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subscription/server model


ruprecht

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You're main concern seems to be with piracy.

 

Not strictly true, though I can see how you got that impression. My main concern is losing yet another high-fidelity sim maker - and history is on my side here - because they were commercially unviable. Piracy is one aspect of that, under-selling their product is another. A community that didn't appreciate that it's much cheaper to keep an existing sim developer in business than to help another break the barrier of entry is another.

 

There seems to be an attitude that if one hi-fi sim developer tanks, another will take its place. I'm not so sure. And I don't want to be playing Awesome Jet Combat Extreme on the DS because there are no other options.

DCS Wishlist: | Navy F-14 | Navy F/A-18 | AH-6 | Navy A-6 | Official Navy A-4 | Carrier Ops | Dynamic Campaign | Marine AH-1 |

 

Streaming DCS sometimes:

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You'll get unhindered access to me via TeamSpeak, naturally, but to really add value, once a year I will travel to your home so that you can watch me play Black Shark (or any other simulator of your choice) on your PC. Yes that's right, I come to your house and play on your computer.

 

 

Well at least you didn't offer to go to his house and play with his joystick...... :joystick:

 

I assume that's part of the platinum sponsership package........:music_whistling:

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Not strictly true, though I can see how you got that impression. My main concern is losing yet another high-fidelity sim maker - and history is on my side here - because they were commercially unviable. Piracy is one aspect of that, under-selling their product is another. A community that didn't appreciate that it's much cheaper to keep an existing sim developer in business than to help another break the barrier of entry is another.

 

There seems to be an attitude that if one hi-fi sim developer tanks, another will take its place. I'm not so sure. And I don't want to be playing Awesome Jet Combat Extreme on the DS because there are no other options.

I agree, proper sims are few and far between, and I honestly doubt any other company could/would achieve the level of fidelity demonstrated in DCS.

 

Last time I did combat-simming (if that's a word) was with Jane's Longbow (1&2). That's over 10 years inbetween.

 

Fixed-wing sims just don't do it for me like helo sims, but I will buy any module that's released for DCS, and support ED through other means if available (like a donation system, as I mentioned). If ED goes down, it's very likely my virtual pilot career goes down with it, untill the next proper sim pops up 10 years from now, if ever.

 

At least I'll now I had no part in their downfall. :ermm:

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

DCS A-10C: putting the 'art' into 'warthog'.

(yes, corny. Sorry.)

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Yes that's right, I come to your house and play on your computer.

 

I'll drink your beer for free...

Westinghouse W-600 refrigerator - Corona six-pack - Marlboro reds - Patience by Girlfriend

 

"Engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance." (Dr. A. R. Dykes - British Institution of Structural Engineers, 1976)

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Just dont let us end up with "pay per hour" - this is where the gaming industry (or some of them) might be going now that they have discovered how to offer a full game platform through the cloud services.

 

Aside from MMO games with established monthly subscription fees not a single "cloud" service (that I know of) requires you to pay to play the game or limit the amount of time you can play it. They all allow you to purchase your game once and play it forever. The only games which one could make a semi-valid argument about paying to play are the ones who are using micro-transactions. Yet nearly all of the micro-transaction games are free to play to begin with and all you get buy putting money into the system is access to cosmetic items or minor player enhancements. They usually do not offer game changing items or abilities for a small fee. Its more of a benefit to dedicated players than paying to play.

 

In my eyes, donating and a subscription to a game service is one and the same. Both tell the developer that you like the game enough you are willing and able to pay more for it.

The right man in the wrong place makes all the difference in the world.

Current Projects:  Grayflag ServerScripting Wiki

Useful Links: Mission Scripting Tools MIST-(GitHub) MIST-(Thread)

 SLMOD, Wiki wishlist, Mission Editing Wiki!, Mission Building Forum

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Grimes - not yet, no. I might be slighty OT here, but the new variant is a bit scary in my opinion.

 

E3 showed that there are two serious parties out there who are working on the "gaming offer as a online service over the cloud".

So we're not talking about the traditional "subscribe and download" here.

We're talking about streaming a video-feed to the consumer, connecting to the clientside and getting "control inputs" as well as controlling the service.

 

They have been able to come up with proof of concepts for hosting the game in a datacenter and bringing the video output to your screen.

I'm not sure if the hosts are physical hardware or virtual instances.

