Oleg's Russian Interview Translated

[Feuerfalke]

Originally Posted by Skarphol

Hi Feuerfalke and Chivas, I think you are very right about what you say in your post.
But what still makes me wonder is the lack of logic in what Oleg actually says.

Like the thing with the SOW:BOB-site. If he at the beginning of December really thought the page would be up by end of December, then he has been greatly misinformed by the team that developes that site. Or (more possibly) someone at the publisher has stopped the launch of it. But obviously, Oleg was not informed aboout this in the beginning of December.

And what about updates on this page? He says in october 2007: "I hope once per 2-3 weeks or so .... and more close to beta - each week like in old good time with IL-2"
I think it is fair to say that his hopes has not come to fruitition. We may or may not be close to beta yet, (60% finished doesn't sound like beta to me) but he is obviously giving us far less information than he planned to, or hoped for.

These, and other messages given during the years gives the impression that he doesn't have the control of the progress he should have. One thing is that creating a sim like this takes a whole lot of time (the timeconsumption is probably difficult to estimate), but Oleg seems to be at one stage of development one month, and then at a completely different stage the next month.

As I said, I don't think he is trying to confuse on purpose, but to me this is really weird.

And for release date; he hasn't given a hint for many years, so if he now says that he is 60% finished then that can be understood as a release around 2011. Time will tell.

Skarphol

I don't see what logic is refering to with the statements you posted?

People demand something and Oleg gives the best guess he can offer given the momentary status and going of the project. That has nothing to do with logic, continuity, wisdom or lack of project management.

That is called life, you know, the thing what happens to you while you are busy making other plans



Besides that, the "60%"-thing is a great example of how even an actual statement based on facts is turned into rubbish and estimates again. 60% of work done does not equal 60% of the project done or 60% of the time used, the project needs to be finished.


So, you obviously can understand everything the way you want it: Guesses as facts, facts as guesses. Taking your initial point about Olegs logic: What is the readers logic in interpreting so many facts in so little statements? Just wait and see.

[mazex]

Originally Posted by Feuerfalke

I don't see what logic is refering to with the statements you posted?

People demand something and Oleg gives the best guess he can offer given the momentary status and going of the project. That has nothing to do with logic, continuity, wisdom or lack of project management.

That is called life, you know, the thing what happens to you while you are busy making other plans

Well, in my opinion this is a medium sized IT-project, and as such it should not be that hard to estimate a budget frame for it. I've seen a few game projects from rather close distance and they have been using the same methodology as "real" IT projects. They have also been successful in meeting their deadlines even though they have had larger scope than SoW...

When you miss your release date with 3 years in a fast moving world like this, you should be very happy to have your funding left...

[Skarphol]

Originally Posted by Feuerfalke

So, you obviously can understand everything the way you want it: Guesses as facts, facts as guesses. Taking your initial point about Olegs logic: What is the readers logic in interpreting so many facts in so little statements? Just wait and see.

Well, my guesses are as bad as anyones, I know, but I consider it a fact that Oleg in the beginning of December wrote that he hoped to have the SoW-site up and running by the end of December. Thus far, the site is not up. And I consider it a fact that he in October 2007 stated that he hoped to come up with regular updates in 2-3 weeks intervals, and he hasn't.

Both of those statements were "hopes" not promises. Personally, I hope to be a millionare within 2 weeks, but that is unlikely to happen. Maybe Olegs hopes are as far fetched as mine. Honestly, I really don't think so.

Skarphol

[Chivas]

Lifes not that simple. Just as Oleg finishes giving a statement on the forums.... I can see someone coming into his office and saying. " The Website developer just called and they won't be able to start for a few more months, and by the way, the weather code we thought we had a handle on, well its all f*"ked up, and Ivan the weatherman quit. "

[SlipBall]

Is that Crazey-Ivan?...I've been wondering what he is up to, long time no see

Well we all have our own take on what is or is not happening, we were having these very same discussions this time last year and the year before that. The only fact is that very little has happened regarding information/updates which leads me to believe that we are in pretty much the same position has we were last year in 'hoping' that it will be released before Christmas, if it is released before Crimbo then i will eat my shorts and change my name to Susan. In my opinion the true indication that this game is nearing completion is when the marketing kicks in, we have seen nothing yet and are not likely to for some time.

[flyingbullseye]

Originally Posted by Tree_UK

if it is released before Crimbo then i will eat my shorts and change my name to Susan.

Hey Oleg, if that ain't motivation to get things done I don't know what is. Work man work! I think we all want to watch that one.

Flyingbullseye

[Feuerfalke]

You can hope to be a millionare by winning in a lottery, but planning it is something quite different.

Taking your example, Skarphol, you can plan to win in a lottery. It only has 2 limitations to overcome the random nature of the lotery: Money and time.

As you don't have unlimited money and time, you have to live with the random factor and that may serve you well and win you at least small sums in weeks, but it may also cost you a million years to win.


Same is true for Oleg's situation. If the random factors don't interfere, he meets his plans. If not, he either has to invest more money, which probably does not come from an unlimited source or more time, which p*sses off people like you. Even if the random factor is not equally high as winning a jackpot, the model applies to any project.



And BTW he didn't "miss" the release-date by 3 years. He announced a new product and postponed it in favour of other product. You would be even more p*ssed, if only 100% reliable info was released, because we probably never heared anything from Oleg, possibly not even model-shots, because they might not be 100% sure in the initial release.