Dirty Bomb Philosophy & Business Model - Your Thoughts?

(Bloodbite) #121

[QUOTE=tokamak;417968]
I must stress here that thinking about what you would prefer and what would make you pay the highest amount of money in this game are two different things. They’re both helpful but if all you do is saying that you want have as much as possible for as cheap as possible then you’re not helping the company in determining with what you find valuable.[/QUOTE]

I think everyone here is unanimous in that we want a game. A REAL game, not some pitiful excuse of a cash cow like so many games on the market these days.

It’s also pretty clear everyone agrees we want a competitive community. Even the pugs in W:ET were pretty competitive. We don’t want some nub fest where koreans are dying in internet cafe marathons cause they’ve lost touch with reality over the grind time and pay2win crap they’ve invested and can’t possibly let that go to waste before the next tier of pay gear makes their current redundant.

we want quality. This isn’t about being a blind consumer and looking to justify spending as much as possible. Leave that to the CoD fanboys.

Don’t forget that there’s a very unpleasant dynamic at play here too. A LOT of us that were keen supporters of Splash felt betrayed when Brink was essentially abandoned. That’s a very decent community of people serious about committing to serious online play that need to be won back.

These are communities that band together against griefers like I haven’t seen in most other games, and have every desire to have an enemy territory style game that they basically play and little to nothing else for many years to come. Micro transaction addicts will not be welcomed. I’m not saying that in an elitist way, its just the reality of how loyal the community WANTS to be to keeping a game like this pure to it’s core purpose.

What you’re saying basically doesn’t apply to those of us that will be considered the key demographic that this game is being designed for. That’s why Splash is going down what seems like such a radically unconventional road.

(tokamak) #122

I don’t think all 12 of us are SD’s key demographic. I also don’t really see why commitment and loyalty alone should gain you privileges. If you’re committed and loyal then you could express that through the one thing that keeps the company in business: Money.

(Bloodbite) #123

I meant everyone in the DB forum, not just the alpha.

You make it sound like supporting the game should be a form of voluntary taxation. Splash is in business to basically give us a product we want to play for more than one or two months… there’s nothing wrong with simplifying that sentiment to “they’re here to give us what we want.”

And many in this crowd have a constructive perspective on what we want from the mechanics in this game.

If you’re really keen to throw your money at Splash, gift some founders packs to your friends.

(stealth6) #124

What was wrong with Tribes: ascend?

It’s a tough grind to buy new weapons if you don’t pay any money, but it’s still possible. I spent 15 or 25 euros on the game (starter pack) and that gave me a XP booster so it’s easier to get more XP, some ingame credits and lots of basic weapons. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

(tokamak) #125

Nothing is wrong with grinding and offering ways to speed it up is the bread and butter of any F2P game to stay afloat. But next to that there are also multiple other ways to make spending money more appealing.

“They’re here to give us what we want to pay for” is the right sentiment. SD is NOT charity nor should it have to rely on the generosity of the gamers.

(Runeforce) #126

Oh damn, you mean my money will not go towards fighting hungry african children and the exploitation of sexual minor slaves in taiwan? Bummer…

(tokamak) #127

Very nice article. HAWKEN and WoT really are the games to watch when it comes to F2P marketing

“Core free to play is not going to be about convenience or about buying your way out of inconvenience,” Long states. “It’s going to be about things like customisation and about choice. Being able to customise your character however you want, to show your affiliation in-game with things that are important to you, be that the sports team that you’re into, or the university you go to or even just a skull and crossbones. It’s going to be not just a game but a lifestyle; a destination on a Friday night for me and my friends.”

(SockDog) #128

Stopped playing WoT because after several hours of grinding to get enough currency to buy a bigger tank I then just got dumped into a new bracket that again put me at a disadvantage. Sure there are levels of customisation in the game too but I’m not interested in grinding up levels to unlock just to play on an even level nor will I pay to bypass that stuff.

(tokamak) #129

The matchmaking system is really good (due to the amount of people playing mostly). The diversity in tiers is a plus rather than a flaw. If you’re a weaker tank then that means you need to make sure you’re holding up your part as well as possible, however insignificant that may seem, because the other team is brining weaker tanks as well. There are enough things you need to do in that game that don’t involve brute force.

(iwound) #130

[QUOTE=Locki;411312]Last night we had an interesting chat in #giefalpha about DB, and the world thinking it’s probably free-to-play.

Around a year ago, just before we started work on Dirty Bomb, Anti and I put some effort in to defining our core philosophy on making a brand-new dedicated PC shooter. For those of you that don’t know, Anti was once a top Tribes player, then joined us as a Production Tester on ETQW, was Associate Producer for three years, and is now Designer on Dirty Bomb.

We believe competitive multiplayer team-play is more thrilling than single-player. We believe in fulfilling players by advancing their actual skill. We believe in long-term player engagement, developing games that are played for months and years. We believe in competitive games as a service, and we’re dedicated to the perfection of team-play.

