So to sum up your post it was simply bad direction. A WIP is a WIP whether hundreds of people are involved or not, you show the direction, what can be achieved, hundreds of people being involved doesn't change that core aspect period, whether sculpting, programming or building a rocket.
No. It was a work in progress being shared with an eager player-base that was chomping at the bit for information. It was CDPR finally, after years of near-radio silence, giving in and sharing
what they were working on at the time.
If people don't understand what goes into building a creative piece like this, because they've likely never been involved in anything like this, or nothing close to this size and scale, they may very well not understand the difference between what is planned and what is actually going to make it into the game. They may not have any understanding of how building certain features into a game, while possible and cool, creates severe balance issues, or is likely to add confusion, or simply grows stale and boring too quickly.
Hence, those things will be cut. Same as when movie scenes released in a trailer are cut or otherwise re-shot for a movie. This is part of the creative process. Sharing a WiP is not the same as signing a contract or making promises. Arguments against this have no ground to stand on.
Letting journalist run wild with exaggeration of features has also been a long time tactic of developers/publishers to help hype and sell their games and then claim plausible deniability
Absolutely, 100%, unequivocally
not. A studio has absolutely no say over what 3rd-party sources say or don't say about anything. If someone is going to start publishing inaccurate information, misrepresentions, speculations, or outright fake news, it is
that media outlet's editors that are responsible for ensuring that their writers are practicing responsible journalism. It would be bang out-of-order for a studio to call up a publisher and say, "You can't print that!" Not how the world works.
It's also totally not worth the time, resources, or effort it would take to keep track of all the rubbish and nonsense people might pull out of their bums to post online. People would just insist that their imaginings are fact even more.
Dealing with this is the responsibility of every adult consumer. It is our responsibility to be aware of the difference between fact, evidence, and speculation. It is our responsibility to be able to tell the difference between correlation and causation. It is our responsibility to be able to tell the difference between an official source and an unofficial source. It is our responsibility to tell the difference between a
plan and a
promise.
When push comes to shove, no one is going to fool the courts. They're legal professionals. They will continue applying exactly the same mentality that has been applied for centuries. For example, if someone wants to claim "plausible deniability" they will need (like any sort of "charge") to be able to claim
damages. "I don't like this video game!" is not
damages. If someone doesn't like a product, they can return it. If they decide to keep it past the return date, or buy it from a vendor that doesn't offer refunds...well...hopefully they're now better educated consumers. Legality isn't interested it hurt feelings.
Admittedly I didn't follow the hype for cp2077, didn't watch any of the dev streams, etc. It wasn't until the complaints that I started looking back. Even disregarding the topic at hand on what was cut and what wasn't lack of certain basic features in this type of game show that maybe it was too ambitious for cdpr as the development appears to have been all over the place even more lack of visual customization in a game centered on the cyberpunk universe shows also maybe they didn't have a clear understanding of the content. CDPR was put on a pedestal for a reason. There were always going to be people upset no matter how the game turned out.
Smart! I didn't either. And maybe that's why I'm really shocked at how many people seemed to be so wildly off-base with their expectations for what would be in the game or how it would work. I'm not talking about things that were clunky or disappointing (bugs, mechanics like the police appearing out of thin air, wonky vehicle controls, etc.). I'm talking about people that expected the game to be like GTA or something. When has CDPR ever made games that were not heavily focused on a narrative? When did any of the earlier games let the player run around murdering people at random on the street?
And I agree with your statement that people were going to be upset no matter how it worked! Absolutely! Has nothing to do with what was or was not included in the game. Had everything to do with TW3 being the legendary achievement that it was. Lots of players expected the moon with CP2077. Instead, they got a pretty cool game that didn't have the same widespread appeal. That's showbiz. Any studio that's had a big hit can show the same.
