[LBA Prequel] Demo Delayed...Shame On Us

[MBN Bot]

I know that many of you have been waiting a long time for the Prequel demo (maybe too long), and we greatly appreciate all the support and encouragement around the forums and via email over these past few weeks. Two months ago, I had given an estimation on a release date for the demo (November 1st). Someone asked for a date, and even if the date would have to be rescheduled later, I hoped that we would make it before that date. I’m not really sure why that date has been taken and announced as a deadline. To be clear, I am not trying to excuse myself, because I am also responsible for that delay. I just wanted you to know how came to that the date had been set and not kept.

It has not been kept because of one important reason: it was not possible to make the demo on time; we just overestimated our abilities, and underestimated the amount of work to do. Though there were several tasks at (or near) completion, there is still too much testing and other unanticipated issues that have come up over the past two weeks that have slowed us down considerably.

Because of the above reasons, we will not set the demo release date, simply because we are not able to estimate it at current point. We have discussed this, and have set a release date for our information only, but it serves as a guideline and schedule for the team itself. It will help us make the demo as fast as it is possible, but does not guarantee that we will manage to make everything on time. That’s why we will not say it publicly (and please, don’t ask for it). We will probably announce a date, but only when we are absolutely sure that we can make it and have completed all the necessary testing and packaging for release. I think the best answer we could give you at this point is that it is coming soon. Please understand that we are more disappointed than the community is that we have not been able to get this demo completed.

Also, please don’t think that we have given up on this project. On the contrary, we have been working harder than ever for the last couple of weeks, to be sure that we could meet the release date and put out a quality product. But that hard work was not enough, and we now see that it is not possible, and would not be possible, even if we worked harder. On the plus side, we managed to make really great progress during that time, so the demo will be made for sure. The progress is constant, but just a bit slow, especially given that many of us are at Uni and working full time :). We are committed to getting this demo out to the public. One benefit of this delay is the inclusion of several things we would not have been able to add with the November 1st deadline - including more character animations, more space to explore on the islands (which may now be fully functional and open, rather than closed off as in a traditional demo), more character models and layouts, and in general, a more full and robust demo, which is what this community really deserves. With the previous date, many of these ideas were simply pipe dreams that would have to be left on the cutting room floor.

We are very sorry to disappoint you at this time, and we hope that you won’t lose hope because of this slip-up. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience, and hope that you will continue to support us as we continue work on this game.


The LBA Prequel Team

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[Lightwing]

Gluck to all y'all!

[SebZ]

JJ - sorry for all this too. SC is just working me to the bone - literally!
Should have some things ready for you tomorrow possibly.

[Double-J]

No worries, but the sooner you can work on that, the sooner we can get the demo out!

For shizzle, we crave your models...

[xesf]

I can assure because of this announcement for 1st November we made a great progress and will try to keep the workflow as it is at the moment. Also keep checking the Blog for more updates.