wujiabin Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 hello BF, do you think put CMx2 on Steam platform? in fact I hope put game on this platform 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sublime Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 I dont. The current system works fine. Steam is sort of intrusive. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Clarke Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 The guys over at Slitherine (Panzer Corps) put this post together to answer that very same question: http://www.slitherine.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=121&t=42269&hilit=steam It's a very interesting read, well thought-out decisions explaining why Steam would not be a good platform for the niche market of wargames. I imagine the same thought process influenced Battlefront's decision as well. Well worth the read. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetchez la Vache Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Importantly though, we do have some firsthand knowledge of the Distribution business, but this is a very different business model from our own. Apart from Steam and making some sweeping generalisations most Distribution Companies will grab just about any title that comes their way, irrespective of who else is selling it. Developers provide the games as finished articles, ready for sale. For Distributors it’s then all about maximizing the size of the store by ramming in as many diverse genres and types of game as you can. It’s very much about grabbing market share and generally this is done by discounted sales promotions of one sort or another to attract customers into their stores, why else would you choose their particular point of sale to buy a game you can pick up anywhere. In this model it matters little which products sell and which don’t so long as you have enough of them to maintain sales levels. For Developers this can work for the right sort of product, generally where the game has mass market appeal, as here the more points of sale the better and the price is less important than the volume of sales in achieving sustainable revenue. In more specialist games however we believe that this model reverses. Hmmm. I read this as "We price our niche games at a premium and thus won't do well when punters can easily compare our prices with other games". Yes/no? If so, then it's an argument I have some sympathy with. However I would have thought the opportunity to showcase the product to a potentially wider audience would always be nice? No such thing as bad press and all that... The other argument I think I see them putting forward is that Steam might curtail the development cycle. Without fully understanding the exact contract mechanics behind Steam's business model, I frankly don't see how this holds water. There are quite a few Indie games on Steam that are still early on their development cycles and people will still buy into them. Heck, I think even Minecraft is still being "developed" per se? All in all I don't think Slitherine have set out an convincing argument on why they don't use Steam. I suspect there's another motive behind this. Maybe for a very good reason that simply can't be aired in public without running the risk of lawyers being involved. Personally I think CM would benefit from being on Steam in order to maximise the potential market. Am I missing something? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted June 24, 2013 Share Posted June 24, 2013 Steve has talked about this before (check out his last post on this thread): http://www.battlefront.com/community/archive/index.php/t-105273.html Seems like they have good reasons for the choices they have made and are open to try new things if they think that will be helpful. And earlier he had other interesting things to day: https://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?p=1203836#post1203836 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paper Tiger Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Steam is great for some games but I'm not sure that hardcore wargames like this would do so well there. AGEOD didn't fare so well with their experiment with Steam. Fortunately, they seemed to have survived the experience and hopefully will go on to make some great wargames. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepercell Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Sorry boys just gotta say it: F$^k steam 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetchez la Vache Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Why F$^k Steam? Ruddy useful for people like me with little/no local games distribution network... Pity my crappy bandwidth doesn't live up to it's advertising. I'm guessing two points about Steam: - You're not allowed to talk about contract details on pain of lawyer. :-p - Steam get to decide on the price the game is sold at? If so then 'premium' games with some sort of established gamer-base are going to have weigh up the potential gain in punters against the potential drop in price. If I'm right, then I understand why BF/Slitherine wouldn't be interested. I wouldn't either. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowMotion Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 I don't like the way Steam installs your game to C: drive. Current way where user can decide installation path is MUCH better. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Why F$^k Steam? Well, in the broad picture of the thing, Steam looks like it wants to become the sole and only way of distributing games. I don't trust their avowed "we're in it for the gamers" any more than I trust "don't be evil" (or whatever the precise Googleism was). In a technical sense, they exert too much control over installations; take HOI, for example: if you've bought the Steam version, you can't then get an expansion pack off GamersGate and update it; you have to buy the expansion off of Steam. Imagine how that will work with the patchwork of CM versions. Currently you've got, to take BN for the example: 1.0, 1.01, 1.10, 1.11, 2.0, 2.01 that are all valid versions of the game (some people might still be playing games in versions prior to 1.11 or 2.01, and not want to upgrade for fear of corrupting the denoument of their long term commitment). Steam isn't set up to deal with that kind of flexibility. Steam would like you to have to connect to Steam to play your games. I don't want their software running. Sure, that's not mandatory for the game maker, but it does seem to be the way games are going, and you bet games companies have Steam take a lesser cut if the distributor has a direct line to pipe ads and track user behaviour. Steam can be convenient, but it adds its own inconveniences, and (at the latest) when the founders get out of the game, someone else will take over, and even the most well-intentioned policies risk subversion. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG TOW Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Why Steam? Why not Gamersgate for that matter, where no intrusive software is always running on your computer. Is this an accessibility thing for downloading? Or is the OP thinking of larger exposure for BF. In any case downloads are quick and easy on BF so not sure of the motive or advantage. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetchez la Vache Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I don't like the way Steam installs your game to C: drive. Current way where user can decide installation path is MUCH better. I have a Mac. :-) I can understand wanting to have control over patches and not having to run it in the background. That annoys me as well. But for me it's still better than nothing... and I don't sense waves of evil emanating from the Steam logo. Yet. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 ...better than nothing... You do know that the alternative isn't "nothing"? If you can d/l from Steam, you can get it from Gamersgate, or direct from BFC... Steam is a convenience that some games producers have signed up to. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfhand Posted June 26, 2013 Share Posted June 26, 2013 I had a real bad experience with gamersgate, they locked me out from software I purchased because "moneybookers" said I might be committing fraud. The only way "moneybookers" would accept that I wasn't committing fraud was for me to reveal personal information that I am not comfortable with. My credit card representative opened up a conference call with "moneybookers" and assured them I was not fraudulently using my credit card and they still insisted I send them the personal information. Through all of this gamersgate said it was their policy to keep me locked out of the other software I purchased from them using paypal. My credit card representative asked me if I wanted a refund; there is an account paypal has that credit card companies can access. When I asked her what the grounds were for the refund she said fraud, i.e., I purchased something they were not delivering per the purchase agreement. I thought that was an interesting twist and took advantage of the offer... Needless to say, after all the hassle with gamersgate "customer service" I will never do business with them again. Sorry for the off topic rant... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetchez la Vache Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 Yes, I've had poor experience of Gamersgate too. I avoid them now. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
womble Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 To be clear, I was using "Gamersgate" as a shorthand for "any source of download". I'm no GG partisan. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfhand Posted June 28, 2013 Share Posted June 28, 2013 To be clear, I was using "Gamersgate" as a shorthand for "any source of download". I'm no GG partisan. I wasn't taking shots at you womble... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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