Did the NDA help or hurt the Hype.

leave them as long as they're not defamatory/flaming/break any of the usual posting rules.

Leaking NDA stuff is against our site rules.

Hype? What hype? You call this hype?

Leaking NDA stuff is against our site rules.

leave them as long as they're not defamatory/flaming

leave them as long as they're not defamatory/flaming

Oh come on

leave them as long as they're not defamatory/flaming

One of the reasons the alpha contents remains a secret (ignoring leaks) from a Relic standpoint, is because it has not yet been officially announced. The timing surrounding the announcement of something is very important to them, and a lot of factors play into decisions about dates.

If information is widely available prior to announcement, it means that games press outlets are generally unwilling or less inclined to cover the content. Unfortunately this is something that Relic have to factor into their business decisions. Hopefully this helps to clarify a bit.

So please, don't leak.

NEW STUFF IS COMING I'M EXCITED ARE YOU EXCITED

All aboard the hype train! *wooo wooo.... tuff tuff tuff*

Well, certain someone tries to prove that M-42 is decent AT gun so...

It's decent versus light armor and lighter mediums (Ostwind, StuG III). It's never seen because it's trapped in Soviet Gimmick Defense Tactics and Shitmunnity Defense Tactics.

Indifferent. All hype lost during alpha.

You guys really think any new customers potentially buying the upcoming content can't just as easily decide not to buy it by spending just a few minute on the forums hearing what the community thinks about the company and their nda and community relationship? The NDA doesn't protect them from negative community outlook on upcoming content.

F'n hell. Do you really think that some hypothetical prospective player would actually get their knickers in a knot just because a games company would like to do some work without an audience peering over its shoulder all day every day?

You know what I think about this NDA policy? It's so completely normal, utterly unremarkable, and so perfectly reasonable that I think you have to be half mad to give a damn. There's no benefit to Relic or any other developer giving out info at such an early stage, and several risks, notably that your audience chooses to ignore all the qualifiers, the if's and the maybe's, and later wants to hold you firm to some thing you idly speculated about.

But now I'm banging a drum that's been sufficiently pounded already.

It is still a stupid argument - players are going to be just as mad when their favorite armies/units/commanders get nerfed as patches come out - it isn't different from disappointed expectations possible from the alpha.

You know what I think about this NDA policy? It's so completely normal, utterly unremarkable, and so perfectly reasonable that I think you have to be half mad to give a damn.

Actually, I don't think it's normal, at least not in my experience of game developers.

Usually, in particular with games with a dedicated fanbase, you'll see oodles of dev diaries, sneak peaks and even just developers dropping hints in the official forums.

Here what you've got is some arcane road map which tells you almost nothing and the community has to rely either on leaks or trawling through the game files, that's not effective PR.

...notably that your audience chooses to ignore all the qualifiers...

If they're so hell-bent on interpreting things improperly, or with a poor disposition, they'll interpret things poorly regardless of whether there's official content to observe or not. The choice aspect keys in to that. Having an NDA will not change their attitudes and deliberate self-lying in perspective.

NDA like Rome 2 is better. Just share something

Usually, in particular with games with a dedicated fanbase, you'll see oodles of dev diaries, sneak peaks and even just developers dropping hints in the official forums.

I've seen that happen, yes. But that said, I don't follow every game ever made, so I can't really say how common it is; certaily, they don#t all do it all the time. But there is at least one thing that needs to be split out here.

NDA's and PR are not the same thing. Even where companies do show alpha material, that's under the company's control; the playtesters will still be under NDA's, as will everyone working on it. Some suggestions about things that companies might be worried about have already been mentioned upthread. Other concerns might be, personal disputes among players might lead to someone quitting in a huff and badmouthing the game. Or, maybe they tried something, and we know they try to make each faction work differently, and it turned out to be garbage, and so now they are redesigning. Or maybe they are just waiting for some industry event to make an announcement. Or maybe the design is done, but they are using placeholder art and are waiting for new stuff before they show it off.

NDA's are standard practice and don't indicate anything. And as for the lack of info, you can wonder about that, but you might as well be reading chicken entrails.