<!--quoteo(post=1738839:date=Nov 23 2009, 04:49 AM:name=Sops)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Sops @ Nov 23 2009, 04:49 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1738839"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->So find something better to occupy your time, you will receive an e-mail when the game is done.
Its not fear or defensiveness, its people that have learned to be patient that don't want to listen to the endless complaints from those who haven't.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
exactly! I mean at times most of us go crazy if they dont release any new stuff, but u dont see the forum full of topics where ppl are complaining and attacking the devs. so have patience and that day will come. btw did u even made ur pre-order?
OP: *I* have confidence in UWE because I know them in person and see how hard they're working on this game (much more than full-time hours), the dedication they have to making it really be something great, and the excitement they get when talking about it.
<!--quoteo(post=1738710:date=Nov 22 2009, 08:14 PM:name=NolSinkler)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NolSinkler @ Nov 22 2009, 08:14 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1738710"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->This company has given us nothing, and yet, as soon as somebody points out this fact all of the die hard NS1 fans get defensive and start launching counter attacks.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This is where you are wrong... The whole "getting defensive and launching counter attacks" thing aside i can only speak for myself. I preordered the special edition and even if UWE goes belly up without releasing NS2 i wouldn't feel cheated. Why?
Because i certainly don't feel like they gave me "nothing", they gave me NS1 and i never came around to give them some consti money. So even if i don't get a NS2, i just consider the money i paid them the money they should get for NS1 because that mod kept me happier than most if not all of the full blown retail products in the last couple of years. So it's kinda like a win-win situation ;)
Anyway another reason why i'm so confident is simple, take a look at what they did with NS1. They did so with barely any manpower and next to no money. Now they have resources, so it will end up at least as awesome as NS1 if not even more awesome :P
People, for some reason or another, one they have a stake in something (i.e. paid money) will defend it. Or moan alot how they're not getting their money's worth. See Console Wars.
Also, there are several olde NS1 people who fall into 2 categories. The stable trusting type who have delved into game theory and played it competitively and understand the real world's constraints, and the ZOMGWTFBBQ tards.
Hopeful? Yes. Confident? Ehhh... I'm still remembering back when damn near the entire community was after Flayra's ass for putting combat into the game. He was dodging bullets left and right then, imagine what it will be like when this game inevitably doesn't live up to some people's lofty expectations.
People, for some reason or another, one they have a stake in something (i.e. paid money) will defend it. Or moan alot how they're not getting their money's worth. See Console Wars.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So people will have more of an opinion once they have 'invested'? Of course they will.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Also, there are several olde NS1 people who fall into 2 categories. The stable trusting type who have delved into game theory and played it competitively and understand the real world's constraints, and the ZOMGWTFBBQ tards.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So either they are competitive players or tards?
There's a third type, the casual player who still plays to win and works well with a team.
On topic: People are confident because of what they have seen. I pre-purchased as I saw it as a good opportunity to give back to the developers (I didn't have much disposable income back when I played and saw no reason to give to constellation after I had stopped playing. Now I can simply pre-order a game like every other game. I may not have confidence they will pull it off but I have confidence that if it is released it will be very well done, will be supported and will offer me interesting gameplay because that is what I got with the first game.
For the OP: There's no reason to defend against stupid opinions or answer stupid questions. Most of what they are 'hiding from' is just stupid internet opinions and they don't need to release a bunch of info if it isn't ready because if they change something then they get a fresh round of opinions like they did with autobite, where people take the info out of the context of the game in development. So really they are doing us a favor by limiting the amount of information they give out to what will actually be in the game plus 'stuff we are working on'. This comes from a beta tester view, where I realize that people who aren't involved in the actual process take things in development way out of context and then trash the developers.
I think UWE is undermanned and pretty far behind the ideal schedule, but I'll give my reason(s) why I think they're going to make it. I'm about to do some major ass kissing.
Because of Charlie, we had NS. I trust that he can do it again (that is, make good gameplay decisions).
