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has the end finally arrived |
Doran Chief Marshal Galactic Navy
Joined: March 29, 2003 Posts: 4032 From: The Gideon Unit
| Posted: 2016-03-30 19:55  
Quote:
On 2016-03-30 14:29, Demorian wrote:
Which, by the way, has happened... oh, I don't know, Doran, about how many times, you think?
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too many
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Jim Starluck Marshal Templar Knights
Joined: October 22, 2001 Posts: 2232 From: Cincinnati, OH
| Posted: 2016-04-25 13:26  
Quote:
On 2016-03-30 14:29, Demorian wrote:
This thread is hilarious. I lost it at "GothThug don't come around here no more."
It's a miracle DS is still around at all, and the fact that it is validates the dedication and perseverance of a few key fans who are able to keep Richard involved despite his other obligations and keep the community running in the face of stagnation. Have some perspective and be thankful.
Need more? Look at my registration date. Seriously, look at it. That's when DS was a new game and on the verge of release. That was what we would now call "Steam early access" 15 years ago. Every came I know of that's still keeping its servers running on a similar engine 15 years later is ungodly fortunate to still be around, and its proverbial boat sure as hell isn't going to be rocked by one person posting arbitrarily about the end of days as if they have the authority.
Which, by the way, has happened... oh, I don't know, Doran, about how many times, you think?
As for me, I'll only take these threads seriously when Faustus posts them. Just a tip for any other five-year hotshots looking to get some attention.
-Dem
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Preach it, brotha!
_________________ If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger space battleship and try again.
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Antoni Chief Marshal
Joined: January 21, 2003 Posts: 17
| Posted: 2016-04-25 19:50  
(Antoni throws 2 cents on the table)
We need to use our collective minds and figure out a way to get this game back out there again. It's an excellent game and we need to think how to re-expose it to the world again. How can we use social media to get more players in here? Do we know anyone with experience who may know how to stimulate conversation or create a drive of attention to this game? What will it cost to throw ads on google, and dating sites, yes dating sites if ur single u got lots of time to waste here lol . School site, online fast food sites etc. FaceBook fund raising " DarkSpaceDrive" ? We should seriously think about this, leaving the barn door open doesn't mean anything will walk in and stay, so we have to be loud.
Since i'm here (Antoni throws anther penny on the table) icc ships: weapons/power suck. eg. I drain a ship trying to kill one plat, this is why i tractor them to the planets and during combat same thing finger cramps and all we do is scratch the paint. :0
ps
Prestige will scare new players from staying becz how long it takes to get to the next rank. New payers will not see top rank unless they spend years online.
vote for Drumpf.
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Talien Marshal Templar Knights
Joined: May 11, 2010 Posts: 2044 From: Michigan
| Posted: 2016-04-25 19:54  
Quote:
On 2016-04-25 19:50, Antoni wrote:
Prestige will scare new players from staying becz how long it takes to get to the next rank. New payers will not see top rank unless they spend years online.
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Isn't that what groups are for? Now that negative stats are no longer shared there's really no reason not to group.
_________________ Adapt or die.
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Jomil Admiral Pitch Black
Joined: February 21, 2003 Posts: 2
| Posted: 2016-04-27 06:27  
What if he approaches steam with this? Could revive the game
_________________ Bounty hunter by day, proffesional lover by night
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A Shadow Grand Admiral
Joined: September 20, 2007 Posts: 8
| Posted: 2016-04-27 18:06  
If I remember correctly, that's a no go. Something about GameCQ being the same as steam and thus not able to do it.
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Mersenne Twister Fleet Admiral
Joined: May 11, 2003 Posts: 1161 From: Sector C Test Labs and Contol Facilities
| Posted: 2016-04-27 23:21  
faustus has stated he's more open to darkspace being on steam than in past few years, but im not at liberty to enumerate on that further.
howerver, it's still exceedingly unlikely to happen for a variety of reasons. chief among them is, in the current state, putting darkspace on steam, even with early access/greenlight, wouldnt really do us any favors
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I wouldn't screw with it if I were you. The doctor already holds you in poor favor. Messing with this might really fry his shorts.
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Pegasus Grand Admiral Pitch Black
Joined: August 02, 2005 Posts: 434 From: Eleventh galaxy on the right!
| Posted: 2016-04-28 11:01  
Quote:
On 2016-04-27 23:21, Mersenne Twister wrote:
faustus has stated he's more open to darkspace being on steam than in past few years, but im not at liberty to enumerate on that further.
howerver, it's still exceedingly unlikely to happen for a variety of reasons. chief among them is, in the current state, putting darkspace on steam, even with early access/greenlight, wouldnt really do us any favors
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You dont know unless you try, Darkspace been dragging it heels for years now, you might as well try anything to bring in revenue. I have seen no arguement in these pages why it wouldnt work.
Revert back to V1.50
Get rid of the god awful GameCQ (should of been done back in 1.484) which has no use for Darkspace other than a empty chatroom.
Get Darkspace on Greenlight.
