Kelly's Heroes

You're right. I forgot how evil babies can be. Those goos and gaaaws are all an act. They are slyly plotting behind the scenes. . . just biding their time. . . Sorry about you being laid off. At least now you can enjoy your new computer It's their loss anyway. . . If you look at screenshots of SC2 and even Matrix's WaW, you'll notice that the maps are not that cutting edge. Especially, when you compare the terrain to games like CivII and AoE. The only reason that they would be more graphic intensive would be because they are perhaps moving to 32 bit or even 64 bit resolution. Doing this (in my mind at least), doesn't really seem to have improved the look of the maps or the game. It jacks up the computer requirements exponentially, without adding much in the way of eye candy. Any way you look at it, it will require mega computing power to run. . . [ April 17, 2004, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: Kelly's Heroes ]

JerseyJohn: Heheh Glad you and others had a good laugh. I thought that thread needed a little levity. It was starting to get a bit heavy. A thread is locked because of baby pics? The most innocent of God's creation? Personally, I expected that thread to get locked long before I posted those baby pics. I think they were just an excuse to lock it. Any who, it was worth it to give my fellow wargamers a hearty chuckle Thanks for the link. I'll have to pay a visit and see what's happening. As to system specs: If we are looking at very high system requirements, then SC2 will only be playable on the most cutting-edge computer. This will mean either a major upgrade or a new computer altogether. Yet, from the screenshots of SC2, it really doesn't look that graphic intensive a game. Compare screenshots between the maps of SC2 and CivII and they look very similar. Even maps in Civ II which were 256x256 in size would run on a simple Pentium computer. Cheers! [ April 17, 2004, 11:58 AM: Message edited by: Kelly's Heroes ]

I fully agree Les. It's bad enough that Matrix's WaW (a turn-based game) will require a 128MB graphics card and 512 MB of RAM. These are system requirements, BTW, that not even the most graphic intensive 3D First Person Shooter, requires a person to have, in order to play :eek: But I find it interesting that no one from Battlefront has commented on the system requirements for SC2. If SC2 is aimed just at wargamers (via online only availability), then with sky-high system specs for SC2 (which this seems to indicate), they will lose a lot of their customers, because few people (especially wargamers) will spend hundreds of dollars on a computer upgrade just to play one game. Wargamers are a vocal bunch. I also expect that Battlefront will lock this thread too [ April 17, 2004, 11:28 AM: Message edited by: Kelly's Heroes ]

And to my college professor:

And to my current accounting whiz, Bosco:

I owe it all to my current team of legal advisors:

Those system specs keep climbing. . . Matrix's WaW (which is turn-based mind you) will require a 128MB video card and 512MB of RAM. . . :eek: So we may have to do some computer upgrading as well. . . </font>

And. . . The L'il Gaffer says: "I don't have to pay a penny. . ."

Those system specs keep climbing. . . Matrix's WaW (which is turn-based mind you) will require a 128MB video card and 512MB of RAM. . . :eek: So we may have to do some computer upgrading as well. . .

Anyone want to hazard a guess? :confused: Or do I need to break Enigma to find out?

Then why are you trying to burst my perfectly formed, perfectly coloured, and perfectly aerodynamic bubble? Heheheh. . .

I hate to burst your bubble but Matrix announced a while back that they are going to online sales only. No more retail stores for them. </font>

Originally posted by Blashy: More than that have criticized it. And those are the vocal ones. Plenty of lurkers feel the same way. Personally, I like the look - it has popular appeal. Sorry. Only $12?? What calculator are you using? Heheh. . . Shipping to Canada alone is $8.00 US. That works out to be $12.00 Canadian. And we still haven't figured in the exchange rate for the game (usually 45% more). It is mucho Dinaro, my friend. . . Maybe from your experience. But consumer studies have repeatedly shown that THE VAST NUMBER OF CONSUMERS DO NOT BUY ONLINE. The best time is one month before Christmas. Those who buy on online would probably do so anyway. Whereas the sales at retail is PROFIT THEY WOULD NOT HAVE GOTTEN OTHERWISE. This does not include the extra word of mouth, and other games these customers might buy from Battlefront. Retail offers spin-off effects. . . This sounds fine. However, SC2 is being made readily available for European customers at the end of this year. No online sales for them. . . People on this forum already know about the game. At retail, you are reaching gamers that you would not otherwise reach. So that $2.00 is a profit because those buyers would not have bought the game online. Like me. Why not make the game available in Canada via Military Hobbies? It uses mail order. Make it convenient for the customer. I realize this is a radical idea, but it might just work And round and round we go. . . [ April 16, 2004, 03:18 PM: Message edited by: Kelly's Heroes ]

