View Full Version : Oblivion Delay Details
bapenguin
11-05-2005, 05:21 PM
Pete Hines from Bethesda decided to shed some light (http://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=185378) on the recent delay of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for XBox 360 and PC.
In short, the game is coming out in early 2006 because it isn't done yet. We still have things that need to be done before the game is released. So we continue to optimize, test, balance, etc. We've already gone way beyond what we did in any game previously in playtesting and balancing this game. Way beyond. But there is work that needs to be done and so development continues to go on pretty much around the clock. We will not put out a more specific date until we are certain we will be ready then. Like system specs, we aren't fans of putting out info that changes later on and only confuses or annoys our fans.
This really dissapointed a lot of people, but it really shouldn't surprise anyone.
Heretic Machine
11-05-2005, 05:27 PM
What annoys me most is that they waited until just a few weeks before the scheduled release before telling anyone about the delay. That's just fucked up, and in my opinion, was a way to bolster pre-orders.
Liquidize105
11-05-2005, 05:29 PM
And 2K paid for it: Stocks down 15% in one day of trading.
If you ask me there's no need to hurry. I hope the gaps in the animation get patched.
spacerat100
11-05-2005, 05:35 PM
still a few improvments done now is a lot better than 27 patches after the game is released
Savok
11-05-2005, 05:39 PM
Keep this bun in the oven for as long as it takes. Just don't pull Valve shit of waiting to tell everyone, you know the game is gonna be late, just tell us instead of watching folk squirm.
Busted_Astromech
11-05-2005, 05:47 PM
Reading their post, it looks to me like they had planned on it coming out at release but the testing/final polish took longer than they anticipated. After all, they only get their final 360 dev kits in August; it's very likely they came across an unanticipated hurdle or bug in testing.
And it says they're doing more testing than they did on previous games...let's hope it's relatively glitch-free. I can't tell you how many times I fell through the floor in Morrowind (curse you, Balmora Mages Guild basement!).
kathode
11-05-2005, 06:04 PM
What annoys me most is that they waited until just a few weeks before the scheduled release before telling anyone about the delay. That's just fucked up, and in my opinion, was a way to bolster pre-orders.
Unlike all the other planned 360 titles, which are guaranteed to be available on launch day? :p Come on man. I don't have a clue how many pre-orders we have.
Major Scud
11-05-2005, 06:14 PM
according to my gamestop they've had lots of pre-order cancels because of this game. I wonder if this game getting pushed back could alleviate some of the shortage we're supposed to see.
Thenetcase
11-05-2005, 06:34 PM
I'm looking forward to this game more than anyone in the world, probably. :)
Oh and guess what? I'm not disappointed. I'm glad that they are making it even better! I'm hoping for an awesome game here and I highly doubt I'll be disapointed, judging by Morrowind.
-TNC-
gojira
11-05-2005, 07:00 PM
Yes, please finish this game first. No more launch disasters. I think it's a good thing that a company is will to put out a quality product.
Now the launch orders, well, I'm sure they were hoping to get it out in time. It looks like they had to make a last minute decision themselves.
edit: speling iz gud.
Kefkataran
11-05-2005, 07:14 PM
Glad they finally took a moment to talk about this. I still support the decision, even though I agree that it kind of sucks that they waited until the last minute to tell people.
StGeorge
11-05-2005, 07:20 PM
It's going to require tons of patches anyway, but since they can't patch on XBox 360, they are delaying. If there were no XBox version to worry about, this sucker would be on the shelves on the announced release date come hell or high water.
Twigz'N'Berries
11-05-2005, 07:27 PM
according to my gamestop they've had lots of pre-order cancels because of this game. I wonder if this game getting pushed back could alleviate some of the shortage we're supposed to see.
I'm pretty sure it won't.
Twigz'N'Berries
11-05-2005, 07:29 PM
It's going to require tons of patches anyway, but since they can't patch on XBox 360, they are delaying. If there were no XBox version to worry about, this sucker would be on the shelves on the announced release date come hell or high water.
Why can't they patch the 360 version? For those with an HD they can get a patch. Oh yeah, Kameo will have a 'patch' that launches shortly after its release which will allow co-op over Live....but I guess only HD users will have that luxury. Core buyers are getting the big nasty stiff one from MS!
jacktion
11-05-2005, 07:32 PM
I say there will be about 4 games at launch.
Flame on!
I must be the only person in the world who doesn't care when a game is delayed.
