Imperator: Rome - Status Update (Apr 2021)

[Nononir]

Have to say I'm really disappointed, Imperator had really turned around and I was looking forward to the continuing development and future DLCs. I very much hope you all come back to this, and I have nothing but respect for the Imperator team.

With that said, does PDX have a PR department? Cause releasing this announcement right after the dumpster fire going on in Eu4 is definitely going to be bad for the fanbase. I'm scared for the future and trajectory I see PDX going down

 

[Ministry]

I waited this one out and finally started playing with the late Marius update. Have to say I've seriously enjoyed playing the past month and am disappointed there's nothing planned for the future. Despite the simple 3 line war lines and the inability of the AI to build good legion compositions its been a lot of fun.

That said, If there were more DLCs/updates I'd happily purchase them and hope you reconsider this decision.

 

[Dnote]

Despite the sad news, thank you very much for your transparency, seriously. I never imagined that a Product Manager would come to the forum to give us feedback and be so open about it.

Look at my profile, I've been at Paradox for coming up to five years, but I joined these forums back in 2005.

I was a fan of these games long before I had the opportunity to work on them. We always try to be as transparent as possible, there are limits though to what we can say. I will always be happy to talk about my job and our games though.

 

[Thor8]

Hey,

We would like to give you an update on where we are at with Imperator: Rome, since the 2.0 Update and Heirs of Alexander. Earlier this year we did some reorganization work within PDS, you can read the full details in this thread - link.

I wanted to highlight a part of that communication that is relevant to Imperator, and the reason why we have been a little quiet recently:



Imperator is important to us, and you, our fans are also important to us, so we're going to figure this out. Not sure when we'll be back with more content, but the aim is to continue the same trajectory the game has been going in, with great quality of life updates, free content and solid, enjoyable DLCs.

Happy to answer any questions, where possible, and expect a few other people from the team will probably drop in to say a word of two in the thread as well.

Thanks,

I have EUIV, HOIIV, CK2, Stellaris and of course I:R. I bought all I:R expansions and I really wanted to buy CK3 but now my decision is "no way". I will buy CK3 and another PDX titles when I:R keeps improving.

Or at least set a small team caring about I:R, fixing bugs and developing some small stuff which improve the game but like that? abandoning the game the entire year and maybe forever? Sorry but I won't buy any PDX products anymore until you show respect to your own game.

 

[maxk94]

I feel confirmed with my critical comments - despite all blind fanboys. They observed player development - and they stayed below the number necessary for further development.

 

[LeSingeAffame]

Look at my profile, I've been at Paradox for coming up to five years, but I joined these forums back in 2005.

I was a fan of these games long before I had the opportunity to work on them. We always try to be as transparent as possible, there are limits though to what we can say. I will always be happy to talk about my job and our games though.

Do you know and can share what happens to the new team that was being built just for I:R? Are they too dispatched in various other projects?

 

[MohawkWolfo98]

As long as you stay within the forum rules, feel free to vent your frustration, I don't mind.

After all, this was actually my decision, I'm not just the messenger. I have a soft spot for Imperator, as I helped Johan start it back in the day, was there for the launch and the first few updates and whilst I took a step away until November last year, I am ultimately responsible for all our strategy games and the business decisions around them, with my team of Product Managers in collaboration with the studios. So, this ones on me, no one else.

Although I of course strongly disagree with your decision, I think the entire community would agree with me that we are at least grateful for giving Imperator a chance, and that although we hate this decision and think its.. not very good decision making, we are firmly opposed to any death threats/abuse towards you, devs and moderators. Some stuff recently said on the EU4 aspect makes me shameful to be a gamer and frankly its embarrassing when there are real issues to point out without personally threatening someone who is making a game.

Thank you at least for announcing this and all the best to you.

 

[Bovrick]

Do you know and can share what happens to the new team that was being built just for I:R? Are they too dispatched in various other projects?

PDS Red is in charge of the development of Crusader Kings III. They are also working closely with Paradox Thalassic in Malmö.

 

[Torugu]

As long as you stay within the forum rules, feel free to vent your frustration, I don't mind.

After all, this was actually my decision, I'm not just the messenger. I have a soft spot for Imperator, as I helped Johan start it back in the day, was there for the launch and the first few updates and whilst I took a step away until November last year, I am ultimately responsible for all our strategy games and the business decisions around them, with my team of Product Managers in collaboration with the studios. So, this ones on me, no one else.

While I'm obviously disappointed, rather then "went my frustration", I want t voice my appreciation for giving Imperator a fair shot.

Most other publishers would probably have dropped the game like hot coals after its disastrous release. PDS gave it two years of development and managed to turn a flawed game into an underappreciated gem. Some people are going to disagree with this, but in all honesty: That's more than we as customers can reasonably expect.

 

[Dnote]

Do you know and can share what happens to the new team that was being built just for I:R? Are they too dispatched in various other projects?