I'm very confident in Max. In the past, I've made casual advances into 3D rendering/geometry, and have run into a lot of information published by both him and his <a href="http://www.cs.williams.edu/~csweb/McGuire-bio.html" target="_blank">brother</a>. For example, his <a href="http://www.flipcode.com/archives/Quake_2_BSP_File_Format.shtml" target="_blank">introduction</a> to id's BSP format was very useful when I was trying to learn more about the (largely undocumented) Q2 engine -- that thing was written 9 years ago (not so long after Q2 came out). You can't do what Max is doing unless you have a passion for it, because it's damn hard.
You could say a good bit of my confidence is also blind. These guys are running their own business and although it's got to be tough, they're doing what they like to do. How many of us can often say that of work? I only want to see them succeed, because I hope to be in their shoes some day.
Meh, it looks cools so their artists are obviously skilled, and they seem to be aware of the kinds of problems in NS1 and intend to fix them for NS2, and they have put all this effort into making the game easy to modify.
So they have skilled people, an intent to fix important issues, and the means to do so with their modifiable engine.
That would seem to be all the components neccesary to make a good game.
Not to mention if it sucks they're all out of work, which is a very good incentive to put a lot of effort into making it good.
<!--quoteo(post=1738710:date=Nov 22 2009, 07:14 PM:name=NolSinkler)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NolSinkler @ Nov 22 2009, 07:14 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1738710"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->So why don't we stop defending this company and let them defend themselves by showing us actual game content?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> This sums up OPs post. Just when you think it's something constructive it's just another typical thread. Learn patience, it's a vital skill in your modern day society.
As should we learn to tolerate other peoples opinions and feelings, the man has a legitimate issue with something regardless if its right or wrong, and honestly in the end we are all in the same boat, he is waiting and wanting NS2 to come out just as much as the next person, I just feel that some of the responses are a tad bit harsh when really all he is doing is asking a harmless question. And I do understand that some people are tired of seeing the same questions and post being created but honestly, all you'd have to do is not click on them and the problems solved, it doesn't hurt or affect you and your life in any way whatsoever, unless obviously you take part in it in which in the end it becomes your fault.
<!--quoteo(post=1739108:date=Nov 24 2009, 01:08 AM:name=doeseph)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (doeseph @ Nov 24 2009, 01:08 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1739108"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Ah yes, the ol' "don't read it if you don't like it" mantra. How original. Ignoring ignorance and stupidity always works, right guys?......guys?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
When it's random people on the internet, it does, yes.
In fact it not only works but it is a valuable skill.
<!--quoteo(post=1738799:date=Nov 22 2009, 07:19 PM:name=NolSinkler)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NolSinkler @ Nov 22 2009, 07:19 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1738799"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->And sir, please don't tell me that I don't value Natural Selection. That's absolutely false. However, this is a different game, and I refuse to defend a game that the actual developers of the game won't defend for themselves.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I would have to say you sound really blind how you talk of a game defending itself. As if they can't make the game but have to respond to vaporware rants.
When we, the NS1 community, defend NS2, we use what the developers have done, otherwise it's a flamewar.
They've defended the game by doing a multitude of rare approaches in the game industry. You complain of them not defending it, have you seen your usual game company talk to ranters daily?
How have they defended their game? It's simple really, they have this thing called twitter, and they post on it all the time so we know what they do, then they post on the forums on new ideas they have and ask us what we want or don't want so they can scrap bad ideas and enhance good ones. THEN they also post animations of the creatures and structures they just finished, and then they show us all their concept art, and then they respond to posts of the community when they have time.
UWE is strapped for time, so of course they don't have time to defend the game from every random guy making a post that the game is vaporware or is risky or such.
UWE has PROVED their worth in the past. They have PROVED their worth every day with all these announcements and information gathering from the players.
I find it very blind sighted when you only want them to argue with you on the game they have to concentrate on making. These funds don't last forever, and they need to get the game done for us before too long and don't spend all day looking for threads to fight back in. They provide immense feedback to us to keep us reassured and knowing where they are going. They show us too much information to doubt them. Doing so just shows a lack of knowledge of the industry and ignorance toward learning the system and to what extent this company is willing to go.
