Is development here slowing to a stop? Maintenance mode?

[irishhawk]

I've noticed the Dev area is stagnant, no new Beta movement in 6+ months and even Leandro hasn't visited the forums since January.  Did I miss something or are we in maintenance mode?

[Luminara]

5 minutes ago, irishhawk said:

I've noticed the Dev area is stagnant, no new Beta movement in 6+ months and even Leandro hasn't visited the forums since January.  Did I miss something or are we in maintenance mode?

 

The COVID lockdowns have ended, people have had to go back to work, time is more limited than it was a year ago.  The HC team is still here and working on the next update (all i'm going to say without their explicit permission), but they don't have time to hang out on the forums like they used to.

[Pyriold]

There are some teasers here in my thread:

 

But it's nothing substantial unfortunately. I would love if the devs would let us peek a bit more on what's being worked on. At the same time we all have to understand that they are working for free... and maybe the motivation is getting less over time. That would only be natural.

[SeraphimKensai]

56 minutes ago, Luminara said:

 

The COVID lockdowns have ended, people have had to go back to work, time is more limited than it was a year ago.  The HC team is still here and working on the next update (all i'm going to say without their explicit permission), but they don't have time to hang out on the forums like they used to.

With the exception of @Jimmyhe went for groceries and we haven't seen him since. I'm still waiting on my toaster strudels and string cheese he was supposed to drop off.

[Cobalt Arachne]

Development is still fully underway!

The original plan was that we were going to release a small 'Page 3.1' update in January that would've included the almost done things that missed Page 3's release date. However due to circumstance and availability on our dev team changing unexpectedly, it had to be delayed and it was rolled into Page 4 instead.

Page 4 is nearing completion and everyone on the team is very excited to pull back the curtain and show you guys what's coming. It's already looking to be a massive update with a plethora of long-time feature requests. This upcoming Page 4 update is a full blown page, and includes a huge amount of stuff beyond what would've been the Page 3.1 update if it had happened in January.

The reason we can't commit to dates/reveal things until they're closer to release is because our timetables are not directly under our control. We're all unpaid volunteers who donate our time and expertise to work on the game for free, but how much time we can donate varies a huge amount on a day-to-day basis. We can't commit time that would cause our personal lives to suffer, as that's not long-term sustainable, so we work on the game as much as we possibly can as unpaid volunteers. Our love for this game/its community is the passion that continues to fuel us to work on it, and I can promise you there is no shortage of it on the dev team.

Homecoming prides itself in the consistency of our updates, operations, and running the game in a very professional manner, comparable to the game's quality when it was a retail service backed by a publisher. That being said, oftentimes that gives players the impression that our content output should also be equal to a professional development studio, but unfortunately that's not possible since we're not able to work on the game full-time, 40 hours a week, like a paid team would.

We thank everyone for their patience, it's not easy waiting sometimes, but we are doing our utmost to ensure it's worth that wait! 💙
 

[Ghost]

2 hours ago, Pyriold said:

There are some teasers here in my thread:

 

But it's nothing substantial unfortunately. I would love if the devs would let us peek a bit more on what's being worked on. At the same time we all have to understand that they are working for free... and maybe the motivation is getting less over time. That would only be natural.

I’m glad we don’t get a peek.

Could you imagine all the complaining that would go on?

[DougGraves]

I'm just grateful the server runs.  Even that is more than I ever expected.  Any updates are just amazing.

[starro]

After all those years without COH and now volunteers pushing this forward - thank you all you do.    I am amazed three years later we even have servers, much less content updates.

 

 

and!! Thank you volunteer game masters, dollar donors and the people that formally or informally run player events big and small whether it is nightly  Hami runs or even quiet small groups of 3-4 players running missions and showing the new people how to play the game.  All amazing work ! 

Edited May 16, 2022 by starro
Needed more accolades

[Ulysses Dare]

Quote

The reason we can't commit to dates/reveal things until they're closer to release is because our timetables are not directly under our control. We're all unpaid volunteers who donate our time and expertise to work on the game for free, but how much time we can donate varies a huge amount on a day-to-day basis.

