Let's not get unfriendly here, gentlemen. No need for that, we're all amongst friends here!
You can say that VSTEP has had enough time, but how do you know that for a fact?
You don't, that's really all there is to it.
I can take a look behind the scenes, I know what goes on with the testing stage of new features or addons. It's not as easy to "just make new stuff" as some of you like to think, I must say.
I can name plenty of games and sims that do not have as much development going on as SS08 has. It's all in the eye of the beholder, so to speak. I have lots of titles on my shelf that have had maybe one patch along the way, and no addons at all. Nor any further development.
You just got NH, that's not out too long, you have had a number of patches in (compared to other titles) quite rapid succession. Several big changes have been made to the sim, several bits of new content has been added, the shipyard has been opened, and with all this, they have been EXTREMELY busy, to take the sim to new levels.
How quick do you think they can come up with the next new stuff? Furie is just out, Elbe is due to follow, any idea how much work and testing goes into just those two ships? A LOT!
They are not sitting around slacking off, I can tell you. VSTEP also has to focus on SS09/10 now, so you can imagine that this takes extra time and effort too, which cannot be spent on SS08 at the same time.
You just cannot suggest that VSTEP is slacking off unless you have first hand knowledge of this, and to do so, is indeed arrogant. But you should not take a word like that as a personal attack, it's just the truth.
VSTEP is constantly doing what the community asks, as I said before, so you cannot claim that they do not listen. Just because someone has (what appears to be) a great idea, does not mean that it is ready to go for development. There's much more involved than just taking an idea and making it real. All changes that have been made, are made because the customer asked for it or complained about it.
The Berge Stahl was mentioned, well who ever said that it was being converted to SS08 right now? It was suggested, it is made, yes, but Goax also made the pushboat that we all got in NH. So his work IS in the game allready and not being ignored at all. Maybe Berge Stahl just isn't feasable at this point, because none of the harbors is really deep enough to take her. That would mean you can only use it in free roam in open seas. That's not worth all the development costs really. Right? Right!
I'm not saying that this is the case, because I don't know what the plans - if any - are for that vessel, but it seems logical and I just want to show you that there's more to think about. You might view the sim from an MP perspective, maybe you like to just sail around with your friends on MP. That's getting boring much faster than playing loads of custom mission that you could create yourself. Personally, that's much more my thing and as such I have years and years of material to work with... But to each his own of course.
Again, just because there are brilliant ideas in the suggestions board, does not mean that it's all possible right away, there can be serious changes needed in the game to make them happen that you and me might not know anything about. So how can we claim to know what's what then?
I agree with you that there are many good ideas that should really be in the game, but VSTEP also knows about those, they read the forum and we as staff also give them a lot of feedback in your name, trust me.
They do listen, and they do want to include the ideas of the community and the models that the talented guys like Goax make. But you can't have it all at the same time, it takes time. And they have to run a business, so if it is not cost effective, why should they do it? That would be unwise.
Sorry for this long post, heh heh.. but I just want to put things into perspective. Rest assured that VSTEP will always be aiming to make the sim better and to grant the wishes of the community, because they are their customers and without them there would be no product. But you have to realise how much work is involved and you cannot just go and say that they don't listen and don't deliver. Because that's just not fair to say without anything to back up your statement.
