Development is Slow
Posted by The DaveLike the title says, development is slow. So I’d like to take this time to explain why, and discuss some other things.
Continue on after the jump for the whole shebang.
Why is development slow?
It’s slow because we’re a small group of hobbyists making a fan game in our free time. We’re not professionals, though we strive to create things of professional quality. We’re a handful of people with lives and other things to take care of, so Mother 4 does not always come first. During the past few months we’ve all had our own worries to take care of, and thus the lack of progress.
If you’re not making as much progress as you’d like, why the website?
When we made the website, we thought things would be going faster. We also wanted to open a line of communication to everyone that was separate from our topic on the Starmen.net forums. We also wanted a place for people to put the fan art (and etc.) they had made since we had received a number of them when we relaunched the topic.
Why the Facebook page?
We were going to wait until the game was closer to completion to create the Facebook page, but one had already popped up with someone claiming to be Chaisu running it. Along with the many requests we had received to create a page, we decided to go ahead with it. The page is also a way for fans of the project to receive updates without checking the website. It also gives us a way to gauge the interest in the project by means of the number of fans.
So what’s the deal with Fan Submissions?
Fan submissions were, as stated before, meant to just be a place to upload anything you may have created regarding the project, ie. art, animation, music, or what have you. After its introduction, we received some fan art, and some fan music, and as the months went on we started receiving suggestions and various ideas for the game. This is not what we had intended the service be used for. We didn’t really know what to do with them, but most of them seemed to have a substantial amount of effort put into them, so we let them through. Now, that’s all we get. Because we can’t use the majority of the suggestions, I’m going to close fan submissions until the game launches. All submissions that are already up will remain viewable, but no further submissions will be possible.
Why did you switch from Game Maker to C++ if you knew it would set you back?
Because 1. I had hit the limits with Game Maker and trying to work around those limits was a big headache. 2. Games created with Game Maker are often perceived to have lackluster quality and be all around terrible. And that’s not what we’re going for. 3. Creating the entire engine myself allows me to fine tune every aspect of it, so I’m in complete control. It’s sort of like driving an automatic versus a manual. The automatic is easier to drive, but doesn’t always do what you want at the right time. The manual is more difficult to drive and takes more time to learn, but offers much more control over things. (Also 4. cross-platform capabilities.)
What do we do in the meantime?
I suggest you visit the topic on the Starmen.net forums. We post there more frequently to answer questions and post smaller details. Also, more than just me posts there, so you’ll get a better line with Chaisu, Zephys, etc. If you have any questions about posting there, I’m a moderator there, so feel free to send questions my way. (It’s part of my job to answer them. 
)
If you have questions regarding this post, please ask them in the comments section below. Other questions should be asked in the Starmen.net topic, or via the contact page depending on the subject of the question.
Thanks for being a cool bunch of people. We all really do appreciate it.
The next revamp I'm putting on youtube deservers a commentary. This one is driving me nuts...The original composer is deceitful. Should I? 
August 12th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Well, Im at least glad to see you guys are still alive.
August 12th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Ahahaha..ha… The week I post my first submission is the same week Fan Submissions is closed down. Wow.
Well, good luck with the development.
August 12th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Oh guys, I don’t even care about the reasons that are delaying you, you are doing an excellent work and I know it. As long as you finish the game and continue giving us news, I’m happy!
August 12th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
I think we all needed a break from fan submissions. After all, the rants from last topic were about how the submissions would effect the game. Basically, by removing fan subs, now all the updates will pretty much be relevant and accurate.
You guys are doing good, despite the slow speed. All you gotta do is keep going and many of us will continue to support you. Besides, real life is always the most important business. Always.
August 13th, 2010 at 5:23 am
Personally, I don’t want fan submissions to be closed down because I really like reading/looking/listening at all of those submissions & I want to upload mine too so the others can see my submissions, and I’m sure I’m not the only one that feeling like this.
As far as I can see, the reasons it become a problem is because many of us have the wrong perception about it and how you gave update posts about fan submissions that unfortunately make the misunderstanding bigger. Maybe you can stop giving update posts about new submissions and give the description on the submit page more clearly that fan submissions is only, well… fan submissions, the place for fan to submit something about mother 4, that’s it.
tl; dr : Please keep the fan submissions.
