Vaporware and Optimism

Taramoor

I'm posting this thread because I recently visited Cliff Johnson's webpage again since a few weeks ago he guaranteed that "The Fool and his Money" would be out no later than the end of October (or mid-November if something catastrophic happened) and discovered that he pushed the release date back to April of next year.

Sigh.

Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry for the game.

Release Announcement History

The game was officially announced in January 2003, with an expected release date of Halloween 2003. New release dates have been announced regularly on Johnson's official website. They include:

* April 1, 2004
* Halloween 2004
* July 5, 2005
* Late 2005
* April 1, 2006
* August 7, 2006
* December 4, 2006 (announced Jul 5, 2006)
* December 2006 (announced mid-Nov, 2006)
* A few months from mid-January 2007 (announced Jan 15, 2007)
* April 2007
* Late 2007, "a few months or so, then a thorough final beta test" (announced Aug 13, 2007)
* Summer 2008 (announced Apr 2008)
* September 2008 (announced Apr 28, 2008)
* "No later than December" (announced in email by author on Aug 2008)
* "Soon... in Final Beta-Testing (Finally) stage" (announced Dec 15, 2008)
* April 1, 2009 (announced Jan 1, 2009)
* "Hoping that this process will be completed in April" (announced Jan 28, 2009)
* "Hoping that this process will be completed ... in the early New England summer" (announced Feb 4, 2009)
* "Hoping that the game will be completed and beta-tested for all versions ... for the New England summer." (July 14, 2009)
* "At present, I am hoping that the game will be completed and beta-tested for all versions ... for the New England summer, or thereabouts." (August 4, 2009)
* "At present, I am forecasting that the game will be completed and beta-tested for all versions ... for the New England Christmas." (September 7, 2009)
* May 2010 (announced Nov 2009)
* "I have to conclude that an October (2010) shipping date is more realistic." (announced May 1, 2010)
* "The shipping date is holding for October or maybe November." (July 7, 2010)
* "...the shipping date is leaning toward November..." (Sep 14, 2010)
* "I would like to say that the game will be finished for November of this year, but I may be wrong." (Sep 23, 2010)
* "...as the final details of this project loom large, I realize that I require another six months. That would be for April 2011." (Oct 5, 2010)

That got me thinking about Duke Nukem Forever and how it's supposedly coming out at some point in the future, and how there are people who have sent Cliff Johnson money to pre-order this game for years now in the vain hope that it will eventually see release. Even I still have some hope that it will come out and I will be able to enjoy it for a few hours.

What other vaporware is still out there, supposedly to be released some day, never officially canceled?

The only other title I can think of that disappeared but is still supposed to come out eventually is Beyond Good & Evil 2, but I have high hopes for that because, well, it hasn't been seven years yet.

tl;dr: In this thread we talk about Vaporware and which vaporwares we hope will get released eventually.

Olivaw

Hahahaha

That last line is hilarious to me

"yeah I said it would out this month but what I meant was six months from now"

Now to bring me back down into a wallowing depression, L.A. Noire

I learned about that game about a year ago and was super stoked for about an hour before I found the wikipedia article which detailed that it had been in development for like six fucking years and had no release date

And then the Game Informer cover story came out and I was like "yayyyyyy" but then the fall rolled around and they pushed it back and I was like "noooooooo"

I'm pretty sure it will eventually come out, though. They've put too much money and time and effort into it to not release something

Rent

Alan Wake was a biggie

It came out

it was

eh, it was pretty good. Ish

Starcraft: Ghost is I believe still technically in development

Olivaw

Oh and if we're talking about mods then there's the granddaddy of zombie mods, No More Room in Hell, which has been in development pretty much since Half-Life 2 was released, and has never been released in any form to the public

And no, StarCraft Ghost got put on the shelf

It's never coming out

Taramoor

Olivaw wrote: »

Hahahaha

That last line is hilarious to me

"yeah I said it would out this month but what I meant was six months from now"

Now to bring me back down into a wallowing depression, L.A. Noire

I learned about that game about a year ago and was super stoked for about an hour before I found the wikipedia article which detailed that it had been in development for like six fucking years and had no release date

And then the Game Informer cover story came out and I was like "yayyyyyy" but then the fall rolled around and they pushed it back and I was like "noooooooo"

I'm pretty sure it will eventually come out, though. They've put too much money and time and effort into it to not release something

Honestly, the description of that game is what I want Nintendo to do with a reboot of Gumshoe.

Just... badass 40s-style sleuthing. Old school. Hunting for stolen jewels, murderers, bootleggers, and counterfeiters in the speakeasies and dens of inequity where the city's blood pumps like venomous oil out of the gutters and into the pockets of the corrupt politicians that run things.

