Dawn of Andromeda - new space 4x game announced by Iceberg Interactive

[tgb]

In fairness to Iceberg, they do occasionally pick a winner (Endless Space/Endless Legend)

[Anguille]

In fairness to Iceberg, they do occasionally pick a winner (Endless Space/Endless Legend)

Armada 2526 and Oriental Empires are also winners.

Imho, they just publish as much as they can and invest in marketing.

[Grim.Reaper]

In fairness to Iceberg, they do occasionally pick a winner (Endless Space/Endless Legend)

Armada 2526 and Oriental Empires are also winners.

Imho, they just publish as much as they can and invest in marketing.

Might be a little early to call oriental empire a winner since hasn't been released:)

[Anguille]

In fairness to Iceberg, they do occasionally pick a winner (Endless Space/Endless Legend)

Armada 2526 and Oriental Empires are also winners.

Imho, they just publish as much as they can and invest in marketing.

Might be a little early to call oriental empire a winner since hasn't been released:)

Maybe ;)

I have to say that i have no doubts that it's going to be winner, based on the track record from Bob T. Smith and how i perceive him as extremely Professional.

[Martok]

What have some of their clunkers been?  I recall a couple good titles from them, but that may have been 10 years ago...

StarDrive, Lords of the Black Sun, Gemini Wars, Sol Exodus, Horizon, etc.

Yeah, about that...
This exchange in 4x dedicated subreddit seems interesting:
https://www.reddit.com/r/4Xgaming/comments/4429dh/dawn_of_andromeda_announced_yet_another_space_4x/czn50gm

Yeah, I realized after I'd put up the thread that the name Mike Domingus (or whatever it is) looked/sounded familiar to me.  It took me only a few seconds to remember why.  :-\ 

I'll still try to keep an open mind with this one, but am now extremely skeptical. 

In fairness to Iceberg, they do occasionally pick a winner (Endless Space/Endless Legend)

Armada 2526 and Oriental Empires are also winners.

Imho, they just publish as much as they can and invest in marketing.

Might be a little early to call oriental empire a winner since hasn't been released:)

Maybe ;)

I have to say that i have no doubts that it's going to be winner, based on the track record from Bob T. Smith and how i perceive him as extremely Professional.

Agreed.  While Armada 2526 wasn't a perfect game and isn't for everyone, it did benefit from a solid design, decent AI, and a developer who's good at avoiding "feature creep". 

Give that, combined with Smith's experience working on the Total War franchise, I'm confident Oriental Empires will turn out well. 

[Anguille]

Some new info:

Like for Oriental Empires, Iceberg has decided to change it's approach. I think it's better like this.

Development studio Grey Wolf Entertainment and publisher Iceberg Interactive have reassessed their development strategy and, after much analysis, have chosen to continue the Dawn of Andromeda development process in a controlled closed beta program, instead of the initially planned Steam Early Access process.

The closed beta program will enable a fixed-sized and fully controllable environment, where feedback is more manageable and easier to digest for the relatively small indie team. The beta program will consist of several different phases/waves, introducing a fixed number of new players to the beta program at different development points. Once the closed beta program for Dawn of Andromeda is complete, the title will be launched as a solid and finished product on Steam.

More information about the closed Beta program and application process will be revealed later this month.

http://steamcommunity.com/games/427570/announcements/detail/604980990738365064

[Martok]

I think it's better like this.

I disagree. 


Don't get me wrong, I think I understand why Iceberg is doing this, and I don't blame them:  Developers & publishers have woken up to the realization that Early Access isn't necessarily appropriate for every new game.  And as a matter of practicality, I suspect it's a lot easier for Iceberg to simply yank all their upcoming releases from EA, as opposed to some titles and not others. 

That being said...  I think that Dawn of Andromeda should've remained in Early Access, as that would've helped shine as bright a light on it as possible.  Given developer Mike Domingus' prior history (the poorly-received Lords of the Black Sun, and the general impression that he Steve-Miller'ed his way out of that quagmire), the more transparency with this new game, the better. 

