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[SCC]

when you don't release an update for the game in a year

[Stormy Fairweather]

i wish it was available on steam if ONLY so i could try to run this game via geforce now, because i had the misfortune of having an AMD gfx card which makes this game pretty much unplayable.

[Hatter]

What am I looking at?

[BCS]

Highfleet was released, got four patches, then the developer - who is a russian living in Russia - got quiet for half a year... and people started screaming how the game was "abandoned".

I guess Twitter really set up unrealistic expectations about level of interaction between developers and community.

[Zordiark Darkeater]

Highfleet was released, got four patches, then the developer - who is a russian living in Russia - got quiet for half a year... and people started screaming how the game was "abandoned".

I guess Twitter really set up unrealistic expectations about level of interaction between developers and community.

I Barelly ever use Twitter.. bleh...

But Some update info ONCE a month is not an unrealistic expectation.

[Demetrious]

Steam takes a 30% cut. That's highway robbery. Alex is one of the very few indie devs who has achieved widespread visibility without needing to pay a gatekeeper. So Steam can go pound sand IMO, he doesn't need them.

I Barelly ever use Twitter.. bleh...

But Some update info ONCE a month is not an unrealistic expectation.

The problem is that those updates would amount to "today, I continued to write code for X feature I talked about in my last blog post."

I mean, that's all it is. It's work.

[Grievous69]

Steam takes a 30% cut. That's highway robbery. Alex is one of the very few indie devs who has achieved widespread visibility without needing to pay a gatekeeper. So Steam can go pound sand IMO, he doesn't need them.

I Barelly ever use Twitter.. bleh...

But Some update info ONCE a month is not an unrealistic expectation.

The problem is that those updates would amount to "today, I continued to write code for X feature I talked about in my last blog post."

I mean, that's all it is. It's work.

I don't disagree with your points but this is nowhere near "widespread visibility" lol. Almost every new player post (not just here) starts off by saying how they can't believe they haven't heard of the game before. And this is for something that has been in development for 11 YEARS. Come on now, let's not mistake popularity with an active player base and modders.

This is just my opinion, but the game will never be exposed enough without Steam. For an indie game of this size that doesn't try to advertise itself, you pretty much bet everything on content creators. And even then you want someone with a wide reach, and not those who have a very niche community. With Steam, you don't need to run a whole campaign just to show off the game, nor you depend so much on youtube/twitch coverage.

[FooF]

A 30% cut for 10000% exposure and 1000% sales? I’ll take 9 please. Now If there’s a bunch of other red tape that sours development, sure, stay away, but I’m all for the game to go on Steam once it’s fully formed and if Alex chooses to do it.

I do want to see the game explode in popularity but I don’t want it to also become a regret.

[Harmful Mechanic]

Yeah, a 30% cut is pretty decent for all the things Steam gives you in return. Those analytics alone would be worth it. And you're not chained to Steam as an exclusive platform; Starsector can keep plugging along on BMT Micro payments or go up on Itch.io and GOG.com and make sales on those platforms as well. It's not wise to chain yourself to any one platform.

One thing I hope at least some people took away from the endless debacle of Star Citizen and other vaporware is that the parasociality around a game's development is sufficiently exciting to some people to count as a product in and of itself - one they're willing to spend the rent money on, with the right cracks in their psyche. More empty updates - phatic game development, you could call it - would just serve to reinforce that kind of fascination.

The future of that should scare the hell out of all of us. That shouldn't be something we want.

[FooF]

Yeah, a 30% cut is pretty decent for all the things Steam gives you in return. Those analytics alone would be worth it. And you're not chained to Steam as an exclusive platform; Starsector can keep plugging along on BMT Micro payments or go up on Itch.io and GOG.com and make sales on those platforms as well. It's not wise to chain yourself to any one platform.

One thing I hope at least some people took away from the endless debacle of Star Citizen and other vaporware is that the parasociality around a game's development is sufficiently exciting to some people to count as a product in and of itself - one they're willing to spend the rent money on, with the right cracks in their psyche. More empty updates - phatic game development, you could call it - would just serve to reinforce that kind of fascination.

The future of that should scare the hell out of all of us. That shouldn't be something we want.

