1C is sitting on a mountain of gold, yet they don't realize it!

[axelle]

i saw this the other day:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1684781151/legends-of-eisenwald

this is basically a lesser version of King's Bounty series, yet they raised $83,578 in less than a month!!!

why? because there are tons of strategy game fans out there, with the heroes of might and magic series going downhill since HoMM3, King's Bounty series has the potential to become the pillar of this genre.

nowadays, the most important aspect of a good game is depth, and a good map/campaign editor goes hand in hand with that. basically, instead of making expansion packs yourself, let the fans make custom campaigns and attract more and more players to King's Bounty series. think about it this way, you should make the map/campaign editor into a "game engine", and each fan made campaign is like a new game based on this game engine! Look at what happened to Warcraft 3's map Defense of the Ancients, it spawned an entire new genre of games!!! (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplayer_online_battle_arena)

a large enough fan base would generate a lot of money, with that money, you can release a sequel of much better quality! as of right now, i don't really see a substantial quality difference between the original KB: the Legend and KB: the Warriors of the North, that's really sad because there are fans all over the world that are willing to shell out big money for a good strategy game!

you guys have the potential to do it, but i don't think you are on the right track!

---a loyal fan since KB: the Legend

[Fatt_Shade]

I also saw game preview you posted link for, and it looks interesting for something made by fans and not professional game studio. I really hope it will see light of day soon :-)
As for your `sitting on mountain of gold` reference (83.578 gold), i must disagree. After WoW first earning 1 billion dollars from armies of players, every other game earns but a shadow of their profit. I said it before, and i`ll say it again even HoMM3 had some kind of multiplayer (HotSeat) for ppl to enjoy competing among themselves (AI just dont give same satisfaction as defeating your friends and then doing a little victory dance just for them :-D
In this time, game without any kind of interaction with other players online simply cant have huge earnings/and player base. I admit there allot of fans of this kind of games, but comparing it to WoW/EVE/AION etc... players base of 10+ million, we of tactical RPG just cant compare. On other hand they have armies of players, and every army needs commander and that is OUR role :-P Those mindless peons will bow to our leadership, and die for our amusement , muahahahahah :-D

Better editor would be great asset for many modders that created very interesting mod in previous game. I wont mention my favourite, just 1 that got something new in game instead changed mechaninc/skills/items all done in text files : Red sands. They gave us new island and lots of other stuff, but considering how bugged editor for KB-CW is , this was great feat and i congratulate them on effort.

About War3-DotA i agree, from simple map for relatively old game, whole new genre gets created. But at same time i must weep to lots of today players for ignorance and their thought of HoN, or LoL being first (both good games) but simple Google search inform us who begun whole MOBA genre and they still wont admit being wrong (that`s why i said army of mindless peons earlier, no mind only their own thoughts are important - and therefore true :-(

[Totoro]

I personally like King's Bounty series very much the way they do it but it's true that no game can survive for long using the same formula.

That doesn't mean this game should be turned into HoMM-like multiplayer though because then it would be just another HoMM with a few different things. Neither I would like the idea if it was turned into MMORPG because I have bad experiences about good games turned into MMOs and they have never been as good as the offline version.

It's the strong singleplayer that makes King's Bounty, a large world and the long journey. That's what makes King's Bounty so interesting and it should stay that way. Some multiplayer aspects are welcome like leaderboards but developers should focus on improving singleplayer.

I open my arms to deeper plots and more personal characters. I would also like to see more dynamic NPCs. Like companions that follow you to your battles and heroes that don't just wait/patrol in some place but wander around the world. Maybe enemy bounty hunters coming specifically after you. I'd like to see rural area and castle management like building protections, improvements and hiring troops to protect them from attacking enemies. Getting friends to protect a castle for you. Conquering new areas and gaining taxes from them. Maintaining the citizens attitude towards their landlord.
I'm talking about strategy outside the battle-window.

[Darkeonz]

I personally like King's Bounty series very much the way they do it but it's true that no game can survive for long using the same formula.

That doesn't mean this game should be turned into HoMM-like multiplayer though because then it would be just another HoMM with a few different things. Neither I would like the idea if it was turned into MMORPG because I have bad experiences about good games turned into MMOs and they have never been as good as the offline version.

