Colonel Failure Livestream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efA-62w-C_g
There is a livestream going on. It actually started about 40mn before at the time of writing this post. Colonel Failure is playing and answering questions.
I will update the post with what I can qualify as interesting / meaningful news .
For now here we go :
----
#1) Current focus : stability and performace for everybody.
First, they want to provide the experience as they have conceived for their game.
In order to improve stability and performance, they have been testing a performance update.
Players can already try it out on the beta branch via Steam only.
The patch is almost ready as it is on the final stage of testing and initial reports are positive.
That being said, the patch won't solve everything, most surely the most pressing issues as far as I can tell.
Patch details : https://steamcommunity.com/app/3493540/discussions/0/588439235122625526/.
Now, their main focus is on bug fixing and performance stability, before eventually moving on to the "bigger picture".
This means that we should expect further updates in that regards, as long they deem it necessary.
In regards to the "bigger picture", Colonel Failure did not say much (except specific items in this post), but there is talk of new features, QoL, gameplay tweaking and evolutions. (When he said features, he was kind of hesitant though...)
Anyway, it is quite understandable they won't be doing that until they are not satisfied with stability and performance.
Also, Colonel Failure did say that the game is not considered done as it is on launch day. I'm reportin on this because I have seen earlier today here a talk about roadmaps and many redditers saying with force that UG does not do roadmaps and that each game is their own vision of the stuff without providing much after release. My own opinion somehwhat differ but I am not here to debate, so I just reported what Colonel Failure said.
----
#2) Vehicle Overtaking
It is confirmed to be an issue that will be handled as part of a "huge list of things to work at".
In any case, here how it works currently :
- A vehicle needs to be 20 kph / 13 mph faster to overtake.
- Every 100m there is a node that allows a vehicle to change lane (on a long road that's plenty of oppurtinity to overtake).
So playing in 1900's won't see any vehicle overtaking each other as they pretty much all have the same top speed.
For now, this what Colonel Failure said about what they will do :
- Instead a fixed rate (20 kph / 13 kph faster), a percentage rage will be used.
- The percentage value is unknown at the moment. Nothing was suggested, no hints whatsoever.
- And no timeline was given for when this will be shipped in an update.
----
#3) Adding AI or Computer Company
It was discussed but it is not something they are aiming to do at the moment and not even for this game.
They are aware it is a hot topic but their aim is single player only where players build up an empire to expand and keep profitable as they cater to the ever growing demands of the cities.
They are thankful for all the suggestions and want to keep having such suggestions. They just can't take all of them.
----
#4) Geforce Now
Once again, they are aware it is a hot topic in the community, right now, that the game has been not released yet on Geforce Now.
At the moment they are at the investigation stage whether or not they will quickly release it on Geforce Now. Because of their current focus on stability and performance, they cannot work on this right now. No scheduled date at the moment.
So I guess it is confirmed will that TPF3 will be available on Geforce Now. It is more a metter of "when" than a "if" and they intend to "make a big fuss about it" as soon as they've got news in that regards.
The reason for the "delay", taking into account that the previous installments are available on GFN, is that "it is not as simple as flipping a switch". It requires time, time that is currently focused on stability (see item #1).
----
#5) Performance tweaks (short-terms solutions)
While waiting for performance updates, Colonel Failure says people can expect a bit more FPS the following ways :
- switch off icons in the HUD as much as you can tolerate
- play in full screen mode (not windowed mode nor borderless)
- turn down grass details - apparently it is hungry and will be tackled later on by the devs.
One thing is sure, is that they are actively working on performance issues.
----
#6) The so-called Dev Hot Air Baloon
"It is just a fun message!" shouted Colonel Failure ^^
No privacy invasion. No-one is observing your playthough.
Apparently someone from the team may have said some players would actually believe devs are watching them 🤣.
But Colonel Failure said : "If you want to believe, do so and enjoy it. You may even have a conversation with the dev if you fancy that !".
----
#7) Official discord?
Nope. Forum is their medium of choice.
Colonel Failures says it is a far better medium to communicate with everyone taking into account a playerbase across multiple time zones. UG's time zone is European.
Funnily enough he did not mention which, but he did say two time zones. Since he's british (AFAIK) and UG's german... I think the answer is quite easy to guess !
And that's it guys. I have just been cut off from the video :( I don't know why ! It also happened with the day-launch livestream.
Hope it was interesting !
Thank you for reloading the post all the way ; I have lost count on how many times I edited it and I feel relieved somehow because I can finally get dinner. 😅