Hearing him talk about early access suffering from a first impression that doesn’t represent the desired product brings to mind a game that did it right: Slime Rancher. They dropped it out in early access as a cute game with a clever twist on a first person shooter, and it stayed like that to its final major updates. Everything that was added built onto the core mechanics, and it got them console releases and success. I genuinely cannot think of a single major idea in the game that wasn’t there from when I first bought it in its early days.
Works for writing books/stories as well. That's why when people ask me "Why does it take so long for you to publish anything" I tell them "Because I want to make it right."
Why "in most cases" instead of "in some cases"? Where are the statistics and studies for Early Access games to tell with confidence how much it worked and how much it didn't and in how many cases?
Yeah, I've seen this occur for decades in MMOs, but never heard this term. I'd argue that every Evangelist will eventually become alienated, though, if the lifespan of the game is long enough. Even if the game doesn't change, the person playing it does... and if nothing changes, burnout is real.
@@dracos24 Gamers often relate these sorts of people as toxic or a fanboy etc for whatever reasons because of their complaining. But more often than not, people who have legit criticisms are the biggest fan of the game and they're hating the changes.
@@astupidlylongnamethatstoolong There are times you absolutely should not listen to Evangelists. XIV 1.0 evangelists being one of them. They defend every single thing about the old game that they thought was a "masterpiece", yet failed to mention that their version of the game caused the single most massive industrial disaster that almost drove Square, a mega-corporation with almost infinite funds, into near bankruptcy. Do they love 1.0? Yeah. Should they be listened to? Absolutely not.
it was only good around the first 3-4 years. At this point they dont even care for the "survival" aspect. they only add fireweapons nonstop, i am happy to being able to play around the years it was still fun
I remember TB saying this: "The moment you decide to charge money for a product, you lose the ability to hide behind the defence that 'it's just a beta'" rest in peace
@@sirwinterofwinterland9901 TotalBiscuit. He was a huge (Game) consumer advocate and game reviewer. Who, sadly, passed away due to cancer. If you haven't - You really should look up a couple of his videos.
Seeing Womble actually talking like a normal human being, teaching something, sounds so odd but I like it a lot. I’m so used to hearing his girly screams
Cause he had to make sure there wasn't something "Just after this part" Cause of you and people like you You comment "this is a life changing game" on all videos and then patrol the negative reviews commenting and giving jester awards If they stop immediately it's "Lol you didn't play how would you know" And if they put in the time it's " wow 50hrs. You already enjoyed and you are complaining" Get fucked
after seeing the previews for so long, it's finally here. Just in time for lunch. edit: Damn, that point about early access is great. My biggest hate in the gaming industry is all these cool games that release into early access and get massive waves of players, but they never stick around because the game is buggy or the content isn't there yet. Then three years down the line the game is super updated and polished and everything is great, but the player base by now is utterly dead. It happens to all the survival games, the "build your own kingdom" games, even multiplayer games like Blackwake and Holdfast. I'm still excited for Star Citizen, but my fear is basically that they'll release into the open world before the game is all there, you'll have a rush of players and then it will die off. Games like EVE and Elite only work with other players around to make it fun.
Oh crap, its Rimmy. I think that most developers use Early Access the wrong way. It's not a bad concept, but they push the game out way to early. Some games this is fine, like ARK. They had a basic concept that was mostly working when they released it into EA. Some indy companies get a little to ambitious on their first game and make a lot of promises without anyway to deliver, but they already released their early access game into what is basically pre-alpha concept stages.
Knowing the fact that Soviet is experienced with quality assurance just allows me to appreciate his content even more: He literally has work experience with making sure a project is of a good enough quality to put out into a market, which is one of several reasons why Soviet always has really high quality content for us to enjoy.
Congratulations Womble, you're now the centrepiece of my team meeting next Wednesday - I've got a room full of architect and design people to talk down to and you hit the nail on the head for easily 95% of the problems my support team need to deal with when we do service transition. Officially stealing your "never get a second first impression" line btw.
Honestly I really like the idea of womble talking directly to his audience. He's always seemed like a creator that has been distance from his TH-cam community, so seeing him interact with us like this is really pleasant to see.
I agree, but also having that "distance" (though I mean it without the possible negative connotations) can be refreshing is an increasingly "face-to-face" environment. I think it's part of what makes his normal stuff so enjoyable: it's just pure, well-edited, fun entertainment.
Ngl I broke every rule womble said not to break. *Rules I broke* : -> Screwed up my product after deploying it at customer site. -> Product was full of bugs. Half ass completed. -> Dragged the release date more than days to months. -> I broke every rule in software development life cycle. -> Hell I even broke standard coding rules. *The Result* : Dissatisfied customer and an angry boss that made my life even more miserable than it already is as a software developer. *Moral from my story* : So aspiring to be new developers do take notes of what womble is saying this shit matters the most and is a real deal. *You don't get Second First impression*
Truth! Still a very junior developer (only a couple years working experience) but thankfully I had a great professor who drove this stuff home on top of experience all of what you had myself for an actual client too (thank goodness I was still in school then lol). But all of that has helped me to be the major pushing force to change and get out of this spiral for my clients giving me some good brownie points :P
@@voku241 considering they are specifying product and not game, I'd say its pretty safe to assume they weren't working on a game. Admit I could be 100% wrong but these problems and experiences are universal for any software developer and is definitely still ongoing in the industry as a whole.
@@voku241 it ain't a game I was was working on but standard software development rules apply to any software product ranging from websites, desktop application to games etc.,. In my case iam speaking about desktop application.
The mad man did it. He moved his rants into videos. Jokes aside, I do enjoy this. It's amusing but if I was to nitpick a bit, the cuts in audio is a little too on the nose. I am the same though. The tag of "Early Access" when I come across a game I find interesting in concept does deter me from picking it up.
What is even more disconcerning now is that supposed AAA titles start to do this. Baldurs Gate 3 is in early access ... for full price. At least it is mostly finished, but still. Not a good way to go.
When you realize there's probably tons of hidden gold SovietWomble content that is unreleased because he didn't think it was any good: #ReleaseTheSovietCut
Kinda wasn't into this for that reason. Really just a long rant that should be obvious but doesn't turn out that way for many many financial reasons. Patreon being one of the worst offenders, allowing people to make 1/10th of a game and then ask for people to pay for it's development. Great in theory, terrible in practice
@@Ola_liker_polet No you muppet, its an introduction. This comment is the equal to reading the back summary of "Moby Dick" and saying " he wants to weird flex that he was on a whaling boat but lacks any knowledge past surface level on whale-catching".
@@Ola_liker_polet He has played so many dozens of hours for each video he has ever made for it that he is mush more qualified to talk about the issues. Someone that's played for a few hours and barely seen a fraction of the bs and shenanigans he and his crew have CAN have a basic opinion. Though the fact it's treated as if them playing 'loads' of similar games makes them experts is like saying since RLM have likely seen most modern and relatively modern movies that they can make one well...
@Der Richtige Arzt oh ok. btw while you might not like it, i'd rcommend you to just watch the trailer of Ori and tthe will of the wisps. the graphic is outstanding, just like the music and the atmosphere
Your qualifications aside, Animation is what sets this video essay apart from most other video essays :) I believe illustration is a strong weapon that few people are using. The typical trend is speaking over Gameplay footage. That's some leafyishere tier stuff and I don't enjoy those videos.
Wait that’s still a thing? I’m used to creators like game makers toolkit, innuendo studios, and Joseph Anderson now, so I haven’t seen anyone do that in years
Womble: Well here it is amazingly late to the party..... Us: hmmmm...well umm..... We didn't think we were going to get anything. So I reckon it's a pleasant surprise.👍
I submit to your considering this: The image in the beginning is based on the painting "Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1" by James McNeill Whistler. It is more commonly known as "Whistler's Mother". Soviet is always carrying Cyanide, who often, whistles. The image depicts that Soviet has to carry Cyanide to such an extent that he has become his "mother". I rest my case your honor.