P.S : I just want to say that even though Mother 4 team did some mistakes, it’s normal. Human is not perfect after all, and you didn’t even made that bad of mistakes in the first place. All I know is that you guys are doing a great job, your dedication and integrity (and skill) are the proof.
August 13th, 2010 at 8:21 am
Personally I enjoyed the fan submissions just because it gave me something to do. It was more like something to look at while waiting for news on the actual game, but I guess some people saw it as a twistable game and some might have saw them as fan additions. But I can’t really judge what other people think, and I have no authority on my own to say what should be done about it. At least there’s still a lot to look at if I ever get bored. And it did give me some spriting practice, which was very useful.
August 13th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Sorry if this was asked before, but what will be on this site when the game is out?
August 13th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
@Starguy64
A giant neon arrow pointing to the download link. (Not really.) We’ll do a front page deal with the download links front and center. If you meant other things, then probably some concept art and some development stories or something like that. (Think something like a developer commentary.)
@Niya
) It’s just that we can’t use them since we’ve already got the details of the game down. The posts featuring the fan submissions were intended to let people know they can submit things, and show off what people have already submitted. We felt that without those posts, the fan submissions section would go unnoticed.
The problem isn’t so much that submitting ideas and suggestions is wrong, or that we don’t want them. (We think they’re pretty neat.
(Also, there’s a notice on the submit page: “Please note: While your submissions are reviewed by us, we are not looking for new ideas or team members. What that means is suggestions or ideas with little substance will not be accepted. Fan submissions will not be used in the game unless otherwise stated.” The wording of it changed from time to time, but it’s been like this for quite some time.)
@Those who want fan submissions to stick around
There are plenty of websites out there where you can post sprites you made, pictures you drew, or ideas you wrote down and receive feedback on all of it. One that comes to my head first is deviantart. There’s a huge community and it’s free to post whatever you’ve made and get feedback. If you need a reason to make things, there are plenty of contests and events around on the internet you can participate in.
You can express your ideas in other ways or places.
August 13th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
It’s a bummer that development is slow, but hey. It happens.
My questions are these:
1) What are the chances (in percents) of any good or excellent suggestions up till now end up ingame?
2) Will we be able to save via phone like the previous games?
3) How far do you believe you are in completing the game?
4) Will we be able to fight New Age Retro Hippies?
Those are all the questions I can think up right now.
Keep up the good work! I hope what you come up with will be amazing!
August 13th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Well, good luck with the game. It’s nice to get a blip of “Still working on it thanks!”.
August 14th, 2010 at 12:49 am
i’m not mourning the fan submissions. they write the game, NOT us.
August 14th, 2010 at 4:10 am
Wow. I managed to throw in one last idea before they closed the rift!
I guess now that no more hassles will happen on the comments page, development MAY speed up to normal again.
At least, thats what I’m hoping.
Now that we are all aquainted, when do we see the ideas that made it before the rift closed?
August 14th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
@MalixDexide
1. Any percentage I could give would be completely arbitrary.
2. Maybe something similar.
3. We’re 2 years in, so we’re pretty deep into it.
4. Yeah, or something like them at least.
@Sidney Mak
How does what goes on in the comments section affect development speed?
The submissions that have been approved are visible in the fan submissions section. Have a look at the first page for a list of recent ones.
August 15th, 2010 at 1:36 am
As long as you guys are Alive its all good
i cant wait! my name is Chase! 
which is awesome!
August 15th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Whoops. Didn’t notice that. Mostly I just click the letters on the top of the page instead of looking down.
Thanks Dave! Looks like my best idea is on the list!
August 16th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
I’m not happy about closing submit fan stuff…:X
August 16th, 2010 at 9:11 pm
I hope it’s quite same as mother 3
like it was so sad when lucas’s dad and mom died………!!!!
