How Matrix can make money...an idea...

[rwenstrup]

Been monitoring the Harpoon discussions lately...and noted the comments on the niche market Matrix must work within.

The thought occurred to me that Steel Panthers might be an excellent opportunity for achieving sales with limited development time and effort.

Large base, well developed platform, issues conversion to current operating system and improving the graphics...SPWAW graphics have fallen behind the times...and the mega campaigns are very well done...

[joeblack1862]

ORIGINAL: rwenstrup

Been monitoring the Harpoon discussions lately...and noted the comments on the niche market Matrix must work within.

The thought occurred to me that Steel Panthers might be an excellent opportunity for achieving sales with limited development time and effort.

Large base, well developed platform, issues conversion to current operating system and improving the graphics...SPWAW graphics have fallen behind the times...and the mega campaigns are very well done...

Good call; there is a huge hole that could be filled. I would buy it in a second.

Could they not use the updated graphics from that game they abandoned (that was supposed to replace SPWAW, I think)?

[wodin]

Two words "Combat Leader"....the game that brought me here and was dropped well into development...thats where they could have made money from the SPWAW crowd

[jomni]

Matrix already released a Steel Panthers incarnation for the mass market... Battlefield Academy.
I don't think improving Steel Panthers will attract a lot of new comers into the hobby. It will just make grognards happy.

[Lützow]

Shrapnel already rewrote the graphics engine, some years ago.

[diablo1]

ORIGINAL: Lützow

Shrapnel already rewrote the graphics engine, some years ago.

Yeah but it's not much better than the origional. We need Steel Panther graphics like the Theater of War graphics or at least like Battefield Academy. The infantry units in SP really need an upgrade the most. In a jungle setting I can hardly tell what I got or see them real well. Battlefield Academy could have been great with random generators like SP has. Plus plenty of user settings to up the difficulty and challenge levels of the ai.

[Custer1961]

Isn't Grigsby supposed to start on a brand new "Steel Panthers" type after the finish of the big East Front Game?

[V22 Osprey]

This has been beat to death in the SPWAW forums here at Matrix. There's no chance of updating SPWAW because Greedy Ubisoft owns to source code. Like wodin said, the replacement for SPWAW was dropped, so now we are where we are today. I don't like WinSPWW2 but I love WinSPMBT. For my WWII fix I turned to JTCS and never looked back. However, having been an avid SPWAW player for many years all I can say is that it's kind of sad the current situation is.

[vonRocko]

Great idea, keep rehashing 20 year old games and charge $60! Oh wait, matrix already does that.[:D]

[diablo1]

ORIGINAL: vonRocko

Great idea, keep rehashing 20 year old games and charge $60! Oh wait, matrix already does that.[:D]

LMAO

[Phatguy]

ORIGINAL: vonRocko

Great idea, keep rehashing 20 year old games and charge $60! Oh wait, matrix already does that.[:D]

and old farts like us keep plunking down our social security checks on 20 year old games......

[gabeeg]

ORIGINAL: Custer

Isn't Grigsby supposed to start on a brand new "Steel Panthers" type after the finish of the big East Front Game?

I have not heard anything of this...but just the thought that it might be true makes me feel all tingly. A dream come true for me. Steel Panthers (WinSPWW2 in particular...though I like SPWAW also) are my favorite games ever. I for one would pay BftB like prices for a rehash of this 20 year old game (as long as it is not 3D) like sailor on shore leave. Yes I would be a hypocrite and yes I would feel dirty...but in such a good way (just like that scene in the bathroom in the movie Grandmas Boy). Turn based squad level tactical is my crack..ever since Squad Leader. God Bless HPS and Shrapnel/Camo...now only if my favorite PC game company (Matrix) would become my dealer....

I would love to see a quote from Grigsby or 2by3...

[vonRocko]

I'd buy it! I always do sooner or later.[;)]

[Yogi the Great]

ORIGINAL: apathetic lurker

and old farts like us keep plunking down our social security checks on 20 year old games......

First I must acknowledge that I too am an "old fart", but could it be that some of the "20 year old games" are better than the current games?

Being older and from the day of classic Avalon Hill board games, as I have said before, I would eagerly buy faithful computer recreations of those old games. The problem is that companies can make more money selling arcade style shoot ups, high graphic content, fantasy and/or science fiction titles. To many of us old farts, the current batch of games are not nearly as good as the classic war games we remember. Unfortunately, old grognards have little impact on what is released. It is marketing and profits that determine what makes a game worth releasing.

[junk2drive]

The exception to Yogi's post is when a developer makes a game for the love of the hobby and not the payback. It doesn't happen very often.

There are a few open source tools today that allow someone to create a game but it will take one of us old farts to learn the process and make the game before we croak.