Strategy First acquires Malfador Machinations

[Dizzy]

my biggest fear is with mainstream appeal. The publishers want to get the biggest bang for their buck and will broaden the scope of the game to include mainstream users at the expense of anything and everything.

If its a one shot deal, as I surmise it is, I mean how much more polish can you put on the 5th installement of SE, then the publishers wont be concerned with a followup product and thus any support or follow on or add on or support features may be severely lacking, not to mention them possibly recoding much of it so the game isnt easily copied, ported, modded or otherwise so they protect their copyrighted material for any related future release.

Mainstream appeal is the kiss of death for hardcore players used to features and gameplay that allow us to easily mod and enjoy the depth of the game. I'm pessimistic.

[Annette]

Atrocities said:
So the thing is, will shrapnel wanna keep footing the bill to keep us freeloaders around? And why should they given that there really is no return on their investment aside from the occational game purchase from one of us. (Looking very forward to Dom3 BTW)

They have been very loyal to us, and we to them, but at some point they might have to think about the bottom line. Not that any of this is anything more than pure 100% fear indused speculation and doom saying.

Stragey First's acquistion of the Space Empires intellectual property really doesn't have any bearing on our philosophy on continuing to host these forums.

Our affection for the Space Empires community is genuine, as well as our love of the game. You all have helped shape Shrapnel Games into what it is today, and we are blessed to count you among our friends. We have never looked upon any of you as "freeloaders". Quite the opposite. We are honored that you continue to want to make this your home.

I can't imagine a set of circumstances that would make us want to turn this group away. I also can't imagine why we wouldn't want to welcome new players of the game to our site. Please know you all are always welcome at Shrapnel Games!

[Baron Munchausen]

dogscoff said:
Too late now, but Malfador should have sold shares to us gamers in order to retain a level of independence/ closeness to the community. I'd have bought some.

I think the thing to remember is that SE5 has been in beta for months so it ought to be at least playable, if not very close to being finished. That means the new owners, unless they really are mind-bendingly stupid, are unlikely to wreck it with demands for loads of unfavourable new 'features'. I guess they might manage to bury it before release somehow, but in that case I'd be willing to bet a few beta copies made it onto the 'abandonware' circuit shortly after.

I don't know if you could legally sell shares to only a 'selected' group of people. An IPO might have opened him to takeover by unknown stock manipulators. But if it was possible to control who was allowed to buy then yes it would have been a much better arrangement than selling the whole store to a typical corporation that regards all of its games as 'revenue sources'. SE V is too close to being done to be much affected, but SE VI might become a disaster similar to MOO III.

[Suicide Junkie]

Why not?
If Aaron owns all the shares, he can do whatever he pleases with them.

Small businesses with multiple owners can divvy up their shares however they like.

[wake_of_angels]

Nice to hear about SE6!!!
I wait day after day, counting them until I get SE5!
I really wish a demo soon, to get a try!