Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Mullet Master]

There are a whole lot of fantastic games still in development (and some which are strictly urban legend!) - but when will they be finished? This thread is for predicting the release dates of various games. I've always been a fan of guessing these sorts of things, and my best success to date was guessing that S.T.A.L.K.E.R would be delayed for years.

Without further adieu, here's my completely unscientific prediction for some of the most discussed games around here. Feel free to copy and paste for your own predictions! Now, I never pay attention to any "official" release dates - so some of these may be outlandish. And some may be games which don't exist!

Starbound - Q1 2014 for release
Clockwork Empires- Q3 2014
Dorf Fortress v. The Next Version May 2013
Half Life 3 - Q4 2016
GTA V-Q2 2013 (on time!)
Towns -Q3 2013
0x10c- Q2 2014
Prison HYPHEN Architect- Q3 2014
Project Eternity-Q4 2016 for alpha
Castle Story-Q1 2015

[Flying Dice]

The setting of Half-Life 2 Episode 3's release: "It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Gabe has sat immobile on the..."

[Lectorog]

Dorf Fortress v. The Next Version May 2013

I'm thinking March. Maybe April if Toady adds a little more than currently expected or runs into unexpected issues. Two months sounds reasonable to me.

First respectable virtual reality game: 2017
respectable meaning thoroughly enjoyable, not getting reception of "Well, it was okay, but it had some problems."

[Mullet Master]

Dorf Fortress v. The Next Version May 2013

I'm thinking March. Maybe April if Toady adds a little more than currently expected or runs into unexpected issues. Two months sounds reasonable to me.

First respectable virtual reality game: 2017
respectable meaning thoroughly enjoyable, not getting reception of "Well, it was okay, but it had some problems."

Expand onwhat you mean by  virtual reality game. You mean a game which uses simulated touch feedback, and 3d display (like 3d TV)? And mass market/affordable by most?

[MarcAFK]

I'll just stick with my virtualboy and pair of power gloves, i can leave it turned off and roleplay a virtual reality where they don't suck.

[Lectorog]

Expand onwhat you mean by  virtual reality game. You mean a game which uses simulated touch feedback, and 3d display (like 3d TV)? And mass market/affordable by most?

While playing the game, you exist in another reality. Sight, touch, hearing, and maybe smell and taste are fully stimulated by the game environment. There is no controller, just your usual body commands.
It goes beyond basic feedback and mimicked 3D. Affordability is not my concern, but "respectable game", particularly the game part, necessitates a certain level of availability.

[hemmingjay]

Starbound - May 2013(Most likely May 16)
Clockwork Empires- Jan 2014
Dorf Fortress v. The Next Version March 2013 (probably 22-23)
Half Life 3 - Time doesn't exist at Aperture
GTA V-June 2013
Towns -
0x10c- Q2 2014 (I'll agree with your prediction)
Prison HYPHEN Architect- Q4 2013
Project Eternity-Q4 2016 for alpha
Castle Story-Q4 2013 playable, Q4 2014 fun, Q1 2015 "done"

[Lectorog]

A problem I could foresee with VR would be running into walls.

Yeah, can't let you actually move. Put ya in a big ball or something. I advocate intercepting nerve signals, but for some reason that's not getting much support.

[Mullet Master]

hemmingjay:
Towns confuses me, and I will revise my prediction as thus :
I purchased Towns, have been playing for a while, but don't really understand the development cycle.
I was under the impression that the current work and versions was still in an unfinished state and the updates are moving closer to a "commercial release", but the new version nomenclature suggests they are producing additional content for a finished game. (v8 has replaced version 0.80)

Right now, I think Towns is at a decent quality level and there's not many new features to add without really rethinking how they want the game to be played.

My prediction is that my predicted timeline will be for the last "major new content" update and the rest will be bugfixes, balancing, or special holiday-type releases.

