Not MEA or even Bioware related, but could provide us with insight into where MEA and Secret IP are in development. Motherboard did a few articles on AAA game development in general, Gears of War 4 in particular. They do some in-depth on the very final days of development of GW4 (a few days before Zero Bugs/RC0). Excerpts below the links.
I found that AAA games are patently ridiculous endeavors. As game developers are fond of saying, they're a lot like the biggest blockbuster movies of the summer, only they have to reinvent and build the cameras from scratch every time they make one. The AAA game development cycle can be broken down into four phases. There’s the concept phase, where the studio comes up with the idea for the game. There’s the pre-production phase, where it creates the prototype and basic art that proves that idea is worth pursuing. At this stage, the publisher (Microsoft, in this case) decides if it wants to take the game into the full production phase, when the bulk of the work of creating it takes place. Last, there’s the finaling phase, where the team squashes the last bugs and gets the game in shape for retail.
I don't know where "finaling phase" comes from, that's weird. I'd believe "end-game phase".
Anyway, my guess is that MEA is in full production and Secret IP is either late in pre-production or just starting full production. That would put DA4 in concept phase. GW4 is in the "finaling phase" with respect to this next excerpt:
At this point of the process, most of what players think of as game development has been over for months. There are a lot of unmanned desks. Level designers aren’t designing levels. Artists and sound designers aren’t creating new sound or art. Most of the people in the building have rolled off the project and are either on vacation or in the very early stages of the next project. Only a dozen people are even allowed to touch the code. The time for new ideas, as far as Gears 4 is concerned, is over.
This supports my speculation about when DA4 full production will start. Let's say MEA goes into "finaling" in December. The "army" of creatives, level designers, engineers, QA, etc. take a break for the holiday, then come back to start on the next project in late January, early February. The question is, is that next project DA4 or Secret IP? Or is the army already split between MEA and Secret IP?
If the entire army goes to Secret IP, that pushes DA4 out, maybe another 2 years.
Last Edit: Oct 5, 2016 18:34:19 GMT by PapaCharlie9
Inquisitor: Is that innuendo? Sera: No, it's at the front!
Not MEA or even Bioware related, but could provide us with insight into where MEA and Secret IP are in development. Motherboard did a few articles on AAA game development in general, Gears of War 4 in particular. They do some in-depth on the very final days of development of GW4 (a few days before Zero Bugs/RC0). Excerpts below the links.
I found that AAA games are patently ridiculous endeavors. As game developers are fond of saying, they're a lot like the biggest blockbuster movies of the summer, only they have to reinvent and build the cameras from scratch every time they make one. The AAA game development cycle can be broken down into four phases. There’s the concept phase, where the studio comes up with the idea for the game. There’s the pre-production phase, where it creates the prototype and basic art that proves that idea is worth pursuing. At this stage, the publisher (Microsoft, in this case) decides if it wants to take the game into the full production phase, when the bulk of the work of creating it takes place. Last, there’s the finaling phase, where the team squashes the last bugs and gets the game in shape for retail.
I don't know where "finaling phase" comes from, that's weird. I'd believe "end-game phase".
Anyway, my guess is that MEA is in full production and Secret IP is either late in pre-production or just starting full production. That would put DA4 in concept phase. GW4 is in the "finaling phase" with respect to this next excerpt:
At this point of the process, most of what players think of as game development has been over for months. There are a lot of unmanned desks. Level designers aren’t designing levels. Artists and sound designers aren’t creating new sound or art. Most of the people in the building have rolled off the project and are either on vacation or in the very early stages of the next project. Only a dozen people are even allowed to touch the code. The time for new ideas, as far as Gears 4 is concerned, is over.
This supports my speculation about when DA4 full production will start. Let's say MEA goes into "finaling" in December. The "army" of creatives, level designers, engineers, QA, etc. take a break for the holiday, then come back to start on the next project in late January, early February. The question is, is that next project DA4 or Secret IP? Or is the army already split between MEA and Secret IP?
If the entire army goes to Secret IP, that pushes DA4 out, maybe another 2 years.
BioWare breaks it down like this...
Pre-alpha = In production Alpha = Feature complete (fix bugs & polish, last minute changes) Beta = Feature & content complete (fix bugs & polish) Final = Pray to the old gods you guys love the game
- Cameron Lee
(Though I guess you would add pre-production to this.)
We know that all 3 are being worked on right now, though DA appears to have just a small team working on it right now. I believe they said ~70% of DA's team is helping out on MEA and ~30% helping on the Secret IP. Of course, studios in Montreal and Austin are also working these. Over on the Secret IP thread, it sounds like proper VA dialogue is now being added to the game, so they're fairly deep into development.
How it will divvy up after MEA wraps up will be interesting...
But you've gotta remember Laidlaw's? (I'm horrible with remembering who tweeted what) tweets, which said that about half of the team was working on MEA and the other half the Secret IP.
