Is the game ready for release?

Rick Sanchez

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2016
51
48
I posted this video on Reddit, and most of the commenters were pointing out that the game doesn't look ready for release, unless it's an early access.

What do you think?
 

SmokeRulz

Where there is smoke, there is fire!
Backers' Beta Tester
Feb 3, 2016
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Remember that this is just the most recent beta build and is not reflective of the upcoming game, so obviously there's elements in it that aren't done. If you go back and look at the trailer Mane6 just put out a few days ago, it's actually more polished than the beta. The beta also doesn't have the announcer or most of the modes ready. The current developer build being set for the 22nd release is certainly close to done.

Feel free to point all this out to Reddit, if you'd like.
 

Rick Sanchez

Well-Known Member
Feb 3, 2016
51
48
I pointed it out, and they responded saying that the game needs more work than can be done in a few days, and that they'd be less concerned if it was from last year instead of the most recent one.
 

SmokeRulz

Where there is smoke, there is fire!
Backers' Beta Tester
Feb 3, 2016
356
525
I pointed it out, and they responded saying that the game needs more work than can be done in a few days, and that they'd be less concerned if it was from last year instead of the most recent one.
The thing is, just because that's the most recent beta patch does not necessarily mean that it's exactly what the game was like at the very moment the beta was patched. I've always figured that the development build is further ahead than the one they're letting the beta players test out. Even so, the beta build is rather developed gameplay-wise, aside from occasional tweaks and bug fixes. It's mainly the animation work that isn't done yet (at least in the version WE have; the official trailer looks more finished in that regard), and obviously some voice acting is likely still missing. If these people are looking at some placeholder animations and automatically assuming the entire game is not ready for release, then they're rather incorrect.
 

Someoneman

Crowdfund Backer
Crowdfund Backer
Feb 3, 2016
77
170
I pointed it out, and they responded saying that the game needs more work than can be done in a few days, and that they'd be less concerned if it was from last year instead of the most recent one.
They probably have a bunch of major improvements such as missing animation frames and level 3 supers saved up for the full release. Mane6 don't need to add everything to the beta immediately after it's finished.

EDIT: Staff member CamTSB liked this post so I'll assume my guess is right.
 
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edzepp

Backers' Beta Tester
Backers' Beta Tester
May 26, 2017
27
44
Yeah, I do have some reservations about the beta sometimes (SOMETIMES!), but I understand that the beta does not necessarily reflect what the final game will be like. Likely it's just a test of mechanics, bug fixes and other nitty-gritty stuff. I doubt the devs would be promising all the features in their YouTube description if they weren't ready to go in a few weeks time.
 
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Alevgor

Canis Imaginatus
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Feb 3, 2016
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People are simply worried because ATM there's no way of judging the state of the game except beta footage (and trailer). They just need to wait for few days and see themselves, if the game is ready or not.
 

gatorafan

HOLAS: (tm)
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People are simply worried because ATM there's no way of judging the state of the game except beta footage (and trailer). They just need to wait for few days and see themselves, if the game is ready or not.
To add to this, the people who are worried about this have to wait to release, but by the time the game releases it will be to late to ask if the game was ready for it, since the answer will be obvious for (mostly) everyone.
 

edzepp

Backers' Beta Tester
Backers' Beta Tester
May 26, 2017
27
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Another thing to note is that they have a publisher now, so there has to be some accountability there. There's money involved. I don't think there's any reason for Humble Bundle to sign off on a release date with the Mane 6 guys if they weren't confident that it would be up and running. I'm sure there have been progress meetings and so on. If they really weren't confident, they could (and should) reschedule the date, but so far there's no indication that's happening.

And again, there's really no good reason to advertise all the features they have if they don't have them. That would land them in a heap of trouble.
 

Mage

A Normal Person
Feb 26, 2017
121
472
Oblivion
Unfortunately OP's worries were right, it seems. The 0.95 release is essentially a glorified beta, although it seems like the missing content will be coming in a couple of days.
I will confess I was incorrect when I said the game wouldn't feel like an early access. It's far along, sure, but there are a lot of quirks and missing art assets that you wouldn't see in a finished game. In short, it's a bit more unfinished than I expected.
 

