06.03.2013 - 20:14
So, i discovered this game some weeks ago on Kongregate and it was so much fun, the game design is really great and the interface is complex yet clean and intuitive, it was great to play on A Song of Ice and Fire maps or the scenarios provided, im in university (philosophy) so i have no job yet, and i have no international credit card, so i have no way to pay the premium, in the beginning that wasn´t a great problem, i sways could host some nice scenarios and have fun with it. The only problem i was seeing was the lack of a way to change my email without a password (i registered my acc on kong, so the process was automatic) and i do not receive turn warning, but that was ok, as long i checked once in a while my casual games, i could manage it. But of course, it all changed, i do not know when (i think it was on this week) the devs without any warning at all, changed the premium features and now im felling this game turned on some kind of over-limited demo, now i can´t: - Host private games with password. (so i can´t do training with friends) - Make a rank limitation on my game (so now any overpowered high-ranked player can destroy me with ease.) - Can´t host ANY map except World Map, and worse, even then i can´t host presets or scenarios, so i have to stick with standard world map. I personaly think thats a little over-limiting, but ok, i considered to pay for the features, i could make some arrangements with my father since i like this game so much. so i saw the prices for the premium, lets take a look at them: - 1 month is 50 kreds (5 dollars or converting to my country´s monetary system 10.24 Reais) - 3 month is 120 kred (10 dollars or 20.47 Reais and this is value for the 110 kreds, to buy the 3 months i´d have to play for the 200 kred as you will see next) - Lifetime 200 kreds (20 dollars or 40,93 Reais) Do you see the problem here? What are you offering is a flash game,not a full triple A game, for this value i could buy Starcraft 2 here for 6 months, do you see? for 3 months of Starcraft 3 i would have to play 20 reais and for 1 month almost 7 reais. this is a full game with all the nice graphics and features, a MUCH bigger game than AtWar. On steam i can buy at least 2 indie games for 40 reais. I know, i know. You guys invested years developing this, Flash isn´t cheap and you guys want some monetary feedback to justify the investment and to continue making great games.BUT that not justify the high prices or the over-limited free experience, now, lets take a look on the budget of a great game, for example Starcraft 2 was rumored to have a 100 million budget (çllater Blizzard said that was not true) but to make a game like this it will cost AT LEAST some good millions, what a flash developer spend on making a game? Lets make a simple calculation: The last version, Flash CS6 is costing 38 dollars a month, lets make it 40$, i saw somewhere that you guys spent at least 4 years making AtWar, lets see: 4 years is 48 months and paying regulary each months we have a total spending of a not trivial 1920 dollars, yes, it is a lot of money, but that´s not all, you guys released the site online on 19.05.2010, lets consider that each month you spend at least 50 dollars on hosting, multiplying this to 31 months it makes 1550. The is more? no? thats all? ok, so this game cost approximately 3500 dollars to make, lets not forget the extras like food and all, so lets make it 7000 dollar, quite a lot of money. but...and the return, as i said before, you expect return to maintain the site and servers online. If 350 people pay the 20 dollar premium plan, you guys will get the 7000 dollars you invested on this, and looking at the player´s list on site you guys have 68698 people and i know you guys have at the very least 1000 active players. you see? Concluding: If you make it cheaper for us, i am certain that you guys will have MANY more people paying for the premium and, in the end, the game would turn out to be MUCH more profitable, you could even make another game with the money. I think that´s all, im sorry for the long post, english isn´t my natural language and i haven´t much vocabulary yet, so i have to be redundant to send in the message, i hope some of the devs see this and respond. thank you.
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06.03.2013 - 20:22
They have not changed any of the premium features, you had a free subscription given to you because you were a new player (i think) by the way, you seem to be completely to how the games industry runs, this game has a buisness model that ensures that it's workers are payed, it's that simple, bullshitting figures out of your head is not making your points anymore valid either. also, get your facts right, this game is made using Microsoft silverlight, has been out for 2 years and has been in continual development since it's release, and is still having new features and updates put in (custom maps are only a few months old) and is constantly expanding, also, when it came out of beta (about a year ago) all the premium features were given freely to everyone, so they have only been generating revenue for the last year or so. i think they have been generous enough, and they deserve credit for their hard work, and for creating and absolutely astounding game, a fresh and unique take on a genre that has been perfectly exectued. if i was a moderator, i would remove this post because i wouldn't want to see you upset the admins with your misinformed bullshit.
