The devs have posted how the launch went, regarding downloads, player retention, and monetization.
They also mentioned some of their plans going into the future, to expand the game and try to earn the invested time and money back.

Obviously they're the ones making the business decisions, but maybe it's nice to have one central place for feedback on their ideas. I've posted a summary of them below, but please read the full post at

http://blog.subterfuge-game.com/post/13 ... the-future

Expansion 1- Stat graphs + projecting expected values.
Expansion 2 - Social matrix with alliance stats.
Expansion 3 - Game creation options (generator/factory balance, fog of war, game speed/pausing).
Expansion 4 - Game modes (tournaments, king of the hill, teams).

Monetization 1 - Ad supported free play, for example temporary unlimited time machine use after watching an ad.
Monetization 2 - Patron badge giving to players who donate extra.
Monetization 3 - Paid tournaments.
Monetization 4 - Selling alternate art.
Monetization 5 - Giftable medals to reward to other players for their outstanding gameplay.

Let's begin this discussion by focussing only on feedback for these ideas. If we include the requests posted elsewhere this will get hard to read.

This post will be sticky through the weekend.

Expansion 1- Stat graphs
I like this one. Projected Neptunium amount, rise in driller production etc would be nice to have.

Expansion 2 - Social matrix
Not sure about this one. Part of the fun is figuring out who's partnering with who, a social matrix could take this away. It makes things scientific. I really like that I don't know players when I start a game, and only use my own observations + conversations for my judgement.

Expansion 3 - Game creation options
Fine, I like the game as it is, but people have been asking for game speed / pausing options.

Expansion 4 - Game modes
Yes! It takes TopKilla effort to organize this, any way to take this out of our hands would be great.

Monetization 1 - Ad supported free play
I'm not sure how much advertising brings in generally, but as mentioned in the blog posts, this has value for free players who are troubled by the scheduling limitations.

Monetization 2 - Patron badge
I could see myself paying for this. Of course giving something in return like idea 5 makes it more appealing (but also more work for you guys).

Monetization 3 - Paid tournaments.
Sure, makes the people who keep using the servers constantly, pay for them. Recurring costs will add up though, so I might not do this for very long.

Monetization 4 - Selling alternate art.
I'm assuming this isn't merchandise but in-game skin packs. If the art appeals to me I could see myself using this, but the art is fine as it is. For me it would be mostly a way to donate.

Monetization 5 - Giftable medals
This seems like a lot of fun!! It could be mainly used by frequent players at first, but if they gift them to less frequent players as well, it might make them purchase the medals as well. Kinda like Reddit Gold.

Expansion #1

I find that the graphed stats would be quite nice to have and would make planning a bit more helpful. Even, the use of Time Machine while looking at player stats (driller count, NP, etc...) would be lovely, instead of having to manually estimate them every time.

Expansion #2

An interesting idea, but I feel like it would be difficult to implement or keep track of, because things like alliances can quickly change

Expansion #3

Favorite idea of the list. It would allow for so many crazy custom games that can keep things interesting.

Expansion #4

Cool idea that I've been waiting for, for a while. It would inevitably fragment the player base though, as the amount of open games is already quite small. I would suggest to wait until there are more active players until you implement new game modes. Also, how would they affect ratings?


Monetization #1

This would work (turning the game essentially into freemium), but it shouldn't affect L2 players!

Monetization #2

Not much to say about this one.

Monetization #3

I'm going to say that there is not going to be much interest in this one. People would end up organizing their own unpaid tournaments. The only way it would really end up working is if it's something like a NA league or a large regional competition.

Monetization #4

Something akin to skins in League of Legends? This could work for dedicated players that want to show off.

Monetization #5

Not much to say about this one either. I don't know how popular it will end up being.

fjen wrote:Monetization #4

Something akin to skins in League of Legends? This could work for dedicated players that want to show off.

Not sure if this would be something you could show off. If all of the other players have different skin packs enabled but I don't and their skins would change how their outposts/specialists look to me, that would be really confusing. I think skin packs can only change the way how the game looks for the person who purchased the pack.

stefan wrote:Not sure if this would be something you could show off. If all of the other players have different skin packs enabled but I don't and their skins would change how their outposts/specialists look to me, that would be really confusing. I think skin packs can only change the way how the game looks for the person who purchased the pack.

It could work if it were just simple little cosmetic things like having a pointy or different shaped sub. You can also have little cosmetic variants on the factory/mine/generator of the player who purchased the skin while still keeping the same overall look so it wouldn't cause confusion. I agree that changing the icons on the specialists might be confusing, but what about the actual drawings when you click them?

Ex (just a random quick example)

Clockwork Empire cosmetic pack.

This is an underwater empire run entirely by clockwork automatons.
1 - subs have a more angled shape, with cog-looking little engines behind them.

2 - factories have the same general shape but instead of the little chimneys they have spinning cogs. Generators are actual spinning cogs.

