 and the most recent update for Xbox 360 with not just one test group that we paid for, but a second group that Microsoft paid for (we don't know why they did, but we were really happy they did), and then it goes through a third group (Microsoft Certification) before it ever is released. We develop on a network called partner.net which is a duplicate copy of the Xbox LIVE network, but just exists for game developers. Microsoft then tests it on a network called cert.net which is another copy of the Xbox LIVE network, but just exists for certification.
Ok I told you all that because Defense Grid showed no long load times, no lock ups, no achievement errors, none of this on either of those test networks. Both test groups gave our game an A+ after hundreds of hours of testing, and Microsoft certification passed us the first time through (no re submission) saying they found no significant errors, and nothing like you are experiencing.
Then the game gets released, and stuff starts happening. At first it is just a few people and the Microsoft folks don't think anything is wrong, and then it happens to more people and we start having daily conference calls. We dive in to what is happening, and we find that everything with the game seems fine, but information on achievements seems to be wrong for some users and not for others.
Then things go downhill. The Microsoft folks who work with us, start contacting folks involved with the achievement databases and they don't get anywhere and then even explain to us that if this is the issue we can't patch to fix it.
Now we're stuck. What can we do. There is nothing we can do it seems. So, we offer our customers free copies of the PC version.
Hope that helps shed some light on our situation.
Thanks for the honest and insightful comments Jeff.
I really did think that the PC version came 1st, what with the 1st set of maps included as normal.
If the game stay PC only, then please include more Super Grinder modes, these for me have the most re-playability and i return to certain maps again and again.
While they do put a strain on processing power, the slow down brings back nostalgic memories of 80's video gaming when every thing would go bonkers with stupid amounts of bad guys on the screen - the Gradius games for example.
Thanks CC, yes, we hear the community - many want longer and longer grinder modes more often. The one thing we try to do is make sure there are always interesting decisions for the length of the game. Obviously that gets harder as grinder modes go longer, and at some point you have no more build spots to build or upgrade towers on. We can try some longer things in beta and see what players think, we have just been hesitant to go too much and too long because we think it can get to a point where you have no more decisions left to make.
As combatcolin said, the insight into the process is very much appreciated. You didn't have to, but you did and I thank you for that.
Off topic, but I'll just wish you the best of luck with your CS:GO launch!
Cheers,
MyEasyButton
An example: "last stand supergrinder" starts to be boring at level 74 with "spend every penny" strategy ( not really a good one...) with score of 936927, which should not be considered gold... There should be even more boring "save every penny, panic, spend every penny" strategy where you get every last tower to red at much lower level than 74 (maybe i'll try that one latter). But with "save every penny" strategy you make decisions to the very last moment.
Simply change the silver medal limit to 1M and gold to 50M or more, to force players not to bore themselves...
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