[So the main conflict in AP would be Left and Right?]

We don't have ALL that much to talk about here though. LoF is like the spice of the forums. We need him !

[When are we going to get an official comment from Obsidian?]

Interesting, well-worded post Spectre.

 

Personally it's my suspicion that this delay isn't based on offensive content. My guess would be that a:) it's too buggy [some of the more honest previews mentioned that there was a great deal of bugs for this late in the game, and --hate to say it -- but going from Ob's track record on this...] b:) the game appraisers at SEGA where not comfortable with some design choices of the game -- specifically, perhaps how it uses RPG rules for the combat, and they think it should be more of a... mainstream design.

 

A delay 'til June seems too much. But I dunno. I'm still really shocked that there hasn't been a press release. I guess thye are waiting to pin down the date better. But still. Letting a release date slip by without giving any official statement about it is pretty unprofessional IMHO.

[Game is now officially delayed]

I recommend the book 'J.F.K' by Don DeDillo if anyone wants to read about Oswald. The book is fiction but really well researched and presents an interesting take on things, besides being just a really well-written and entertaining book.

[When are we going to get an official comment from Obsidian?]

I'm pretty awestruck that Sega hasn't released an official press release statement saying the game is delayed. It is really unusual and awkward that they haven't. There must be a mess going right now.

[Michael Thorton's Twitter feed]

Hrmm I'm not sure.

 

This particular M.T sure does seem the tech savvy sort of M.T though eh? Like he's not the kind of dude whose going to be maxing out the rifle skill first.

[QTEs ??]

Ya most QTE's are like a spice. You can bit here and there to provide an unexpected little kick -- but they can't carry the flavor on their own.

 

Sorry that was a somewhat unnecessary metaphor.

[Game is now officially delayed]

So, since the delay is more than a couple months, i can almost bet that there will be some severe design changes. Lets try out some ideas now, shall we?

 

Any more takers?

Add in more options for Marxist-Leninist, anarchist and other ultra-leftist ideologies.

 

I hope.

 

I don't think there has been any ultra-left spies .That's an interesting concept though.

 

But hey. Then again. Just remembered: the first spy novel ever, Conrad's The Secret Agent, featured an anarchist. He was trying to blow up something or rather and sold porn on the side. It's a bit hazy though.. read through it quickly for school a couple years back, and think I skipped every second chapter (had a late paper to write! )

 

Post Bond though, I can't think of any super left-wing spies , if we aren't considering Soviets (and Soviet spies I'd consider more right-wing ideologically aligned myself) . To be a spy for a state you pretty much can't be much of a socialist. Well I think anyways. Open to hearing other thoughts on the matter...

[Game is now officially delayed]

If I understand things correctly, the developers do not make a whole lot of money on the actual sales. The publisher does however. Of course, a developer would still benefit from big sales because it would make them more attractive to publishers for upcoming games. I believe that was Troikas main problem. If I remember it right, none of their games failed to make a profit, but they did not make a profit big enough for any publisher to be interested in their post-apocalyptic project they had in the works.

 

Troika's last game , Bloodlines, did really poorly sales-wise. I think it sold less than 100,000 units for the first few months it was out.

 

I think this was mostly because of all the huge bugs. Now a days, with the community made patches, I would argue the game is one of the best C-RPG's ever made (it's in my personal top-5 anyways). But when it first came out, it was in a fairly inexcusable state. At one point you had to enter console commands in order to get around a show-stopping bug.

 

I wish Troika succeed was still around...they were a really talented bunch. It'd be amazing to see what kinds of games they'd be making now a days if they were able to make enough $$$ to stick around...

[pushed back again]

Oh ya. Never doubted I'm going to get this one.

 

With the extra time, Obsidian might even be able to bring this game to a whole new level.

[So, Is this game delayed or not?]

OMG

 

I've found a perfect replace for AP

 

 

 

Sorry dude, that one has been pushed back to 2011

 

Where's my camels...

