Commando Archive
Thread: Garvin do u expect the Combat Revamp by possibly january?
Ditolus wrote:
i saw u bashing that one guys post of the supposed combat revamp docs. which i agree was a total fake. from ur interaction with development whats ur expert opinion on the eta of the CR?
I'm TRYING to be as optimistic as possible about the timeline...SOETyrant recently told us Correspondents that Sandbox testing will begin even before all the code for the Combat Upgrade is finished...This means we will be able to focus our tests on certain parts of the Upgrade as we go while they finish everything else up instead of waiting for everything to finish and then starting the testing process...That should speed things up...Because of that, I see Sandbox testing possibly starting Mid to End of November...maybe early December...
After Sandbox testing begins, depending on how well each phase goes, it should hopefully only take a Month at most to make sure the code works and things are balanced as best they can be...Then it should go to the live servers just like it did with JTL (first several patches to make sure it doesn't break things, then a TC patch to make sure it works, then live)...
If all goes exceptionally well, I'd hope to see the Combat Upgrade live by mid January...If things go poorly, or if sandbox testing doesn't start until December, we are probably looking at a February launch...
The key thing to remember is that the Combat Upgrade isn't just balancing the professions...It's making some drastic changes to the Combat System, Armor System, and the HAM system as well as the speed, accuracy, damage, and other formulas. Each special and weapon in every profession will be addressed and "altered"...So that could take awhile to test...
Again, all of this is just my opinion...The Devs have purposefully not responded to any timeline request as they hate the letdown people feel when they don't make a date due to an unforseen complication...
Message Edited by Tlk on 10-27-2004 12:57 PM
I'd guess March. I think this week and next week the Sandbox testers will review the docs to know what they're testing. Then the Sandbox will be up around the 2nd week of November with only one ora fewof the big systems implemented (HAM change& Armor). Since those systems are the foundation for everything else that will happen (and will be the first docs we see). They may test those exclusively for several weeks. Then, in December they will start adding more system changes (speed, damage, etc.). Beginning of January (earliest mid Dec) I expect most of the codingand some tweaking will be done from the initial testing andand they'll expand the Sandbox so they can have more data faster. January will be a big month for Sandbox testing. Then February the changes will be rolled out to TC as well. Final testing will be done in March. The difference will be the time after it hits the live servers. It sounds like there are some things the devs want to implement, but they want to see how everything plays out with the changes they know they have to make. Unlike JTL where the dev team "ran away" as soon as it was complete, I think there might be several post-patches for the revamp including things such as new weapons or dual wielding. If those changes (weapons, dual wielding, etc.) don't come then, I don't expect them till late 2005 if not 2006.
Tlk wrote:
Edit: based on my history with this game, I would not expect this to be live until May of next year (I am not expecting sandbox till mid december, and expect it to run 2 months, then a month on test center and another month to implement on live).
Tlk wrote:
Garvin, no offense, but I think you are being overly optimistic on your ETA. I know it is your opinion andthat you can not share everything with us, but this is exactly the same thing we heard this time last year when they first announced this. Remember there were 3 parts to update: 1 In Jan, 2 In Feb and the third in March, all while CH and mobs in game were already balanced to the combat balance.
Until I see the code on test center, I would not expectthe Combat Revamp to even be areality for quite some time. It has just been too long of a carrot to dangle for us oldetimers.
Edit: based on my history with this game, I would not expect this to be live until May of next year (I am not expecting sandbox till mid december, and expect it to run 2 months, then a month on test center and another month to implement on live).
Message Edited by Tlk on 10-27-2004 12:57 PM
One of the reasons I'm being so optimistic is that the Devs have stated that they plan on putting similiar effort into the Combat Upgrade as they did with JTL...Now look at when testing began for JTL and how long it took before it went live...Alpha Testing for JTL began in early September I believe and JTL went live at the end of October (10/27)...2 months...So if Sandbox Testing starts mid to end of November, I don't see it's testing going longer then JTL's which would mean that by mid to end of January we could see it go live...It all comes down to when Sandbox testing starts...
Remember also that it took them 2 months to test JTL and JTL was pretty much a brand new game...While the Combat Upgrade does majorly revamp how many things work and many internal formulas, much of the animation and graphics won't be changing...I don't see the Combat Upgrade as being as huge as JTL was to test...so testing SHOULD hopefully go faster...
Again...it's all comes down to when the Sandbox testing begins...
Yep, and don't forget about those with multiple alts. Once buffs are no longer the SWG Godmode, a lot of players may cancel their doctor alts.
CyberData4 wrote:
I would say they would get new and re-subscribers but I think just as many players are going to leave because they aren't going to be "uber" anymore.
garvin wrote:
One of the reasons I'm being so optimistic is that the Devs have stated that they plan on putting similiar effort into the Combat Upgrade as they did with JTL...Now look at when testing began for JTL and how long it took before it went live...Alpha Testing for JTL began in early September I believe and JTL went live at the end of October (10/27)...2 months...So if Sandbox Testing starts mid to end of November, I don't see it's testing going longer then JTL's which would mean that by mid to end of January we could see it go live...It all comes down to when Sandbox testing starts...
Remember also that it took them 2 months to test JTL and JTL was pretty much a brand new game...While the Combat Upgrade does majorly revamp how many things work and many internal formulas, much of the animation and graphics won't be changing...I don't see the Combat Upgrade as being as huge as JTL was to test...so testing SHOULD hopefully go faster...
Again...it's all comes down to when the Sandbox testing begins...
I applaud your optimism, however JTL is nothing compared to the Combat Revamp. The code for JTL was in process for a very long time and was very buggy in testing. In addition, now that it is live more bugs will be coming out. In the case of the revamp, pushing out half baked and buggy code to live on top of already buggy JTL code will cause more problems then cure. They will definitely need to test the "NEW" Combat approaches very carefully. In addition, to fixs some of the JTL bugs SWG devs will be needed to help out. After a couple of months this may change.
I would rather see this done right then to push stuff out, just to get it out.
What I'm saying is that It is much easier to build something new (JTL) than to completely rework an existing systems (Combat revamp)