Fractal Softworks Forum
Starsector => General Discussion => Topic started by: Blips on May 06, 2011, 12:11:00 AM
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I realize that this could be a sensitive topic for the devs but I'm curious about how many preorders have been made as well as how many sales you hope to make once the game is completed.
Again, if you guys are uncomfortable answering don't worry about it ;)
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I asked that question before the Alpha was released (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=76383.msg2226101#msg2226101), Alex told me it was around 100 or so pre-orders.
Now that the alpha is out, it's probably significantly higher. Hope so. Good motivation.
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I don't mind sharing that information. There have been a little over 350 preorders so far, with about 250 of those coming after the alpha release. Seems like it caused quite a splash! The numbers have already started dropping off, but that is to be expected.
Between all the expenses and time spent (and yet to be spent), it'll take several tens of thousands of sales for it to be a financial success - depending on which part of the price range those sales come in on.
I know I've said it before, and I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I'm really blown away by your guys' support for Starfarer. I could not have wished for a better reception, and am infinitely grateful. Thanks to you, I have a real hope that it will be successful - and that I'll be able to devote myself to working on it full time, which is, of course, the dream :)
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I really admire such transparency, thanks for sharing Alex.
I wonder what would happen if your game and the preorder sale was announced on a few popular gaming websites such as GiantBomb or Gamespy. The only reason I even discovered the game was due to a thread on the QT3 forums.
I wish you guys the best of luck and hope that the game really takes off (slight pun intended 8).
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I discovered the game from someone else talking about it on the Transcendence IRC channel on freenode.
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I only heard of it because someone posted a link to it in a Terraria thread along with a link to S.P.A.Z. It was the first time I had heard of it. If this is only being publicized by word of mouth, I imagine it'll get off to a slow start.
Has the game been announced/marketed anywhere? The graphics and mechanics are better than Gratuitous Space Battles (an inspiration I'm sure, if not, this game at least gives me the control I always wanted in GSB) so there must be an audience. I think it'll do well as long as steps are taken to ensure you stay on everyones radar.
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I really hope you guys get everything you deserve for this game (publicity, financial/emotional success, tons of raging fans, ready to take down PSN if you ask (just a random example...)).
I know I already got my money's worth from the current version...
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Yeah, it's been mostly word of mouth so far. Much of the post-release mini traffic explosion was precipitated by David posting on the Gaslamp Games blog (http://www.gaslampgames.com/blog) (a company he's co-founder of, I believe). That got picked up on RPGWatch, QT3, and a bunch of other places.
I think we'll start contacting game review sites after the next alpha release - that way it'll be more polished and easier to get into when reviewers get their hands on it.
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You should see if you could get hooked up with Humble Bundle group. They don't do DRM, but they definitely get paid.. they also help out FSF and charities as well... check their stats with the other Humble Bundles they have had before.. Last I believe was around $900,000+... but that was between a couple of groups... still.. it could be interesting... I think it is an awsome idea and helps get you game and name out there to the masses.
http://www.humblebundle.com/
enjoy...
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I think it's very promising that all the sales have been through word-of-mouth so far. Once the actual release comes around, and the big websites (RPS etc.) run a story on it, I don't see why 50,000 sales would be unlikely in the first week.
Getting on Steam would really get the word out, too.
And the Humble Indie Bundle is a great idea. Maybe after the game has been out for a bit. I love HIB.
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Starfarer is a million-dollars-game - I'm sure. But also I think that you don't need to force the sales until the announced features is implemented.
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Starfarer is a million-dollars-game
qft
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Starfarer is a million-dollars-game - I'm sure. But also I think that you don't need to force the sales until the announced features is implemented.
Definitely agreed. I don't think it's wise to push it out until it's ready for prime time.
Would love to see it sell a $1 million worth of copies: I'm greedy and want more awesome features post-release.
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Given the way the game is set up, and the types of resources it uses, with enough attention, you could get a pretty robust modding community.
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You should speak to the humblebundle guys and get your game put into the next bundle :)
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You should speak to the humblebundle guys and get your game put into the next bundle :)
Yeah! Tell David / Jeffrey :D
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Guys, guys! I think that might be a bit premature - they would probably like a more finished game :)
Starfarer is a million-dollars-game - I'm sure. But also I think that you don't need to force the sales until the announced features is implemented.
Definitely agreed. I don't think it's wise to push it out until it's ready for prime time.
Would love to see it sell a $1 million worth of copies: I'm greedy and want more awesome features post-release.
Thanks for the kind words! I agree about not pushing it out too early. The thing is, if I were to be able to do this full-time, the work would go much faster. I guess I'm just chomping at the bit... a bit.
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Starfarer is a million-dollars-game - I'm sure. But also I think that you don't need to force the sales until the announced features is implemented.
What is the purpose of offering the alpha preorder for 50% if you're not going to advertise it?
If you guys were to show off a future alpha build, who's to say that you won't get enough preorders to allow you to work on the game full time?
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What is the purpose of offering the alpha preorder for 50% if you're not going to advertise it?
Probably to gather feedback, correct bugs, generate some buzz, get an idea of how high interest is, and create a bit of revenue. In many (not all) cases, a company may only get one good shot to make a first impression. I can't speak for Fractal Softworks here, but I know that I'd want my big info burst to come at a time when I'm confident my game (and the sales backend) is where I designed it to be.
Then you announce it to the big game sites, get tons of page hits, and hopefully move a lot of products at full price.
That's my thinking, anyway.
