Production is one of the things Josh explicitly said was not finished.

Actually, I think he was showing how he had the mechanics in place, but hadn't completely finished all the details, like all the possible blueprints, ores etc.

I think that some people miss the part about how he is building this. He first builds and tests the overall mechanics to see if they work, then later he will replace the place markers with REAL game elements.

Here are some facts that we do know:

1) He's recently logged into the admin interface of this website

2) Hosting is still online (assuming he didn't prepay for a year)

Like I stated previously, know matter why he is not communicating, it does not set a good precedent for his brand or product. Despite whether or not he is a great programmer with an awesome imagination, no one person should leave it to themselves to do everything. And, he should acknowledge that by him taking on this entire project alone, it will inevitably suffer. From PR to marketing, support and QA - one person cannot and should not take on the entire burden of a task such as this.

So, with us understanding that he did not have the foresight or assuming that he could not get his ego out of the way, and looking at the most recent lack of communication with his backers and fan-base; we can all reasonably acknowledge that he lacks some fundamental skills in PR, management and foresight. It would be one thing if he backed this entire project from his own funds, then we could say that he owes none of us anything, however, as we all know he did launch a Kickstarter fund and accepted funds from backers.

Let us assume that he was out of funds, and that he hit a wall. Even if that were the case he could have always reached out to someone online (in this community or someone that he knows) to help him. Which makes me think that the biggest issue with him and his mindset is that he is too attached to LT. Let us take an excerpt from Josh's last post on this forum:

Maybe Januray 2013 or so I wake up each day with a vision of an infinite, procedural universe in my head, I go to bed with it, I live, eat, and breath Limit Theory right now. I have to make a concerted mental effort to remember to eat two meals a day, I nearly loose control of my bladder each time I need to use the bathroom, because just one more minute with my work will be worth that pain I've got a plan that's getting clearer every day, I've got a dream with which I'm falling back in love more and more each week, I've got an excitement that's setting me on fire more and more and more, and I've got a toolset that turns more and more miles into an inch each month. For once -- perhaps in the entire development process of LT -- I feel that I am living up to what you all expect of me. What a feeling. But more than that, it is the feeling that my dream is really, actually coming to life with alarming speed, right here on my screen. And that yes, it can actually be everything I wanted it to be.

Living and breathing your project to the point of foregoing all others aspects of your life does not seem healthy, and it kind of feels like he is (as I mentioned before) too deep into this game; to the point where maybe I don't know... maybe he's lost touch with the goal of this project. It's tough to say because his last video update made it seem like he was mentally all together, but from his own words he tells the tail of being so immersed in this word that he's created, I don't think it's that far of a stretch to say that he may have lost touch with reality.

The forums are still going, but for some reason he makes 0 effort (even though he knows that everyone is wondering where he is) to reach out. He knows but for some reason he... makes the conscious effort to continue and harm his brand and upset his fans and backers. It just doesn't make sense to me, I'm sorry. It's too strange.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Josh choosing to do this by himself. While we may not agree with it or any other of his apparent oddities it is ultimately his choice. You cannot force someone to accept help simply because YOU (Not you specifically but anyone really) think it would be best. I can say at this point it is probably too late in the game for him to take on help.

TGS wrote:There is absolutely nothing wrong with Josh choosing to do this by himself. While we may not agree with it or any other of his apparent oddities it is ultimately his choice. You cannot force someone to accept help simply because YOU (Not you specifically but anyone really) think it would be best. I can say at this point it is probably too late in the game for him to take on help.

Nothing wrong with it, no, but if this is one of the biggest factors in why he has gone silent, that it remains a significant project risk, and a potential flaw with his unwillingness to let anyone else work on the project, then it is an issue. I can perfectly understand why he wants to do it alone. LT is his baby, and the more time he's worked on it, the more likely it is that he's become less willing to let anyone else get involved.

Josh is clearly talented, but no programmer is adept at every field, and some fields, such as game A.I, are pretty challenging. It's a field I have a particular interest in, and I know it can be daunting. Finite state machines, decision trees, fuzzy logic, pathfinding, autonomy, there's a wealth of different systems required to build a coherent A.I, and the more the player can do, the more the A.I can do, and so, when you consider all of these systems, the A.I can be a daunting task. I hope Josh does return, as I'd enjoy discussing game A.I with him on a technical level, and share some thoughts and suggestions with him.

I think Josh shouldn't be afraid to ask people for help if he needs it, and if there's some part of the project he's having difficulty with, then there's no reason he couldn't get help, even if he's unwilling to let anyone directly work on the project.