Rent

Oh Black Mesa Source

and HL2 Ep 3

chamberlain

Olivaw wrote: »

Oh and if we're talking about mods then there's the granddaddy of zombie mods, No More Room in Hell, which has been in development pretty much since Half-Life 2 was released, and has never been released in any form to the public

And no, StarCraft Ghost got put on the shelf

It's never coming out

I played some early StarCraft Ghost multiplayer. They were doing the world a favor by killing it.

Demiurge

I remember a trailer on the Warcraft 2 CD (Or was it Diablo?) for a game by Blizzard called Shattered Nations. It was supposed to put the player in charge of a post apocalyptic society. It never came out.

Undead Scottsman

Demiurge wrote: »

I remember a trailer on the Warcraft 2 CD (Or was it Diablo?) for a game by Blizzard called Shattered Nations. It was supposed to put the player in charge of a post apocalyptic society. It never came out.

Blizzard had two games it was developing alongside Starcraft, Shattered Nations and.. Pax Imperia 2 I think? (Wikipedia sez yes)

Pax was sold off to THQ and Shattered Nations was canceled, and Starcraft absorbed any worthwhile elements.

Anywho, it depends on the company behind the vaporware.

DNF under 3D Realms: You've gotta be kidding
DNF under Gearbox: I'll give 'em the benefit of the doubt, and even allow them a delay before I file it back under vaporware
HL2: Episode 3: Either it, or something to replace it will come out I have no doubt. I just wish they would hurry up and announce/release it.
Blizzard with Starcraft 2: Unlike a lot of people, I knew they were going to release this eventually, even before it was announced. I never really felt it was Vaporware..
Diablo 3: Likewise

Honestly, other than DNF, I can't think of any major bits of vaporware over the past few years. Most true vaporware has little to no media (hence the vapor part) so we tend to not hear about most of it. Games get canceled more than they get vaporized.

JihadJesus

Taramoor wrote: »

What other vaporware is still out there, supposedly to be released some day, never officially canceled?

The only other title I can think of that disappeared but is still supposed to come out eventually is Beyond Good & Evil 2, but I have high hopes for that because, well, it hasn't been seven years yet.

No. No, that is not vaporware. It's happening, damn it. You shut your dirty lying mouth!

I'm so sad thast's totally not happening

Orogogus

Elite 4:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_4

Development

2006
In November 2006, GameSpot conducted an interview with David Braben in which the subject of Elite 4 came up. Braben revealed that Elite 4 began and ceased development as an MMORPG in 2000, abandoned due to the immaturity of technology for online play. When asked if the game would ever be released, Braben responded "We will do Elite 4 after Outsider, so it will benefit from everything we've done in Outsider."[3] Braben repeated this claim in a Game Theory Show podcast in August 2007.[4]

2007
During an interview with Computer and Video Games in September 2007, Braben revealed that Frontier Developments is currently working on new technologies required to deliver the game, and has been for two years.[5] At the Gamecity International Interactive Entertainment Festival 2007 event in Nottingham UK, it was revealed that Braben and Frontier Developments are aiming to have Elite 4 released for the current generation of gaming consoles and PC.[6] Also at the event, Braben, during an interview about courses teaching game development in the UK, revealed that Frontier Developments is recruiting staff to work on their current projects, including Elite 4.[7]

2008
At the 2008 Game Developers Conference in Germany, David Braben hinted that an announcement regarding the game's release would come in 2008. Braben stated that the new version "would certainly need a better interface, or at least one which is easier to use for modern gamers."[8]


2009
In 2009, the game was said to be under development[9]. In an interview with the BBC to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original game, Braben confirmed that the game was still in development, saying, "We'd be mad not to go back to the world of Elite and I'm very excited about it," and adding that it would be released only "when its ready." [10]. Supposed platforms are the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360[2][6].

2010
In May 2010, Braben told Eurogamer that there had been staff changes, but that "our commitment to the game is as strong as ever."[11]

However Elite 4 has been removed from the 'in-development' section of frontier developments — making the current status of its development unclear. In addition Frontier Development no longer has any links to the website for the game.[12]

Vaporware suspicions
Elite 4 is considered by many to be vaporware; that is, it is suspected that the game may never be released.[13] The game was first proposed back in 1998 and, while many modern games can take several years to complete (Frontier took five and a half years from start to finish[citation needed]), there have been no formal previews, screenshots, press releases or progress reports released for the game. Since then, the only details about the game provided by the developers were found in a brief FAQ on Frontier Development's site which was not updated after 2001. As of May 2010, all references to Elite 4 appear to have been removed from Frontier development's site; implying that all development of the game has ceased.