We have a decade of critically acclaimed multiplayer releases and commercial successes, but we must learn from our big mistakes too. We have titles that were played for years, and some with player bases that decayed in months. We’ve demonstrated our dedication to multiplayer team-play, and proven our focus on engaging our fans, but not every title was the perfect team game. We have achieved a loyal, influential and engaged fan base, and they’re not afraid to tell us what they think, and we’re committed to do better, for them. For Dirty Bomb on PC, we have complete control: we’re the financier, developer, publisher, distributor, and retailer.

Dirty Bomb must provide a balanced playing field and a fair contest, challenging players, against or alongside real people. Players should only succeed as an individual, group of friends, or team, by competing in battles where skill and tactics alone determine the winners. Players should always understand why they won or lost, or by being part of a social community that shares knowledge, continually learn from other player’s skills, and achieve status and recognition for their own credible successes and contributions.

Players who join the alpha will have a voice, help sculpt what the game becomes, and ensure our focus on areas important to them. We believe players should not have to pay to gain access to our Alpha. They’ll be able to sign up for FREE, and we’ll invite them as we gain capacity. The idea is that money will never buy a gameplay advantage in Dirty Bomb, and there will be no Pay-to-Win mechanics. We’ll ensure core classes, maps, and clan support will always be well-balanced, and free.

Dirty Bomb is not a traditional free-to-play/pay-to-win game. We believe the core game should be free, including all necessary character classes and maps, clan support and basic tournament play. Everything gameplay affecting must be unlockable without paying money. Anything unlockable must be balanced equally against what’s freely available. Money cannot buy a gameplay advantage.

Instead, we’re launching a Founders Club for fans wanting early access, cool swag, and public recognition for their support. On release, and perhaps beforehand, players may be able to buy additional new characters that perform core classes, but with additional weapons and abilities. These will add fun, and be different, but not be more powerful. A suite of free and chargeable additional game services will also be available. We’ll go in to more detail on these later, but they’re awesome.

What do you think?[/QUOTE]

just bumping this for any people arrived recently. also in this speech http://www.splashdamage.com/blog/1015/splash-damage-2013-message-paul-wedgwood Paul mentions…

We’re working on the next video now, our vision for Dirty Bomb.
. my agent mentioned nothing strange. Looking forward to that even if Im not in it. :smiley:

(Seiniyta) #131

I think what would work quite well, (although it has the potential to make the battlefield look a a little bit um…odd) are things like alternative projectile effects/gun effect. Decals and such. An example how I could see it:

  • Go to ingame store -> Class -> Soldier - Weapons -> General -> Particle effects -> Flowery mess gib pack [Makes enemies you gib explode in flowery bits and pieces]

                                                                                   -> Rocket Launcher -> weapon/ammo skins -> Ammo -> Menacing Tapir [The rocket has now a skin of a menacing Tapir]


                                            -> medic ->                                                        -> Sounds -> German voice [Cheesy W:ET style]
(SockDog) #132

Wonder what the legality is on having a game rated 15 and then releasing 18 rated content via DLC. I think a Blood &Gibs pack would be an instant buy for me.

(iwound) #133

…

(RasteRayzeR) #134

Wow, this thread is way too long to read it completely, I gave up after the 4th page ^^

Before I heard of DB, I was playing (and I’am still playing) Planet Side 2 which is completely free and proposes an interesting business model : all money can buy is customization or weapons, but only XP can unlock attachements to weapons and useful stuff … Yet everything is unlockable with experience points, just takes a bit longer.

I believe SD guys should take a sneak peak at Planet Side 2, if they haven’t already done it, because it is a nice basis for fair and balanced F2P games.

(RasteRayzeR) #135

Yeah, SD games never appeared violent to me since there was only cartoon-like blood to be afraid of ^^ I started playing W:ET when I was 15, pure fun.

I sometimes think that a sniper shot on a strogg would have been funnier if the head actually went out (they see the head rollin’, they hatin’). Blood pack could be fun and with DB I believe the way to go is to keep it not too serious, keep the fun we all had in W:ET and all the laughters.

And btw thank you SD, you gave me so much fun with both Enemy Territory games, it’s forever my references as a gamer. :slight_smile:

(tokamak) #136

Gibs are juvenile. I think the rag-dolls are fun enough though I would like to see them have some more punch in their deaths (even if it complicates reviving a bit). Right now they’re too realistic in sinking to the floor.

(SockDog) #137

But playing let’s pretend dress up is the pinnacle of maturity.

And wait a minute, wasn’t the majority opinion that ragdolls were stupid looking, unnecessary and impossible to put into a game from SD when we discussed this back during Brink’s development. Now they’re fine but need to be exaggerated to look unrealistic even at the consequence of causing revive problems, and that isn’t being juvenile.

(mortis) #138

If people want to pay for gibs, why not? I won’t be paying for them though. I don’t need exploding heads to enjoy a game. UT has lots of gibs but that is not what I enjoyed about the game, it was the nice balance and fast gameplay. $5-10 for a voluntary gibs pack for those who love gore…why not? Just don’t make it mandatory, and then everyone is happy.

(Ashog) #139

I like gibs, but I am afraid this game has no place for them with no rocket launchers, and making gibs only for airstrike deaths is a waste of resouce.

I also find ragdolls unnecessary and silly, not to mention their traditional bugginess. What i’d prefer is better death animations and more various death sounds/screams. ETQW was pretty good in screams, but even more various ones would be greater!