I don't want to be a jerk or anything, it's just that we have fought for this series. We're written letters, campaigned, and argued the critics who were negative about the silver lining series... We have been intensely loyal and supportive fans.
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starting to feel cheated. It's all about Cognition now, and all the KQ fans are just left to hang.
Moratorium on asking about release dates aside, I just want to know honest answer, is this thing even going to happen?
Trust me I feel you frustration. I know about writing the letters because I led that fight and you were the best people to lead. :) I have led the TSL development team and we have our traction under our feet now. Development is moving and from what I have seen from my team is amazing because the work they are giving is 200% or more. I can't wait to share it all with you :)
Thank you for your continued dedication to this decade-long project. I, too, have been following TSL from the shadows since its early days as KQ9, and I cannot wait until the final episode is released. This is one of the most ambitious volunteer projects I have ever seen and your efforts are truly appreciated.
Keep up the hard work. Hugs and support for everyone on the TSL team, no matter how long it takes. :hug:
I'm sure everyone will forget about the wait once the game comes out and you all will hear nothing but praise. For me, when episode 5 comes out, I will squee like no fan-girl has squeed before. ;D
As Andi said, it is being worked on and it is going to happen! The summer is looking like it will particularly productive, actually. The TSL Team is still people who are giving up their free time to work on this and also have day jobs--that means things move slower than they do for the games that have fulltime teams behind them.
You guys ARE intensely loyal & supportive, and that's why we're going to make sure we get this Episode delivered to you!
Please understand my beef is not about the wait itself. I do understand that this is a volunteer project, and I appreciate that it would and should take time. And all the work you guys have done has been incredible, and I am immensely grateful. I have no right to complain on that front... I would wait 10 more years if it means a great finale to the series we love.
My frustration is that is seems all of POS' efforts have been diverted to Cognition. Case in point, the background of the forums is the cityscape. Heck, Katie's avatar is Erica Reed. I may be completely wrong - I'm sure people are busting their humps behind the scenes, but that's just the impression that I'm starting to get, that everything has been reinvested.
As a volunteer project, you have every right to divert any and all efforts to whatever endeavors you like over whatever period of time. It just feels, I don't know, sneaky. Like our fan loyalty is being used for something we didn't sign up for. Like I said, I may (and hope) I'm totally wrong about that, but... I just wanted to voice that frustration.
I know when people say "no offense..." it is usually followed by something incredibly offensive, but I honestly don't mean any offense by the above. I really am grateful for all the hard work, and I know even bringing this up is probably going to piss people off ("ungrateful, entitled, etc")
To be fair, Erica and Katie are very similar, so I don't blame her for that. :P
I think almost all of the promotional energy is going solely into Cognition because that's what can actually make Phoenix money. It makes sense, though it leaves TSL feeling under-represented. The fact is that even though the website and the forums have a candy-Cognition-coated shell, there are plenty of people working solely on TSL. Obviously, there are plenty working solely on Cognition and (I believe) plenty working on both as well, but despite the outward appearance being Cognition-focused, TSL is being worked on.
And believe me, I'm looking forward just as much to Episode 5 as you are. :)
(http://i44.tinypic.com/6ntisx.jpg)
I'm rather looking forward to seeing what the finale looks like, especially given the change in engine (I'm somewhat of a fan of Unity) and having seen the experimentation and creativity in the final few puzzles of the previous episode. Nevertheless, I'm patient on this matter, I believe, and am content to await its arrival.
@daventry: By the way, "wherefore" is one word, and means "why" (or "for which reason"), not "where". ^^;
Most of the past year was spent working on our new game engine (on top of Unity), really. Now that it's much more polished and the team has a better familiarity with Unity we are able to handle multiple games at once. :) Even if that is stressful at times. ;) And yes, while there are several people that are TSL-only, some of us paid employees are pitching in too to see it come to fruition. For instance, the GUI has been reimported and reworked a bit to fit the new engine. Heck, TSL Episode 5 work started in summer of last year (basic importing from the old engine) and it's really picking up steam now.
I am *so* looking forward to the grand finale. :D
It better be good! :)
Also, I've been wondering something lately? You know those recaps at the beginning of each episode that show off all that happened with important details? Well, before that was all done on the Torque engine. Now that you've switched to Unity, I'm going to assume that you're still going to do a nice recap (probably a much longer one than normal since this is the episode where it all starts coming together), but will the recap scenes still be in Torque or will they be Unity style?
