Silent Hunter 6

[Zedi]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

So, since some of us are saying Ubisoft should get rid of the SH5 licence, who is out there currently that would take the plunge? Pun intended.
I doubt very much the big companies would do this, niche games are a hard market to cater to, from a business-sense not much money to be made.
If it's a smaller, independent company, niche market games, in particular sims have a small budget to work with...
Would this bode well for the quality of the release? Budget tight ie scimp on things included in game etc etc?
Thoughts anyone?

There is many examples of indie companies developing games for a small market, the key is to find a good publisher and keep constant feedback with the fans.

Because I'm a MMO fan I can give as a quick example example Darkfall and the notorius EVE who won the game of the year 2009 prize. EVE is not a popular game, actually is a hardcore one, but with a great and intelligent community. CCP, the developers of EVE, was a very small indie company few years ago and with EVE they become the most successful story in the MMO industry after WoW.

Of course, there is a very hard work and risk involved in such an adventure. But SH has constant fanbase and even on fails they are still playing and love the game. We have no other sub sim around, so the risk in loosing money is pretty small compared with EVE where they had to fight with a colossus like Blizzard &WoW. And if they manage to keep the communication gates open non-stop with the fans, it's a win-win situation.

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Magnum

keep constant feedback with the fans.

Key point

And if they manage to keep the communication gates open non-stop with the fans, it's a win-win situation.

Key point
Also one thing we haven't mentioned is reputation.
Business relies upon it, now if a indie company comes along and took over the licence, what is their reputation like? In previous ventures. Current SubSimmers would be watching with a close eye of course, but the trepidation and fear would be there, a new business taking over the reigns.....driving it into the ground even more?
Introducing bizarre new things into SH6 that just will not go down well with the community. Or introduce something completely different than what has been offered currently.
The key point is really: communication.
Communication and actually taking feedback into consideration, when implementing changes or developing games. I still think that the possibility of a new developer= 3 possibilities:
1) Keep the traditions that Ubisoft had implemented in their games, expand a little on that and produce SH6
2) Totally revolutionalise SH6 by changing source code completely, totally redesigning it, with the communitie's ideas and wishes actually implemented, to a large extent
3) Keep traditions that Ubisoft had implemented, do not listen to or communicate with the community, and keep the game engine and mechanics largely what it has been so far. Ie FAIL!
Of course this is all hypothetical, it really all depends on the current/future developer of a game, how they conduct business, with their customers, how they market themselves and their products, how they support their customers, how they communicate and if they are quick in response times....after all, it's business for the Dev.
For us? The End User?
I think it's pretty clear don't you?

[Cap.Palla]

Silent Hunter 6 ???

[Zedi]

Originally Posted by Feuer Frei!

Also one thing we haven't mentioned is reputation.
Business relies upon it, now if a indie company comes along and took over the licence, what is their reputation like? In previous ventures. Current SubSimmers would be watching with a close eye of course, but the trepidation and fear would be there, a new business taking over the reigns.....driving it into the ground even more?
Introducing bizarre new things into SH6 that just will not go down well with the community. Or introduce something completely different than what has been offered currently.
The key point is really: communication....

Well, I don't know what to say about the reputation. I don't care much about it, dunno about the rest. But let's consider this.. how much of you knew about the SH moders before they started to work on mods? Nothing. But after they released good mods, they gained more and more popularity and respect from the community. They listen to the community, they work together with the community is a real friendship there.

To get further with this example.. I stoped playin SH3 right before that mega GWX mod was released. So I did not know anything about those guys, but now that I see their site, their work and clips on YT with the mods.. I'm amazed. These guys have my respect even if I never played SH3 with the GWX installed. Also, just look at thegreywolves.com .. it's a joy to browse it, a lot of info, screenies etc. Now compare this with Ubi's uber-mega lame website... say no more.

Also, I care more about the communication and how much these guys would listen to the fan base. I would care more about a strong alpha/beta test where stuff are tested and fixed before release, a good and responsive support.. so bottom line, I don't care about the reputation.. I care more about the end result. And if they care about the customers/fans/business, there will be no bizarre or different things implemented than what the customers expect.

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Magnum

how much of you knew about the SH moders before they started to work on mods? Nothing. But after they released good mods, they gained more and more popularity and respect from the community.

And out of this comes reputation.
The work that has been done so far is tremendous, however, could you imagine that if this work was shoddy and unprofessional, and if it made your game(s) ctd or unplayable, the reputation of this work would be bad, ie would you use those mods?
Reputation is extremely important, wether in business or in fact any product that is produced and then passed onto consumers.

To get further with this example.. I stoped playin SH3 right before that mega GWX mod was released. So I did not know anything about those guys, but now that I see their site, their work and clips on YT with the mods.. I'm amazed.

Once again, reputation precedes them! They do fantastic work the modders, and although exposure to their work is needed to gain knowledge of these mods existing, if the reputation of these mods was bad, well, would all the exposure in the world really be any good?
Case in point:
What do you think Ubisoft's reputation is like amongst Sub Simmers?

[robbo180265]

I'll see where SH5 goes before I comment on SH6.

If (as a few of us suspect) they drop SH5 after this patch, I doubt I'll buy another subsim from them.

Just have to wait and see I guess.

[Faamecanic]

Originally Posted by robbo180265

I'll see where SH5 goes before I comment on SH6.

If (as a few of us suspect) they drop SH5 after this patch, I doubt I'll buy another subsim from them.

Just have to wait and see I guess.

Uh oh....even robbo is starting to sound a bit negative (hands cat-o-nine tails over)

I agree.... I am waiting to see what happens with the patch. But given UBI's lackluster performance with SH 3 and 4 patches...Im not holding out much hope.

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by Faamecanic

Uh oh....even robbo is starting to sound a bit negative (hands cat-o-nine tails over)

He must be having an off day, I'm sure he will soon be back to full form...


p.s. come on robbo, we're counting on you...

[Faamecanic]

Originally Posted by Magnum

There is many examples of indie companies developing games for a small market, the key is to find a good publisher and keep constant feedback with the fans.

Because I'm a MMO fan I can give as a quick example example Darkfall and the notorius EVE who won the game of the year 2009 prize. EVE is not a popular game, actually is a hardcore one, but with a great and intelligent community. CCP, the developers of EVE, was a very small indie company few years ago and with EVE they become the most successful story in the MMO industry after WoW.

Of course, there is a very hard work and risk involved in such an adventure. But SH has constant fanbase and even on fails they are still playing and love the game. We have no other sub sim around, so the risk in loosing money is pretty small compared with EVE where they had to fight with a colossus like Blizzard &WoW. And if they manage to keep the communication gates open non-stop with the fans, it's a win-win situation.

YES!!

CCP was NOT a big company when EVE first came out. Small dev that has grown quite large BY LISTENING TO THEIR FAN BASE.

Another fine example is Cornered Rat Software that has continued to support and grow WWII Online over 7 years now (or is it 8 years?). They are ACTIVELY involved with the subscriber based. Are they perfect No.... but they are still around after all these years, and about to release a MAJOR upgrade to the game. Are they a HUGE developer now?? No... but does their game satisfy the niche market for a MMO WWII simulation and make them a decent living...YES.

Why the devs and UBI did NOT listen to us, igonored ALL that was good about GWX, RFB, TM... and totally trash the UI, and NOT fix bugs that have carried over from SH 3 is beyond me. How can you hope for success like this??