New use for Constellation?

the_x5

<div class="IPBDescription">a very brief idea...</div><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->What if constellation was modified to be a means of fund raising for NS2?<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->


(new kind of investment?)

Buzzou

<!--quoteo(post=1678966:date=May 20 2008, 12:03 AM:name=the_x5)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(the_x5 @ May 20 2008, 12:03 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1678966"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><!--sizeo:3--><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->What if constellation was modified to be a means of fund raising for NS2?<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
(new kind of investment?)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

so what sort of modification are you proposing? give us something to work with here...

Harimau

^ Seconded.



...<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />

the_x5

Constellation in the past was has been a means to help donate to support the costs of the Half-Life mod, primarily the cost of the website. (of course official figures on what the donations have gone to has never been released) I was wondering if Constellation donation money can be directed specifically to supporting the NS project. The ideal situation would be to demonstrate how it those donations are having a positive impact in showing new tools/features bought and/or developed with this money.

It seems that a recurring implied argument against many new ideas proposed is that UWE is too small (labor & capital wise) to work those concepts through the software development cycle. Of course nobody comes out an says it like that, but if you've ever been around the ol' NS I&S or the new NS2 I&S you sure would remember times where people said it was too hard to implement. From context it frequently comes as too much work, too much time (also labor), or a limitation of capital resources. I doubt I can cite specific examples, but hopefully

Perhaps funds could be redirected? Perhaps it would be better if the donations were stock purchases? (which would make them more like investments than donations, riskier but with a potential for <i>huge</i> profits for both UWE and investors) Heck that's a whole discussion in of itself: stocks versus small uncommitted donations?

I'm honestly not sure where exactly this suggestion should end up; that's why I left it as an open-ended suggestion for discussion -- a discussion about financial donation and investment in the growth of Unknown Worlds Entertainment as a company which should focus on UWE's market as much as the company itself.

Harimau

So, what about the people with Constellation status right now? If you do change the focus from something like a donation to an 'investment', then wouldn't it make sense to remove Constie status from current members? Or at the least, use a different organisation entirely (ie. not "Constellation")?

And I'm really not sure about the size of donations/investments. If they're small, then I dunno, I'd say they make very little difference; if they're big (enough to make a difference), then that really does become an investment, and there's an associated risk along with it. You've also gotta consider all the legalities; but I'm no lawyer.

Damn, I feel that some people are perhaps a little too optimistic that it's unrealistic. But, I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a pessimist; I've never been a fan of the 'too little time, labour, resources' argument. I really think it's not our job to decide whether something is too intensive for such a small team (within reason); since we don't know the 'costs' associated, or the size of the 'budget' (which is problematic when we're arguing about whether something is 'worth it'); so I guess we should just give <i>ideas and suggestions</i> - and let the devs make the decisions. That's a bit pessimistic or a bit optimistic, depending on how you look at it.