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I have not played X-Com 2 now in a few months. Maybe it is human nature, but maybe it is just me.

Whenever I learn there is a big DLC or patch for a game I am playing that is going to make it much better, I stop playing that game. I figure, why play it now, when soon it will be a lot better. So I set it aside and move on to other things.

I am DEFINITELY NOT ASKING when 1.3 will come out, but I do wonder a lot....."when is 1.3 coming out?"

And then I wonder if it came out today, would they say... "soon there will be 1.4 that is 10x bigger and better!" I would just have to keep waiting on that.

Maebalzurakin wrote: I am DEFINITELY NOT ASKING when 1.3 will come out, but I do wonder a lot....."when is 1.3 coming out?"

Yeah, great, now half the rookies are bleeding and the other half are panicked. Hope you're proud

And then I wonder if it came out today, would they say... "soon there will be 1.4 that is 10x bigger and better!" I would just have to keep waiting on that.

You can bet once 1.3 is out they will start work on 1.4 but it will probably take quite some time.
1.1 and 1.2 were both pretty fast to get released. They were mostly bugfixes with very few balance changes in 1.2. 1.3 however includes a lot of balance work, a new mission type and several UI improvements. All of those take a lot more time to code and test. 1.4 will probably include more stuff like that as "simple" bugs will become less and less common. It will probably take longer than 1.3 to be created so you'll probably be safe if you start a campaign when 1.3 is out.

2 weeks to 2 months.

Both xwynns and joinrbs have started playing other games, and are not even playing a 1.3 preview because too much is still subject to change.

A couple of hints I would expect would be JL requesting another round of translations plus xwynns beginning a 1.3 preview campaign.

[Of course, this is pure speculation]

The new Batch 2 of translations is not very long, so... hm. Probably either feature complete or quite close to it now

Probably within the next month.

Dlareh wrote:The new Batch 2 of translations is not very long, so... hm. Probably either feature complete or quite close to it now

Probably within the next month.

Our rookies will appreciate the risk reduction.

Alketi wrote:2 weeks to 2 months.

Both xwynns and joinrbs have started playing other games, and are not even playing a 1.3 preview because too much is still subject to change.

A couple of hints I would expect would be JL requesting another round of translations plus xwynns beginning a 1.3 preview campaign.

[Of course, this is pure speculation]

I imagine they might privately still be playing their 1.3 playtest careers helping to check the final details prior to the release.

Sure, they're privately playing. They've said it's a lot of fun, just not quite ready for public/streaming consumption yet. But soon.

Maebalzurakin wrote: And then I wonder if it came out today, would they say... "soon there will be 1.4 that is 10x bigger and better!" I would just have to keep waiting on that.

Betcher bottom dollar they will. LW2 is not a "finished product." It's still very much in development, and probably will be for years to come. LW1 went through, what? 17, 18 versions before the released the final 1.0?

If your thing is not to play LW2 until it's done, you're better off walking away from XCOM2 for now and finding other games to play. Check back annually until you hear something resembling a "full release" announcement.

That being said, there is a fair amount of time in between version releases. Enough time to play and enjoy the campaign at least once, I'd wager. Assuming you want to play it now (because who wouldn't?) my advice to you would be this: don't worry about the next patch, just play what's there now.

Well, mayyyyyyybe you want to wait for 1.3 by now, but after that just ignore the existence of 1.4.

Steve-O wrote:Betcher bottom dollar they will. LW2 is not a "finished product." It's still very much in development, and probably will be for years to come. LW1 went through, what? 17, 18 versions before the released the final 1.0?

I see people make this argument from time to time, and it never made much sense to me. LW1 started as a "fun" project, yes? From what I understand, when LW1 got started, there was no ultimate vision for what it would eventually become. That vision came later, as it evolved, once the feedback came rolling in and they realized what they had.

LW2, on the other hand, was specifically commissioned, and the devs had the luxury of being able to flesh out a full vision for what they wanted it to be before the work even started.

I'm not even saying that your overall point is wrong - obviously LW2 is not a totally finished project. I just think that comparing the development cycles of LW1 to that of LW2 is a bit silly. There's really no comparison.

1.1 and 1.2 were mostly bugfixes. 1.3 is a big rebalancing leap, that's why it's taking so long.

A future 1.4 is more likely to be small-ish bugfix and polish changes, compared to this big 1.3 overhaul.

nmkaplan wrote:

Steve-O wrote:Betcher bottom dollar they will. LW2 is not a "finished product." It's still very much in development, and probably will be for years to come. LW1 went through, what? 17, 18 versions before the released the final 1.0?

I see people make this argument from time to time, and it never made much sense to me. LW1 started as a "fun" project, yes? From what I understand, when LW1 got started, there was no ultimate vision for what it would eventually become. That vision came later, as it evolved, once the feedback came rolling in and they realized what they had.

LW2, on the other hand, was specifically commissioned, and the devs had the luxury of being able to flesh out a full vision for what they wanted it to be before the work even started.

I'm not even saying that your overall point is wrong - obviously LW2 is not a totally finished project. I just think that comparing the development cycles of LW1 to that of LW2 is a bit silly. There's really no comparison.

LW2 is not a "finished product" much like any professional game released those days (i'm not talking about "early access" but real releases). No game those days are released perfectly bug-free and totally balanced. To anyone about to start an argument that this shouldn't be the case i just want to point out that many modern games are much more complex than those "good old days" games that could actually be released more or less bug-free.

It's already much more polished and "fleshed out" than LW1 when it started after only a few months. I don't think it will take years to reach the "finished product" state but a few more balance passes aren't unlikely. It's probably fair to compare it to indie titles. Those usually reach a more or less "mature" state 6 months to 1 year from release but the changes become smaller and less frequent the more months pass. 1.3 is obviously a very big balance pass but it's also the first one. Further balance pass (there will surely be more) will likely not be as large.

To anyone thinking it's a long time, remember that it's not just coding that takes time. Balancing requires testing and testing takes a lot of time. Beta testers have to test changes (multiple times), report feedback, possibly test further changes, report again. That testing-balancing cycle is probably what takes the most time now.

Xwynn has started his 1.3