Star Citizen is...something...but I don't think SS has any delusions of grandeur. If anything, Alex has been very intentional with stamping out feature creep. I'm sure some has snuck in but the fact that it still isn't a 4X game (despite somebody asking for it about twice a day) tells me that he has clear(-ish!) design goals.

It is interesting that you bring up some of the social constructs around gaming because this community feels a lot like a now-defunct group I used to frequent (RelicNews) which was a fan forum for Homeworld and Dawn of War in the early 2000s. Though this is an official forum, it's just a bunch of fans that like the game and want to see it succeed. I think this community is quite civil, healthy, and productive, all things considered. But there is a temptation to believe there is true community even though I haven't met any of you and can't begin to imagine what you're like in "real life." Don't get me wrong, there are some good blokes out there but, as exampled by Star Citizen, it is telling how much power fantasy and escapism can warp not just an individual's identity, but tens of thousands. 

[BHunterSEAL]

It is interesting that you bring up some of the social constructs around gaming because this community feels a lot like a now-defunct group I used to frequent (RelicNews) which was a fan forum for Homeworld and Dawn of War in the early 2000s. Though this is an official forum, it's just a bunch of fans that like the game and want to see it succeed. I think this community is quite civil, healthy, and productive, all things considered. But there is a temptation to believe there is true community even though I haven't met any of you and can't begin to imagine what you're like in "real life." Don't get me wrong, there are some good blokes out there but, as exampled by Star Citizen, it is telling how much power fantasy and escapism can warp not just an individual's identity, but tens of thousands.

Relicnews... that brings me back. Easily most of my forum time in middle / high school. What blows my mind is that it was the official forums for Relic--can you imagine a publisher letting a third-party fansite host a game's official forums these days? And not without reason, the Internet is so much more toxic than it was 20 years ago...

[Kos135]

I guess Twitter really set up unrealistic expectations about level of interaction between developers and community.

Alex hasn't reported to me at all today. I specifically told him to inform me about his choice of breakfast... if that BASTARD ate waffles this morning I'll have his head!

[BCS]

What, you don't take pictures of your breakfast before eating it?

[FooF]

Relicnews... that brings me back. Easily most of my forum time in middle / high school. What blows my mind is that it was the official forums for Relic--can you imagine a publisher letting a third-party fansite host a game's official forums these days? And not without reason, the Internet is so much more toxic than it was 20 years ago...

It is kind of crazy but the internet was different then and hosting was expensive. I’ve seen other RelicNews names here on SS but I can’t be sure it’s the same people. My gamer name is relatively unique so I’ve been able to keep it all these years. It’s funny how Starsector attracts the same kind of folks that early Relic did, before the dark times, before the sellouts…

[smithney]

This is just my opinion, but the game will never be exposed enough without Steam. For an indie game of this size that doesn't try to advertise itself, you pretty much bet everything on content creators. And even then you want someone with a wide reach, and not those who have a very niche community.

Perhaps not enough for you, but it's the management's decision how much is enough. I'm sure Starsector will get its time in the spotlight once it's finished. If the team can keep on working and living with the current pace of progress and cash flow, I don't see a reason why it needs to be pushed to release. Even if you were a guy who might not live to play the release version, at least the unfinished game is open to be played in a well polished and fairly priced state.

One thing I hope at least some people took away from the endless debacle of Star Citizen and other vaporware is that the parasociality around a game's development is sufficiently exciting to some people to count as a product in and of itself - one they're willing to spend the rent money on, with the right cracks in their psyche. More empty updates - phatic game development, you could call it - would just serve to reinforce that kind of fascination.

The future of that should scare the hell out of all of us. That shouldn't be something we want.

Ooh boy, this is a hell of a topic to open up :D There are also cases like the FNAF fandom where one can basically get the essential experience without even playing the core games. I don't think there's anything fundamentally wrong with it, anyway, but we should be aware of the phenomenon to avoid being exploited. Many studios are allowed to get away with it. Partly I believe because games are kept in a sort of an age ghetto by the wider public, so most people don't expect any harm coming from them. That's where you get stuff like (not just) kids blowing their parent's pockets on virtual cosmetics, Discord admins grooming teens and neurodivergent people falling into virtual community rabbit holes, all without authorities doing anything beneficial about it. I wanted to circle this tangent back to Starsector, but I'd just be reiterating what FooF said.