I'm not sure what you mean here, but the majority of people that were working on Imperator: Rome in the run up to 2.0 have moved to other projects.

I keep wanting to say for the greater good, but it just reminds me of Hot Fuzz.

 

[AlleyTheToaster]

That isn't our intention, but obviously no one can predict the future. Imperator is in a good place right now, so we felt it was safe to pause development for a bit and help reinforce some other projects. This isn't ideal, we've traditionally moved people around projects quite a lot to ensure we can get things done, we're trying not to move people around so much now (because it causes other problems), and in the short term that means one of the projects unfortunately had to give up a few people.

Considering that people from Imperator team delivered way better then Tinto thus far, maybe they need some tutors.

 

[StarkOrange]

I sincerely hope this is not the end for the game. I came back to 2.0 after not playing since 1.2, and I'm amazed at the progress the game has made. It would be a shame for the game development to fizzle out after such an amazing recovery.

 

[weezl]

That isn't our intention, but obviously no one can predict the future. Imperator is in a good place right now, so we felt it was safe to pause development for a bit and help reinforce some other projects. This isn't ideal, we've traditionally moved people around projects quite a lot to ensure we can get things done, we're trying not to move people around so much now (because it causes other problems), and in the short term that means one of the projects unfortunately had to give up a few people.

Programmers aren't fungible. I speak from 32 years of experience here (both as a programmer and a manager). I think artists and other conceptual types have an easier time of it, but programming , put flatly, suffers when people are plopped into new codebases. If Paradox is doing this, I implore management to re-think their strategy. To call it 'sub-optimal' understates the case by several orders of magnitude. If you are indeed moving programmers, and you KNOW about this affect (which I suspect is the case given the longevity of your company), then this undermines the idea that you will be returned to I:R anytime soon.

Either way, best of luck and thanks for being honest. This is why I like Paradox as a company. I've enjoyed a number of games from you guys and will continue to be a loyal customer. Not every game is a home run, and good business sense on your part keeps you around to make more games for us to enjoy! At the end of the day you must employ your folks in a away that keeps you in business. Nothing else will do.

 

[Nononir]

Considering that people from Imperator team delivered way better then Tinto thus far, maybe they need some tutors.

Honestly kind of hoping that this is the case. Tinto clearly needs help, if not a miracle.

Would rather PDX just let EU4 finish its lifecycle and put more resources into the newer title, but maybe they'll be some good to come out of it.

 

[klopkr]

I can't believe the Imperator mod for EU4 is gonna outlive this game at this rate.

I remember thinking 'well I won't need this mod anymore' all those years ago.

 

[Nononir]

I can't believe the Imperator mod for EU4 is gonna outlive this game at this rate.

I remember thinking 'well I won't need this mod anymore' all those years ago.

For those wondering - the mod went kaput when Imperator started gaining steam before its release. It recently started back up again and is playable in 1.30.6, though its in a pretty rough state.

Just echoing your sentiment man. It's a shame

 

[hannibal_barca]

Great... Abandon a game with great promise to release another big title that is gonna be dead on arrival. again. and the cycle repeats ad infinitum. I'm over this company.

 

[tribunus_plebis]

Woa... this fells a bit like a "It´s not you it's me" break up.

After 2.0 I felt the game was in vigorous form with plenty on content and several layers of complexity (the whole culture system with pops it's almost a game on its own). As it is I think it's quite a decent game for eternity and I guess I can suck it up. After all I'm from that generation when games were released as they were with maybe 1 or 2 expansions in a period of many years, and yeah, it was fine.

The only thing I believe Imperator was missing was more unique culture features, especially for non Greco-Roman cultures, just with that the game would have had enough motion to live on its own for a decade at least.

At least without any more updates nor development there's a chance for the modding community to really go creative on this one. This as long as modders don't keep migrating to other less interesting pdx games (Hey Bronze Age Mod, THE BEST F*ing mod for Imperator ruined by migrating it to CK3, which sucks for the setting).

Thanks to all the dev team for their work, you did a great job.

And now your watch is ended.

 

[MishaTX]

Send a message to the Paradox CEO: https://twitter.com/ebbapdx

It's not the CEO who makes the decisions in a publicly traded company. It's the shareholders. Better to write them.

 

[Twanglet]

Hi all, Arheo here.

As mentioned above, many of the faces you've become used to seeing in relation to Imperator will be moving on to utilise their talent in support of new projects.

2.0 was, and will remain a seminal moment in Imperator's history. The reception from the players has been overwhelming, and we are beyond proud of what the team has accomplished.

I will also be joining the team in their exodus to projects various, so I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the I:R team, our community and fans for crafting Imperator into a strong, unique element in the PDS repertoire.

I have confidence that Imperator will continue to grow towards the vision we created for it, and I will continue to be present both here and elsewhere for further conversation regarding the best PDS game

/Peter

Thanks for all the work you’ve done on this game, you’ve really helped turn it around and into one of my favourite PDX games!