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06.03.2013 - 20:34
First off: i wans´t warned about this "free subscription" suddenly i coudn´t play scenarios, presets and custom maps anymore. Second: I do not "understand" how game industry works, im just making conjectures out of what i know...and i know that 20 dollar´s isn´t a fair price for this kind of game. even if you consider paying employees, still do not justify this kind of price. sorry. What are you doing is plain and simple flaming my post, if you haven´t anything relevant to talk, please, be silent. Correction: Im sorry,only now i saw that AtWar was made with Silverlight, that is completely free. Even if you used some paid software like the Illustrator it makes absolutely no sense at all o pay 20 dollars for the premium. sorry.
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06.03.2013 - 20:41
>minecraft £18 (which is what, $30) >risk 2 (pc game) i payed $20 for on release, and this is a game based on improving risk, which it does in everyway, so i would pay MORE than $20 for this game. http://store.steampowered.com/app/218060/?snr=1_200_200_254_tab-NewReleasesFilteredDLC >20 dollars http://store.steampowered.com/app/204240/?snr=1_200_200_254_tab-NewReleasesFilteredDLC >20 dollars http://store.steampowered.com/app/219890/?snr=1_200_200_254_tab-NewReleasesFilteredDLC_1 >20 dollars so, please, what is your point again?
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06.03.2013 - 20:44
You are really deluded if you think the sole purpose of indie is about getting great games to the public for a cheap price. it is also about allowing game developers to not work under massive corporations and make MORE money than if they were working under them.
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06.03.2013 - 20:55
Minecraft and Risk 2 demanded at more investment and time than AtWar and Minecraft specifically have a much larger scope than AtWar, it kinda justify a high price, but still, 30$ IS too much for it.
Money is a sad objetive for a indie developer, i aways thought that they do this because they want to make great games without the creative limitations of a big triple-A developer. you see? i believe that if you manke a good make, it does not matter if you make it 5 dollars, people will play and pay for it anyway. i would be very sad to find out that the AtWar devs are first thinking about the money and then in the game.
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06.03.2013 - 20:58
http://atwar-game.com/home/risk.php plz compare features before you make ignorant comments
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06.03.2013 - 21:01
i don´t get your point. AtWar is cleary based on the classical Risk boardgame. edit: I see...and the animations for battles on Risk 2? that was free?on Atwar we have no animations ehatsoever, just interface a map and icons...some images...but not cg.
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06.03.2013 - 21:10
yet i'm not talking about the board game, i'm taking about the PC game of risk i bought for $20, this game builds on the risk francshise enormously and hours of work have gone into making a unique and perfect game, it is very annoying when someone like you who has no knowledge or interest in the game's development and disregard the work put in by the admins, and the feedback from the community that has made the game even better than it's original realease (custom maps was never in the admins plans, we changed that, they implemented it). ' I just want to say one more thing, you don't have to say anything more after this, as i'm done here. If you don't want to buy the premium, then don't buy it that is totally your choice, but don't come here whining, it's not going to change anything. i'm sorry but the way you came here, made some bullshit figures up and claimed that no effort was put into the games development infuriated me. edit: Animations aren't necessary really, there is a battle screen where you can see all the battles take place at the start of every turn though.
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06.03.2013 - 21:21
Youa re being arrogant and an plain idiot, im not disregarding anything here, i know that this game demanded much time and effort, i just don´t think that 20 dollars is a fair price for a game like this. Im not "whining" im putting a fair point and all you are doing is flaming and trowing shit on me, like i said, if you do not have anything relevant to say, please, be quiet, the post wasn´t even for you. Now, if you can pay, have a credit card, nice for you, but i can´t, its not a question of "choice", im jst thinking that this awesome game should be more accessible for everyone, not for just a few. Ah, and i din´t claimed that "no effort was put into the games development", you are distorting my words, im just saying that some games demanded more time, effort and money to make for a very similar price and using fully paid software. i love this game as much as you do, this community is active and seemingly nice (except maybe for YOU of course). And of course you are running away from the debate, cowardly i would say. can´t you debate without insulting? you are infuriating me, can´t you be a bit nicer? fuc# you... edit: but the annimations are there, aren´t they? they did cost money to make. :/
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06.03.2013 - 21:31
$20 is a fair deal. I pay $10 for a McDonald's every week...I know which one I enjoy more...such a stupid argument, the developers have the right to determine how much they wish to charge for their product.. I personally would have paid more than $20.