Rirath
11-05-2005, 07:39 PM
"In short, the game is coming out in early 2006 because it isn't done yet."
Not surprised. How does one get this far and then decide the game is not done? I would think it's something you know ahead of time, but yet this is just so very common in gaming. Release dates, even when they look like everything is on track, are just guesses. One of my biggest gripes about the game industry is the seemingly never ending 3-more-weeks syndrome for every major game.
Maybe, just maybe, there won't be any show stopping glitches this time... but that's another thing I've just come to expect these days. I guess I'm cynical about this because I was looking forward to it, but when you wait half a year too long for Guild Wars, Zelda isn't even '05 anymore, nor is Obvil, and titles take so long overdue they shift consoles... it gets to you. Anyone who's ever waited on a fan mod knows you take the estimated release date, multiply by the 3rd week in Feb, then raise to the power of your birth year + 3, and finally divide by the number of team members.
"When it's done." isn't the answer, either.
bapenguin
11-05-2005, 08:01 PM
Why can't they patch the 360 version? For those with an HD they can get a patch. Oh yeah, Kameo will have a 'patch' that launches shortly after its release which will allow co-op over Live....but I guess only HD users will have that luxury. Core buyers are getting the big nasty stiff one from MS!
Except patches can fit on the memory card just fine.
TrackZero
11-05-2005, 08:31 PM
What annoys me most is that they waited until just a few weeks before the scheduled release before telling anyone about the delay. That's just fucked up, and in my opinion, was a way to bolster pre-orders.
Ah well, I'll live with it. I'd rather they polish this game until it shines. I've got enough games to contend with these days as it is.
Stormeh
11-05-2005, 08:32 PM
While I dislike the fact that I'll have to wait for it, I do appreciate the fact that they're doing it right. If I had to pick one way or the other, I'd rather have a less buggy, more polished game, than one at launch that has some serious issues or balance problems.
They arn't foolin' me, its finished...
Jetherik
11-05-2005, 09:04 PM
They seemed to have learned from Blizzard - do not put it out until it is done, and done right.
MaiXu
11-05-2005, 09:37 PM
What annoys me most is that they waited until just a few weeks before the scheduled release before telling anyone about the delay. That's just fucked up, and in my opinion, was a way to bolster pre-orders.
Yeah, but I like to think they were pushing hard to hit the deadline, and when they realized they weren't gonna make the 360's launch, they took a bit more time to really polish it. So the developers probably didn't know until recently that they'd miss the launch.
And really, for an RPG, you want it polished. You don't want it half-done or buggy. So I say take your time. Same thing with Zelda: Twilight Princess. I know it's shitty news for Nintendo fans with nothing to play this Christmas, but I know I'll be happy when the game comes out and is amazing.
"In short, the game is coming out in early 2006 because it isn't done yet."
Not surprised. How does one get this far and then decide the game is not done? I would think it's something you know ahead of time, but yet this is just so very common in gaming. Release dates, even when they look like everything is on track, are just guesses. One of my biggest gripes about the game industry is the seemingly never ending 3-more-weeks syndrome for every major game.
Maybe, just maybe, there won't be any show stopping glitches this time... but that's another thing I've just come to expect these days. I guess I'm cynical about this because I was looking forward to it, but when you wait half a year too long for Guild Wars, Zelda isn't even '05 anymore, nor is Obvil, and titles take so long overdue they shift consoles... it gets to you. Anyone who's ever waited on a fan mod knows you take the estimated release date, multiply by the 3rd week in Feb, then raise to the power of your birth year + 3, and finally divide by the number of team members.
"When it's done." isn't the answer, either.
And I bet that you would have complained just as much if a buggy, unfinsiehd Oblivion had been released on Nov 222nd. You have to understand that it can be impossible to predict some events during the development cycle.
And this delay isn't even that long. Remember, a game can only be released once. After that, everyone forgets how many delays it went through.
Murmillo
11-05-2005, 10:05 PM
You know what. This delay just made me realize why I should just get the PC version, the 360 version it won't have nudity mods!
The Iron Weasel
11-05-2005, 10:17 PM
You know what. This delay just made me realize why I should just get the PC version, the 360 version it won't have nudity mods!
Dear lord........
MSUStud911
11-05-2005, 10:21 PM
Of course everyone at least half expected this. Has Bethesda ever put out a game on time? Morrowind was delayed. Call of Cthulhu was delayed. Oblivion is delayed. I just hope the delays for Oblivion give them time to make sure the game doesn't crash randomly when you pull up the map, something they somehow missed in the Xbox version of Morrowind.
