Yeah i thought about that ensignyu.. I recently graduated and am looking for work.. in fact I should be getting a job result very soon (hopefully tomorrow!). If I get it, then future releases Ill be getting back from work at that time. But with all the job application stress I was kinda counting on Sam & Max being out earlier tomorrow only to help me relax as I wait nervously
I still think its a very valid point though - this isnt like a gamestore release.. this is an online release catering across the globe so the location of the developer should matter less than centralising the time zone so its most comfortable across the globe? Which means PST is far too far west - GMT is the standard central zone isnt it that provides the best time difference east and west?
Releasing at the same time worldwide (which is what they are doing) is the fairest way. Releasing earlier in some countries just because of the timezone is just ridiculous.
Im not quite sure how stating its 'ridiculous' without any reason for 'why' it is is much of an argument. The positives is that its an earlier download on the day for 'many' players across the globe than just west coast US players.
And whats the downside? As far as I can see.. none. If it simply is released in the middle of the night US west coast (very early hours of the morning 1st Noveeber) when most PST players are likely going to be asleep and waking to it 'anyway' (and if they stay up, wow they get it as soon as Nov 1st breaks!).
Are you so against other people getting the same feeling of waking up to this game that the simple premise of the game being released a few hours earlier is so terribly alien?
As you can see many players expected it to be midnight anyway - and midnight PST the first minute or so of November 1st on the west coast of the US would allow most of the world to download when they wake up TOO. The fact it might wait until 10 hours later (when people start waking up PST) makes littlse sense when they can do the same thing the previous midnight and make a lot more people happy earlier.
Sorry for being so ridiculous. :eek: You need to understand the game isnt being released 'earlier' in other countries, the rays of the sun simply reach us earlier. It almost sounds like I need to apologise for the sun rising over London earlier than it rises over LA or something!
Just imagine that the release date is actually November 3. Then you can all have a nice surprise when it is actually made available in your country some 0-48 hours before November 3 actually begins.
No Ill imagine instead that the world composes of the USA and I happen to live outside it Who knows - Telltale may still start releasing it at midnight and the world can download when they wake up whereever they are. Since I really can't see why they wouldn't do this small thing but looking at the thread and the attitude of some posters, clearly these people are hesitant to say 'yes why not let those guys have it early too - jsut release it at midnight.
Instead its 'no you wait.. you're not getting it earlier in the day than us because we are asleep when you'll be playing'. I have no answer to that. At least not one I can post anyway.. I think Ive posted all I can on this argument so Im going to leave it now. What will be will be.
No doubt Telltale are releasing the game worldwide at the earliest possible time that their contracted 2-week GameTap exclusivity window allows.
Given that they will need a full compliment of support staff ready for the tech problem deluge that will hit as soon as the game is available, I'd say it is totally unreasonable to expect the Telltale staff to basically get no sleep for 2-3 days straight.
Let them make the game available in the morning, so they have a full, rested staff compliment ready to handle the bulk of queries that will come in during the course of the subsequent working day.
It's being simultaneously released around the world. How on earth does that mean some people have to wait longer?
If there were staggered releases over the 24 hours of Nov 1 THEN it would be (ever so slightly) unfair that some people were waiting longer than others!
No, what you fail to factor in is the Special Theory of Relativity. You see, it goes something like if you have a relative working at Telltale, you get the game earlier. Otherwise, you have to rely on one of the other tenants of Relativity. That no two events can be simultaneous unless they are both in the same frame of reference. Seeing as "Americans" are definitely in a different reference frame than, say, Europeans and Oceanians, the event is therefore not simultaneous (note that this does not take into account Californians being way out of reference in respect to the rest of the world ). And in Australia's case, we have to remember that light travels slower in the Southern Hemisphere. I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about that. That's Physics!
Sorry for the incredibly lame and long post. I hope I shed as little light and insight as possible into this discussion.
I'm way too lazy to find the post, but I distinctly remember saying like two months ago that I didn't want any complaining from the Australians about this.