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In many (not all) cases, a company may only get one good shot to make a first impression.
If their alpha was filled with on-screen debug text or didn't have sound or in general was lacking polish, then I'd agree with you 100%. But the current alpha is very polished for what it is, and they've outlined their intended features quite clearly. I'm not saying that they should rush it, only that there may be a large amount of positive feedback even if they only show off the combat / missions.
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Probably to gather feedback, correct bugs, generate some buzz, get an idea of how high interest is, and create a bit of revenue. In many (not all) cases, a company may only get one good shot to make a first impression. I can't speak for Fractal Softworks here, but I know that I'd want my big info burst to come at a time when I'm confident my game (and the sales backend) is where I designed it to be.
Yeah, that's pretty much it. Except, ideally, instead of one big burst, it would be a slow ramp-up, though I don't know how realistic that is to get that. The problem with a burst is it's kind of hard to prepare for it (say, to handle a large spike in site traffic, if you don't know how large it is), and if something goes wrong, there's a big price to pay.
In many (not all) cases, a company may only get one good shot to make a first impression.
If their alpha was filled with on-screen debug text or didn't have sound or in general was lacking polish, then I'd agree with you 100%. But the current alpha is very polished for what it is, and they've outlined their intended features quite clearly. I'm not saying that they should rush it, only that there may be a large amount of positive feedback even if they only show off the combat / missions.
The plan is to polish the alpha up a bit more and then get in touch with a few review sites, just to feel it out, instead of blasting press releases to anyone and everyone. Hopefully leading to a slow ramp-up in the number of players, building up the community, getting more word of mouth, etc. I don't know if it's a good plan, but that's the plan for now :)
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Sounds like a solid plan Alex, best to walk before you run. If I understand correctly this is only part time for you, slow but steady will win you the race. I have seen too many great projects fumble because they tried to get big too fast, and not just in the game industry.
Keep up the good work, even if I would like to have more game to play now refinement takes time. But you seem to know this already.
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Sounds like this project is being managed with careful intelligence, which makes me feel really good about where Starfarer will be in the next few months. I like how expectations are hopeful but cautious.
The more I think about, the info ramp-up really does seem like the more likely (and better) road to take than my "info-burst" assumption, which wasn't really backed up by realistic research.
I know how the fans are feeling, though: eager to see this become a big hit, but maintaining a strong desire to exercise restraint to guarantee the best possible results.
If their alpha was filled with on-screen debug text or didn't have sound or in general was lacking polish, then I'd agree with you 100%. But the current alpha is very polished for what it is, and they've outlined their intended features quite clearly. I'm not saying that they should rush it, only that there may be a large amount of positive feedback even if they only show off the combat / missions.
No, you're right. The first alpha we're playing is fantastic (my expectations were much lower), looks great, sounds great, plays great -- I definitely agree with you that it's a tough game NOT to enjoy, even at this early stage.
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And even though a lot of the modding we've done (ie, mission distribution, adding custom ships & weapons) isn't officially supported and really wasn't planned for at this stage is still quite possible, and in a mere 2 weeks we've already got... 7 custom ship graphics (6 new, 1 altered) and a balance change mod, not to mention one released mission up for download. (I still need to get around to polishing my other ones >.>)
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The more I think about, the info ramp-up really does seem like the more likely (and better) road to take than my "info-burst" assumption, which wasn't really backed up by realistic research.
Ah, but I think you're right. Everything I've seen/read/heard indicates most games sell in a burst. On the other hand, though - I wonder what the sales graph for Mount & Blade or Minecraft looks like.
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Guys, guys! I think that might be a bit premature - they would probably like a more finished game :)
Not really, their last bundle had 1 pre-order (so not even a demo) and 1 prototype completely unfinished game in it. Your game is actually playable, plus by the time the next bundle is out it will be a lot more complete, the next one I doubt is until at least the end of this year!
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the last bundle was stuff all released by the same company (frozenbyte) all at the same time, so I'd think that it was an exception rather than the rule, as normally the games are all produced by different developers.
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This is definitely an interesting discussion. I am not sure we can say what an exception and a rule is, RE: the HiB. I have the feeling the guys at Wolfire don't play by a set of rules. This, to me, is why they have been successful.
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Well, I meant 'rule' more in a metaphorical sense, but.. :D
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What about making a video contest or something... Let people record their most epic battles and upload the results, maybe you can tinker another trailer out of it or something xD
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Given the way the game is set up, and the types of resources it uses, with enough attention, you could get a pretty robust modding community.
Avan is right. That is precisely what sparked my interest enough to come here and check out the buzz. I just joined the forums late last night.
I'm a very strongly mod-centric player and to me, customizability is the lifeblood of a game. I'm far less concerned with scores or tournaments or bragging rights than I am with how modder-friendly a game is, how much replay value it has and how smoothly the player experience flows (no grinding or pointless unlockables, please). I need a game where the player has as much control as possible over the back-end of the game experience, as I'm constantly creating new content or tweaking existing content. The fact that my interests run deeply & strongly in the groove of tactical & strategic space combat pretty much made it inevitable that I'd eventually discover Alex's fascinating new game.
Hail Starfarer! Long may the preorders grow. :)
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I'm a very strongly mod-centric player and to me, customizability is the lifeblood of a game.
You said it! I dont think I currently have any non-moddable games in fact >.>
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I'll just leave this here. (http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/04/how-early-reviews-hurt-sales-of-indie-games.ars)
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Well, the game is already out in a playable alpha, so...
