Conquest of Elysium 3 dev log

[Thilock_Dominus]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Parker

Desura looks to be shelfware/marketing style.
Im not sure that Illwinter is ready yet to go that route but I will mention it.

The good thing to do this, is that you get the game out to a bigger audience

[Gandalf Parker]

Yes but shelfware and marketing requires a substantial layout by the company. To convince them to take you on usually means signing away rights. And then there is a year or two of payback before any profits get sent to the devs.

Its a good plan. But it is a gamble in hopes of higher returns. Which isnt such a big thing for them.

Of course players like those companies because when sales slow down the game ends up in a bargain bin while the company tries to recoup its costs.

[elmokki]

I'm not really sold with CoE3 at all due to it looking like it'll be far too simple, especially in terms of combat, but seriously, if you release your game in Steam/Desura you can still sell it on your own website and those two services, especially Steam allow a much larger audience.

Dominions 3 scene is small and slowly dying. If the game was a 5 euro/dollar sale game in Steam for the holiday seasons, you can bet there would be many new people trying it out. Right now the price is so ludicrously high and there's absolutely no visibility for the game that influx of new players is far lower than what it could be.

I believe that it'd be a terrible business decision for Illwinter guys to release CoE3 like Dominions 3. Having the game easily accessible with a cheap price of maximum of about 20 dollars / euros makes people buy it just because they are interested and it's cheap.

If on the way to get the game is to buy it for closer 50 euros / dollars from some fairly obscure web site, you won't get that many random people buying it after just trying the demo. After all, for 50 euros you can get a big distributor main stream game. Sure, that game could be worse, but people do regardless seem to feel like that game is worth more - and in economical terms the price is more justified since the production costs are probably hundredfold or even thousandfold.

Also underestimating the marketing potential of those distribution platforms, especially Steam since it's by far the largest, is not a good idea.

So, really, I see no logical arguments against at least asking what it would take to get the game published on Desura/Steam/Gamersgate/Whatever.

[Gandalf Parker]

Im sure they will be asking. But Im not sure it will be taken. Even a few concessions just for profit would probably shoot it.

And there are pros and cons to building your player base off of small price sales. Dont you use those forums?

[elmokki]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Parker

And there are pros and cons to building your player base off of small price sales. Dont you use those forums?

If you somehow are implying that people on the other forums are evil people who are bad for the community, well, I have to disagree, but even if they were, how on earth is that connected to low price sales? By me using the forums and arguing that low price is probably better solution financially?

I would like to point out that, for example, majority of the quality mods used by people are developed by people who do write to the other forums too. What you seem to be implying is that it's somehow a problem if the game has community very interested in developing quality content that probably desireability of the product and a community that also is very experienced and loves the game.

In any case to be on topic, more players means a more thriving community. More players means higher probability of getting talented people making content for the game. More players means more players for multiplayer. Though since CoE3 seems to be more single player orientated and if I don't recall wrong might not even have modding capability on release, a community matters considerably less.

Regardless, I do still stand behind my argument that lower price than that of Dominions 3 is probably financially better for Illwinter. I would also guess that it's probably better for the players too.

[Edi]

CoE3 is more SP oriented than Dom3 in that it can be played in SP against the AI and be a challenge, but it has MP also and I expect that would be where a lot of the action would be when it comes to communities.

[Gandalf Parker]

@elmokki What? Im also one of those other forum peoples. And yes most of the most popular mods come from other forums.

NO I was referring to the forums for some of those $5 and $10 games!
I feel there is a definite difference between Dom3 players and people who will only try a game because its cheap.

As far as those other forum communities (and the one you are apparently referring to) they are going to be very necessary since so far CoE3 is fleshing out to be primarily either solo play, or IRC blitz, much more than Dom3 is.

[Gandalf Parker]

Originally Posted by Thilock_Dominus

Is 'Dragon Lord' available in CoE3, like in CoE2?
Really like draconian armies.

Its up to Kristoffer but Johan thinks probably not at release.
But he says maybe in a patch later.

[elmokki]

Originally Posted by Gandalf Parker

NO I was referring to the forums for some of those $5 and $10 games!
I feel there is a definite difference between Dom3 players and people who will only try a game because its cheap.

Well, regardless, price of the game doesn't correlate with the community alone. The type of the game does too. Dungeons of Dredmor for example has a very civilized and nicecommunity and the game costs like 5 euros.

Like I said, the more passionate players a game gets, the better it is for other players due to extra content and more multiplayer opponents (provided those things are possible).

[Admiral_Aorta]

Im sure they will be asking. But Im not sure it will be taken. Even a few concessions just for profit would probably shoot it.

Uh, Steam don't ask developers to alter their games and as long as your game works you can pretty much get it on steam. If Illwinter really want to get their game out to a wider audience then Steam is the best option.

Sales figures for Steam have not been released by Valve. However, Stardock, the previous owner of competing platform Impulse, estimated that, as of 2009, Steam had a 70% share of the digital distribution market for video games.[6] In early 2011, Forbes reported that Steam sales constituted 50 to 70% of the $4 billion market for downloaded PC games and that Steam offered game producers gross margins of 70% of purchase price, compared with 30% at retail.[68]

That's an exposure that you simply aren't going to get putting it for sale on 1 or 2 websites.