Kerbal Space Program For Steam Greenlight?

[Anomalous_Matter]

There's no reason for the devs to pay steam royalties to get a fanbase we all know is inevitable. If they do this they should do it when they game is 100% done, and that's just end of story.

Putting it on steam now is just asking for a headache, When the game's done, sure, whatever. Just don't make it the only way to get the game. Many of us go out of our way to avoid steam just because its a PITA in general, Specially for mod friendly games *ugh the headaches i can feel them already*

If you were to ask for my honest opinion : Oh god no, No, And then no.

I agree with this one hundred percent.

[Zmapus]

I won't be playing if KSP goes the Steam route. I still find Steam to be annoying and a PITA. I don't see that changing anytime soon. Same as the last time this thread came up.

IBTL

[Mr. Man]

It was suggested a while back, and the response was a fairly mixed one ranging from "meh" to a vitriolic "no".

I don't know that it is a bad idea, but it doesn't seem necessary for KSP. The community is growing fast enough that the devs don't have to go to Steam for extra publicity.

You can never grow fast enough . Also, the Steam distribution platform will 1. unify software updating through its sync cloud, which eases the burden of users having to search and update themselves and 2. generate marketing publicity which will "hopefully" generate even more sales than if Squad relies on KSP's website alone.

[stanNL_97]

Steam sucks! You can also make achievements in-game, like Minecraft for example...

[Dizzle]

I see absolutely no problem putting the game on Steam, especially since it would make updates much easier. But it's not entirely necessary, and the game is in Alpha right now anyway. Even if it did end up on Steam, it would kind of be going out without its makeup on.

[sal_vager]

This argument has been brought up several times now and it always degenerates, as far as I am aware, HarvesteR is against using Steam as it is a form of DRM and would take ownership away from the players.

This thread can add no further useful information, if it degenerates further I will lock it.

Edited August 6, 2012 by sal_vager

[Accelerando]

Whatever it ends up on, it's not like you couldn't have it available for download from elsewhere.

[coruun]

Remember: Minecraft is doing just fine without Steam.

And how fine would it do with Steam? You have to remember, that Minecraft is another genre and has a better approachability.

Since this is another discussion I would refer to this thread.

Putting it on steam now...

The OP asked for Greenlight, which is simply an option to advertise KSP to Valve. Most games won't release on Steam until they are finished (I think).

But: Some games can be activated before they release in the Steam Store. This means you can't buy it in the store, but if you bought it from the developer, you can use Steam's update service.

I won't be playing if KSP goes the Steam route.

Why not? Steam is not exclusive, so you have the option to play it from the KSP-store.

[Kreuzung]

Question, whould that mean that I couldn't have >10 copies of the game?

There's no real way in my opinion to mod the game without being able to have own copies for debugging/release testing.

[The-Bean]

Question, whould that mean that I couldn't have >10 copies of the game?

There's no real way in my opinion to mod the game without being able to have own copies for debugging/release testing.

You would be able to own as many as you want. Steam is just another distributer, if KSP were released on Steam you wouldn't be required to use it but it would be available for those who do like it and those who only use Steam (yes, there are many people who only buy games from Steam).

There seems to be a lot of confusion here that if the game were to be released on Steam then it would be exclusive and would require Steam. That isn't true... at all. All that would change is there would be another place to buy it, bringing in even more customers.

[Master]

You would be able to own as many as you want. Steam is just another distributer, if KSP were released on Steam you wouldn't be required to use it but it would be available for those who do like it and those who only use Steam (yes, there are many people who only buy games from Steam).

There seems to be a lot of confusion here that if the game were to be released on Steam then it would be exclusive and would require Steam. That isn't true... at all. All that would change is there would be another place to buy it, bringing in even more customers.

/\___ This is how steam works. You are not forced to use it and many companies release a copy on steam and a copy without steam. So those who hate steam can continue to play without steam interfering and those who enjoy the extras steam gives can buy a copy on steam. The largest incentive for steam is the huge player base who only know about games when they pop up on steam's homepage. Those are customers you would never sell a copy of KSP to if you never approach steam as a viable distributer.

Steam would in no way hamper or limit the game as you would still be able to play your copy you bought without steam. All it would do is add features and players to the game.

The extra revenue would probably be enough to double the current development team.

[Zmapus]

Why not? Steam is not exclusive, so you have the option to play it from the KSP-store.

I already said why I don't like and refuse to support steam. I also refuse to support companies that go with steam. Will my one man boycott make steam disappear, no. But it makes me happy.

[jfx]

I already said why I don't like and refuse to support steam. I also refuse to support companies that go with steam. Will my one man boycott make steam disappear, no. But it makes me happy.

Well, your logic is bad (and as Zoidberg would say you should feel bad). As stated above Steam is entirely optional contrary to other systems (like gog.com who want you to be exclusive on gog for x months and if you want to be on steam too they give you the finger - yup they are no complete saints either despite their zero drm policy).

For extra fun i'll throw in another suggestion:

KSP Modules and Plugins through the Steam Workshop system. It would be quite nice in my opinion.

And the game does not have to be finished to be on steam - i bought Endless Space when it was in Alpha there and it was comparable in features and quality to i guess KSP 0.18 or 0.19

[Zmapus]

Well, your logic is bad (and as Zoidberg would say you should feel bad). As stated above Steam is entirely optional contrary to other systems (like gog.com who want you to be exclusive on gog for x months and if you want to be on steam too they give you the finger - yup they are no complete saints either despite their zero drm policy).

For extra fun i'll throw in another suggestion:

KSP Modules and Plugins through the Steam Workshop system. It would be quite nice in my opinion.

