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[raptorfangamer]

Glad I stumbled upon this

I love sandbox projects like this
I can see people on the forums Playing this, with the storytelling potential DF already had.

[Tellemurius]

Is it possible for settlement management? like basically a questline to buildup a settlement collecting resources and watch the npcs do work. or am i spitting out insane words again?

[Fikes]

Is it possible for settlement management? like basically a questline to buildup a settlement collecting resources and watch the npcs do work. or am i spitting out insane words again?

This would be my number 1 request as well. It would be cool to see people go through your Island and gather resources to build the island up. It would be fun to see something you created in god mode morph through player input.

Good luck with your project.

[Nyhm]

Glad I stumbled upon this

I love sandbox projects like this
I can see people on the forums Playing this, with the storytelling potential DF already had.

Thanks raptorfangamer, storytelling is certainly a prime feature, and I'm looking forward to seeing more islands with interesting quests. There are some really good stories there already. You can actually do quite a bit of involved plot development with the editor provided. Or, you can create simple linear dialogue just to add atmosphere. Island building is half the fun.

Is it possible for settlement management? like basically a questline to buildup a settlement collecting resources and watch the npcs do work. or am i spitting out insane words again?

This would be my number 1 request as well. It would be cool to see people go through your Island and gather resources to build the island up. It would be fun to see something you created in god mode morph through player input.

Good luck with your project.

Tellemurius and Fikes, I understand exactly what you're asking for. I have thought about this, too, and even have a number of game design notes on this topic. However, from a pragmatic standpoint, I must be conservative adding major new features, and this feature is not planned for the initial release. Nonetheless, it's very useful to hear what features you'd like, and I agree that this would be a great enhancement for an expansion.

I'm really excited by the response here! This is a great community. Thanks for your continuing input.

[Intrinsic]

Is it possible for settlement management? like basically a questline to buildup a settlement collecting resources and watch the npcs do work. or am i spitting out insane words again?

This would be my number 1 request as well. It would be cool to see people go through your Island and gather resources to build the island up. It would be fun to see something you created in god mode morph through player input.

Good luck with your project.

Ditto.

It's fascinating(at least to me ;p ) to see how AI or people react to stuff. Even going back to when The Settlers was originally released in the early 90s i used to load the game up, not even play but just watch the AI live and grow it's area. I do the same with OpenTTD too.


On your payment model you gotta be careful not to scare people off. F2P is great to draw people in as they'll see it as having no strings attached, and in the long term you'll be far better off financially through micro transactions. So say when you join it as F2P you get a certain amount of "Action Points" with which you can setup your island, ie setup quests/build stuff/whatever else. If they want to build more stuff but run out of points then they'd say pay $1/£1 per 100 Action Points. Maybe for the 1st week or two of play doing whatever they wanted todo to try it out would cost zero AP.

That doesn't exclude a subscription model either, if you subscribed you could get xxxx amount of APs per week, and if you needed a top up of AP it'd cost them half what a non paying customer would pay to buy extra APs, so it gives you extra lil bonus's like that for those that commit to your game.

Maybe you can charge $5-$10 per extra island that someone wants, i see it as being like in other online games where you buy yourself an extra character slot to play with. Or if subscribed maybe every 3 months of continuous subscription would give them an extra free island as a reward.

Cosmetic packs, people love this sort of stuff. It doesn't make you more powerful in anyway, it just allows you to personalize your experience. Want your island to be a desert and your town/quest area an oasis, no problem! Or A volcanic region, or a high fantasty area, you get the idea, endless possibilities. Priced at impulse buy prices, say $3/£3 or varied depending on the amount of customisation provided.

[ashton1993]

Is it possible for settlement management? like basically a questline to buildup a settlement collecting resources and watch the npcs do work. or am i spitting out insane words again?

This would be my number 1 request as well. It would be cool to see people go through your Island and gather resources to build the island up. It would be fun to see something you created in god mode morph through player input.

Good luck with your project.

Ditto.

It's fascinating(at least to me ;p ) to see how AI or people react to stuff. Even going back to when The Settlers was originally released in the early 90s i used to load the game up, not even play but just watch the AI live and grow it's area. I do the same with OpenTTD too.


On your payment model you gotta be careful not to scare people off. F2P is great to draw people in as they'll see it as having no strings attached, and in the long term you'll be far better off financially through micro transactions. So say when you join it as F2P you get a certain amount of "Action Points" with which you can setup your island, ie setup quests/build stuff/whatever else. If they want to build more stuff but run out of points then they'd say pay $1/£1 per 100 Action Points. Maybe for the 1st week or two of play doing whatever they wanted todo to try it out would cost zero AP.

That doesn't exclude a subscription model either, if you subscribed you could get xxxx amount of APs per week, and if you needed a top up of AP it'd cost them half what a non paying customer would pay to buy extra APs, so it gives you extra lil bonus's like that for those that commit to your game.

Maybe you can charge $5-$10 per extra island that someone wants, i see it as being like in other online games where you buy yourself an extra character slot to play with. Or if subscribed maybe every 3 months of continuous subscription would give them an extra free island as a reward.

