The Limit Theory Thread

I still check back in on this one every once in a while.
I'm glad that Josh has brought in some help, so hopefully things are moving in the right direction for him.
But to me, the game feels as far off as it's ever felt. :(

From what I can see, we are more or less back where we started at the beginning of the Kickstarter. Nice engine, graphics demos, etc... but no game to speak of.

I would love this to be released one day, but I gave up holding my breath for it several years ago. Same with Star Citizen, really.
 
From what I can see, we are more or less back where we started at the beginning of the Kickstarter. Nice engine, graphics demos, etc... but no game to speak of.

I would love this to be released one day, but I gave up holding my breath for it several years ago. Same with Star Citizen, really.

I think he's a programmer rather than a game designer. A very eloquent and talented programmer, but it's obvious it's the code he loves rather than the game. Having said that, I wish him well and hope it comes together.
 
I think he's a programmer rather than a game designer. A very eloquent and talented programmer, but it's obvious it's the code he loves rather than the game. Having said that, I wish him well and hope it comes together.
I've never considered this angle, but it actually makes a lot of sense.
It's obvious he's a brilliant coder. Unfortunately, even the most elegant and efficient code doesn't alone make a game.

But again, he's brought some help onboard, so maybe some of them are more gameplay focused.
...we'll see.
 
The point of the demo isn't to show off "the game" - it's to show off the new game engine that can handle thousands of NPC ships at a time with very little slow-down. This was the development hell that Josh had painted himself into a couple of years back - his original engine that he'd worked so hard on couldn't handle it. He's got some help, it's all been rewritten from scratch, and now this one can.

It's a proof of concept more than anything else.

The game that Josh originally set out to develop is still the intention as far as I can tell.

Yeah this. I backed it on the KS and look forward to what this new engine direction can bring to the game, looks pretty good so far. The graphics have their own person now as well, a lady that loves procedural and curves so we are starting to see more sleek ship designs etc.
 
I still follow the development from time-to-time. To that end...

The point of the demo isn't to show off "the game" - it's to show off the new game engine that can handle thousands of NPC ships at a time with very little slow-down. This was the development hell that Josh had painted himself into a couple of years back - his original engine that he'd worked so hard on couldn't handle it. He's got some help, it's all been rewritten from scratch, and now this one can.

It's a proof of concept more than anything else.

The game that Josh originally set out to develop is still the intention as far as I can tell.

I hope it is. I'll be amongst the first to buy it then.
 
A pity, but probably the right decision to make that call. It had already taken a major toll on him and apparently that was more or less a permanent state of affairs. Hope he'll be able to get properly over it and recover now. As for the game, well, we'll see what people make of the source code, one never knows.
 
Ah, sad news indeed. I kinda lost hope after his breakdown to only give the forums a check now and again; seeing some progress gave me back some semblence of hope but it seems there was just too much left to do and program for any kind of release.

Well, Josh gave it his all and did not spend money on garage doors for his programing studio at least...
 
I could certainly see that coming. Never mind, he managed to spend the $187.000 he got from the campaign before he had a breakdown.. That's the main thing.

A little over $30,000 grand a year, not bad, 6yrs 'work' :rolleyes:. Plus you could have a day job, nice.
But don't forget, these devs are butterflies and should be laid on cotton wool and sung to every night.. Unless they're away on holiday spending, that is..
 
Last edited:
There is absolutely nothing to be proud of here.

Some of the comments there lay it on much thicker tho: "you are a role model for project creators"

Hopefully not any projects I'm involved with.

"Treat it as a learning experience and move on."

Goddamn. I wish I could take that much money from strangers and treat it as a learning experience when I fail utterly instead of feeling obligated to deliver no matter what! You shouldn't charge for your damn learning experiences.

"Also, don't forget Chris Roberts was very impressed with you. If you need work, or just something else to do for now, that could be an option for you."

Oh wow. I approve of this plan. Totally do this. As a learning experience, then they can absolve themselves in another six years.
 
