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General discussionThe developer of Startup company abandons the development of the game in gog(83 posts)(83 posts)
(83 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 17, 2018
"Early Access done wrong"
Posted April 17, 2018
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Pheace: "Early Access done wrong"
The developer does not abandon the development of the game. The developer abandons gog theoretically because it is not a platform that is giving him facilities (I say theoretically because both the developer and gog.com will have their own version).

It is not an early asces abandons, but it is another developer abandoning the platform
Posted April 17, 2018
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Crosmando: I'm pretty sure GOG's QA process is just scanning it for viruses.
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kohlrak: I've been told by a dev that it's more than just that. They actually have a process for rejection due to bugs, too. So, i'm guessing there is actually playtesting to some degree, but i'm not sure how involved it is.
Even so, if you're going to release a game on GOG, you should be prepared to support it no matter what. In fact, it's bewildering that GOG do not have some kind of written legal contract with devs which says that when a dev puts a game on GOG, they must keep it updated.
Posted April 17, 2018
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Pheace: "Early Access done wrong"
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boztix: The developer does not abandon the development of the game. The developer abandons gog theoretically because it is not a platform that is giving him facilities (I say theoretically because both the developer and gog.com will have their own version).

It is not an early asces abandons, but it is another developer abandoning the platform
The game is "in development", therefore incomplete. People didn't buy a game, they invested in development of an idea. Thin air with flashing lights.

Distributing through several outlets is more coordination than for just one. Sounds like the developer bit off more than the developer could chew at one time. If the updates the developer submits aren't even bug free, then scaling back seems like a reasonable response to me.

AFAIC, this has nothing to do with GOG or Steam or any other outlet. The developer is simply learning the ropes. The people who invested in thin air got it. It seems to me that's just what happens with life and dreams, reality and ideas.
Posted April 17, 2018
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kohlrak: I've been told by a dev that it's more than just that. They actually have a process for rejection due to bugs, too. So, i'm guessing there is actually playtesting to some degree, but i'm not sure how involved it is.
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Crosmando: Even so, if you're going to release a game on GOG, you should be prepared to support it no matter what. In fact, it's bewildering that GOG do not have some kind of written legal contract with devs which says that when a dev puts a game on GOG, they must keep it updated.
I've often wondered about this, as well. It shouldn't be that difficult to get a binder so that if a developer puts a game on GOG, they have to support it here.
Posted April 17, 2018
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Crosmando: Even so, if you're going to release a game on GOG, you should be prepared to support it no matter what. In fact, it's bewildering that GOG do not have some kind of written legal contract with devs which says that when a dev puts a game on GOG, they must keep it updated.
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CymTyr: I've often wondered about this, as well. It shouldn't be that difficult to get a binder so that if a developer puts a game on GOG, they have to support it here.
"...Until death do you part!"
Posted April 17, 2018
high rated
And yet, no matter how many games get abandoned, people still refuse to learn a lesson about buying unfinished products.
Posted April 17, 2018
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Breja: And yet, no matter how many games get abandoned, people still refuse to learn a lesson about buying unfinished products.
QFT
Posted April 17, 2018
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kohlrak: I've been told by a dev that it's more than just that. They actually have a process for rejection due to bugs, too. So, i'm guessing there is actually playtesting to some degree, but i'm not sure how involved it is.
So, what exactly did that dev tell you, what steps are there exactly? Or was he just that vague? And how fresh was his experience with GOG anyway, was it e.g. from years ago?

Elsewhere it has been said that GOG has a process in place where a developer can upload updates to the Galaxy version on their own. Whether that is available only for selected developers at the moment, I don't know. The playtesting you mention is most probably related to only classic GOG games where GOG does part of the "development" (ie. making it run on modern systems). I have hard time believing GOG staff would make similar playtesting to e.g. in-dev indie games, like Startup Company.

I'd really like to hear some concrete examples, not just vague whining from some developers. What exactly is GOG expecting the developer to do, why so many other developers don't seem to have similar problems but constantly release updates on the GOG versions, etc.?

