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[alexm]

Thanks guys, reading your comments just made my day I'm blown away by your interest and support.

Re: sandboxyness - it'll be sandboxy if it's anything. What that means to me is a world that you can change in meaningful/interesting ways, and it's the main reason for having the strategic level of gameplay.

[SeaBee]

I'm not artistic, but here's some "fan art" built at wordle using the feature page of the Starfarer website. Can't wait to see some of the great Let's Plays this game will generate with such a promising sandbox to play in.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Lethal Dosage]

Woa nice ... poster you got there 

[Firgof Umbra]

Alexm:  Nice prototype you've got there.  Hope you get the warm welcome to the indie scene we got when we debuted back in August.

[alexm]

I'm not artistic, but here's some "fan art" built at wordle using the feature page of the Starfarer website. Can't wait to see some of the great Let's Plays this game will generate with such a promising sandbox to play in.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Neat. I think I know exactly where every word on there came from.

Alexm:  Nice prototype you've got there.  Hope you get the warm welcome to the indie scene we got when we debuted back in August.

Thanks Firgof! Looks like you guys are doing quite well, I can only hope for similar levels of success. Any tips?

[Firgof Umbra]

Keep your promises, dream big, and take advantage of the internet's unique properties.  Forums are awesome to advertise on just as long as you make it more about 'chat with a developer about a game you're making' and less 'here's this game we're making go buy it'.  I like to have conversations with people on game balance, technical stuffs, and so on.

Review copies: Send them out.  Don't be shy to send them to bigger names.  Definitely send them to sites that welcome and cover indie gaming (Rock Paper Shotgun, Destructoid, etc.)

Don't compromise easily when it comes to distributors.  They want your game; it's your job to negotiate what rate you're willing to accept and its their job to both keep you happy and negotiate down to the lowest acceptable ratio.

Your pricetag is not just your game's price, it's a statement.  Those numbers will tell your customer a lot about your game before they even begin to read its features and can turn what otherwise would have been interested customers away.

Finally, to tie in with the above point:  Do not overprice your game.  But also don't underprice it.  What's the ideal range of prices?  It takes a lot of discussion and thought to figure it out.  Look critically at the time you invested, your current budget, and what your art looks like compared to other titles in the genre.  Then, it is just as important to look critically at the other prices for games in your genre and decide where you want to be on the totem pole.  It's one of those 'hits you at the last moment' things so it's best to get it out of the way when you're past your beta stage and on your way to release.  Setting a tentative price and seeing how your community reacts is also invaluable information.

PS:  Do not skimp on the part of the game that brings a player into your game world.  A good tutorial will save you many questions from frustrated players.  Do not spoon feed.  Do not overload.  Set a gentle pace and cover broad topics.  The ideal tutorial takes about 2-10 minutes to complete, depending on your game's complexity.  Only take more time if your player would otherwise be confused or if you will not be producing an in-game manual/encyclopedia/tooltipseverywhere.

[alexm]

Thanks for sharing, lots to chew on. Tutorials seem like both something critical to get right, and also difficult to...

Keep your promises

Guess the alpha better come out in April like I said a few posts ago, then

[Lethal Dosage]

Indeed, or else you and a good number of the people who posted here will be very sad, like you said a few posts ago 

[SeaBee]

Haha, no pressure or anything ... or IS THERE!? 

[Desdichado]

Thanks for popping in and discussing the game with us, alexm. Everything you've said here has really encouraged me to buy. Never would have heard of this game if it wasn't for this thread.

DF Other Games is my haunt for reasons like this. I haven't played DF in nearly a year now, but DF players think like me when they search for other games.

Alex, will ships flee battle at some point? I'd hope the AI nurses and commits its resources more carefully once the strategic layer is hooked up to the tactical, rather than a constant spamfest. In most wars, there are only a half dozen large fleet actions: Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Leyte Gulf... the rest is build-up, maneuvering, and skirmishing.

[creodor]

The more that comes out, the more I want to play this game

Having the AI strategically withdraw would be interesting, especially if them withdrawing now means the next encounter is even harder (to a point, since eventually they'll run out ships to run back to). Or at least harder than it would be if you just obliterated the fleet.

[de5me7]

sage advice from Firgof Umbra

as a consumer price does have an impact on my buying decision in several ways. I felt that Star Ruler (its £16 i think, i was when i bought it) was a very fair price for its quantity of content.

other space games;

Gratutious Space battles: if you dont get it in a sale and with all the addons its over £25, but doesnt match the same quality as an A list game - over priced

Distant worlds: has come down abit i think, now about £22, slightly over priced but not too bad, as it has alot of content, visually its along way off games in a similar price band though.

AI war: i Havnt bought yet as im not sure its worth the price, i had mixed impressions after the demo, is about £25 with all expansions. (i have an obsession in getting the expansions with the game if they exist).

Flotialla: i bought this in a sale for £3, i think its worth slightly more than this, £6 would have been fair imo, as its good short game but doesnt have enough content to push through to £10.

in my view £1-8 is a mini game that will last a about 5-30mins per play, and i may replay upto ten times if its good. £8-18 is what id expect to pay for an indie. The higher the amount, the more content and greater replayability. £18+ means this game is competeting with niche A lister games such as paradox and stardock, £25 or more and your competeiing with Valve, or any other major developer and you must meet similar levels of quality imo. Its worth saying i never pay more than about £25 for a game, i usualy wait for A listers to drop in price.

Just from browsing images/videos and reading blerb starfarer looks to me like something id expect to pay more than £12 for but would have to be convinced to pay over £20. A demo will either convince me, or unconvince me, i might buy at £12-15 with out a demo, much over this and its less likley.

[creodor]

AI war: i Havnt bought yet as im not sure its worth the price, i had mixed impressions after the demo, is about £25 with all expansions. (i have an obsession in getting the expansions with the game if they exist).

Given the price of AI War and all expansions, it's worth it to me, IF you know people to play it with. Graphically it's nothing astounding, but that's not really the concern. The AI is brutal and scary, and keeps surprising. But you do need people to play it with. It's not the same game solo.

[Sinned]

Keep it up Alexm, thanks for keeping us up to date.

Sorry if this has already been asked, this thread is growing pretty quickly,

The smaller fighter/bomber class vessels (or any actually), will it be possible to automate their behavior somewhat? Maybe just an order of what their order of targeting is? Say a squad of interceptors put on guard and has a  preference of attacking bombers or other fighter craft first? This mostly if the game grows of course, so the player can concentrate controlling their larger spacecraft in major confrontations.

[Journier]

Im personally interested in this game, reminds me of that one game that one company made, that was a text based RPG in space with a very well thought out storyline.

of course ive entirely forgotten the name of the game, but it was decent, and i played the hell out of it.

super nova?

nova?

something like that. Good game, until you found out you could get the best ships by running a trade route in the very first starting system and making all the credits you ever needed.