Fortnite: Interesting trailer but is it going to be yet another tower defense game mechanic? Tower defense is already old. Everyone is doing it now.
That doesn't really matter, though. As Sanctum proves, not everything had been done and it's doubtful that everything has been done.
Samaritan: Probably not going to be a game but would it be L.A. Noire meets Blade Runner? L.A. Noire is not so old and did take a step forward in game mechanics and mo-cap character animations.
I think it's likely Samaritan will be a game. It would be pretty cool to have a Blade Runner-esque detective game, though, for sure.
For me it was probably when massive sandbox games took over. In that respect id Software with Rage pretty well tanked while Bethesda has made a killing (sorry about the pun) out of the Fallouts and Morrowinds.
UT has been a successful franchise for years and it could be still. It wasn't other types of games that ruined it.
And Borderlands isn't true sandbox although BL2 is indicated that it may be.
Borderlands is an awesome game that proves that you don't have to be or compete with "true sandbox" if your game is good enough. It also proves that people will put up with CrapSpy if the game is good enough.
It's important, and few companies seem to understand it: releasing a multiplayer game in a broken or unfinished state will kill off it's potential userbase instantly.
While true, I think that Valve has disproven this theory to a certain extent. Epic goes silent too easily now, their lack of open communication hampers their efforts more often than not. What people want is acknowledgement. They want to know that their issue has been identified and that it will be resolved in a timely manner. May I remind everyone that the issues UT3 had with custom content were not resolved for almost
an entire year after UT3 released? This from a series that is and has always been renowned for it's mod support? And so many other issues were just never acknowledged at all.
Here is a comprehensive list of bugs in UT3
Of course, there are more issues. But the fact that so many of these issues were either not addressed or Epic admitted they would not fix them is just astounding, really. There are 86 bugs and only 11 of them were resolved is pathetic for a game like UT. Unfortunately, it only highlights the fact that UT3 was not and has never been Epic's primary focus.
I hope that Epic does a few things for the next UT game, if it ever happens:
1) Stay vocal with the community. They need someone that works in Epic's office that is a part of every team meeting that is open to comment on specific things with the community both before the game is released and before every "major" revision.
2) Stop doing major revisions. Multiplayer only games work best with lots of community feedback and frequent fixing. Small, incremental, frequent patches show that the company is watching the reported issues and taking care of things that are important to the community (you know, the people who play, support, populate, propagate your game).
3) Stop worrying about network compatibility. It is my understanding that the Demo Guy Bug in UT3, for example, cannot be fixed because it introduces a break in the network compatibility of the current version of the game with previous versions. Epic needs to stop worrying about this and focus on fixing problems. The majority of people actively playing your game would rather have a working game than be able to play with original retail copies of the game.
4) Communicate the basics of the game to the community earlier and the complex things later. With UT3, Epic was always talking about experimental gametypes and garbage like that. All that most of us want to know is how are level designers trying to avoid things like jagged brushes, simplified "arenas" and ideal flow. How are gameplay designers ensuring that the gameplay they are creating fits within the levels, pleases people who will play the game and helps to create a healthy community of people that enjoy the game. Nobody will care about the gametypes until the game is almost out.
5) Create a testbed game. A simplified and neutered version of UT in the browser or on Steam that is free would allow Epic to test out variations of gameplay, level design, gametypes, etc without affecting a retail launch of a game. I promise that as burned as the bridge is between Epic and the UT community right now, a bone like this would get A LOT of people interested. Especially if feedback was requested, encouraged and responded to. Don't allow modding and set the majority of the game's rules yourself. No intrusion on the retail game, but LOTS of good will to the community and a great way to build rapport and get excellent feedback about the game.
6) Stop bringing people in for 2-4 hour play sessions to tell you how the game feels. People figure out they hate this or that or find bugs after literally DAYS of hammering on a game. Saying that you had "the pros" (whoever that is) come in and test your game tells us nothing and makes it seem like only their feedback matters. Do #5. It will get you MUCH farther in a matter of days that an infinite amount of these play testing sessions ever will.
7) Act like you care... on a daily basis. I
know Epic cares about UT. I
know they aren't exactly happy about how that whole situation went down. Every once in a while someone at Epic threw the community a bone, and thousands of hounds feasted on it within minutes. The problem is, that bone disappeared right away and it was literally WEEKS (if not months) before we ever heard from anyone again. The community needs bones on a daily basis. This is where this person employed by Epic who is invited to all the progress meetings comes in. They can throw bones frequently.
8) Just do what the Epic Games of 1998/1999 would do. I don't think it's that out of line to say that the community feels like they are dealing with an entirely different company. The Unreal technology blog that Epic ran at unreal.epicgames.com was awesome. It was a great eye opener for the community and it kept people interested in new developments. It was posted to frequently and had technical talk not just marketing mamby pamby information. The community wants to know that Epic is in it with them. They want to be heard and know that the future looks bright. Even if the game has a terrible launch, things can get better. All it takes is
communication. A one line post that says "we are aware of lots of issues and we are trying to tackle as many as possible. we'll keep you updated!" does a lot more than going dark and then surprising everyone with a bomb that only does about 25% of what any given individual really wants to see.
9) Focus on the PC platform first and let the consoles get what they can. On PC, you can commit to and do everything listed above. On consoles, you can't. Pick the platform that gives you flexibility first above all. Everything else should be playing second fiddle and should be "simplified" from the PC version. This is NOT an "I am better than you" statement, this is just reality. PC allows you to be flexible as a developer where consoles, in general, do not.
10) Reiterating,
COMMUNICATE. We just want to know what is going on. If money has dried up and you can't support the game anymore... tell us! We aren't dumb, we look at the list of unfixed bugs in UT3 and the time it's been since the last patch and we know that support is done. Telling us makes us feel as if we are an important and integral part of the business.
In conclusion, I really do think another UT could be done and be done right. The only question is, is Epic willing to do what it takes to make the game a success? For now, I guess, only time will tell...
TL;DR version: THERE ISN'T ONE READ THE FREAKING POST
(in other words, I used to write TL;DR sections until I took an arrow to the knee)
