Mechscape Post #5 - 04 April 2009, Editorial: The Hype Surrounding the Release Date of MechScape Rating Options

[Ren]

Issue #5 - 04 April 2009

The Hype Surrounding the Release Date of MechScape
Written by Simba


Hey there! My name is Simba. I'm pleased to have you here on MechScape World reading my article on the topic of how much Jagex should tell us about the release date of MechScape.

It is a dilemma that every games company faces time and time again. "What do we release to the public to build as much excitement as possible, being careful however not to raise expectations too much?" This has to be one of the most difficult issues leading up to the release of a new game, with things such as the release date being kept a closely guarded secret in some instances.

Jagex told us that MechScape would be released in the first quarter of 2009. This article is being written at the end of the above period - and as yet, as I am sure you are all aware, we do not have MechScape. No matter how big a company is, and no matter how many successful releases they've had in the past, things can go badly and delays are inevitable.

Jagex perhaps have not been too wise on this front. By announcing the release date as the first quarter of 2009, they have let down a lot of people who were really excited about the game coming in March. Now they have postponed the release until an unannounced date. This idea has problems in itself, since now people really do not know when to expect it. It could be released next week, or it could be released in three months. Due to the lack of knowledge, people will not be able to get excited about the release as much as they might be able to otherwise. It might seem silly, but several gamers I know take great pleasure in crossing off days on the calendar left until a big release! However, now Jagex have avoided the problem of letting people down once again, as they did by announcing the release for the first quarter of 2009.

It is a delicate balance; Jagex really should announce the release date of the game when they are certain they can provide a top quality game for this time. If they release MechScape completely out of the blue, the general RuneScape populous will be very confused - although Jagex have treated MechScape World very much as a partner site so far, most RuneScape players have not heard of MechScape. By releasing MechScape entirely randomly as it were, Jagex would not be taking full advantage of the excitement they could build up prior to release. By announcing the release date, say, a week or two beforehand, maybe even when everything is fully complete, Jagex would be able to revel in the hype that would ensue - and this excitement would definitely help MechScape off its feet in the first few days, rather than a lot of people being completely confused.

I am sure that Jagex will realise the above and we will see more and more clues dropped closer to the release. I know many people are getting very excited already, even though MechScape may not be ready for another few months. One other tactical decision Jagex face from a business perspective is whether to release MechScape at the start of the summer school vacation. Though MechScape is targeted at an older audience, many teenagers will certainly want to play, and Jagex could tap this market by cunningly releasing the game when this demographic section is most vulnerable.

To conclude, although it would be fantastic to see a release tomorrow, it seems somewhat unlikely. Jagex have more than enough sense to realise that excitement about a new release is an extremely positive thing, so I am sure we will be hearing the release date announced a short time ahead. On the other hand, Jagex will be prudent I'm sure; we won't be hearing another "MechScape will be ready in precisely three months time." Timing is the key. The massive contrast between excitement and disappointment. I have faith in Jagex to produce a wonderful game for us and take the above into consideration to make sure the release of MechScape (and the last few days prior to it) go in the best way possible. For now, Jagex have told us to sit tight and ignore any speculative dates we may hear; their emphasis is on releasing the game when it is as good as it can be, not before.

Thank you very much for reading.

MechScape and Community News

Promotions:
We've had a few promotions this week, make sure to post your congratulations. (read more)

Donors:
This week we added the much anticipated donor feature. A member can now donate money to the site and receive bonuses such as a forum section for donors only and a usergroup. All money donations go towards the site. (read more)

The Pliigi Attack:
This week as an April Fools joke we had the Pliigi, a playable race in MechScape, attack the forums. They evolved from eggs into full grown monsters over only two days. Their attack was so powerful they even took control of MSW for awhile. (read more)

Massively's Jagex interview at GDC09:
In an interview with Massively at the Game Developers Conference Jagex revealed many things about MechScape. One sentence reads: "The game centers around the tension among four distinct species, each with their own look, abilities and back stories. Throughout the game, players can choose their alliances, which shape the path of their adventure. There are hints of cloning, player-built vehicles and even spaceship building eventually." (read more)

Jagex statement regarding the name of MechScape:
Jagex provided us with a statement to help explain why they recently referred to MechScape as merely their game's "code name". It seems that while until recently they've been intending to call it MechScape, now they aren't so sure. They also made it clear that "there is still a fair amount of development work left for us to do" on the game before it is ready to be released. (read more)

Meaning of 'Mortiga'
It was revealed that Mortiga, a potential race in MechScape, is Esperanto for "deadly". (read more)

Previous Editorials:
MechScape Post #4: Gerhard’s Influence on MechScape and Jagex
MechScape Post #3: A Great MechScape Flood?
MechScape Post #2: The MechScape Environment and Concepts
MechScape Post #1: MechScape Clan Leadership

Footnotes
Contributors: Ren (Content Research Team); mike470, Simba, Xela, zepherusbane (Writing & Editing Team).
Disclaimer: The views expressed by members of staff do not necessarily represent the view of MechScape World.

