Kenshi Updates

[Mister Bator]

Hey everyone,

I am not going to sit here and say this is what Kenshi needs to be great, "Cus this is what EVERYONE wants." This is just something that has been in the back of my mind for the last two weeks or so.

I really enjoy when I double click Kenshi and I get to read the updates. It makes it even more rewarding to contribute and see your money evolve. When I first bought Kenshi not long ago, there was updates every other day, then other week, now rarely. I would love to be able to see even small updates (Like moved inventory .2 pixels to the left) Seeing the updates is almost as fun as playing the game.

So when I first started I was so happy with the updates and the forum posts from the creator himself, that I asked all my friends to lunch, I said we would meet at my house. I told them to pool our money and see how much we have, we did. I bought them all a copy and they went home with their bellies empty but their computer full of updates

Those updates even small ones like (cleaned up code) make me happy and it makes me feel more proud of the game and to show it off (pawn it off) on my friends as well.

Thanks for all the work and time in reading this,
-Bait

[Blxz]

Huh?

So... you want more updates? Or you like the updates? Your post sort of evolves over the course of it. but good stuff with you and your friends. Hopefully everyone is happy and having fun.

In regards to updates. Don't expect weekly updates or anything. But do you check the main webpage? (not just the forums) as Chris will normally post his plans for the next update there.

Currently he is working on boobies and girls. I think he has also done a lot of background optimisation in the background code so we won't see anything but he is preparing for the next stage of updates and has been working on it.

[CaptainZeros]

Waiting for updates is a sort of metagame, I know when minecraft was in it's early days it was fun to play and see every new little update, and that kept me playing. When version 1.0 finally launched.... I actually lost interest for a while, but now that they're updating again I see myself playing it occasionally again.

[Kanaro]

In regards to updates. Don't expect weekly updates or anything. But do you check the main webpage? (not just the forums) as Chris will normally post his plans for the next update there.

I think this is probably the truth - the project started off with lots of energy and additions on a very regular basis. Then it tapered off when the workload began to sink in on Chris.

Now with a failed crowdfund the impetus to continue pushing hard with the game may have left. It's unfortunate too, given that the Greenlight should have breathed a lot of new funds and energy into the project... but I don't see that happening myself, sadly. I haven't been around as long as some, but the pattern sounds familiar.

Chris really needs assistance with the project in my opinion. He's trying to be PR manager, Webmaster, code monkey, the entire QA and QC department, and a whole list of other positions at a company that really needs people filling those roles. If I had to guess, the enormity of what he's doing sank in a while back, and he's relegated himself to "a bit at a time", which is why we rarely see updates.

There are a lot of Kenshi fans out here that would love to help out and ease the workload. But if Chris is dead set on no new team members (even if they are volunteers), then delegating to lighten the workload doesn't mean much.

[dragyouintohell]

In regards to updates. Don't expect weekly updates or anything. But do you check the main webpage? (not just the forums) as Chris will normally post his plans for the next update there.

I think this is probably the truth - the project started off with lots of energy and additions on a very regular basis. Then it tapered off when the workload began to sink in on Chris.

Now with a failed crowdfund the impetus to continue pushing hard with the game may have left. It's unfortunate too, given that the Greenlight should have breathed a lot of new funds and energy into the project... but I don't see that happening myself, sadly. I haven't been around as long as some, but the pattern sounds familiar.

Chris really needs assistance with the project in my opinion. He's trying to be PR manager, Webmaster, code monkey, the entire QA and QC department, and a whole list of other positions at a company that really needs people filling those roles. If I had to guess, the enormity of what he's doing sank in a while back, and he's relegated himself to "a bit at a time", which is why we rarely see updates.

There are a lot of Kenshi fans out here that would love to help out and ease the workload. But if Chris is dead set on no new team members (even if they are volunteers), then delegating to lighten the workload doesn't mean much.

You do realise that Chris has been working on the game for at least 6 years, I don't think he's going to quit the game after six years.

[Blxz]

I would, I mean farrrk that. 6 years...

[Steelhawk]

MMM! 6 years?!!!! Sorry for my English, but I want say "Oh, my god!!!!" I think, I go to pension early, then game was finished. Sorry for my English, again.

[Santaissick]

I haven't been so long myself so I don't know how often updates came out earlier. But I don't think that he has slowed down at all. I even remember he said something like that he had been working as security guard earlier when working with the game but that now he's gained some funding he works on the game full time.

