Oh my word, Arryn. I usually don't get involved in these discussions, but your post caught my eye and I feel compelled to speak. I disagree that Illwinter may be compared to Paradox. Dominions 2 has been said to offer "the most gameplay of any 4X game available anywhere" (Computer Gaming World, Sept '04).
And please don't compare Shrapnel Games with Strategy First. Paradox has dumped SF - the grapevine intimates because of unpaid royalties (
http://www.wargamer.com/news/news.asp?nid=1002).
Stardock left for that reason (
http://www.joeuser.com/index.asp?c=1&AID=21895&u=0). Just this week, LegendStudios posted on their forums:
"Strategy First Inc, our North America publisher, have not paid us a single cent since we sign our contract and what's more, they have not spend anything in ads and the distribution of the game is even worse (that's why the servers were not very busy). There is no way to get the game in big stores and even Amazon takes 2 months to deliver! Completely amazing.
So due to this situation and the economical problem we are suffering, we are forced to close our servers for Internet gaming. We have tried to arrange a solution with Strategy First but they refuse to find a solution."
(
http://www.lsgames.com/wartimes/eng/...opic.php?t=243)
Don't be fooled by appearances. It's not how much money (or the number of programmers) a company has that makes it successful. It's understanding your product, your market and your customers that's key to successful publishing. And it's creativity, intellegence and dedication which make development teams great.
Just my dollar and 2 cents...
Re: Thank you Stormbinder!
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