Lectorog

I don't think we'll have direct nerve stimulation for the masses in the next decade or two.
As far as a full immersion VR simulation room that allows interaction with holographic objects in a gamelike manner, and 5 senses feedback, 2021 by some huge corp in Asia. Likely Samsung, Sony, Mitsubishi, etc. 

(In the time I've been typing this, googled very quickly and it looks like Sony has already started. )

[Alkhemia]

Are they even working on towns anymore 

Starbound - October 2013
Clockwork Empires- March 2014
Dwarf Fortress: Late April/early May 2013
Half Life 3 - Never
GTA V-November 2013
Towns - Never
0x10c- Q3 2014
Prison HYPHEN Architect- Q4 2013
Project Eternity- ?
Castle Story-Q4 2014

[Lectorog]

I don't think we'll have direct nerve stimulation for the masses in the next decade or two.

Just 'cause everyone's overly cautious and stuck in their inertial rest in such fields. And they still cling to such notions as "privacy". I'll see what progress I can make.

As far as a full immersion VR simulation room that allows interaction with holographic objects in a gamelike manner, and 5 senses feedback, 2021 by some huge corp in Asia.

It doesn't need to be quite that complex.
I've already seen a setup similar to a rodent ball that allows for simulated walking without actually going anywhere; a bit more refinement and that could work for all leg motion.
For sight, some goggles incorporating peripheral vision would work even better than holograms (for now, at least).
Touching sensations are a bit more difficult without direct nerve/brain stimulation, but a full-body suit that can apply pressure at various points could work. Gloves would have to be much more precise, but I think any desired surface could be modeled with a sufficiently precise simulation surface.
We already have surround sound. No issues there.
Smell and taste can wait for the tapping, or someone more clever than me making something.

So, I think it can be done with today's technology. Even if the ball doesn't exist yet I could design that myself, given access to the original. The suit will require more work, but there's no reason it couldn't be made. The hand would require the most work, but that's mostly comparison between stimulations and working on textures.

But nobody is doing this now because it would be super expensive to buy the setup and developing games would take a lot and so the games would cost a lot. Nobody who can wants to make the investment, so we wait. Until 2017, I predict.

[PanH]

Half Life 3 - Time doesn't exist at Aperture

I hope this is a joke. Please tell me it's a joke.

[aristabulus]

Came for Half Life 3 jokes, leaving satisfied!  ^___^

I have no predictions of my own to offer, as I've seen too many games get smothered in the crib to believe any game truly exists until it is released...

[Lightning4]

0x10c- Q2 2014

Depends on if you're asking for alpha or actual release.
If alpha, I would suspect maybe a bit earlier, Q3-Q4 2013. Notch has made some pretty damn impressive progress. From what we've seen him do on Minecraft, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if we have a functional, fun (that's his criteria for releasing the alpha, when it's fun) alpha around the middle/latter part of this year.

Actual release though, much later. Probably sometime in 2015.


Other random predictions of mine, based on either "science" or just pure guesswork:
X: Rebirth - Q4 2013. They said it's coming this year, but it doesn't mean it won't be in the latter half of it to give them more time to perfect it.
The Elder Scrolls Online - Q2 2014. Sincerely doubt a project this big will come out this year, despite what they've said. +1 year to official release prediction.
Titan (Blizzard MMO) - Q4 2014. I have no idea if this is even alive anymore. There's been no significant news on it for over a year. I suspect Blizzcon 2013 may see news on it, possibly even a release date depending on how far along they are. Hard to predict though, since Blizzcon will no doubt see information on the next WoW expansion, should there be one. And a dual announcement does seem like a lot of... chaos. Maybe an announcement next year then, which would bump up the release date by another year.

[Chattox]

Starbound - October 2013

What makes you think this late? I'm feeling pretty optimistic that it'll be Q1-Q2 of this year.

Also,

The setting of Half-Life 2 Episode 3's release: "It is the 41st Millennium. For more than a hundred centuries the Gabe has sat immobile on the..."

This made me laugh more than it probably should have. Sig'd.