Visiting Relic

Good news, internet strangers!


itzDusty and I, napalm, had the opportunity to spend half a day at Relic studios. We come bearing messages of good fortune. Some of you may recall my previous visit in October last year. That visit was different, it was a more relaxed with easier access to developers and clearer communication. It was nice having itzDusty with me as well as he now gets to experience what I have been feeling for awhile. Knowing what is coming but unable to tell a soul. It doesn't feel nice.


The NDA is still there, it is still real. We can't tell you what the specifics are and I am just as disappointed as you. Please respect that. I'm not exactly certain we need to tell you though. Some clever community members opened up the game files last patch which Relic gave an official statement about. Keep it up. The truth is out there. Dig.


Once we were NDA'd up we donned our Relic t-shirts and received a pretty candid brief from Cynthia before a fun Twitch cast. Dusty got mauled by a fellow Bear Aerohank, I got locked out of my Steam account and proceeded to get my ass handed to me under Dusty's account. This was not the original plan. Cowboy Quinn Duffy went on a posting spree in my questions and answers thread before the scheduled visit. Whoops! but hey, information is good and I'm glad he did that. There is also an outstanding challenge, 2v2, Quinn and Brad vs. Dusty and Napalm. Next time I suppose.

That broadcast room Relic uses for Twitch casts is better described as a long coat closet. It is physically hot in there and a good place to lose your sanity. Props to our community casters. It is not as easy as it looks. I'm unsure I'd be able to do that for long periods of time. Speaking of the community we had a very good conversation with Cynthia about this. She has a plan for community engagement and caster/tournament support. Patience.


After the Twitch cast we were off to the lab where Relic has about 20 PC's with the latest and greatest CoH2 build. This is where Dusty and I got to sample the upcoming goods and learned a bit more about the development process. Quinn spent some time with us answering a lot of questions which they can't answer publicly just yet. What we got to sample was tasty, different, and may require a pinch of ingredients nearer to release. You'll be able to sample the goods as well. Closed Alpha andPublic Beta will be used, similar to the way WFA was released. When? We can't say.


Beers, pizza, games, and a ton of hand shaking rounded out the evening. Robust discussion ensued. It's not that Relic purposely wants to troll the community with no news. They are restricted as well. Corporate culture is best described as a mountain that you can chisel away at, slowly. If we all chisel away maybe a crack will form and the employees will be better able to communicate with the community directly.

Thank you to the Relic employees who spent their evening with us. It was great fun. There is plenty of passion and knowledge around. I can say I'm personally excited as to where CoH2 is headed and will continue to prepare The Angry Bears for the greatness that will come. No jazz hands though. Just paws on a mouse.

On a closing note, we can confirm that Cynthia plays CoH2. How well? Sorry, NDA'd.


Yours,

President Bear,

Napalm