I think the recaps are video files, so it doesn't really matter. I'm guessing the video would be created using the Torque engine/resources, though. (I'm a little fuzzy on how the videos are created actually - I don't know if they can be rendered outside of the game engine.)
But won't it be kinda jarring if you use the Torque videos and then when the actual game starts, we're suddenly in the Unity style with it looking so different?
Also, I gotta ask something about a certain Death in [spoiler]the Tower Sequence. When you reach the Tower, and get on the stairs to open the door, it is actually possible to make Graham jump off the stairs and die. My question is HOW DOES THAT KILL YOU?! That wasn't even all that high up! Oh, sure, if it had been the wooden stairs he'd jumped off, that would be understandable (in fact, when I was discovering all the Ways to Die in that sequence out of curiousity, I can actually remember wincing at the one where the Shadow pulls him down and you hear that "CRASH!"), but those steps aren't all that high up! Unless it wasn't the fall that killed him, but his scream that gave him away which led to death. But if that's the case, then the Shadows would have choked him like normal.[/spoiler]
I don't know, but the alternative would likely be no video. It would be a lot of work to recreate all that in Unity.
[spoiler]
I don't know - maybe it's an homage to the original KQ games, where a fall from a foot off the ground is enough to kill you.
[/spoiler]
Y'know I think it is! After thinking about it, I'm reminded of a certain KQ5 Death by Falling on Mordack's Island.
If you mean the style in which they're rendered, the only difference is that the new videos will be higher res, since we're aiming at 16:9 resolution. The original game was geared towards 4:3. Unity is able to read in most (if not all) of the same resource files as Torque did. The main differences are how the backend ties everything together. Any new movies made for TSL 5 will be rendered inside Unity AFAIK so there should not be a break in style.
It's a video file. :P They make and animate it using the assets, then play it back after they've coded it in. :P The assets are all the same, so there's no reason to think it would look any different. Since they're reusing many of the assets, they can't really change the graphical style at this point.
People can die in lots of ways. :) Maybe the fall was such that he broke his neck because he fell the wrong way, in spite of it not being very high up.
But he landed on his feet, not face down!
You'll have a bone thrown to you here sooner or later. :suffer:
Huh?
We have a demo in the works. No release date yet. But the directors did a play through and they were very happy with what they saw.
I'm happy enough to wait... Heck, I've been a member of this forum for... Ten years now (although absent for a large amount of that but still checking in on the project!). Given that Cognition is actually bringing an income, I can understand that being the priority entirely.
I played the first episode of TSL when it first came out, but am yet to play the rest... I want to wait until the whole experience is there (especially since I had issues installing it in the first place!), and although I can't wait... I can wait!
Quote from: snabbott on June 26, 2013, 09:05:49 AM
I don't know, but the alternative would likely be no video. It would be a lot of work to recreate all that in Unity.
[spoiler]
I don't know - maybe it's an homage to the original KQ games, where a fall from a foot off the ground is enough to kill you.
[/spoiler]
Or to Colonel's Bequest, where Laura dies from a short fall off the balcony.
Calling it now: this will never be released.
Oh, FOR HEAVENS SAKE! Will you people just be patient?! They ARE working on it, but remember: everyone is a VOLUNTEER over there!
Quote from: rev79 on September 12, 2013, 09:02:27 AM
Calling it now: this will never be released.
You know what? You're right. We should all just call it quits right now. Shut this site down. There is no reason for it. There's no reason for anything anymore. Even though they're 90-95% done with the final episode--and currently have funding, to boot--it'll never happen. Woe is me. Woe is all of us, for getting ensnared in the trap that is TSL episode 5. It was truly one of history's greatest tricks, this thing that we have followed all these years. 'Twas flawless in its execution, and left utter despair in its wake.
...seriously, either engage the other forum members in conversation (which you haven't done in three years, it looks like) or go read a book and come back in January 2014, and see where everything's at. There are better things you can be doing with your time than taking up a career as a Prophet of Doom.
(http://dirtyrottenscoundrels.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/doom-fun-size.jpg?w=468&h=419)
I figure this will help lighten the mood around here.
Quote from: rev79 on September 12, 2013, 09:02:27 AM
Calling it now: this will never be released.
rev79, I've been saying this for a LOOOONG time, probably 2002 or before. Heck, they released SOMETHING, which is more than I thought they'd do, but it took em 10+ years to do.
