taskforce wrote:
As the others have said, right now he is away, however we still have plenty of work to do. He left us in good shape with lots to do on a myriad of projects. Fact is, he may not return. Even if that is the case, we are still committed to finishing things. Some of it might get released in a beta state with minor unfinished work (just like Taloon was), but most stuff we had going should be at least releasable and playable. Anything that can't be or was early in production--like say Oni-II--we will see if we can find outside support on if we encounter problems. A certain individual (not sure they want to be named at this point) has already offered on some projects he would like to see finished. We aren't going anywhere, so nobody panic. Unfortunately, things have just been hectic all around the group this year outside of this hobby.
"Hectic" is an apt description, overall, but it's an understatement for some of us.
We are all strong people of good character. However, anything difficult, challenging, and trying that can happen to anyone randomly seems to have happened to all of us, collectively. Yes, I'm talking almost everything, such as deaths in close family, economic situations beyond simply tough and short-lived, significant (even possibly life-threatening) medical and health issues, possible forced relocations due to all-of-the-above, and other demanding, distracting, and time-consuming changes brought on by sudden major disruptions in the status quos of our lives.
Still, I don't want to come on like some "poor-man's drama queen" here. As I asserted, we are ALL strong people. Nevertheless, when something comes along and slaps us up the side of the head with near-knockout intensity, as some fellow once said, there's simply no ignoring the situation.
Then, through the years, we occasionally dealt with this thing called "burnout". Yet, I know how it is. Years ago, I yearned for a DQ-V and DoaE-II in English so fervently, I actually wrote letters to the corporate offices of ENIX and CAPCOM. When those futile efforts struck immutable stone walls, I sought out a few like-minded folks. Collectively, we either did something about it or offered our strongest possible support, and voila! A handful of us are still together this very moment.
Yep, I know first-hand how difficult it is to sit year after year and wait for "someone" to produce and release an object of our cravings. A fellow who called himself Dark Force once sent me an alpha copy of DQ-V. I played it almost non-stop in a very crude, unfinished state and enjoyed every second of the experience. Not everyone would be satisfied with that.
Therefore, at the end of the day, sometimes the greater travail than waiting impatiently for a release is for those nearly invisible "someones" to complete a patch in an adequately finished form that many will wish to download. What I just shared in these last two paragraphs up to this point may very well be a foreshadowing of where D-D goes from here.
I hope to have something better emerge from our combined efforts, but we''ll all just have to wait and see what develops and who (if anyone) with advanced assembly skills shows up to contribute that vital component toward any near-perfect result.
Those of you who have supported and applauded our efforts through the years, we salute your steadfastness. As my teammates have already stated, we can't guarantee anything except we will try to release all of our projects in work - in some form - someday.