Was Medieval 2 rushed?

[Daevyll]

Yes, really is a reason the passive AI bug was overlooked. There was a last minute tweak to the AI that broke something, and by the time it was noticed the game was in production.

Changing something, especially something so vital, then sending it to production without taking the time to properly test and adapt it, is a typical example of what I would call 'rushing'.

[KristianSax]

There was a nice analogy earlier ... here's another one.

Those of you who have had to take their time and write a university thesis or some other major paper know what I mean.

The fact is that a thesis/game (for many people at least) cannot be finetuned to perfection. Each time you look through it, you find something that you think can be improved, changed, added etc. But at some point you have to draw the line and hand in/publish your thesis/game. Undoubtedly the next time you open it, you fill find things that need changing but this process could last indefinitely.

Its the same with this game and many others ... you can't go on tweaking it indefinitely or you'll just go bankrupt or will at least have to drop the project. At one time or another you have to draw the line, especially if the community is screaming their hearts out for the release, and bring it out. Now its time for the community to voice their opinions about it, what they like about it and what they despise with some exceptional rotten apples that are overly constructive and label the game broken and unplayable.

This, however, is where the analogy ends ... you can never patch a thesis that has been handed in :)

With the release of every game there will be people screaming bloody murder ... that is unfortunate albeit inevitable. Of course CA may partially also be blamed for this ... the three previous games were too good and the public expected them to something so much more thus leaving them in bitter disappointment. I think if you create illusions and get your hopes up too high, you can be disappointed in almost everything ... a new car, a concert, a game, a movie etc.

[econ21]

This, however, is where the analogy ends ... you can never patch a thesis that has been handed in :)

Very good analogy. My thesis has a mistake on the first line - I got the year wrong! D'oh!

Another analogy that strikes me is with typing/wordprocessing and with computing. In days gone by, you had to be very accurate in writing because it was time consuming to re-type something. Similarly, in computer programming, there was a premium on accuracy, because a program might take a day to run and so errors would set you back a long way. However, with word processing, we probably write more sloppily because we can correct it. And in computing, a PC can run basic programmes so fast, a bug does not set you back so much. Patching may just be like the wordprocessor or powerful PC - it makes it easier to correct errors, so companies are more likely to be willing to release a product they know has an error.

[EDIT: Apologies for double posting! Bad moderator! ]

[Dexter]

.. rushed as all games ... despite the fact that it has sys requirements that the majority of players can not get .. i`m 23 and i have bought my pc *P4* only recently *september* ... had P* whit 733 Mhz .. good old machine still have it ... money is money after all ..
Remember Shogun ??? in the video options it had software and harware .. guess what i playd it for 2 years on a p 166 whit 4mb video and 64 ram ,... still whit good grafics .. now whit Rome+BI+Alaexander and Medieval 2 ... dont bother putting everything to high ... forget highest ... only if you have a video card like 256 Mb .. some 1Gb rad * its speed at least 400 MHz * but the higher the better ... sad ...
and most of the Games the "new" ones are rushed and bugged ... i guess i schould take out my 2.86 whit its 13 MHz and play Dangerous Dave ...
okok ... nostalgy is not to good ... at least the Graph if u have the system is worth the money ... to a point ...

[KristianSax]

Aaaah ... the good ol' days when the grass was greener, the sky was bluer and when the youth was not so spoiled.

You should keep in mind that when things (games among them) become more complicated, they are more prone to mistakes, bugs and errors. Most of us are spoiled by the development the games have gone through in such a short time.

I remember being so content with Digger, Alley Cat, Larry 1 etc. From every new game we expect so much more - for it to be more realistic and more fun - and when they don't deliver we are disappointed (I'm repeating myself, aren't I).

[Carl]

ll of these obvious bugs should have been detected on first play by even the most incompetent beta-tester, I can't fathom who CA hired for QA - chimpanzees?

I may be wrong here, so don't take this as 100% fact. But i've seen at least 1 post here saying they had been told that no beta testing actually took place, so even though these bugs should have been caught, they wern't becuase their was no bug cathcing phase.

Just yesterday I ordered a unit of Crusader Knights (60) to charge a unit of Town Militia (58). The knights were completely in formation, about 25 meters distant from the enemy. I right-clicked once on the enemy unit, but instead of lowering their lances to charge in... THEY FRIGGING WALKED!!! ... all the way to the enemy unit, losing 41 knights in the ensuing melee.

You need to double click, or hit (R) if you want them to charge. My way of making good charges in the demo is to march them at the enemy then when they are right on top of them right click and tap (R). They baerly slow down and seem to hit at full power. allthough I can't be sure TBH.

[Lorenzo_H]

I wouldn't call it rushed. Just because it has a few bugs doesn't mean it was rushed and should be tossed aside.

When have you seen a game that didn't need a patch or two after it was released?