@Dyl007 OG game reviewer on TH-cam that lost the battle to cancer. Etiquette dictates I should be respectful and praise him when talking about him, but to be honest, he was kind of overrated despite having some solid opinions.
I was finishing up something in another tab when 'evangelists' started, and tabbed back after a few moments to restart the section to see if I WOULD see what I think I'd see and there was SC right at the very start as I had expected/hoped.
@@antaresmaelstrom5365 No. SC has plenty of people willing to defend it, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that, among them realists who are careful to explain issues and set the right expectations for backers, or criticise CiG, even attack them, but most are back to praising the game again when CiG gets its shit together again. I think it's more a case of an "evangelist cycle" for SC, people get annoyed at CiG, for not delivering, some fall into blind hatred, the people typically found at the SC refunds subreddit, but for every one of those there is at least one new excited backer (seing the numbers it's very likely much more than that), and others may turn their backs on the game for a while but return when development starts picking up again and fixes the issues they were annoyed by. It's a dangerous cycle though, because if they take too long or too many people get annoyed the downward spiral could be set off, and there is always the fear, among most backers probably that CiG are in way over their heads or the project has actually been mismanaged so horrendously that it's on its last legs.
As an aspiring game developer myself, I have to say, thank you. This video did actually show me the concept of early access in a very different light, and I'm glad it did so because I would have otherwise been headed towards a massive mistake. So, truly, thank you Womble.
"creating memories of gameplay that will stay with you many days afterwards" For me, it's years. I still remember one of the best times I had in the DayZ mod. I was playing with my friend in Australia on a 600 ping server. Fun times. I can't believe that was back in 2013. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago, but it's crazy to know that in just ~2 more years, the mod will be 10 years old. That's insane. I like SeriousWomble btw, you should do more videos like this.
Yeah hadn't heard that term before, it's a good one. It reminded me of Starbound.. when it first came out it was so much more fun than the final product, they got rid of so many fun and cool features, just to make a more bland experience. It got tore to pieces on SomethingAwful where a bunch of people were going to get news about it
@@FluffyDragon Starbound started out with too little to do and then exploded into a completely overwhelming monster that I failed to get my head around.
1:50 Lindybeige! Great to see you like him womble! A true gem of a channel for any nerd of history and military history in all it's shapes! But to be honest, his videos are not really essays, they are lectures, speeches with no cuts and minimal editing that tells you a story or a heap of information.
There is something a lot worse than Early Access games never reaching their potential. I'd say that Kickstarter games that ends up as complete lies before being quickly abandoned and the dev team disappearing with all the proceeds.
I may be completely wrong, but Kickstarter games are meant to raise fund. Unlike big companies, funding is one of the main issues that indie game development struggle with. If the Kickstarter game doesn't have enough popularity to have sufficient funding due to the lack of innovative ideas or having too much competition, the developers can do nothing but to abandon the game. If the kickstarter was successful, there is no reason to abandon the game. If your kickstarter was successful, the game must be having a certain popularity. Which mean you would have been able to earn more revenue by developing it completely and release the game.
@@homina1632 You are correct, but while not ALL games get abandoned, some wind up sitting in continual development for so long that it becomes obvious that for what money was available, the scope was too great to meet the planned deadlines. So, you find yourself still hopeful (maybe), but definitely less enthusiastic, for the game to actually become playable...while it has remained in beta for half a decade or longer.
I really liked hearing about this from someone ACUTALLY in QA. I also appreciate the well thought out points that still sounded like you, the Womble we know and love!
Soviet, I’ve gotta say- I’ve been with you watching your videos in one form of another since basically the start of Random DayZ Bullshittery. I’ve been an avid fan of the Arma series in general and saw the rise (and unfortunate end)of Frankie as well as enjoyed the content from Sada and the original ZF. To say I’d have a thousand hours if not multiple sunk into DayZ as well as Overwatch and Epoch would be easy. DayZ was a majority of the reason I got into PC gaming, as a freshman in high school at the time, and it’s easy to say that watching you guys’ videos was the reason I was interested in it from the start. It’s given me years upon years of enjoyment and brought me many mates that I still play stuff with even to this day almost 6-7 years later. this video is an awesome reminder as much as a sad conclusion to an era of part of my life, and thanks for doin the stuff you do mate cheers
@@dudemanbro7498 I think most of the time, the reason is pressure from the higher ups, the people who fund the project being too hasty for results and returns. Hence, the hasty releases.
Fallen Order is an unplayable mess a year after release. Obviously most publishers don't care about playability so long as they have something that'll sell
@@dudemanbro7498 usually it's lack of production (aka lack of time or lack of funds). Testing takes time and making sure every situation works might not be an option when the release date is close. That's when a healthy production shines, because when you don't have time to test, you need to trust that you code works without flaw, your art is properly implemented and your design works. And that's not something that happens when your boss is overworking you... or when you're like me lul
11:04 that's an extremely good segment. A lot of developers need to hear this. But they don't wanna. Overall, yeah this is cool, well-scripted and narrated, and offers a unique point of view thanks to your QA experience. Will be looking forward to more of these in the future.
Unfortunately there is only a teensy weensy bit of kernel that developers will say that no you're wrong about this or no we didn't mean or some shenanigan words. They just don't want to admit to say themselves when they saw the bad reviews the words "have we released the game too early" word. They can't man up because they know they will lose tons of money and players.
Well, what did you expect to happen from a company of developers with a mindset of "make the game for me". Let's be clear BIS nearly never produced any content or so-called "frameworks" that gave any starting point to everything that people play today still on A3. What they did is basically a game engine, and they also did that not really well so far. Arma 2 was basically born as a game when DayZ popped up, before that it was not even known. That mod produced mods like Exile, Epoch and other stuff like Overpoch that dug it deeper, and of course - Life framework. Currently (Arma 3) is still running just because of few mods like the mentioned life stuff and stuff like KoTH and some other milsims... See how Arma 4 is going to be another "do it for me" game that will be released already as a half-dead shell. I've been creating different type of content for Arma 3 since 2016 and BIS acting like customers and/or community developers should be patient, should be grateful for what we have is kinda common. Dude they've created a method in their engine to get system time, so we don't create extensions for that 7 YEARS AFTER THE GAME RELEASE. "Yeah have it now, lol, you deserved it, you are just making our game a game.. but.. you deserved it"
I'm just wondering what that dragon game that's in the video is called. Unless it's Istaria. Been a long time since I last watched a video on that game. Almost as long as it's been since I last played Runescape (I was actually surprised to see cinematics the last time I played it. I created my first account during the days when you spent the tutorial on some island. Back when the game said "These are your objectives, do them. If you don't already know the controls, press buttons and click stuff. See what happens or pops up." I eventually got bored and lost the password to that account).
The breaking of such cardinal rules is what is, in part, killing the gaming industry. That, and microtransactions. I know it's soaring profit wise, but appealing to the masses with garbage via the digital equivalent of high fructose corn syrup. It's nothing short of abuse of the natural addictive properties of the human brain. To use such base things to achieve one's goal is garish at best, and akin to a drug pusher (a pusher, and not a dealer as there's a difference) at worst.
Not only that, microtransactions are often targeted at a small subset of players (whales) but are still advertised to the common player. Making whales out of common players quickly becomes the main goal, and that's where the drug pushing and entrapment begin.
@@TlalocTemporal And the alternative is getting things like SBMM so they can monetize the matchmaking instead. Welcome to what happens when your hobby becomes mainstream. Kill one demon (microtransactions) and they'll just replace it with another, usually worse one.
@@jellyfrosh9102 even when a game has few if any micro transactions most triple a games rely on marketing the bring in people and straight up skip making a good game. Indies and lower budget companies aren’t included in this though because they can’t afford such a massive marketing campaign.
