How will UWE and NS2 hold up in the long term?
Sooty
Join Date: 2002-12-23 Member: 11416Members
Join Date: 2002-12-23 Member: 11416Members
<div class="IPBDescription">What are the company's long term financial plans?</div>My friend and I were discussing this earlier. He said that he couldn't see how UWE was going to last, considering that the sales from NS2 are a one-off thing, and it costs money to maintain their official servers.
Selling skins/hats wouldn't work because the game is not like TF2 which takes itself less seriously, plus the game relies much on visual cues for there to be skins to deviate too much from the originals. Making an expansion won't work, because it would divide the playerbase. My friend also doesn't think that licensing out Spark will do much good because he doesn't believe people would really want to use it.
I jokingly said they could get themselvse hired by valve and work on NS2 as a side project.
So... any ideas what UWE can do to keep afloat?
Selling skins/hats wouldn't work because the game is not like TF2 which takes itself less seriously, plus the game relies much on visual cues for there to be skins to deviate too much from the originals. Making an expansion won't work, because it would divide the playerbase. My friend also doesn't think that licensing out Spark will do much good because he doesn't believe people would really want to use it.
I jokingly said they could get themselvse hired by valve and work on NS2 as a side project.
So... any ideas what UWE can do to keep afloat?
Comments
Why are so many people worried about money? Eventually they can shut the official servers down and let the player run servers maintain the game while they sit back and collect $.
ever heard of quake? unreal? counter-strike?
If you wanna understand what financial problems would mean for UW read this interview from 2006 when he was making a Sudoku game
<a href="http://uk.gamespot.com/news/charlie-clevelands-small-game-biz-6155717" target="_blank">http://uk.gamespot.com/news/charlie-clevel...ame-biz-6155717</a>
Sure it works, the expansion is more of a DLC - everyone needs to download it, kinda like a patch. Except if you didn't buy the DLC you won't be able to use its new content, say for example newer lifeforms/weapons, you can still play with everyone else, you just can't use the new stuff.
It upsets balance then!
Then they could always do a single-player story mission, or make a game that isn't ns.
Why are so many people worried about money? Eventually they can shut the official servers down and let the player run servers maintain the game while they sit back and collect $.
ever heard of quake? unreal? counter-strike?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
i love ns2 and i want to see this game have the same longevity and popularity as team fortress 2 and dota. however, if the company is not viable fiscally in the long run, what do you think will happen?
as of now, after taking into account sales of ns2, there seem to be no other plans on how to make money.
DLCs are probably out and they are evil anyway.
customization is a lost monetizing opportunity as it seem no longer possible.
the potential of ns2 for esports is HUGE given its strong emphasis on teamplay and tactical awareness, but only if the gameplay builds are balanced and varied, engine and game optimization are fixed, and sponsors and teams are found for the various local communities.
Horrible method for an online competitive game as it's pay2win nonsense.
UWE already said they'll never let players buy power, only cosmetic items.
yeah, if they balance and optimize the game well enough it'll succeed, if not it'll fail. If it fails too bad, at least i bought one of the devs dinner with my $25 and got a few hundred hours of fun.
UWE already said they'll never let players buy power, only cosmetic items.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Those DLC i'm talking about can be side steps, kinda like how TF2 weapons are, one is not stronger than the other, it's just different.
I actually think the official servers are a stopgap untill uwe can further optimize server performance. Will probably see them slowly phased out when this happens...
hmm, actually, screw making other games/dlcs/skins, UWE should focus solely on fixing these core issues and break into the esport scene in a big way.
just look at what the esport scene in south korea did for the first starcraft.
More options is a huge advantage unless normal players who didn't buy the DLC can unlock those weapons as well.
That's how the TF2 model works.
But NS2 isn't free2play, so you can't monetize weapons unlocks, it's a horrible ######ish move.
Might work if the game ever goes f2p in a few years or something.
