Today
Nadeo announced the postponement of their release of Shootmania, which was slated to happen tomorrow (23 Jan 2013).
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For those that have a hard time reading that date format:
Open beta starts: 02 February 2013
New ShootMania Release: 10 April 2013 |
Instead, they will release ManiaPlanet 2.1 for those that have pre-ordered and are in the currently closed beta.
Nadeo also announced that come 12 February 2013, the beta will again open up to everyone and go until the April release. They feel this will better help them finalize the tweaks and innovations that will make the game shine (like the recently added grapple, wall jump and charge shot abilities.)
While this comes as an unpleasant surprise, Nadeo has always been good at delivering a great game; and I believe the extra time to work on it will yield a more solid and polished game.
What saddens me is the looming delay of the upcoming TrackMania 2: Valley and TrackMania 2: Canyon games. I can't wait to play these too, and wish Nadeo well as they push forward to tackle all three projects.
The good news is, if you haven't had the satisfaction of partaking of the fun entertainment that ShootMania is, come join us for the open beta in Februrary! And look forward to the free-to-play Royal and Elite modes that will be available on the 10 April release date.
Until then, the Friday Night Gamers will continue to support Nadeo, one of our favorite video game makers of all time, and currently catching up to the record holder of "longest playtime" of a game franchise for FNG (Motocross Madness series being the current title holder.)
And don't forget to purchase the game if you like it... just because Royal and Elite will be free; there are plenty of other fun modes like Obstacle, Goal Hunt, SpeedBall, JailBreak, etc. that won't be available unless you own the game.
Pew Pew!