That whole "Evangelist Alienation" segment really caught my attention, because I have been that very person before. Someone who fell in love with a product, then got irrationally pissed when it changed. In this case it was with the Alpha state of the game Starbound. I liked how free and unrestrictive it was at first. The fact that you had to work your way up building tiers based on bosses you had to summon yourself felt very much like progression in minecraft which I love. An example being building the (I think tier four) robot boss to obtain a drop necessary to continue, which is similar to constructing a wither to fight. I thought this method of progression, based on building the bosses yourself and fighting them when ready, was really cool. Along with the combat system at the time being really fun to use in my eyes. But when I came back a month later to find that: The combat system was different, you now needed EPPs to live on hostile worlds instead of certain armours, and there was a whole new story with new bosses you don't make yourself, I got really pissed and almost stopped playing. But eventually after a while of playing through the new version I warmed up to it and decided it was better. Though there was a huge chance I might have quit right then and there. So yeah, it definitely makes sense to me.
I'm still pissed that they changed the randomness of the biomes. It was much better and much more random in the first version, where any star could have any kind of biome. Also the creature variation was better and truly random. The new stuff isn't bad, but it kills a lot of exploration and replay ability for me.
It's not the developers that need to hear this, but their management. The directors and CEOs and publishers and everyone else that hasn't got a clear idea of the development process but just wants to see green excel cells in the ROI and growth reports at the end of the month.
Yeah, I've never met a Dev who has been happy to release a half finished mess to the customer. It's always sales and management bitching about release schedules who do this shit.
This is mostly scapegoating. The reality is much more complicated than looking for someone to blame. That's how some people often "solve" problems, which is not really solving a problem (they only think it is), is not constructive and serves mostly to save face and inflated egos of someone higher in the hierarchy.
Never thought I'd see agile methodology being discussed on this channel lmao. I'm in software, enterprise not gaming, but I know many PMs who could learn a thing or two from this video.
Never ever would I've expected a serious video coming from SovietWomble and yet here we are, not only was this good video. no no no this is an exceptional video, with well written script, and a fan wanting more of these videos! WOW dude! I can't wait for the next essay video! See you next year mate!
@@gabrielxavier2676 I JUST WATCHED PART 2 and I'm in shock to see there's a part 3!!! :O Which is also very good! @SovietWomble you should do audiobooks! You're voice is kind of soothing when you're actually not bullshittering LOL!
Hmmmmm, he well prepared and nicely polished his content prior to release? Reminds me of something. Seems like Womble likes his videos like he likes his games
That's something I also noticed over the years: this industry seems to be (mostly) resistant to learning from their peer's mistakes and just repeat them. Some even just switch teams or company names just to repeat their own mistakes again.
Recently a project I was a risk manager for picked up agile and I decided to have a look on how the risk management process differed - I actually found a couple of examples professionally insulting since a lot of the "risks" they referred to were to my mind BFIs that would be solved by having QM Plans and Stakeholder plans, that are apparently "built into" the agile process
Wow, so interesting to hear Soviet speaking with seriousness and confidence about something he actually understands well. I watched Shroud, Summit1g, Sacriel, Break, Smak and others play DayZ for years and was primed for a video like this. I'll be watching your next stuff eagerly.
This series made me so happy. I know almost nothing about DayZ but I’m a massive Soviet fan. It’s so great to see him branching out and trying something new. Keep it up man, you’re fucking NAILING it.
so basically, you made a genuinely amazing, well put together, much needed wake up call to developers, filled with solid points, good ideas and super valid criticism, and you're saying its just a side project
Honestly the fact that Star Citizen has a reputation for never getting finished may actually help them avoid the alienation Womble discusses by setting expectations more effectively than any easily forgettable Early Access disclaimer.
I've been shouting this for years. I'm your customer, the end user of your product. No amount of promises or expectations makes it okay to charge me full retail price for the privilege to be your QA/Beta/Alpha tester. Sell me something worth what you are charging or don't put it on a store for purchase.
Though this is kinda new to me as well, since I've watched quite a few streams it's not that jarring. He sometimes rants about this type of stuff there which sounds just like this... except perhaps a bit more passion and frustration haha
A video essay is something often seen on TH-cam and isn't a 100% unique idea, but your take on it and the way you've executed it is absolutely fantastic. I got a completely different emotional feeling from this video than I got from any other essay I've ever watched. Your execution is what makes your take on this video genre unique. Keep it up.
Actually appreciate you doing this man, must have taken a lot of courage to do something new on your channel typical a different artstyle/genre. Especially not knowing how it would end up with this three part saga which probably took a lot of work as you said. I think its good for creators like yourself to do new stuff they enjoy as it will typically come out at the best quality. Hope too see more typically with different games.. ect!
I should probably say this, simply because it matters to me: I like how I am not required to watch the screen in order to make sense of your video. I enjoy listening to essay/rant videos whilst doing other stuff, whether that be washing dishes or playing Minecraft, and this video has a good format for that. Kudos for the solid work, Womble.
the "Evangelist Alienation" section reminds me of the analogy arlo made about the newer paper marios. how a changed game is like your favorite food, but over time small changes are made to it, and while its still that food, the changes removed what made it your favorite in the first place
Man, I had no idea that you were a colleague. As QA and Project Manager I have to tell you: You know your shit. I assume you'll be OK with it, but I'll make a presentation to my team based on what you have brought up. If you are interested, I'll let you know how it went (if you read this). Thanks for making me laugh so hard for so many years, and for this edifying video. Looking forward to seeing more of these!
It's interesting taking the things you say here and applying it to other games, like Factorio. Based on what you said here Factorio did everything right, when they first released it it might have not looked pretty but the game worked smoothly. The core game play loop was there and everything. As time went on instead of changing the loop they expanded it, adding trains, rockets, cars, nuclear power, artillery; all the while trimming the fat and tweaking mechanics to run smoother or to make it conform better to the original game play loop. Now its in 1.0 in its only pulled in more people to evangelize its vertues.
Yea, would also be interesting to contrast other games games which seemed to handle it well (Hades, Rimworld, Factorio, Teardown, Phasmophobia come to mind)
Womble wanted to say, I'm much like you and I love consuming video essays about topics I'm not very familiar with. You mentioned some specifically that I binge on the regular. I can confirm you nailed the energy of these videos that I enjoy. Well done, I hope you do more of these.
Honestly I dislike how filtered chat is becoming in games. Toxicity never bothered me, instead it made me laugh most of the time BUT never left me angry/hurt about it. I hope they leave the option to unfilter chat in future games.
Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated? I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else. Gets me frustrated. Just admit that you love the videos I make, my dear nick
As a Software Developer in training, I can only say I learned so much from this. For the first time I watched a video like this, I actually felt like someone knows what they are talking about. Keep it up!
dayz was so great (even sa at some times). i remember in Standalone i was once enslaved with a couple of other guys cuffed and forced to carry their stuff.. they locked us in buildings with a guard an everything came to give us food they organized prisoner convoys and and when i decided to run away after like 2 hours it lead to an epic chase through the forrest where i was unarmed and still cuffed being shot at by what was basically a militia hiding in bushes while they spread out and started searching. i didnt get to far until they caught my trail again and followed me into a village where i found a gun and holed up in a building in some last stand effort to inflict as much damage as possible, saving the last bullet to shoot myself
The fact that a humble dude needs to talk condescendingly to these developers speaks volumes... Its called disillusionment. Developers take note. This is the tide going out.
Users need to take note too. So many times we see shit like "its in early access chill out" - response to criticism. Which drives me fucking wild because wtf is the point of early access bullshit if any criticism is shut down by the "brave" white knights?
Womble, you are an absolute madman, did you really release three video essays in one single day?? I'm just really happy, and would be really excited if you did more video essays: your point of view, expirience, and editing make it unique from any other
Wife and I are always eager to watch your work when something new is released. We both agree this is amazing that you're starting to get into something you enjoy. We support you all the way and thank you for the entertainment!
