It is my opinion that the GWX4 team's "silent running" approach is responsible for at least some of the low take up of SH4 (ATO - I'm *not* talking PTO here).
I mean, how many people have said "I'll wait for GWX4 before playing SH4"? If the subsim forums are anything to go by, quite a few. Me included.
Rather than engaging the community and "bringing them along for the ride" with regular communication, thus engendering both new ideas and a larger user base for the game to thrive on (let's be frank, had they done this I feel that *many* more people would be playing SH4 ATO now in anticipation), they introduced an element of trepedation and tentativeness - "should I, shouldn't I, maybe I should wait? Is development still going ahead?". Add to this the "we've finished working on GWX3, it's now GWX4 full steam ahead!" announcement only to be followed months later with a patch for GWX3 plus GWX3 mods from GWX4 team members, it's no wonder that players get confused, especially in the absence of effective communication.
I guess the expectation was that everyone would drop SH3 and take up SH4 as soon as GWX4 was released. Unfortunately though, apart from some obvious support issues with this approach, it's now unlikely that hordes of players will move from the comfortable, familiar and stable SH3/GWX environment to SH4/GWX4 when hopefully (and this is *no* slight on the GWX team) the far superior SH5 is just around the corner (my optimism is showing). I intend sticking with SH3/GWX3 until SH5 comes out, as learning SH4 now and having the hassle of iterations of GWX4 patches and bug fixes (my pragmatic side showing) is not worth it for what may be a period of less than 12 months. Especially when I know I will have to go through it all again with SH5.
Of course, I'm sure even the GWX team was not aware of the pending Ubisoft decision to move forward with SH5 development. To this end, Adriatico, I don't think any criticism can be levelled at the GWX team for timing. Hindsight has the great benefit of being 20/20. Unfortunate though, yes. Of GWX's doing, only partially. The only real comment around timing is whether the team should continue with full development or rescope now that SH5 has been officially announced. I guess Lehmann will have to consider the return on investment and make a decision. It would be a shame on various levels if GWX4 completely died though, but then, frankly, as the saying goes: "if a tree falls in the woods and no-one hears it, does it make a sound?". This is a very poignant point to dwell on, especially for those modders who have spent months in isolation, exclusion, and silence working on something that no-one really knows about, and may not get enough time to fully appreciate. Cold hard reality, and to this end sympathetic with your third para, Adriatico.
In any event, Lehmann needs to announce his intentions either way so that people who have been swaying can make a decision now, rather than stay in limbo. Regardless of what anyone may think, the announcement of SH5 far trumps GWX4, and as the SH5 announcement raises some very obvious and relevant questions for GWX4 followers, Lehmann has a responsibility to answer them. I'm sure if pride or a fear of failure is a concern for pulling the plug or rescoping to a more realistic/modest level, players will understand and won't mind at least if a clear decision is announced. Stubbornness though, is another matter.
Now let me stress, as I am mindful of the demonstrated defensiveness that occurs whenever something critical is said of GWX, I am not raising this to inflame, but raising it as hopefully something for *anyone* considering building a "supermod" for SH5 to ponder. Lehmann knows full well my views on successful marketing, so hopefully he will see this as constructive feedback rather than an attempt to incite a flamewar. Conversely, I'm not "backhanding" the work of the numerous modders that have made an attempt on SH4 ATO; reality is though that GWX3 has a huge fanbase and with the GWX4 carrot doing nothing more than dangling in the air, players will want to wait for a brand that has already gained a deserved reputation.
|