Quote: " suppose I *could* have tried to sell it "as is", but I just don't think the FPSC game engine is ready to produce marketable products. When games like F.E.A.R. and HL2 sell for around $30-$40, I don't think anyone would be happy with the limits of an FPSC game for any price.
I'm not putting FPSC down, I just don't think it's good enough for commercial games yet. Hopefully, TGC will put more effort into producing a version that we can use to produce games with the speed, stability and features of other less expensive engine/game creation systems like Torque, GameStudio or Truevision."
I don't agree at all. There are more then enough people willing to buy a FPSC game, as long as it's reasonably priced and their aware of the fact that their not buying a fear/hl2 like game.
FPSC is good enough for commercial games, not in the high priced game range, but it can compete with other indie games out there. But, it takes careful planning, designing, adjusting and even a lot of rebuilding of levels if needed to get the wanted result.
The problem I do see with a lot of FPSC games not being marketable, isn't caused by the engine, but by the game designer. Perhaps people aren't going to buy the next plain old FPS created with FPSC, since at the same price range you can get much better ones. But, people will buy a FPSC created FPS game when you do add an uniqueness to it, something original, a fun-factor or whatever you want to call it.
That's what makes a game marketable and if you do find that for your games they will be marketable, no matter the engine you do use. There are games around that proved to be very marketable, being made with far worse engines then FPSC. It's not the tool that determinses the markebility of a game, it's the game designer.
Don't create what everyone else has already done, but find your own uniqueness factor and you're game will be maketable.
DF1 has really been done well, it's for sure one of the best fps games created with FPSC, and I'm aware that may people around here are very excited about the game (including TGC), but comparing it to other indie games in it's genre (that are being sold on the web), it didn't stand out. When looking at the target market for DF, it will be hard to take a piece of that market as is, imo. While as an fps game, it does stand out around here, it doesn't stand out in the general fps crowd.
I really do hope you're going to add something to DF2 that makes it unique, that adds something to the game that makes it original, stand out of the fps crowd. If you can manage that and maintain the good look and gameplay of DF1, you're going to have a marketable game, inspite of having made it with FPSC. The uniqueness factor makes up for many many lack of features.
Don't know if you've ever played Tribal Trouble, I know it's not a fps game, but still a good example.
http://www.manifestogames.com/node/237 There are many many indie rts games around and until now none of them really could compete with the big guys. Tribal Trouble is one of the least featured rts games around, doesn't look as cool as many the others do and lacks a lot of things. It's not a bad game at all, but it's for sure not the best one around either. Still it can compete with the 'big guys', and playing it is very captivating. Even though it lacks everything to a be a truly great game, it still is (and that's not just my opinion), the game is doing very very well.
Why, it has the uniqueness factor, it adds something to the game, that makes you want to play it and even leave the Age of Empires 3 or so in the box.
Find that for your next game and you've got a winner also.
