Only a mug trusts the builder’s estimate. Reroofing finished by June? Better stock up on firewood for a long, cold winter. The announced January 29th release date for Constructor HD [official site], a remake of the ace town-building RTS from 1997, made so little impression on me that I didn’t even realise it had passed. Of course it was going to be late. Today developers System 3 explained they got held up adding and revamping more, and they plan to release the game in “late summer”.

Constructor, to briefly recap, smooshes together town-building, landlording, and comic warfare. Players try to build profitable little towns and best rival planners, which is done by a combination of building keeping tenants happy, building fancier houses, and… giving other towns a kicking. Certain buildings gave access to ‘Undesireables’, folks from fire-starting clowns to house-trashing yobs who could be sent in to stress out rivals’ tenants or simply murder people. It was good! I liked it. I remember it fondly. It had that particular ’90s British video game silliness.

As for the HD remake, which includes new graphics and a rebalancing, System 3 say “we want to get it right.” They elaborated in today’s statement:

“As the game has progressed, new ideas have been added to enrich the gameplay, and these new ideas inevitably lead to delays. But rest assured, the team has been working hard on fantastic new updates that will greatly enhance the classic gameplay we all know and love. “Constructor always had a reputation of being one tough game, so for Constructor HD, we have added a great new Tutorial mode to help the player with the complexities of the game. “In addition, there is also a comprehensive in-game manual to aide those brain-fade moments. Plus, we’ve also added a cool lever designer mode, which enhances many aspects of game-play, especially online/multi-player games. On the audio side, the guys have been busy recording amazing voice overs provided by a proper geezer.”

DOES THAT MEAN DANNY DYER? The main notable proper geezers are Danny Dyer (the flipping liar), Alan Ford, and Jason Statham, and… oh no, what if it’s Shane Richie?