Well, will you look at that - sup Beernuts! Still drinking the hatorade, I see.
The one thing that I can honestly say from comments like this one is that you absolutely kill the morale of the current TSL team. That's all you achieve with comments like that.
Quote from: 929572 on September 12, 2013, 01:45:22 PM
... There are better things you can be doing with your time than taking up a career as a Prophet of Doom.
(http://dirtyrottenscoundrels.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/doom-fun-size.jpg?w=468&h=419)
... O.O DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOOOOOOOMmmmmmm...
Ahem, possibly there are not better things one could be doing if Doom in fact looks like that.
Seriously... *would prophesy for* :cat: :D
Also, where can one acquire some of this hatorade? Is it tasty? It must be tasty considering the quantities some willingly consume. :P
Quote from: Say on September 12, 2013, 08:42:07 PM
The one thing that I can honestly say from comments like this one is that you absolutely kill the morale of the current TSL team. That's all you achieve with comments like that.
...or would if anyone took said comments seriously. Most people have been very supportive - there's just a vocal minority of trolls.
Quote from: 929572 on September 12, 2013, 01:45:22 PM
Even though they're 90-95% done with the final episode--and currently have funding, to boot--it'll never happen. Woe is me.
It's not that close, and there is no funding, since it's a volunteer project. I have played through the demo. It was pretty rough at the time (maybe a couple of months ago), but it's pretty cool!
Unfortunately, I lost all of my SVN working copies when I got laid off and had to return my work laptop. :( (I was careful to delete them first - we wouldn't want them falling into the wrong hands. :P) I'm not sure my home laptop can handle them. :(
Quote from: Say on September 12, 2013, 08:42:07 PM
Well, will you look at that - sup Beernuts! Still drinking the hatorade, I see.
The one thing that I can honestly say from comments like this one is that you absolutely kill the morale of the current TSL team. That's all you achieve with comments like that.
Alright, Say is back! Ready to go at it again, round 2?
Naw, just kidding. I wasn't really hating, shoot I gave some props that SOMETHING was published, which I didn't figure would happen way back when.
I just thought it was funny, rev79 has become the modern day Beernutts.
Quote from: Say on September 12, 2013, 08:42:07 PM
Well, will you look at that - sup Beernuts! Still drinking the hatorade, I see.
The one thing that I can honestly say from comments like this one is that you absolutely kill the morale of the current TSL team. That's all you achieve with comments like that.
Oh, and for giggles, I looked back at my posts, and I found out we were friendly, before you got REALLY angry at me (July 2002): http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?topic=360.msg7692#msg7692 (http://www.postudios.com/blog/forum/index.php?topic=360.msg7692#msg7692)
Quote from: snabbott on September 13, 2013, 11:54:10 AM
Quote from: 929572 on September 12, 2013, 01:45:22 PM
Even though they're 90-95% done with the final episode--and currently have funding, to boot...
It's not that close, and there is no funding, since it's a volunteer project. I have played through the demo. It was pretty rough at the time (maybe a couple of months ago), but it's pretty cool!
I was mostly referring to the fact that POS is making money off of Cognition now, when they didn't have those resources beforehand. At least, I hope they're making money.
And I got the impression that they were quite close to finishing the final episode, given that it's been a while since the release of episode 4. I do get that Cognition takes top priority right now, though, and that TSL's finale is on the back-burner until probably 2014. It's just that I can wait. And so can you. TSL's fans have waited so long to see how it ends, they can afford to wait just a little bit longer. And like I said, just come on here to talk or else find something else to do and check in every few months.
I doubt Episode 5 will make it out in my lifetime, to be honest. But it is not so simple as me being a Naysayer. See below.
I share the frustration of some of the most cynical posters about the prolonged Delays for episode 5. Especially in light of the growing emphasis on first Cognition and now on both Face Noir and Moebius the latter of which are not even release yet only the first even having a preview. The problem is that with the public face of the team being so focused on these other profit making enterprises it becomes even more vital that the team communicate frequently about status and progress. I know this from both sides very well as I work in a secondary postion with a well known online game company that employs mostly volunteers in all of its games with only a few core paid staff and a few stipendiary contractors (and my particular game has regularly be cited being loved precisely because we are so community developer interactive). We pull it off because we interact almost daily with community members. The last official update sent out with any sort of progress I can readily find was over a year ago in August 2012 and it was saying no we will probably not have it by Christmas 2012. It looks very dubious that we will see it by that time in 2013 and possibly even 2014 at this juncture. Vaporware abounds and I am sure many of us have had it happen with games we were particularly looking forward to, engage in, or even were involved in go this route so in the absence of any communication in the presence of evidence of rapid development of other properties it is very easy to feel that the original project is being forgotten, neglected, or worse abandoned.We are not psychic and cannot see what you do.
