How to keep the cash flowing in...
Savant
Join Date: 2002-11-30 Member: 10289Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Join Date: 2002-11-30 Member: 10289Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
<div class="IPBDescription">What UWE needs to do to for the long term...</div>As much as it is nice to have people develop mods, I think UWE should restrict (lock down) certain aspects of the game, so that they can use that to make income. By this I'm talking about add-ons that can alter the appearance of the player's avatar. If UWE was to make some kick-ass looking avatars (armor), they could sell them as DLC. Same for aliens. Make some alien skins that look different. Alternate weapons (with same stats as in-game weapons) are possibilities too. Sell them for small amounts of money. As we have seen with people in TF2 and the hat-buying frenzy, there is a market for this kind of thing.
All of these things are stuff that can't be used on servers unless they support a certain mod, and many don't. If UWE offer it for sale then it will bypass the issue of consistency checks.
Start looking ahead UWE. While you have sales coming in now, the cash won't flow forever.
All of these things are stuff that can't be used on servers unless they support a certain mod, and many don't. If UWE offer it for sale then it will bypass the issue of consistency checks.
Start looking ahead UWE. While you have sales coming in now, the cash won't flow forever.
Comments
I would glady buy some useless skins just to help the developers.
What developing these items (that do NOT impact gameplay) does is give the developers a way to tap into player vanity (since it certainly exists). Different skins, and different weapons (again, with same damage) can give a person a look that they desire. This keeps cash coming in *and* keeps them playing.
The mod community won't really be able to do things like this since consistency checking makes it near impossible on most servers. (because of the potential for abuse)
I'd love to see different looks for marines and aliens. The same but different if you know what I mean. Yeah an Onos is intimidating, but what about 3 Onos and they all look slightly different instead of like clones? It can only improve gameplay inho. While this kind of thing should take a back seat to performance upgrades of course, it should still be something they are considering in the long term.
Pretty soon the market for NS2 will be tapped out, and if they don't have another revenue stream they will be in trouble looking forward.
And Killing Floor has a modding community as well.
All of these things are stuff that can't be used on servers unless they support a certain mod, and many don't. If UWE offer it for sale then it will bypass the issue of consistency checks.
Start looking ahead UWE. While you have sales coming in now, the cash won't flow forever.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Go play TF2 then. Please go.
Custom skins are available in the WORKSHOP for free!
Just select in steam "Natural Selection 2" and than click on "Browse the Workshop"
The philosophy of UWE is community created mods. And being open source.
This attracts more people in the long run.
Think about the recent Arma 2 mod "Day Z". A player made a mod,which drew in thousands of sales.
People are already developing very interesting mods. (e.g. Sanity).
I hate those moneygrabbing buisness practices. One of the worst is Planetside 2.
They demand up to 7€ for a single gun! Which is not accountbound but just for that one character.
Just select in steam "Natural Selection 2" and than click on "Browse the Workshop"<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->And how many of those skins will pass consistency checks? Let's just say it's a REALLY low number. Why? Well because you can mod yourself up neon skulk skins and all that kind of exploiting crap.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The philosophy of UWE is community created mods. And being open source.
This attracts more people in the long run.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->I'm not against mods. Mods are great. The issue is that for many reasons - cheat prevention being one of them - there will always be some aspects of the mods that won't pass consistency checks. Otherwise people could mod themselves all the cheats they like.
Certain aspects of the game (skins and weapons) will always be something that consistency checks will block. It's the only way the game can remain fair.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I hate those moneygrabbing buisness practices.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Yeah it would be nice if everything in the world was free and no one needed money. Really it would. It would be nice if the developers at UWE didn't need salaries to pay their mortgages and keep the heat on.
But they do.
Since they need to *KEEP* making money to stay in business, they will need more than sales of a game that is already selling for 60% off. They will run out of new customers and then they will have to move on to something else to stay in business. While I am *totally* opposed to money paying for any weapon that provides a different damage output from the existing ones, I have no issues with UWE selling weapons that replace in-game weapons. Same for marine skins.
