">>Given that they are both the developers and the publishers, that sounds like an easy excuse for its problems."

They had Deep Silver as a publisher, at least for the console versions.

Also, them self publishing doesn't mean that they have limitless funds.
You do need to try to avoid bankruptcy.

I admid that I didn't know that they had a publisher for the console versions of the game. Still, given that they're also the publishers of the PC version (if Steam is right), they could have asked for a couple more weeks to further polish and optimise the game. But what can I say, I'm a romantic that still remembers the old days when game were launched and worked without day 1 patches and the other shit that we're (sadly) used to see today.

*sigh*

Oh, if the fate of a whole company depends on launching one game in time, with a delay meaning doom for the Co., then they should be more worried about finding someone competent at the helm of the studio than about the game they're making.

Let's go with Tuesday news:

SALES & "SALES"/DEALS

Looks like the Daily Deal of yesterday at GOG wasn't an isolated case, because today there's a new one. This new one is based on the Anomaly franchise: https://www.gog.com/promo/20180227_daily_deal_anomaly

Meanwhile at Steam, we have to talk about the new 845 weeklong deals. Among them:

• The Early Access title The Wild Eight is 33% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/526160/The_Wild_Eight/
• Automobilista is half its usual price: http://store.steampowered.com/app/431600/Automobilista/
• Dead Age is 67% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/363930/Dead_Age/
• Invisible, Inc. is 75% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/243970/Invisible_Inc/
• Every Red Faction game has a 75% discount, but if you buy the collection, the deals reaches 80%: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/15630/
• The Silent Age is 90% off: http://store.steampowered.com/app/352520/The_Silent_Age/

SOFTWARE

NVIDIA GeForce 391.01 WHQL driver is optimized Final Fantasy XV, PUBG, World of Tanks 1.0 & Vermintide 2
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/nvidia-geforce-391-01-whql-driver-is-optimized-final-fantasy-xv-pubg-world-of-tanks-1-0-vermintide-2/
NVIDIA has released a new driver for its graphics cards. According to the release notes, the NVIDIA GeForce 391.01 WHQL driver is optimized for Final Fantasy XV, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, World of Tanks 1.0 and Warhammer: Vermintide 2.

>>Download them from here.

MODS/EMULATORS

CEMU 1.11.5 is now available, improves audio, reduces compile time and RAM usage on NVIDIA GPUs
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/cemu-1-11-5-is-now-available-improves-audio-reduces-compile-time-and-ram-usage-on-nvidia-gpus/
The team behind the best WiiU emulator, CEMU, has released a brand new version of it that is currently available to its backers. This latest version improves audio, adds support for creating cubemap views into 2D array textures, adds support for more attribute formats and reduces compile time and RAM usage on NVIDIA GPUs.

Here are 12 minutes of gameplay footage for the Fallout 3 fan remake in Fallout 4, Capital Wasteland
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-12-minutes-of-gameplay-footage-for-the-fallout-3-fan-remake-in-fallout-4-capital-wasteland/
Road To Liberty, a group of Fallout modders, have released a new video showing 12 minutes of gameplay footage from their Fallout 3 remake in Fallout 4, Capital Wasteland. Road To Liberty aims rebuild the entire Capital Wasteland from Fallout 3 in Fallout 4, complete with quests, dialogues, and all locations.

GAMING NEWS

Final Fantasy XV demo is now available on the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/final-fantasy-xv-demo-is-now-available-on-the-pc/
As promised, Square Enix has released a demo for the PC version of Final Fantasy XV. This demo is 20GB in size and will feature the first Chapter and will allow players to fully explore the tutorial and opening quests of the game.

Ghost of a Tale releases on March 13th, gets new beautiful screenshots
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/ghost-of-a-tale-releases-on-march-13th-new-beautiful-screenshots-released/
Lionel ‘Seith’ Gallat has announced that Ghost of a Tale will be released on March 13th on GOG, Steam and Humble Bundle. In order to celebrate this announcement, its creator has also released a new set of screenshots that you can view below.

Elite Dangerous: Beyond – Chapter One is now available on the PC
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/elite-dangerous-beyond-chapter-one-is-now-available-on-the-pc/
Frontier Developments today launched Elite Dangerous: Beyond – Chapter One, the first free update of Elite Dangerous’ third season, for PC. According to the press release, Beyond will focus on bringing foundational changes to the core systems of Elite Dangerous and include new in-game content for Commanders to experience as they explore the massively multiplayer galaxy.

