Tha said, we planned on 4 companions - 2 more will be added once we've taken some fresh air. The AI personalities are going to pop up when they're done which I expect to be fairly soon.
That being said, could you give any rough ETA on the additional companions? "After a bit of fresh air" could mean many things (but you've definitely deserve a few day off to regenrate and see your family again of course ;)). Do you think it's more a matter of days, weeks or months? In case you think that the third and forth companions should be ready in July for example I would wait a bit with playing D:OS but then again I probably wouldn't wait if they won't appear before August or even September. Any clarifcation/ETA would be very much appreciated, thanks.
I wouldn't expect the extra companions any time in July. I think "a bit of fresh air" = much needed vacations and family time, and I suspect those are going to take the better part of a month. If AI personalities are being scheduled before the remaining companions, and companions aren't being worked on until the team returns from vacations, I would be surprised to see a companion update before the end of August (and September seems more likely as I'm sure there will be plenty of other bugs and emergencies to resolve).
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As for all the other posted comments in the latter half of this thread: yes, a game is not a feature list, but crowdfunding campaigns like Kickstarter tend to sell it as one in order to raise funding. Give N dollars and we give you feature X, and all that. And so I don't really think there should be any surprises on either side when backers for concerned about feature X, Y, and Z. And while it's true cut features are only an issue because of the transparency in this project, both sides should keep in mind that the transparency was necessary to secure additional funding and time to complete many of the completed features people are proud of. One comes with the other.
The negative reactions here from people who are expressing their disappointment in the news are relatively mild, particularly when compared to the comments on Steam (which, in my opinion, have been going overboard). There's nothing wrong with people suggesting they're disappointed; I would not expect them to feign delight whenever news disappoints them.
The negative reactions here aimed at those expressing disappointment over the news, however, are a little harsh, and should probably be aimed at the comments on Steam and not here. I suspect people are reading both forums and then posting their reactions here, which (considering the fairly tame comments in this thread) seem out of place.
In the end, for projects like this there is only so much time, and so much money, and when both are gone you have what you have. All the disappointment in the world can't change that. We are also constantly suggesting additional features and fixes, and none of that is free - it all takes resources that may have easily caused other features to miss their deadline. There's plenty of fault to go around, if fault is even worth assigning in the first place. Even now at the end amidst all the work there was/is to do, the developers seem to be trying to fulfill quality of life requests as they crop up (and we keep throwing more at them), so I'm not going to pretend they don't care about the game or their fans.
I came here looking for a fun RPG with turn-based combat, and I believe that's what we got (and then some). If someone else expected "SIMS : Fantasy Edition", I think they were setting themselves up for disappointment. And I do think many of the reactions on Steam are overly harsh, as it seems odd to suggest the game is bringing you tons of enjoyment on one day, only for it and your faith in the development team to be shattered because of a missing companion or personality announcement on the next. That just seems fickle, as folks were obviously enjoying the game without them before, and can easily continue doing so until they eventually arrive. Disappointment is fine, pitchforks and torches.. not so much.
And while I'm sure people will disagree, any of you have the ability to give your two main characters any personality you desire, just by making a decision at the start regarding how they will act and then being strong enough to stick to your plan when the debating becomes inconvenient. You don't need to wait for the developers to automate it for you. That is the whole "Role" part of the RPG. I'm not suggesting AI personalities won't be a nice feature to have, just that I think people are painting themselves into a corner if they pretend they can't play without them.
Anyway, thanks for the information you were able to provide, Swen. Frankly, you could have just as easily taken the route of most other developers and just gone quiet! So, thanks again.