As I have mentioned, Hubert made SC2 to reach a wider audience. How do you do that? Exposure. . . While per game returns at retail won't be as high, the sheer volume of sales will help off-set that. This game has potential for wide appeal. But more importantly, at some retail locations you are making it easy for the consumer to buy it. The vast majority of people still will NOT buy products online. Many products are sold via impulse buying. But more importantly: When someone buys SC2 via retail, they are then made aware of OTHER PRODUCTS Battlefront makes. So that consumer may then buy other computer wargames published by Battlefront. For example: I bought SC at retail. With the money I saved (not buying online), I then bought Combat Mission. I was made aware of this forum, and well. . . here I am. . . So: TWO games bought at retail vs NO games bought online. I then spread word about the games via word of mouth. What does this tell you?? I would not recommend this approach for any other type of wargame, except for SC2 and perhaps for Matrix's WaW. The real paradox is this: with SC2 remaining an online only game, means it is being targeted to wargmers; the same guys who are criticizing it for looking too mainstream. Yet, looking mainstream is what was intended, so it could reach a wider audience. But being available only online, means. . . It's good to know about customs. However, the shipping and exchange rate will still double the price of the game for us Canucks. We need the game to be available via a local distributor such as Military Hobbies. This is not rocket science. . . Cheers!

Exel: Off-topic? Well, I guess we're still talking about wargames - heh I see that Stafire is still in development - it looks like it still has a ways to go. I agree that some events in CORE seem misplaced. Still, with 1,600 events, it still seems like the mod to choose. The only thing it needs is for someone to go through the events and trim out some of the extraneous ones. Cheers!

I would recommend the Starfire mod instead. It puts the emphasis on historical accuracy and reworks the combat system in a truly outstanding way! :eek: CORE is a big ahistorical mess... [/offtopic] </font>

I like this approach. It sounds reasonable without being highly unpredictable. Cheers!

In fact I would take SC2 to the next logical level: Turn it into a board game and make it available at the retail level in stores like Walmart and Toys R Us. I think it would compete nicely with other board games such as Axis and Allies. Cheers!

Heheh. . . Towards the end of November and throughout all of December, visit any EB and/or computer software section of Walmart, and you will have all your consumer sales questions answered. Literally everything is sold off the shelves. The hot ticket is video games. Example: Two brothers (aged 16 and 18) go into Walmart with their parents in December. The two brothers have played Axis and Allies for a couple of years. The older brother spots the cover art of SC2. Hmmm, it looks very similar to wargames they have already played. Cool box. Cool art. The younger brother becomes interested. The two brothers hint around to their parents that they would like this game for Christmas. Bingo! Another sale of SC2. Later, the two brothers spread the word among all their friends about this great new strategic wargame - it's like Axis and Allies, but cooler. . . And so on, and so on, and so on. . . The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of sales is still done at the retail level. Between 60% to 75% of ALL shoppers still have concerns about shopping online. Those two brothers who bought SC2 would never have bought the game online, since neither knew about Battlefront nor owned a credit card. Cheers!

Not really. We still do not know what will, or will not, be hard-coded into the game. This thread raises issues that may be important while SC2 is still in development. Cheers!

Research can be highly unpredictable. Atomic Bomb Research: Both the Germans and Japanese spent millions, but often went down the wrong road. The USA was "lucky" to get the uranium oxide from U-234 in May, 1945 as well as being able to use the scientists that Hitler booted out of Germany in 1939. . . Cheers!

Here's a little marketing research to show how important Christmas shopping is to retailers. The importance of Christmas sales to retailers and manufacturers is no secret -- for some retailers, holiday sales can contribute as much as 40% of their profits. http://www.marketresearch.com/map/prod/952795.html As most people would expect, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show shopping peaks in December. Last year retail spending increased in December compared to November, and was up by 27% overall. The largest increases occurred in department stores (up 77%), in clothing and soft goods retailing (up 47%), and in recreational goods retailing (up 35%). http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/19b46935e2dc13beca256b2c00004b40?OpenDocument

I agree with Exel, Les and many others in this thread: War is hell and unpredictable. If a person wants to have an "all knowing" game, with perfectly timed moves, then they should play chess. I am all for random research; new tech upgrades should only apply to NEW units being built; upgrades applied to existing units should cost MPPs; attachments such as arty improvements should cost MPPs; etc, etc. . . Just think, if the Americans had not known about the Japanese moves, then Midway might have turned out differently. Sometimes war can be an unpredictable mistress. . . Cheers!

Heheh. . . I won't be sitting around waiting for the retail version. I not only have lots of great games to play, but there are many wargames that are going to be released this year by Matrix, that will appear at retail or through their distributors, and which I will be buying. Combat Mission is a wargamer's wargame. And it has done well among wargamers. SC2 is intended to reach a wider audience. Cheers!

True, but on the other hand the game might reach a larger audience by retail sales, and thus the overall profit might just become bigger than by safe but limited direct online sales. Paradox is another small publisher, and it has taken the retail route and done remarkably well considering the rather niche target group of their games. Direct sales may produce more prefit per copy, but they wont attract potential buyers beyond those who are already aware of Battlefront.com or read quality gaming mags / sites. Retail sales can reach those all-important "random" buyers. </font>