How turn Dominions from a niche game to an MMO

[Gandalf Parker]

There are ways to supplement a server.

Anyone can join PoDs such as CafePress for free. Create a merchandise shop. Sell Tshirts
(anyone remember the Tshirt Contest?)
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=18823
Sell mugs with the keypress chart on it for that late night coffee blitzing.
Sell CDs with mods, or maps, or some of the great wallpaper and background screens
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=30224
Or posters and greeting cards of the same screens.
Sell Baalz Guides, or some of the AARs, in book form

Also a site can open an Amazon account and create links to appropriate items. Music CDs, movies, things to make your gaming experience better. With an amazon affiliate account you can make a few cents on each click-thru

Besides charging to play you can also charge for email addresses on the server. Especially if it has a good dominions name (I wish I could get one on www.Dominions3.com but its just a flytrap). Or webpage space on the server for the many projects we have in the community here. Or DNS service. Or charge for hosting instead of for playing. Charges could be amazingly reasonable if the goal isnt to make money but just to cover the cost of the server.

Some services that could be added would be for SMS notifications of turns, fancy graphs and charts for ongoing games, voice-share chat like XBox games have, competition ladders, forums not moderated by the corporation, whiteboards for game strategy, IRC, advertising for members willing to fill requests for pay.