Let them make a few bucks to stay in business, and then that way they can keep delivering updates. Otherwise in a year the money will be gone and they will have to move on to other business to survive.
I get where you're coming from, i bought an extra copy of the game as a gift to a friend just because. But making active suggestions in how they should manage their game and finance is incredible egotistical of you, perhaps you have some sort of major game dev background or run a very successful business, but in both cases you would know better than to make suggestions to other businesses.
And i'm not saying that out of ill will, its just theres alot of my favorite games that have completely crashed because they started getting runned by their communities instead of the Devs that made them in the first place or worse... focus on making money.
If you want a NS2 type game with hats, go make your own :) If you just want to concern yourself with other people's financials, you're free to hit me up anytime, i got a few projects that require financial backing.
Just select in steam "Natural Selection 2" and than click on "Browse the Workshop"<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Those skins are only client side though, everyone else still sees you as the default or special/deluxe armor for marines. Those are actual DLC's where the special/black armor is no longer available for purchase btw (just an FYI :) )
I fail to see why you would want skins you yourself can't see. I got the deluxe version, and I only have very vague idea on how it looks from screenshots, might because I don't care but as it is now putting skins on your opponents gives more, and those are free. Regardless, I don't see a problem with cosmetic DLC, you buy if you want.
Currently we only have the Spec Ops Black Armour FPS view on workshop, but that is only a mod. Deluxe is still not able to get one as that would require a different model as well.
Also why all the bloody emphasis on marines, we need hot pink belly piggies!!!
Currently we only have the Spec Ops Black Armour FPS view on workshop, but that is only a mod. Deluxe is still not able to get one as that would require a different model as well.
Also why all the bloody emphasis on marines, we need hot pink belly piggies!!!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I want a "wife beater" and Bermuda Shorts for my Gorgie!
I never really liked this "TF2-itis" that seems to be attaching itself to every game nowadays. These cosmetic things take the focus off of good, innovative gameplay and put it on who has the best hat.
I never really liked this "TF2-itis" that seems to be attaching itself to every game nowadays. These cosmetic things take the focus off of good, innovative gameplay and put it on who has the best hat.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
People don't want to play games anymore. They want to get achievements or grind.
I understand that video games are business and I am all for the companies making a profit so that they can (hopefully) go out and make more great games, but this sort of grind is ridiculous. I play NS because I want to get away from the CoD clones. I come here for strategy, team work, and fun. And not the type of fun you have when you are screaming ######got at some guy on XBL, but the type of fun you have when two evenly matched teams try to out-maneuver each other like well oiled machines wrestling to the death.
Give me simplicity and balance; give me no frills tactical combat.
Not every game that has this extra stuff is bad, I still enjoy TF2 quiet a bit. But my enjoyment comes when a team stops thinking about that guy with the new rocket launcher they just added,and starts to work together to complete a goal instead.
It doesn't have to be complex, have gimmicks, or a huge skill ceiling. Look at CS, the ######ing thing started as a mod and is still played today. CS 1.6 still regularly has more concurrent players than the never versions. Why? Because it works! No achievements, no hats, no bull######.
Think about it. Say they make up a set of skins. For example, a female marine skin, other male marine skins, and perhaps new alien skins. If they can charge $5 for a pack of these new skins, and if they only get say 10% of people buying, that's $100K in direct cash inflow for the game. If they can bump this up to 50% then they are up to a half-million. Then they could do a weapon skin pack, letting people replace their weapons with other weapon visuals. Again, offer a weapon skin pack for $5, and say they get 50% that buy it. Add that to the other package and that's a million bucks.
Now they may or may not get that kind of coverage, but even if they could clear a half-million overall for all these skins, that's some serious cash.
Hey, this is all up to UWE. All I know is that it took quite a while to get NS2 out, and would they even try for an NS3?