Quick note to StrickNine: Yes they do. Smod is one of the best HL2 mods out there, and it doesn't do much more than add tons of cool features to the existing gameplay.
I'm long-time lurker and I feel there's quite a lot to be said on this issue of release schedules. So here goes.
Defrag makes a compelling argument for releasing rarely. He bases it on the fact that buggy releases drive away players, and this is completely true. For the RERO method to work, releases must be regularly once every one or two weeks at the very outside - any longer, and players will start to drift away thanks to all the bugs and lack of balance. Now, I have no personal experience with modding Source, but if Defrag's assessment of the amount of work needed is right, then this sort of release schedule isn't possible in HL2.
If a mod, as he puts it, lacks an amazing or cool idea, there's nothing to hook players in once the bugs start emerging in these early releases. But this is where the flaw in his logic begins to show. If your mod lacks an amazing or cool idea,
it will die anyway. The only reason that the rare-release method works for these mods with little originality is because of their hype. The reputation of the mod draws in fans of other games in the same genre, and they'll stay only as long as another game in the genre doesn't usurp them. In essence, there'll be a big spike in players just after release, which will then peter out to nothing (or close enough as makes no odds) as newer games with slightly more shiny polygons or a new sniper emerge.
So how does this relate to FF? FF is difficult to catagorise into "new concept" and "old concept" because it's making what is in essence a sequel (or a remake, even): better looking, better playing, more accessible. It's an old concept done in a very different way - just look at the maps. FF will benefit from releasing late because most of its community is already devoted to TFC and will follow the mod like puppies until release (and rightly so). If the community is disappointed with the buggy early releases of RERO, they'll either drift away or keep following like puppies. I'm more inclined to say the former, with the examples of other mods people are using. TFC is a bit different in that FF is the only HL2 mod of its type, though.
But FF will also benefit from releasing early, because it'll showcase some of the amazing new stuff that's been planned as well as showing off the new spins on concing, pipes, detpacks and so on. This would probably pull more punters in from other TFC mods and reduce the blueballs hype spiral that Defrag describes as causing the mod to collapse under its own hype. Not to mention, of course, that everyone loves playing TFC in Source, no matter how buggy, and the community here is no exception.
I wouldn't like to make the call on this, myself. There's too much at stake either way with the amount of work you guys are putting in. I'll just stick with
I WANT TO PLAY THE GAME
RELEASE NOWWWWWW
As they say on B3ta: apologies for length, but the missus likes it.
- Hat.
PS. Defrag mentions how almost all of the applications they get are TFC players or inexperienced at modding or both. I wonder why that is? They just want to play the internal alpha
PPS. I take back what I said above about not making the call. I think that now FF has committed itself to releasing late, it'd be best to carry on that way. As Defrag says, it's what the community expects. And hey, maybe we like having blueballs.
PPPS. God, I hate doing this. I was reading round the forums and found a post from a while ago that gave me another thought on this problem, and that's giving away hints about content. It was reflected in Defrag's comments about making people sign NDAs before they beta test, and it's apt that it was Defrag who said this as well:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Defrag
We unfortunately cannot elaborate on a lot of the stuff that has already been finalised as we're keeping our cards quite close to our chest in that respect.
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Now, this is from Christmas 2004 so forgive me if this policy has changed (the existence of the devjournals would indicate it if anyone posted in them), but there is
no reason at all for such massive secrecy after things have been finalised. If things are still fluid and it hasn't been decided if a feature is in, then by all means don't tell the community about it because they'll be sorely disappointed when it goes. But if it is finalised, tell them about it! It's like those people signing their NDA to beta test - it means they can say NOTHING. Not even "This mod is going to be the best mod in the world, everyone should play it!" which would do nothing but help the mod. And a similar thing applies to telling the community about features that are going to 100% totally be in the game.
To use a parallel from what we've just been talking about, giving info before the feature is finalised is like the RERO method - it can backfire bigtime. Giving it once the feature is in does nothing but help (unless people don't like the feature, but if it's going to be in there anyway they have no option but to shove it no matter when you tell them about it), just like the release-late model. It's not like it's harder for people to steal your ideas once the game is released rather than when they're just on paper - if they're good enough to steal, they're going to be stolen anyway, so you may as well use them to generate interest.
In short: if you're going to release late, make LOTS of posts in the devjournals and on the site about what's going down!