Conversely I also have great sympathy for the team and faith that when Episode 5I also have an understanding of the importance of the platform change and of the challenges of learning Unity (as my company recently went this route)with another project only to have the rug pulled out from under us when Unity discontinued Flash Support.
I am wholly exited for the potential Unity offers and would love to seeing a stunning resolution to our journey.
Unfortuantely I have reason enough to believe, given my own declining health from numerous factors and including a mysterious autoimmune condition that has actually caused anaphylactic allergies to my own body (the sort of allergic reaction that kills you) that I may never in fact get the chance to see that resolution as it may well not make it out in my lifetime.
William
I understand that it takes time and there were complications with Unity. My only source of frustration is that a release is teased, and then taken away. There was talk of a 2012 release at one point. I think that if communication was perhaps more transparent (for example, "Don't expect episode 5 before Dec 2014), people would be satisfied with the information, and would leave the subject alone.
Sorry about your health issues, falerin. An aesop that TSL has been trying to teach us is to follow our dreams (why else do you think the game often dips into dreamworld realms?). Perhaps you can dream about how you want TSL to end; who knows, if you do see the finale, you might not even like it. Maybe you, like the POS team, can use your imagination and have the story end the way you would want it to end. I've thought about how I wanted some franchises to end, and I'm perfectly content with imagining my ending over the real thing. In fact, I dream up new, horrific ways the Twilight series could have ended every day. :P
Back to the communication issues POS seems to be facing; I think they've got too much stuff on their plate, really. TSL seemed to be chugging along just fine, until Cognition was announced. Suddenly, the forums are all about Cognition, and TSL barely gets any advertising space. Now, this is all well and good, since they obviously intend to finish what they started. But then, Face Noir and Moebius come along. And, as falerin said, the last official TSL update was in August 2012, saying that we wouldn't get anything by the year's end. The PR for TSL at this point is almost completely non-existant. And the implication that they can't tell us about anything TSL-related because there really is nothing they can tell us about it is very discouraging.
At this point, I'd advise they be more upfront about the progress they've made. It's been more than a year since we've heard anything official about it. I, for one, say we should start a Q&A session with the developers. First question: at the end of TSL, will Cedric get all the blood in one of his legs sucked out by mosquitoes, while one of his wings gets burned off, and also while his beak gets smashed by a rock, so he can barely talk and hobble around and be mentally and physically scarred for the rest of his puny little life?
If the answer is no, well...as I said before, you can always dream, right?
:suffer:
Quote from: beernutts on September 13, 2013, 01:08:29 PM
Quote from: Say on September 12, 2013, 08:42:07 PM
Well, will you look at that - sup Beernuts! Still drinking the hatorade, I see.
The one thing that I can honestly say from comments like this one is that you absolutely kill the morale of the current TSL team. That's all you achieve with comments like that.
Alright, Say is back! Ready to go at it again, round 2?
Naw, just kidding. I wasn't really hating, shoot I gave some props that SOMETHING was published, which I didn't figure would happen way back when.
I just thought it was funny, rev79 has become the modern day Beernutts.
No way, Beernuts. You're forever #speshul to us. Wannabe are not welcome to apply.
To address some quick replies regarding this situation over here.
@snabbott - I understand where you're coming from, however I think it's disrespectful to just flat out call anyone a troll here considering there's validity to what they're saying. I undersand the frustration, but I won't call people names for it but I don't believe repeating the same frustration over and over is productive whatsoever either.
The team does read this, unfortunately not as many that know as much as I do would be so open to come here and reply any of these things.
@falerin & 929572 - I don't even know why people keep relating or merging together Cognition with TSL, the teams are completely different - they don't even share the same production coordinator. If anything we've got people from Cognition (programmers and directors) giving their unpaid time to work extra hours on TSL. Not something I believe most of you knew about, but I hope it is clear now.