[FarAway Sooner]

Technically, Martok, it was Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue who took the money and ran.  Steve Miller was just telling their story...

:)

[Anguille]

I think it's better like this.

I disagree. 


Don't get me wrong, I think I understand why Iceberg is doing this, and I don't blame them:  Developers & publishers have woken up to the realization that Early Access isn't necessarily appropriate for every new game.  And as a matter of practicality, I suspect it's a lot easier for Iceberg to simply yank all their upcoming releases from EA, as opposed to some titles and not others. 

That being said...  I think that Dawn of Andromeda should've remained in Early Access, as that would've helped shine as bright a light on it as possible.  Given developer Mike Domingus' prior history (the poorly-received Lords of the Black Sun, and the general impression that he Steve-Miller'ed his way out of that quagmire), the more transparency with this new game, the better.

Maybe. I don't have a strong opinion about it...will you try to be part of the beta?

[Surtur]

Hi all,

The reason for not doing EA on Dawn of Andromeda is quite similar to the one for Oriental Empires. After many discussions, we concluded that the team is simply too small to deal with Early Access. They want to focus on developing the game and making it bug-free, instead of being forced to divert time to post updates and roadmaps and manage a large steam community. We are very much devoted to make this a great game that has its own inque place between all the 4X games.

I would also like to point out that Mike learned a lot from his first project and has chosen a much better set of tools to complete Dawn of Andromeda.

[Martok]

Technically, Martok, it was Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue who took the money and ran.  Steve Miller was just telling their story...

:)

True, but "Steve-Miller'ed" had a better ring to it (at least to my ears).  :P 

will you try to be part of the beta?

I would certainly like to, but in all honesty I know I likely wouldn't be a meaningful/worthwhile contributor even if I applied to the beta and was accepted.  I too often lack both the time and (especially) energy to be a regular beta-tester, even in games in which I have a high degree of interest -- much less games in which I have only a mild interest.  (Exhibit A:  You'll note I've not signed up for the Oriental Empires beta, even though it's one of my top three most-anticipated games this year.)  Sigh. 

The reason for not doing EA on Dawn of Andromeda is quite similar to the one for Oriental Empires. After many discussions, we concluded that the team is simply too small to deal with Early Access. They want to focus on developing the game and making it bug-free, instead of being forced to divert time to post updates and roadmaps and manage a large steam community. We are very much devoted to make this a great game that has its own inque place between all the 4X games. 

Fair point, Surtur.  I still can't say I'm precisely happy about the decision, but I can understand the reasons for it readily enough. 

I would also like to point out that Mike learned a lot from his first project and has chosen a much better set of tools to complete Dawn of Andromeda.

Glad to hear it.  May it bear out better results this time around. 

[Anguille]

Hi all,

The reason for not doing EA on Dawn of Andromeda is quite similar to the one for Oriental Empires. After many discussions, we concluded that the team is simply too small to deal with Early Access. They want to focus on developing the game and making it bug-free, instead of being forced to divert time to post updates and roadmaps and manage a large steam community. We are very much devoted to make this a great game that has its own inque place between all the 4X games.

I would also like to point out that Mike learned a lot from his first project and has chosen a much better set of tools to complete Dawn of Andromeda.

Do you have any news? On steam it says release september...can you confirm it's still the target?

Thanks

[Anguille]

Looks like the game is about to get into EA very very soon.

The game looks much better than what i expected and it seems the beta was beneficial after all.  :bd:

EDIT: seems he shouldn't have posted the video yet. A video from the live Stream should come up soon and i'll repost that one.

[Anguille]

https://www.twitch.tv/iceberg_interactive/v/101617376

[Anguille]

It's on youtube now.

Will post the video by 4explorminate as soon as it's public again.