Tynan, Why not use Steam as a distribution point?

[skullywag]

Not being on steam for me is a great thing. I find being on steam speeds up development and in this instance thats a bad thing you end up with features being rushed and not gelling just so you can hit that sale...ugh. No thanks.

Ive played this more than any other game i own on steam and theres a reason, it feels cared for, like it means something. Its not another in the sea of shit that is early access.

This is the kind of game that makes money over a long period (even once its released) no need to go for the quick cash in.

Just my opinion.

[elStrages]

Downloading off SendOwl is pants-on-head easy. And DRM free! I wish more games could be set up like it.

When it comes down to how Tynan spends time, I'd rather see sick new features than a redundant distribution point for the alpha.

My pants are on my head and it's still not downloading. Do I click the button this is correct though send owl is easy as pie

[Mikhail Reign]

Last I checked, Steam doesn't allow you to backdate, only opt out of updating. I think there is one fairly recent game that actually puts all it's old versions into the Steam betas so you just opt into the "beta" for the older version you want.

Actually a fair few alpha/beta games, and even a few release games do this. Its pretty standard practice amongst games that have ongoing saves and that have version breaking updates.

Basically Select game>properties>beta>select version.

The steam-updates-break-games argument is a flawed one in that there is a simple and commonly used way to prevent this.

[skullywag]

But guys Tynan doesnt allow you to download old alphas. So talking about using steam for that purpose is moot.

[Mikhail Reign]

But guys Tynan doesnt allow you to download old alphas. So talking about using steam for that purpose is moot.

I think it is more that he doesnt want to waste the resources hosting a outdated version. His stance on old versions is that people should be able to play them if they choose to not update - hence the argument about steam auto updating and versions. There is a post from him somewhere which basically says "I don't want to use steam because the auto updates would break saves from older versions preventing people from finishing them".

[elStrages]

That game I general isn't that big. I have all alphas in a folder on my hard drive. So could go back at any point. And even if Tynan was to host them I don't think it would take up too much resource, not like it's a 15 gig download

[TheSilencedScream]

I submit that a Steam release would attract more trolls... but honestly, my main hope from it is that it'll attract more modders.

We do have a lot of modders, but with the free time I've had this past month, I've burned through the majority of the mods for A8. In addition, many of the largest mods from past Alphas have yet to be updated (such as TTM, Zombie Apocalypse, and the like), leaving me feeling like there's almost less content now than the last Alpha. We get clothing adjustments, we have a dozen weapon mods, and we have a TON of mods that make the game incredibly easy (which I avoid, to be fair).

Also, as much as I love the core game, I don't feel like it has all that much content (the content it has is amazingly in-depth - such as the cover system, the injuries, etc.). I apologize if this sounds harsh - as Tynan has an incredible game - but he posted elsewhere that "the game has enough content to be complete," and that makes me sad that he would have that mindset towards RimWorld. I believe this game has a LOT going for it, and - by leaving out the mid to late game - it's going to feel unfinished (build, mine/trade for resources, leave - EVERY game). I purchased the game because I'd seen where it began, I'd seen how far it came, and I saw potential in where it could go... but I'll admit that, if the game was fully released right now, as is, for the price, I wouldn't purchase it without further updates (which, to be fair, he implied in the same quote that he could continue updating after release).

I'm getting to the point where I feel I need to take a break from the game, as it's becoming repetitive from these things, but I also want to keep playing because I do find it enjoyable until I have a colony up and running.


TL;DR VERSION: I love this game and I want more from it, and I'm selfishly looking forward to a Steam release in hopes that it'll attract more worthwhile mods, which is the primary reason why I'd like to see it on Steam sooner rather than later.

(Edited to fix spelling error.)

[Justin C]

Games have a small window after the official release to generate hype and make the game really take off. The more hype there is around a game when it's released, the more sales there will be.

Developers who (widely) release an unfinished product risk burning out a lot of their fans before the game is officially released. That means there is less overall hype when the game is officially released, which translates to fewer overall sales of the game.

Steam Early-Access is great if you need funding to make your game happen, but if you don't need the funding it's just not worth the risk.

[Mythrell]

It would be great to see some actual numbers, but from what I understand to get more sales in Steam all you have to do is to find a way to get on the Steam front page (or recently released) as many times as possible. I would think that both Early Access and Release would warrant one appearance each.

Even those so called "forever early access" games like DayZ just keep piling money even tho I don't think that anyone expects it to be released ever.

If you look at Prison Architect, they're doing fine in  player numbers and they spent a good chunk of time in early access.

So yeah, to me business wise it's a no brainer. If you however think that there's something morally wrong in that is a whole different story, personally I don't think that there's any issue as long as you're open about it like Prison Architect for example has been.

You will probably miss that massive initial burst sales, but since you can already buy the game non-steam early access, I don't see much point in not doing it.

[ZestyLemons]

Last I checked, Steam doesn't allow you to backdate, only opt out of updating. I think there is one fairly recent game that actually puts all it's old versions into the Steam betas so you just opt into the "beta" for the older version you want.

Actually, you can opt in and out of more than just a beta version. Rust demonstrated where you could be on legacy, experimental, or dev night builds. Theoretically you could put every version of RW on there, but it'd be a pretty lengthy list.

[RemingtonRyder]

Games in my Steam Library have one disadvantage compared to Rimworld. Basically, the length of time added to startup because Steam has to be running first.

Don't get me wrong, they're good games, but Valve needs to work on trimming that delay.

[Feniks]

Tynan answered that question several time game is greenlit for steam but it is by no mean in finish state. Steam gives you a chance to release game only once I am not surprised Tynan wants it to be as complete as possible when game is released. Hype doesn't last for ever and from business point of view it makes sense to do it later than earlier to attract as many customers as possible. Few bigger youtube channels are covering a game already so hype is slowly building up I think in net half a year we will see steam release.

It is also worth noting that Minecraft never released on steam and is the best selling game of all time so steam is not necessary to success.

[TheSilencedScream]

Games in my Steam Library have one disadvantage compared to Rimworld. Basically, the length of time added to startup because Steam has to be running first.

Don't get me wrong, they're good games, but Valve needs to work on trimming that delay.

How... how long does it take you to open up Steam?
Even if there's an update, it's usually ~10 seconds at max, for me.

Some GAMES can take up to a minute (or more) to load, either because you can't skip the opening credits or because it actually takes that long to load.

To each their own if you don't like Steam, but I find this a bizarre point to make.

[Tynan]

Guys guys... the game is going to be on Steam. It's mostly just a matter of making it ready for it's big debut at this point. I don't want to push it in front of the big Steam audience and to big YouTubers and such until it's good enough.

[RemingtonRyder]

How... how long does it take you to open up Steam?
Even if there's an update, it's usually ~10 seconds at max, for me.

Some GAMES can take up to a minute (or more) to load, either because you can't skip the opening credits or because it actually takes that long to load.

To each their own if you don't like Steam, but I find this a bizarre point to make.

If there's an update, like there was when I just opened it up there, 48 seconds. Otherwise, five or six seconds.

I'm more likely to play Rimworld than anything in my Steam Library right now, because of the relatively fast loading time. But it's not just Steam games that suffer from slow loading time. If I start up The Sims 3, for example, I could be looking at a couple of minutes to actually get to the main menu, followed by who knows how many minutes of loading a save.

I swear, I'm not impatient, but in retrospect I do wonder how many cups of tea were brewed while I was waiting on a game loading.

My point is, if you want to attract players (and modders) to a game, then fast startup is a tick in the right box.