The idea that a game needs to create a steady income via skins, items, extra content, DLCs and so on is pretty new. Still, multiplayer-games enjoyed a long and prosperous life even in the times before, just to mention UT or CS. If the game can find its way into the Esports-scene, I think it'll do fine. All you need is publicity.
<!--quoteo(post=2008574:date=Nov 3 2012, 10:06 PM:name=Safewood)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Safewood @ Nov 3 2012, 10:06 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2008574"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->No matter how much you're against using more money than you've already paid for the game, it's still a cold, harsh fact that the game will "die" eventually if it's not funded it some way or another. In sense of that the developers will leave it as is, and continue on to another game. Some might not see the wrong in this, but there's always room for improvement and polishing of a game, and to do so, the developers need a sustainable income from the game.
The well-known Carmac from ESL wrote a pretty accurate blog about this matter, if you're interested, then this is a really good read: <a href="http://mbcarmac.com/post/24384050846/how-a-good-business-model-makes-a-good-esport-game" target="_blank">http://mbcarmac.com/post/24384050846/how-a...ood-esport-game</a>
The way I've thought it could be, is by cosmetic items that are optional for you to buy and does not affect the gameplay whatsoever, which I believe is a good way to keep the game "alive."
<b>Player models:</b>
You can buy different skins for each faction and class, though it should still be easily recognized as the respective class, just different colours and add-ons to it. Just like you have it in League of Legends, hundreds of different skins, yet you can point out every single one of them and tell what champion they are.
Additionally, there could be legendary skin sets, which you earn in-game credits to buy add-ons to these skin sets, or buy them right off the bat.
<b>Weapon models:</b>
You could buy a skin for f.ex. shotgun, where it has another model, muzzle flash and sound, however, it still resembles a shotgun.
There could be aswell weapon add-ons, cosmetic items to the weapons like you have in Blacklight: Retribution.
<b>Commander add-ons:</b>
There won't be skins for buildings, but some add-ons you can have on them, such as stickies, wunderbaum-thingies and such.
It has worked for League and Blacklight, why can't it do so in NS2?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Source: <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=123286" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/in...howtopic=123286</a>
In game adverts help, didnt CS 1.6 go down this route ?
UWE will be okay.
And besides, an official seige gamemode could generate some nice DLC money if they packaged in a few official maps for it. Also, official map packs could be sold in sets of 3 for $10. There's an extra million right there.
Gorge plushies would bring in more money than a DLC package.
OH... WAIT!
The problem is the add on part, not the content part. UWE I believe expressed interest in adding other lifeforms and more weapons in twitchtv already. A third race would break the game. Outdoor areas would just have to be mapped and anymore could do it. If by outdoor you mean more open and large maps, again anyone can do it.
How far could they go with new stuff before it is not even the ns2 we know an love right now? If they changed it any bit more the complaining ns1 players would throw a bigger fit. You can only go as far as the community will allow and I think a large part of the community won't take it. Not just those complaining ns1 players.
They're not going to add a third race or any of these other crazy ideas though. The best games are the ones that know what they are, keep it focused and polish to a shine. I can see them maybe adding one alien lifeform, one or two more guns, and a handful of new abilities for each team(we know of a few already). Beyond that IMO it's better to focus on general balance/gameplay tweaks, new maps and maybe a new game mode or two.
Creep and power nodes can stay as a visual indicator, but I think they probably need to go gameplay wise. They detract from the game, reduce available strategies and are generally more tedious than anything. Kham feels superfluous and shoe-horned into the game; I don't really have any suggestions to fix the kham other than just delete him. Pres and Tres need to be relinked with some kind of interconvertibiliity(E.g. 1 Tres is 0.125 pres per player; can't convert gathered res, only income); otherwise there is no tradeoff between getting tech/upgrades, gear/lifeforms or support structures. Alien upgrades need to be rebalanced so that chosing is not a no-brainer. Upgrade cost probably needs to be more expensive. Midgame needs to be extended. Late game needs to be made more slippery-slopey so that rounds don't drag on so long in a stalemate.