Maybe the feeling that it's slowed down comes from that now he's working on big stuff that needs lots of time and work before actually getting any progress. Game is in critical point at the moment. Basics, the skeleton of game have been done and almost all tools to get the game ready are there already. Now all the contents has to be made and added to game. It's massive load of work for even tinyest feature added.

There is also lots of bug fixing and crashes that he is constantly working on. Which of course slows down the pace even more. But I believe he's not even near of giving up.

On the other subject, I think too that he needs help. I don't really know how anyone could ever do game like this all by himself. But apparently he's doing just fine and only to get the game to this point means that there is loads of stuff he can do alone.

But I believe that the help would go to need and it would fasten up the release and probably quality of game would improve too because there would be more time to focus on every aspect of the game.

However, I trust Chris can handle it well and he knows when he needs help. The game will be finished and until that all we can do is to give more funding so when he needs the group of specialists to help, he has the money to hire them. Also the bug/crash reporting is always one step closer to working, non-bugging game.

[toaster Assassin]

I have joined this forum a year ago (Sept 29,2011) Chris Did not release the Alpha until October (something?). During that time there were weekly updates, however around January the weekly became monthly. The difference in update times varied to what parts of the project he was working on. During Chris's focus on patches, the updates were usually weekly (like recently). When Chris was working on multi-threading, those updates were like 1 or 2 months. Chris is currently working on females (Making everything compatible) and he also might have plans for other features.

I believe Chris stated earlier that he had worked with a team before, but things did not work out. If Chris works alone, he can shape Kenshi to his specifications (Without disagreements). Also when he can he pays contractors to help with the workload (Vurt was contracted to create the foliage/flora you currently see in Kenshi).

As for six years, look at dwarf fortress. (isn't that game still under development?)

[Kanaro]

You do realise that Chris has been working on the game for at least 6 years, I don't think he's going to quit the game after six years.

I don't believe I inferred anywhere he would quit the game, so not sure where you got that from.

I do find it unfortunate to hear there was a team at one time which since disappeared. But as Chris has the direction of the game firmly in his head, that may have had to happen. We may never know.

I'm a fan of Kenshi - a recent fan, but a fan nonetheless. Knowing it's been in development for 6 years, and that the best guesstimate by it's creator is "at least two more years" is a hard pill to swallow. Couple that with the fact that a crowdfunding effort went awry, that the use of Kickstarter.com isn't allowed due to being overseas, and that a team may never happen again... it all spells very long development cycles.

It is hard to keep continued community interest with cycles this long, and may not take advantage of the Greenlight status Steam has given Kenshi.

Perhaps Kickstarting it would be a good idea, and to make that happen Chris would consider an official U.S. office so that can happen for the game. It would take advantage of Greenlight, and the communities that often use Kickstarter to get more funds and more exposure for Kenshi.

There is of course the alternative, and the truth which we may need to respect: that what can be done is being done, and the game's development may simply have to run it's course as is. I'm simply chatting to bring ideas to light, and possibly help Kenshi further.

Edit: I just found this article on Kickstarter, that may spell fantastic news for Kenshi. Hopefully Chris is aware, or can take advantage of it.

[Blxz]

The way I see it, if you are waiting specifically for just this game then you will be a very unhappy person.

I don't even play kenshi anymore. I just have it sitting there on my desktop looking at me. I use these forums as my own personal chat room and spend most of the time in the off-topic and thinking about PlES. But every day while I am doing other things and living my life kenshi is taking little steps forward. The thing has an auto updater and chris spells out his general broad goals even if he doesn't post much.

In the end my purchase was an investment for the future. A $10 investment that if it does make it to the end will be a long time coming. If it doesn't then...well, I've got more than $10 worth of enjoyment out of the forums anyway. People pay that much for SA forums, I get my enjoyment from the people I know and the creative yet subtle insults I can come up with.

[Captain Deathbeard]

Its not so simple to just release regular updates. Imagine you are working on a car. One day you might tweek a few bolts and fix a problem with the engine. That would be an easy update. But imagine if you had to take out the entire engine and dismantle it and put it all back together again and it takes you a month. You can't use the car to drive to the store until everything is put back together and finished and working again. In the meantime the neighbours don't see you driving your car for a month and think "I haven't seen his car for a month, he must not be working on it much", when in reality you are working more. Make sense?

Also it takes a couple of hours for me to compile, arrange, built and upload a new update, so its not something I do super frequently unless there are urgent bugs.

Next update is ready in the next few days anyway, then there will be some more quicker smaller ones up until I switch to the new character models.