Firstly they don’t want to release it without fixing any known bugs.
Because they cannot predict the time it takes to do this we don’t get a release date.
If they were to give us a release date two things happen:
They are now under pressure to rush an unfinished product to get it out in time.
Or
They have to delay it further which would enrage a lot of the impatient player base with more of you promised! oh another delay what a surprise
Etc…
I mean you all know the dramatics I’m referring to.
So
The best course of action is what they are doing. They had a PTR, they closed a PTR. They are in the middle of getting it release ready and…
It will be ready when it’s ready.
Unfortunately a lot of players treat it like a 6 year old on a road trip.
“Are we there yet?”
“Are we there yet?”
“Are we there yet?”
I think people are forgetting one simple fact. Consoles. 2.4 has to be released across all platforms simultaneously, since it changes skill balance and more as opposed to primarily bug fixes which can be spread out on release between the platforms post-pc release. This also affects ladder, thus everything needs to be prepared in this single patch and certified by the console publishers.
I’m pretty sure their main concern is the stability of the Battle.net platform in regards to the database issues that were causing the server to crash due to too many games being created. The last thing they want on the first D2:R ladder is a repeat of the issues that plague the original game.
Yeah, it’s easy to forget about consoles having to approve the patches. If this is the holdup, whichever ones are dragging their feet better get on the stick!
well they announced PTR in december, started it in january. Now, 2months later we still dont know wether Patch+Ladder really happen soon or we get another few weeks of delays.
if you tell december-me that this PTR->Live Phase will last 10+ weeks I`d probably tell you to not be silly. “Are we there yet?” is a very valid question at this point.
I have a feeling 2.4 will launch this week. Then, it will either be 1-2 weeks for ladder. They already stated that the server databases were updated last week for 2.4 prep. They also have to put together the finalized patch notes in all languages, as I would hope that they don’t plan on simply using the messier ptr ones which span two different blog posts.
this is something many dont count. Consoles arent Blizzard’s which releases an update to the Battle app and gg, but they need to take approval from Console companies, this takes time. Dont get me wrong, i want 2.4 so badly cause they finally change my fav build .
Anyway, as you mentioned, this is something that ppl needs to take it on consideration.
You are going to have people complain no matter what. It’s implied that there are issues if there is no communication anyways. They might as well be transparent and honest. They don’t even have to give a release date. Just say you are currently working through issue {x} and they hope to provide a time table once they are able too.
As much as I would like to agree with this sentiment, simply giving a “soon” response does not give the company any incentive to actually get things done in a timely manner and promotes zero accountability. While this sounds great from a business perspective, Blizzard has been taking accountability for absolutely nothing and has been piling on the excuses for everything they do, not just with D2R.
This has given them some awful Brand Recognition and press, which needs to stop if they want any chance of recovering from so many things going wrong. In this situation, they need to take accountability and establish that they are a company worth trusting and investing in, rather than hiding behind “soons” and excuses.
Do they want to give a firm date? Of course not, that would light the fire under their butts and force them to actually put resources into what was supposed to be a cash grab. Just because they don’t want to do doesn’t mean it isn’t necessary.
We cannot use the excuse of making sure the game is without bugs and is a 100% smooth experience for every single player in every single play session. EVERY game has bugs. They happen. D2LoD (pre-resurrected) has been absolutely littered with them for decades and yet they still reset the old ladder every six months.
It is time for them to act and release the ladder they promised for so long. This game is being treated like WC3R and NO ONE wants it to go any further down that path.
Personally, I am surprised that they don’t feel a fire under their butts right now, as they told their investors Q1 for Ladder and we all know that probably isn’t going to happen.
We need to stop defending the actions of people who are only interested in money and stockholders.
Lots of developers try to stick to the standard of “under-promise, and over-deliver”, because when they start to under-deliver, the customers get very cynical very quickly. This is a common thing in IT where if the user experiences certain problems often, they will continue to report problems with the thing even after it is fixed, because they incorrectly believe that the thing is still the cause of whatever the next problem that they experience is.
The problem with this strategy is that if you are way behind schedule and expectations on something, being silent until you have news just makes you look like you’re “under-promising and under-delivering”.
.
under their seats. 