zed1969
Beta Tester 
Posts: 51 
Home Planet: Snowball
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1989
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Post by zed1969 on Feb 11, 2016 16:33:19 GMT
seriously!?!??!?!?!?!?! omg what is David Darrow thinking? Its a 35 year old illustration for a game thats out of print. He should be HAPPY that his old painting is being used by people who appreciate his art to recreate new a cover where he would be, im sure, credited properly and more people would get to know him and check out his current projects. It would be fresh good publicity created with no effort on his part. What a grumpy shortsighted soursport.
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Kailef
BETA MANAGER 
Vanguard of the leading edge
Posts: 427
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1985 (I think)
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Post by Kailef on Feb 11, 2016 22:06:57 GMT
Maybe so. In fact, I have to agree with you, I think he's definitely making a mistake; It seems to me that all he could get is positive publicity from this. Still, Mr. Darrow is fully within his rights to not permit people to use his work or produce derivative works based on his originals.
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Brian Hanifin
Beta Tester
Posts: 7
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST TOS
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1986
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Post by Brian Hanifin on Feb 17, 2016 16:00:40 GMT
Appreciation doesn't pay the bills. I suspect he'd be happy to contribute if he were getting paid.
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Jake
Administrator 
Playtesting the latest build of the game
Posts: 385
Home Planet: Jondd
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1988
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Post by Jake on Feb 19, 2016 3:55:18 GMT
Getting lots of feedback for the Beta Test Manager! This is gonna be hard to choose... lol. Well, you have more time to submit a request - see my previous post regarding how to apply.
Working on bug testing and creating a quick-n-dirty replacement cover for the manual. I also have been updating the manual with additional/changed information to reflect some new features of the game. It's coming together fast, folks!
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Kailef
BETA MANAGER
Vanguard of the leading edge
Posts: 427
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1985 (I think)
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Post by Kailef on Feb 19, 2016 4:46:54 GMT
It's always a challenge to select volunteer staff, I feel your pain.  It has all the pitfalls of hiring someone for a paid position; Are they skilled at what they're being hired for, are their organizational skills up to the task, can they deal professionally with the public, etc. But you have the additional challenge of making sure that you're going to get the right level of commitment, since it's a volunteer job. I can't wait for the beta to be released! |
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nate
Beta Tester
Limping in a ship full of shunts
Posts: 13
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Post by nate on Feb 22, 2016 20:18:43 GMT
I share your sympathy for Jake but I see the high level of interest as a good sign.
We don't have a whole lot of people who post here but there are a lot more who keep track of it, and I know about 10 buddies from back in the 80s who have perked their ears up when I told them about sundogresurrection, and since about half of them also have kids I'm also thinking about that next generation of fans.
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Jake
Administrator
Playtesting the latest build of the game
Posts: 385
Home Planet: Jondd
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1988
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Post by Jake on Feb 28, 2016 23:56:13 GMT
Just another update. I've been play-testing the game quite a bit this past week and identifying some bugs and issues. However, things are looking very promising that we'll be able to release the Beta in the near future. In a few days, we'll have our Beta Feedback Manager selected, and I will be finalizing some documentation for the Beta release (legal Non-Disclosure Agreements, etc).
In regards to the MANY questions I have received via email about how to become part of the Beta process, I will make an announcement here on this forums as well as on the website. As for qualifications: we will be happy to have anyone willing to help. If you have game development experience, that will obviously be hugely valuable but we really just need people to play the game and report what errors they find in a clear, articulate, and detailed way. That's key - if you find a bug, your report should contain the information we need to find and fix it.
During the Beta process, I will be turning my attention towards publicizing the game for when the game is publicly released at the conclusion of the Beta process. We need to get the word out that the game exists, it's free, and it's fun! I'm thinking gaming communities and Atari/Apple communities are the place to start for veteran Sundog players, and 80s nostalgia communities for people who may never have played the game before but would like to play something 80's retro. It seems 80's style and themes are becoming quite popular in the past year (the surprise independent hits of Turbo Kid and Kung Fury jump to mind), so this might be an ideal time to strike for new players.
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Kailef
BETA MANAGER
Vanguard of the leading edge
Posts: 427
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1985 (I think)
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Post by Kailef on Feb 29, 2016 1:48:59 GMT
I'll reach out within the communities that I frequent. Do you want us to wait until the Beta is actually happening?
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Jake
Administrator
Playtesting the latest build of the game
Posts: 385
Home Planet: Jondd
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1988
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Post by Jake on Mar 1, 2016 3:32:09 GMT
Yeah I'd hold off until we are deep into the beta. That's probably for the best. For now I'd just be thinking about what to do when the time comes. Thanks!!!!!
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Kailef
BETA MANAGER
Vanguard of the leading edge
Posts: 427
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1985 (I think)
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Post by Kailef on Mar 1, 2016 7:24:14 GMT
Roger that. Right now, the only people that find us are those that specifically do a search for Sundog, I think. I believe you're right about wanting to delay, probably better to have at least the first pass of bug isolation done via the core team of Sundog fanatics we've already got here, before we "bring the masses". I'm not an expert on the subject by any means, but I've seen a lot of dev teams lately do way too much "early access" stuff. While that's great, when a game really isn't ready for general play by the public, early access has a tendency to sour the opinion of the community towards the game, and hurt it in the long run.
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Jake
Administrator
Playtesting the latest build of the game
Posts: 385
Home Planet: Jondd
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1988
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Post by Jake on Mar 2, 2016 2:46:11 GMT
Ok, thank you to EVERYONE who applied for the Feedback Manager position! I'm not just being nice when I say that it was a hard choice. Lots of good people wrote in, so the choice was hard. However, after reviewing everything we have asked Kailef to take on the position, and he accepted. More information will be forthcoming as to how the Beta process will unfold and the reporting requirements, and Kailef will be the Beta Tester's Point of Contact for that.
So seriously, thank you very much to everyone who expressed interest in this position! We look forward to getting the Beta into your hands soon! Hang tight...
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zed1969
Beta Tester
Posts: 51
Home Planet: Snowball
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1989
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Post by zed1969 on Mar 2, 2016 2:51:14 GMT
Dude thats awesome! Congrats to Kailef! Can't wait for the beta now...
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Kailef
BETA MANAGER
Vanguard of the leading edge
Posts: 427
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Apple
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1985 (I think)
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Post by Kailef on Mar 2, 2016 2:52:30 GMT
Thanks very much. I'll do my best for you guys.
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Zeus
Beta Tester
Posts: 4
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Post by Zeus on Mar 2, 2016 9:10:25 GMT
Congrats, Kailef!
Man, this is getting really exciting!
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WasabiZone
Beta Tester
Posts: 18
Home Planet: Shoot
Played SUNDOG on what OS?: Atari ST
What year did you first play SUNDOG?: 1991
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Post by WasabiZone on Mar 3, 2016 2:56:24 GMT
I am really looking forward to the completion of this project, you guys are awesome for dedicating your time to bring back this amazing game. Congrats to Kailef on beta manager, from what I've seen during my six months lurking here you most definitely deserve the honor.
On a side note, I'm still wondering about where those other two cockpit decal references are from, maybe another hint?
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It has all the pitfalls of hiring someone for a paid position; Are they skilled at what they're being hired for, are their organizational skills up to the task, can they deal professionally with the public, etc. But you have the additional challenge of making sure that you're going to get the right level of commitment, since it's a volunteer job.