PantherModern
11-05-2005, 11:24 PM
All for a company having the grapes to push microsoft to the side and release a good product. It's not going to help MS's launch sales numbers at all, but the game will sell systems regardless of when it arrives. Honestly, depending on how well it reviews, I may have to get a 360 to play it. Or I can just run it on my already nice computer. Whichever.
Nesta
11-06-2005, 12:00 AM
Anyone who is pissed off by this is getting themselves too hyped up. Though we are all fans of games and love when we get all this pre-hand info in previews, dev journals, and the like, there should always be some expectation that in the gaming world, things often get delayed. Usually for the right reason, like this seems to be. I agree with the sentiment that the delay is most likely due to the 360 and no way to patch it. There were some fierce bugs in the Morrowind GOTY for the Xbox, and I'm sure Bethesda doesn't want to repeat that mistake.
Morratut
11-06-2005, 01:08 AM
Anyone who is pissed off by this is getting themselves too hyped up. Though we are all fans of games and love when we get all this pre-hand info in previews, dev journals, and the like, there should always be some expectation that in the gaming world, things often get delayed. Usually for the right reason, like this seems to be. I agree with the sentiment that the delay is most likely due to the 360 and no way to patch it. There were some fierce bugs in the Morrowind GOTY for the Xbox, and I'm sure Bethesda doesn't want to repeat that mistake.
Read the thread. You can patch it via Xbox Live. Either to the HD or the memory card.Duh!!!
Kefkataran
11-06-2005, 01:15 AM
I must be the only person in the world who doesn't care when a game is delayed.
OOOH! OOH! Me too!
Call of Cthulhu was delayed.
From what I understand, Bethesda didn't develop Call of Cthulhu. They were merely publishers.
You can patch it via Xbox Live. Either to the HD or the memory card.Duh!!!
So with all this talk about patching and the apparant excitement about it, doesn't that mean console gaming is really dead? I mean wasn't the lack of needing to worry about patching one of the major draws of console gaming as opposed to PC gaming? And with two different types of Xbox coming out this generation, it's only probably going to expand from here...
Suicidal ShiZuru
11-06-2005, 02:17 AM
Is patching going to be supported, with an hdd or not on any of the new consoles? If not thats freaking stupid... as for the delay I could care less, leaves more time for current new games, Im hardly interested in this anyways.
Magnanimous Gnome
11-06-2005, 09:30 AM
Maybe, just maybe, there won't be any show stopping glitches this time... but that's another thing I've just come to expect these days.
Zelda isn't even '05 anymore, nor is Obvil
At least you know that Zelda will not have any show-stopping bugs.
Oblivion? After Morrowind, who knows? I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be playable.
I don't think MS lets developers release patches, per se. If a dev wants to release bug fixes for a game, they usually have to piggy back them on top of some sort of content download.
Savok
11-06-2005, 10:13 AM
Morrowind was a huge advancement over previous games with QA stuff. Yes, they were that buggy.
Thenetcase
11-06-2005, 10:28 AM
I'm not disapointed. You guys go ahead and have your juvinile whine-fest.
-TNC-
Kefkataran
11-06-2005, 10:30 AM
I don't think MS lets developers release patches, per se. If a dev wants to release bug fixes for a game, they usually have to piggy back them on top of some sort of content download.
That seems like a bit of a stronger position at least. I could dig that.
IagoTheHunted
11-06-2005, 12:09 PM
I think it was Origin who coined the phrase "A game is late 'til it's released, but it sucks forever".
I say take all the time it needs to be a steller game. As long as it doesn't fall into a nebulous pit of development doom like Duke Nukem than all's well.
orgndonr
11-06-2005, 12:28 PM
The delay just gives me more time (and cash) to tweak my system. I'm a pc gamer all the way and my current systems a bit lacking.
mister_slim
11-06-2005, 06:36 PM
This is good. As interested as I was, the poor animation (dogs don't rotate) and weird AI (people don't light their pets on fire) was really turning me off.
Kefkataran
11-06-2005, 08:07 PM
people don't light their pets on fire
Speak for yourself, Mister No-Fun.
Come on, we all know the game is finished. They are delaying it for other "cough" Xbox360 "cough" reasons...that shall remain nameless.
mister_slim
11-07-2005, 05:27 PM
Speak for yourself, Mister No-Fun.
Friends, yes. Pets, no.
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