[pushed back again]

I expect there to be an official press release going out tomorrow on the delay. Hopefully that'll shed some light on why it's been delayed, but I doubt it.

 

The SEGA web dudes probably just jumped the gun with the date change on the website. If there is no press release on the delay, I'm going to be shocked. That would be highly irregular, as Spock would say...

[pushed back again]

Ya really though. Delays are part of the game industry, but it is pretty lame to delay it within a few weeks of its supposed release. It really leads to the impression that they aren't really on top of things.

[So, Is this game delayed or not?]

Sry for the post-spam of mine last page...

 

Ya my biggest concern is that the game has a solid design right now, but SEGA is delaying on an account that they want to de-hardcore-ize it , to make it more casual friendly, or make it more like some other more mainstream RPG games.

 

Like that leaked comment on how it was tough to aim. I love the fact that it's tough to aim if you have no skills with the weapon, and it takes a while for your reticule to shrink,... I'm really afraid that some non-gamer is making some dumb calls to change the game to for the 'better' by 'improving' stuff in the design that should not be changed.

[Game is now officially delayed]

So it's official -- though there has been no press release or anything. On Sega's AP page now it says the game is due in Spring of 2010.

 

 

 

 

I'm a bit concerned that a specific date has been pinned down. That leads me (personally) to think that this game is delayed because it needs a lot of changes and work -- -not just because of a strategic decision to release the game in June because that would be better for marketing/competition or whatever other reason.

[So, Is this game delayed or not?]

Personally I think the hardcore RPG market is under-served. Publishers too afraid to alienate folks have been bending over to accommodate more casual gamers at the expense of the larger, more hardcore minded RPG audience.

 

For proof, I'm currently pointing over there, to 'Demon's Souls.' It might be too early to speak for the sales, but critics are loving the game, there is a big buzz about it, and the game is --refreshingly-- hard as hell.

 

I think you're over-estimating the size of the hardcore rpg market. There's a reason you see 10 Maddens or Guitar Heroes for every hardcore rpg. They have a larger market and thus sell more copies.

 

 

Well, I don't know. The Guitar Hero / Madden is huge, but the hardcore RPG market is still pretty big. Almost any sales numbers compared to Guitar Hero will seem small .

 

As for Demon's Souls specifically, it was the #2nd best seller for the month it came out in Japan, and it led to a increase in actual Ps3 console sales, and as for the U.S release, while it is a bit too early to tell, early indicators seem to ... indicate that it will do quite well. It's been receiving awesome ratings (90+) , there is a good buzz about the game in the gaming media, and it is currently #9 best-selling game on Amazon, which is no small feat.

 

If anything I think this shows that there is a strong demand for hardcore RPGs that are done well. (Which gives me great hope for the future of RPG gaming.) Arguably Demon's Soul is the most hardcore big-budget RPG to come out in 1-3 years (if you now of big-budget RPG that is more challenging, I'd like to hear about it.) Source for US sales: http://news.punchjump.com/blog/2009/10/06/...o-top-10-sales/

[So, Is this game delayed or not?]

@Raithe: Third person combat and "cinematic dialogue" = Mass Effect. The only thing missing is the stealth and the spy stuff.

 

Oh I do get why a lot of people get a Mass Effect vibe.. just my personal one is much more Deus Ex. <shrugs> Points of view and all that perspective. It's just the way it feels to me.

 

 

Ya I certainly see a big ME thing. The combat mechanics seem very similar to me.

 

I hope Obz doesn't have to delay the game on account of some vague instructions to make the game more like ME though. Ugh.

[so pissed at Obsidian]

I think asking every game company to always have the option of playing as either gender is totally unneeded. It's not being very realistic either, for most companies (and their budgets). I rather have a good story and the choice to play as one sex (and I don't care which gender), than have half the story and dialogue but the choice to be able to play as another gender.