Early access for Darkspace on Steam, set price to bring in extra revenue at the same time restart development cycle from V1.50
_________________ Retired K'luth Combateer
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Talien Marshal Templar Knights
Joined: May 11, 2010 Posts: 2044 From: Michigan
| Posted: 2016-04-29 16:23  
Kickstarter would probably do more for DS than Steam would since they only take a one time cut when the funds are actually delivered from a successful funding. Valve takes a significant cut of any sales or subscriptions.
Obviously I do not know the numbers so again, this is just to serve as an (admittedly rough) example.
Say DS needs $1,000 a month for server upkeep and fees (yes, I'm probably way off). Say the average subscription is $20 a month. That means it's necessary for 50 people to subscribe monthly for the average amount just to pay the costs without there being a net loss. We'll say there's, oh, $150 that comes in with one time credit purchases so that's 43 subscribers needed just for upkeep.
We'll say Valve takes a 30% cut (probably a conservative estimate, but let's just go with it), which means it's now 60 average subscribers needed just to break even. People will see DS on Steam and many of them will take one look at the graphics and go "ew", because let's face it the visuals ARE rather dated. Say we get 20 new players who stick around, awesome right? But how many of them will subscribe? 17? Probably more likely 4-5, a few of them will make a one time purchase of enough credits to kit out a couple ships, and the rest will just play for free until they get bored then disappear. Since there's really only one thing that can be done with credits (buy enhancements) the benefits of subscribing would be considered minimal to people who aren't already players.
Also, look at how many current players have more credits than they will EVER use. Be honest, how many of you would send credit gifts or give enhancements to new players who show more than a passing interest in DS to entice them to stick around longer? You just cut out more income for DS because they now don't need to buy credits of their own, or at least not as much as they would have.
In that not entirely unlikely scenario DS has a net increase in players, but a net loss in revenue.
_________________ Adapt or die.
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Captain LlamaPajamas Vice Admiral
Joined: November 24, 2007 Posts: 76 From: Virginia, USA
| Posted: 2016-04-30 02:23  
Do you think that Kickstarter is the best way to fund this? There's a million pre-release or otherwise "promise to finish if you pay" games out there. If Steam does take a large percentage out of the funds from players, it's almost certainly funds from players we do not currently have. This game is honestly very fun and I think that very many people would be willing to pay some money for one of the best MMO space naval arcade games out there...
Sell the product we already have, and then we can worry about building a new one. We don't need rollbacks or the olden days, we need new captains.
[ This Message was edited by: Captain LlamaPajamas on 2016-04-30 02:24 ]
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Enterprise Chief Marshal
Joined: May 19, 2002 Posts: 2576 From: Hawthorne, Nevada
| Posted: 2016-04-30 09:32  
Graphics really don't matter as long as the game is fun. Even Runescape still has a loyal following. It just takes skilled people to make real changes, and we just need more of them.
The thing about this game is that it really doesn't need thousands of people. You put even 20 people in one place and things start to get really intense. Its all about getting those 20 people...
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Jim Starluck Marshal Templar Knights
Joined: October 22, 2001 Posts: 2232 From: Cincinnati, OH
| Posted: 2016-04-30 15:41  
I'd always planned to try and go on a marketing campaign when I felt the game was ready. Try to get some of those Let's Play people and YouTube reviewers to cover it, get some real attention and an influx of new players. But I always felt the game still had flaws we needed to iron out; that if we tried it prematurely it would backfire.
_________________ If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger space battleship and try again.
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Captain LlamaPajamas Vice Admiral
Joined: November 24, 2007 Posts: 76 From: Virginia, USA
| Posted: 2016-05-01 06:05  
I can tell you this: when I play at work (on a Navy vessel), there is a lot of interest from others, and people definitely will stand behind me and watch me fight AI - so we've definitely cornered the market for people too busy to play
Just get DarkSpace out there, and show them what we've got - the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, but the second best time is now, and the best thing we can do is throw what we have out there and do it.
I started playing DS about eight and a half years ago, when I was thirteen, and here I am at twenty-two, and I don't think I've ever seen a time when DarkSpace wasn't having an identity crisis; stop worrying about rollbacks, stop wishing we had more players, and do it!
Heck, I'm not a programmer, but I would be willing to help out in any way that I could be used, and I bet a lot of the community has enough interest to spend their time or money to help you.
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Korywon 1st Rear Admiral
Joined: April 19, 2011 Posts: 2
| Posted: 2016-05-01 08:17  
Well... I have spent the past two days literally just browsing the entire web for an alternative to Darkspace to no avail. This game is too unique for me.
I honestly think that this game should get some coverage. Now, of course, I don't want the game to be too popular, because it will get some backlash from other communities, but just enough to see at least a player or two in every system...
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Enterprise Chief Marshal
Joined: May 19, 2002 Posts: 2576 From: Hawthorne, Nevada
| Posted: 2016-05-01 08:26  
Quote:
On 2016-05-01 08:17, Korywon wrote:
I honestly think that this game should get some coverage.
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I just know that most gamers aren't very forgiving. Back in the early 2000s, this game would be par the course. These days, they don't pull any punches. I've always felt that until all of our ducks are in a row, it would just cause more harm than good. Definitely tell your friends, let them try it out if they want, but I hope they know what they're getting into.
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