@@andrewwhite1985 28 days later is good it just looks like it was shot on a potato (because it was). The low quality video would have probably looked out of place moreso than 28 weeks later
Honestly, i wasnt too sure how this would turn out, but listening to all three parts, this is an excellent analysis on DayZ. You make a lot of good points. Keep on making videos like this! It was extremely interesting.
Taking a little crack at something different. Let me know what you think. Full playlist - th-cam.com/play/PLBitIgZ_UvGFNHPFlRg4834gYBmbYmdr7.html
I think it’s a good change of pace, and it’s cool to know you can make something vastly different for your regular videos.
Hoofing video mate, found it interesting AF
Do what you like Soviet! so long as you're having fun with your content, we're going to be here to enjoy it. I know I will.
Really great, thought provoking and insightful analysis.
Not a bad start Womble darling.
Wow I remember you talking about working on this like 3 years ago I cant believe you actually finished it
Now all we need to do is wait another 3 years for the next one.
Plot twist: this video was sponsored by DayZ XD
Yooooo
@@CG-hf2cd There's two more at least
Three years!?
Good lord, I remember when you were still talking about this.
Yoooo
So when is “Day Z is Fun” coming?
Sock daddy you gonna do dayz is fun
yeah i remember him talking about working on some video essays like 3 years ago
Hey J!
you worked 10 years in Software QA... that explains a lot :)
it means he actually knows what he's talking about lol
@@tree427 no shit, but I think that it also explains why lots of his videos get shitcanned.
fancy seeing you here man
reason he is an alcoholic, it's part of the union rules. I should know, as a developer I am the reason they all are alcoholics!
@@mangalores-x_x
Then that means you at least use QA, if they're all alcoholics!
Hearing him talk about early access suffering from a first impression that doesn’t represent the desired product brings to mind a game that did it right: Slime Rancher. They dropped it out in early access as a cute game with a clever twist on a first person shooter, and it stayed like that to its final major updates. Everything that was added built onto the core mechanics, and it got them console releases and success. I genuinely cannot think of a single major idea in the game that wasn’t there from when I first bought it in its early days.
Escape from tarkov is still early access and they have been very consistent with the core idea of the game.
It feels weird hearing Soviet’s voice over such a serious production.
*It’s really well done*
no nervous giggles here
The effect of countless revisions
Yeah just womble. Without edberg ,cy and the rest of ZF and I agree it’s really well done
“You never get a first impression twice” is probably the best, most encapsulating line as to why early access doesn’t work in most cases
Works for writing books/stories as well. That's why when people ask me "Why does it take so long for you to publish anything" I tell them "Because I want to make it right."
Cubeworld applies to this line
Why "in most cases" instead of "in some cases"? Where are the statistics and studies for Early Access games to tell with confidence how much it worked and how much it didn't and in how many cases?
@@MichaelReznoR because I say so
@@immortaljanus Also a reason why artists don't like when people see their art before it's finished.
Soviet: uploading 3 video in one hour
Everyone: *confused screaming*
So true im very confused rn
thank you for summing up my collective confusion before i sprinkled it about over 3 videos
I’m suspecting this is not Soviet and just a big brain robot
Soviet is actually dead. A bot is just automatically uploading videos. Change my mind.
Hericy
This "Evangelist" concept is really interesting. Something most people probably felt but didnt know there was theory behind.
Yeah, I've seen this occur for decades in MMOs, but never heard this term. I'd argue that every Evangelist will eventually become alienated, though, if the lifespan of the game is long enough. Even if the game doesn't change, the person playing it does... and if nothing changes, burnout is real.
@@dracos24 Gamers often relate these sorts of people as toxic or a fanboy etc for whatever reasons because of their complaining. But more often than not, people who have legit criticisms are the biggest fan of the game and they're hating the changes.
"More often than not" people want a game that doesn't and can't exist in a state they would enjoy and play.
@@astupidlylongnamethatstoolong There are times you absolutely should not listen to Evangelists. XIV 1.0 evangelists being one of them. They defend every single thing about the old game that they thought was a "masterpiece", yet failed to mention that their version of the game caused the single most massive industrial disaster that almost drove Square, a mega-corporation with almost infinite funds, into near bankruptcy.
Do they love 1.0? Yeah. Should they be listened to? Absolutely not.
Cyber- *cough cough* -punk *cough cough* 2077
Shoutout to Rust, a pvp game disguised as a survival game!
k dud
I second that.
it was only good around the first 3-4 years. At this point they dont even care for the "survival" aspect.
they only add fireweapons nonstop, i am happy to being able to play around the years it was still fun
And to The Isle, which is, as Womble will tell you over and over and over and over and over again, "essentially the Day Z mod, with dinosaurs"!
@@fitzwits haha you must be a kid
I remember TB saying this: "The moment you decide to charge money for a product, you lose the ability to hide behind the defence that 'it's just a beta'"
rest in peace
Bloody miss that dude
I'm gonna sound stupid, but who's TB?
@@sirwinterofwinterland9901 TotalBiscuit. He was a huge (Game) consumer advocate and game reviewer. Who, sadly, passed away due to cancer. If you haven't - You really should look up a couple of his videos.
@@sirwinterofwinterland9901 Totalbiscuit
Basically.
At most, they'll forgive you for the loading screen being a bit long under early access.
Seeing Womble actually talking like a normal human being, teaching something, sounds so odd but I like it a lot.
I’m so used to hearing his girly screams
when he streams he's also a almost normal human ^^
@@DerkleineTrojaner heh "almost"
I love the steam review at 11:34 “This is just a walking simulator” with almost 90 hours on the game
Walking is fun
I like your first name
@@ryandvorak2066 thanks, I like yours too
Cause he had to make sure there wasn't something
"Just after this part"
Cause of you and people like you
You comment "this is a life changing game" on all videos and then patrol the negative reviews commenting and giving jester awards
If they stop immediately it's "Lol you didn't play how would you know"
And if they put in the time it's " wow 50hrs. You already enjoyed and you are complaining"
Get fucked
"[Video Essays] became something of a running joke."
He warned us. He threatened to do it and was laughed at.
Now Wumbo is the one laughing.
Thank you for funding Womble so us free viewers get to enjoy his golden content
Therapist: "serious Womble isn't real, he can't hurt you"
Serious Womble:
The one thing I took away from this video is that serious womble is scary
serious womble is hot
Username checks out
*Beset on all sides by idiots*
D:
after seeing the previews for so long, it's finally here. Just in time for lunch.
edit: Damn, that point about early access is great. My biggest hate in the gaming industry is all these cool games that release into early access and get massive waves of players, but they never stick around because the game is buggy or the content isn't there yet. Then three years down the line the game is super updated and polished and everything is great, but the player base by now is utterly dead. It happens to all the survival games, the "build your own kingdom" games, even multiplayer games like Blackwake and Holdfast. I'm still excited for Star Citizen, but my fear is basically that they'll release into the open world before the game is all there, you'll have a rush of players and then it will die off. Games like EVE and Elite only work with other players around to make it fun.
Imagine being in the Australian Time zone 4hed. Its midnight here
It’s 4pm, what fucking lunch is this?
Nearly 11 PM for me. USAUSAUSAUSA
@@mostlyraptor9048 west aus most like. And here in qld I keep forgetting the rest of this side of aus does that weird daylight whatsit thing
Oh crap, its Rimmy.
I think that most developers use Early Access the wrong way. It's not a bad concept, but they push the game out way to early. Some games this is fine, like ARK. They had a basic concept that was mostly working when they released it into EA. Some indy companies get a little to ambitious on their first game and make a lot of promises without anyway to deliver, but they already released their early access game into what is basically pre-alpha concept stages.
This was actually very informative. Between the bullshittery videos i had totally forgotten that womble is actually a well educated lad.
With that accent?