The most concrete complaint I remember hearing here on the forum (quote from some developer) has been that GOG was slow responding to their messages. That naturally is something that GOG should fix then, if it was the real problem an update didn't appear on GOG.

Anyway, let's hope that some tangible confirmation is received about this (e.g. a tweet by the developer where he says that), so that game can be included in this list:

https://www.gog.com/mix/games_that_treat_gog_customers_as_second_class_citizens

I always check that list when I am thinking of buying some new-ish game on GOG. Luckily that list doesn't change that often so I almost remember all the games in it by heart, and it is not like I care for all the "issues" either (like the GOG version not having German or Linux support, or missing multiplayer, is usually not an issue for me).
Post edited April 17, 2018 by timppu
Posted April 17, 2018
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Breja: And yet, no matter how many games get abandoned, people still refuse to learn a lesson about buying unfinished products.
as pointed out above you - people do not buy unfinished products, but support development of one. the risk is always that the development may stop, but people who do this are aware of this risk., and I see no reason why they should not do so if they want.


On topic. In any case, the development here is not abandoned, gOg will just not be updated for now. There is no reason i can see that the final game, or more later, perhaps less frequent updates, will not show up here.
Posted April 17, 2018
deleted
Post edited April 17, 2018 by Fairfox
Posted April 17, 2018
I've tweeted the Dev, hopefully he'll pop on and put his view across
Posted April 17, 2018
At least the dev is decent enough to offer Steam keys when abandoning the version on GoG. Most of those who treat GoG customers like second class customers doesnt' even offer keys to Steam, they just give GoG customers the finger.

Still, it's a shame.
Posted April 17, 2018
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Fairfox: yah jaded with gog (dev) support to a degree. dont really care what devvies reasons are if teh perception for 'em is it aint worth their tiem; its still users taht miss out, ultimate lee, whatevah teh reason. still, when a gamie is here its crummy fooor devs to abandon users; they paid for a product same as steam or anywhere else, liek.

even if you dont support 'in dev' titles most tiemz thars additional bug-fixes an'/or extra content down teh line, so even buyin' a game after teh fact is no guarantee. i mean sho' finished kinda, buuut still missin' thangs later
Yep. Though, movies and television shows sometimes have continuity issues. Like extra people in the background wearing or missing something during the same scene for the main actors in the foreground. Or shirt stains or smudges on cheeks not being the same. Or people pronouncing words from the script, by the way a word looks, rather than how it's heard. I've not known anything like that get updated.

Oh, and books have misspellings or words missing. No matter how many corrections get made in later editions, there's always the others I find that they missed.

Maybe I'm too old to think such things as imperfections. If I get the gist, then that's fine by me.
Posted April 17, 2018
high rated
Hi everyone,

I'm the developer of Startup Company.

First, I would like to point out that I have been very happy with GOG. They have been very helpful and replying super fast. As a developer I have had nothing to complain about. I did indeed experience slow replies, but only related to the cancellation of my contract.

After releasing on GOG, I started getting complains and even refund requests because of missing achievements, workshop/mod support, cloud save and so on.

Adding these GOG features to SC is indeed possible, but it would require a playerbase to cover the expenses. This has unfortunately not been the case.

Combined with the added workload of supporting 2 platforms instead of 1, I decided that my players would be left off better with me focusing entirely on Steam.

I want to make it clear that I believe GOG is awesome and the staff has been doing a fantastic job.

I'm going to make an official announcement on the SC forums once everything is in order.

I will provide a free Steam key for all GOG users who has purchased Startup Company. I will also offer a DRM-free version on request for all mayor releases.

Startup Company is still very actively in development and I'm working around the clock pushing out new content. I am not abandoning the game and will never do.

I hope this clear things out :-)

All the best,
Jonas
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionThe developer of Startup company abandons the development of the game in gog(83 posts)(83 posts)
(83 posts)