I think that it's further along than you might think.
i really like pathfinder's setting but i REALLY don't like how focused on min/maxing the rules are. it's designed from the ground up by and for min/maxer's and autists. the rest of us normies have to play on crayon eater difficulty just to hit a target. j00t Fires Of Heaven www.firesofheaven.org/
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
But you've gotta remember Laidlaw's? (I'm horrible with remembering who tweeted what) tweets, which said that about half of the team was working on MEA and the other half the Secret IP.
I think that it's further along than you might think.
Didn't he said it was 2/3 on MEA and 1/3 on the new IP?
I think he said it was half and half, although I could be remembering the tweet wrong.
i really like pathfinder's setting but i REALLY don't like how focused on min/maxing the rules are. it's designed from the ground up by and for min/maxer's and autists. the rest of us normies have to play on crayon eater difficulty just to hit a target. j00t Fires Of Heaven www.firesofheaven.org/
Not MEA or even Bioware related, but could provide us with insight into where MEA and Secret IP are in development. Motherboard did a few articles on AAA game development in general, Gears of War 4 in particular. They do some in-depth on the very final days of development of GW4 (a few days before Zero Bugs/RC0). Excerpts below the links.
I found that AAA games are patently ridiculous endeavors. As game developers are fond of saying, they're a lot like the biggest blockbuster movies of the summer, only they have to reinvent and build the cameras from scratch every time they make one. The AAA game development cycle can be broken down into four phases. There’s the concept phase, where the studio comes up with the idea for the game. There’s the pre-production phase, where it creates the prototype and basic art that proves that idea is worth pursuing. At this stage, the publisher (Microsoft, in this case) decides if it wants to take the game into the full production phase, when the bulk of the work of creating it takes place. Last, there’s the finaling phase, where the team squashes the last bugs and gets the game in shape for retail.
I don't know where "finaling phase" comes from, that's weird. I'd believe "end-game phase".
Anyway, my guess is that MEA is in full production and Secret IP is either late in pre-production or just starting full production. That would put DA4 in concept phase. GW4 is in the "finaling phase" with respect to this next excerpt:
At this point of the process, most of what players think of as game development has been over for months. There are a lot of unmanned desks. Level designers aren’t designing levels. Artists and sound designers aren’t creating new sound or art. Most of the people in the building have rolled off the project and are either on vacation or in the very early stages of the next project. Only a dozen people are even allowed to touch the code. The time for new ideas, as far as Gears 4 is concerned, is over.
This supports my speculation about when DA4 full production will start. Let's say MEA goes into "finaling" in December. The "army" of creatives, level designers, engineers, QA, etc. take a break for the holiday, then come back to start on the next project in late January, early February. The question is, is that next project DA4 or Secret IP? Or is the army already split between MEA and Secret IP?
If the entire army goes to Secret IP, that pushes DA4 out, maybe another 2 years.
BioWare breaks it down like this...
Pre-alpha = In production Alpha = Feature complete (fix bugs & polish, last minute changes) Beta = Feature & content complete (fix bugs & polish) Final = Pray to the old gods you guys love the game
- Cameron Lee
(Though I guess you would add pre-production to this.)
We know that all 3 are being worked on right now, though DA appears to have just a small team working on it right now. I believe they said ~70% of DA's team is helping out on MEA and ~30% helping on the Secret IP. Of course, studios in Montreal and Austin are also working these. Over on the Secret IP thread, it sounds like proper VA dialogue is now being added to the game, so they're fairly deep into development.
How it will divvy up after MEA wraps up will be interesting...
Those look like milestone names rather than phases, though they are related.
70/30 split is good, I was hoping there was some kind of resource division going on. That allows for more overlap in the schedule. When the 70% comes off of MEA at the end of the year, they can move to DA4, although it might be another 70/30 split in favor of Secret IP. You know what I mean.
Inquisitor: Is that innuendo? Sera: No, it's at the front!
I think he said it was half and half, although I could be remembering the tweet wrong.
70/30 would make more sense, if Secret IP is indeed in pre-production. You need concept artists, level designers for prototypes, engineers for engine tweaks, etc., but not a full crew.
If Secret IP is further along and in full production, it might be 50/50, but that also says Secret IP will be a smaller game with less content. Unless Bioware grew the "army" by half since DAI started. Alternatively, it would mean DA4 is pushed out further, until 70-100% can be freed up to work on it.
Last Edit: Oct 5, 2016 20:31:10 GMT by PapaCharlie9
Inquisitor: Is that innuendo? Sera: No, it's at the front!
Blair tWitch Project @thefiddzz Everyones at NYCC and im just sitting alone in Arkansas wondering if i got on the wrong plane or aarynflynn and @gamblemike are trolling me
Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, Dragon Age Inquisition, KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect Andromeda, SWTOR, Anthem, Mass Effect Legendary Edition
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Fabrice Condominas @faburisu 1 more mission and I call it a day 2 missions later: let's just have a quick look at space 2h later:just another 10 minutes