An alternative development
 

From this other thread:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=115153


Now this is the best idea I've heard so far. How many coders do we have between us?

(EDIT: Maybe I should specify I am talking about building a subsim from scratch here...)

I wonder how well it would work, for us to pool our money together, maybe a pledge system or something, and put it up for grabs for any dev group willing to make what we want? They could recieve payment only when we voted and decided the product was finished to our satisfaction....

What do you think of this? Each one of us could pledge/invest a certain amount of money, say 50 bucks, (to an objective party if we put up cash). Features could be voted on by those who have pledged/invested.

If the current developing trend is away from PC and towards consoles, is this a viable way to get indipendant coders to keep us in submariner happiness?

Unfortunately, there's no way would Ubisoft let this happen.

Do the math and finish the thought process before making conclusions.

That said: I would be willing to promise to buy a 2nd copy after an acceptable patch.

Ubisoft does not have a copyright on sub simulators, only on what they've produced, i.e., the Silent Hunter series.....I'm talking about making one from scratch.

Presto! Your wish is granted: http://dangerdeep.sourceforge.net/

It would be awesome if it could be done, but I'm afraid the project would never be completed. How many of indie subsims under development have actually been released so far? None that I know of. For a thing like this to work, we'd have to be VERY official about it starting companies, employing coders, artists, management people etc, etc. The donations received would probably be gone before the company was even up and running. Sorry for being such a bore, but that's what I think would happen with a project like this.
:)

To put it into perspective, Ubi, an established producer, isn't even interested in writing a patch for an existing sub sim they already have code for.

I guess that's why they are established. Patches doesn't sell games. :)

Is there no way to get around these problems? I think that if no money is paid till the job is complete, it would motivate the devs to complete it, and would also reduce waste. People, devs included, tend to be more financially responsible when it is thier money they are spending...

Basically what I'm talking about here is contract work. No finished product, no money.

What do you think? Yes, difficult, but is it possible?

Exactlly, why would they be interested on finishing the product when they have our money?

What I am proposeing it to not give the money untill we decide it's finished....

That just saved everyone $20 :rotfl:

It looks just as good as SH3 and it's only an alpha

No money no work. Catch 22.
Coders need groceries too.

Not really. Except the alpha part...

I think it is doable if it's done at a professional level with people getting paid, having development milestones that must be reached. If you can get the right people to sign the dotted line and provide them with the necessary funds then yes, I think it can be done. But it will take a lot of money and even more hard work.

And how much do we pay our modders? Do coders never work on personal projects?