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[Knave]

And straight prerorders are out of the question? I know at least a few of us would be willing to open up our wallets.

[hemmingjay]

I am pretty set against pre-orders because I feel it is taking advantage of consumers. You are blindly paying for something, not knowing how it will turn out.  Besides, unless I can get 125 pre-orders without advertising, it would just be a waste. I will post a new build tonight. It's still very rough.

[Neonivek]

There is this odd trend happening... where people actually wait until they have a game before they kickstart it...

It is weird.

Another is where a company makes sure they have a few good games out before they try kickstarter... The ones who did Mage's Initiation, for example, did quite a few free games and one game before they did a kickstarter.

Why am I posting that here? Ehhh just so hemmingjay knows that some people are taking these lessons to heart.

[hemmingjay]

It's very nice to know that I am not alone in trying to bring these values back, or for the first time. I am hopeful that I can create a business model based on mutual respect, value without greed and a commitment providing entertainment without scamming, lying, abusing or stealing from gamers.

It might prove to be my downfall. Before I go, I am going to make some interesting games and I am going to make sure they are offered at a fair price and you will get to try it first. No stunts, no scams. I'm going to try to spread the word too and encourage other developers to adopt this mission statement. Maybe we can change the industry?

[bluwolfie]

It's very nice to know that I am not alone in trying to bring these values back, or for the first time. I am hopeful that I can create a business model based on mutual respect, value without greed and a commitment providing entertainment without scamming, lying, abusing or stealing from gamers.

It might prove to be my downfall. Before I go, I am going to make some interesting games and I am going to make sure they are offered at a fair price and you will get to try it first. No stunts, no scams. I'm going to try to spread the word too and encourage other developers to adopt this mission statement. Maybe we can change the industry?

I'm all for that. I think it's fair, especially when games like spore (Though I don't blame Will Wright for that, I blame EA. I get the feeling it was dumbed down quite a bit to appeal to a wider audience and rushed) get released.

[lordcooper]

The game currently is missing graphics for ports, most of the weapons, the general's faces and most of the vehicles. How much of that should be in place before I share the game with the media in your opinion?

One general, one of each weapons class, one port.  Stamp a great big PLACEHOLDER over them and any games writer worth their salt won't complain.

[MaximumZero]

Or just release what you do have and say, "We're working on the rest."

[hemmingjay]

Forum questions guys......and gals?

First off, is a forum important beyond the availability of Steam forums?

Second, how many of you use Forum Runner or a similar app to read forums on your mobile devices instead of just viewing within a website?

[Kaje]

It really depends on whether you'd like the forum to be solely Arms Dealer based, or a portal for you as a games developer - with sub-forums for other projects etc.

Staying on this site would clutter the thread somewhat, but it would be easier to maintain (and cheaper) and will also attract clicks from people you might not normally be able to entice to your forums. I would say stay as you are for now, and look to invest in a forum when you're close to release and/or picking up on the development of the sequel.

I haven't used Forum Runner, and don't know much about it at all. I tend to just view forums in Chrome for iOS.

[EuchreJack]

I agree with Kaje.  Having your own forum for your games would probably pay out in the long run.  Then again, many games don't have forums or active forums.

I'm rather partial to wikis myself.

[Zangi]

Steam forums will probably be the most active.  That alone will compete against your own forum for activity.  It probably could kill it before it even lives. 
Wherever else you hang, like B12... well there are only so many forums its people will stick around/check on.  Can't really expect them to become part of the core population. 
So yea, giving your own forum life and keeping it from being deserted is probably going to be a full time job itself.

EDIT: To clarify, don't expect life to spring up by itself.

Also, been watching this.  Will buy.

[lordcooper]

1. First off, is a forum important beyond the availability of Steam forums?

2. How many of you use Forum Runner or a similar app to read forums on your mobile devices instead of just viewing within a website?

1. Very important for the long haul.  Look at that name at the top left of your screen: Bay 12 Games Forum.  I couldn't even guess at how many people I've encountered throughout the web and various other games who have introduced themselves as a 'bay12er', and I'm sure more than a few have googled the studio from that alone.  The vast majority of these people will be keeping an eye on the studio and are highly likely to support any future projects of Tarn's (if there are any :p).  Without the forum they'd simply be folk who play Dwarf Fortress.

Don't get me wrong, Steam is where you'll get the majority of feedback and questions (if generally not of the highest quality) at the beginning, but every gamer who migrates from there to your forums is a gamer who'll definitely know about your future projects.  I'd suggest making the forum studio specific instead of game specific to avoid potentially splitting the community once you have one.

2. I just use the website.

[hemmingjay]

I have decided to launch a forum in the first week of September. I am going to bite the bullet and pay the cost for a good system and support. It's worth it for peace of mind.

The following was a response I made to a private message. I am repeating it here because I think it might be interesting to you all. Something that has long bothered me in grand strategy games is that so much is simulated that the actions of an individual can barely have a noticeable effect on the world and it ruins the GAMEPLAY for me. The SuperPower and Shadow President games suffered from this, Crusader Kings to a lesser degree.

"Thanks for all of the feedback! We have a lot of the AI already in the game, just not all turned on. We are about to bring in the abilities and the Most Wanted screen, AKA the levelling/RPG lite system of Arms Dealer. The thing about deep strategy games with such grand scale is that it can be hard to know if your actions had any impact on the world around you. To me, this is enemy number one for the game design. I need to counter that without making things into a cartoon. How do you become powerful but without becoming a character from Dragon Ball Z or The Transformers? I think the answer lies in giving the player the ability to clearly effect the entire world, but give him many good, natural reasons NOT to do so. We make it so that being sly and stealthy, leaving little impact on the world is the desired end state and then when it seems that little is happening, the player has a sense of achievement. If I am any good at what I do, it will be a real outcome and not a trick. "

[Kaje]

Superb, Hemmingjay!

[Knave]

Looking forward to being Nic Cage from Lord of War!