 

A collegue and I reflected on this just the other day, the cloud services and the impact it would have for owners, developers and consumers.

Altough we discussed it outside the "gaming industry" it still carries alot of similarities.

 

If I put myself in a owner position, I would see the oppurtunity to:

- Offer more services, and get more customers into the database.

- Be able to charge for all usage of certain products.

- Predict my revenue more presicily with the above model.

- I may not bother to consider the difference in the target-groups for the different products, because we want a simplistic model to offer, so the MTV generation can relate to "one price, one model".

- That I no longer may need a distribution system to get my product out on the market.

 

If I was a developer I would notice that:

- I could develop for one platform.

- That the platform come in one variant, the one that the service-provider hosts.

- Support / QA / would drop to a very low level - since the platform is homogeneous vs the PC platform.

- Simplified patching / updates.

- The consumer shouldnt have to worry about using my product, they can just log on and use it - and when it's updated, it's update.

 

As a consumer I would instead worry that:

- I would not be able to purchase a "hardcopy" anymore and "own" it. The sense of "ownership" carries some weight.

- The expense for certain products would go up (the one's we really like and use very often).

- The expense for products I dont like would go down, but that carry no weight for me since I didnt like them anyway.

- I'm no longer in control "when to play, or what to play" because it may become a cost issue.

 

.. but again ... personally, Id still like to "own" a physical copy so that I have that sense of "being in controll" - especially to something like a simulator which is nearly a hobby ... and not just a game. :)

The mind is like a parachute. It only works when it's open | The important thing is not to stop questioning

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-Moar psuedo OT- ... but at least its about gaming!

 

Honestly I didn't pay all the much attention to E3 this year outside the hopes of HL2:Episode 3 news, but I do believe you are referring to "OnLive." Their plan is quite ambitious and interesting. After it was announced my roommates brought it up in a conversation about gaming and I thought they were making this thing up. In truth I still have a "I believe it it when I see it" sort of attitude about it. Whenever it gets introduced into the market, and if it hits it big, it will have about the same effect consoles have on the market currently. Even when the system becomes the defacto standard you will not be limited to a game rental. It would be VERY difficult to ween consumers off of the buy the game once model that has been in place since the Atari 2600. Just look at the Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott, gamers feel they got screwed and are fighting tooth and nail for their voices to be heard... and they are getting alot of gaming press over it. Renting a game does make sense in some cases. Single Player only games are a perfect example, I'd love to be able to rent it for a fraction of the price of buying the whole thing if I'm going to beat it in 8 hours of gameplay. But games where you invest time and energy into your character, learning the systems, or just spend alot of time in multiplayer a buy once system works best.

 

It's all acedemic anyways, consumers will be able to have a hard copy in some form or another for a very long time. Eventually what is known as a hard copy will go from a physical disk to being on your harddrive.

The right man in the wrong place makes all the difference in the world.

Current Projects:  Grayflag ServerScripting Wiki

Useful Links: Mission Scripting Tools MIST-(GitHub) MIST-(Thread)

 SLMOD, Wiki wishlist, Mission Editing Wiki!, Mission Building Forum

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Let's hope the industry thinks the same, Grimes. :)

Altough I suspect there's several owners who think money / revenue (which is their job) before customer satisfaction or returning customers - and isnt able to connect the two sides.

 

But I'll leave it at that - let's bring the topic back on track :)

I want to keep the old payment model with Flightsims!

The mind is like a parachute. It only works when it's open | The important thing is not to stop questioning

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While I agree with you Panz, ultimately it will be a business decision. Perhaps there will be some CEO out there who thinks it is the way forward, but whether or not that can actually be built into a profitable and viable business model is another.

 

How many market research surveys would you have to compile to get the figures that you'd need to then present this model to an investment or capital firm.

 

While certainly in 50 years time, it will probably be a more viable concept. Right now, I think there would be too much opposition. While we perhaps represent a minuscule fraction of that potential market, outside of these MMOPRGS can you see any other games working on that basis?

 

Is there any other game you would consider paying a monthly subscription for?

 

I guess the answer will lie in seeing what develops. But if gaming becomes a case of monthly fees to feed my "habit" then I'll just put the equivalent money into my flying pot.

 

Certainly for me, it would be the end of me playing computer games (which probably isn't such a bad thing...).

Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

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