@@moritamikamikara3879 yes
The brain behind the bullshit
Well it is hard to tell most of the time
a well educated, experienced lad
"you never get a second first impression" I love this sentence.
It's a good lesson in general for life
Knowing the fact that Soviet is experienced with quality assurance just allows me to appreciate his content even more: He literally has work experience with making sure a project is of a good enough quality to put out into a market, which is one of several reasons why Soviet always has really high quality content for us to enjoy.
Probably why he takes so long to deliver as well
And that is what made me appreciate his videos even more.
Soviet: “Here I am, incredibly late to the party...”
Me: Yea but I’m so on board
Congratulations Womble, you're now the centrepiece of my team meeting next Wednesday - I've got a room full of architect and design people to talk down to and you hit the nail on the head for easily 95% of the problems my support team need to deal with when we do service transition. Officially stealing your "never get a second first impression" line btw.
"Survival games treat people like adults."
Immediately shows footage of a naked caveman riding a dinosaur.
NORMAL ADULT THINGS
ACT NORMAL
How else do you expect me to carpool to work?
@@KeeperofthePeace With your clothes on.
@@1996othello r/wooosh
Everyone: Soviet, you need an upload schedule
Soviet: DID SOMEONE SAY UPLOAD?! HERE’S 3
Honestly I really like the idea of womble talking directly to his audience. He's always seemed like a creator that has been distance from his TH-cam community, so seeing him interact with us like this is really pleasant to see.
yeah
Notice me womble senpai
Hell yeah screw you twitch community
I agree, but also having that "distance" (though I mean it without the possible negative connotations) can be refreshing is an increasingly "face-to-face" environment. I think it's part of what makes his normal stuff so enjoyable: it's just pure, well-edited, fun entertainment.
Interacting with online communities sucks balls.
I just want to remind everyone that Cyanide knifed NBK
*Never forget*
That sounds awpfully familiar to just having finished watching that csgo bullshitery episode
:|
@@olmocap5548 ._.
Are you Cyanide in disguise?
Hey, Cy
Who broke Womble? He's being serious, not being a piss take or tripping over his face!
Really know, good video,
He always was the most serious person in ZF but there isnt much competition
@@MAN_FROM_BEYOND what do you mean?
I never thought that Womble just talking would be this entertaining. I fully support more video essays!
You should watch his twitch streams
Besides his amazing editing skills, his opinions on many things(Think it's called ranting) are quite interesting.
Ngl I broke every rule womble said not to break.
*Rules I broke* :
-> Screwed up my product after deploying it at customer site.
-> Product was full of bugs. Half ass completed.
-> Dragged the release date more than days to months.
-> I broke every rule in software development life cycle.
-> Hell I even broke standard coding rules.
*The Result* :
Dissatisfied customer and an angry boss that made my life even more miserable than it already is as a software developer.
*Moral from my story* :
So aspiring to be new developers do take notes of what womble is saying this shit matters the most and is a real deal.
*You don't get Second First impression*
What's the name of the game you worked on ?
Truth! Still a very junior developer (only a couple years working experience) but thankfully I had a great professor who drove this stuff home on top of experience all of what you had myself for an actual client too (thank goodness I was still in school then lol). But all of that has helped me to be the major pushing force to change and get out of this spiral for my clients giving me some good brownie points :P
@@voku241 considering they are specifying product and not game, I'd say its pretty safe to assume they weren't working on a game. Admit I could be 100% wrong but these problems and experiences are universal for any software developer and is definitely still ongoing in the industry as a whole.
@@voku241 it ain't a game I was was working on but standard software development rules apply to any software product ranging from websites, desktop application to games etc.,.
In my case iam speaking about desktop application.
@@sanjeevdandin9350 Hey, you live and you learn.
The mad man did it. He moved his rants into videos.
Jokes aside, I do enjoy this. It's amusing but if I was to nitpick a bit, the cuts in audio is a little too on the nose.
I am the same though. The tag of "Early Access" when I come across a game I find interesting in concept does deter me from picking it up.
What is even more disconcerning now is that supposed AAA titles start to do this. Baldurs Gate 3 is in early access ... for full price. At least it is mostly finished, but still. Not a good way to go.
When you realize there's probably tons of hidden gold SovietWomble content that is unreleased because he didn't think it was any good:
#ReleaseTheSovietCut
#ReleaseTheWombleCut
Lmao
#ReleaseTheWobleCut
#ReleaseTheBadgersCut
Aye!
#ReleaseTheSovietCut
Why I feel like he's talking like a British Professor at a University that I cant afford to
He's actually better than the professors of "high education" in America, pretty fucking sad if you ask me.
Wait... Rust was a pvp game?
@Jon Goat Why not just allow both Private and Government run business exist?
Man would you love UpIsNotJump
Are you high? If so me too
This video in one sentence: "early access is for polishing and balance - not core game design."
Kinda wasn't into this for that reason. Really just a long rant that should be obvious but doesn't turn out that way for many many financial reasons. Patreon being one of the worst offenders, allowing people to make 1/10th of a game and then ask for people to pay for it's development. Great in theory, terrible in practice
@@Ola_liker_polet No you muppet, its an introduction.
This comment is the equal to reading the back summary of "Moby Dick" and saying " he wants to weird flex that he was on a whaling boat but lacks any knowledge past surface level on whale-catching".
@@Ola_liker_polet He has played so many dozens of hours for each video he has ever made for it that he is mush more qualified to talk about the issues. Someone that's played for a few hours and barely seen a fraction of the bs and shenanigans he and his crew have CAN have a basic opinion. Though the fact it's treated as if them playing 'loads' of similar games makes them experts is like saying since RLM have likely seen most modern and relatively modern movies that they can make one well...
4:50 Nice to see my clip in here man, great new format! Hope to see more essays in the future, no rush though!
Of course... The damn preston garvey is included
Hello!
No one can rush Soviet - Not even himself
THIS IS THE BEST YEAR EVERY LMAO THIS IS JUST A TURNING POINT, MULTIPLE VIDEOS IN A YEAR HOLY SHIT!
MULTIPLE IN A WEEK IS A RECORD, LET ALONE A DAY, OR AN HOUR
"best year"
@Der Richtige Arzt lol
not to mention the games that got released this year!
@Der Richtige Arzt excuse me?! Doom eternal? finally a new Animal Crossing (even tho i am no fan)? ORI AND WILL OF THE WISP!!!?!?!
@Der Richtige Arzt oh ok. btw while you might not like it, i'd rcommend you to just watch the trailer of Ori and tthe will of the wisps. the graphic is outstanding, just like the music and the atmosphere
Your qualifications aside, Animation is what sets this video essay apart from most other video essays :)
I believe illustration is a strong weapon that few people are using. The typical trend is speaking over Gameplay footage. That's some leafyishere tier stuff and I don't enjoy those videos.
The only other video essays I usually watch are Internet Historian and Fullfat Videos
Wait that’s still a thing? I’m used to creators like game makers toolkit, innuendo studios, and Joseph Anderson now, so I haven’t seen anyone do that in years
@@grimshadow8845 *Internet historian*
I dont like that name
@@grimshadow8845 you should really check out Joseph Anderson. Hes great with video essays and streams on twitch with the same memability as soviet
yeah but atleast if facebook steals this video its not years down the drain.
Womble: Well here it is amazingly late to the party.....
Us: hmmmm...well umm.....
We didn't think we were going to get anything.
So I reckon it's a pleasant surprise.👍
'this is just a walking simulator" 90+hours of game. at least he knows what he is talking about!
I submit to your considering this:
The image in the beginning is based on the painting "Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1" by James McNeill Whistler. It is more commonly known as "Whistler's Mother".
Soviet is always carrying Cyanide, who often, whistles.
The image depicts that Soviet has to carry Cyanide to such an extent that he has become his "mother".
I rest my case your honor.
the artwork is definitely based on the painting...the rest of your analysis is ..questionable :D
"Survival games treat people like adults."
