Maniaplanet Forum

Hylis wrote: It is unfortunate, since we really want to get into the action with the players, but there are many things to prepare on many sides. When I wrote Q4 2010 at E3 time, I really believed it. The game is well playable at the moment. The team is working on making more blocs (they take more time to do than original ones!) and still on making the maniaplanet application. This application is quite simple, but it needs some arrangements in order to welcome all the update that we want to do afterward.

There are two things I would like to insist on:
1. I don't want you to think that we are adding a lot of features.
Our goal at the moment is really to make only what is needed. Like I have read somewhere: something is perfect when you can't remove more, not when you can't add more. That's the spirit and our goal at the moment. We target a pure fun game at the moment. After, the players activities will tell us where to expand.

2. I don't want you to think that we are losing our time
We are moving fullspeed! All the team is working hard and is really concentrated on a daily basis. And with all the experience of the team, we are making the right choices to make things quickly but solid enough for a big future of maniaplanet.

Even with this two parameters, we have a lot of work. When we announced TrackMania 2, our plan was to first release one full game. Now, we have added ShootMania and QuestMania to take care but also the maniaplanet application and servers. So, things takes more time. For example, I still have to decide if I will include the splitscreen mode and the block import at first release. The engine is done to welcome both features, but the interface are to be done. My idea is that since we want to release three TM² environments, we may use those occasions to update the game with these features.

Hylis wrote:The dates I am giving were always sincere. The Q4 2010 for the beta was a real one, but after some months, I wanted to make the gameplay model even more solid, the graphics even better and to make some blocks for both of it based on this thougts. Meanwhile, we were improving the ManiaScript speed and stability since it is difficult to make too many evolution on a scripting language once code is started to be wrote on it. I have spent some 'weeks' in meeting and setting up the publishing internally. This is also how we are able to launch this normally this month (Note: today is April 8 2011) , with upcoming printed press articles combined with community priority reveal

The weeks after E3 (Note: E3 Expo = June 7-9, 2011) is serious, but if we have some new discovery on ShootMania, we may prefer to wait a little to overcome the new challenges, instead of launching maniaplanet and do that at the same time. I feel we are on a great path at the moment, but if there is a new great ideas that has to be done before the first release in order to make it possible, I would have to make a choice. It is far from simply releasing a game, it is releasing an operating system that should enables players to create in it, but also support evolution from us. Also, making an online system that handles the maniaplanet system, instead of three separate games, is a development we had to make before the beta of TM².

Anyway, I hope you will appreciate the quality of the work as soon as possible!

Hylis wrote:Until mid-june, we reveal the game
after, we start talking about the beta

Hylis wrote:we have re designed the beta plan this week

at the moment (things can change) we expect to do a progressive closed beta and no open beta
it means that few people will be invited first (no rules and numbers made yet) and then will grow this number (new direct invitation and invitations given to first testers)

thank you for your support, it is really making us uncomfortable to have this late release. Each time, I tell myself: just few months left and they will start the new adventure!

fastforza wrote:As hylis said ...

Hylis wrote:we have re designed the beta plan this week

at the moment (things can change) we expect to do a progressive closed beta and no open beta
it means that few people will be invited first (no rules and numbers made yet) and then will grow this number (new direct invitation and invitations given to first testers)

thank you for your support, it is really making us uncomfortable to have this late release. Each time, I tell myself: just few months left and they will start the new adventure!