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Why I'm Glad Squad is the KSP Developer

Apollo13

By Apollo13
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Apollo13

Apollo13

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Squad won't quit.

The game, Spacebase DF-9, was sold as an Early Access game. There were a lot of planned new features. Players and the game review industry considered this a hot property. The current game is buggy, lacking in features, and playable for a couple hours (literally) before doing all you can do. Today, Double Fine, the developer, just quit developing. In this statement, they simply quit. "We're done. We're releasing the code so the community to finish our job."

I was tempted to buy the game, but at $30, I was rather wait-and-see. I'm glad I did not purchase it, not that I could have anticipated this. Could Squad potentially just quit KSP? Certainly. Unlikely though, because they're not spread thin like the DF studio. DF was working on about three to eight games at a time. Squad is focused on one.

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cantab

cantab

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Focus on one game probably does help. That said, Squad can quit developing KSP. Indeed if they feel that future updates aren't going to drive enough sales to keep them turning a profit, they should and probably will.

However, should that ever happen, they've already come very far.

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SiliconPyro

SiliconPyro

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Well, I've always felt like KSP was worth its price (or more). At any point, if newcomers had purchased the game and development of new features had simply stopped, they would have gotten their money's worth. When sales finally do decline enough that development has to cease, I'm imagine the game will be even more amazing than what we have now.

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Camacha

Camacha

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Focus on one game probably does help. That said, Squad can quit developing KSP. Indeed if they feel that future updates aren't going to drive enough sales to keep them turning a profit, they should and probably will.

That's one of the major issues of indie games at the moment. If sales keep going, developers will keep on developing. If not, they can pull away while leaving a half finished game and nobody can do anything about it.

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SiliconPyro

SiliconPyro

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Squad selling for a multi-billion dollar figure would be particularly ironic given that kind of money could run some actual space missions.

I'm pretty sure that if HarvesteR had 2.5 billion USD, his next stop would be space. Hopefully with more success than my first KSP launch.

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pxi

pxi

Posted
Posted (edited)
The game, Spacebase DF-9, was sold as an Early Access game. There were a lot of planned new features. Players and the game review industry considered this a hot property. The current game is buggy, lacking in features, and playable for a couple hours (literally) before doing all you can do. Today, Double Fine, the developer, just quit developing. In this statement, they simply quit. "We're done. We're releasing the code so the community to finish our job."

I was tempted to buy the game, but at $30, I was rather wait-and-see. I'm glad I did not purchase it, not that I could have anticipated this. Could Squad potentially just quit KSP? Certainly. Unlikely though, because they're not spread thin like the DF studio. DF was working on about three to eight games at a time. Squad is focused on one.

I was in the wait-and-see camp with it too. In some ways I'm not totally surprised, Tim Schafer is going to acquire the same reputation as Peter Molyneux if Double Fine keep going in this direction.

Their original backers are still waiting for the other half of their other 'finished' product too, right?

Day of the Tentacle was one of the most memorable games I ever played, but at this point I'd be pretty damn wary of anything Schafer is at the helm of. Sad really.

EDIT:

Just found this in the comments in the steam thread. The irony.

tJoynBa.png

Edited by pxi
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sal_vager

sal_vager

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It's so sad to see Doublefine do this, I guess there won't be a sequel to Psychonauts now :/

Also glad I didn't buy DF-9.

I've had more than my moneys worth from KSP so far and I'm convinced Squad will see KSP to its conclusion, I'm actually more concerned that Squad may suffer the same fate of Mojang and be a one hit wonder.

(Don't sell to Microsoft Squad)

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Jett_Quasar

Jett_Quasar

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Like many posters have said before, I've already gotten my money's worth out of this game so I'm not worried about Squad, I'm sure they'll do just fine. Besides, if they do just up and quit, the modders will take over and they've already developed all kinds of DLC that in some cases is as good as the core product. That alone could keep this going for years. Besides, Microsoft just paid $2.5 Billion for Minecraft, I think it's in Squad's best interest to keep pushing development of this product - I certainly could see this software having a valuation in the hundreds of millions at some point. If SQUAD ever offers an IPO I'd like to get in on that.

JR

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Thomas988

Thomas988

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Unlike many development companies, Squad really does put their heart and soul into KSP. You can just feel the countless time they've put into making a game they love. I don't think Squad will ever give up KSP. They have come so far and done so much, and I know that no amount of money could ever make them give up their pride's work.

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Camacha

Camacha

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(Don't sell to Microsoft Squad)

I am not so sure why everyone is so against this. Sure, franchises have been ruined by big corporations. But Microsoft has broken very few gaming franchises and money and knowledge behind a product does open up a lot of avenues.

Unlike many development companies, Squad really does put their heart and soul into KSP. You can just feel the countless time they've put into making a game they love. I don't think Squad will ever give up KSP. They have come so far and done so much, and I know that no amount of money could ever make them give up their pride's work.

2,5 billion does strange things to people. Also, who says they have to give up? You get a wad of cash and work for someone else, ensuring a steady income and adding lots of expertise. The guys at Bungie hitched a ride with Microsoft and became bigger than they could have ever dreamt.

Edited by Camacha
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Nuke

Nuke

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Like many posters have said before, I've already gotten my money's worth out of this game so I'm not worried about Squad, I'm sure they'll do just fine. Besides, if they do just up and quit, the modders will take over and they've already developed all kinds of DLC that in some cases is as good as the core product. That alone could keep this going for years. Besides, Microsoft just paid $2.5 Billion for Minecraft, I think it's in Squad's best interest to keep pushing development of this product - I certainly could see this software having a valuation in the hundreds of millions at some point. If SQUAD ever offers an IPO I'd like to get in on that.

JR

if this includes a source code release then the game could go on for decades. look at what happened to freespace.

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General Rarity

General Rarity

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Wow, Rimworld looks a lot like Prison Architect. They don't even deny taking 'inspiration' from it.

From Tynan:

Just to update this, I have talked with Ryan Sumo, the artist on PA, and he's fully supportive of RimWorld. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all.

Still working on getting an artist.

Source

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Camacha

Camacha

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That only confirms he first copied, then got permission. People really do not understand how much of a problem copycats are, that the guy got permission after the fact changes very little, his attitude on this matter is very clear.

Also note that your quote comes from the copier, not the copied.

But they do look somewhat similar; that's my fault. I'm not a good enough artist to come up with a really good original look. There are only so many ways to render characters on a tiny grid without using animations.

I hope the differences between the game will be enough for people to look past the aesthetic similarities. And if I get some funding at some point I can get an artist to help develop a more unique look.

Edited by Camacha
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gooddog15

gooddog15

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That only confirms he first copied, then got permission. People really do not understand how much of a problem copycats are, that the guy got permission after the fact changes very little, his attitude on this matter is very clear.

Also note that your quote comes from the copier, not the copied.

well, Rimworld isn't completely stealing from Prison Architect, as it's about survival, while Prison Architect is just management. Besides copycats are fairly common, and some may even be better than the game that they copied. However I do understand that copycats are horrible. Just look at all the Flappy bird rip-offs that filled appstores after that game took off.

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