|
jchastain -> RE: Well, it's April (4/3/2007 3:22:29 AM)
|
The LAST thing I want to see us do is criticize them for providing information and status. I appreciate their guesses. And I know they will not always meet their self imposed targets. I doubt many of the stable of matrix developers makes a living solely through their production of games. Most do this because they love it. That's one of the things I enjoy about the games - they are generally labors of love made by actual gamers. And, as with any sideline profession (and even primary professions from time to time), sometimes "real life" gets in the way. Sometimes when a real gamer is producing a labor of love, he goes the extra mile because something "isn't quite right". All of that is OK in my mind.
Where I have a problem (with any company - this is not a Matrix thing) is where deadlines pass and no one says anything. Or where a project is announced but then just sits on the shelf and is ignored for months or years without anyone really being told. I don't expect project managers to be perfect guessers or planners; things do happen, but I do expect them to follow up on expectations they have set and let us know when things have changed. If you don't want to do that then don't announce the project. If you announce the project, then expect to answer simple questions about it and keep us updated as things change. That's pretty simple in my mind.
So thank for the update Jason. I appreciate you giving us information on how things have changed, where you think they might land, and exactly what you're working on to try and finish things up. In my mind, that's exactly what I would hope to hear from a company that is managing expectations properly. That's about as detailed a status as any company can provide and I appreciate this level of transparency in the process.
And as to your point bubbak, I think they are progressing in a very reasonable manner. First you get something working on a reference platform, then you confirm it works on the other platforms. It sounds as if they have tried it on Vista enough to know there aren't any huge glaring problems as they wrapped up their functional modifications and now they are being thorough and trying all the smaller stuff just to be sure. In any testing it is always possible you'll find problems that needs to be addressed - that's why you test. And realistically, I suspect they do have a list of little things they are continuing to work as they wrap up their testing. But overall it sounds to me as if they are doing exactly what I would want and expect.
|
|
|
|
