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Marauders -> RE: Maximum Football 2.3 Update? (11/5/2008 7:23:00 AM)
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Marauders stated: A few months ago, he basically said, that's enough ... the burdens of support were outweighing the benefits.
I agree with everything you wrote except for the part I quoted above. That was the situation David created for himself by releasing the game in a nearly unplayable state.
I entered beta just prior to the game going gold, and I agree that the game was not ready to go out the door. One must remember that the community on this board practically begged David and Erik to release early in order to get some sort of public beta for Maximum Football. I thought it unwise to do so, but that is what happened. Even if Matrix Games wanted to do this, it would have been much better to have a limited soft opening announced only to community members for early purchase.
It also would have been a good idea to lock down 1.3 and charge anew for 2.0, but David wanted to move on without having to code the same thing twice, and the community wanted the features. That move cost David and Matrix Games revenue, but some of the same game owners that benefited then are complaining now.
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It was practically criminal to be charging $40 for the game considering the state it was in. The burden of support would have been a lot less if he hadn't rushed the initial release to make a quick buck.
It was a combined decision by David and Matrix Games to release, and not enough noise was made by beta testers against it. Then again, it wasn't the job of the beta team members to dictate sales strategy.
Note also that David stated on the public Wintervalley Software board for Maximum Football, prior to his association with Matrix Games, that he wanted the game to go out at about $30 with a published manual. The Matrix Games pricing structure, which almost assured mild sales, was a development that David had little control over.
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Disappearing from the board without a word and no longer supporting the product because he's not making any money off it says a lot to me about the type of person we're dealing with (or were). I seriously doubt I could ever buy another product with his name on it.
Again, I have been a vocal critic of the way this was handled. Even if David was having issues, he should have come in and said where the game was, what he planned to do, and what he planned not to do. As the developer, it certainly made sense to do so.
That stated, I believe that all of the beta team members knew that David was burning out, the signs were evident to me over a year ago, and I don't believe that some community members understand what that really means in terms of a real world condition. David hit the wall, and he did it while trying to add features and updates that the community requested. Maximum Football was beyond the game he had wanted, he was getting little in return for his efforts, and his life suffered.
When I tell the public that David addressed the beta team day after day, used his nights and weekends for updates, and wasn't just sitting on his hands, it may be hard to believe, but it is factual nevertheless. The only times I recall him taking off for extended periods were during his wedding and during the Grey Cup. Any football fan worth his replica jersey should be able to excuse him for those.
Yeah, it was a bad idea to just up and leave, but even that was likely unintended. I don't believe David wanted to walk away from the game or the community, but while trying to make some changes for 2.5, he just thought that 2.2 would have to do for this go around. There were too many changes needed for 2.5 that would have to be moved to 3.0, and he just needed a break after a half decade of coding.
I am not here to make excuses for David. What I am asking is if we want to move on and do so in an organized manner with specific goals. I understand that for some community members, the answer will be no. There are choices in this poll to indicate that. There are others who would rather wait and see. That's fair enough as well. I just want to see if there is enough base enthusiasm left to warrant the effort needed to move forward.
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