If you think they owe you a defense to every wild claim, go look at another in production game and see if you get it. UWE defends their game with RELEASED INFORMATION, not baseless words in a debate.
<!--quoteo(post=1738799:date=Nov 22 2009, 07:19 PM:name=NolSinkler)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NolSinkler @ Nov 22 2009, 07:19 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1738799"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Sir, you missed my point. The point being, <u><!--coloro:red--><span style="color:red"><!--/coloro-->there are of course many attacks on NS2, people trying to get information, and all of the rest</u><!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->. And then the community proceeds to defend NS1, so UWE actually doesn't have to defend themselves from the attacks. Surely NS1 was a great game. But it seems that UWE is relying on its community to silence any dissent against the game. This means that they don't have to defend themselves; they don't have to prove their game, because they have a band of loyal followers who will argue, to the death, that the game will be absolutely awesome. So they haven't proven themselves; now if the community stopped blocking the attacks, which are meant for the team to answer, they would be forced to confront the issue themselves. Correct? Then they would be defending themselves, which would require them release information, which would actually be better for the community as a whole. Right? So seeing this, why do we defend them so vigorously?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Are you related to Geoff Kiely? If so then this thread makes complete sense. UWE has given us as much information as they feel comfortable/safe I believe. Have you followed games in development before? It's not uncommon for developers to stay hush hush about features, requirements, specs, ect... until later in the development process. Things change while developing games and instead of released a ton of information every time they decide to do something, they'll often just wait until they are a 100% positive that it's staying.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->why do we defend them so vigorously?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I believe it's a little something called 'faith'. You should ask religious people the same thing. Our god(s) is just a bit more tangible than those of current religions. :P
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->So they haven't proven themselves<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> That's a matter of opinion... They've released the engine (through the editor), screenshots, class information. The ingame screenshots were proof enough that I should have faith in the company (that and NS1).
It seems like you're really looking at the community from a "glass half empty" kind of perspective. You say we "Blindly defend the 'mother company' from attack". Maybe we're simply answering questions asked on the forums? Would you really like to see UWE prowling around the forums answering every single question directed at the game, instead of working on said game? It's not as if the team is completely shut in (Surprising they aren't), talking to absolutely no one about the game. There have been a few interviews as of late where they answer questions, you know...
Basically, my question is what large question is being asked that we the community have been deflecting away from UWE?
PS: There is a large difference between questions from random people on the community forums, and questions from notable news companies. Again, I don't think you're going to find many games in development where the developers answer every question asked (UWE already answer many questions).
<!--quoteo(post=1738799:date=Nov 22 2009, 08:19 PM:name=NolSinkler)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NolSinkler @ Nov 22 2009, 08:19 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1738799"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Sir, you missed my point. The point being, there are of course many attacks on NS2, people trying to get information, and all of the rest. And then the community proceeds to defend NS1, so UWE actually doesn't have to defend themselves from the attacks. Surely NS1 was a great game. But it seems that UWE is relying on its community to silence any dissent against the game. This means that they don't have to defend themselves; they don't have to prove their game, because they have a band of loyal followers who will argue, to the death, that the game will be absolutely awesome. So they haven't proven themselves; now if the community stopped blocking the attacks, which are meant for the team to answer, they would be forced to confront the issue themselves. Correct? Then they would be defending themselves, which would require them release information, which would actually be better for the community as a whole. Right? So seeing this, why do we defend them so vigorously?
And sir, please don't tell me that I don't value Natural Selection. That's absolutely false. However, this is a different game, and I refuse to defend a game that the actual developers of the game won't defend for themselves.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Okay, you know that whole fiasco regarding the satire made of Glenn Beck? You're basically using the same argumentation style to justify your claim. If you <i>aren't</i> trying to bait for responses [read: troll], you're doing a fantastic job of utilizing the method.
'' UWE hasn't gone out of their way to deny the allegations, thus there <i>must</i> be something true to them! ''
Anyway.
