DCS + BIS = Marriage made in Heaven

[Boneski]

I have been to The Total Immersion Software's studios in Alameda and saw the inner workings of the A-10C Trainer... The intergration was truly amazing. It's not about all the things some of you guys are talking about regarding technology. The talent and know how exist. The work has been done.

 

The how to's and technical issues have been pretty much over come. Today’s hardware can drive these types of programs... The bandwidth to link these types of programs exist in surplus.

 

What you don't have is the market... or the wiliness to pay the cost it would require to fund this type of product for the consumer market.

 

The new consumer based Electronic Battlefield is not filled with Jets, Tanks and war fighters engaged in massive dynamic battles. No today the new EBF is full of people controlling Orks and Wizards while mixing special potions.

 

Today those people are willing to pay $50+ for a game and $19 a months to subscribe to that game’s server. You see, those people are willing to pay an additional $50 for add-ons and other developer driven enhancements.

 

Sim guys... well they are a different breed… they spend most of their time fighting about having to pay for add-ons or why the latest free patch did not add their personal favorite jet or feature to a program they paid less then market value for in most cases.

 

Your Electronic Battlefield could have been as vast and as robust a place as you see with the Ork and Wizards kids.

 

No, today your EBF and war fighting grounds are digital based forums where you see highly talented people that build add-ons mix it up with very smart people willing to debate about the merits of the developers work.

 

The difficulties are not with technology. They are mainly self-inflicted. How do you support a fan base that is unwilling to pay for

the things they want? How do you as a developer defeat this entitlement complex?

 

Clearly there is a deep passion there for these products, both by the fans as well as the developers that continue to build for such a tough and demanding market.

 

Games like ARMA and BIS products show you what can be done from the FPS point of view. Games like DCS Black Shark show you what sheer will and love can build for the dying Combat flight sim genre.

 

A company like Total Immersion shows you how you can marry the two worlds into one with the right funding!

The talent is out there... the support is not.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Boneski

[Grimes]

 

Today those people are willing to pay $50+ for a game and $19 a months to subscribe to that game’s server. You see, those people are willing to pay an additional $50 for add-ons and other developer driven enhancements.

 

Sim guys... well they are a different breed… they spend most of their time fighting about having to pay for add-ons or why the latest free patch did not add their personal favorite jet or feature to a program they paid less then market value for in most cases.

 

 

Often with games such as WoW their monthly subscription adds more than just access to a game server. The online multiplayer is the game, and the players pay for a quality gaming experience. Not to mention all of the content patches and enhancements made to it over the years. The changes and fixes made to WoW in the first 3 months far outnumber the changes in patches we have had for Black Shark and Lock On.

 

I honestly don't see why people feel "entitled" to extra content to be free. And I'm not sure I can identify flight simmers in particular for having that problem since we havn't had a patch to add that content to Black Shark or LO. I can understand the argument for other games where the content is available but not exactly required. Look at LittleBigPlanet, it has a TON of packs you can buy for a couple of bucks and all they do is make cosmetic changes, and they arn't required by any means. But hey, if you want to make your game that much special for you by purchasing the "Assassins Creed" custom outfit for your sackboy you are more than entitled to.

 

IMO the way to make a game to "compete with Orcs and Mage's/warlocks/shamans" (in Mr. T voice - "Wizards arnt in WoW fool!") would be to make a game that appeals to very specific groups and "wet their beak" so to speak to have em get the interest in sims. Time will help I think, as the average age of gamer increases they might glide to other gaming interests. We just need to turn them on to the idea that flight sims can be fun. Perhaps if more games to take advantage of joysticks come out (here's to Mech Warrior 5), people won't be so scared of flight sims.

[SUBS17]

From what I have seen subscription is a good buisness model as if used the right way the developers continue to improve the product which the users continue to pay for. The closest sim to that approach is FighterOps, their intention is to not just do jet combat but also other areas such as Ships, tanks, FPS etc. And on a Global map, actually it even has more potential than that you could probably also do space sims as well although that stuff is a few years away but as soon as they start making money the sooner this stuff can happen. I think DCS has some potential for Naval warfare and also tanks/vehicles. Maybe when the SDK is released someone might make such mods and I'd pay for an addon with such features.:thumbup:

[159th_Viper]

From what I have seen subscription is a good buisness model as if used the right way the developers continue to improve the product which the users continue to pay for......

