Oh, right…
Sad news. So why don’t they show What they are working on as well? Too silence about a game in development since 1 year at least
@IamDalv They are referring to the same article on Glassdoor. Relic is working on more new titles though and the article on Glassdoor doesn’t mention it’s explicit about AOE IV. But one thing is true, as software developer you can’t make too much failures. All developers are experiencing this kind of stress anyway so that’s normal imho.
@Andy P said:
“There is a heavy feeling in the studio that if and when our next big game releases and is a flop then it’s game over for Relic.”They are developing Age of Empires 4. I am no RTS or Relic historian, but in Relic's area of the industry, AoE4 has got to be one of the single most anticipated titles ever. If AoE4 flops, one would assume there would be a huge reckoning for any developer. I have to assume everyone at Relic knows this is the most important game of their careers. It is fair to give them the benefit of the doubt until we see otherwise.This is absolutely true. A developer could have a lengthy track record of success but it only takes one, maybe two if they’re a big enough company, bad game(s) to bring them crashing to the ground. Mythic had a lot of success with Dark Age of Camelot but WARHAmmer: Online ended up being the company’s downfall. Maxis was incredibly well known for their massive success with The Sims but after the less than lukewarm reception of The Sims 4 and Sim City EA shut them down. Visceral Games was recently shut down and they were working on a triple A Star Wars game with big name game designers developing the game.
Finally we come to BioWare who hasn’t been shut down yet but used to be known as one of the top developers in the game industry and after Dragon Age: II, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Mass Effect III’s ending, and Mass Effect: Andromeda it’s clear that if Anthem goes south that studio most likely will be absorbed by other EA studios and the developers there are well aware of it.
Relic knows what they’re up against. They know that if they mess this up they’re most likely done. AoE is one of the biggest names in the RTS industry and to be responsible for a true fourth installment is quite a daunting task. It’s enough to get anyone working on it on edge. Personally I say we wait until we start seeing some concrete details of the game, gameplay, footage, or screenshots before we start worrying that this game is completely doomed.
Actually the studio/team that made Sim City (Maxis) is not the same studio that make the Sims games anymore. The Sims Studio made Sims 3 and 4, the sims studio is alive and well. The Sims 4 itself is doing very well according to EA’s last investors call and its last expansion pack moved record numbers. Overall the Sims 4 has done very well since its rocky launch year and has a very large and dedicated player base of mostly younger games. According to a lot of polls the Sims 4 holds the position of “favorite” of the Series.
So how did this happen after a rocky launch?
In this case the studio listened to and gave the players more of what they wanted and listened to their feedback. This included a bunch of free content with major updates, constant patching and community engagement.
Which is my point/example of studio working with the community to improve their game and grow it. Its clearly paid off now for the Sims 4 as it looks to continue into 2018 and 2019.
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The advantage of Sims is that it can’t be a pay2win game no matter what they do 
Because I bet it has the cancer that is microtransactions
The anonymous employee review isn’t that unusual in the gaming development community. Tough business and hard on devs.
I actualy dont think Relic is in trouble, because i found some info about AoE4 that it is in the make.
@Hibou said:
When we can see news about these 2 projects ? @r_benb
Well, AOEIV you already know. But both projects are heads down until they’re ready to show off. I can’t speak to their timelines more than that.
@mrjade @12ozMouse Hey guys, I’m trying to be as transparent as I can here but I can’t reveal new info on upcoming projects.
What I can tell you is that both are being developed very differently for Relic and there is a lot of positive change afoot specifically around community consultation,
user research, and early playtesting.
Bad news bears. I really hope they fix themselves. Relic made my favorite rts game.
Relic is pretty much finished. They might be focusing all their resources on Age of Empires 4 but they’ve been outsourcing development of Company of Heroes 2 (their other RTS game) to a bunch of modders and they completely dropped support of Dawn of War III not even a year after its release, having made no expansion packs and after several months of radio silence, promising that community that they had something in the works. Turns out that something was a cancellation notice.
Relic is in serious trouble and I sincerely doubt that they will be able to make Age of Empires IV at all to the level it deserves, it’s pretty obvious that they have no clue what they’re doing in this industry. Alas for the days of Ensemble…
@Vermi1lionHawk said:
Relic is pretty much finished. They might be focusing all their resources on Age of Empires 4 but they’ve been outsourcing development of Company of Heroes 2 (their other RTS game) to a bunch of modders and they completely dropped support of Dawn of War III not even a year after its release, having made no expansion packs and after several months of radio silence, promising that community that they had something in the works. Turns out that something was a cancellation notice.
Relic is in serious trouble and I sincerely doubt that they will be able to make Age of Empires IV at all to the level it deserves, it’s pretty obvious that they have no clue what they’re doing in this industry. Alas for the days of Ensemble…
This is the reason to show us some progress in the game. We need to see more.