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...so it's a slightly different story, yes; nevertheless, it's an interesting read, and relevant.
The public generally has a short attention span, and at the moment, the alpha's replayability depends upon the player's interest in mods. Once the different layers are all in place, it will hold far more interest for most gamers. I think it would be counter-productive to go all-out promoting an alpha, as opposed to slowly building up and spreading the word, then seeking more publicity when there's something more complete to offer.
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The real information in that article is that we should bombard Penny Arcade with e-mails about how awesome this game is so that they'll try it, like it, and mention it.
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Well, if early reviews hurt sales, we should come up with a really early review so that there can be more support for the alpha and then a big release-date release of reviews for when the show is really on.
Also, 350 pre-release sales is honestly on the low side for a game of this quality. Formal advertisement is definitely something to avoid right now, but getting the word out informally at this stage will be very helpful. If the community could organize a particular time this month to post info, youtube videos, and links on our own websites or other places we frequent, Alex would get quite a few sales. If we do it right, he could get over a thousand sales from one good community push alone.
(Maybe you could get a guy to design a real theme for a vBB forum instead of the default SMF stuff with that kind of money)
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getting the word out informally at this stage will be very helpful
I agree. I don't know how everyone else got here, but the first I heard of Starfarer was a post by mendonca on a forum for another indie game (theindiestone.com). The more of this the better, especially now that Alex will starve if no one buys the game...
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Thought I'd give you guys an update on the preorders - it's up to about 1150 through today. Sales dropped off a bit after the first couple of days, but had a lot more legs than I had hoped - getting picked up by game news sites and forums at one time or another kept preorders steady throughout May. It started to drop off sharply, but the "working on SF full-time" blog post and then the 0.34a release gave it a slight kick in pants.
I absolutely agree about the game not being ready for an official awareness-raising push (maybe after the campaign layer's first incarnation is in...). From what I can see, word of mouth is responsible for the majority of preorders so far. I think that means a lot of people playing are inclined to like Starfarer in the first place, and thus look past some of its present shortcomings (and more likely to partake in modding), both of which are great :)
Thank you all for spreading the word!
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From what I can see, word of mouth is responsible for the majority of preorders so far. I think that means a lot of people playing are inclined to like Starfarer in the first place, and thus look past some of its present shortcomings (and more likely to partake in modding), both of which are great :)
Thank you all for spreading the word!
That's how I was first made aware of Starfarer. Me and a friend are both involved in deep modding of Gratuitous Space Battles over the long term, and he happened to mention this game to me. GSB's official development at this late date is now nearly zero. While I still get some enjoyment from the game, the number of things left undone in the codebase but also permanently out of reach of all modders is too high for my liking. I'm definitely predisposed to find your new game to be a good fit for my own interests & requirements; doubly so for the very young modding scene that's just getting off of the launch-pad here.
One of those 1150-ish preorders was mine last night. I'm glad to be on-board. ;)
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That's how I was first made aware of Starfarer. Me and a friend are both involved in deep modding of Gratuitous Space Battles over the long term, and he happened to mention this game to me. GSB's official development at this late date is now nearly zero. While I still get some enjoyment from the game, the number of things left undone in the codebase but also permanently out of reach of all modders is too high for my liking. I'm definitely predisposed to find your new game to be a good fit for my own interests & requirements; doubly so for the very young modding scene that's just getting off of the launch-pad here.
One of those 1150-ish preorders was mine last night. I'm glad to be on-board. ;)
Well that didn't take long - i must have had you at "Turret Arcs" to get you out and Pre-Order :D
For myself i stumbled over this proverbial Diamond in the Rough when using google to look for a new space-sim
(Best $10 i ever spent).
As Archduke has pointed out, with the development of GSB is complete and no new areas for the modding community to explore i also find myself making a new home here. Hopefully i might be able to bring a few more people with me ;)
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One of those 1150-ish preorders was mine last night. I'm glad to be on-board. ;)
Glad to have you here, welcome aboard. The mess hall is on the right, and the escape pods are strategically located by the bridge. We only keep one of 'em fueled up, though, and nobody knows which - helps with morale.
As Archduke has pointed out, with the development of GSB is complete and no new areas for the modding community to explore i also find myself making a new home here. Hopefully i might be able to bring a few more people with me ;)
Let's just say if this happens, I won't complain ;) Looking forward to expanding modding capabilities beyond what's already available.
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I've had the game for awhile now but am new to the forums, so hello all :)
I really do hope you do well with this little gem of a game Alex it has so much promise and I'm really looking forward to the campaign layer.
I own GSB myself as I'm sure many of your early adopters do but I didn't like the "hands off" approach... so Starfarer hits the mark with me much more than GSB did; plus I love the particle style 2D graphics!
1150 sales sounds like a hell of a good start for a game in Alpha :)
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Count me in as well! It seems like we are going to spend some quality time around here! Bought game today and its awesome!
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Hi guys! Thanks for your well-wishes, glad you're enjoying the game.
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Just adding my 2 cents on the "Where I heard about it"
I was reading a few forum posts at Matrix, Distant Worlds Forum and Starfarer Alpha and SPAZ Beta were mentioned. After reading a bit on both I bought them.
I play a wide range of genres and I am quite looking forward to what this will be. Thanks!
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I heard about it in a forum post at ambrosia software. It occurs to me that one way I could help spread the word is by reposting it on other forums...
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That certainly would help, yeah :) Much appreciated!
