Don Bradman Cricket 14 PC PLAYABLE NOW!

[KingPair]

If the game is not fit for release, I think it's better than releasing an unfinished product. There must be some logic behind this decision, and Big Ant know best.

 

[isrararrafi]

Well, the jokes on them now, isn't it? The game does look promising and I'm itching to buy it like others but I can wait. I just don't like getting false release date promises and getting hopes crushed.

If they were ready to release in October and it wasn't rushed, then why the hold up in releasing it now? What exactly is the think tank thinking?

It has been explained about 200 times in here. Please read up if you want to. Whether you consider their reason to be valid is up to you, but they explained the challenges they faced in getting the game out pretty extensively.

 

[cricket_online]

Well, the jokes on them now, isn't it? The game does look promising and I'm itching to buy it like others but I can wait. I just don't like getting false release date promises and getting hopes crushed.

If they were ready to release in October and it wasn't rushed, then why the hold up in releasing it now? What exactly is the think tank thinking?

Logistics issues pertaining to getting global retailers and distributors, especially the UK ones, on board.

 

[clay shaw]

What a surprise.

 

[dvst8]

My post history is 90% based on posts from August trying to put my concerns across as a consumer and how they relate to the refusal of a release date. I pushed and pushed (to the obvious chagrin of other members here) until I got this post from Ross.

There is no question of our game coming next year. none. nil. nada.

It will be this year at a time of our choosing. The date has not been chosen.

Permalink

I think it's worth mentioning that I didn't push for an understanding of a release date for no reason at all - I was (and still am) sceptical about Big Ant as an entity because it's something I've never heard of nor dealt with. I've dealt with BioWare, I've dealt with Dice, I've dealt with Bethesda. They have earned my trust by releasing excellent content, but also by being accountable and straightforward (in advance) when there has been an issue. Games have problems, it's natural. That's not the point though.

I pushed for a promise or a definitive comment on the release date all those months ago because Big Ant doesn't have the same familiarity with me that those guys do. I read the above post and took it at face value, and the tone and wording of it could reasonably have been confused for a promise of sorts. I didn't push and push because I like antagonising those in question, I did it because Big Ant needs to earn my trust. Regrettably, the shifting of the goalposts in this case has harmed that somewhat. Now promises about potential DLC and (more importantly) bug patches aren't going to carry weight for me anymore until time hopefully proves that this event was just an unfortunate occurrence. Does 'this feature works fine' mean it does or it doesn't? Does 'this patch is scheduled for release in June' actually mean June or September? Does 'this game will be ?40' mean it will be ?40 or ?55?

On the face of the evidence I've got so far, considering buying DBC 14 now feels to me like something of a risk. A risk similar to Ashes Cricket 2014, a risk similar to the more experimental features on GTA V.

 

[Snowy]

Yeh and that post was made before AC13 released their game.

Unfortunately, things changed due to circumstances out of Big Ant's control.

 

[Langeveldt]

My post history is 90% based on posts from August trying to put my concerns across as a consumer and how they relate to the refusal of a release date. I pushed and pushed (to the obvious chagrin of other members here) until I got this post from Ross.



Permalink

I think it's worth mentioning that I didn't push for an understanding of a release date for no reason at all - I was (and still am) sceptical about Big Ant as an entity because it's something I've never heard of nor dealt with. I've dealt with BioWare, I've dealt with Dice, I've dealt with Bethesda. They have earned my trust by releasing excellent content, but also by being accountable and straightforward (in advance) when there has been an issue. Games have problems, it's natural. That's not the point though.

I pushed for a promise or a definitive comment on the release date all those months ago because Big Ant doesn't have the same familiarity with me that those guys do. I read the above post and took it at face value, and the tone and wording of it could reasonably have been confused for a promise of sorts. I didn't push and push because I like antagonising those in question, I did it because Big Ant needs to earn my trust. Regrettably, the shifting of the goalposts in this case has harmed that somewhat. Now promises about potential DLC and (more importantly) bug patches aren't going to carry weight for me anymore until time hopefully proves that this event was just an unfortunate occurrence. Does 'this feature works fine' mean it does or it doesn't? Does 'this patch is scheduled for release in June' actually mean June or September? Does 'this game will be ?40' mean it will be ?40 or ?55?

