I'd be shocked at a beta patch suddenly appearing tomorrow, but I suppose it could happen. Certainly not holding my breath. Getting some more solid information on it, though, would be nice. We already know they have good progress on the graphics engine, with the overhaul being 'nearly complete', but not much info on what else is going into it or what progress has been made.
It does seem like this is going to be the 'kitchen sink' patch that largely sets the stage for the base engine for some time to come. I don't begrudge them whatever time they require, since they need a home run here to crank interest back up. Even with a perfectly functioning engine (graphics, sound, AI, etc.) the Battle of Britain is a niche product almost by definition. They need to move into a content pack model pretty quick... I'd be surprised if they could keep going into 2013 without selling the next theater of war, and they *need* the core engine to be pretty solid for that.
I'm a fanboy who'd buy the next theater if it were released today, regardless of where it's set, and even with the engine in it's current state, but I'm sure I'm in the minority there.
02-10-2012, 12:21 AM
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