Something I've Noticed

[NL_Mutso]

I would be willing to give another company the benefit of doubt, but Frontier has a track record for abandoning development without saying a word, leaving their player base totally in the dark (PC, JWE1). While I don't believe that support is ending anytime in the next 6-8 months, I think it's entirely fair to point out the company's short comings.

I think abandoning isn't the right word for that. Those games are finished/completed. I know people want more features/dinos/rides for those games but don't think requests/wishes also translate to actual development plans for a dev.
Maybe a lot of those comments can be placed under: "I wanted a different game, so I'm going to say this game was incomplete because I want the different features in this game"

I think you have a hard time finding developers, who actively communicate end of game, support or last update. When it comes to online parts of a game, they do communicate the last day of server support (if that affects the game)

In recent years I only remember 2 who did this: an indie dev who finished his EA goals and v1.0 is the final product.
and Battletech developer who said this was the last update, there won't be sequel (want to explore other genres) and the game was finished as he always envisioned.

 

[yoav_r]

I think abandoning isn't the right word for that. Those games are finished/completed. I know people want more features/dinos/rides for those games but don't think requests/wishes also translate to actual development plans for a dev.
Maybe a lot of those comments can be placed under: "I wanted a different game, so I'm going to say this game was incomplete because I want the different features in this game"

I think you have a hard time finding developers, who actively communicate end of game, support or last update. When it comes to online parts of a game, they do communicate the last day of server support (if that affects the game)

In recent years I only remember 2 who did this: an indie dev who finished his EA goals and v1.0 is the final product.
and Battletech developer who said this was the last update, there won't be sequel (want to explore other genres) and the game was finished as he always envisioned.

So they should let the support end on a high note, celebrate the game's run. Not just leave it silently

 

[Birini]

I think abandoning isn't the right word for that. Those games are finished/completed. I know people want more features/dinos/rides for those games but don't think requests/wishes also translate to actual development plans for a dev.
Maybe a lot of those comments can be placed under: "I wanted a different game, so I'm going to say this game was incomplete because I want the different features in this game"

I think you have a hard time finding developers, who actively communicate end of game, support or last update. When it comes to online parts of a game, they do communicate the last day of server support (if that affects the game)

In recent years I only remember 2 who did this: an indie dev who finished his EA goals and v1.0 is the final product.
and Battletech developer who said this was the last update, there won't be sequel (want to explore other genres) and the game was finished as he always envisioned.

Is announcing a game is in maintenance mode really that unusual? I know CDPR announced Blood and Wine was “it” for Witcher 3. I may be mistaken but I recall Sony announcing maintenance mode for EQ I and II — only to take it back when Next was cancelled.

 

[Sahara]

I hope they add the monkey

 

[NL_Mutso]

So they should let the support end on a high note, celebrate the game's run. Not just leave it silently

You are kinda asking for something that rarely happens in gaming.

Expect Frontier to do the same, just end it silently. For me, it's not a big deal. So if they end on a high note that's fine by me as well.
DLC support and general support are 2 different things, anyway. Maybe even JWE/PC will get an update to keep it properly running in Windows11. That means support didn't end but new DLC content did.

Is announcing a game is in maintenance mode really that unusual? I know CDPR announced Blood and Wine was “it” for Witcher 3. I may be mistaken but I recall Sony announcing maintenance mode for EQ I and II — only to take it back when Next was cancelled

Yes, is pretty unusual. Bandai (DBZ games), Codemasters (multiple racing games), IO interactive (Hitman Series), Rockstar Games (they did announce closing the servers for GTA online for the PS3/Xbox360) series), EA games (almost every title), Square Enix (among those titles Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider games), Lionhead Studios (closed down a few years ago), Bethesda Games, Ubisoft. Just to name a few.
I own quite a few indie games (usually cheap) and after EA - it's done. Granted, some communicate very well.

But Portal 2 (Valve) also never did any announcement regarding ending support and got several updates in 2021 after their last update years ago. Most people expected support to have ended a long time ago. That's a game from 2011. Valve did it a few times for other games as well. And people still manage to complain .

 

[Birini]

You are kinda asking for something that rarely happens in gaming.

Expect Frontier to do the same, just end it silently. For me, it's not a big deal. So if they end on a high note that's fine by me as well.
DLC support and general support are 2 different things, anyway. Maybe even JWE/PC will get an update to keep it properly running in Windows11. That means support didn't end but new DLC content did.


Yes, is pretty unusual. Bandai (DBZ games), Codemasters (multiple racing games), IO interactive (Hitman Series), Rockstar Games (they did announce closing the servers for GTA online for the PS3/Xbox360) series), EA games (almost every title), Square Enix (among those titles Final Fantasy and Tomb Raider games), Lionhead Studios (closed down a few years ago), Bethesda Games, Ubisoft. Just to name a few.
I own quite a few indie games (usually cheap) and after EA - it's done. Granted, some communicate very well.

