How well is DW selling ?

[HsojVvad]

Just for those who don't know, BotF is the actual sequal to MOO2. Designed by the same people who made and published MOO and MOO2.

[2guncohen]

SE4 forums and Rock Paper Shotgun

[Gertjan]

@Davor, really? I didnt' know that. Cool! Another reason to try it soon. On the links you are referring me to I see at the download section that there is an iso file available of the original botf game. I this game now freeware?

BTW, how do I install it, do I need to first install the main multi installer 1.02 and then install one of the mods?

[Wenla]

ORIGINAL: Davor

ORIGINAL: JonathanStrange

It will remain helpful to contribute on other forums, your impressions of DW - at the risk of being dismissed as a viral marketeer. Yet if you've a history on another forum, your post along with a link would at least create awareness. Smaller game developers need all the help...

That's how I got here. I was on the Star Trek Birth of the Federation forum and someone posted a link to here. I have been here ever since then. [:D]

And I found this out from Europa Universalis III forum. There were not a link, but it's not a problem now a days...

[HsojVvad]

There was no link either, I just Googled Distant World and then found the site from their home page.

[Wade1000]

From forum activity and various related comments I guess that Distant Worlds is selling very well. Probably "1) A complete success (sold lot more than expected)" for Matrix Games.

I just hope that the game will be sold beyond stores other than only Matrix Games to increase its success, popularity, and future development. I hope that Distant Worlds will not be required to stay exclusively in the bounds of Matrix Games store for some sort of hope by the developer that it will boost Matrix Games to some desired goal. Distant Worlds is of the type and quality to be successful in many other stores and reach a level of success beyond that of if it is to be confined to one store. Many past similiar games of success were widely available in may stores.

Perhaps when Distant Worlds meets some defined critical mass sells then it can be sold in a wider market? The opening cenematic trailor will likely need to be improved/replaced.

[JonathanStrange]

I second all who wish increased success for DW. I would be pleasantly surprised though if the game moved much out of the genre space niche - or whatever the term may be. There's a lot of enthusiasm by players who are ready, willing and able to work with the game's quirks but how would DW be perceived by less dedicated players? I still think that if people, when they visit their other fav forums, mention DW and explain what they like, they may interest the other unaware DW players to investigate and buy. But I doubt the mainstream will look past the graphics...

[HsojVvad]

What's wrong with the graphics? I think when you are zoom really close the graphics are awsome. I have no idea what people mean when they say the graphics are no good.

[lancer]

Goodaye,

The game design isn't aimed at the mass market.

It's catering for a reasonably sized niche market.

You can still be highly successful and profitable within a niche.

Look at War in the Pacific. It has a horribly obtuse interface, dated graphics and is way out on the far side of the complexity scale and yet still manages to sell an awful lot of copies over the years. It has been so successful that it has spawned a recent follow on (WiTP:AE) which has gone even further down the road of increased complexity, difficult interfaces and retro graphics.

If you knew nothing about WiTP and were simply given the rough outline I've provided above you'd probably be adamant that the game would sell no more than a dozen copies to hard-core Pacific War nuts. May a couple of dozen if they got lucky, but that's it.

People are attracted to a quality game design and are more than willing to overlook any number of obvious limitations. I suspect that this is because of their rarity. Elliot has come up with a pretty unique design here that I'd say also fits into this catergory.

Provided he and Matrix stick with their vision and keep optimising and developing it I think that it could easily be as successful as the example above.

Cheers,
Lancer

[ypsylon]

All this speculation and gossip when you have answer in front of your eyes. [:D]

I'm fairly confident that no other game on Matix forums hit 1000+ threads during first month after release. (WITP:AE section is a bit misleading as it is combined with old WITP)

Just compare size of DW forum with A2526 and you have your answer how well DW is selling.

[Wade1000]

I looked at War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition. It's not my style of game. Also, I prefer non historical games. Also, some thing odd with its pricing of $80. I've never seen any computer game cost that much. I bet many will say it costs that much because it's some sort of superior game. heh.

I think Distant Worlds could appeal to a much wider customer base than War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition.

By the way, if you want a greater likelyhood of new players to undersand and bother looking up a game you might suggest then type the game's full name rather than abbreviate it.

[Jim D Burns]

ORIGINAL: ypsylon
I'm fairly confident that no other game on Matix forums hit 1000+ threads during first month after release. (WITP:AE section is a bit misleading as it is combined with old WITP)

WitP AE had about 30k-35k posts on the release day. 1 month later it was well over 70k, that's about 1,000 posts a day. I had tracked it because I was finding it impossible to keep up with the forum discussions. Something that had never occurred before in the old WitP forum.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it sold more copies of the game than DW is selling. Just that it generated a lot of discussion. Far more than any new game release I have ever seen in my 20+ years of PC gaming.

Jim

[Wade1000]

ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns

ORIGINAL: ypsylon
I'm fairly confident that no other game on Matix forums hit 1000+ threads during first month after release. (WITP:AE section is a bit misleading as it is combined with old WITP)

WitP AE had about 30k-35k posts on the release day. 1 month later it was well over 70k, that's about 1,000 posts a day. I had tracked it because I was finding it impossible to keep up with the forum discussions. Something that had never occurred before in the old WitP forum.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it sold more copies of the game than DW is selling. Just that it generated a lot of discussion. Far more than any new game release I have ever seen in my 20+ years of PC gaming.