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06.03.2013 - 21:31
>im just saying that some games demanded more time how do you know how much time and effort was put into this game? how do you know how much time and effort was put into other games? are you a game developer? this had 4 years of development by only two people before it was released, those two people continued development after it's release until the present day. That is 6 years of development, i'm not sure about you but i think that amount of time and effort deserves some fucking recognition. you are just full of bullshit. do you expect me to be nice when you come here and insult my intelligence?
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06.03.2013 - 21:45
and you have such bad arguments, each time you speak, you have to type 3 to 5 insults to make a point.
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06.03.2013 - 21:48
On topic: You can buy Feature packs that Unlock specific features forever. they are less than 5$ each. and you don't need credit card, you can always use gift cards and change them for proto-coins
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06.03.2013 - 21:57
Malice: Please leave the insults and personal attacks out of your posts or you'll find that you can't post anymore. Madrox: As others have said, there are permanent packs that you can buy that are good for a lifetime, so no need to pay for the monthly fee continually. But it is still a good option for a trial month before you buy the permanent packs. Thanks for your input and don't take the trolling personally.
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06.03.2013 - 22:05
Anwsering: bOnker2: $20 is a fair deal. I pay $10 for a McDonald's every week...I know which one I enjoy more...such a stupid argument, the developers have the right to determine how much they wish to charge for their product.. I personally would have paid more than $20. / R: Well, that´s your opinion. but the AtWar - McDonald´s comparison does not make much sense. Malice: how do you know how much time and effort was put into this game? I saw that one of the devs commented on Kongregate that was aprox. 4 years of development. how do you know how much time and effort was put into other games? Research and conjecturing. depends on the size of the game and the dev team. The averange time of developing a Triple A game is 2 to 3 years (at least), depends too if there was a previous engine, that´s why a game like Crysis 3 can release with much less time than the original Crysis. Q: are you a game developer? R: Not yet, im studying Programming languages and i have some design documents for my future projects. Q:This had 4 years of development by only two people before it was released, those two people continued development after it's release until the present day. That is 6 years of development, i'm not sure about you but i think that amount of time and effort deserves some fucking recognition. R:Yes, it deserves, that´s why i think 20 dollars is too much, if it was cheaper,m more people could buy and have fun with the game. Its just the kind of recognition this game deserves is different of what kind of recognition you THINK it deserves (money). you know...not everyone is this greedy. Q:you are just full of bullshit. R: Oh! i am? how ironic... Q:do you expect me to be nice when you come here and insult my intelligence? R: I can´t really insult what does not exist, im sorry. Rebake: R:You can buy Feature packs that Unlock specific features forever. they are less than 5$ each. and you don't need credit card, you can always use gift cards and change them for proto-coins A: Finally someone said something that makes some sense. anyway, i know there is this kind of feature pack, but im talking about the Full Pack that asks (in my sincere opionion) an unfair price for it. Finaly: If im not being compeltely clear here, its just my sincere opinion on the matter, i just wanted to know the price is so high for this kind of game. And i am not just trowing some "facts", these are just my conjectures on the matter, but the diferences on this can´t be too high, if it was not 7000 dollars, it was not much higher of a budget i think. And for you, my not-so-kind Malice, if you cannot say anything without using falacious arguments like this ridiculous ad hominem, please, shut up and go back to you mom´s basement, where you probably living now.
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06.03.2013 - 22:07
Thanks for the kind answer, im gonna see what i can do about it. a question: how these proto-coins works?
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06.03.2013 - 22:40
Proto coins you can buy or earn through translating the game or win in contests, like the recruitment contest that is ongoing. Then, you can use protocoins to buy premium packs! And for other in game features, like the new SP boost and more to come.