But Portal 2 (Valve) also never did any announcement regarding ending support and got several updates in 2021 after their last update years ago. Most people expected support to have ended a long time ago. That's a game from 2011. Valve did it a few times for other games as well. And people still manage to complain .

So a very quick internet search found some biggies — HotS, SC2, Battlefield V — all announced maintenance mode. And this review of the road home sure seems to imply people knew that was the last DLC: https://www.darkstation.com/reviews/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider-the-path-home-review

Companies announcing the end just doesn’t seem that rare to me. Maybe that’s because communication is so good during development that when no new DLC/expansion pops up, you know that’s it.

Either way, your experience just seem to jive with my experience here.

 

[Birini]

So a very quick internet search found some biggies — HotS, SC2, Battlefield V — all announced maintenance mode. And this review of the road home sure seems to imply people knew that was the last DLC: https://www.darkstation.com/reviews/shadow-of-the-tomb-raider-the-path-home-review

Companies announcing the end just doesn’t seem that rare to me. Maybe that’s because communication is so good during development that when no new DLC/expansion pops up, you know that’s it.

Either way, your experience just seem to jive with my experience here.

And SW: Battlefront II https://www.vg247.com/star-wars-battlefront-2-development-winds-scarif-update

 

[PeppyPepp]

Just to chime in regarding ending support - I believe one of the things they will do when officially ending support is they'll shut down the franchise mode servers (it's probably also one of the reasons they made it possible to transfer franchise zoos into sandbox). Even if they don't directly say it's the end, I think that'll be our answer. Until then, I'm not really worried.

 

[NL_Mutso]

Just to chime in regarding ending support - I believe one of the things they will do when officially ending support is they'll shut down the franchise mode servers

Same here. When/if that happens, that's definately a hint. Or when the complete edition is available for a game.

Companies announcing the end just doesn’t seem that rare to me. Maybe that’s because communication is so good during development that when no new DLC/expansion pops up, you know that’s it.

Well, you posted online games titles. Or games that are heavy reliant on the multiplayer aspect (mainly the reason why people bought the game)
I already mentioned that.

And the last Tomb Raider one is something I missed, my bad. Looks to be a change with their previous entries.

Either way, your experience just seem to jive with my experience here.

Let's keep it at that.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

I hope they add the monkey

thats the spirit i want to see. I also want the monkey

 

[Cocolori]

Frontier specific experience with PC suggests that are unlikely to make any announcement when they stop producing DLC (I suspect partly because they want to keep open the possibility of doing more) BUT as a PC player I felt it was really obvious they were wrapping up because;

A) all the major features that were highly requested by the community had been implemented. The only exceptions were things like water parks and weather that the team had explicitly stated were not in their plans for the game.

B) the DLC had clearly been designed to cover some gaps in the ride roster that people still felt were lacking so they were concentrated on rides not new scenery or game mechanics.

C) They had released tools like the scenario editor and theme makers toolkit to the community to enable them to continue the legacy of the game.

None of these are similar to what has happened to PZ. They have actively hired new staff, we don't yet have even a scenario editor let alone other modding tools, highly requested features like flying aren't in the game and they haven't said they don't have plans to include them and the DLCs seem to be selling well.

I just find it weird that if there is any delay people panic and jump to 'support is stopping'. Personally I think a much more likely scenario is that there is a slightly bigger gap between DLCs over summer because school holidays mean more staff taking a holiday plus they don't announce stuff until they have got it fully working so longer makes me hope the new free update will contain some juicy stuff.

I might be wrong about all of that but this whole thread makes me want to get you all a cold compress and stick you in a dark room with some nice lavender scent burning so you can calm down and breathe easy again. It's great you are so passionate but just know it will all be ok in the end

 

[Fini]

I hope support and DLC will never ever end

 

[Urufu1997]

I hope they add the monkey

Don't know which Monkey you are referring to but we definitely need way more of them

 

[StoppableSan]

I hope support and DLC will never ever end
View attachment 262708

Realistically it will, but I'm hopeful that Frontier does cover all the bases of animals people want (black rhinos, capybaras, maned wolves, small cats, more primates (tamarins/marmosets, old world/new world monkeys), birds, smaller exhibit boxes/larger exhibit boxes, etc.)

 

[Urufu1997]

I hope if we will get a Sequel one Day, they will do it like with Jurassic World Evolution 2. Seems like they are reusing lots of Models there but with a gigantic Graphics Update. This would allow for such a big Animal Selection in the Base Game alone already (but I prefer them making stylized Animals more realistic)