Is it reasonable to expect something before you give money? Yes. Is it reasonable to expect something if you already gave money? Yes. Is it reasonable to expect a project this complex and, relatively speaking, underfunded to be done right, to use the Internet vernacular, NAO?! Not really. Not with the relatively short amount of time that has passed.
If you want a particularly striking example of what I am talking about with the last point, you need only consider the games Assassin's Creed and its sequel. The first game, with a well-funded, <b>large</b> development team that had all the necessary machinery and infrastructure already supplied, built a new game engine over two years of time. They then were tasked with a remaining one year for scheduled ship. Reviews were at best ambivalent and particularly venomous at worst. Now you look at their sequel, which with an even larger team and an already-developed base to work with, they release a product with two years of development that has had Game of the Year nominations.
You're basically asking for the equivalent of the sequel while they're working on the 'first' game from a team probably 1/10th the size (or worse) in...1/3 the time with probably 1/4 (at best) the <i>allotted</i> cash (note: there is no windfall from upper corporate). UWE can't really afford to play games with impatient people, despite from what I'm seeing from the work...they're still fulfilling your demands, even if behind schedule.
And finally, I'll also add that there's something called a "Standard Code Rant" that people like to throw around. I failed in my 5 minute search to locate an exact definition but basically it boils down to three tenets: 1) A simple feature is rarely simple to implement 2) Regardless of your experience in a similar industry, unless you are working on the project, you do not know its foibles 3) Unless someone on the project tells you a feature is simple--and they've already implemented it--it isn't simple
There's a fourth one of my own but it's not really poignant to the argument (and a tad vulgar). At this point, I've gotten bored and I'll be going back to my regularly-scheduled lurking, not really concerned on whether my points help at all or not. Either way, I'm sure in the next two days, there will be another "GIMME NAO" demand of some differing level of eloquence to entertain me.
$40 is a reasonable enough amount of money to hold someone to a standard expected from their previous work. We only have NS1 and a Sudoku game to base judgment on. If the game turns about to be a steaming pile that's fine, I'll move on and deal with it. However, if this game turns into Vaporware I would expect a full refund.
<!--quoteo(post=1739753:date=Nov 24 2009, 01:02 PM:name=Leon)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Leon @ Nov 24 2009, 01:02 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1739753"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->$40 is a reasonable enough amount of money to hold someone to a standard expected from their previous work. We only have NS1 and a Sudoku game to base judgment on. If the game turns about to be a steaming pile that's fine, I'll move on and deal with it. However, if this game turns into Vaporware I would expect a full refund.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Luckily, my computer is steam powered and I can only use vaporware. The Spark Editor runs pretty well on it.
Comments
Its not fear or defensiveness, its people that have learned to be patient that don't want to listen to the endless complaints from those who haven't.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
exactly! I mean at times most of us go crazy if they dont release any new stuff, but u dont see the forum full of topics where ppl are complaining and attacking the devs.
so have patience and that day will come.
btw did u even made ur pre-order?
Does that help?
This is where you are wrong...
The whole "getting defensive and launching counter attacks" thing aside i can only speak for myself. I preordered the special edition and even if UWE goes belly up without releasing NS2 i wouldn't feel cheated. Why?
Because i certainly don't feel like they gave me "nothing", they gave me NS1 and i never came around to give them some consti money. So even if i don't get a NS2, i just consider the money i paid them the money they should get for NS1 because that mod kept me happier than most if not all of the full blown retail products in the last couple of years. So it's kinda like a win-win situation ;)
Anyway another reason why i'm so confident is simple, take a look at what they did with NS1. They did so with barely any manpower and next to no money. Now they have resources, so it will end up at least as awesome as NS1 if not even more awesome :P
People, for some reason or another, one they have a stake in something (i.e. paid money) will defend it. Or moan alot how they're not getting their money's worth. See Console Wars.
Also, there are several olde NS1 people who fall into 2 categories. The stable trusting type who have delved into game theory and played it competitively and understand the real world's constraints, and the ZOMGWTFBBQ tards.