It's the strong singleplayer that makes King's Bounty, a large world and the long journey. That's what makes King's Bounty so interesting and it should stay that way. Some multiplayer aspects are welcome like leaderboards but developers should focus on improving singleplayer.

I open my arms to deeper plots and more personal characters. I would also like to see more dynamic NPCs. Like companions that follow you to your battles and heroes that don't just wait/patrol in some place but wander around the world. Maybe enemy bounty hunters coming specifically after you. I'd like to see rural area and castle management like building protections, improvements and hiring troops to protect them from attacking enemies. Getting friends to protect a castle for you. Conquering new areas and gaining taxes from them. Maintaining the citizens attitude towards their landlord.
I'm talking about strategy outside the battle-window.

Yeah I agree. King's bounty needs to remain a single player game. That's what has been so great about it the entire time. Your ideas are great as well. I can definitely see situations like that to make the game even more dynamic

[Fatt_Shade]

That doesn't mean this game should be turned into HoMM-like multiplayer though because then it would be just another HoMM with a few different things. Neither I would like the idea if it was turned into MMORPG because I have bad experiences about good games turned into MMOs and they have never been as good as the offline version.

It's the strong singleplayer that makes King's Bounty, a large world and the long journey. That's what makes King's Bounty so interesting and it should stay that way. Some multiplayer aspects are welcome like leaderboards but developers should focus on improving singleplayer.
I didnt say they MUST make next game MP, but commented on axelle`s post that KB series is gold mine just waiting to be taken. Today to earn lots of gold SP game need something new and interesting. 1C haven`t changed graphic engine for KB since TL in almost 5 years, so not much time invested in visual marketing but in replayability and many options/paths to finish game depending on class, and unit disposition in game (random). So SP is way to go for this series, but something new would be nice : Death match - PvP match in arena, prior what players have same choice of gold/runes/units/spells/items and test against each other their tactics/ideas. making whole campaign MP would be disaster, but this kind of matches should be enjoyable i think.

I open my arms to deeper plots and more personal characters. I would also like to see more dynamic NPCs. Like companions that follow you to your battles and heroes that don't just wait/patrol in some place but wander around the world. Maybe enemy bounty hunters coming specifically after you. I'd like to see rural area and castle management like building protections, improvements and hiring troops to protect them from attacking enemies. Getting friends to protect a castle for you. Conquering new areas and gaining taxes from them. Maintaining the citizens attitude towards their landlord.
I'm talking about strategy outside the battle-window.
You said there is no need to make this in some kind of HoMM clone, but here you list : maintaining castle, hiring units to defend against attacking enemy (what attacking enemy) , wandering heroes (what if wander in your path to main quest and get you stuck with 15 more lvl then you, and army 5 times larger, because it simply wasnt planed for you 2 to meet that early in game), taxes form new areas (when you discover new area there are much treasure lying around, more enemy to defeat=gold, quests = gold) so i ask why adding taxes on top of all that? (if you mentioned mines of gems, and mercury laboratory i would get suspicious about references to simmilar game with h.o.m.m. letters in it`s title).
There are many options to improve game (every mod i played tougth me that), it just question of who will be fan enough to sit and make it happen :-)

[1darklord]

I Found HOMM 6 really boring as I was stuck with the same army with maybe one new unit per map, also you find great loot start the next map and mysteriously it is gone, add in the annoying always connected to the internet DRM and I quickly tired of it.

Give me King's Bounty any day, the series have been some of my fave games of recent years, entertaining me for hundreds of hours. :)

Daniel.

[Totoro]

I didnt say they MUST make next game MP, but commented on axelle`s post that KB series is gold mine just waiting to be taken. Today to earn lots of gold SP game need something new and interesting. 1C haven`t changed graphic engine for KB since TL in almost 5 years, so not much time invested in visual marketing but in replayability and many options/paths to finish game depending on class, and unit disposition in game (random). So SP is way to go for this series, but something new would be nice : Death match - PvP match in arena, prior what players have same choice of gold/runes/units/spells/items and test against each other their tactics/ideas. making whole campaign MP would be disaster, but this kind of matches should be enjoyable i think.Arenas would be cool I admit.