The updates are 100% related to production, ever since I've been back in late 2012 I've done nothing but become a pest and I'm sure back to being the hated individual I once was in the team. I do know there are people working on this because I see the skype meetings, chats and overall movement in this regard. However, I am not authorized yet to speak, share or distribute absolutely anything unless production hit their milestones as scheduled.
The bright side is that now that some directors are at freedom to do more than just a few hours over the weekend, I'm positive it may move faster than it has been so far.
This is a new team, yes - they have a different pace, yes. Unfortunately we can't have any money or investment put into TSL due to ATVI agreements, therefore the work speed of this team is different to the pacing you knew from the guys developing Cognition and Moebius nowadays. And I must say, Phoenix is nothing but thankful of all these people who volunteer and believe in TSL and day after day dedicate their time and talent to it, unfortunately having full time day jobs gives them room of prob an hour or two daily to fully sit down and revise pipelines.
Sorry is not the answer any of you want and by far the update any of you wanted, it's been years now since the last time the last episode was relased - I think we're all clear on that. At this point the one thing that will be suffice would be the final build released, we all know this.
I do know first hand none of the Phoenix directors wanted to drop TSL for good or stop production entirely on it, reason why it was delegated to a different team so they'd move forward with it while the company could work on Cognition and Moebius, and while it's not the speed you all would have wanted to do know there is work being done and there will be updates by the end of the year on this.
My comment, which I truly meant from the bottom of my heart, is that even though TSL crew does not post here they do read everything you post and while I may understand your stress and frustration regarding such delay in the release, the people working on the other side losing sleep over this does get their morale crushed every single long ass post they see because they feel pretty damn hopeless to be unable to work faster for all of you.
I can't make them happy, I can't make you guys happy but all I can do is at least be as honest as I can about it. Hopefully both sides will understand how each other feel.
Again, a thousand times sorry for this. I guess if we could find a way to pay these individuals full time to work on a game that is for free, we would - sadly, Phoenix does not have the means to make this happen, however we belive and we appreciate everything the current crew does to make this happen.
Thanks, Say frand. I admit, I'm anxious for ep.5 mostly due to the cliffhanger and just the impeccable writing and acting. Although, Cognition helps lessen my anxiety since that's REALLY good so far as well!
But, I told myself when I joined you guys that I would be patient. I was a latecomer to POS, and I didn't even know who you guys were until a couple years ago, and thusly was kinda... spoiled on TSL. Because I'd had all four episodes out at the time, I had less time to wait than the people who've been waiting for years for this game to even be released.
I'm trying to be more positive, so... keep up the great work, you guys!
To preface: I've been an adventure gamer since the ripe old age of... five. Staying up late (i.e. 8:30 pm) with my father as he would traverse the magical kingdom of Daventry, I was mesmerized. In fact, to this day, I attribute my entire devotion to gaming to the best of the best: Sierra and Lucasarts, with Roberta Williams being the best. So, when, two years ago I read in Game Informer that a small group of fellow fans decided to devote and donate their time, resources and energy into a project of love for that which I also love, I felt tears of joy as my heart skipped a beat - no hyperbole. I am forever grateful to those men and women who have spent their efforts getting this far, and provide such a wonderful and beautiful story continuing the adventures of King Graham, family and friends.
In response to the frustration that some are feeling concerning the extended period of time between chapters 4 and 5: The last KQ game that really gripped me was KQ VI, and I'm sure I'm not alone. The Princeless Bride was beautiful in it's own way, but it didn't draw me as the previous entries; MoE... left something to be desired (And that's all I can say on that). So, I'm left with a gap between KQ VI and TSL of 18 years. 18 years I waited patiently for something to capture even a small fraction of the excitement I felt playing through the original King's Quests. 18 years I searched through other series' in a return to the magic and love I felt for what Ms. Williams so elegantly delivered. 18 years I spent replaying the Quests (King's, Space, For Glory, Longbow (my personal favorite of all time - segue complete), Camelot) to recommit my adoration for the genre and the dedication that went into them. And now...
Now I can rest happy having found something that once again captures all the magic and wonder that the originals had. I have spent countless hours with Graham again. I could once again walk around the Land of the Green Isles and see the beauty the Phoenix Team brought to it. Heck, I choked back tears with the first two simple words: "To Roberta." Kudos to you for acknowledging why we're all here: why so many of us are gamers in the first place.
