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[Grievous69]

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.

Oh my bad, I was talking about the future 1.0 version. Because someone else said Alex doesn't need Steam AT ALL.

[Fulmir]

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.

I know this is slightly off topic, but having an AMD card shouldn't make the game run badly. Make sure the Java instance is actually using your GPU and not trying to use integrated graphics.

See this post for one possible solution: https://community.amd.com/t5/graphics/minecraft-is-not-using-my-amd-graphics-card-instead-using-my/m-p/296188

[SCC]

I know this is slightly off topic, but having an AMD card shouldn't make the game run badly. Make sure the Java instance is actually using your GPU and not trying to use integrated graphics.

See this post for one possible solution: https://community.amd.com/t5/graphics/minecraft-is-not-using-my-amd-graphics-card-instead-using-my/m-p/296188

He might also be referring to AMD's rather poor OpenGL driver support, about which nothing really can be done.

[looper_1234]

getting it on steam will also allow ppl outside of the visa, mastercard system to buy the game

[Mordodrukow]

I have seen many games that were not helped by the fact that they are in the Steam. The game needs some waifus and a lot of meme videos to get people interested. Then it needs good, but understandable gameplay to make em stay. There are a lot of channels with thousands of subscribers making videos about SS (Sseth is not alone), and the game still stays where it is. It is just niche (yes, awesome, but niche), the Steam will not fix that.

[Grievous69]

How can you tell the game stays where it is? It's constantly growing, and you can see that here, on reddit, and discord. All numbers are going up and tons of new players keep arriving. I doubt all those posts are from people having Alzheimer's that already played the game. Not really fair to say that the game is "dead" without any recent blow ups.

[Drazan]

We cant really measure how many people is actually playing Starsector. Steam would be helpful in that as well. Alex probably knows how many new copies are sold of the game but that is still no information about how many people is actively playing it.
Starsector have not became noticably more popular since after the Seth video, and until another such miracle happens the best bet would be releasing it on steam.

[Mordodrukow]

How can you tell the game stays where it is? It's constantly growing, and you can see that here, on reddit, and discord. All numbers are going up and tons of new players keep arriving. I doubt all those posts are from people having Alzheimer's that already played the game. Not really fair to say that the game is "dead" without any recent blow ups.

Yes, the number rises, but not, like... 100x

The last Mount & Blade has a lot of players when they started to sell it. I guess, mostly because: 1) its 3d and more cinematographic, 2) more people like fantasy settings today, 3) first Mount & Blade was the thing long time ago, while Starsector is a new game. But anyway...

I m not saying it is dead. I m saying it lacks something to get numbers it really deserves.

[Grievous69]

@Drazan
Number of current active players is completely irrelevant for single player games. Especially so in this case where people play Starsector in runs, then pause, then repeat (usually).

@Mordodrukow
Why would Alex want so much exposure when the game is not finished yet? When 1.0 comes out then hundred times the players might be feasible, but I doubt such numbers.

[Aerensiniac]

There are even popular games on steam like valheim which have basically a once a year content update.
Hell, we havent even mentioned a damn thing about games like Ark which will sell you dlcs before the game is even finished.

No sorry. Alex's aversion to steam is absolutely nothing more than a psychological issue or complete ignorance in regards of whats going on in the gaming industry these days.
If StarSector was on steam, at least we'd have a hundred thousand modders working on it, which would throw the game in the upper echelons of steam in less than half a year.
I have been playing for 30 years, i have been around from the start of steam, from the birth of the internet, and i am perfectly capable to tell that not releasing starsector on steam due to some mystical fear for criticism, is about as rational as skinning all 4 of your limbs out of fear that you might catch a skin disease.

No skin, no skin disease. Genius.
Not selling your product, no criticism from buyers. You cant argue with that.

Again: ONLY and ALONE the modding community would carry this game on their shoulders into the top 100 category of steam.
MARK MY WORDS on this.
Even if Alex and the rest stopped developing altogether after putting the game up on steam, it would flourish because it already is 90% complete already and content would be produced endlessly for it via modding.
Have you seen what the community does to things like rimworld?
There are games which have several hundred times more content in mods than they have in the game itself.

Stop supporting this utter idiocy of an argument that Starsector cannot be released on Steam due to criticism.
And just to put one more nail in the coffin of this argument: StarSector already has its fan base. A fanbase which will stick to it cause it already knows how the development cycle works.
So releasing it on steam will never result in a net minus of players, only a NET PLUS because many more might stick around as new fans.

TL;DR: The level of irrationality that goes into the idea that starsector is not steam viable, IS actually "unrealistic". You have to be completely cut off from reality to think that its a valid argument.

[smithney]

Gee, now I feel like I'm starting to get what The Beginner's Guide was all about...

@Aerensiniac
Dude, don't you think throwing a tantrum because someone else's game isn't as popular as you want it to be on their own forum makes you sound a bit... entitled? What investment do you have in Starsector that you have to insult its creators over their marketing choices? You're free to think that an argument and its supporters are stupid, but you haven't raised a counterargument that would make sense, only a slightly far-fetched parable and some wild comparisons. Besides as you can see, nothing is stopping the modders from doing their thing regardless of Steam, so I don't get what your point is there.

By the way how does being a player for XXX years make you an expert on marketing choices? Riddle me that.

[Histidine]

How was the "hundred thousand modders" figure derived?

[Grievous69]

Man devoted 30 years to playing games, yet couldn't spend a single one to improve communication skills. We truly live in a gamer society.

Being cheeky aside, do you really think such a post would suddenly persuade Alex to release the game on Steam right now.

Imagine:

• Alex wakes up
• Goes to check the forums
• Sees someone absolutely mad about the game not being on Steam
• Bit of insults, bit of baseless claims, BUT WAIT, what's this? H-he spent 3 decades perfecting the skill of gaming. HE IS THE CHOSEN ONE
• "Starsector: The game - now available on Steam for $69.99"

[FooF]

Lol. Sounds like SimCity 2000 “YOU WILL REGRET THIS!”

I’ve been playing over 30 years too and that doesn’t give me insight into game development and marketing. Plus, it’s not like I’m assuming any risk by spouting my opinion on the internet, meanwhile the dev who spent 10 years of his life on a game might be a bit more measured in his approach. Chasing after numbers and player bases is precisely the problem with AAA development now. All flash and no substance. Who cares about a year from now, we just want day 1 sales. Not all are that way but enough are.

Multi-year long development cycles are a hard sell. We complain at times but imagine 10,000 people complaining. If the floodgates ever open, I hope it’s a positive experience because you can easily get deluged in a sea of criticism and negativity. No amount of success is worth losing your soul over (exhibit A: Notch of Minecraft fame).

[Ryan390]

I think Steam would add a lot of benefits in terms of exposure and revenue.
The benefits you'd get would far outweigh the risks (IMHO)
Alex could potentially use that revenue to hire a single pair of hands to help out if he wanted.

More than 10+ years of development, this game is more polished than most of the early access tripe we see on Steam.
People would take to it quite well and there will be a LOT of players who still don't know about this game and would wet themselves to play it.

Anyway it's Alex's choice ultimately, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed with the general development direction the game is been taken in, but again it's Alex's choice. We just have to stick by and support his decisions. If we really want to help out we should just keep producing mods for the game and keep biding time till we see a 1.0 version (some day)

Another reason Steam might be nice, is the thought of playing Star Sector on a steam deck. Might be clunky but potentially possible with two joy sticks and a mouse trackpad?