Shadowrun Returns delayed by large feature list
When Kickstarter campaigns go well and stretch goals are met, everyone is thrilled. But occasionally lost in the shuffle is what that feature creep does to a planned release date. Harebrained Schemes has found that out, pushing the release date back from January to sometime in May or June.
When Kickstarter campaigns go well and stretch goals are met, everyone is thrilled. But occasionally lost in the shuffle is what that feature creep does to a planned release date. Harebrained Schemes has found that out, pushing the release date of Shadowrun Returns back from January to sometime in May or June.
Producer Mitch Gitelman relayed the news via the company's blog that January was no longer feasible: "It might've worked for the scope of the game we originally envisioned but as our ambitions (read that "features list") grew, so did the time we needed to deliver." He also said that going from top-down view to isometric took extra work as well.
Gitelman said that he has to rein in the features to stay within the budget set out for the game, which collected more than $1.9 million when it's Kickstarter campaign concluded in late April. One feature cut was the ability to recruit your friends' characters into your game. "It's a good social feature and it pains us to cut it, but it isn't core to the fun of creating your own character and having a great Shadowrun experience," he said.
Development is about half way done, with magic, tech abilities and story being the next focus for the team.
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replyJohn Keefer posted a new article, Shadowrun Returns delayed by large feature list.
When Kickstarter campaigns go well and stretch goals are met, everyone is thrilled. But occasionally lost in the shuffle is what that feature creep does to a planned release date. Harebrained Schemes has found that out, pushing the release date back from January to sometime in May or June.-
Delayed for the right reasons. They can even delay it further and I'd gladly accept it if it means a more polished, feature rich game :)
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Take as long as you need guys :) Being one of the $150 backers I want this to be the best experience possible :)
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The Shadowrun community.... full of respectable and realistic gamers !! :D
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As a backer I saw this as a statement of the obvious. I kind of assumed that anybody who was following this must have known that as they reached their stretch goals, they probably doubled the scope of the project. It will obviously take more time to make the game and I think most people waiting for the game will have no problem with this. I think they even said up front (at least to backers) that the stretch goals will extend the scope of the project.
I have zero issues with this and am actually a bit surprised they even had to announce this (I thought it was known). -
They are in a very hard position. They have both a fixed budget and an ambitious feature set they've already made public and promised via the Kickstarter campaign. To make budget you can cut scope but doing so here risks alienating fans. Wish them the best.
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