Ways to keep the game funded
Safewood
Join Date: 2012-11-03 Member: 166381Members
Join Date: 2012-11-03 Member: 166381Members
For now, they're probably okay with free weekends, sales, big patches and community-driven mods. However, this is for future business models, when some time has gone and sales goes down.
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?
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?
Comments
That will fund the game.
I'd hate to see the nickle n' dime micro-transaction root it's way into ns2.
As for cosmetic items, I'd love to see a score based level progression system that gives people more cosmetic options the more they play the game. Game sounds and weapon models need to remain the same for consistency.
Great suggestions; would be badass, indeed. :3
<b>@ IeptBarakat:</b>
Won't work, and never has. Let me quote a part from Carmac's blog:
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->1. The Christmas Present
This model is video games as we know them. Some of the best esports games in history fall into this category - Quake, StarCraft and Counter-Strike among them. (Sooner or later, they all began to crumble.)
Here is what it boils down to:
<ul><li> Create a game and put it in a box.</li><li> Generate a ton of hype before the release.</li><li> Release around Christmas (or whenever makes the most sense).</li><li> Make money and never look back.</li></ul>
On the esports side of things the benefit is that the community grows very large quickly after the release. But as things slow down on the sales side, the community’s growth slows down also.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I dont like custom marine skin. we already have enough diversity for what is suppose to be a military organization. I would like to see the skin change with armor upgrades and a female model however.
Whatever makes your skirt fly up, as long as there's way for UWE to have a sustainable income; that's what's matters. :)
The very last thing they should do is add DLC map packs, those just divide the community.. I doubt they'd do this anyway though.
You know what I'd pay for though? A damn gorge plush.
Won't work, and never has. Let me quote a part from Carmac's blog:<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The difference being here is, Carmack's games are released as finished products.
Natural Selection 2 will continue to evolve even after release.
I foresee some big game changing updates that will continue to keep the game in the spotlight, as the devs stated they want to keep adding more and more content long after the game is out.
Doesnt affect gameplay, enhances the universe and appeals to the community. No skins please, this is not TF2.
Pretty sure LoL, Tribes, TF2 etc. make their main money trough champions, weapons and boosters... since that is the stuff even somebody thats plays the game for the very first time, might be interested in buying. (or its stuff that makes you interested in starting the game again(oh that champion is really cool - i need to try it out etc, even tho i havent played in a month or more), at least i had moments like that with LoL etc. - i cant imagine me doing the same for a sexy skin/model/whatever)
Cosmetic stuff is only interesting after the player decided to stay and keep playing this game for a longer time - making it worth spending money for them. (at least i would hesitate buying a skin if im not 100% sure that this will be a game ill keep on playing in the future/for quite a while)
This is rather problematic in ns2, you cant just add different classes or weapons.(since this affects gameplay and balance way more than in those other games, that were pretty much designed around this features - or in case of tf2 lucky enough that its not an asymmetric game) You are pretty much left with only cosmetic stuff for the vanilla ns2 game mode.
=> Im not sure if the business model is strong enough with only cosmetic stuff. (at least if you dont have an audience like dota2 has from start, which is the only game that purely has cosmetic stuff afaik)
But what do i know... (not in the business, and pretty sure im missing some points)
Ditto. :>
<b>@ IeptBarakat:</b>
If they don't have other ways to have a sustainable income, then it's inevitable that they won't be able to keep updating it. At the very least, it will be far from their main focus, rather something they do on their freetime when they're really bored.
<b>@ Fat_Man_Little_Coat:</b>
Your argument is irrelevant. You can't compare TF2 with this, 'cause TF2 has some completely ridiculous skins and add-ons, while in NS2 it would still keep the same art and theme, and not some horrendous, over-sized sunhat.
<b>@ Koruyo:</b>
Absolutely true, they do and it certainly helps quite a deal for their income. However, Riot has said that their second biggest income is skins, after rune pages. If UWE added this properly, then players will eventually buy cosmetic items, just because it makes them somewhat stand out from other players. It's proven effective in almost every game I can think of, and I truly believe it would benefit us all if UWE added this business model.
Sustainable income = bigger staff = frequent updates with better quality. It's a win-win situation, really. :)
Since if they do it with cosmetics you can only pay real money for, it just would suck since you have to buy the game, and then pay more for skins that you might like.
IMO, they shouldn't do this, also, this game will last a while with the updates they are going to push out, and don't forget, NS1 lived a long time without any sorts of funding at all
The argument I'm giving you is that UWE needs a sustainable income to keep updating this game, or they will leave it alone to die. Simple as that.
<b>@ upperdemoon:</b>
Something being dead or alive is a personal opinion, which is why I used quotation marks. You could say Counter-Strike is still alive, but compared to 2005, it has been dead for the last couple of years now.
Rather create added value by expanding the universe and satisfying a market need by creating content and charging a rabid fanbase. There are a ton of business models to choose from. F2P. Is not obe that fits well.
DLC only splits the community. With this business model, it doesn't have to be F2P. It's just an addition, which is completely optional. Like someone else suggested, it could be earned by only playing, and I think that's a great idea, especially with armor sets like in the Halo series, where you earn add-ons to it (e.g. shoulder pads) and such.
Edit: on my smartphone. Arrgh.
Absolutely true, they do and it certainly helps quite a deal for their income. However, Riot has said that their second biggest income is skins, after rune pages. If UWE added this properly, then players will eventually buy cosmetic items, just because it makes them somewhat stand out from other players. It's proven effective in almost every game I can think of, and I truly believe it would benefit us all if UWE added this business model.