Jim

ypsylon said 1000+ THREADS not POSTS.

If War in the Pacific Admiral's Edition generated the most discussion you've seen in 20+ years then you have seen little of other game threads. There are many popular "main stream" games with maybe more forum discussion on each forum of many each game may have. Perhaps you're not including certain types of games in your thoughts.

Heh, there are certain MMORPG with millions of players. Their forums' first pages in general discusion are constantly changing.
Galactic Civilizations 2 forum was very active after each release version.
A few Civilization 4 forums were also.
There are many other games of different types that apply also.

I would have agreed with you if you were refering to just Matrix Games forums but you said "any new game release".

[Jim D Burns]

ORIGINAL: Wade1000
"any new game release".

That I have ever seen. I have never spent time on mass appeal forums, so I can’t speak to those kinds of games. I’m sure they have huge forums, but my gaming tastes are pretty exclusive to strategy and war games, leaning towards the more complex the better, so most forums I hang out at focus on the more niche games with relatively small online communities.

I’ve played lots of mass appeal games in my day sure, but I’ve never been drawn to one to the extent I’d visited a forum for it. Generally I find them to be the kind of game you can kill an hour or two with, but they don’t get the thought process juices flowing at all for me, just mindless fun, so not a lot to discuss.

Jim

[Col Zin]

Well, I registered expressly to post in this thread...as members of another rather popular forum suggested I put this out there.

I had not heard about Distant Worlds, let alone Matrix or Code Force, until ~1 week ago. A member posted a link to this game, and I bit. I grew up with Star Control, Imperium Galactica-type games, which I haven't played in ages, and I suppose DW has that nostalgic appeal that I miss from those type of game. Throw in the similarities to Civ, and you've got a VERY addictive game here that has some serious appeal beyond the niche market that others have suggested. I don't play too many games, honestly, but occasionally I'll stumble across something that I really, really dig.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this has been mentioned in these forums, but I was wondering why Matrix or Code Force does not use services like Steam, or D2D? Is it a marketing/cost decision? I've seen comments from those outside these forums where people would be much more willing to try it out if it were available through either of these rather popular services, and as a limited demo. I think as new as this is, and the relative Beta nature of the current release, the current price is a bit steep for many to jump on this type of game with such limited exposure.

Of course, I have no idea what is involved when distributing through these services, and feel free to banish me if the mere suggestion is offensive. Honestly, I have no idea!
I suppose it just makes sense to some of us that the nature of limited weekly deals and free trials, and ease of use offered through these services vastly increases exposure.

[NavalNewZ]

.

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: Wade1000

I looked at War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition. It's not my style of game. Also, I prefer non historical games. Also, some thing odd with its pricing of $80. I've never seen any computer game cost that much. I bet many will say it costs that much because it's some sort of superior game. heh.

No, because there's nothing you could really claim WitP is 'superior' to, or indeed 'inferior' to. Once you get more specific than general labels such as 'strategy' or 'wargame' WitP quite simply delivers a style of game, and a gaming experience, that isn't available anywhere else. While it's overall appeal to gamers in general is certainly limited, it couldn't really be any other way and those who appreciate it become almost obsessive; there are guys who have 1000's of posts in the WitP forum, and never post anywhere else not least because they don't play anything else, and feel no need to.

I think Distant Worlds could appeal to a much wider customer base than War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition.

Certainly true, indeed it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it had already outsold it. How much wider, though, is an open question.. the space 4X is, too, a niche market these days albeit a rather larger niche.

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: Wade1000

I looked at War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition. It's not my style of game. Also, I prefer non historical games. Also, some thing odd with its pricing of $80. I've never seen any computer game cost that much. I bet many will say it costs that much because it's some sort of superior game. heh.

I think Distant Worlds could appeal to a much wider customer base than War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition.

By the way, if you want a greater likelyhood of new players to undersand and bother looking up a game you might suggest then type the game's full name rather than abbreviate it.

No, its not superiour. Honestly, the longer I've played, the more I've come to the conclusion that its just more complicated. [&:] Lots and lots of micromanagement in WiTP AE...to the point that its too much for my tastes.

[Simulation01]

I found Distant Worlds when my gaming depression hit an all time low. I was lamenting the fact that Civ V was not yet out and my favorite mod for Sins of a Solar Empire was bogging down ( Babylon 5 mod ) when I reached out into the dark void of a random Google search and pulled out a link for Distant Worlds. I watched the video's, and despite being short on cash, decided to bend to my base desire for grand strategic warfare by purchasing it. I was hooked on Distant Worlds in the same way that a common street whore is hooked on crack.

[lostsm]

ORIGINAL: Simulation01
I was hooked on Distant Worlds in the same way that a common street whore is hooked on crack.

are you saying all street whores are crack addicts? i seriously resent that comment [:-]