And, of course, if you include mods the number goes up to like a million, vaporware being their default state.

November Fifth

Are you sure that "The Fool and His Money" isn't some sort of meta troll on the people who pre-ordered?

bsjezz

November Fifth wrote: »

Are you sure that "The Fool and His Money" isn't some sort of meta troll on the people who pre-ordered?

don't be silly, the proverbial title alone holds all the rich grounds for a stellar action blockbuster about... tricking people's money away

Taramoor

November Fifth wrote: »

Are you sure that "The Fool and His Money" isn't some sort of meta troll on the people who pre-ordered?

But... but... there's a demo...

http://www.thefoolandhismoney.com/



I'm just glad I haven't pre-ordered it is all. I love Cliff Johnson's games, with 3 in Three and The Fool's Errand still holding special places in my mind, but the guy lays it on awful thick for a confidence scam.

Kristmas Kthulhu

bsjezz wrote: »

November Fifth wrote: »

Are you sure that "The Fool and His Money" isn't some sort of meta troll on the people who pre-ordered?

don't be silly, the proverbial title alone holds all the rich grounds for a stellar action blockbuster about... tricking people's money away

This is actually a rather funny insight. It would be lame if that were what was actually happening.

Olivaw

Honestly?

That was the first thing I thought of

Part of what makes that whole situation so hilarious to me

Olivaw

Rent wrote: »

Oh Black Mesa Source

and HL2 Ep 3

Episode 3 is happening

Eventually (Valve Time™)

Black Mesa Source has not updated in almost a year

That... is worrisome

Tamin

The. Sith. Lords. Restoration. Project.

Is that enough periods to properly reflect me biting off each word?

Lemming

What about that Sadness game for the Wii?

I think pretty much everyone figured it was vaporware the minute it was announced.

Cade

Tamin wrote: »

The. Sith. Lords. Restoration. Project.

Is that enough periods to properly reflect me biting off each word?

Which one?

There were two, the one I think most people know of which I got no idea if is even done or the other one that kind of popped out of no where and did everything the first group said they were going to do. Pretty sure the main guy from the other group was pissed, especially since it did make what they were suddenly doing irrelevant.

Senshi

Fez is getting pretty vaporware-ish

which is a shame because dang

Tamin

Cade wrote: »

Tamin wrote: »

The. Sith. Lords. Restoration. Project.

Is that enough periods to properly reflect me biting off each word?

Which one?

There were two, the one I think most people know of which I got no idea if is even done or the other one that kind of popped out of no where and did everything the first group said they were going to do. Pretty sure the main guy from the other group was pissed, especially since it did make what they were suddenly doing irrelevant.

I only knew of one: team gizka.

You say one was completed? What's it called?

EvilBadman

Olivaw wrote: »

Rent wrote: »

Oh Black Mesa Source

and HL2 Ep 3

Episode 3 is happening

Eventually (Valve Time™)

Black Mesa Source has not updated in almost a year

That... is worrisome

Mods and total conversions are always vaporware until proven otherwise.

Monger

Cade wrote: »

Tamin wrote: »

The. Sith. Lords. Restoration. Project.

Is that enough periods to properly reflect me biting off each word?

Which one?

There were two, the one I think most people know of which I got no idea if is even done or the other one that kind of popped out of no where and did everything the first group said they were going to do. Pretty sure the main guy from the other group was pissed, especially since it did make what they were suddenly doing irrelevant.

Team Gizka's mod is dead. The Restored Content Mod does the majority of what they were working on, but not quite all of it.

Speaking of things that are dead: Project Offset. Got quietly shitcanned earlier this year. Apparently Intel got whatever it was that they wanted out of their tech.

Cade

Tamin wrote: »

Cade wrote: »

Tamin wrote: »

The. Sith. Lords. Restoration. Project.

Is that enough periods to properly reflect me biting off each word?

Which one?

There were two, the one I think most people know of which I got no idea if is even done or the other one that kind of popped out of no where and did everything the first group said they were going to do. Pretty sure the main guy from the other group was pissed, especially since it did make what they were suddenly doing irrelevant.

I only knew of one: team gizka.

You say one was completed? What's it called?

Yeah I was talking about the Restored Content mod but I see you already knew that.

Olivaw

The Restored Content mod wasn't even very good, if I'm remember correctly

All the areas that they restored were clearly just combat areas meant to fill time and extend the playtime of the game

They didn't fix the ending at all, which was the real problem with that game

Spoit

Rent wrote: »

Alan Wake was a biggie

It came out

Really? I don't see it in steam

:x:x:x

:?

Olivaw

Yep, still waiting on that PC version of Alan Wake

TheSonicRetard

Shenmue III is still technically not canceled

PolloDiablo

Olivaw wrote: »

Honestly?