LeoEmpire

Backers' Beta Tester
Backers' Beta Tester
Feb 3, 2016
11
10
Man, I really hate to say this, but I think we should keep this in early access for the time being. I really want this game to flourish and for you guys to take off, but in it's current form I'm concerned some of the presentation elements will scare off the casual players.

These things need to be addressed because it's jarring when they occur and make the game look unfinished:
- Cardboard/Placeholder Arizona: there can't be any; it's more acceptable for a beta or early access for QA purposes but they have no business being in the final version
- Intro/Victory Animations: some characters have mouth flaps that don't fit the spoken lines at all, I would honestly forget about the mouth flaps completely and just have them do some kind of pose (Skullgirls and KoFXIII do this and it's fine); I think just having off mouth flaps is a lot more distracting than no mouth flaps at all
- Pretadors: they need some kind of sound, even just stock animal growls like Pom's puppies
- Animated BG Characters: There are elements of the background which look nice but the ones that should move the most don't, even just simple SFII animations would be better than the still images that are present now

I'm also concerned about a lack of some kind of tutorial for players that are brand new to fighters, they're kind of left with nothing and these days that's not good. I know Trials are planned but there's so much more that can be done: Skullgirls has some good exercises to look at, KI's dojo is great, Guilty Gear Xrd has a nice FAQ with some decent tips for what and how to practice (possibly the easiest to implement), this is an older example but VF4 Evolution had an amazing tutorial; I'm sure with this game many many of the TFH players are going to be first time fighting game players. While presentation is more important for getting casuals in the door of this game, having a robust tutorial will keep them engaged and potentially interested in future fighting games.

I just want to say finally I'm not saying this to be mean at all, I just really want this game to do well but I'm really nervous right now with the state the game is in currently.
 

WereWeasel42

Member
Feb 17, 2018
16
48
26
Texas
Man, I really hate to say this, but I think we should keep this in early access for the time being. I really want this game to flourish and for you guys to take off, but in it's current form I'm concerned some of the presentation elements will scare off the casual players.

These things need to be addressed because it's jarring when they occur and make the game look unfinished:
- Cardboard/Placeholder Arizona: there can't be any; it's more acceptable for a beta or early access for QA purposes but they have no business being in the final version
- Intro/Victory Animations: some characters have mouth flaps that don't fit the spoken lines at all, I would honestly forget about the mouth flaps completely and just have them do some kind of pose (Skullgirls and KoFXIII do this and it's fine); I think just having off mouth flaps is a lot more distracting than no mouth flaps at all
- Pretadors: they need some kind of sound, even just stock animal growls like Pom's puppies
- Animated BG Characters: There are elements of the background which look nice but the ones that should move the most don't, even just simple SFII animations would be better than the still images that are present now

I'm also concerned about a lack of some kind of tutorial for players that are brand new to fighters, they're kind of left with nothing and these days that's not good. I know Trials are planned but there's so much more that can be done: Skullgirls has some good exercises to look at, KI's dojo is great, Guilty Gear Xrd has a nice FAQ with some decent tips for what and how to practice (possibly the easiest to implement), this is an older example but VF4 Evolution had an amazing tutorial; I'm sure with this game many many of the TFH players are going to be first time fighting game players. While presentation is more important for getting casuals in the door of this game, having a robust tutorial will keep them engaged and potentially interested in future fighting games.

I just want to say finally I'm not saying this to be mean at all, I just really want this game to do well but I'm really nervous right now with the state the game is in currently.
I agree. I was hoping that this version of the game would finally convince my picky sister that it's worth her time, but she's turned off by the lack of tutorial, unfinished animations, and even a lack of AI matches right now. I know that this is going to be fixed, but I am surprised how unpolished it is after they originally said it would be finished by the 22nd.
 
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Barnacle Ed

Backers' Beta Tester
Backers' Beta Tester
Feb 4, 2016
11
8
Man, I really hate to say this, but I think we should keep this in early access for the time being. I really want this game to flourish and for you guys to take off, but in it's current form I'm concerned some of the presentation elements will scare off the casual players.