Cosmetic packs, people love this sort of stuff. It doesn't make you more powerful in anyway, it just allows you to personalize your experience. Want your island to be a desert and your town/quest area an oasis, no problem! Or A volcanic region, or a high fantasty area, you get the idea, endless possibilities. Priced at impulse buy prices, say $3/£3 or varied depending on the amount of customisation provided.

Maybe it's just me but that sounds like an absolutely terrible idea, limiting people's creative freedom based on how much money they're willing to invest into the game, all that would do is promote elitism and sour relationships between players and the developer, also what if you make something and don't like it as many people are prone to do, what your suggesting is buying a city building game and every time you place a single building it costs you a 'lil bit of real money.

If you want to sell additional stuff I'd advise doing larger packs of content to make the players happy, listen for the features they want and cater to your audience, a business model similar to AB Mojang's would be more appropriate in my opinion.

[Nyhm]

intrinsic, I think your micro payment model is entirely valid (and is a viable way to monetize many games these days), but philosophically I agree with ashton1993's comment. I'd rather not curb creativity or create tiers of players. Thank you both for your input - it's good to have several opinions.

(Regarding Fikes' comment on AI - I can tell we're on the same wavelength here, because I also find that sort of thing fascinating. I've written down several thoughts in that direction, but ultimately, it just doesn't fit into this game. Instead of trying to do everything I've ever wanted to do, I must focus on what is core to Island Forge. That said, if I get enough player support (that is, subscribers), I'd love to make a game along those lines.)

Thanks again for these great discussions.

[Svarte Troner]

Looks like a really interesting game, but I can't remember the last time I've played a game with a subscription payment and I'm usually very wary about DLC for some reason. I don't know how much money donations would net you, but If you must charge for your game, then by all means please do, just count me out. Not to sound like a stingy bastard or anything 

[Nyhm]

Looks like a really interesting game, but I can't remember the last time I've played a game with a subscription payment and I'm usually very wary about DLC for some reason. I don't know how much money donations would net you, but If you must charge for your game, then by all means please do, just count me out. Not to sound like a stingy bastard or anything 

I appreciate you providing your viewpoint on that, and I know where you're coming from. The reality is that we're a small independent operation, and really need the support of the community. The most simple/stable way for this type of game is a subscription model.

Ultimately, I'm hoping to cultivate a community of players who appreciate a creative, engaging experience. Island Forge is certainly a niche market game, but I feel there are enough potential players out there (it's the sort of game I'd like to play).

I think independent games can thrive, even with the market flooded with corporate-backed "free" to play games (not that there's anything wrong with corporate backing, just that it's a different marketing approach). Any thoughts on this from the bay12 community? How well do indie games fare under a donation model?

[Aklyon]

How well do indie games fare under a donation model?

According to the January '12 Report formerly at the top of the forums, and the Feb one added to that, for DF, it looks somewhat like this:

January:   $3689.27
December:  $5468.33
November:  $3199.46
October:   $2503.28
September: $2793.95
August:    $4818.25
July:      $6615.67
June:      $2374.03
May:       $3010.58
April:     $3018.42
March:     $4220.20
February:  $2113.11
January:   $2158.91


2011:     $42294.19
2010:     $54501.15
2009:     $32516.44
2008:     $32318.46
2007:     $19052.28

[Levi]

top of the forums, and the Feb one added to that, for DF, it looks somewhat like this:

To be fair though, I doubt there are any other games that fund themselves quite so well using the donation model.  DF is kind of a unique case.

[Aklyon]

True.

[ashton1993]

Advertisements might be something to consider too, especially if it's in a browser, whilst unless your extremely successful donations probably won't provide much used in conjunction with a few other methods that don't charge the consumer you might be on to something, if you establish a theme to the game as you should anyway to make it memorable you'll later have the option of things like figurines and shirts too.

[Nyhm]

The DF numbers are rather remarkable! This is a really thriving community, and it's inspiring to see. I appreciate the openness and helpfulness.

This is just a thought, but what if (during beta), I offer an _optional_ subscription. That would allow me to test the waters. I've been considering this, and I've seen other games do similar. Any thoughts on this type of approach? Sort-of a hybrid between donation and subscription.

Advertisements might be something to consider too, especially if it's in a browser, whilst unless your extremely successful donations probably won't provide much used in conjunction with a few other methods that don't charge the consumer you might be on to something, if you establish a theme to the game as you should anyway to make it memorable you'll later have the option of things like figurines and shirts too.

I've tinkered with advertisements, but Island Forge is not a browser-based game, so it doesn't tend to be worthwhile. Merchandising is a fine point, and I've thought about it, but I think that's still over the horizon at this point.

[Shadowgandor]

What I'd like is a system similar to Puzzle Pirates and City of Heroes, which is basically allowing the player to pay a monthly fee in order to gain access to all content. Or to allow the player to buy certain things for permanent use. I love that system because it offers the customer a lot of freedom ^^