(Shocking) News!!!!!

[Baron Munchausen]

DarkAnt said:
Ok, I'm going to be harsh here and I hope you read this Aaron. I may not be an expert on the industry, but as an avid gamer who's been playing games since I was two and a half, I'd like to think I know something about games. Aaron, Star Fury did not have industry competitive graphics and neither will Space Empires 5. You don't have the money to do it. Nowadays if you don't have huge amounts of advertising and awesome graphics your game will always be a niche game. I'm sorry, but that’s just the way it is. The average gamer is going to conclude that this is a stupid spread sheet game when he can't figure it out in the first five minutes. He's going to tell his friends what a bad game and all of this will land Space Empires 5 into the bargain bin and beyond in no time. You’re going to have to deal with hackers, script kiddies and just generally malicious people who's goal is to just hurt Space Empires 5. Aaron, if you're reading this I'd like to say what joy the space empires series has brought me and as a loyal fan, I feel I owe you my thoughts when I think you are making a big mistake. You got greedy, plain and simple. Stick with shrapnel, the real world is too harsh for good games with less than fantastic graphics. I hope for your personal success as you have shown me and the rest of Malfador's fan base nothing but respect.

Remember how many times we have seen people complaining on the forums here about not being able to get SE IV in Europe or Australia or something? And then complaining about the awful shipping charges even if they could find a way to get it shipped to them? Wanna take a guess at how many more times people probably emailed him directly instead of posting in the forums? Probably a lot. And he has already had to deal with 'hackers and script kiddiez' for some time. Richard has already posted here in the past that they were estimating 10 copies of SE IV were pirated for every one bought. Maybe MM has judged that getting a major distribution channel is a better way to go so people who want his game can get it without having to resort to piracy.

I am also afraid of what the pressure of a 'marketting department' might do to the game, but I can see how he would want to get his product to as many people as possible and try to make money. But I suspect that even if it does relatively 'well' he won't make much due to the lopsided deals that these big-time software distributors make with the developers. It's very similar to recording contracts. The corporation soaks up all the money with protests of needing to cover 'expenses' and the artists can even end up owing the corporation money.

[Gandalf Parker]

Hmmm Shrapnel has overseas sales sites for Dominions so I figure they would for SEV if it was here.

Folks.. Keep in mind that the same number of sales of SEV as SEIV had will give give Aaron the same money that SEIV did. With the shelfware+advertising model there is a substantial outlay of money from the publisher which gets paid back with interest before the developer starts getting any checks.

Definetly send the whiners to their forums. Have you seen them? The internal ones are the same software as this and not nearly as well setup. Its no wonder that most of their titles do their own boards off of different free sites. And many of them have some pretty extreme rules.

[Phoenix-D]

Gandalf Parker said:
Hmmm Shrapnel has overseas sales sites for Dominions so I figure they would for SEV if it was here.

Those networks might have been setup after SEIV was released. There was definitely a lot of "I can't get the game!" complaining.

Folks.. Keep in mind that the same number of sales of SEV as SEIV had will give give Aaron the same money that SEIV did.

With the shelfware+advertising model there is a substantial outlay of money from the publisher which gets paid back with interest before the developer starts getting any checks.

One of these is not like the other!

[Gandalf Parker]

Phoenix-D said:

Ouch. Correct. I meant to say that the same sales will NOT give the same profit. Due to the extra money layout for that marketing model.

[Suicide Junkie]

Gandalf Parker said:
Ouch. Correct. I meant to say that the same sales will NOT give the same profit. Due to the extra money layout for that marketing model.

That is my biggest concern, after the discussion on IRC today settled most of the other things.

I'd like to send Aaron a fistfull of bucks directly, just to make sure he gets mine.
Perhaps some sort of limited-edition signed CD thing for us rabid fans

[Joachim]

Hmmmm,

Disapointing for Shrapnel, it must really irritate you when you work so hard with someone and they get up and go. I hope there are not too many hard feelings so that he can come back for SEVI.

What does this mean for the race to SEV tourney? What about the Beta slots and SEV copies?

[S.R. Krol]

One thing that I'm surprised about that seems to have been forgotten is that Strategy First (a)is in bankruptcy (b)is now going to direct downloads...e.g. no retail

Do a Google search, you'll come up with both news items.

-Scott

PS: As far as GalCiv and Strategy First goes Brad Wardell, creator of GalCiv broke off with SF awhile back. Once again, search for it and you'll find his take on the deal.

[David E. Gervais]

S.R. Krol said:
One thing that I'm surprised about that seems to have been forgotten is that Strategy First (a)is in bankruptcy (b)is now going to direct downloads...e.g. no retail
-Scott

Well, the last I heard the 'filing for bankruptcy protection' was about a year ago, since December the company has shown positive cash-flow and are slowly getting back above ground.

They have struck a deal for more online outlets for their games but this is in addition to their retail stuff.

I sure wish people would tell the whole story and not these half-facts that serve no purpose other than to generate worries in the fans.

Aaron is the one funding the development of SE5 and he is in 100% control of the quallity and schedule for SE5. Beta slots and prizes for the PBW tournament are not affected by this news in the least.

Nuf said, Cheers!

[RudyHuxtable]

David E. Gervais said:

Well, the last I heard the 'filing for bankruptcy protection' was about a year ago, since December the company has shown positive cash-flow and are slowly getting back above ground.

They have struck a deal for more online outlets for their games but this is in addition to their retail stuff.

I sure wish people would tell the whole story and not these half-facts that serve no purpose other than to generate worries in the fans.

Aaron is the one funding the development of SE5 and he is in 100% control of the quallity and schedule for SE5. Beta slots and prizes for the PBW tournament are not affected by this news in the least.

Nuf said, Cheers!

If he's funding it 100% then everybody should just go have a beer and chill. SEV is in good hands. And if it's a stinker, Aaron has no one to blame but himself.

Keep making good games, Shrapnel.

And something needs to be said about these forums. They're great. People are cool, level headed, and don't throw epithets and ridicule where it isn't due. I like having the freedom to express myself without the fear of flaming... but that leads me to a simple point.

Forums devolve into a flaming mess when people insist on not IGNORING the flames. Let em go, and forums clean up quick. This is not a unique forum when it comes to coolness. It's just extra special because we're all science fiction loving dorks with hearts of gold and hours of free time.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

I hope my heart isn't made out of gold. I'd die!