Is combat pilot going take as long as other games?
The progress I've seen seems a bit further along than I had expected. Still, it's not immeninent.
They are going to build the SP half first. That's smart IMHO. SP out-numbers MP by a lot. Maybe 10x. Williams had lots of RL internal market data from his experience with GB and he confirms this.
So fleshing out SP first,
* Builds a much larger player-base that drives discussion and hype about the game (e.g. videos, discussion of the game, word of mouth),
* Provides a "farm league" that might move to MP once they have built confidence.
* Provides a steady, reliable revenue source that funds your MP efforts (Building the SP already build about 80% of what your MP as well).
IMHO, having a viable SP component is one of the big advantages IL2 and DCS have over AH.
Last I heard is that Williams was predicting around 5 yr timeline to complete SP, then start on MP. It seemed suggested that they may be leveraging a third party developer model like ED and Heatblur so that could accelerate things as multiple teams can work in parallel.
So still way off, but interesting to watch.
Maybe the real signifigance to CP is what effect it is having on current products development plans getting ready for possibly a major new competitor.
Williams has a proven track record.
Hitech proved you can sometimes build a better game starting from a clean page rather than hauling along old technical debt.
I don't doubt Williams will be able to tap into large VC money once he is ready to fully utilize it. i.e. Gets out of the fuzzy front-end of development to where the intended direction and roadmap can be more confidently communicated.
I don't think IL2 and ED are "scared" yet. But they'd be fools not to watch with interest and maybe make some adjustments to their own roadmaps to get ready. This won't be some plucky indy game trying to make in-roads. I think he will end up with money backing him.