You said there is no need to make this in some kind of HoMM clone, but here you list : maintaining castle, hiring units to defend against attacking enemy (what attacking enemy) , wandering heroes (what if wander in your path to main quest and get you stuck with 15 more lvl then you, and army 5 times larger, because it simply wasnt planed for you 2 to meet that early in game), taxes form new areas (when you discover new area there are much treasure lying around, more enemy to defeat=gold, quests = gold) so i ask why adding taxes on top of all that? (if you mentioned mines of gems, and mercury laboratory i would get suspicious about references to simmilar game with h.o.m.m. letters in it`s title).
There are many options to improve game (every mod i played tougth me that), it just question of who will be fan enough to sit and make it happen :-)You're just trying to find faults in my ideas. I'm sure you would know solutions to those problems even yourself.

[axelle]

i only mentioned Defense of the Ancients to prove a point: a user-friendly map editor is important and can be a lot more valuable than even an entire expansion pack.

i wasn't stating that KB should be turned into a multilayer game.

[Fatt_Shade]

@Totoro You're just trying to find faults in my ideas. I'm sure you would know solutions to those problems even yourself. I`m not trying to make your ideas bad. But you listing things that would change play style to much, and form tactical battle RPG make this into resource gathering game. I had some posts all over this forum that would change things already in game (skill system - this i got form csimby warrior 5lvl`s in might tree, paladin 5 lvl`s in mind mage 5lvl`s in magic skill tree to make a bit difference in hero classes, medals to advance like skills for certain medals you need previously 1 lvl of earlier so no more max lvl in treasure hunter and guardian angel in 10 battles by kiting all game and then fighting with 5x1 archmage and similar builds, new lvl`s for weak items to make them usefull later in game not just to haul them around for destroying on need for crystals, unit bonuses like from rune mage over 100 units in all game and only rune mage have bonuses from unused runes, etc), and give some new experience in gameplay for players.

@axelle I didnt say you stated KB need to be MP game, i just compared SP games and MMO`s today in `gold mine` way. You said 1C have gold mine waiting for them, and my opinion is that games that generate most profit today are in some way multiplayer or MMO type. And there comes my comparing of KB with MP games.

[axelle]

@axelle I didnt say you stated KB need to be MP game, i just compared SP games and MMO`s today in `gold mine` way. You said 1C have gold mine waiting for them, and my opinion is that games that generate most profit today are in some way multiplayer or MMO type. And there comes my comparing of KB with MP games.

i don't agree.

yes MMO and multiplayer games make tons of money, but this does not logically imply that any game that has the potential to make tons of money must be an MMO or multiplayer.

for example, the Sims series, Elder Scroll series, the Witcher series, and Diablo III which had no useful multilayer features at release.

even a game like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst sold 6 million copies!!!

[jake21]

Some MMO make lots of money but other MMO drive companies into bankruptcy. Anywas my understanding is they were working on some sort of muti-player game (MMO?).
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I personally want a good single player game and have no interest in either multi-player or MMO.
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1c knows exactly how much the KB games cost to make and how much they made on them so they can judge if it is worth adding more to the series (I hope they think that is the case). As for the kickstart; 100K is nothing. Even in Russia 100K is not going to fully fund a game like KB (I can't comment on what KB cost to make since I am not too familiar with Russian salary structure; in USA or western Europe even small games can cost low millions (read one of Larian's ceo blog and he gives you some nice numbers for divine dinfinity back in 2000).

[axelle]

read one of Larian's ceo blog and he gives you some nice numbers for divine dinfinity back in 2000

this one i assume? google rocks

http://www.lar.net/2012/07/10/of-kickstarter-one-thing-i-think-game-journalists-should-do/

[Zechnophobe]

83k is a tiny amount to fund a game with. You can say 'they made that in less than a month', but they couldn't KEEP making that every month to keep the game funded. A single LOW LEVEL programmer is worth 35 to 40k a year. That's a low paid employee. A wonderful programmer is worth greater than 100k a year, which you couldn't even afford with that capital amount.

A kickstarter like this is effective at helping 2 to 3 man studios, who likely have other personal income streams, to get a game off the ground, not to get a large studio to keep rolling out product every year.

[jake21]

No this one :)

http://www.lar.net/2012/06/23/the-million-units-manual/
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Btw o

this one i assume? google rocks

http://www.lar.net/2012/07/10/of-kickstarter-one-thing-i-think-game-journalists-should-do/