_A rookie mistake._
Sup Pat, where's Mat?
Yeah mate wheres mat??
Oh look, it's Pat. Here to fuck up a home project.
@@supra107 @Im a tree
He's outside, harvesting concrete with his scythe.
i.imgur com/eouXgOl.png
"It's me, Soviet."
HE'S UPLOADING MORE THAN ONCE IN A DAY. IT'S NOT HIM.
I saw three pop up today and wondered what the fuck was going on, lol
Very sus
@@FALG31 vote him out now. If it's not him we take out cyanide next.
Soviet sus, he's an impostor
*VOTE HIM OUT THAT AIN'T WOMLE*
I like how soviet was holding his laugh when he said "everyone must play together in the matchmaking circle"
Alright guys, this content should be enough to last us until we die, or until Day Z finally finishes.
sure dude GHAHAHSUIGWF[IHNGEFO98I[EWPJQGO
Ayy justin, fancy meeting you here. You're pretty fast too
Good reaction time justin
Y tho
Good to see you Justin
hell yes
Hello there, fellow SnS user.
Why aren't you verified
I like how I'm seeing so many youtubers in the comment sections of channels I'd never thought I'd find them.
Please play more HOLDFAST! Love the channel
It's kinda funny to see my favorite youtubers in the comment section of my favorite youtuber lol
never thought i'd ever see part of the void that the loss of TotalBiscuit left behind be filled up by SovietWomble. Impressive.
@Garmon exactly, he's in the void
@Dyl007 OG game reviewer on TH-cam that lost the battle to cancer. Etiquette dictates I should be respectful and praise him when talking about him, but to be honest, he was kind of overrated despite having some solid opinions.
@@physical_insanityRIP regardless
"survival games treat people like adults."
*proceeds to be like children and mess with each other constantly*
:D
Basically what being an adult with your buddies is lol
Implying children are not small inexperienced adults/adults are not large experienced children
He says it *treats* playera like and adult, no one said players would *act* like adults :)
@@BDR123 aahahahaaaa that's the fine print right there!
benis
Womble ran a long con to attract us with humour to suddenly post educational videos.
Well played...
He pulled an upisnotjump on us!
Jokes on him, im into that shit
Pulled a Lemmino!
And I'm fully in for it.
"evangelist alienation"
*shows dawn of war 1 and dawn of war 3*
*cries in the corner*
I was finishing up something in another tab when 'evangelists' started, and tabbed back after a few moments to restart the section to see if I WOULD see what I think I'd see and there was SC right at the very start as I had expected/hoped.
Man, how'd he get a game that doesn't exist?
@@antaresmaelstrom5365 No. SC has plenty of people willing to defend it, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that, among them realists who are careful to explain issues and set the right expectations for backers, or criticise CiG, even attack them, but most are back to praising the game again when CiG gets its shit together again. I think it's more a case of an "evangelist cycle" for SC, people get annoyed at CiG, for not delivering, some fall into blind hatred, the people typically found at the SC refunds subreddit, but for every one of those there is at least one new excited backer (seing the numbers it's very likely much more than that), and others may turn their backs on the game for a while but return when development starts picking up again and fixes the issues they were annoyed by. It's a dangerous cycle though, because if they take too long or too many people get annoyed the downward spiral could be set off, and there is always the fear, among most backers probably that CiG are in way over their heads or the project has actually been mismanaged so horrendously that it's on its last legs.
I honestly love Soviets voice. I could happily listen to this man talk or rant about anything all day everyday.
Shows footage of 28 weeks later
SovietWomble: "28 days later"
How dare you
him uploading now makes me think that I've been here waiting for another video for a billion years.
As an aspiring game developer myself, I have to say, thank you.
This video did actually show me the concept of early access in a very different light, and I'm glad it did so because I would have otherwise been headed towards a massive mistake.
So, truly, thank you Womble.
"creating memories of gameplay that will stay with you many days afterwards"
For me, it's years. I still remember one of the best times I had in the DayZ mod. I was playing with my friend in Australia on a 600 ping server. Fun times. I can't believe that was back in 2013. It doesn't feel like it was that long ago, but it's crazy to know that in just ~2 more years, the mod will be 10 years old. That's insane. I like SeriousWomble btw, you should do more videos like this.
"evangelist alienation" is a term I've been looking for for almost a year with Hunt Showdown
Yeah hadn't heard that term before, it's a good one. It reminded me of Starbound.. when it first came out it was so much more fun than the final product, they got rid of so many fun and cool features, just to make a more bland experience. It got tore to pieces on SomethingAwful where a bunch of people were going to get news about it
@@FluffyDragon Starbound started out with too little to do and then exploded into a completely overwhelming monster that I failed to get my head around.
same thing for Tarkov.
note how it's EA
I feel the same thing. release alpha made me angry. It was a great game before. Now I regret.
The fact he did a video on something he really enjoys instead of something popular is very much appreciated and recognized XD
Finally, a video that makes my day
I have good news for you. 3*
...Z
Finally, some good fucking food.
1:50 Lindybeige! Great to see you like him womble! A true gem of a channel for any nerd of history and military history in all it's shapes! But to be honest, his videos are not really essays, they are lectures, speeches with no cuts and minimal editing that tells you a story or a heap of information.
I adore that man for his ability to ramble on about knowledge and anecdotes without a single cut.
There is something a lot worse than Early Access games never reaching their potential. I'd say that Kickstarter games that ends up as complete lies before being quickly abandoned and the dev team disappearing with all the proceeds.
Pre-orders and reputation go hand-in-hand. Never pre-order without a guarantee or solid demo.
Well, that’s literally taking money for a product that doesn’t exist. I can’t see why people are surprised when that doesn’t work out...
That's called an Exit Scam my guy.
I may be completely wrong, but Kickstarter games are meant to raise fund. Unlike big companies, funding is one of the main issues that indie game development struggle with. If the Kickstarter game doesn't have enough popularity to have sufficient funding due to the lack of innovative ideas or having too much competition, the developers can do nothing but to abandon the game.
If the kickstarter was successful, there is no reason to abandon the game. If your kickstarter was successful, the game must be having a certain popularity. Which mean you would have been able to earn more revenue by developing it completely and release the game.
@@homina1632 You are correct, but while not ALL games get abandoned, some wind up sitting in continual development for so long that it becomes obvious that for what money was available, the scope was too great to meet the planned deadlines. So, you find yourself still hopeful (maybe), but definitely less enthusiastic, for the game to actually become playable...while it has remained in beta for half a decade or longer.
I really liked hearing about this from someone ACUTALLY in QA. I also appreciate the well thought out points that still sounded like you, the Womble we know and love!
I’m about 5 minutes in, and it feels weird not hearing any fart jokes, mockery, or any of the other high brow humor.
XD
I still love this though
Soviet, I’ve gotta say-
I’ve been with you watching your videos in one form of another since basically the start of Random DayZ Bullshittery. I’ve been an avid fan of the Arma series in general and saw the rise (and unfortunate end)of Frankie as well as enjoyed the content from Sada and the original ZF. To say I’d have a thousand hours if not multiple sunk into DayZ as well as Overwatch and Epoch would be easy. DayZ was a majority of the reason I got into PC gaming, as a freshman in high school at the time, and it’s easy to say that watching you guys’ videos was the reason I was interested in it from the start. It’s given me years upon years of enjoyment and brought me many mates that I still play stuff with even to this day almost 6-7 years later.
this video is an awesome reminder as much as a sad conclusion to an era of part of my life, and thanks for doin the stuff you do mate
cheers
Wait, what happened to Frankie?
As a dev, I got to say that "don't release something broken" is a statement I sadly need to remind my peers (and myself) way too often...
Good vid ;)
What's the main reason you usually find for something broken to be released?
Like, for example, is it just hype among the dev team?
@@dudemanbro7498 I think most of the time, the reason is pressure from the higher ups, the people who fund the project being too hasty for results and returns.