3 - all specialist icons are the same, but when you click them the image of each specialist is replaced by a clockwork automaton style of the specific specialist.

I don't feel like this would cause any confusion as the changes are very minor, and would be cool to have something like that.

My notes:

Put those extra monetization features up, and I'll buy them. Even if I don't need them. I know other players that would as well.

Expansion 1- Stat graphs + projecting expected values.

I agree with fjen- being able to use the time machine with the intelligence reports screen would be great. (A L2 clearance feature?)


Expansion 2 - Social matrix with alliance stats.

Maybe for special game play modes with forced team play but otherwise I'd leave this out.



Expansion 3 - Game creation options (generator/factory balance, fog of war, game speed/pausing).

This could be fun, but I currently like the random aspect of the game. It's very well balanced.

The option to make enemy Specialist identities anonymous could make things interesting. (eg. a sub coming in might be an assassin, a martyr... you won't know till it hits )



Expansion 4 - Game modes (tournaments, king of the hill, teams).

Hell yeah.... I can imagine "King of the hill" with one mine in the middle and four teams fighting over it.

Capture the ( pirate/Nav) flag - a rogue sub flying around the map. Would be even funnier if it attacks random bases like Louis in the historical exhibition match.

Survival mode where random drills fly in from everywhere in ever increasing numbers.

1 vs everyone. One player starts with a head start and everyone else has to attack him.

Zombie mode. Could be the same as normal but if it has "zombie" in the title people will want it. :p



Monetization 1 - Ad supported free play, for example temporary unlimited time machine use after watching an ad.

Watch an advert and you get 4 scheduled tasks.

If you do implement ads, please ensure there are ZERO ads for L2 Clearance. I've had games where you pay in game and still get some adverts.

Personally I hate ads, and one of the most attractive things of this game is the lack of them.



Monetization 2 - Patron badge giving to players who donate extra.

Great idea. I've seen this work in the past in communities like this.


Monetization 3 - Paid tournaments.

Not so sure.
Pay for L2 clearance AND to play? Way to disenfranchise your most loyal players.


Monetization 4 - Selling alternate art.

Skins?
If you made Star Trek or Star Wars skins you'd probably double your sales $$$ :p
Of course this has copyright issues. :p

Or seasonal skins... The martyr would look HOT in. A Santa Claus outfit. :-/



Monetization 5 - Giftable medals to


Great idea. Sometimes an ally works hard to get you into a ranking position at their own sacrifice. A recognition would be nice.

carter j burke wrote:Hell yeah.... I can imagine "King of the hill" with one mine in the middle and four teams fighting over it.

I don't think this was what they meant but it certainly sounds awesome. Neptunium obtained at 1 per 30 minutes and no ability to build mines anywhere else and first to 200 wins. I'd sign up to that!


Great blog post. Always good to know how it all went through launch. Looking forward to seeing what they come up with to help allow for the continuing development of the game.

Very interesting blog post. Here are a few of my thoughts.

Firstly, I think this is a really wonderful game. I'm only playing one game at a time and have just started my third, but each game has been completely unique and immersive.

That being said, I think the game does have some monetization problems as the player base that it appeals to long term will, I think, be very niche but quite fanatical!

One of my games was played with some friends who love strategy board games. All of them said that is was a truly unique experience, but they wouldn't be playing again in a hurry as the experience was just too demanding. I expect this settles down after a few games, but it illustrates the problem of signing people up for a L2 clearance. Anything that can be done to ease the burden on the player will help.

I would probably pay for any of the things mentioned to support the continued development of the game, but I do get a feeling that these ideas are heading in the wrong direction. At the end of the day there is a limit to how many analytical tools can or should be added to the game and they may in fact increase demands on the player further.

One source of good ideas might be Chess websites, which seem to balance including free to pay players with those who have a bit of money to spend. For example, what about a subscription service that included a few additional extras, magazine style every month like:

Puzzles, similar to the tutorial - these were really fun
Game of the month - highlighting interesting games or top plays
Interviews with top players on the leaderboard discussing their strategies
'Celebrity games' - the demo game diaries were really good to watch and the Cool Ghosts diary that is ongoing is superb
Similar to the above, maybe an ongoing game that subscribers could log into and view as it is happening live (with identities hidden)

I have no idea whether any of the above is technologically feasible, or whether these ideas would appeal to anybody else. All I can say is that they would appeal to me, and I'm keen for something to work as I think this game is very special and hope it has a future.

Mike

As long as im correct in assuming paid tournaments means rewards for the winners even if just in game. I would certainly pay a buck or two to get into a tournament that could win me a L2 clearance or other in game items if you already got it. If they did full esports tournaments with real cash prizes there's no limit to what i would sink into this. But if its just for rank or a badge i would probably just stick with community tournaments and regular games.

Only other thing I would like to mention is I hope paid skins will only effect your bases and all players can see it. They could get alot more money for them this way, the psychological impact of seeing someone with a fancy skin is worth it, and it will make the map look prettier.

Love everything else and can't wait to see it