People really need to keep this in mind. Even Paragon Studios, with a paid staff, couldn't guarantee their update timetable. It's unrealistic to expect Homecoming, or any other volunteer operation, to do so.

[3seven]

8 minutes ago, starro said:

After all those years without COH and now volunteers pushing this forward - thank you all you do.    I am amazed three years later we even have servers, much less content updates.

I completely agree. I was not in the know on the private servers or even that HC was a thing until last Summer. I've been enjoying my time back in Paragon City since! 

 

Thanks to all devs and everyone who keeps this going!

[Luminara]

4 hours ago, Cobalt Arachne said:

Our love for this game/its community is the passion that continues to fuel us to work on it, and I can promise you there is no shortage of it on the dev team.

 

We love you, too.

 

Not that way.  Unpucker those lips.

[Oubliette_Red]

2 hours ago, DougGraves said:

I'm just grateful the server runs.  Even that is more than I ever expected.  Any updates are just amazing.

 

Same here.

 

I consider it more of a shepherded mode, most of the time the game is just grazing, with bouts of shearing and something useful being made of the wool.

 

[Verfall]

We're playing a nearly 20 year old subscription game, for free, with access to stuff that would have cost even more. And they're adding retail strength content every so often? This is like the antithesis to the entire gaming industry. Please devs, take your time and do things the way you want, cause we owe you wayyy more than we could probably ever repay.

[Chrono-Bot]

A whole page is coming? Jeepers!

[Techwright]

9 hours ago, Cobalt Arachne said:

 It's already looking to be a massive update with a plethora of long-time feature requests.

 

[Luminara]

19 minutes ago, Techwright said:

 

 

Whoa, I didn't know anyone could get @Jimmy to pose for pictures.

[ChzBoi]

10 hours ago, Cobalt Arachne said:

plethora of long-time feature requests.

...you heard it here: Fish Assault and Clown Masterminds!........

[Techwright]

7 minutes ago, ChzBoi said:

...you heard it here: Fish Assault and Clown Masterminds!........

Freshwater or Saltwater?

 

Oh and that Clown Assault better have an equal to gang war, where a clown car pulls up and an insane number of clowns in a posse jump out and start a custard pie fight.

[DoctorDitko]

11 hours ago, Cobalt Arachne said:

running the game in a very professional manner, comparable to the game's quality when it was a retail service backed by a publisher.

The hell you say!

 

You guys run this place much better than any of the owners ever did, and don't let anyone tell you different!

 

[Lazarillo]

12 hours ago, Cobalt Arachne said:

It's already looking to be a massive update with a plethora of long-time feature requests.

See, the irony is, this just makes me feel set up for disappointment, because I bet there really will be "a plethora", and I bet none will be ones I've wanted.

This is not to be judgey.  Just bemoaning the cruelty of the universe and/or the unfortunate uniqueness of the things I like about the game, I fear.

[Luminara]

2 minutes ago, Lazarillo said:

See, the irony is, this just makes me feel set up for disappointment, because I bet there really will be "a plethora", and I bet none will be ones I've wanted.

This is not to be judgey.  Just bemoaning the cruelty of the universe and/or the unfortunate uniqueness of the things I like about the game, I fear.

 

Every dog has its day.

[TraumaTrain]

35 minutes ago, Luminara said:

 

Every dog has its day.

 

And every day has a dog.

 

[Lazarillo]

58 minutes ago, Luminara said:

Every dog has its day.

See, the problem is, the more I let stuff like this get my hopes up, the more confident I am that I'll inevitably be disappointed by not having my day. 😕

[Major_Decoy]

2 hours ago, ChzBoi said:

...you heard it here: Fish Assault and Clown Masterminds!........

Close.

 

It's going to be Clown Assault and Fish Masterminds.

 

Clown Assault:
Toy Bat

Pie

Seltzer

Set-up

Clown Shoes

Terrify

Fearsome Stare

Netting

Punchline

 

[Snarky]

So they are finally fixing Rage on Super Strength???