Sustainable income = bigger staff = frequent updates with better quality. It's a win-win situation, really. :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, ofc adding buyable cosmetics on top of the current model would be a nice addition for their income.
Dunno had some weird thought process in the end thinking about making it free 2 play, which makes no sense. (at least yet, and even in the future - you would be just fine with only skins i guess...)
I don't know which is worse, shoving microtransactions down the throat of people who purchased your game, or your idea that they would only touch this game when they would be bored.
It's very possible that they would add special skins or armor sets to the game at a later part of development, but they'll probably be bundled with something else, or added with a big content update.
Besides, the game just released. You're talking about the inevitable death during a momentous occasion, which is just wrong.
I expect that to be the MO for a while.
That could indeed work, I agree. However, it's much more time-consuming than just adding purchasable models to the game.
<b>@ Darkster:</b>
That's a great idea; one business model at a time, as the income changes over time.
<b>@ IeptBarakat :</b>
<i>> "[...] shoving microtransactions down the throat of people"</i>
That's exactly how it would come out to be, right? Because it's not only optional, it doesn't give you any advantages in gameplay and doesn't need to be marketed right in your face in the menu. Still, it's just that, right? Good grief.
+10000000000
i would pay 24.99 for one.
These forums are the most hostile place I've seen towards NS2 so far. Discussions in reddit, team liquid, elsewhere, have largely been very positive with the occasional dissenting whisper.
For example, on reddit, temphage and psymple would have negative hundreds of karma :P
People arent gonna stick around with NS2 doesnt get more friendly to new people and balance and fun factor gets increased.
TF2 Already had fun gameplay / balanced and such, so they could directly build on top of that.
Also personally, i dont support microtransactino games, you either go free2play with microtransactions, or you go buy a game up front and free stuff.
You cant have it both ways, that mindbugglingly greedy. I mean thats Ubisoft kinda stupid,
Not to mention you cannot have it visible for other players. I mean if you have another player skin, it could be more visible than the original, or it might ruin the immersion, i dont wanna see porn pink marines running around in girl clothes.
I think NS2 should go oldschool and do as much as possible with mods, like it or not having a game with lots of mods, will beat microtransactions, dlc, all that other crap.
Just look at have insanely skyrim is selling, they are making so much money without doing anything, because allowing support for mods. Big dumb greedy companies like Activision and EA, and ubisoft they dont get that, but smaller companies understand it. More free stuff means more sales means more money in the bank for the devs with no effort.
Another good point, look at that Arma game, its total crap, horrible game. But because some guys made that zombie mod, DayZ i think its called, they are selling Soooooooooooooooooo many companies and earning so much money.
Free mods for game = more sales. its just that simple :)
Stalker is also a good point, what a biggy piece of ######, to say it nicely, but man did fans spend their own free time and fix it up. Playing stalker with those complete mods :O = blown outta this world, that makes the game so much better, they improve pretty much all aspects of the game, from graphics to sound to atmosphere to gameplay. Who earns money of that? the devs do.
I dont get why big companies are so stupid they dont understand that free mods for you game and support the community, will earn you much more money than DLC or Microtransactions ever will in a million years.
Wolfenstein 3d some of us actually plays today, i dont think i my lifetime ill ever get through all the amazing mods still being made for that game. Mods keep your games alive. Games can stay alive for 10-15 years and money still come in with little to no effort for the developers.
Minecraft obviously also shows again how mods make it sell, would minecraft sell as well without mods i doubt it, it would have sold sell im sure, but it wouldn have sold as well. There are so many amazing mods for minecraft.
People arent gonna stick around with NS2 doesnt get more friendly to new people and balance and fun factor gets increased.
TF2 Already had fun gameplay / balanced and such, so they could directly build on top of that.
Also personally, i dont support microtransactino games, you either go free2play with microtransactions, or you go buy a game up front and free stuff.
You cant have it both ways, that mindbugglingly greedy. I mean thats Ubisoft kinda stupid,
Not to mention you cannot have it visible for other players. I mean if you have another player skin, it could be more visible than the original, or it might ruin the immersion, i dont wanna see porn pink marines running around in girl clothes.
I think NS2 should go oldschool and do as much as possible with mods, like it or not having a game with lots of mods, will beat microtransactions, dlc, all that other crap.
Just look at have insanely skyrim is selling, they are making so much money without doing anything, because allowing support for mods. Big dumb greedy companies like Activision and EA, and ubisoft they dont get that, but smaller companies understand it. More free stuff means more sales means more money in the bank for the devs with no effort.
Another good point, look at that Arma game, its total crap, horrible game. But because some guys made that zombie mod, DayZ i think its called, they are selling Soooooooooooooooooo many companies and earning so much money.
Free mods for game = more sales. its just that simple :)
Stalker is also a good point, what a biggy piece of ######, to say it nicely, but man did fans spend their own free time and fix it up. Playing stalker with those complete mods :O = blown outta this world, that makes the game so much better, they improve pretty much all aspects of the game, from graphics to sound to atmosphere to gameplay. Who earns money of that? the devs do.
I dont get why big companies are so stupid they dont understand that free mods for you game and support the community, will earn you much more money than DLC or Microtransactions ever will in a million years.
Wolfenstein 3d some of us actually plays today, i dont think i my lifetime ill ever get through all the amazing mods still being made for that game. Mods keep your games alive. Games can stay alive for 10-15 years and money still come in with little to no effort for the developers.
Minecraft obviously also shows again how mods make it sell, would minecraft sell as well without mods i doubt it, it would have sold sell im sure, but it wouldn have sold as well. There are so many amazing mods for minecraft.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Very well said point ! :D