Is there a new patch coming in April?

[viper73]

I though I read a few days ago there is a new patch due in April... is this true? If so, what will it include? This is the only company I have seen strive to improve games this long after release.

Cheers,
Viper

[Hobbes]

I though I read a few days ago there is a new patch due in April... is this true? If so, what will it include? This is the only company I have seen strive to improve games this long after release.

Cheers,
Viper

It's coming soon - but a few things still to be ironed out in beta.
Cheers, Chris

[berto]

This is the only company I have seen strive to improve games this long after release.

I think the world of AGEod, but to be fair, and for the record, let it be noted that at least two other wargaming companies

Matrix Games http://www.matrixgames.com/
HPS Simulations http://www.hpssims.com/

continue to patch, upgrade, and support their games for years and years--basically indefinitely.

And

Paradox Interactive http://www.paradoxplaza.com/

also patch and upgrade their games for months and years afterward (although lately they have been charging extra for it, as "expansion packs").

Matrix Games comes closest (they don't involve the community quite as much as AGEod does; HPS and PI are rather closed and secretive), but yes, all things considered, AGEod is probably the best.

[RELee]

Don't forget Shrapnel Games. They have just released yet another update to Dominions 3 just this past month.

[Turbo823]

I just picked up AACW and I am hoping they release this patch quickly. I have yet to play the campaign game and really don't want to start a game against the AI with all the problems I am reading with this 109e patch.

I don't know whether to shelf this game and or wait for the patch.

[pepe4158]

lol....I hate to beat a dead horse guys, but it really needs to HALF the amount of morale points lost by the Union if they lose Washington....if so I couldnt ever beat Athena on hard level as that is what I would like to see.

[GShock]

And i hate to say MatrixGames do not really patch their games as well and as often as they should. Take a game in examination, any, and look the forums and their communities.

It's a sort of mass-production gaming development organization with many devs on dozens of projects and after a year or 2, a patch or 2, all games i've seen are abandoned after 1 year at best.

Currently own EiANW, FoF, WAWAWD so i know a lot about matrixgames. Needless to say, AgeOD rules!

[berto]

And i hate to say MatrixGames do not really patch their games as well and as often as they should. Take a game in examination, any, and look the forums and their communities... Needless to say, AgeOD rules!

Well, sure, you can pick any game or subset of games among the dozens and dozens of games in the Matrix lineup to prove almost anything. I'm not saying that they have a good track record across the board. But for many of their games, they do in fact patch and upgrade for years and years on end.

Case in point: Steel Panthers: World at War. They have been patching and upgrading this for what seems like forever.

To their credit, Matrix Games also picks up abandonware, (almost) the entire Talonsoft lineup, for example. I am a fan of the John Tiller Campaign Series (WWII & modern) and Battleground Series (American Civil War, Napoleonics) of games, also Norm Koger's Operational Art of War. I was very dismayed when Talonsoft was bought out, then driven into the ground. I was cheered when Matrix Games revived these games. Are they patched and upgraded as frequently as the AGEod games--all much newer titles--no. But I am quite pleased to see that these 10+ year old games are back in semi-active development. Matrix is about to release a patch/upgrade to JTCS in a week or two, for example--for a 10+ year old game! A TOAW patch/upgrade is also due in the not too distant future.

But, like I said, and I am in agreement with you, all things considered, AGEod does indeed rule. They are amazingly responsive to, and in touch with, their player and beta tester communities. May it always remain so!

[Pocus]

I don't think you can see Matrix games as a single 'monolithic' entity on this aspect. Matrix is the publisher... patching and debugging is left entirely to the will of the developers of each game. Some are not very reactive, some are fantastics! So it really depends.

The public beta patch will be very soon out. It is already really stable and you can play with it without fear. Now if you prefer the official release, then you'll have to wait 1-2 weeks more