Hence, the hasty releases.
Fallen Order is an unplayable mess a year after release. Obviously most publishers don't care about playability so long as they have something that'll sell
@@dudemanbro7498 usually it's lack of production (aka lack of time or lack of funds). Testing takes time and making sure every situation works might not be an option when the release date is close. That's when a healthy production shines, because when you don't have time to test, you need to trust that you code works without flaw, your art is properly implemented and your design works. And that's not something that happens when your boss is overworking you... or when you're like me lul
11:04 that's an extremely good segment. A lot of developers need to hear this. But they don't wanna.
Overall, yeah this is cool, well-scripted and narrated, and offers a unique point of view thanks to your QA experience.
Will be looking forward to more of these in the future.
Unfortunately there is only a teensy weensy bit of kernel that developers will say that no you're wrong about this or no we didn't mean or some shenanigan words. They just don't want to admit to say themselves when they saw the bad reviews the words "have we released the game too early" word. They can't man up because they know they will lose tons of money and players.
Trust me, im a game dev and i started making notes. This video is so helpfull understandinh early accese and what people expect.
Well, what did you expect to happen from a company of developers with a mindset of "make the game for me". Let's be clear BIS nearly never produced any content or so-called "frameworks" that gave any starting point to everything that people play today still on A3. What they did is basically a game engine, and they also did that not really well so far. Arma 2 was basically born as a game when DayZ popped up, before that it was not even known. That mod produced mods like Exile, Epoch and other stuff like Overpoch that dug it deeper, and of course - Life framework. Currently (Arma 3) is still running just because of few mods like the mentioned life stuff and stuff like KoTH and some other milsims... See how Arma 4 is going to be another "do it for me" game that will be released already as a half-dead shell.
I've been creating different type of content for Arma 3 since 2016 and BIS acting like customers and/or community developers should be patient, should be grateful for what we have is kinda common. Dude they've created a method in their engine to get system time, so we don't create extensions for that 7 YEARS AFTER THE GAME RELEASE. "Yeah have it now, lol, you deserved it, you are just making our game a game.. but.. you deserved it"
Everyone here talking about how early they are, never here to talk about Womble's narration which is honestly quite good for a side project
agreed
I'm just wondering what that dragon game that's in the video is called. Unless it's Istaria. Been a long time since I last watched a video on that game. Almost as long as it's been since I last played Runescape (I was actually surprised to see cinematics the last time I played it. I created my first account during the days when you spent the tutorial on some island. Back when the game said "These are your objectives, do them. If you don't already know the controls, press buttons and click stuff. See what happens or pops up." I eventually got bored and lost the password to that account).
The breaking of such cardinal rules is what is, in part, killing the gaming industry. That, and microtransactions. I know it's soaring profit wise, but appealing to the masses with garbage via the digital equivalent of high fructose corn syrup. It's nothing short of abuse of the natural addictive properties of the human brain. To use such base things to achieve one's goal is garish at best, and akin to a drug pusher (a pusher, and not a dealer as there's a difference) at worst.
Not only that, microtransactions are often targeted at a small subset of players (whales) but are still advertised to the common player. Making whales out of common players quickly becomes the main goal, and that's where the drug pushing and entrapment begin.
@@TlalocTemporal And the alternative is getting things like SBMM so they can monetize the matchmaking instead. Welcome to what happens when your hobby becomes mainstream. Kill one demon (microtransactions) and they'll just replace it with another, usually worse one.
@@jellyfrosh9102 even when a game has few if any micro transactions most triple a games rely on marketing the bring in people and straight up skip making a good game. Indies and lower budget companies aren’t included in this though because they can’t afford such a massive marketing campaign.
That whole "Evangelist Alienation" segment really caught my attention, because I have been that very person before. Someone who fell in love with a product, then got irrationally pissed when it changed.
In this case it was with the Alpha state of the game Starbound. I liked how free and unrestrictive it was at first. The fact that you had to work your way up building tiers based on bosses you had to summon yourself felt very much like progression in minecraft which I love.
An example being building the (I think tier four) robot boss to obtain a drop necessary to continue, which is similar to constructing a wither to fight.
I thought this method of progression, based on building the bosses yourself and fighting them when ready, was really cool. Along with the combat system at the time being really fun to use in my eyes.
But when I came back a month later to find that: The combat system was different, you now needed EPPs to live on hostile worlds instead of certain armours, and there was a whole new story with new bosses you don't make yourself, I got really pissed and almost stopped playing.
But eventually after a while of playing through the new version I warmed up to it and decided it was better. Though there was a huge chance I might have quit right then and there.
So yeah, it definitely makes sense to me.
I'm still pissed that they changed the randomness of the biomes. It was much better and much more random in the first version, where any star could have any kind of biome. Also the creature variation was better and truly random. The new stuff isn't bad, but it kills a lot of exploration and replay ability for me.
It's not the developers that need to hear this, but their management. The directors and CEOs and publishers and everyone else that hasn't got a clear idea of the development process but just wants to see green excel cells in the ROI and growth reports at the end of the month.
Yeah, I've never met a Dev who has been happy to release a half finished mess to the customer. It's always sales and management bitching about release schedules who do this shit.
@@benclarke5551 Except for YanDev, but I’m fine with us ignoring him.
Lazy developers exist. What matters is holding the right people accountable, whether they're developers or publishers.
@@maxwellsterling word.
This is mostly scapegoating. The reality is much more complicated than looking for someone to blame. That's how some people often "solve" problems, which is not really solving a problem (they only think it is), is not constructive and serves mostly to save face and inflated egos of someone higher in the hierarchy.
"title screen transition wha? oh" pure comedy.
Such a joy to be surprised into laughing. Love this shit.
Never thought I'd see agile methodology being discussed on this channel lmao.
I'm in software, enterprise not gaming, but I know many PMs who could learn a thing or two from this video.
Never ever would I've expected a serious video coming from SovietWomble and yet here we are, not only was this good video. no no no this is an exceptional video, with well written script, and a fan wanting more of these videos!
WOW dude! I can't wait for the next essay video!
See you next year mate!
He released 3 essays at the same time, check it out
@@gabrielxavier2676 I JUST WATCHED PART 2 and I'm in shock to see there's a part 3!!! :O
Which is also very good!
@SovietWomble you should do audiobooks!
You're voice is kind of soothing when you're actually not bullshittering LOL!
This felt like a Pyro cynical video
Hmmmmm, he well prepared and nicely polished his content prior to release? Reminds me of something. Seems like Womble likes his videos like he likes his games
Honestly you can really tell how much time and care went into this. I’m really glad you pushed through and made it public, it was well worth the wait!
That's something I also noticed over the years: this industry seems to be (mostly) resistant to learning from their peer's mistakes and just repeat them.
Some even just switch teams or company names just to repeat their own mistakes again.
anyone said warz?
Let's all laugh at an industry
That never learns anything, tee-hee-hee.
Huh, yeah.
Its not a mistake. Just like covid it's a plan to force change the norm
Recently a project I was a risk manager for picked up agile and I decided to have a look on how the risk management process differed - I actually found a couple of examples professionally insulting since a lot of the "risks" they referred to were to my mind BFIs that would be solved by having QM Plans and Stakeholder plans, that are apparently "built into" the agile process
Literally everyone when we got notified: *S U P E R N U T*
it's november, dude
Some of us nut regardless
@@nickspencerfishingrodd2383 its alright, ITS WORTH IT
Ubernut
i got anxiety when his essay voice started and he talked seriously.. it sounds so good yet feels weird to not hear him bantering....
Wow, so interesting to hear Soviet speaking with seriousness and confidence about something he actually understands well. I watched Shroud, Summit1g, Sacriel, Break, Smak and others play DayZ for years and was primed for a video like this. I'll be watching your next stuff eagerly.