In closing: (TLDR?) Phoenix Online, I will never be able to express the happiness you've brought even this one man. I waited 18 years to find this gem, and I will easily wait another 18 for full closure (if need be). What you have given me already fulfills a long-awaited dream come true. From the poignancy of the beautiful score, to the grace of every character's design; from each word in the script to the exquisitely crafted puzzles, you have all outdone yourselves and should be proud. Bless you all, you magnificent b******s. Keep up the good work... at your own pace. I will still be here, excited, whenever you're ready.
Aw, thank you nntsguy! And welcome to the forums. :) Those are lovely words to hear, and I'm so glad we've helped bring back the magic of KQ for you even in some small dose! Thank you for that, your support, and your patience, all are truly appreciated. :)
Thank you for the love GrahamRocks, nntsguy!
On positive news, coming from a personal initiative - I have been raiding TSL poduction stuff and now Media team is working very hard in providing some goodies to show your way, there's quite a few things to share. Still revising what all I can share and what I can't but do know there will be quite some new things to see.
I have got no release date for the game so the blog is not about that, there will be an announcement later this year (nothing to confirm just yet) but do know that we will be doing a Phoenix Exclusive with TSL over http://postudios.tumblr.com - We did one with Face Noir, we are currently working on Shadows on the Vaticans as we speak and the next one in queue is TSL. Heavy in content and it will bring as much as I'm cleared to show from Ep5 content.
Yay!
Yippeee!!!!! ;D
I can't wait! Any little bits of information to tantalize will be a tasty appetizer to tide us fans over until the main course is served. ;D
Am I correct in thinking that the soundtracks for episodes three and four will be released with episode five? (I've gone back and been listening to the soundtrack for episodes one and two of TSL after hearing the soundtrack for Cognition, and I just can't get enough of Austin Haynes' music.)
Whatever I can share at this point that the head honchos won't mind me sharing, I absolutely will.
EDIT SPOILER
[spoiler]I think this is probably going to be the prettiest episode thus far, the new art I've seen is really lovely.[/spoiler]
Quote from: Cathenah19 on September 26, 2013, 02:21:03 PM
Am I correct in thinking that the soundtracks for episodes three and four will be released with episode five? (I've gone back and been listening to the soundtrack for episodes one and two of TSL after hearing the soundtrack for Cognition, and I just can't get enough of Austin Haynes' music.)
I believe that's the plan. :)
I really need to get a new computer that will actually run Unity. :-\ The newer of my computers struggles a lot just running Cognition on the lowest settings.
Quote from: Say on September 26, 2013, 07:07:22 PM
Whatever I can share at this point that the head honchos won't mind me sharing, I absolutely will.
EDIT SPOILER
[spoiler]I think this is probably going to be the prettiest episode thus far, the new art I've seen is really lovely.[/spoiler]
*shrugs* I figured as such anyway, given that new area+new engine= Pretty! Tell me something i don't know.
Quote from: waltzdancing on June 26, 2013, 04:54:52 PM
We have a demo in the works. No release date yet. But the directors did a play through and they were very happy with what they saw.
Is this demo still going to be done?! A sneak peak would be awesome!
There's actually footage of episode 5 on YouTube right now. I have to say, though, the direction TSL is going here is a bit...jarring.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4m4lnjxkY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z4m4lnjxkY)
Patience isn't infinite. Keep that in mind, 929572.
My parents were infinitely patient with me. Not that it mattered much.
Also, the moderators on this forum are infinitely patient with the likes of me, and they even give obvious trolls a chance to explain themselves. So patience may not be infinite or even reasonably long for some people, but they can always strive to change that. This is as good an opportunity as any to simply not let something like TSL's release date bother you, since you cannot change that. If you find yourself getting frustrated, like the thread subject entails, then you don't need to blow a gasket--just talk to somebody, get it off your chest, and come back later (which is what I've been saying for a while now).
Holy wow, I just said something uplifting. Welp, time to listen to death metal.
We're nice like that, yes. ;)
I never said I am frustrated with TSL, let alone their release. If anything, we are working to provide means to show production progress which is quite enjoyable to be able able to share, at all.
However, unfortunately nobody has got the time to unnecesarily invest in pointless and consistently rude remarks (regardless of what it is, it's always the same usual ones). Just because moderators and activity are as obviously absent, doesn't allow for anyone to attempt to interrupt feedback and update contributions from a representative of the team - which is what I want it to be clear, will no longer be accepted around these forums anymore.