Last edited:
A sad story. I don't doubt his sincerity or the stress he must have been under, regardless of other people's cash.

But after reading the umpteenth post about re-writing bits of engine code I got the impression he was doing anything to avoid designing an actual game. The nerdy code bits were his comfort blanket in a very unpleasant situation.

Having tried writing a couple of ambitious games on my own in recent years it's funny the way you quickly realise that it's only really one or two bits of it that you're actually interested in and the rest is too much like actual work. Without management you keep noodling around with the bits you like. Which is a fun waste of time if nobody's invested in it. Let's hope he can go back to having fun.
 
It's of course a shame that this isn't seeing the light of day, but if as he says the source code gets released it may yet not be the end of the story. Perhaps he could license or sell his engine. I can think of at least one game that might want/need it......
 
I was wondering whether LT or SC were going to be the first to the wall. Glad I didn't make that bet now.

I have to wonder how you can build a career with something like this on your CV.
 
I could certainly see that coming. Never mind, he managed to spend the $187.000 he got from the campaign before he had a breakdown.. That's the main thing.

A little over $30,000 grand a year, not bad, 6yrs 'work' :rolleyes:. Plus you could have a day job, nice.
But don't forget, these devs are butterflies and should be laid on cotton wool and sung to every night.. Unless they're away on holiday spending, that is..

Where is this bitterness coming from? A one-man studio has the only dude working on it suffer from mental illness, and a kickstarter game fails as a result. You dont have to lay him on cotton wool and sing to him every night, but you could try being a decent human being...
 
this game was always stupidly ambitious for one man to do. It come to a end but perhaps the open source community will do something with it.

But from reading the updates he was clearly more interested in building the engine and a set of tools to go with it than the game.
 
Last edited:
I'm very sorry that this has transpired, and I wish Josh success and renewed health and vigour for what ever projects he goes on to in the future.
 
Yeah so my kickstarter backing (of £20 or whatever it was) did not result in me getting a game. How will i live with the pain of that missing £20 in my life? Or not playing this awesome game i thought i would be?

SO FIRST WORLD PROBLEM.

I have no regrets, as in zero, for backing this. I do however have concerns for a young gifted man that broke his mind trying to deliver something he couldn't. That really IS the too high a price paid here imho.

Kickstarter is what it is, not a contract to deliver more a contract to try and deliver, and it does not always go to plan. ANYONE using Kickstarter should really know this. It's a gamble, a punt to nothing, a last second touch down hail-mary attempt, nothing more.

Well done Josh on seeing that a good game could be made in this particular space, and condolences for all the rest. As a human being that has the luxury of being able to spare time and money playing games, thanks for your efforts and the idea of Limit Theory, it was a fun ride at first, then a terrible thing to see you go through. All the best and stay well and aim for getting better. 100% zero salt here.
 
Yeah so my kickstarter backing (of £20 or whatever it was) did not result in me getting a game. How will i live with the pain of that missing £20 in my life? Or not playing this awesome game i thought i would be?

SO FIRST WORLD PROBLEM.

I have no regrets, as in zero, for backing this. I do however have concerns for a young gifted man that broke his mind trying to deliver something he couldn't. That really IS the too high a price paid here imho.

Kickstarter is what it is, not a contract to deliver more a contract to try and deliver, and it does not always go to plan. ANYONE using Kickstarter should really know this. It's a gamble, a punt to nothing, a last second touch down hail-mary attempt, nothing more.

Well done Josh on seeing that a good game could be made in this particular space, and condolences for all the rest. As a human being that has the luxury of being able to spare time and money playing games, thanks for your efforts and the idea of Limit Theory, it was a fun ride at first, then a terrible thing to see you go through. All the best and stay well and aim for getting better. 100% zero salt here.

I followed this with great interest, and the amount and quality of work he put in was amazing. I sincerely hope he recovers.
 
Back
Top Bottom