Shiva : Testing Extended 2 Weeks

A rule we had imposed on ourselves for a successful Shiva launch, was we complete the coding of all features two weeks prior to the 3rd of November. This would mean a two week period where all code was frozen for 100% bugfixing and play testing.

Yesterday was the planned freeze day and we still have minor coding to complete on the features we haven't cut. We have spent more time than allocated on optimizations, and of course even more on our quest for spiffyness. We were then faced with two choices. We could shorten the time allocated for testing, bugfixing and deliver Shiva on the 3rd of November. The other alternative was to move the code freeze to allow for the completion of the programming tasks and extend the testing period.

Despite a number of heads and large stakes around the holy 3rd of November, we decided to move the Shiva launch to the 17th of November. We figured we'd rather get axed for being late, than for ruining EVE with a less than satisfactory Shiva launch, quality wise.

Even though the remainder of the coding is rather minor, we are focused on quality assurance and bug hunting. Shiva is a free and mandatory expansion so it affects the whole playerbase if it's not fully tested. We could have made the 3rd, but it would have been recklessly gambling with our customer’s time, money and continued support. As EVE has more than fifty thousand customers, that is a serious gamble and one we did not feel comfortable with taking.

We hope you appreciate our reasons for this 2 week extension.