@nonlosojimmy said:
@Vermi1lionHawk said:
Relic is pretty much finished. They might be focusing all their resources on Age of Empires 4 but they’ve been outsourcing development of Company of Heroes 2 (their other RTS game) to a bunch of modders and they completely dropped support of Dawn of War III not even a year after its release, having made no expansion packs and after several months of radio silence, promising that community that they had something in the works. Turns out that something was a cancellation notice.Relic is in serious trouble and I sincerely doubt that they will be able to make Age of Empires IV at all to the level it deserves, it’s pretty obvious that they have no clue what they’re doing in this industry. Alas for the days of Ensemble…
This is the reason to show us some progress in the game. We need to see more.
Thing is, they probably won’t show us any more. There’s a review on Relic’s glassdoor page, google Relic glassdoor and you’ll see it (sadly I can’t link it right now). It was posted in January of this year and it gives a pretty good picture, from someone who works at the company, of why this game will fail.
That was posted in January of this year. It’s obvious - they haven’t got a clue how they’re going to make this game, and it’s going to be a long, long time before we see anything substantial beyond some concept art or a CG trailer. Relic is already screwed, so don’t get your hopes up for this game.
I assume those who think Relic is finished have figured out how the fact that they are moving into a much larger new office is further evidence of their obvious demise. Things are so bleak, they are signing a huge lease.
@“Andy P” said:
I assume those who think Relic is finished have figured out how the fact that they are moving into a much larger new office is further evidence of their obvious demise. Things are so bleak, they are signing a huge lease.
Have you read the glassdoor review? I would give the link if I could post it.
Here, just remove the space: http s://www.glassdoor.ca/Reviews/Employee-Review-Relic-Entertainment-RVW18568693.htm
@“Andy P” said:
I assume those who think Relic is finished have figured out how the fact that they are moving into a much larger new office is further evidence of their obvious demise. Things are so bleak, they are signing a huge lease.
I presume you’ll have a direct contact with Relic or Microsoft teams. So, could you ask them to show us something new? Some artworks or 3d models would be very appreciate.
My role as mod puts me in direct contact with the MS community team only. Of course, they are already on the forum, so I don’t need to send messages from players to them. I think they said there isn’t any news but as soon as there is, it’ll be here.
As to the report about some employees having gripes, I don’t know what to make of it, though I have been on enough teams in my life to know it’s impossible to keep everyone happy. I bet it’s common for the guys at the top to make the big decisions about a game. What’s the alternative, that every single decision gets put to a vote? That’s not really how art is made. We are just going to have to hope the guys who get to call the shots know what to do. I assume that knowing what to do and making good decisions are at least part of how they found themselves at the top. Here’s hoping.
@Vermi1lionHawk One bad commentary doesn’t mean the studio / company has a bad place / vision about their developments. Remember, it’s a work that must be done (because you get paid for it) and not everyone that work on game development is happier making RTS instead of another FPS, as example. There is always someone that goes against the wind and that’s fine, but doesn’t represent the overall opinion / situation of a company like Relic.
“Guitar groups are on the way out, Mr. Epstein.”
Hi, you’re already talking as if you had seen something of the AoE4 game. so you put your hand in the fire, and you’re sure that relic is gone and the AoE4 game is a failure! wow, do you have the crystal ball? please tell me the winning names of the horse race !! lol …
Belonging jokes :
1- regarding the complaint of that employee, maybe you missed the answer of his superior. Of course, it is not nice to read that review, but I think everyone (in all things) can navigate better moments and worse moments. However, the superior’s response was not to deny the employee’s statements, but to write again, and to keep active any communication with them, to understand well what the problems are and how to improve them. However, are there any positive reviews, or have you read them?
2- Relic is perhaps not going through a beautiful moment (see the closure of the support of Dawn of War 3), but this does not mean that Relic is passed off, and especially that AoE4 is a failure! In fact, if Relic is smart, he will be careful not to make the same mistakes as Dawn of War3!
3- Do we want to wait for something more concrete to say that AoE4 is a failure? a gameplay, of game images? or do you want to pass on your feelings? You can say very well that the game**_ in your opinion_** will not be a success, but use statements that you said, it is exaggerated!
So,
- Managers will always try for damage control. That post was made after the review became public knowledge on the Company of Heroes 2 and Dawn of War III forums. Whether or not the manager’s response means anything beyond the platitudes it claims is unknown to anyone outside Relic, but my bet is it’s a load of crap.
- Companies can certainly recover from disasters. It all depends on whether or not the company is willing to invest the resources necessary and learn from their mistakes. If anything the Dawn of War III closure shows they’ve learned nothing - the news was broken to the community by a press article, and the community manager only showed up once things were already a frenzy.
- I’ll certainly wait to see something before I totally write off Age of Empires IV. I’m just extremely skeptical that they will be able to make a decent game out of it.