These things need to be addressed because it's jarring when they occur and make the game look unfinished:
- Cardboard/Placeholder Arizona: there can't be any; it's more acceptable for a beta or early access for QA purposes but they have no business being in the final version
- Intro/Victory Animations: some characters have mouth flaps that don't fit the spoken lines at all, I would honestly forget about the mouth flaps completely and just have them do some kind of pose (Skullgirls and KoFXIII do this and it's fine); I think just having off mouth flaps is a lot more distracting than no mouth flaps at all
- Pretadors: they need some kind of sound, even just stock animal growls like Pom's puppies
- Animated BG Characters: There are elements of the background which look nice but the ones that should move the most don't, even just simple SFII animations would be better than the still images that are present now

I'm also concerned about a lack of some kind of tutorial for players that are brand new to fighters, they're kind of left with nothing and these days that's not good. I know Trials are planned but there's so much more that can be done: Skullgirls has some good exercises to look at, KI's dojo is great, Guilty Gear Xrd has a nice FAQ with some decent tips for what and how to practice (possibly the easiest to implement), this is an older example but VF4 Evolution had an amazing tutorial; I'm sure with this game many many of the TFH players are going to be first time fighting game players. While presentation is more important for getting casuals in the door of this game, having a robust tutorial will keep them engaged and potentially interested in future fighting games.

I just want to say finally I'm not saying this to be mean at all, I just really want this game to do well but I'm really nervous right now with the state the game is in currently.
I would concur on this, I did expect a little more than what's currently available. At least all the animations in by EA, but there are still missing pieces, which doesn't add a good first impression for a game with a big crowdfund, sponsored by Humble, and despite them being blunt and transparent (which I love), I'm not sure how they wouldn't know there would be many more bugs and glitches at time of release/EA that most companies would have been able to address by day 1 or 2. Mane6 is still working on the tail end of the basics atm, so bug fixes and QoL improvements won't come anytime soon.

If the unforseen circumstances and the RL issues were gonna be a problem weeks/months in advance, they should have maybe delayed the EA or final release. The fact that the game reviews started to come out in the previous weeks is probably why they couldn't do that. Still, it doesn't make it a less than sandy start (I refuse to use the term rocky start cause this is far more along than most EA games out there).

For all of the trumpet tooting as to how far along everything was, I don't know if this was rdy for EA. Thank goodness it wasn't a full release, or my god the backlash that would have ensued. I'm not trying to be harsh from my own personal viewpoint, cause I like how much they care about their player base. I'm merely speaking as if from an outsider who knows nothing about Mane6's past and Lawyer Friendly Equines, who wants a good fighter and is considering this against some of the big names out there.

Just my 2 cents
 

edzepp

Backers' Beta Tester
Backers' Beta Tester
May 26, 2017
27
44
I'll say that things didn't go quite as smoothly as they could have. I still think the foundation is sound, but they need to get stuff done, and I think they'll be responsive.
 
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SmokeRulz

Where there is smoke, there is fire!
Backers' Beta Tester
Feb 3, 2016
356
525
I think you all may be overblowing it just a little. Evidently the Story Mode snafu was a pretty big coding nightmare, plus the people they really need help from are not currently available, so yeah. The current version is essentially the final version of the Backer's Beta, but it's no longer a beta, it's an Early Access game. And for the record, this game is more complete than a lot of Early Access games I've seen. And that's not even covering how badly the EA feature can and is abused on Steam, used to upload glorified demos or games that don't even work right. I'd say this game is roughly 95% complete from what they intend to launch with, hence the 0.95 version.

Obviously this is not how the devs wanted to launch the game, but they ran into a pretty bad speedbump in the weeks leading up to launch, and tried had to weigh their options, and they correctly went for an Early Access release so we could all play it and not have to suffer another delay, which would have likely been months. I'd say they're being very transparent and open about the process, although of course without divulging personal information that they are in no way required to tell us. And really, when you push past some missing animations and features, the core gameplay is absolutely there, and overall consensus is that the game is very fun and plays like a dream. It's only going to get better from here.
 