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I preordered the game immediately after seeing an IndieGames.com post that had Starfarer's trailer embedded yesterday. It has a surprisingly high amount of comments for IndieGames, so I'm sure you guys got some nice exposure that way.
Here's a link to the post: http://indiegames.com/2011/05/trailer_starfarer_fractal_soft.html
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Just got this game myself, was into SPAZ, and love these types of simpler top down spaceship games (even tho this one is a bit more complex,) when i came upon a mention of this game and googled it. Found the art style to be awesome, with so many guns on the ships and what not. Can't wait till the open world aspect is added, I can see this game being a big Steam seller once the sandbox aspect is added.
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I heard about this from someone on the Penny Arcade forums, got it basically immediately after seeing the site. It's my favorite genre, I have to support the development.
Actually, I should probably pick up SPAZ too, if I want these sorts of things to get more play.
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If you keep going in the direction you are with this game, then you're going to be very successful. It has so much promise.
Just remember to keep listening to the community and you can't go too far wrong. ;) When it's a niche game like this tailoring your product to the audience is very important!
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No idea how I ended up on this site honestly, I was searching for HDMI cables on amazon 0.o
That said, I went ahead and purchased the game after a few minutes of site browsing, looks great!
Also figured that I would bring back up the humble bundle idea.
I've been a long time player of Cortex Command, a game that featured prominently in the second (and now third) line-up,
and I can assure you, it was/is no more complete that Starfarer, and they seemed to have few qualms with listing it.
Just try to get your game out there!
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No idea how I ended up on this site honestly, I was searching for HDMI cables on amazon 0.o
Hah, I was sure this was going to be a spambot post when I read this opener :D
That said, I went ahead and purchased the game after a few minutes of site browsing, looks great!
Also figured that I would bring back up the humble bundle idea.
I've been a long time player of Cortex Command, a game that featured prominently in the second (and now third) line-up,
and I can assure you, it was/is no more complete that Starfarer, and they seemed to have few qualms with listing it.
Just try to get your game out there!
Thanks for your support! You know, I just don't think it's ready for that. Even if they would want it in the HIB, I'd rather take the time to get it done right than put it out there in a state I'm not happy with, "good enough" though it might be.
Though if the Wolfire guys actually came calling, it would be a very tough decision.
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I think you should try your hand at pushing this game alone for the time being, it has the power to stand by itself as it is already. Save the HIB bundle for another day in other words.
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* throws self into the preorder crowd *
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I just preordered yesterday after seeing the game on Linux Games Database. Always happy to support developers that support Linux!!!
I know this is a few month old topic, but regarding unfinished games in the Humble Bundle, I didn't see that Cortex Command was mentioned here. That was in Humble Indie Bundle 2, a game which is still in the alpha stage and RARELY gets updates. They recently published the first update since the bundle with the release of HIB3.
Reddit is also a great place to go viral... I was actually just about to go post about this game, primarily it's Linux support, on r/linux_gaming and r/indiegaming.
It's also always nice to see developers taking part on the forums and communicating with their community! =)
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Hi there!
Right, someone mentioned Cortex Command a couple of posts ago. I guess one thing about the HIB is that most of the games in it seem to be around the end of their sales lifecycle - it seems rare that a game launches there. Revenge of the Titans (http://www.puppygames.net/revenge-of-the-titans/) is a notable exception - I don't know if there are any others?
Thanks for the Reddit plug, btw :)
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I wanna jump on the band wagon but my credit card is dry for another month :(... anyone wanna trade a EVE-Online plex for a copy? ;D -activates active tank and waits for the geddons to come in screaming "SCAMMER!" without any basis-
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Well, toss my preorder into the mix! Heard about this through a friend of mine (I'm not sure if he's preordered it yet or even on these forums, but he's watching it) and once I saw it, I immediately had to get on board. This type of game is definitely one I enjoy and I really look forward to following it's progress. In fact, it was reminding me of older favorites like Star Flight and online games of Cosmic Rift and Infantry Online's Fleet!. Hope you guys keep getting more attention.
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Just to give you a heads-up regarding Steam & indie space games, they did end up allowing SPAZ on Steam, reversing the decision mentioned earlier. So that is still a viable option to look into down the line when you get there.
[I noticed this when I saw a SPAZ advertisement on Steam] :D
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They even uploaded all of the keys on to Steam for those who purchased during Beta!
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Just wanted to say I just pre-ordered this yesterday. I was originally going to get SPAZ but I got this instead =]
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I just pre-ordered the game yesterday. Want to know what made me get it now? The mod support. Any developer that advertises mod support as a feature gets my money (as long as the game is worth modding, that is).
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Thanks for your support, guys! Hope you enjoy the game.
Just to give you a heads-up regarding Steam & indie space games, they did end up allowing SPAZ on Steam, reversing the decision mentioned earlier. So that is still a viable option to look into down the line when you get there.
[I noticed this when I saw a SPAZ advertisement on Steam] :D
That is indeed good news. It seems like Steam usually accepts games once they actually do well outside of it :)
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On a somewhat related note to to this topic, I wanted to say that I added a banner link to you guys on my website.
I like spreading the word about cool games like this, and wanted to show support. Hope that's ok!
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On a somewhat related note to to this topic, I wanted to say that I added a banner link to you guys on my website.
I like spreading the word about cool games like this, and wanted to show support. Hope that's ok!
Thank you!
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Preordered last night and thoroughly enjoying what I've played so far. Thanks for your hard work! I can't wait to see how Starfarer develops.