Cambrya wrote:

Maybe Januray 2013 or so I wake up each day with a vision of an infinite, procedural universe in my head, I go to bed with it, I live, eat, and breath Limit Theory right now. I have to make a concerted mental effort to remember to eat two meals a day, I nearly loose control of my bladder each time I need to use the bathroom, because just one more minute with my work will be worth that pain I've got a plan that's getting clearer every day, I've got a dream with which I'm falling back in love more and more each week, I've got an excitement that's setting me on fire more and more and more, and I've got a toolset that turns more and more miles into an inch each month. For once -- perhaps in the entire development process of LT -- I feel that I am living up to what you all expect of me. What a feeling. But more than that, it is the feeling that my dream is really, actually coming to life with alarming speed, right here on my screen. And that yes, it can actually be everything I wanted it to be.

This quote sounds exactly like he's frantically headed for a breakdown.

NonBritGit wrote:

Cambrya wrote:

Maybe Januray 2013 or so I wake up each day with a vision of an infinite, procedural universe in my head, I go to bed with it, I live, eat, and breath Limit Theory right now. I have to make a concerted mental effort to remember to eat two meals a day, I nearly loose control of my bladder each time I need to use the bathroom, because just one more minute with my work will be worth that pain I've got a plan that's getting clearer every day, I've got a dream with which I'm falling back in love more and more each week, I've got an excitement that's setting me on fire more and more and more, and I've got a toolset that turns more and more miles into an inch each month. For once -- perhaps in the entire development process of LT -- I feel that I am living up to what you all expect of me. What a feeling. But more than that, it is the feeling that my dream is really, actually coming to life with alarming speed, right here on my screen. And that yes, it can actually be everything I wanted it to be.

This quote sounds exactly like he's frantically headed for a breakdown.

or he forgot to empty his bladder in time and exploded.

So many possibilities

HappyGhecko wrote:
or he forgot to empty his bladder in time and exploded.

So many possibilities

damn diet coke :

I love Josh's enthusiasm, it is so inspiring and motivating. How can anyone read that and think that Josh has given up on Limit Theory?

One day Josh will appear.
One day development will draw near.
One day the beta will come into the light.
One day we shall all play it and fight!

Amen to that, BFett.

Probably more exploring than fighting in my case but each to his or her own.

NonBritGit wrote:

Cambrya wrote:

Maybe Januray 2013 or so I wake up each day with a vision of an infinite, procedural universe in my head, I go to bed with it, I live, eat, and breath Limit Theory right now. I have to make a concerted mental effort to remember to eat two meals a day, I nearly loose control of my bladder each time I need to use the bathroom, because just one more minute with my work will be worth that pain I've got a plan that's getting clearer every day, I've got a dream with which I'm falling back in love more and more each week, I've got an excitement that's setting me on fire more and more and more, and I've got a toolset that turns more and more miles into an inch each month. For once -- perhaps in the entire development process of LT -- I feel that I am living up to what you all expect of me. What a feeling. But more than that, it is the feeling that my dream is really, actually coming to life with alarming speed, right here on my screen. And that yes, it can actually be everything I wanted it to be.

This quote sounds exactly like he's frantically headed for a breakdown.

He's passionate about his vision, and grandeur often comes with the territory for imaginative and creative people.

I think anyone who has spent day and night pursuing a dream like this for as long as he has, I can't believe he has given up. He is continuing on. I just want to know he is OK and not face down in a pool of sweat or worse. The game WILL be AWESOME and I look forward to that day.

BFett wrote:I love Josh's enthusiasm, it is so inspiring and motivating. How can anyone read that and think that Josh has given up on Limit Theory?

I wouldn't think he's given up either. Not voluntarily, in any case. I've had folks work for me that suffered nervous break downs and (to me at least) there are some definite warning signs in there.

I know, I know I am trying to till the ocean, but anyways, my patience also has a limit, right now Josh owes an apology to all of us who have been part of this community, specially an apology to those who paid to be part of the kickstarter. His lack of response, his lack of respect has passed the limit of what is and what is not tolerable. Right now I can honestly say I think he took the money and ran away and he does not care anymore about any of us or this project.

Like my old neighbor use to say if looks like a thief, smell like a thief and act like a thief its got to be a thief. I am calling you out Josh, you in my eyes are nothing else but a thief.

counter question: would you react this way for any other independent game in development which experiences the same situation?

i guess not.

this community has been spoiled by the daily updates, and now everyone cries out because josh has been silent for an amount of time which would not raise a single brow for any other development project.

this is just ridicolous.


also: which money? a couple tens of thousands of dollars are likely to be left, nothing worth to destroy your reputation.
and especially nothing worth spending 2 years of daily efforts of convincing people that you are doing work.