People, for some reason or another, one they have a stake in something (i.e. paid money) will defend it. Or moan alot how they're not getting their money's worth. See Console Wars.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So people will have more of an opinion once they have 'invested'? Of course they will.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Also, there are several olde NS1 people who fall into 2 categories. The stable trusting type who have delved into game theory and played it competitively and understand the real world's constraints, and the ZOMGWTFBBQ tards.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
So either they are competitive players or tards?
There's a third type, the casual player who still plays to win and works well with a team.
On topic: People are confident because of what they have seen. I pre-purchased as I saw it as a good opportunity to give back to the developers (I didn't have much disposable income back when I played and saw no reason to give to constellation after I had stopped playing. Now I can simply pre-order a game like every other game. I may not have confidence they will pull it off but I have confidence that if it is released it will be very well done, will be supported and will offer me interesting gameplay because that is what I got with the first game.
For the OP: There's no reason to defend against stupid opinions or answer stupid questions. Most of what they are 'hiding from' is just stupid internet opinions and they don't need to release a bunch of info if it isn't ready because if they change something then they get a fresh round of opinions like they did with autobite, where people take the info out of the context of the game in development. So really they are doing us a favor by limiting the amount of information they give out to what will actually be in the game plus 'stuff we are working on'. This comes from a beta tester view, where I realize that people who aren't involved in the actual process take things in development way out of context and then trash the developers.
Because of Charlie, we had NS. I trust that he can do it again (that is, make good gameplay decisions).
I'm very confident in Max. In the past, I've made casual advances into 3D rendering/geometry, and have run into a lot of information published by both him and his <a href="http://www.cs.williams.edu/~csweb/McGuire-bio.html" target="_blank">brother</a>. For example, his <a href="http://www.flipcode.com/archives/Quake_2_BSP_File_Format.shtml" target="_blank">introduction</a> to id's BSP format was very useful when I was trying to learn more about the (largely undocumented) Q2 engine -- that thing was written 9 years ago (not so long after Q2 came out). You can't do what Max is doing unless you have a passion for it, because it's damn hard.
You could say a good bit of my confidence is also blind. These guys are running their own business and although it's got to be tough, they're doing what they like to do. How many of us can often say that of work? I only want to see them succeed, because I hope to be in their shoes some day.
So they have skilled people, an intent to fix important issues, and the means to do so with their modifiable engine.
That would seem to be all the components neccesary to make a good game.
Not to mention if it sucks they're all out of work, which is a very good incentive to put a lot of effort into making it good.
This sums up OPs post. Just when you think it's something constructive it's just another typical thread. Learn patience, it's a vital skill in your modern day society.
When it's random people on the internet, it does, yes.
In fact it not only works but it is a valuable skill.
I would have to say you sound really blind how you talk of a game defending itself. As if they can't make the game but have to respond to vaporware rants.
When we, the NS1 community, defend NS2, we use what the developers have done, otherwise it's a flamewar.
They've defended the game by doing a multitude of rare approaches in the game industry. You complain of them not defending it, have you seen your usual game company talk to ranters daily?
How have they defended their game? It's simple really, they have this thing called twitter, and they post on it all the time so we know what they do, then they post on the forums on new ideas they have and ask us what we want or don't want so they can scrap bad ideas and enhance good ones. THEN they also post animations of the creatures and structures they just finished, and then they show us all their concept art, and then they respond to posts of the community when they have time.
UWE is strapped for time, so of course they don't have time to defend the game from every random guy making a post that the game is vaporware or is risky or such.
UWE has PROVED their worth in the past. They have PROVED their worth every day with all these announcements and information gathering from the players.
I find it very blind sighted when you only want them to argue with you on the game they have to concentrate on making. These funds don't last forever, and they need to get the game done for us before too long and don't spend all day looking for threads to fight back in. They provide immense feedback to us to keep us reassured and knowing where they are going. They show us too much information to doubt them. Doing so just shows a lack of knowledge of the industry and ignorance toward learning the system and to what extent this company is willing to go.