August 16th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Okay uh…I’m very, um, how can I describe it…it’s not dissapointment, it’s more of…some kinda sadness and anger, you can call that whatever you like, I think it is called ‘frustration’. I was very happy sbmitting stuff in this page just to make clear that I was supporting the fan game, it kinda was like a thing I did for YOU guys (for the team). I’m sad because of that, because there was ppl who actually thought their ideas were going to be somehow taken in count for the game. I think I had that clear in my mind from the start, and never intended to dream of having my stuff in the game (also it would be impossible, since most of my drawings were FANART, meaning drawings of the already existing characters of the game)
AND, I’m angry because I somehow think that the team took down the submissions feature thanks to some people that were whining (YES, whining) about why their ideas weren’t being taken in consideration, ignoring the meaning of FANART. I really enjoyed drawing the characters and specially for this page, and thanks to some incredibly immature people, some of us that really posted stuff because we supported the team and not because we wanted some 5 minutes of fame, are going to get nothing out of this. Of course, all this rant is not directed to the team.
.
Well and about the team, seriously guys, you inspire me.
August 17th, 2010 at 10:18 am
@The Dave: The reason why I gave a suggestion to stop the update posts for fan submissions is because there are some of the submitters thought the ideas will be considered to be used on the game because the way the fan submissions posts make it look like such an important thing (because, honestly, I used to think like that the very first time I discovered mother 4 fan submissions) and there are also people (like Blue that gave comment on the last post) that look at those update for fan submissions to be a drawback. But after your reply I realize those posts featuring fan submissions does have a purpose. Maybe you can still keep the fan submissions but only for fanarts, fan music, etc, basically anything that doesn’t collide with the actual plot, that means no ideas & suggestions section, sadly.
As for the notice on the submit page, I do realize about it. What I mean by “give the description on the submit page more clearly” is maybe like bolder text or bigger font, something like that.
And the reason why I like the fan submission to stay because it made all the fans feels like, how to say it, they stay in one place. It makes things more organized, like in starmen.net. And it makes it much more easier to feel the love from mother 4 fans, …isn’t it? (Okay, that’s quite cheesy
)
August 17th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
I’m not happy about closing submit fan stuff…:X
why did they close it I hope it opens again X.X
August 17th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
It’s okay if you close fan submissions, but if you do end up using the ideas given, you have to use echoes of terror. I’d really like to see it in the final cut of the game.
August 17th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
I read it again, and I realize it doesn’t need to cut into the plot of the story as much as it could be a hidden little quest, or a side quest you don’t need to go on.
Oh well, if it were hidden I think it would add to the overall creepiness of the bossfight. It just seems like a good idea.
August 17th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
I’m following Niya’s statement.
STOP asking or saying that something ‘could be useful’ and ‘give me credit if you use my ideas’. Really, the team has its mind in the game already. I bet they already have all the plot written down somewhere so it’s useless to make something thinking it can have a chance just to get your dreams and effort dumped.
Start making Fanart, and stop making IDEAS.
August 17th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Uh, are you talking to me?
Echoes of terror is by Ocular bleeding, not me…
August 17th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
It doesn’t matter who came up with it. The fact that you are still asking to have it in the game, or even consider it, is the problem.
Like many people, I also thought that our subs could be used in the game, but that was a while ago.
Niya and Sorakokiri speak the truth, but I don’t even support fanart as of now. I’m a bit harsh, but this is what I see to fit. I might change my opinion once the game comes out, though.
August 17th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
I may be throwing a bit high, but I have an idea EVERYONE may agree on…
Perhaps after you beat the game or something, you unlock a gallery taht shows everyones fanart and stuff. Possibly to show how much work us fans have placed on the game or something.
Then again, i guess everyone probably thought of that already. I am just taking the time to voice it to Dave directly, so that he can pass it on to Chaisu
August 18th, 2010 at 9:41 am
Sidney Mak, you are completely oblivious to what everyone around you is saying. No more ideas, please. I don’t care who agrees, just stop. Besides, you said that to put the fanart in the game. Understand that it WILL NOT be in the game. Got that?
August 18th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
Yes sir. T_T
August 18th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
lol, that ended in a funny way. Sometimes people don’t understand a word you say until you’re just plain blunt with them.