 

Hell Yeah - From a Producer's Point-Of-View it's Brilliant! From a Purely Personal Point-Of-View......Pure, Unadulterated Greed that I will in Principle have No Party To!!!

 

That is, unless someone can put forth a Conscise and Constructive attempt at Justification as to how a £5 100 000-00 Turnover Per Month (Five Million One Hundred Thousand Pounds) in Customer Subscriptions alone (Figures based on Stats of one MMORPG) can ever be argued as Reasonable and Justifiable.

 

Until Then, All my Spare Pennies will only be Securely invested in the Banks of Eagle Dynamics and Thrustmaster respectively.

[CE_Mikemonster]

Greets peeps, long time no-see.

 

Personally I would prefer to see the focus of investment for flight sims turn towards the 'feeling' of an integrated battlefield, rather than introduce FPS aspects.

 

There's always a limited amount of time and money; I'm just saying that rather than create a hybrid 'one size fits all' game, I think it would be better to sort out the glaring immersion problems in most flight sims.

 

Then possibly those who want to be 'battlefield commanders' in OFP/ArmA games could enjoy flying co-pilot in an AI recon plane in a DCS type flight sim - commanding AI units as they attack a 'smart' enemy force, perhaps commanded by another player via Multiplayer.

 

It would be great to have an Arma2 Multiplayer experience, with DCS flight models/maps, but everyone would need to be very professional.

 

Possibly this thread could be about a mix between DCS and Steel Beasts.. Now there is something that would be interesting.. # Strokes Chin #

(I'm sure it's been discussed to death)

[EtherealN]

That is, unless someone can put forth a Conscise and Constructive attempt at Justification as to how a £5 100 000-00 Turnover Per Month (Five Million One Hundred Thousand Pounds) in Customer Subscriptions alone (Figures based on Stats of one MMORPG) can ever be argued as Reasonable and Justifiable.

 

Well, that depends. In the case of MMORPG's we need to remember that it's not just development that costs - indeed development is a small fraction of the lifecycle cost of a typical MMO. WoW for example has (if I recall correctly) several thousand GM's on the payroll to keep services up in-game, plus monstrous electricity bills. (I don't recall the exact numbers, and they are a few years old, but I remember noticing that just on GM's they were bigger in employee count than my then employer - which was sweden's largest pulp and lumber producer.)

 

MMO's cost a lot of money to operate, and it is surprisingly difficult to make a profit in that sector - just check out how many MMO's get launched and how many of them last more than a year...

 

In the case of non-MMO's like DCS:BS and ArmA2 it becomes a lot more difficult to find a way to defend a straight subscription, though.

[SUBS17]

Hell Yeah - From a Producer's Point-Of-View it's Brilliant! From a Purely Personal Point-Of-View......Pure, Unadulterated Greed that I will in Principle have No Party To!!!

 

That is, unless someone can put forth a Conscise and Constructive attempt at Justification as to how a £5 100 000-00 Turnover Per Month (Five Million One Hundred Thousand Pounds) in Customer Subscriptions alone (Figures based on Stats of one MMORPG) can ever be argued as Reasonable and Justifiable.

 

Until Then, All my Spare Pennies will only be Securely invested in the Banks of Eagle Dynamics and Thrustmaster respectively.

 

From what I recall FOs subscription was a yearly fee and it will still work without the 2nd years subscription but the user would miss out on patches and addons until they got their next subscription. Which seems quite fair and justified and has the potential to really kick butt as far as combat sims is concerned.

[SUBS17]

Possibly this thread could be about a mix between DCS and Steel Beasts.. Now there is something that would be interesting.. # Strokes Chin #

(I'm sure it's been discussed to death)

 

How about DCS, Steel beasts, 688i and Dangerous waters.(and Arama2):thumbup: