You can't complain that this game is costly - Page 6

Jazzepi · #51 September 16th, 2008, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edi

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazzepi

Personally I wish that games like this were more extensible from the start.

For example, I would love to see the option to add in 3-4 more sprites for different animations. Maybe a sprite with a replling animation, or a sprite for a spell casting animation, or a sprite for dying, like collapsing into a pile of red bloody, dead barbarian.

But the developers have done a great job of adding functionality to the game, especially in the modding department.

Jazzepi

Such things would be easier to do if designed in from the ground up. Bolting that kind of stuff on an old engine is a lot trickier to do.

Oh, I understand. It's just something that would add a lot of value to the graphics side of it for me if the units had more than two sprites.

Jazzepi

capnq · #52 September 17th, 2008, 09:46 AM

Most of the people who complain about the price of computer games seem to forget that they're a luxury item, and that luxury items go for whatever people will pay for them. They've also been spoiled by the mainstream publishers' business model of soaking the early adopters for as much as they can before the word gets out about how bad the game is, then dumping whatever inventory they have left at fire sale prices. (I'd also mention people forgetting anything they learned in economics class, but most people haven't even taken one.)

Sombre · #53 September 17th, 2008, 12:48 PM

Games that are recognised to be great and come out to critical acclaim will drop in price just as quickly as crapfests if they are equally popular.

So I don't follow that 'drop the price when everyone realises how bad it is' argument at all. If I had to make a top 100 best games of all time, the majority of them would be dirt cheap by now.

HoneyBadger · #54 September 17th, 2008, 08:17 PM

I'm all for more sprites per unit in the game, but I do understand and appreciate that just 2 sprites per unit makes things a whole lot easier to mod new things in.

To give you an example:
My 'Aksum' mod has 34 units that I've made sprites for, so far. Times 2, that's 68. With additional sprites, banners, etc. etc. and the like, let's say 80 sprites. If we add 1 additional sprite per unit-let's say for repelling, that's 120. A sprite for spellcasting/archery, that makes it 160. Add another for wounded/dying, you've got 160. 1 more for advancing-with-weapons-at-the-ready, 200. Berserk, 240. Resistant (fire, cold, poison, shock), 400. Fatigued, Paralyzed, Turned to Stone, Horror Marked/Cursed, Poisoned, Diseased, Morale-broken-peed-self-fleeing-in-terror, that's 560. You can see where this is going. Now take that times 80 for the approximate number of vanilla and mod nations in the game...2 sprites is ok. I don't have a problem with 2 sprites per unit.

Jazzepi · #55 September 18th, 2008, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

I'm all for more sprites per unit in the game, but I do understand and appreciate that just 2 sprites per unit makes things a whole lot easier to mod new things in.

To give you an example:
My 'Aksum' mod has 34 units that I've made sprites for, so far. Times 2, that's 68. With additional sprites, banners, etc. etc. and the like, let's say 80 sprites. If we add 1 additional sprite per unit-let's say for repelling, that's 120. A sprite for spellcasting/archery, that makes it 160. Add another for wounded/dying, you've got 160. 1 more for advancing-with-weapons-at-the-ready, 200. Berserk, 240. Resistant (fire, cold, poison, shock), 400. Fatigued, Paralyzed, Turned to Stone, Horror Marked/Cursed, Poisoned, Diseased, Morale-broken-peed-self-fleeing-in-terror, that's 560. You can see where this is going. Now take that times 80 for the approximate number of vanilla and mod nations in the game...2 sprites is ok. I don't have a problem with 2 sprites per unit.

You're operating under the assumption that those new sprites would be required. It would be simple enough, if it were thought of in advance, for the game engine to plan on using only two sprites, but when a new condition comes up, or the unit takes a specific action, the engine could check to see if there is a sprite available for that action/condition.

Jazzepi

HoneyBadger · #56 September 18th, 2008, 04:42 AM

Oh I know. I suggested adding something like 12 separate sprites per unit maybe a year ago (I think it was in one of the mod suggestion threads?), and that was based around the idea that the Devs wouldn't have to go back and redo that many sprites for each Nation. Adding more would be nice, and it could possibly be done unobtrusively. I'm just saying that-as a mod maker-I can live with just 2 per unit.

Trumanator · #57 September 19th, 2008, 12:08 AM

I'm not sure about whether 60$ plus S&H is too much or not, but I do think that one issue an expensive game can have is more piracy than a cheap game. A game thats ~30 bucks or so 3 months after release is cheap enough for people who aren't fanatics to buy and enjoy. Limewire's already killed the cd industry, not that I'm lamenting it, but the same can be a problem for small indy devs.

Jazzepi · #58 September 19th, 2008, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trumanator

I'm not sure about whether 60$ plus S&H is too much or not, but I do think that one issue an expensive game can have is more piracy than a cheap game. A game thats ~30 bucks or so 3 months after release is cheap enough for people who aren't fanatics to buy and enjoy. Limewire's already killed the cd industry, not that I'm lamenting it, but the same can be a problem for small indy devs.

I'm pretty sure price fixing killed the CD industry. Greed dug their own grave.

Jazzepi

Trumanator · #59 September 19th, 2008, 01:38 AM

I dunno, although now that I think about it Itunes and other digital music vendors probably helped a lot. I'm a little averse to ascribing failure of a whole industry to moral failures or stupidity. One company maybe, or even a number of them, but the whole industry? People just don't buy CDs anymore period. Besides thats kinda irrelevant to my larger point, even if I'm exaggerating a bit.

Jazzepi · #60 September 19th, 2008, 02:44 AM

IMO the record labels created incredible pressure outwards away from their products by producing an artificially high price for a CD. Even though the price of minting and production had fallen, the price of the CD stays the same. Normally when the cost to the producer goes down, the price of the product goes down in turn, since there's a competitive advantage at selling for less than your competitors in the market place.

But since they were fixing prices and creating a non-competitive enviroment...

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/n...ttlement_x.htm

... the large labels charged a relatively outrageous price for CDs despite the lowering costs.

The high price turns people off from buying the product, but since there was no alternative, there was no choice. The moment MP3s hit the internet with Limewire, bearshare, Napster, there was suddenly a much cheaper (IE Free) choice for getting music. It's not just that you could download stuff for free, it's the fact that the music industry did such a terrific job of pushing people away from their products by installing DRM on CDs...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_So...ection_scandal

... and charging way too much for a product that should cost a lot less.

The way I see it, the rise of the internet pirate is a direct response to the CD price fixing cartel.

Jazzepi