LeoEmpire

Backers' Beta Tester
Backers' Beta Tester
Feb 3, 2016
11
10
I totally understand that sentiment, but I'm also concerned. I'm worried about the devs (and to another extent the fans) saying, "it plays great, technically it's solid" and calling it a game. MvC:I also played very well and was fun, but fighting games live and die by the casual players sometimes. I sincerely hope we don't skimp on presentation for that reason. Yes it's polish and icing on the cake, etc; but it has a very important role to play all the same. Please please please don't undervalue that.
 

Alevgor

Canis Imaginatus
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Feb 3, 2016
169
299
Obviously this is not how the devs wanted to launch the game, but they ran into a pretty bad speedbump in the weeks leading up to launch
Honestly I think that the main source of the problems and current state of the game lasts much longer than few weeks. It has been delayed how many times previously? Also normally last few weeks before release is spent on bug fixing and polishing, not on one of the main features.

Anyway, gameplay-wise the game is fine, sure. But at the same time currently it is very unfriendly towards new players. AI is mean, tutorial is absent, some basic functions are not explained and not obvious (activating pixel lobby chat for example). I fear that not only many players who already bought the game will give up and never come back, but also very few new ones will play it when it is finally finished.
 

Lurk

Well-Known Member
Feb 17, 2018
234
266
Honestly I think that the main source of the problems and current state of the game lasts much longer than few weeks. It has been delayed how many times previously? Also normally last few weeks before release is spent on bug fixing and polishing, not on one of the main features.

Anyway, gameplay-wise the game is fine, sure. But at the same time currently it is very unfriendly towards new players. AI is mean, tutorial is absent, some basic functions are not explained and not obvious (activating pixel lobby chat for example). I fear that not only many players who already bought the game will give up and never come back, but also very few new ones will play it when it is finally finished.
Pixel Lobby chat isn't that hard to figure out. As for the AI, it is at least adjustable and will be rebalanced.
 

Random

Crowdfund Backer
Crowdfund Backer
Oct 17, 2016
17
34
One of the problems for me is that some people will think that the developers are liars or incompetent because of some unfinished animations and other things. These "issues" are not that big of a deal, you can still play the game, perform combos, fight local and online matches and will mostly be fixed by the time the game is finished. This is an early access, not a 1.0. They are still developing the game and some things might change.
And some still compare an indie game with the one of a AAA publisher. This isn't Street Fighter V, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite or Tekken 7.
I think the developers are doing their best.
 
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Lurk

Well-Known Member
Feb 17, 2018
234
266
One of the problems for me is that some people will think that the developers are liars or incompetent because of some unfinished animations and other things. These "issues" are not that big of a deal, you can still play the game, perform combos, fight local and online matches and will mostly be fixed by the time the game is finished. This an early access, not a 1.0. They are still developing the game and some things might change.
And some still compare an indie game with the one of a AAA publisher. This isn't Street Fighter V, Marvel vs Capcom Infinite or Tekken 7.
I think the developers are doing their best.
Yeah, it helps that they've been fairly transparent.
 
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Random

Crowdfund Backer
Crowdfund Backer
Oct 17, 2016
17
34
Yeah, it helps that they've been fairly transparent.
That's right. They've been transparent. But not everything that someone says or wishes can go as planned. Something unexpected might happen.
There might be people in this instant who will think like the person in this little story.
Person 1: "Hey, guess what? I'm gonna give you a puppy tomorrow."
Then tomorrow comes.
Person 2: "So? Where is the puppy?"
Person 1: "About that... There have been some problems. But I will give you one sooner or later. Just wait please."
Person: 2: "What?! You liar! Now I will never ever have my puppy!"
Will this person really never get a puppy?
 

Someoneman

Crowdfund Backer
Crowdfund Backer
Feb 3, 2016
77
170
I've heard a potential explanation that the version they planned on releasing still had bits of unpresentable story mode and that they couldn't remove them in time, so they had to release a less complete beta build instead. I trust that we'll get the "real" early access version this weekend. Hopefully.
 
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