Hi
I dont mean to sound rude.
I know you have been asked when is episode 5 being released. Something tells me that we are going to wait even longer now the Gabriel Knight is on the cards. We appriciate the work that you guys are doing but dont forget the fan help save the silver lining with our please to activision etc. so we should deserve to at lease see some screen shot of epsiode 5
Quote from: eshar on October 31, 2013, 10:29:14 AM
Hi
I dont mean to sound rude.
I know you have been asked when is episode 5 being released. Something tells me that we are going to wait even longer now the Gabriel Knight is on the cards. We appriciate the work that you guys are doing but dont forget the fan help save the silver lining with our please to activision etc. so we should deserve to at lease see some screen shot of epsiode 5
Having Gabriel Knight to work on won't have any effect on TSL's progress really. That's still a free project, worked on entirely by people volunteering their time.
Quote
Having Gabriel Knight to work on won't have any effect on TSL's progress really. That's still a free project, worked on entirely by people volunteering their time.
Hm... isn't that exactly what TSL is too, though? Dipping into the same pool of volunteered time?
Maybe I'm way off base here.
Totally different groups of people. The team working on commercial projects (Cognition, Moebius, GK Remake) is an entirely different group of people. That team works for Phoenix as their fulltime jobs. The TSL team is made up from volunteers working in their freetime on the game. (Though the fulltime team does help out when we're able to.)
Quote from: KatieHal on November 08, 2013, 03:47:43 PM
Totally different groups of people. The team working on commercial projects (Cognition, Moebius, GK Remake) is an entirely different group of people. That team works for Phoenix as their fulltime jobs. The TSL team is made up from volunteers working in their freetime on the game. (Though the fulltime team does help out when we're able to.)
Ah. Well that makes sense, then.
I dont blame tsl that i will take some time until episode 5 will come out, just look at how many games they produced and everyone of them needs work, to be finished.
Right now tsl is making 4 games?thats a lot of work so for me its fine to one the last episode a litte bit longer.
All great things need time to come, i can understand they most of the people want to play episode 5right now but this will not help to finish episode5 faster.
I just wanted to say thank you to Phoenix Online Studios for breathing new life into Kings Quest. Creating this game is your hobby and I am pleased that you are so generous to share it with me. I'm sure I will enjoy your next episode as soon as you feel it is ready. Cheers!
I don't think that anyone has an issue with it taking a long time. Understood! There are other projects and the volunteer factor: you need money to live. I've got that, and you are very entitled to whatever time it takes. The only part that frustrates me are the misleading comments. Back in 2012, we were told that there was hope for a 2012 release.
Then we were told in June that there was a demo pretty much ready...and then nothing.
Then recently we were told that something would be released by the end of the year or that there would at least be an announcement...("On positive news, coming from a personal initiative - I have been raiding TSL poduction stuff and now Media team is working very hard in providing some goodies to show your way, there's quite a few things to share. Still revising what all I can share and what I can't but do know there will be quite some new things to see. I have got no release date for the game so the blog is not about that, there will be an announcement later this year (nothing to confirm just yet") but do know that we will be doing a Phoenix Exclusive with TSL). There are about 28 days left to deliver. I appreciate all of you, and I'm more than willing to wait, but please don't dangle information unless it's a sure thing, otherwise it's very disappointing, and we want to stay your fans. I think that's fair to ask. :)
Gem_sky, you are absolutely right in saying that we should not have dangled information in front of you like that and I apologize deeply for that. We in (volunteer team) have hit many snags in development. Rest assured that development is continuing, however, it is slow. I don't know when we will have something to show but when we do, the forums will get to see it first, that I can promise.
It's hard to balance the need to let people know that TSL really is still progressing and the need to be careful to not get people's hopes up prematurely.
I've seen the development on Episode 5, I am confident that it's going to be amazing! I don't know when it will be released, but progress IS being made.
*nods* I believe ya'll!
Progress is being made huh? How far? 20, 40, 60, 80, 99% lol. I need an estimate so I quit thinking about it. It's getting to me lol :suffer:
Was it not once says If they build it, It will Come. ;D
I hate to say this but I believe we won't play The Silver Lining until December 2015 lol. It was predicted that king's quest won't be finished until 2015 anyway.