 

I don't really mind not being able to change Mike's look or race either -- though I can see what people would expect that though. If he can wear a turban and some funny shades that's enough for me

[Don't bury Alpha Protocol]

If the game needs to be delayed than that's ok I guess -- but it would have been a great time to release, if it was coming out in October. There isn't that many RPGs (or big games period) coming out in October. On the PC the only competition might be Borderlands, but that is a pretty different style of game. The competition goes up by a huge factor come June, if that is going to be the case.

 

Summary == ugh wish it was coming out.

[Nullus can insisto?]

Hrmm it might be pigdin. School is a bit of blur for me but I don't think 'can' could be Latin, and insisto doesn't look very Latin to me either.

[So, Is this game delayed or not?]

As much as I'd like to play the game, I'm not that annoyed if it needs to be delayed, for the betterment of the game.

 

But if it is actually an 8 months delay, even though it looks fairly complete in the previews, then I am a bit concerned for the game (like many of you.)

 

I dunno. I'm gonna try to stay positive though. I'm going to consider the delay a good thing (tentatively). In the big scheme of things, it might be a choice between A) a fantastic game held back from bugs (such as Vampire Masquerade Bloodlines) or B) a game that gets enough polish, and stuff (missions / features / guns, everything) added to it over the next 8 months to transform into a much better product. I'm gonna bet my money on B . Because usually I tend towards the pessimistic.

 

For those of you that are worried about the game being canceled: I don't think there is much chance of that at all. The game looks way too close to completion for a cancellation. Unless it is out of sheer acrimony.

[So, Is this game delayed or not?]

So it seems pretty clear the game isn't coming out in October. Which sucks, if true. But June ? Really? Another 8 months seems pretty excessive.

 

If it isn't coming in October, that's really too bad for Obsidian -- because right now there isn't that much competition out. It seems like a great time for release. Going up against Mass Effect 2 and Splinter Cell Conviction and all the rest of the great games coming out it is gonna be rough.

 

I hope it's just a small delay...

 

I was really looking forward to playing this soon Aw well. If it's being delayed on accounts of being unfinished, than so be it. I just hope it's not being delayed on account of Sega requesting a long list of asinine changes to the game, that don't mesh with what the dev team had planned for the game...

[Michael Thorton's Twitter feed]

Well, on the positive side of things , trying to decipher what is going on with the game from insinuations sort of guess with the whole spy theme of the game, I guess

[Michael Thorton's Twitter feed]

Haha... lol ...! I didn't even connect the dots with those things. That's pretty funny.

 

I'm going to have to bring my irony sensor into the mechanic's shop and have it checked out.

 

Edit: Aw shucks. I hope "Looks like the initial level of tests were more challenging than the doctors thought, so medical's keeping me for another day." isn't a sneaky hint though that Sega wants to delay the game because they don't 'get' or recognize the greatness of Alpha Protocol though.

 

If this is the case, for the love of humanity stay strong Obsidian and don't let any dumb-asses convince you that you need to change anything! You guys know good game design better than some product tester who may measure everything against the latest sales of Guitar Hero....

[Michael Thorton's Twitter feed]

Hmmm do you guys think maybe the last few Twits are perhaps hinting towards a delay announcement? (I'm referring to the last 3 posts about Mike getting sick.. ) Most of the Twits have been fairly nonsensical (and funny), so perhaps I'm reading to much into things.

[So, Is this game delayed or not?]

CL-=> Hmm.. well in the case of Demon's Souls, even though it is an Atlus game, it is actually much more a Western style ARPG than it is a Japanese RPG. I invite you to check out a some videos. It would be a real stretch to classify it as a JRPG if you were judging it in any way besides where it was made (but I know what you are saying generally speaking) .

 

Master-=> It is fair to distinguish between hardcore and hard, but generally, don't you think hardcore gamers like stuff more challenging, and casual games are generally easier? If we are just talking about one genre, I guess. Hmmm..on second thought, I guess these distinctions and labels get a bit tricky to work with. Like someone could convince me Fallout 3 could be considered 'hardcore' these days, but it was easy...