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06.03.2013 - 22:50
Thanks, i will take a look on it.
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07.03.2013 - 00:03
20 bucks is a good deal. Hell, I'd pay a 100 if that was the case for this game.
---- TJM !!!
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07.03.2013 - 00:19
So, i registered with kongregate (since it was the place where i discovered it) and i have no email and i can only buy premium buying their Kreds. What can i do? create another account and registering my email? thank you.
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07.03.2013 - 01:45
To make a fair point, I did some sums myself (I know the number of premium members) and spit out a value for revenue of about 5 dollars a day per person, which is about enough to get a lunch. I completely agree with you that the price point could be lowered if we had more features, which the developers are very slowly doing. Ivan and Amok each have their day jobs (web designers), so game designing/programming is more of a personal interest than a profession for them. From conversation, these two guys are conservative as hell and takes minimalist approaches to suggestions and ideas LOL. The game is rather mismanaged, factoring in the growing graphical demand of console/PC games and this new "just-for-fun" nature of smartphone games app. In case it wasn't clear enough, the devs are now pushing very hard in getting new players "see March Recruitment Drive" and trying to get on Steam Greenlight. PS: Ignore very high ranks like Malice, they have all suffered from being ignored from suggestions and got used to the attitude of the devs, if anything, they teach you a lesson that "the less you care about the game and just play it (eg:"farm sp"), the happier you are." Also, Guest14502 is a moderator in this "wild west" community. Some of these people
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07.03.2013 - 03:15
Thank you for you rational response. I see what you saying, they need a larger base fo active paying players, so they are investing in these campaigns of recruitment, but even so, this is one more reason to lower the price, this only action would for sure atract more players to it and they would profit anyway. PS¹:This does not excuse this kind of behavior of his. PS²:I care about this game because of its a very unique game and deserves attention (and feedback). PS³: I will keep this in mind. D:
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07.03.2013 - 03:59
Madrox, here's a few analogies for you: stuff in privately owned shops is almost always more expensive than in big retail chains, handmade things are more expensive than mass-produced ones. Now think of the reasons why and you'll (hopefully) understand why atWar is priced as it is.
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07.03.2013 - 04:18
So, you´re saying that AtWar have this price because of...commodity fetishism? but i get it, you did this from (almost) zero, and want some "reward" for it, but, making a great game like this isn´t enough reward. what do you mean? you have the right to overprice it because its "handmade"? Sorry about my sincerity, i hope i do not offend, i sincerely think its a great game but this business model...it seems a bit abusive. :/ obs: for those who does not know what it is see this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_fetishism
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07.03.2013 - 04:40
Thats one hell of a cigarette, doesn´t it? it is cuban? xD
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07.03.2013 - 04:43
So you did not get it...The reason why big companies are able to sell at lower prices is because they have much more resources, their production line is much more optimized and they can cut the costs at almost all the levels, whilst as an indie developer you don't have any of these privileges. I actually find it quite offending that you feel like you can just come here and tell us how much we ought to charge for it, based on some random numbers and without any knowledge of how it all works and how much effort it took to create this game.
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07.03.2013 - 05:01
lol i prefeer Cola...or water maybe. but still, thats quite a lot of coffe, hope its a good coffe... D:
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07.03.2013 - 05:11
I know that, but you are failing to understand my point here, see: its better that 2 people pays for, lets just say 10 dollars than 1 person buying with 20 dollars, you will have a larger community and this will be good for business (if thats what you seeking for) and more people will be able to pay it. in the lorg term you will have a bigger profit. Im sorry if im offending. i just got these numbers from some research and from the head, im sorry if that offended you. Im not telling you what you ought to do, you do as you please, im just suggesting (there´s a difference) you lower your prices to make it accessible. Anyway, do get me wrong, its just my personal opinion on the matter, it does not mean i consider you work deserves a cheaper reward, you did great around here and im grateful, im not attacking your ego as a developer. if you feel that way, im really sorry and i will not insist on this matter anymore. D:
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07.03.2013 - 05:29
Well, what can I say, thanks for the suggestion, but we're happy with how it is at the moment.
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