[Macgregorh]

Good read. I agree that the game will probably come out in the summer when most teenagers will have more time on their hands because of not having school. I also agree Jagex shouldn't have released the release date "Q1 2009" until they were certain that was it. Many people including myself got excited, only to be shut down when the game didn't come out.

[VirtualKing]

Summer or really close from there is my guess too, probably June.

[Stan]

Fun to read! Good job!

~ Stan

[Xelb]

I agree. I can remember a lot of people I talked to on Runescape being extremely hyped about MechScape and it's release. I can safely that I was one of those players too. It was disappointing to go through all of the month of March without even a single tidbit, other than an interview scored by PoultryChamp which only confirmed already known suspicions we have had for a long time. Other than that and a digital poster, nothing. I wish Jagex could've been more wiser in hyping the game, like as it's mentioned in the article. I know Jagex doesn't want to over hype it, because sci-fi MMO's have a tendency to "not really do well", but there would've been absolutely no hurt in hyping MechScape just a TEENY bit. Albeit; opening up the mechscape website with at least SOME screenshots to tie us over.

Ah yes, it would be fantastic to see a release for tomorrow, but it's just something we really can't look forward to anymore, because MechScapes release could be any-day. It could be on Monday, or it could be in June. Who knows? All I know is, is that I hope Jagex knows what they are doing in terms of hyping it (which in this case, is rarely any). I just hope it's released at all. It's better to have it be released then cancelled, right?

[Max]

Good work in writing it Simba! I agree to many of points in the article.

[ZehFleming]

Nice writing! I enjoyed reading your article, really interesting!

[maddog1000]

I guessed june 22 in the "Guess when mechscape is realesed" post but i hope it's
more around june 1st
Good read by the way i agree

[HazZ]

Hmmm...Interesting....

[Rick Astley]

Good work Simba i like every post of this

[Spire]

By announcing the release date as the first quarter of 2009, they have let down a lot of people who were really excited about the game coming in March.

Sure it let down people, but delays happen in almost every company.
*Brings out nerd glasses*
Take Boeing for instance, their 787 was supposed to take off on it's first flight at the end of '07. Then it was 08, and now I have heard from a Boeing Employee that it's sceduled for June. Some of those delays were the fault of the company, some weren't. Sure I was dissapointed (being the plane freak I am) but what are you to do? Would you want them to finish it completely or send it out to fly with 1 wing and no tailfin? Boeing said "end of '07" because that was when they expected to fly it. But because of delays, here we are with no 787 yet.

The same goes for Jagex. They said "Q1 2009" Because that was when they expected to release the game. But because of delays, just like the 787, they're not ready to send it out to the public. Now they say "when awesome" because if they put another release date out, and are hit with another delay in the development, Jagex will have to go buy some earmuffs to deal with the extensive whining they will endure.

[nich]

good read - really summed up everything,
but it doesn't make the game get released any faster :P

[Pliigi]

Good writing, and I agree.

To be honest, Jagex shouldn't have said Q1. It just made us all excited

[Shadow of Sofia]

Nice work!

[xKing]

I doubt Jagex would have said Q1 if they weren't sure at the time that the release date was going to be somewhere around then. I'm just curious as to what added so much extra time.

[Abitare]

Good read thanks, will be interesting to see if they do bring it out at the start of the summer holidays.

[Dracul]

By announcing the release date as the first quarter of 2009, they have let down a lot of people who were really excited about the game coming in March.

Sure it let down people, but delays happen in almost every company.
*Brings out nerd glasses*
Take Boeing for instance, their 787 was supposed to take off on it's first flight at the end of '07. Then it was 08, and now I have heard from a Boeing Employee that it's sceduled for June. Some of those delays were the fault of the company, some weren't. Sure I was dissapointed (being the plane freak I am) but what are you to do? Would you want them to finish it completely or send it out to fly with 1 wing and no tailfin? Boeing said "end of '07" because that was when they expected to fly it. But because of delays, here we are with no 787 yet.

The same goes for Jagex. They said "Q1 2009" Because that was when they expected to release the game. But because of delays, just like the 787, they're not ready to send it out to the public. Now they say "when awesome" because if they put another release date out, and are hit with another delay in the development, Jagex will have to go buy some earmuffs to deal with the extensive whining they will endure.

When they Say delays, its not Delays in the sense of bugs and errors, its by their most recent admittance over their ambitions and constantly adding new content to the game that holds everything up.

[Lider V]

Thanks for this post, very interesting.

[1234]

I'm pretty sure that Mechscape won't be released this month
because on 1 April I made a thread on forum with the title ~Mechscape is out!!!Mod Katia posted in th thread and sayed

"Mechscape is out???

As usual, the Forums are always a good way to keep us informed!!!

When I saw the title I thought… How is this possible??? Then I realized it's 1st of April.. silly me!!"

çr¢wde

[Derk]

the BETA may come out "soon" and beta's usually take a while, im really not expecting mechscape to come out until August or September

a question i have concerning the beta: if we play in the beta, will we get to keep the xp we earn during the beta, or will we have to start anew when they end the beta