And the game does not have to be finished to be on steam - i bought Endless Space when it was in Alpha there and it was comparable in features and quality to i guess KSP 0.18 or 0.19

Oh noes someone on the interwebs doesn't like my opinion. Horror and woe is me. It is also entirely optional for me to support companies or not for whatever reason I want. Its my money and time. Ill do with it as I please. Feel free to do the same, I won't insult your logic when you do either.

[softweir]

That is enough of the "Steam Good" / "Steam Evil" argument. If any of you pick that argument up again this thread will be locked!

[AlternNocturn]

I love Steam as a service (Killer sales, lots of useful features, very unintrusive DRM, achievements system, community features, auto-updating, etc. etc.), but I don't think KSP would work on that platform, even when it's fully completed. I really don't see what KSP can gain from being on Steam. Achievements would be a bit silly, and I don't really think I'll be using the overlay for anything. Although if you want KSP on Steam for the overlay, add it to your library as a non-Steam game. You won't get achievements or time spent playing and it won't be recorded on your account, but you do get the convenience of Steam and the overlay.

[sneakeypete]

The general suggestion would be that KSP on steam would be good for marketing and sales (eg, if they put it up on the main page of steam for a few days after i was put on there if the game was finished, it could generate a lot more views than the game could ever hope to gather elsewhere)

Of course i kind of feel stupid for even getting involved in this thread because its the dev's decision and nothing we say or do will probably be able to influence it anyway.

[Master]

I love Steam as a service (Killer sales, lots of useful features, very unintrusive DRM, achievements system, community features, auto-updating, etc. etc.), but I don't think KSP would work on that platform, even when it's fully completed.

Achievements would be a good addition even if not through steam. There are tons of small fun/funny tasks you could do for achievements. There is an entire section dedicated to challenges on this forum and most of those challenges could easily be used as achievements.

Universal Sandbox, Evochron and Introversion Software and many many other games all did much better (financially) when they were put on steam. Could they have made it without steam? In most cases yes but in some cases (like introversion about to close their doors before the were saved by steam sales) steam was the only reason they survived.

For good or bad steam is a huge part of PC gaming and the control a huge section of the market. The only other outlet (distributer) even close to steam is hard copy sales at stores and KSP is not in that market either. Personally I think KSP would do well on steam. While it is a niche game it is pretty accessible and has tons of explosions which is really what sells things on steam lol.

[Erixxxx]

I like Steam, but for this game it doesn't seem necessary. As far as I understand, Greenlight will be made to promote less-known indie developers and get some publicity around their games. That's good and all, but KSP seems to be doing fine on it's own. Plus not being on Steam means Squad can do pretty much whatever they want in terms of updates and such.

[The-Bean]

Plus not being on Steam means Squad can do pretty much whatever they want in terms of updates and such.

How would being on Steam make it any different than it is now?

[_Aramchek_]

How would being on Steam make it any different than it is now?

It wouldn't, it would just mean they would reach a larger user base.

That is often a good thing for a game dev. lol

[[ Jeremy ]]

My personal opinion is that KSP is an indie game, and it should remain that way.

End of comment.

- Jeremy

[jfx]

My personal opinion is that KSP is an indie game, and it should remain that way.

End of comment.

- Jeremy

There are hundreds of indy games on steam. Steam is no publisher - more like a digital game aisle. Many indy guys are full of praise for steam because the guys at valve seem nice to work with and the terms steam offers are fair (You can basically publish patches for free - microsoft wants somewhere arround 10.000$ just to evaluate a patch for their xbla program).

Steam is A channel out of several. I really don't get people who "say if this is offered on steam i'm out". If KSP gets exposed to more people all of us will benefit. Think of KSP as a daily deal on Steam for 33% less. 30 million People will see that ad. That amount of exposure generates a lot of cash for an indy dev.

If you need an example check out "Endless Space" an 4x game - after their alpha went live on steam their community numbers went through the roof. And with the awesome mix of comical "shooting aliens into their fiery demise" and cool somewhat real physics of KSP it would go even futher by one or two orders of magnitude.

somewhat related:

Sooner or later the squad Guys will have to think of something to mitigate the stampede on the servers on a new release. Easiest way would be to rent some bandwith at amazon s3 or similar services and set up a basic form of load balancing.

[softweir]

Indeed, Steam is most definitely NOT a publisher! Publishers pay developers up-front to produce games, control the advertising, decide the release date, choose which shops to allow to carry and take a large portion of the retail price. They almost always insist on the right to vet content in a game and there have been instances of publishers almost totally changing the style, look-and-feel, gameplay and even genre of a game. They almost always retain control of the franchise even after sacking a development company - ie, they get to keep the name, format rights and even (in some cases) the game engine.

Steam does none of those. They act as a distribution channel: they collect the cash, send out copies, and pass on most of the cash to the developers - or the publishers, if the developer is signed up to one. They don't have an advertising budget, they don't control game content, they don't choose which shops get to put the game on their shelves, they don't control the release date beyond "we've got a few big titles coming out at that time and are expecting a big rush on our servers. Maybe a week later?" And they never buy or retain any rights to a game, its code, or its sequels. (Don't confuse Steam and Valve. Valve is a game developer and publisher who happen to have founded and wholly own Steam, but they treat Steam as a distribution channel, and don't suppress or control the games it carries.)

[_Aramchek_]

I would like if the game was on steam, for convenience reasons, it's nice to have everything backed up at one place...just in case.

I HATE drm too, but steam doesn't bother me at all. It's never caused me any problems.