On the face of the evidence I've got so far, considering buying DBC 14 now feels to me like something of a risk. A risk similar to Ashes Cricket 2014, a risk similar to the more experimental features on GTA V.

I think Ross has admitted he was a bit too forthcoming in getting our hopes up.

I too am a skeptic, I care about what's going on on my computer, how products that have been released and that I've paid for perform.. Talk is cheap, and that comes as a minnow who buys games or as a game developer. Take a look at some of the bullshit EA and Maxis trotted out regarding the latest SimCity. EA make Mike Fagan look like a visionary, an intellect, the Steve Jobs of his field.

So yeah I don't fully trust what a company I've never heard of, or some guys who represent them who I have never met, tell me on a forum. I know this also makes absolutely no difference to whether at the end of the day (or year!) I get an enjoyable product or not.

However, they have released today a basic net demo which has given me more enjoyment than any full cricket game ever. This is doing its thing on my hard drive right now. It's released as a quality product, in the bank so to speak. So credit where it is due, what I have seen so far has been absolutely fantastic..

 

[dvst8]

Yeh and that post was made before AC13 released their game.

Unfortunately, things changed due to circumstances out of Big Ant's control.

It's arguable whether or not a Trickstar release is going to affect this game at all. They seem to be doing a mighty fine job of wrecking their own brand, they don't need a rival game in the vicinity to do that. The post-launch 'cancellation' of that game has turned up in some major journalistic arenas recently.

Eventually, you will earn a bad reputation by following the likes of them (and other developers like the one who made a total hash of WarZ/Survivor Stories). People will know you by name and know to stay away.

I think Ross has admitted he was a bit too forthcoming in getting our hopes up.

I too am a skeptic, I care about what's going on on my computer, how products that have been released and that I've paid for perform.. Talk is cheap, and that comes as a minnow who buys games or as a game developer. Take a look at some of the bullshit EA and Maxis trotted out regarding the latest SimCity. EA make Mike Fagan look like a visionary, an intellect, the Steve Jobs of his field.

So yeah I don't fully trust what a company I've never heard of, or some guys who represent them who I have never met, tell me on a forum. I know this also makes absolutely no difference to whether at the end of the day (or year!) I get an enjoyable product or not.

However, they have released today a basic net demo which has given me more enjoyment than any full cricket game ever. This is doing its thing on my hard drive right now. It's released as a quality product, in the bank so to speak. So credit where it is due, what I have seen so far has been absolutely fantastic..

Reasonable. I hope the demo turns out well, you'll have to let me know how you get on with it. The response here so far has been pretty positive.

 

[Snowy]

Comparing the 'risk factor' of any game to Ashes Cricket 13 is incredibly disingenuous.

Neither of the games you mentioned went missing for 2 months prior to the eventual release, with no information on the final state of gameplay - written or visually.

 

[Langeveldt]

It's arguable whether or not a Trickstar release is going to affect this game at all. They seem to be doing a mighty fine job of wrecking their own brand, they don't need a rival game in the vicinity to do that. The post-launch 'cancellation' of that game has turned up in some major journalistic arenas recently.

Eventually, you will earn a bad reputation by following the likes of them (and other developers like the one who made a total hash of WarZ/Survivor Stories). People will know you by name and know to stay away.

Definitely, but I hope the sheer quality of this quality (if the nets are anything to go by) will out in the long run. The kind of people who can't tell the difference between DBC14 and AC13, are the kind of people who will return DB14 anyway because they didn't realize it needs a controller.

It sounds like they still wanted to release after AC13, but some distributors, particularly at this difficult time of year, have let them down.

 

[Biggs]

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Oh and... Anyone claiming to have "predicted this" or bragging they were right ages ago or whatever, congrats. You're a douchebag.

Nobody cares.

I love me.