No hopefully it will be done by the end of this year or 1st quarter of 2014! Please phoenix don't let me down!
BTW: Anything in the works for our friend Hassan. It won't be the same without him. Hopefully the last chapter is nice an slow an not rushed in anyway. I want to enjoy the final chapter.
Will we get to see my Favorite Wizard Mordack. LOL. That guy put chills down my spine but I wasn't afraid of him, when I seen him in the Crystal Ball Madame Mushka gypsy hut. He is lenient though. Who knows he could actually help Graham in the Final Chapter. ;) :rofl:
I can tell you end of this year won't happen. But I REALLY hope for 2014 and think that's achievable!
Translation: It will hopefully come out before we all die.
Hey! Glad to see people are still working on it. I swore I would not use my Cedric Suffer Mousepad until the 5th episode came out and it is collecting dust! I love that mousepad! All I want for Christmas this year is news about what quarter of 2014 the 5th episode will come out, or even what half of the year it will come out! Watch me forget about it and one day check this site, and the episode will have been out for a while...
I don't want to be rude but there is a couple of things that bugs me with the silver lining. You can't leave the main internet page without any news in almost a year if you don't want people to think you dumpted the project. The last post is dated from march, it's not everybody who takes the time to read all the post in the forums. Also why the hell did you switched the engine?!!? The delay it caused doesn't worth it! Maybe It was looking a bit old in the old engine but we all played and love the game that way. I also really hated the fact that we will have to launch the game separatly from the others chapters. Now we gonna have to wait what another year?? and if I read the last post by katiehal 2014 is achievable!!?? Sorry but I also don't believed you when you said that the others project didn't affect TSL development. With now 4 project on development at POS where did you get all the staff working on those project??? I'm pretty sure Nobody that was working on TSL switched on more lucrative project. Honestly I really enjoyed what you did with the king quest story and I would have paid to played it. Knowing that you can't sell it that is why I've buy cognition to encourage you continuing what you are doing but I will no longer support your other games until you give me some news, videos or something about TLS. I'm pretty sure i'm not the only one thinking like that. Thank you.
Forgive me if I misstep in so speaking for others, but:
Regarding the engine switch, I seem to recall that the previous episodes had a decent share of bugs, at least some of which are likely attributable to issues with the engine; switching engines could very well produce a rather less buggy experience. On top of that I have, I believe, used both Torque and Unity in a professional context, and recall finding Torque to be a pretty horrible engine to work with, and Unity wonderful. In short, I don't blame them for the switch at all.
As to the staff for the other games, I gather that they've hired at least some staff since starting those projects, so presumably there is a larger team than had been working on The Silver Lining amongst whom to divide the projects.
Finally, I seem to recall mention that the engine switch calls for a fair bit of re-working (including, I daresay, re-implementing all of the features that they had previously implemented in the Torque version -- which may not be an entirely straightforward process), which can easily result in a significant delay.
However, I do stand to be corrected (especially by the developers themselves!) on any of the above -- as I say, I'm speaking for someone else there, and may be talking nonsense. ^^;
I'll admit that it has been quite some time since the last episode, and I do hope to see the next one soon.
The engine change is absolutely for the best. Torque worked but only after hacking what was intended to be an FPS engine and making a 3rd-person adventure game out of it. Also, the engine is no longer supported by its makers, so no updates, etc, have been coming out for it in years.
Unity is VASTLY better engine, and our tools are also vastly better. It's far more user-friendly as well--you don't need to know programming languages to do a lot of things in it, once the tools have been created and added. And, yes, much less buggy, and easier to fix if there are bugs.
As for staff: there has been staff working on TSL this whole time. However, that staff is still a volunteer-based staff, meaning they are working in their spare time, without pay, on the game. It's not the same team that works on Cognition, Moebius, MGX, etc. Meaning the progress, yes, is slower-going.
We haven't posted updates because the focus has been more on getting work done, and much of the progress that's happened hasn't been easy to 'show'--updates in programming are difficult to display. We are working now on both the game and on crafting updates, but all of that requires planning as well.
In conclusion--we are working on it, and on posts and updates for it, and we know people are frustrated. We want to finish the game as much as anyone--moreso, really! We also want to do it well, not just throw something together that's only half-finished and buggy. The team working on it is not full-time and they are volunteering their time to make this game. It will come out, but please don't forget that.
Ok guys let cool it and let them do their job, I believe they will get it out.