If you think they owe you a defense to every wild claim, go look at another in production game and see if you get it. UWE defends their game with RELEASED INFORMATION, not baseless words in a debate.
Are you related to Geoff Kiely? If so then this thread makes complete sense. UWE has given us as much information as they feel comfortable/safe I believe. Have you followed games in development before? It's not uncommon for developers to stay hush hush about features, requirements, specs, ect... until later in the development process. Things change while developing games and instead of released a ton of information every time they decide to do something, they'll often just wait until they are a 100% positive that it's staying.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->why do we defend them so vigorously?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I believe it's a little something called 'faith'. You should ask religious people the same thing. Our god(s) is just a bit more tangible than those of current religions. :P
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->So they haven't proven themselves<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> That's a matter of opinion... They've released the engine (through the editor), screenshots, class information. The ingame screenshots were proof enough that I should have faith in the company (that and NS1).
It seems like you're really looking at the community from a "glass half empty" kind of perspective. You say we "Blindly defend the 'mother company' from attack". Maybe we're simply answering questions asked on the forums? Would you really like to see UWE prowling around the forums answering every single question directed at the game, instead of working on said game? It's not as if the team is completely shut in (Surprising they aren't), talking to absolutely no one about the game. There have been a few interviews as of late where they answer questions, you know...
Basically, my question is what large question is being asked that we the community have been deflecting away from UWE?
PS: There is a large difference between questions from random people on the community forums, and questions from notable news companies. Again, I don't think you're going to find many games in development where the developers answer every question asked (UWE already answer many questions).
And sir, please don't tell me that I don't value Natural Selection. That's absolutely false. However, this is a different game, and I refuse to defend a game that the actual developers of the game won't defend for themselves.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Okay, you know that whole fiasco regarding the satire made of Glenn Beck? You're basically using the same argumentation style to justify your claim. If you <i>aren't</i> trying to bait for responses [read: troll], you're doing a fantastic job of utilizing the method.
'' UWE hasn't gone out of their way to deny the allegations, thus there <i>must</i> be something true to them! ''
Anyway.
Is it reasonable to expect something before you give money? Yes.
Is it reasonable to expect something if you already gave money? Yes.
Is it reasonable to expect a project this complex and, relatively speaking, underfunded to be done right, to use the Internet vernacular, NAO?! Not really. Not with the relatively short amount of time that has passed.
If you want a particularly striking example of what I am talking about with the last point, you need only consider the games Assassin's Creed and its sequel. The first game, with a well-funded, <b>large</b> development team that had all the necessary machinery and infrastructure already supplied, built a new game engine over two years of time. They then were tasked with a remaining one year for scheduled ship. Reviews were at best ambivalent and particularly venomous at worst. Now you look at their sequel, which with an even larger team and an already-developed base to work with, they release a product with two years of development that has had Game of the Year nominations.
You're basically asking for the equivalent of the sequel while they're working on the 'first' game from a team probably 1/10th the size (or worse) in...1/3 the time with probably 1/4 (at best) the <i>allotted</i> cash (note: there is no windfall from upper corporate). UWE can't really afford to play games with impatient people, despite from what I'm seeing from the work...they're still fulfilling your demands, even if behind schedule.
And finally, I'll also add that there's something called a "Standard Code Rant" that people like to throw around. I failed in my 5 minute search to locate an exact definition but basically it boils down to three tenets:
1) A simple feature is rarely simple to implement
2) Regardless of your experience in a similar industry, unless you are working on the project, you do not know its foibles
3) Unless someone on the project tells you a feature is simple--and they've already implemented it--it isn't simple
There's a fourth one of my own but it's not really poignant to the argument (and a tad vulgar). At this point, I've gotten bored and I'll be going back to my regularly-scheduled lurking, not really concerned on whether my points help at all or not. Either way, I'm sure in the next two days, there will be another "GIMME NAO" demand of some differing level of eloquence to entertain me.
Luckily, my computer is steam powered and I can only use vaporware. The Spark Editor runs pretty well on it.