Idea for Stardock: laid-off developers make a MoM lookalike with updated graphics & twists???

from Elemental Forums

If you're receptive to brainstorming,  how about this? 

 

Ask the community if they would pay for a very MoM-like game (but updated) as a separate game and get the laid off developers to make it. If the community responds positively enough, it would be a way for the MoM fans to get what they want and the unfortunate developers to have some work while they look for other jobs. It would also be a way to leverage all the engine work done and shouldn't be that expensive to develop.

You'd need the multiple races and flying creatures, and some of the tech trees would kind of disappear as when you take a city you would get their units to build, but so much of what you'd need is already there....I for one would pre-pay another $60 to get it.  Don't care if you call it modding or development, it's something I want. 

12,832 views 14 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

If someone made Age of Wonders:Shadow Magic in the Elemental Engine and just copied it part for part (latest patch ofc) I would buy it over and above Elemental any day of week.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

The Age of Wonders series is going to be on Impulse shortly. So players will at least be able to try that out and see how others have approached it.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

When I saw the title I thought this thread was a joke. The band of jobless devs most likely without the skills and manpower required to do this are hardly gonna get together to invest a few years working for free to make a new game. Though there will almost certainly be a MoM mod one day. 

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting JamesMoriarty123, reply 1
If someone made Age of Wonders:Shadow Magic in the Elemental Engine and just copied it part for part (latest patch ofc) I would buy it over and above Elemental any day of week.
End of JamesMoriarty123's quote

Yes!!!!

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Frogboy, reply 2
The Age of Wonders series is going to be on Impulse shortly. So players will at least be able to try that out and see how others have approached it.
End of Frogboy's quote

SERIOUSLY?!!

I'm glad you said something because I've been checking for it on Steam every day and would have bought it there.  Knowing that it's going to be on Impulse, I'll definitely consider buying it from Impulse first.  Mind you, that would be a first for me as the only games I've bought on Impulse were ones that Stardock either developed and/or published.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Just for discussion's sake what do you think AoW has to gain from Elemental's visuals/gameplay?

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Any chance you'd team up with Shrapnel Games to sell / deliver their games through Impulse?  I'm seriously considering buying Dominions 3 as well. :)

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Jean-A-Luc, reply 6
Just for discussion's sake what do you think AoW has to gain from Elemental's visuals/gameplay?
End of Jean-A-Luc's quote

I think AoWSM has better graphics than Elemental, unless you think that "these days everything must be in 3d" (and it would be hard to use the Elemental engine to recreate it because it uses hexes instead of squares).

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

PLEASE is there any chance that Age of Wonders 2 Shadow magic can have at least a slightly fixed AI that would enable it to found cities? This is the single biggest detractor from playing a true civ-like sandbox game! I'd pay $10 extra just for that single feature!

Edit: I would even volunteer to do the programming, if someone would provide me with the sources...

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

And who exactly is going to be paying the developers in the 18 months development would take? They can't exactly live on promises that people will buy their product.

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Runner1978, reply 9
PLEASE is there any chance that Age of Wonders 2 Shadow magic can have at least a slightly fixed AI that would enable it to found cities? This is the single biggest detractor from playing a true civ-like sandbox game! I'd pay $10 extra just for that single feature!

Edit: I would even volunteer to do the programming, if someone would provide me with the sources...
End of Runner1978's quote

It does found cities if it has Pioneers, the problem is that it doesn't build Pioneers. There are mods that give Pioneers some offensive capabilities, which cause the AI to build them, and it founds cities with them.

Generally the AI in the AoW series is not very good, the unofficial patch/modding community has been pleading for access to the source code for years, if we ever get it, we'll improve the AI as well as other things.

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

I liked AOW:SM, but the problem was, it was too easy to convert other units.  

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting _PawelS_, reply 8
I think AoWSM has better graphics than Elemental, unless you think that "these days everything must be in 3d" (and it would be hard to use the Elemental engine to recreate it because it uses hexes instead of squares).
End of _PawelS_'s quote

I kinda agree which is why I was asking. I'm really annoyed 3D is insisted on these days even though it's often unnecessary and doesn't really add anything and often only makes the game look blander. Imo devs today are afraid that if their game is 2D people will say it has no place in the 21st century which is a shame.

Just look at Majesty 1 -> Majesty 2 for an example of crappy 2D to 3D switching.

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top


If you're receptive to brainstorming,  how about this? 

 

Ask the community if they would pay for a very MoM-like game (but updated) as a separate game and get the laid off developers to make it. If the community responds positively enough, it would be a way for the MoM fans to get what they want and the unfortunate developers to have some work while they look for other jobs. It would also be a way to leverage all the engine work done and shouldn't be that expensive to develop.

You'd need the multiple races and flying creatures, and some of the tech trees would kind of disappear as when you take a city you would get their units to build, but so much of what you'd need is already there....I for one would pre-pay another $60 to get it.  Don't care if you call it modding or development, it's something I want. 

End of quote
If Stardock doesn't have money for a second development studio, it means it doesn't have the money for it. Even if they were to use the same Engine, I suppose. That the peoplenow unemployed were to join together and create their own indie studio... dont know, Planetdock or something... and try to develop something with Stardock as publishers... Hmmm Nevermind me, I don't know what I'm talking about. Sorry.