I think it was in the holiday livestream when CR popped out that they were going to put the same timeline updates out for 3.0 as they did for 2.6. Apparently, that's been working pretty good so they're going to stick with it. That means that once 2.6 comes out we will know what their predictions are for the 3.0 release.
Honestly, I think most of us will be pleasantly surprised how far they already are into 3.0. With over 360 employees and counting, there will be quite a bit of simultaneous production going on. That means that a group is working on finishing 2.6, various people are on various ships, SQ42 is being worked on, 3.0 is being worked on, and I'd bet even 3.1+ is being worked on right now. I'm not too concerned about it though. We'll see when the timeline comes out.
What does worry me though, is that we were supposed to get a SQ42 demo in October at Gamescom. They said they were really close, but just needed a little more time because it wasn't "perfect". Now, over two months later, we still haven't heard a peep about it. It makes me worry that they changed things up again. Chris keeps doing that. They change the whole scope (usually for the better) and end up scrapping all their previous work.
That's really, really bad. You're basically throwing that entire investment in the trash. Freelancer rework? Throw the old Lancer in the trash. Star Marine rework? Throw the old star marine in the trash. It improves the final product so it's not the end of the world, but it needs to stop sometime. At some point, you need to settle for what you have and finish the damn thing. I find myself worrying about this from time to time.
Honestly, I think most of us will be pleasantly surprised how far they already are into 3.0. With over 360 employees and counting, there will be quite a bit of simultaneous production going on. That means that a group is working on finishing 2.6, various people are on various ships, SQ42 is being worked on, 3.0 is being worked on, and I'd bet even 3.1+ is being worked on right now. I'm not too concerned about it though. We'll see when the timeline comes out.
What does worry me though, is that we were supposed to get a SQ42 demo in October at Gamescom. They said they were really close, but just needed a little more time because it wasn't "perfect". Now, over two months later, we still haven't heard a peep about it. It makes me worry that they changed things up again. Chris keeps doing that. They change the whole scope (usually for the better) and end up scrapping all their previous work.
That's really, really bad. You're basically throwing that entire investment in the trash. Freelancer rework? Throw the old Lancer in the trash. Star Marine rework? Throw the old star marine in the trash. It improves the final product so it's not the end of the world, but it needs to stop sometime. At some point, you need to settle for what you have and finish the damn thing. I find myself worrying about this from time to time.