Our contract with GameTap says that they have a 15-day exclusivity window. Exactly. We can't release the game *anywhere* before those 15 days are up, which is one reason we wouldn't roll it out earlier in some parts of the world.
And the other reason is that it would be a logistical nightmare with no real payoff.
Anyway, I hope you find the game is worth the extra day of waiting.
All you Australians can pass the time by staying up late and watching Ponting and the rest of your team get knocked out of the one-day cricket series by the almighty black-caps.
All you Australians can pass the time by staying up late and watching Ponting and the rest of your team get knocked out of the one-day cricket series by the almighty black-caps.
It's 7.12am CET now... The good thing about them releasing it midnight PST would also have been to share the serverload. I hope, if I get home this evening (what would be just around 10am PST) there are no problems when trying to download the game, because this would be exactly the time when everyone will download after the game becoming available. If they released it midnight PST all Australians, Europeans, etc, would have had the chance to download it during the day, share the serverload and have it ready when coming home from work...
IF it is supposed to be a SIMULTANEOUS release on November 1st it is Tell-tales obligation to release the game at midnight PST. Because if they wait until 10:00am it will no longer be the 1st in many countries, thus destroying the whole idea of a simultaneous release. I personally don't care, as long as I get the game!
It is a simultaneous release. Everybody will be getting it simultaneously. Everybody will be able to get it at the same time.
If I am talking to you on the phone, we can be talking simultaneously or at the same time regardless of whatever happens to be the local time.
And Emily basically explained all the logistical difficulties (as well as legal ones)... I guess I'd suggest that Telltale put up a countdown clock next time, synchronized to the time they actually intend to release things, and that should clear up all ambiguity as well as serve as another element that makes people say "I can't wait!"
It'd be nice to have it released at midnight, but as JP-30 said Telltale probably (understandably) want to have support staff around at the time of release. I'd rather wait 10 hours or whatever extra than have every one in the world playing the game except me because something got fucked up immediately before I went to download and noone's around to fix it. That said, it would be nice for future episodes if Telltale set a more specific ETA, if only so I know when to set my alarm clock for.
Well, I'm a fan from New Zealand (or as we like to say, Noo Zild). So it's not only Aussies who are getting excited. For us here it's 8:46pm on November 1st. I'll just say this now, if there's some sort of problem and I can't download my preordered Sam and Max goodness... Somebody is going to fully appreciate my displeasure. Otherwise, I can't wait. I'm sure it'll be fantastic!
Numble's idea of a countdown clock is a good one. Except that if there is a slight delay in getting the download activation thing switched on, all hell will break loose.
And having a bit of a 'floating' release time probably puts less stress on the download server. I can't imagine the hits that thing would get if everyone was waiting until the exact same second to start downloading.
On that, is p2p distribution an option for the installer? I guess you can't track individual downloads, but peope would still need to activate the game once installed in the usual manner.
Well, I'm a fan from New Zealand (or as we like to say, Noo Zild). So it's not only Aussies who are getting excited. For us here it's 8:46pm on November 1st. I'll just say this now, if there's some sort of problem and I can't download my preordered Sam and Max goodness... Somebody is going to fully appreciate my displeasure. Otherwise, I can't wait. I'm sure it'll be fantastic!
Well, the servers are going to take a gigantic hammering tomorrow. I'm not expecting a fast (accessible?) download until several hours after the actual release time.
I agree with Junkface. The most annoying part of the whole thing is checking my email and the telltale site every half hour to see if it's been posted yet. I've given up hope that I'll see it before the morning of the second (another Aussie) - but that won't stop me checking into the early hours of the morning. This is also probably the reason that a lot of us have been posting here, with the 1/11/06 date we've woken up and been wondering when it's going to be available for download.
So yeah, even just a 'Sometime after 3pm GMT 1/11/06' would do it for me, so I can actually get some work done :P
Well, the servers are going to take a gigantic hammering tomorrow. I'm not expecting a fast (accessible?) download until several hours after the actual release time.
Well, due to the timezone difference, coupled with School and Guitar lessons, etc. I hope that the rush will be mostly dealed with by the time I actually get to play. Hmm... People seem to be getting tense.