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Was just finally able to put my order in, had to have the GF do it as a gift though, any idea how long on average it is taking now to get the key, as the purchase site said up to 5 hours!?
*update 2 hours and counting...
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You got it by now, right? Up to 5 hours sounds about right - I'd say its instant about half the time, and anywhere up to 5 hrs for the other half.
My apologies for the delay.
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Yeah got it just as the counter ticked 5 hours, lol. I was going crazy waiting, been wanting to play this for a while, and from what i've played so far, i rather like it, if only i can remember to vent flux lol
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I ordered this some two hours ago.
Dgbaumgart posted a link in Dungeons of Dredmor forum and I just couldn't help it.
I'm not sure if I will be able to play it in this camputer, but if I can't, I'll do so in my soon-to-be-repaired desktop.
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Yeah got it just as the counter ticked 5 hours, lol. I was going crazy waiting, been wanting to play this for a while, and from what i've played so far, i rather like it, if only i can remember to vent flux lol
'v' and there is a nice manual here (https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1Tn8lAEi8hZAHDDgOSZ_HJx_0bgQMQ_Tt2TNx2kXbQVc)
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@Psiweapon : If you can play Dredmor, I'm pretty sure you can play Starfarer. My horrible old mac laptop runs both - not very well, but they run.
And glad SF was of interest; I'm always happy to shill for Alex!
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Found out about this one tonight and pre-ordered after doing a tad bit of research. I love the fact that people are making these types of games again. It's so refreshing. I look forward to playing and spreading the word. Best wishes!
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Found out about this one tonight and pre-ordered after doing a tad bit of research. I love the fact that people are making these types of games again. It's so refreshing. I look forward to playing and spreading the word. Best wishes!
Welcome to the club of eagerly-awaiters!
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Just like to say I pre-ordered this about a month ago. I am really enjoying this. I was a huge Star-control freak back in the day, and EV was a always a favorite. Cannot wait to see the end result. Great work so far, keep to the vision you have and the rest will fall in place. ;D
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Just like to say I pre-ordered this about a month ago. I am really enjoying this. I was a huge Star-control freak back in the day, and EV was a always a favorite. Cannot wait to see the end result. Great work so far, keep to the vision you have and the rest will fall in place. ;D
Thanks for your support! :)
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Star Control 2 was my favorite game growing up. EV is spectacular, too. Welcome to the forums, whitenoise71!
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How are the pre-orders going Alex? Have you seen any correlation between sales and blog updates?
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How are the pre-orders going Alex? Have you seen any correlation between sales and blog updates?
Up to about 2,000 preorders total. Average over August was about 6 per day. About 2 per day or so in the last week.
There's a pretty good correlation with new releases and sales, not so much with blog posts - though they definitely cause more traffic, and usually, a couple more sales.
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Might I suggest making a profile for Starfarer on Indie\Moddb (http://www.moddb.com/)? I guarantee you that you'll get a ton of pre-orders from the people who frequent that site if you do. That, and your modding community will likely expand a lot as well. Also, they have their own digital distribution system, called Desura. Not sure if you'd be interested in that, though.
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That's really interesting information. It's neat to get a little insight into what prompts sales.
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That's really interesting information. It's neat to get a little insight into what prompts sales.
Not surprising that the release of new versions causes the biggest spikes, though.
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Was there a facebook group that we can Like yet so we can get our friends to help fund this very promising game?
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I know a lot of ppl waiting for a first campaign implementation to buy it 8)
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Same here.
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Might I suggest making a profile for Starfarer on Indie\Moddb (http://www.moddb.com/)? I guarantee you that you'll get a ton of pre-orders from the people who frequent that site if you do. That, and your modding community will likely expand a lot as well. Also, they have their own digital distribution system, called Desura. Not sure if you'd be interested in that, though.
Hmm, yeah. I've talked a bit with Desura, looks promising on that front.
Was there a facebook group that we can Like yet so we can get our friends to help fund this very promising game?
Not yet, but I really ought to set that up.
I know a lot of ppl waiting for a first campaign implementation to buy it 8)
Same here.
Oh, the pressure is on to deliver, now. Not that it was ever off :D
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just bought it impulsively! I'm excited, I think this game will be what I thought Space Pirates and Zombies was going to be like.
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just bought it impulsively! I'm excited, I think this game will be what I thought Space Pirates and Zombies was going to be like.
Yeah, I hear ya, I also felt a little let down once I realized how limited the number of ships you could have in SPAZ was, a great game in its own way for sure, very pretty, but I think Starfarer is going to end up being remembered as the far better game in retrospect. :) But then again, I have always been partial to a little bit of strategy being a part of the equation, which Starfarer emphasizes far more than SPAZ did.
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Spaz is super repetitive and grindy... it has none of the sandbox elements that made games like X, Elite, Star Con, and Escape Velocity great. Its not a bad game, just something I'd expect a much younger demographic would enjoy.
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Whew. Finally got around to preordering. 8) Can't wait to get home tonight to activate and play!
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Sorry to reply to such an old thread, but I had a question after reading through all 7 pages.
Is the only advantage for Starfarer joining the humble bundle just to get free publicity for your game? I'm sure the "humble tip" can't be enough to make that much money off of, since most of the money goes to charity.