 

[BigAntStudios]

Definitely, but I hope the sheer quality of this quality (if the nets are anything to go by) will out in the long run. The kind of people who can't tell the difference between DBC14 and AC13, are the kind of people who will return DB14 anyway because they didn't realize it needs a controller.

It sounds like they still wanted to release after AC13, but some distributors, particularly at this difficult time of year, have let them down.

The fact of the matter is that I've always shown quality and growth in the product, it speaks for itself. The build shown at the premiere was fit for shipping.

You can agree or disagree about release strategy but it is patently obvious for all to see that the release date is not tied to the quality of the game, it is purely in the commercial domain and is about maximising the return on many hard years of work and the funds invested to date.

Making DBC14 a commercial success is in the interest of everyone here and that is my goal.

 

[TripleM]

My post history is 90% based on posts from August..

I've dealt with BioWare, I've dealt with Dice, I've dealt with Bethesda. They have earned my trust by releasing excellent content, but also by being accountable and straightforward (in advance) when there has been an issue.
..
On the face of the evidence I've got so far, considering buying DBC 14 now feels to me like something of a risk.

All I can imagine is that you have simply not read any of Ross' posts since Ashes was released. The instant it was released and discovered to be a shambles, he immediately posted that this could affect their game. He said why it would affect their game, and kept us regularly informed as to what was involved with getting the game out in 2013; why there was a chance this would no longer happen; and how even days before the delay was announced he was still pushing for a 2013 release.

I've never seen any company be that accountable and straightforward, and based on that evidence buying DBC 14 is going to be less risk to me than buying any Bethesda product.

 

[dvst8]

Comparing the 'risk factor' of any game to Ashes Cricket 13 is incredibly disingenuous.

Neither of the games you mentioned went missing for 2 months prior to the eventual release, with no information on the final state of gameplay - written or visually.

I'm operating on a 'white/grey/black' scale for this scenario. Either we're on time and everything's great (which I concede is reserved for the AAA guys who have people on standby for any possible nuance and implication, and probably the game was completed months in advance anyway), we're in to greys where one thing or another holds us up (Microsoft, shipping, a day zero bug) or black where a promise or statement has not been followed through.

I've put the two together as a somewhat broad-sighted example, but it still stands because a release date was promised but hasn't been acted on. This is actually true, and we've now gone from a timeframe of four months (from that post until the end of the year) to a full year ("2014"). That's more than two months, and it's somewhat less clear than before.

Sure, Ross is no Mike Fegan, but neither scenario is particularly acceptable in a consumer environment (discussion, review sites, etc) that has been refined to push businesses in to improving their products.

Definitely, but I hope the sheer quality of this quality (if the nets are anything to go by) will out in the long run. The kind of people who can't tell the difference between DBC14 and AC13, are the kind of people who will return DB14 anyway because they didn't realize it needs a controller.

It sounds like they still wanted to release after AC13, but some distributors, particularly at this difficult time of year, have let them down.

In the long run, I may be wrong about all of this. Potentially this is the last negative thing I have to say about Big Ant. But I don't know, none of us do. That's the case for any game, but you can make the right start and you can also make the wrong one.

The distributors reason seems decent enough, but who knows how true that is (or the urgency of the issue if so)? Perhaps it's not a two-and-a-bit-weeks thing (when 2014 starts) but a March/April thing? Perhaps beyond that, even.

 

[BigAntStudios]

On the face of the evidence I've got so far, considering buying DBC 14 now feels to me like something of a risk. A risk similar to Ashes Cricket 2014, a risk similar to the more experimental features on GTA V.

Well it was actually Ashes 2013... and I love what they have done with GTAV, so anyway, based on the "evidence" you have given, I would suggest that if you cannot tell the difference between Ashes 2013 and DBC14, nor can tell the difference between our companies, please do not take the risk, do not buy the game, and on that basis I guess you don't need to post in this area of the forum anymore? Right?

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The distributors reason seems decent enough, but who knows how true that is (or the urgency of the issue if so)? Perhaps it's not a two-and-a-bit-weeks thing (when 2014 starts) but a March/April thing? Perhaps beyond that, even.

Yeah, thanks. I'm a liar too. Don't let the door hit you....