August 18th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
@ Sidney Mak: Not everybody care to see fan submissions or think fan submissions are worth it to be an in-game bonus, seeing that they aren’t actually official. Myself, I’m not particularly fond of your idea and agree with yeroc about that idea of yours. I’m still not sure as of why you thought that putting fanarts into the game is something-everyone-may-agree-on and probably-thought-of-already when the things that was discussed earlier is about whether we should keep the fan submissions section in the website or not. It’s not about what we should do with the already submitted ones.
Sidney Mak, I actually like your cheerfulness and optimism but maybe you ought to be more aware about what others think about you. Your way-of-speaking does, somehow, shows your stubbornness and ignorance.
Now… let’s all be friends here~ I felt weird writing all these long comments in a row. D8
August 18th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
I want it to be maked quickly why did the data go away….
August 18th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
@NewSupaWarioBros
Perhaps you should reread the post? I explained it all there.
@Niya
I get what you mean, it did sort of create a community I suppose. But at this time there isn’t really much to go on, and having a community for a game with little available information seems a bit unnecessary.
@Everyone
To clarify, no ideas/suggestions have been included in the game. As well, we do not have plans to use the suggestions. (Since we did not ask for them. They were appreciated nonetheless.) They will remain available for viewing, and after the game is launched submissions will return for fan art, music, etc. If you’d still like to post your fan art and so on in the meantime, please do so on the Starmen.net thread. I’m sure it won’t go unnoticed.
August 19th, 2010 at 4:51 am
Wow Dave. Now you made my morale drop rock bottom.
X_X
August 19th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Does that mean you won’t be jumping for attention anymore?
August 20th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
I don’t care if the devopment is slow i’m just hoping this won’t take teh same amount of time as mother 3 *cough* 12 years…
August 21st, 2010 at 12:41 am
is this going to be on VBA
August 21st, 2010 at 12:55 am
All this “frustration” over the demise of the fan submissions; I do not/cannot understand.
You have all these great ideas, you have the “inspiration,” you have the tools/resources available, you have the determination. Go forth and make your own fan game already! You’d be great!
I have not been around long, I still cannot understand for the life of me why this fan-game is getting all these views; maybe it’s the crew involved. It’s just another fan-game to me. If it were official, I’d be jumping out of my seat and checking this site everyday for an update, but alas, it is not official, it’s an indie game (which is not to say that it is of a lower quality, I think they have done a wonderful job and I am looking forward to it). I have the most nudging feeling that when this game comes out, I won’t treat it like it’s the real deal; like it ever happened in the Mother universe — Chase never could affect my Mother universe because he wasn’t created by Nintendo. It’s another fan-game, you are more than able to create your own Mother 4, it’s not illegal, it’s not plagiarism. Do it. Please.
August 21st, 2010 at 2:01 am
^ This.
August 21st, 2010 at 4:55 am
With no disrespect for this project, I am looking forward to it. And not to steal from the fan-base that has already established itself here. I wish you the very best on this awesome trek, expecting nothing less than greatness.
Earthbound3D
August 21st, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I’m not sure if it was clear or not, but I agree with what you said. And thanks.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:48 am
I’m with Earthbound3d.
Looking forward to seeing someone *else’s* vision and interpretation of the Mother universe is the real ascendance for my interest, so the fan submissions were a nice but unnecessary bonus. No problems here.
I’m also pretty new to the following, but from what I gather you’ve been at this for a few years which sounds huge and exhausting to me, not that I’d know the first thing about game development..
Anyway there’s bound to be some bumps, some periods of inactivity, and I suppose what I want to say is that you have my full support with the decision to step back with the fandom side of the project, or take a breather, whatever it is you’re doing.
August 24th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
I’m in with Juniper on that one.
This’ll probably be my last question till the game is released:
Will you be able to show more screenshots of the game in the future until its release?
August 24th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
You bet we will.
August 25th, 2010 at 1:43 am
I could help with almost anything, so send me an email if you need help.
August 25th, 2010 at 4:30 am
You better. Everyone is eager to see how things are going!