As someone who buys indie games all the time, I like how these pay what you want charity bundles get indie games attention, but I can't help but feel that they cheapen the value of indie games. I know many of my friends now consider whether an indie game will be part of the humble bundle before purchasing it (and deciding to wait if they think it might be). I really think indie developers should *NOT* put new games in these bundles (new games meaning less than a year old). I like supporting developers, but I can't help feeling a bit irked that a game I bought at launch a month ago is already part of a humble bundle (and still bug ridden, I'm talking to you, The Binding of Isaac). I almost bought Nuclear Dawn the other day, but sadly I'm now kind of glad that I didn't since it's part of the Indie Royale bundle launching this week.
To a large extent, I think the market is also getting over-saturated with these bundles too, just like what happened with Groupon and its clones. They are no longer as unique or as exciting.
Sorry to rant, but I just see all these indie bundles as a downward spiral for devaluing indie games and creating a "wait and see" mentality for people who frequently support them. I'd honestly be much more likely to purchase Starfarer if it didn't make its way into a bundle.
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It would be foolish to put a new game on the bundle. I think TotalBiscuit said it pretty accurately: indie games go to the HIB to die. And make a bunch of money while doing so.
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Sorry to reply to such an old thread, but I had a question after reading through all 7 pages.
Is the only advantage for Starfarer joining the humble bundle just to get free publicity for your game? I'm sure the "humble tip" can't be enough to make that much money off of, since most of the money goes to charity.
As someone who buys indie games all the time, I like how these pay what you want charity bundles get indie games attention, but I can't help but feel that they cheapen the value of indie games. I know many of my friends now consider whether an indie game will be part of the humble bundle before purchasing it (and deciding to wait if they think it might be). I really think indie developers should *NOT* put new games in these bundles (new games meaning less than a year old). I like supporting developers, but I can't help feeling a bit irked that a game I bought at launch a month ago is already part of a humble bundle (and still bug ridden, I'm talking to you, The Binding of Isaac). I almost bought Nuclear Dawn the other day, but sadly I'm now kind of glad that I didn't since it's part of the Indie Royale bundle launching this week.
Hi! Hmm, this is something I've been mulling over for a while. My thinking on it mirrors what you've said, mostly. It makes good sense, but unfortunately we don't have the hard data to say whether it's actually true or not.
It certainly seems like a mistake for a new game to be in a bundle, but how do you really weigh the added publicity vs the reduced per-sale amounts? Also, using the HIB as an example, I have no idea what actual percentage ends up going to each dev. There are certainly a *lot* of ways that money gets split, though.
To a large extent, I think the market is also getting over-saturated with these bundles too, just like what happened with Groupon and its clones. They are no longer as unique or as exciting.
Sorry to rant, but I just see all these indie bundles as a downward spiral for devaluing indie games and creating a "wait and see" mentality for people who frequently support them. I'd honestly be much more likely to purchase Starfarer if it didn't make its way into a bundle.
Well, the last HIB was the biggest one to date... there are lots of other bundles springing up, though, so I guess it is getting crowded, especially for any newcomers. I wonder, how many people actually don't play most of the games they get in a bundle? I'd wager that's a lot. Of those, how many *forget* they own a certain game, and buy it again? I got one of the first few HIBs myself, and I certainly don't remember everything that was in it.
So, I can't really say whether Starfarer will end up in a bundle at some point. It's definitely not something I'm actively seeking, though. For me, the goal is to end up on Steam, even though I realize it's difficult, and far from a sure thing.
It would be foolish to put a new game on the bundle. I think TotalBiscuit said it pretty accurately: indie games go to the HIB to die. And make a bunch of money while doing so.
Again, sounds sensible. But I know of at least one game that got on Steam right after being in the HIB, and ended up being *very* successful. I don't know if being in the HIB actually helped get it on Steam, but it seems like it. If so, that's definitely a case of the added exposure being well worth it. That's just a single example, though, and far short of any conclusive argument.
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There are certainly a *lot* of ways that money gets split, though.
There definitely seems to be a lot of ways the money is split. I wish HIB would publish their breakdown after a bundle closes... and after the charity contribution, I'd be surprised if the developer tip is split evenly amongst all the games.
Well, the last HIB was the biggest one to date... there are lots of other bundles springing up, though, so I guess it is getting crowded, especially for any newcomers. I wonder, how many people actually don't play most of the games they get in a bundle? I'd wager that's a lot. Of those, how many *forget* they own a certain game, and buy it again? I got one of the first few HIBs myself, and I certainly don't remember everything that was in it.
I'd imagine quite a few people don't play most of the games and buy the bundle for a game or two that they're actually interested in. I wouldn't count on people buying a game again by mistake, especially if they registered the HIB on Steam, since Steam will tell you if already own it or not, which would prevent repurchasing. I actually went to buy a game that was on sale on Steam only to find out I already had it as part of a past HIB, so the HIB actually cost them a sale from me. The last HIB was arguably the best, but I'm not sure if they can keep that kind of momentum up, but we'll see.
So, I can't really say whether Starfarer will end up in a bundle at some point. It's definitely not something I'm actively seeking, though. For me, the goal is to end up on Steam, even though I realize it's difficult, and far from a sure thing.
Thanks for the really, really detailed response, I wasn't expecting this. As soon as I'm done posting this, I'm going to go ahead and pre-order your game to support your community involvement and transparency. I hope you make your goal of ending up on Steam, even if it takes a bundle along the way to get there (but I hope not :P). If you make it on Steam, it would be really cool if you managed to get Steam keys for all your alpha/beta supporters :)
Edit - And as a side note, supporting OS X also was a reason I just pre-ordered...
