Hey everyone, a quick heads up - barring unforeseen insanity, Defender's Quest GOLD will launch today!
I wanted to make sure the new version of the game would be public before Anthony and I head to PAX tomorrow. James will be manning the customer service account while we're gone.
Mac and Linux users, be sure to read the whole post, there's some important notes at the bottom for you.
Here's the basic plan: -Push the new game binaries to the update server TODAY -Update the game website and store TODAY -Update the demos on our website TODAY -Update the kongregate/newgrounds versions AFTER WE GET BACK -Update the compatibility mode versions AFTER WE GET BACK -Launch on Desura/Impulse/GamersGate/Steam SOON BUT EXACT TIME = TBD
Kongregate is by far our biggest audience, and although it might be counter-intuitive at first, that's why we're waiting to update the kong version of the game. This is because that version of the game is the most complicated, and we want to be absolutely sure we get it 100% right. The last thing we want is to update to the new version of the game, only to have people lose their save files, or any other problems. We know the download version is ready, so we can push that out now. We'll do that, catch any issues and fix them, and when everything's ready and we're back from PAX, give kong our full attention.
Also, we're not launching on our various store portals just yet, either, because we need to get special media kits ready for them and we're still signing some paperwork here and there. That will be coming soon.
Finally, we have special "compatibility mode" builds, standalone executables for people who have trouble with Adobe AIR, but these will have to wait until we get back from PAX, as there's some extra fiddling I have to do to get these to work.
I'll follow up with a proper launch post with trailer video and a public newsletter release soon, but this is just a quick public "heads up" so you know what's going on.
I will be turning things on in "reverse order" today, so I start by flipping the switches that affect the least people, so I can catch any errors early and fix them before it hits the biggest audiences.
So, this means I will upload the linux builds first, then the mac builds, then windows. I'll update the update server first, then update the store binaries, then update the demos, then update the website itself, and if nothing's broken yet, embed the new video trailer and presskit and update the full website.
This will likely take all day. Please pardon our dust as we go through this delicate operation. We have been doing some vigorous testing, but I'm SURE something will go wrong that we won't be able to address immediately - hopefully that will just be small stuff, though. We will put out patches for anything severe as soon as we get back from PAX.
TWO IMPORTANT NOTES:
Mac users:If you have the newest version of Mac OS X (Lion), Apple in their infinite wisdom has put up a scare-screen that implicitly labels all software apple hasn't personally vetted as malware. We're currently going through the process of being approved by Apple, but they're not done giving us a full anal probe just yet, so you might see a "DONT INSTALL DEFENDERS QUEST OR IT WILL EET YORE COmPY! ZOMG!" screen. Unfortunately, you literally won't be able to install Defender's Quest if you don't change your default security settings. See this page for details.
Linux users: There is a known issue in the game for dual-monitor setups. If you use the in-game resolution utility to change the fullscreen resolution, it might not correctly revert to your original dual-screen setup when you exit the game. It seems to work well for just one monitor, but you should be aware of this issue. We intend to fix it soon, but it's a quick heads-up. Just run the game in windowed mode, or fullscreen it without changing the resolution. To my knowledge this bug only happens on Linux.
Thanks for your support!
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at http://www.fortressofdoors.com/defenders-quest-gold-launches-today/