As for the cricket, I'm not holding my breath. Black Caps all the way of course, but...
I am waiting eagerly, I am patient yet excited. Have tell tale considered a preloading approach like steam? let people download before the release and activate the game on the release? this would avoid the rush on the servers and give instant satisfaction:) I guess theres the chance people would hack it etc. oh well. just a thought while I wait:P
Given that it's already been on GameTap for two weeks, that would have been a wide open opportunity to hack it. Done properly, and assuming nobody inside the company leaks it, there's no way to hack a preloaded copy before the release date. But hey, this is only 80 megs or so, hopefully shouldn't be too bad. I hope the servers can handle it!
... And, it's past midnight in California, so I guess we've got another ~10 hours to wait. But this is going to be good
Here in France it is frustrating because it is a national holiday, so there is plenty of time today to play Sam and Max Season 1 Episode 1 part ...err nope going too far, well anyway, to pass time i'm gonna play through Hit The Road, then read "Surfin' the Highway", i don't want to miss the "private" jokes :P
A post HERE says that the game on Gametap was released at about 12 O'clock!
with the 15-day exclusivity:
- on the West coast:
12 o'clock (don't know if we marke am or pm) - California
3pm - East Coast
8pm - London
9pm - France
7am, Nov 2 - Sidney, Camberra
-If it's on the east coast time:
9am - California
12 o'clock - East Coast
5pm - London
6pm - France
4am, Nov 2 - Sidney, Camberra
what we need here, is an invention, that was made years ago in switzerland. everybody laughed about them.
but now the "swatch beat time" would be able to prevent such a mess.
it was a standartized (is this writing correct? im german...) internet time. the day was splittet in 1000 beats. there were no time difference. so if we had said, the game is released Nov 1st at 500 beats. everybody knows the exact time. this might be night in europe and day an USA, but noone would have had any problems with calculating time differences.
I remember them using Swatch Beats for Phantasy Star Online. It had some cunning icon based comms for cross language communication as well. Not that I ever played with anyone outside my country...
Comments
I still think its a very valid point though - this isnt like a gamestore release.. this is an online release catering across the globe so the location of the developer should matter less than centralising the time zone so its most comfortable across the globe? Which means PST is far too far west - GMT is the standard central zone isnt it that provides the best time difference east and west?
And whats the downside? As far as I can see.. none. If it simply is released in the middle of the night US west coast (very early hours of the morning 1st Noveeber) when most PST players are likely going to be asleep and waking to it 'anyway' (and if they stay up, wow they get it as soon as Nov 1st breaks!).
Are you so against other people getting the same feeling of waking up to this game that the simple premise of the game being released a few hours earlier is so terribly alien?
As you can see many players expected it to be midnight anyway - and midnight PST the first minute or so of November 1st on the west coast of the US would allow most of the world to download when they wake up TOO. The fact it might wait until 10 hours later (when people start waking up PST) makes littlse sense when they can do the same thing the previous midnight and make a lot more people happy earlier.
Sorry for being so ridiculous. :eek: You need to understand the game isnt being released 'earlier' in other countries, the rays of the sun simply reach us earlier. It almost sounds like I need to apologise for the sun rising over London earlier than it rises over LA or something!
Instead its 'no you wait.. you're not getting it earlier in the day than us because we are asleep when you'll be playing'. I have no answer to that. At least not one I can post anyway.. I think Ive posted all I can on this argument so Im going to leave it now. What will be will be.
Given that they will need a full compliment of support staff ready for the tech problem deluge that will hit as soon as the game is available, I'd say it is totally unreasonable to expect the Telltale staff to basically get no sleep for 2-3 days straight.
Let them make the game available in the morning, so they have a full, rested staff compliment ready to handle the bulk of queries that will come in during the course of the subsequent working day.
No, what you fail to factor in is the Special Theory of Relativity. You see, it goes something like if you have a relative working at Telltale, you get the game earlier. Otherwise, you have to rely on one of the other tenants of Relativity. That no two events can be simultaneous unless they are both in the same frame of reference. Seeing as "Americans" are definitely in a different reference frame than, say, Europeans and Oceanians, the event is therefore not simultaneous (note that this does not take into account Californians being way out of reference in respect to the rest of the world
Sorry for the incredibly lame and long post. I hope I shed as little light and insight as possible into this discussion.