This series made me so happy. I know almost nothing about DayZ but I’m a massive Soviet fan. It’s so great to see him branching out and trying something new. Keep it up man, you’re fucking NAILING it.
so basically, you made a genuinely amazing, well put together, much needed wake up call to developers, filled with solid points, good ideas and super valid criticism, and you're saying its just a side project
“Development time seemed extreme”
Cries in star citizen
At least you have a 200 dollar starship
@@gabrielantunez7642 By the prices they ask for, they might as well be real spaceships, honestly.
@@gabrielantunez7642 Only 200? xD
Honestly the fact that Star Citizen has a reputation for never getting finished may actually help them avoid the alienation Womble discusses by setting expectations more effectively than any easily forgettable Early Access disclaimer.
at least that one is noticeably progressing even if slow... dayz is... in another universe
10:28
"Early Access IS your Release"
This!! This needed to be said far and wide across all four corners of the World !
NOBODY listen to QA, that's why now Womble does bullshittery videos...
I've been shouting this for years. I'm your customer, the end user of your product. No amount of promises or expectations makes it okay to charge me full retail price for the privilege to be your QA/Beta/Alpha tester. Sell me something worth what you are charging or don't put it on a store for purchase.
I whole heartily want to say thank you for all your movies they mad me get out of my head and my dark days.
Thank you
I appreciate this type of content, but honestly, I'm so used to wacky Bullshittery Womble, that serious Womble hits different.
Ikr?! Feels so weird to hear him not giggling or anything, just all seriousness, I kinda dig it
Though this is kinda new to me as well, since I've watched quite a few streams it's not that jarring. He sometimes rants about this type of stuff there which sounds just like this... except perhaps a bit more passion and frustration haha
Just pretend it’s UpIsNotJump... and it’s uncanny.
@@catmadeofdog Holy shit I cant unhear it
@@catmadeofdog
I WAS JUST THINKING THAT
A video essay is something often seen on TH-cam and isn't a 100% unique idea, but your take on it and the way you've executed it is absolutely fantastic. I got a completely different emotional feeling from this video than I got from any other essay I've ever watched. Your execution is what makes your take on this video genre unique. Keep it up.
Actually appreciate you doing this man, must have taken a lot of courage to do something new on your channel typical a different artstyle/genre. Especially not knowing how it would end up with this three part saga which probably took a lot of work as you said. I think its good for creators like yourself to do new stuff they enjoy as it will typically come out at the best quality. Hope too see more typically with different games.. ect!
I should probably say this, simply because it matters to me: I like how I am not required to watch the screen in order to make sense of your video. I enjoy listening to essay/rant videos whilst doing other stuff, whether that be washing dishes or playing Minecraft, and this video has a good format for that. Kudos for the solid work, Womble.
the "Evangelist Alienation" section reminds me of the analogy arlo made about the newer paper marios.
how a changed game is like your favorite food, but over time small changes are made to it, and while its still that food, the changes removed what made it your favorite in the first place
Yep Boat of Theseus is a great way to describe the new Paper Mario games as well as a ton of games that can be sort of a niche market or fan base.
Man, I had no idea that you were a colleague. As QA and Project Manager I have to tell you: You know your shit. I assume you'll be OK with it, but I'll make a presentation to my team based on what you have brought up. If you are interested, I'll let you know how it went (if you read this). Thanks for making me laugh so hard for so many years, and for this edifying video. Looking forward to seeing more of these!
Not sure about others, but I am interested.
bookmarking to see how it goes. GL!
Bookmarking as well XD
Interested here too. How do you feel about popping it on a Google Slides and giving us commenters the link once you’re done? ^_^
👀
It's interesting taking the things you say here and applying it to other games, like Factorio. Based on what you said here Factorio did everything right, when they first released it it might have not looked pretty but the game worked smoothly. The core game play loop was there and everything. As time went on instead of changing the loop they expanded it, adding trains, rockets, cars, nuclear power, artillery; all the while trimming the fat and tweaking mechanics to run smoother or to make it conform better to the original game play loop. Now its in 1.0 in its only pulled in more people to evangelize its vertues.
Yea, would also be interesting to contrast other games games which seemed to handle it well (Hades, Rimworld, Factorio, Teardown, Phasmophobia come to mind)
@@drojf Don't forget Subnautica
@@drojf nvever leave wreckfest out of an equasion like this!
Every time i listen core gameplay loop I think of Yahtzee Croshaw.
I can only think about the Game Cubeworld, it changed sooo much of what it wanted to be that it completely flopped on release
Womble wanted to say, I'm much like you and I love consuming video essays about topics I'm not very familiar with. You mentioned some specifically that I binge on the regular.
I can confirm you nailed the energy of these videos that I enjoy. Well done, I hope you do more of these.
I like how he is trying to hold in his laugh at the Toxicity part
ikr lol.
Honestly I dislike how filtered chat is becoming in games. Toxicity never bothered me, instead it made me laugh most of the time BUT never left me angry/hurt about it. I hope they leave the option to unfilter chat in future games.
@@artur7668 I still think there should be some filtering to make sure it doesn’t get too out of hand
@@peggedyourdad9560 As I said, developers can leave an option in settings for the players. I'm not saying to completely remove it
@@artur7668 ah ok, I understand that
Itssss happeningggggg, I didn't think they'd ever be released
Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated? I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else. Gets me frustrated. Just admit that you love the videos I make, my dear nick
As a Software Developer in training, I can only say I learned so much from this.
For the first time I watched a video like this, I actually felt like someone knows what they are talking about.
Keep it up!
Greetings! Nice to see you here mate!
@@LoathingEditor As per usual ;)
dayz was so great (even sa at some times). i remember in Standalone i was once enslaved with a couple of other guys cuffed and forced to carry their stuff.. they locked us in buildings with a guard an everything came to give us food they organized prisoner convoys and and when i decided to run away after like 2 hours it lead to an epic chase through the forrest where i was unarmed and still cuffed being shot at by what was basically a militia hiding in bushes while they spread out and started searching. i didnt get to far until they caught my trail again and followed me into a village where i found a gun and holed up in a building in some last stand effort to inflict as much damage as possible, saving the last bullet to shoot myself
The fact that a humble dude needs to talk condescendingly to these developers speaks volumes...
Its called disillusionment.
Developers take note.
This is the tide going out.
Users need to take note too.
So many times we see shit like "its in early access chill out" - response to criticism. Which drives me fucking wild because wtf is the point of early access bullshit if any criticism is shut down by the "brave" white knights?
Womble, you are an absolute madman, did you really release three video essays in one single day?? I'm just really happy, and would be really excited if you did more video essays: your point of view, expirience, and editing make it unique from any other
Remember the time when womble uploaded a 30 second clip of a small fish and the disappeared for another month
Wife and I are always eager to watch your work when something new is released. We both agree this is amazing that you're starting to get into something you enjoy. We support you all the way and thank you for the entertainment!
2:20 "28 days later" *shows 28 weeks later*
You're literally going to end my life at this rate Womble
He probably chose it because 28 days later's film quality is just dog shit
@@TheShimmy12 Yu w0t. 🤔
@@andrewwhite1985 28 days later is good it just looks like it was shot on a potato (because it was). The low quality video would have probably looked out of place moreso than 28 weeks later
@@TheShimmy12 Haha 100%, Days is good but such bad quality :p
11:33
"This is just a walking simulator"
*89.4 hours on record*
I remember this man talking about this essay a year/2 years ago. I thought he abandoned this project
The essay was not ready for access.
@@Shieldsz of course, i just kinda forgot about it and then remembered he was talking about it years ago when I saw it in the channel
@@sovietamerica5561 He was making a joke about how the essay wasn't ready for early access yet^^
@@Luc1112000 i feel like I have an iq of 2 now
@@sovietamerica5561 hahahha all good
Honestly, i wasnt too sure how this would turn out, but listening to all three parts, this is an excellent analysis on DayZ. You make a lot of good points. Keep on making videos like this! It was extremely interesting.