*everyone stares at Sidney Mak*
OK, I’ll shut up
August 30th, 2010 at 12:48 am
whats this going to be for Visual Boy Advance
August 30th, 2010 at 8:02 am
The game will be a native program for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. No emulators are required, and the game will not run on any game consoles. Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions section for more information.
September 4th, 2010 at 1:42 am
I could help with the characers lke i have some ideas for Nintendo on games as too sega so i can help with chaqracters so leave me a mesage,and ill begin to think abut some hard, weak,and, and weird old fashion mother eneies
ok just letting you know so yuh know bhat im talkinabout!
September 4th, 2010 at 1:42 am
Typos sorry
September 4th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Okay, there’s a good chance you didn’t read/pay attention to this post at all.
September 4th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
OK, tahts enough scytheholder. You already destroyed my enthusiasm, don’t destroy someone elses! >:(
September 5th, 2010 at 9:27 am
@Sidney Mak
Because you (and many other people) don’t understand anything that is being typed here, I’m gonna put it this way: Nobody outside of the staff has any say in the game. They are not looking for new members, they are not looking for new characters, and they are not looking for a new plot. None of us can have our work in the game at this point, and we won’t from here until completion. Your ‘destroyed enthusiasm’ was unfounded, since nobody else can work on the game. The only enthusiasm that should be here is us fans supporting the team as it is. Scytheholder was right when he said that this post probably wasn’t read. Sidney Mak, do you read these posts? More importantly, do you understand them? If someone wants to help make a Mother 4, they can’t help here. They can find someone else to work with, but Azure Studios says countless times that they are not looking for help. If you don’t understand this, I give up.
I’m very sorry if I seem to be ranting, but this point needs to get across clearly. For some reason, this seems to come up too many times.
September 6th, 2010 at 1:00 am
Ack! Whether us fans can help or not, theres no need to make it so clear some of us are nothing more that specks of dust, you know what I mean?
And for your information, yes i do read those discouraging comments that suggest we just give up being excited and just spread gloom among any other new fans that happen to come along. Well I don’t want that!
September 6th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Point taken; I could’ve worded that better. We are not specs of dust, not by a long shot. No, we are the players who get to enjoy the greatness the team creates. We don’t create, and because of that, the game becomes more thrilling because there are unknown suprises and other things around every corner. I wasn’t trying to discourage. I just can’t stand comments that say ‘hai i can help wif te game send me an mesagge’. I don’t mean to destroy enthusiasm, but point it toward where the enthusiasm should go: to the staff for all of their hard work and accomplishments.
As long as we agree that we play the role of the audience, then we shall be happy and confusion should cease. Better?
September 7th, 2010 at 5:56 am
I have to admit, today is the first time I’ve ever looked up “Mother 4″ and I found what is think looks AWESOME so far. Please keep working diligently.
September 7th, 2010 at 5:57 am
Sorry, when I said “is” I meant “I”.
September 10th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Note: this is completely irrelevant, but will there be giygas in this game?
p.s. i found this 2 minutes ago…
September 12th, 2010 at 10:07 pm
*cricket noises*
September 13th, 2010 at 12:38 am
Nope.
September 13th, 2010 at 12:59 am
I could have sworn someone said Giygas won’t make a reappearance in the game already.
Issues on whether Chaisu uses fan ideas, maybe, but this? NOPE.
September 13th, 2010 at 3:03 am
what about Pokey? will he appear?
September 13th, 2010 at 4:13 pm
@Sidney Mak
It’s been said before.
@ULTRAGIYGAS
I said Giygas wasn’t appearing since that had already been said, but for all other cases, please refer to the FAQs.
September 25th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
just do it as quick as you can!! i have an idea about the game: maybe make one character meet another character. example: Chase and lucas bump into each other in a forest.
September 27th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
I am 100% for this, so all I can say is
1. Take your time (you can’t rush perfection)
2. I salute you (the whole team) because this is hard work, and knowing people like myself, average people who have life to deal with, would be thrown off real easy. I’ve tried my own EB clones, they weren’t easy, and I was too lazy to get everything done.
3. Make us (the fans), and yourselves proud!