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I'd imagine quite a few people don't play most of the games and buy the bundle for a game or two that they're actually interested in. I wouldn't count on people buying a game again by mistake, especially if they registered the HIB on Steam, since Steam will tell you if already own it or not, which would prevent repurchasing. I actually went to buy a game that was on sale on Steam only to find out I already had it as part of a past HIB, so the HIB actually cost them a sale from me. The last HIB was arguably the best, but I'm not sure if they can keep that kind of momentum up, but we'll see.
Ah, didn't know Steam was integrated with the HIB like that - that's great. "Accidental repurchases" are certainly not something you'd want to count on (or want at all, in the first place), but given the numbers of people involved, I was just wondering what the occurence of those would be. Sounds like the Steam integration pretty well takes care of that, for those that use Steam.
Thanks for the really, really detailed response, I wasn't expecting this. As soon as I'm done posting this, I'm going to go ahead and pre-order your game to support your community involvement and transparency. I hope you make your goal of ending up on Steam, even if it takes a bundle along the way to get there (but I hope not :P). If you make it on Steam, it would be really cool if you managed to get Steam keys for all your alpha/beta supporters :)
Thank you for your support! I'll do my best to get the Steam keys, if I'm fortunate enough to get in :)
Edit - And as a side note, supporting OS X also was a reason I just pre-ordered...
Just in case - if your OS X version is below 10.6 (so, anything prior to Snow Leopard), you might have to do a few extra steps (http://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=246.msg3465#msg3465) to get it running. Anything from 10.6 on should be fine as-is.
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Hi Alex, i just love devs from indie games that really care about talking with "fans" ;D
A little tip - what about trying to get to Desura first before steam? They support Alphafunding model of sale (http://www.desura.com/groups/desura/news/alphafunding-for-indie-games), they have really nice client, and u should really see a grow in sales tbh :D its not like i adore Desura over Steam (i have like 10 games on Desura vs 200 games on Steam :D) but imo its easier to get there in first place + alphafunding is core feature of that platform to support unknown small games to public like Project Zomboid or rlly nice King Arthurs Gold. Plus its really easy to publish games there http://www.desura.com/groups/desura/howto :D
/cheers, gonna preorder it directly from u after checking 0.5 demo, couse im more eco/trade/etc over combat fan in sci-fi games ;]
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Thanks - yeah, I've been in touch with them, and they seem great. I'm certainly for getting Starfarer out there in different ways - Steam isn't the only goal - but it does have a lion's share of the market.
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Just preordered this today based on a comment in a post on the indiegames subreddit. Just got my key. Looking forward to this. Space games are generally my favorite, so it's nice to see some indie devs picking up where the industry has dropped it off.
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i bought it today(still waiting for key)after hearing TB mentioning he might do a playthrough or WTF is starfarer which could easly give this game 100k sales ,considering magicka,terraria and many other indie game's get massive boosts in sales after his juggernaut of a communty hear about it . alex you may want to contact TB(totalbiscuit)and ask if he could do a WTF starfarer alpha ,he might do it hes preety nice and within a day u could be in the 5-6 digit range in sales
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i bought it today(still waiting for key)after hearing TB mentioning he might do a playthrough or WTF is starfarer which could easly give this game 100k sales ,considering magicka,terraria and many other indie game's get massive boosts in sales after his juggernaut of a communty hear about it . alex you may want to contact TB(totalbiscuit)and ask if he could do a WTF starfarer alpha ,he might do it hes preety nice and within a day u could be in the 5-6 digit range in sales
I'm not Alex, but I'd personally think the optimal time for that might be later when the game is more complete. Maybe after the next version, maybe once the campaign is in in a multi-system capacity. At this time, while it's awesome, it's still fairly light on content.
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I'm not Alex, but I'd personally think the optimal time for that might be later when the game is more complete. Maybe after the next version, maybe once the campaign is in in a multi-system capacity. At this time, while it's awesome, it's still fairly light on content.
I agree, I'm going to begin throwing my very limited influence around to all the gamers I know once the next more fleshed out version is ready, I also think Alex has a pretty good idea of the readiness of the game, and will push for a stronger spotlight when the time is right. :)
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I'm very tempted to buy this game when my money goes into my paypal which should be tomorrow, feel wounded how VAT bumped the price from £7 to £8.50 ish -.- Looking forward to it though :D
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I'm very tempted to buy this game when my money goes into my paypal which should be tomorrow, feel wounded how VAT bumped the price from £7 to £8.50 ish -.- Looking forward to it though :D
I would feel wounded by VAT on a constant basis if I was effected by it. :( Ouchies, not fun at all.
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I'm very tempted to buy this game when my money goes into my paypal which should be tomorrow, feel wounded how VAT bumped the price from £7 to £8.50 ish -.- Looking forward to it though :D
I would feel wounded by VAT on a constant basis if I was effected by it. :( Ouchies, not fun at all.
Our government hates us you see :P 20% VAT... pfft... -.- lol they tax everything possible
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But they tax us so they can buy us nice things!
Oh wait ...
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But they tax us so they can buy us nice things!
Oh wait ...
They spend several billion on a high speed rail between London and Birmingham when iit'd make more money and be more useful if it stretched across the entire country and had quite a few trains using it :P Yeah the build cost would be insanely high lol but that'd be made up after several year :P
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Just want to echo the opinion of a few other posters regarding the inclusion of the game in a Humble Indie Bundle in the near future. In my opinion, it'd be best to wait for a while after the game is properly released before considering doing that, since I think there are more negative effects than positive ones to be had from releasing a new game into the bundle, whereas putting it in a year or so after release would most likely lead to a more positive outcome.