/waits patiently
thats becuase we have great taste in dogs and bunny things
Our contract with GameTap says that they have a 15-day exclusivity window. Exactly. We can't release the game *anywhere* before those 15 days are up, which is one reason we wouldn't roll it out earlier in some parts of the world.
And the other reason is that it would be a logistical nightmare with no real payoff.
Anyway, I hope you find the game is worth the extra day of waiting.
By the way 8 out of 10 from Games TM magazine for episode 1
Woo! Good stuff.
Unlikely
IF it is supposed to be a SIMULTANEOUS release on November 1st it is Tell-tales obligation to release the game at midnight PST. Because if they wait until 10:00am it will no longer be the 1st in many countries, thus destroying the whole idea of a simultaneous release. I personally don't care, as long as I get the game!
was overjoyed when Freelance Police was announced, only to be canceled Grrr. Lucasarts.
Then telltale games, you legends have now done it, can't wait till it's available.
i too had no idea it was also a comic and tv show until a couple of month ago.
I think your definition of "simultaneous" needs refining.
If I am talking to you on the phone, we can be talking simultaneously or at the same time regardless of whatever happens to be the local time.
And Emily basically explained all the logistical difficulties (as well as legal ones)... I guess I'd suggest that Telltale put up a countdown clock next time, synchronized to the time they actually intend to release things, and that should clear up all ambiguity as well as serve as another element that makes people say "I can't wait!"
And having a bit of a 'floating' release time probably puts less stress on the download server. I can't imagine the hits that thing would get if everyone was waiting until the exact same second to start downloading.
On that, is p2p distribution an option for the installer? I guess you can't track individual downloads, but peope would still need to activate the game once installed in the usual manner.
Well, the servers are going to take a gigantic hammering tomorrow. I'm not expecting a fast (accessible?) download until several hours after the actual release time.
So yeah, even just a 'Sometime after 3pm GMT 1/11/06' would do it for me, so I can actually get some work done :P
--CJM
I'd get some sleep if I were you. Or watch the cricket...
Well, due to the timezone difference, coupled with School and Guitar lessons, etc. I hope that the rush will be mostly dealed with by the time I actually get to play. Hmm... People seem to be getting tense.
As for the cricket, I'm not holding my breath. Black Caps all the way of course, but...
... And, it's past midnight in California, so I guess we've got another ~10 hours to wait. But this is going to be good
Here in France it is frustrating because it is a national holiday, so there is plenty of time today to play Sam and Max Season 1 Episode 1 part ...err nope going too far, well anyway, to pass time i'm gonna play through Hit The Road, then read "Surfin' the Highway", i don't want to miss the "private" jokes :P
No more than any other day, surely?
Trams rule.
It's now 11:30 on the 1st of November. I'm going nuts. I need my fix.
But u know wot Melbourne doesn't have.
On Nov. 1, it doesn't have Sam n Max.
Percent sign, ampersand, dollar sign.
And colon, semicolon too!
with the 15-day exclusivity:
- on the West coast:
12 o'clock (don't know if we marke am or pm) - California
3pm - East Coast
8pm - London
9pm - France
7am, Nov 2 - Sidney, Camberra
-If it's on the east coast time:
9am - California
12 o'clock - East Coast
5pm - London
6pm - France
4am, Nov 2 - Sidney, Camberra
Don't know if it's like that!
Yeah, that's pretty much what we're expecting. Give or take an hour.
but now the "swatch beat time" would be able to prevent such a mess.
it was a standartized (is this writing correct? im german...) internet time. the day was splittet in 1000 beats. there were no time difference. so if we had said, the game is released Nov 1st at 500 beats. everybody knows the exact time. this might be night in europe and day an USA, but noone would have had any problems with calculating time differences.
read here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swatch_Internet_Time
*wanders off into the mists of nostalgia*