The Golf Club 2019 announced, first pre-alpha screenshots unveiled
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-golf-club-2019-announced-first-pre-alpha-screenshots-unveiled/
HB Studios today announced an exciting new title in their award-winning The Golf Club franchise with The Golf Club 2019 that will be launching later this year. The Golf Club 2019 is this year’s sequel to the highly rated The Golf Club 2 and comes with a whole host of new content and features across all aspects of the game, from single player to online play and the award-winning course designer, making it the deepest and most comprehensive golf game yet.

New gameplay trailer released for Battlezone: Combat Commander
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/new-gameplay-trailer-released-for-battlezone-combat-commander/
Rebellion have unveiled a brand new gameplay trailer for Battlezone: Combat Commander. The five-minute “What is Battlezone: Combat Commander?” video offers a thorough breakdown of the gameplay, features and modes included in the remastered PC strategy classic.

Tuesday news, part two:

Dark Souls 2's annual Return to Drangleic community event is underway
https://www.pcgamer.com/dark-souls-2s-annual-return-to-drangleic-community-event-is-underway/
In Dark Souls, first encounters are wonderful. Your first fight is exciting. Your first death is a lesson. Your first ragequit proves you are human. Travelling from Things Betwixt's dark cavernous walkways into Majula's sun-kissed sprawl for the first time remains one of my favourite things about Dark Souls 2—and while I can't relive my first steps, the annual Return to Drangleic community event asks players to start over.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 beta extended, 10,000 more keys available
https://www.pcgamer.com/warhammer-vermintide-2-beta-extended-10000-more-keys-available/
Fatshark held a closed beta for the upcoming co-op rat-battler Warhammer: Vermintide 2 over the weekend, and apparently it quite well. So well, in fact, that the studio has decided to extend it by another 24 hours, and is giving away keys to the first 10,000 people who ask for one.

CD Projekt touts Cyberpunk 2077 as a 'blockbuster franchise'
https://www.pcgamer.com/cd-projekt-touts-cyberpunk-2077-as-a-blockbuster-franchise/
"Cyberpunk is our new Witcher 3, but even more ambitious. Our goal is to establish a new blockbuster franchise from the beginning. We work [in a] new universe, futuristic universe. We believe it's very appealing to players, not only RPG players—but this is [a] true RPG, like Witcher, like Witcher 3, for mature audiences. It's handcrafted, detailed, of course open-world, with open-ended gameplay ," CD Projekt CEO Adam Kicinski says in the video.

>>Whatever it is, I hope they show it soon.

Bethesda is Metacritic's top-ranked major publisher for 2017
https://www.pcgamer.com/bethesda-is-metacritics-top-ranked-major-publisher-for-2017/
Review aggregate site Metacritic has published its 2017 list of game publisher rankings, a rundown of the year's top publishers based on average Metascores, weighted by the percentage of released that fall into great, good, and bad rating categories. This year's top "major" publisher is Bethesda Softworks, with an overall Metascore of 79.9 across 12 "distinct titles," enough to move it up from the mid-sized publisher rankings it led two years ago.

Rocket League announces WWE partnership
https://www.pcgamer.com/rocket-league-announces-wwe-partnership/
Rocket League has announced a partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment. The deal includes both in-game crossovers and real life sponsorship.
Having sided with everything from Back to the Future, to Casper the Friendly Ghost and DC Comics in the past, the WWE is in Badd good company.

Jetpacks are 'coming soon' to Fortnite
https://www.pcgamer.com/jetpacks-are-coming-soon-to-fortnite/
Think of a compromising situation, a worst-case-scenario type dealio. Got one? Okay, now add a jetpack into that mix. Better, right? If there's a circumstance that jetpacks can't make better I'm yet to hear it.
Fortnite understands this, which I imagine is why jetpacks are "coming soon" to its Battle Royale variation.

Yoku's Island Express is Sonic Spinball meets Studio Ghibli
https://www.pcgamer.com/yokus-island-express-is-sonic-spinball-meets-studio-ghibli/
If I have one criticism of Sonic Spinball, it's that it never spawned a sequel. At seven-and-a-half years old, the off-beat platformer/pinball hybrid blew my mind and was the first game I remember ditching primary school homework for. I regret nothing.

 People react quite positively to delays, right?
Didn't the No Man's Sky devs get death threats when they delayed their game.
Further threats when it became clear they should have delayed the game a year or two longer.

My understanding is that console versions require weeks or months before they are approved by the publishers and platform holders.
Potentially making it difficult to map out when a polished product can be delivered to the game's backers.
Now the Steam version of the game doesn't have this issue.

Gabe has made it Very clear that he doesn't like platform holders dictating when and how companies can interact with their fans / customers.
I'm sure we all know at least one downside to this, but whatever.
Steam having low latency publishing is pretty cool.

Keep in mind:
It takes time to publish to a console.
You need a stable enough version of the game to print a physical copy.
The developer / publisher had already done their marketing.
Crowd funding backers were expecting the game in a timely fashion.
The game's PC version Cannot come out after the console version (given the way the game was funded).
Warhorse is a small company, putting out their first game.

Delaying the game could have costed the developers more than a month of extra time in development.
That could've easily been the difference between the company's success and their bankruptcy.
Better management can only do so much.

Some people don't like delays, it's true, but only a very small minirity react the way you said. Most simply curse something and move on. And, as you also said, if the end product is good, the delays are forgotten, like the ones of that suffered The Witcher 3.

At the end of the day, there are a lot more people that dislike buggy/unoptimized games more than delays.

As for publishing a game and how long it takes, I'm no expert either, but the longest part of it seems to be at the beggining of the process, not the beginning. After all, we've heard a lot of times how a game has gone gold and then launched roughly a month after that. Besides, any delay during the development will only translate into a similar delay at launch, not more.

And better management means not getting involved into the development of one game that can bankrupt your company. To put it simple, it's the old "don't put all your eggs on the same basket" approach.

Am I the only one who is absolutely ecstatic that we are getting a sequel to Insurgency later this year?



Insurgency started out as a Half Life 2 mod and eventually became a fully blown game back in 2014. It took a while for it's community to get going, but once it did it became fairly popular, selling 3.9 million copies on Steam. It is one of the best games currently on Steam, finding a great balance between the over the top arcade experiences of Battlefield and Call of Duty, with the more realistic gameplay of tactical shooters and military simulators. That balance allows it to find a nice middle ground that I personally have not seen replicated in another shooter. Just enough tension to where you can't run and gun, but not so clunky, janky and "realistic" as to ruin the fun.

Insurgency: Sandstorm will bring big changes by moving from the outdated Source engine to the Unreal Engine 4. It will have new classes, new maps, and more game types and co-operative goodness. So far what we know is that major improvements to gameplay are being added, including a bigger focus on realism through reload mechanics and the ability to break down doors. For the first time, vehicles are also being added to the game. While I am personally a bit worried about how the game will be balanced around this accommodation, seeing as how series like Battlefield handle it, I am confident that the team will get it right. They did after all cancel an entire singleplayer campaign just to focus on what the fans actually came for: multiplayer goodness.







Right now the game is in alpha and it should be releasing later this year. I am a little disappointed to hear a planned campaign was being cancelled, as it actually sounded quite nice based on it's concept. I also hope the graphics improve a tad. But otherwise I'm so happy. It's funny, I am such a big fan of Insurgency 2014 that I can't believe it's taken me this long to hear about the sequel, which apparently has been known about on and off since as far back as 2016. I'm also glad I heard about this game, because I thought that the developers of Insurgency were working on Day of Infamy exclusively. And seeing as how that game has not sold well, and has had an even rougher start than Insurgency did originally, I was kind of worried that the hard work of some of the best modern shooter devs would go unnoticed and die off. But the unique gameplay that Insurgency and Day of Infamy are known for, is coming in a brand new package with a new engine and broader brand recognition, as it is releasing on all current platforms. This might also be the first time I actually play co-operative missions, seeing as how they look very detailed and they will probably even use left over stories and levels from the cancelled campaign. If you can't tell ... i'm very very very ... well, just consider me, happy :)

I was a little happy to hear of a new Insurgency , but then I noticed their shift towards multiplayer and that interest dropped like a rock.

What do you mean? That was what the original was about, too 

I'm not a big fan of FPS games (it's not that I don't like them, but I don't usually pay much attention to them), but that game looks good. A shame it's multiplayer only as I'm not interested in that .

Does the first game have single player or campaign?