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Just want to echo the opinion of a few other posters regarding the inclusion of the game in a Humble Indie Bundle in the near future. In my opinion, it'd be best to wait for a while after the game is properly released before considering doing that, since I think there are more negative effects than positive ones to be had from releasing a new game into the bundle, whereas putting it in a year or so after release would most likely lead to a more positive outcome.
I think that they should wait a while before putting the game on Humble Bundle, simply because people won't be paying what the game is worth which wouldn't help support the devs much. Once the game is released properly then fair enough but until then I'd say no.
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I don't mind sharing that information. There have been a little over 350 preorders so far, with about 250 of those coming after the alpha release. Seems like it caused quite a splash! The numbers have already started dropping off, but that is to be expected.
Between all the expenses and time spent (and yet to be spent), it'll take several tens of thousands of sales for it to be a financial success - depending on which part of the price range those sales come in on.
I know I've said it before, and I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I'm really blown away by your guys' support for Starfarer. I could not have wished for a better reception, and am infinitely grateful. Thanks to you, I have a real hope that it will be successful - and that I'll be able to devote myself to working on it full time, which is, of course, the dream :)
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So this thread gets buried after the preview is released. Does the influx of new people on the forums mimic what has been happening with the sales?
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So did your pre-orders skyrocket after the TB WTF video?
In case you are interested, I ran across the game on spacegamejunkie.com in one of his space snippet posts. I saw the name and had to check it out. After checking it out Starfarer instantly jumped from me never hearing about it, to one of my most anticipated releases of the year (next year?).
Anywho, curious about total sales now as the game seems to be a lot more popular. Which Alex totally deserves because the game is so awesome.
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So did your pre-orders skyrocket after the TB WTF video?
I recall he said something about it in another thread.
Edit: Found it.
I can share some info now - ever since the WTF video went up (and after the subsequent website crash!), pre-orders have been coming in at a surprisingly steady rate of about one per minute. It seems like it's starting to slow down a bit now. Given that the video has been up for about 8 hours, you can do the math :) I'm very curious how it's going to affect preorders in the next couple of weeks, but regardless of that, it's already amazing.
January's been a *very* good month even before this video - mostly because of that blurb that went up on RTS a couple of weeks ago - but today alone has doubled the number of preorders for the month. This is incredible, especially right after a couple of really dry months at the end of last year.
So, to everyone that's preordered, a huge thank you! I truly appreciate your support and faith that we will deliver a complete game, and your help is what makes it possible for me to be working on this full-time.
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Please don't put this great game on HIB. Starfarer has excellent production value and can easily stand on its own if the Alex stick to the current pricing model. Most games on HIB are either causal-ish games looking for value-add by tagging onto other titles or good games at the end of their life cycle hoping to generate one last bit of revenue; Alex has absolutely no need to use discount to generate extra sales at this time. Also, once you've HIB your game, it says to the world that's how much it's worth and people will bulk at paying anywhere near full price again.
Alex, I can't help but notice there isn't a facebook page on Starfarer to take advantage of that ubiquitous 'like' button. Is there a reason behind this and do you have qualms against you fans making an unofficial one? ;)
Lastly, awesome of you to disclose your sales number. As a gamer studying Master of Marketing it's unbelievably frustrating trying to get some marketing figures from game dev/publishers for case studies. By the way, did you approach RPS and Totalbiscuit or they found you for that 0.35a preview?
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Please don't put this great game on HIB. Starfarer has excellent production value and can easily stand on its own if the Alex stick to the current pricing model. Most games on HIB are either causal-ish games looking for value-add by tagging onto other titles or good games at the end of their life cycle hoping to generate one last bit of revenue; Alex has absolutely no need to use discount to generate extra sales at this time. Also, once you've HIB your game, it says to the world that's how much it's worth and people will bulk at paying anywhere near full price again.
Alex, I can't help but notice there isn't a facebook page on Starfarer to take advantage of that ubiquitous 'like' button. Is there a reason behind this and do you have qualms against you fans making an unofficial one? ;)
Lastly, awesome of you to disclose your sales number. As a gamer studying Master of Marketing it's unbelievably frustrating trying to get some marketing figures from game dev/publishers for case studies. By the way, did you approach RPS and Totalbiscuit or they found you for that 0.35a preview?
Gotta agree with you on this. HIB is cool, but most of the games on there aren't as awesome as this one. I just don't know if it would really help Starfarer to be on it.
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Generally you don't put something on sale before its been released. Just sayin. That'd be pretty damn stupid.
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This game should not be going ANYWHERE near a humble bundle for a long time. It's strong enough to generate sales on it's own.
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I'm really happy that this game is doing well, I heard about it from TotalBiscuit and i was intrigued from the very start, I instantly brought the game and I enjoy it thoroughly
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hmm....220K+ views on TB's WTF video but only translates to less than 1,000 pre-orders. I guess a lot of people are waiting for the campaign component to be more fleshed out before buying.
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hmm....220K+ views on TB's WTF video but only translates to less than 1,000 pre-orders. I guess a lot of people are waiting for the campaign component to be more fleshed out before buying.
Don't trust the views on YT, it lags with the numbers and it doesn't always show what's really going on. I'm not one of those whom have waited for the campaign component either, bought it a few minutes ago after watching the TB clip. A tenner on what looks likes is going to be a good game is no loss on my pocket, more so if it helps the dev/s. :)
Rock on.