That was the first thing I thought of

Part of what makes that whole situation so hilarious to me

That's exactly what I was expecting, too. I hadn't heard of it before, and after hearing of it I can only assume it's a scam.

Episode 3 really isn't ever going to come out, either.

Gilder

Sabre Wulf Stampede is an interesting vaporware game. If you don't know about it, originally the gamecube was going to have a sequel to Diddy Kong Racing. It was Donkey Kong Racing, but when Nintendo sold they took DKR with them. For the Xbox they were planning to release two games, one of them being Grabbed by the Ghoulies. What they were doing was converting DKR into a Sabre Wulf game. It was going to be called Sabre Wulf Stampede and have you jump between animals and such, but Rare took so long that Microsoft said to hurry up and give us a game for the 360. So Rare made PDZ and Kameo, while Stampede was set aside. Then there was Viva Pinata and Nuts and Bolts. Stampede was left by the wayside. Work was put into it though, and by the time it got canned it ceased to be a racing game. It was actually going to be an open world game, but apparently the people at Rare thought it was at its best when it was a racing game. Since this is Rareware though the game was never "canceled". It was never canceled because it never existed. I like to believe that some of it still exists, but with the way Rare is focusing on Kinect and new franchises I doubt they'll ever even hint at its existence in future games.

Lord_Mordja

Infinity: The Quest For Earth
Basically the greatest game ever with spaceships and procedurally generated planets to explore and ahahahaha.

Taramoor

Jade Empire 2 is something I would lean toward calling Vaporware, but it was never officially announced despite being playable at one point.

Olivaw

Lord_Mordja wrote: »

Infinity: The Quest For Earth
Basically the greatest game ever with spaceships and procedurally generated planets to explore and ahahahaha.

Oh yeah, that game

Odds are it'll never be released, but it will continue to be worked on and updates will occur until someone in the industry sees it and gives the dudes making it a job, at which point all development will cease

Because that's not a game - it is someone's portfolio for getting into the industry

President Rex

Olivaw wrote: »

The Restored Content mod wasn't even very good, if I'm remember correctly

All the areas that they restored were clearly just combat areas meant to fill time and extend the playtime of the game

They didn't fix the ending at all, which was the real problem with that game

The TSL:RCM that's floating around the internet purports to address some of the ending issues, but I haven't played through it far enough to notice any differences. Peragus and Taris are still as boring as I remember them in my bug-ridden Xbox version playthrough. If nothing else, the changelog seems to address numerous bug fixes, anyway.

Dirty

TheSonicRetard wrote: »

Shenmue III is still technically not canceled

I guess you would be one of the best people to ask, but was Shenmue 3 ever officially announced? I mean, I know Sega said that more installments were planned for the series, and it is assumed that development probably got started once Shenmue 2 was finished. But was there ever an official announcement that it was actively in development?

I'm just asking because if it wasn't, then I see no need for a public cancellation announcement.

Turkey

Shenmue died, and instead we got Yakuza.

I'd say it was a fair trade!

Captain K

You guys laugh all you want, but when the Phantom is finally released, I'll be the one laughing as I play the hottest games on my new next-gen console, configured out-of-the-box for an always-on internet connection that lets me download games from an "online marketplace" and stay connected with other gamers though a "friends list"!

Turkey

Captain K wrote: »

You guys laugh all you want, but when the Phantom is finally released, I'll be the one laughing as I play the hottest games on my new next-gen console, configured out-of-the-box for an always-on internet connection that lets me download games from an "online marketplace" and stay connected with other gamers though a "friends list"!

Phantoms are creatures made of a pale white gassy substance.

bowen

Undead Scottsman wrote: »

Demiurge wrote: »

I remember a trailer on the Warcraft 2 CD (Or was it Diablo?) for a game by Blizzard called Shattered Nations. It was supposed to put the player in charge of a post apocalyptic society. It never came out.

Blizzard had two games it was developing alongside Starcraft, Shattered Nations and.. Pax Imperia 2 I think? (Wikipedia sez yes)

Pax was sold off to THQ and Shattered Nations was canceled, and Starcraft absorbed any worthwhile elements.

Yeah. They sold PaxImperia because it would've been a direct competitor with Starcraft. It's a shame, that game was really good. I can't imagine how much better it would've been if Blizzard had its hands in it until completion.

Peewi

Senshi wrote: »

Fez is getting pretty vaporware-ish

which is a shame because dang

I keep forgetting about Fez and then once in a while I am reminded that it is a thing that is still not out. Apparently it's not entirely dead, as the developer's site has posted a video of it at the beginning of the month. Also a single screenshot less than a week ago.