News: Daybreak Games Hit With Layoffs, Matt Higby resigns

[bpostal]

While this seems to be off topic, the following quote from Billbacca is what worries me most about these layoffs. I'm not entirely sure what his role at DBG is but here he's speaking about the new tutorial continent Koltyr:

...

Also this will have been the fastest continent we have produced so far and if it works well we can re-use the technique for making new zones. The initial launch zones and Hossin we made were crazy time sync's in terms of man years. That many a man year zone is just not an option anymore. So let's see how this one goes.

-Billbacca

Sounds like no more Searhus.

[ringring]

Originally Posted by bpostal

While this seems to be off topic, the following quote from Billbacca is what worries me most about these layoffs. I'm not entirely sure what his role at DBG is but here he's speaking about the new tutorial continent Koltyr:



Sounds like no more Searhus.

I'd be surprised if there are any new continents after Koltyr.

However, I don't think this quote on it's own implies that. One of the problems with PS2 is the amount of work each continent has entailed and consequently the few that there are.

If they can work out better and quicker ways to create new ones then that's all to the good. And that is what I think he's saying there.

But, I'd point out that when Nexus was being shown the dev (I can't recall which one) commented that they can do those Battle Islands quickly because there're small. He quoted 5-6 weeks for the terrain and then the outposts are on top of that, literally and figuratively I suppose.

I bet the existing continents have been major costs on the project.

[bpostal]

I don't mind seeing smaller continents but I don't buy the "smaller continents = more continents, faster" argument. Valve stated that they were going to episodic releases because it would enable them to put out more content in a shorter timespan and look at how that's ended up.