What's the point? (seriously)

[carbonga]

Hi there!
This is not intended to spread negative vibes, but a serious question: what's the point of a second Banished? Banished has been around for the better part of a decade. This seems pretty much equal but with more comic-style graphics. So: what's the point? Does anyone know?

[mistresswitch]

This isn't such a bad question to ask though, the developing team was only 'brought together' in 2020; and there is no information about who is actually in their team.

From what I looked at I couldn't see a single post introducing the dev team to the community, whether they were old modders of Banished who progressed, or just gamers who develop and made a game.

There are quite a few 'revisionist' posts in here. For a history lesson: Yes, Banished was abandoned, though the Dev was gracious enough to forewarn everyone about it. It will never come out of Beta. The only reason why he came back to update a serious problem was that the community worked together, as did the modders and he put out the next Beta and agreed to a compromise with the modders to add an additional functionality in for them to use a free space for things like 'building supplies' or 'speciality supplies' in their mod components.
But - it never came out of Beta, it was never finished. Therefor - by definition, abandoned.

This game however picks up where everything finished off, plus the addition of the CC+ mod functionality (plus it looks like some of Kids & the PEI mods influence in there as well); so the game looks to be further ahead in development without the need for modding.

This is a good thing; if you don't want to rely on mods and you like the graphics.
My issue is I have no idea about the development team, noone has answered the questions when asked (in FAQ & other threads, and on YouTube posts); and for a dev company less than 2 years old; is the investment worth it?

So, there is no harm in the OP question, as I see it.

[WarNerve]

Originally posted by Amigurumi:

This is way better than banished, what the heck are you talking about!? It has a great price, works very well, considering it's in early access, and really just needs tweaking on stuff like chances for catching "cubs." And it's so much more fun! Take your negativity somewhere else.

He wasn't being negative. He was simply asking a question. You're the one that brought negativity into it.

[Ready2produce]

Originally posted by jhughes:

The point is.. I want to play this game, and Foundation, and Factorytown, and Banished. Why? Because I can.

I agree. I have many Steam games and I enjoy playing many of them.

[Ready2produce]

mistresswitch, there are many experienced Banished players that belong here.

I don't want to spoil the Banished discussions community ... their posts are good reads.

I just wish they could enjoy the greater challenge in 'Settlement Survivor'.

They have the Banished knowledge that this game would benefit from ... especially Didz.

But who are any of us to tell someone else what to do? Not me.

[thundersen]

Originally posted by mistresswitch:

This isn't such a bad question to ask though, the developing team was only 'brought together' in 2020; and there is no information about who is actually in their team.

From what I looked at I couldn't see a single post introducing the dev team to the community, whether they were old modders of Banished who progressed, or just gamers who develop and made a game.
[...]
My issue is I have no idea about the development team, noone has answered the questions when asked (in FAQ & other threads, and on YouTube posts); and for a dev company less than 2 years old; is the investment worth it?

Have you managed to find out anything about the dev team in the meantime? I have asked on the Discord about them and what "SZSS Interactive" is (save games are stored under that name), but the question has been ignored.
The only website I found is this rudimentary thing: https://gleamer-studio.prezly.com/

I could understand, if they want to focus on working on the game instead of public relations, but I find this complete lack of information unusual.

[cybera]

I'll give my 2 cents, I've played banished and I've tried this game yesterday and while the game needs quite a bit more work, to be complete, it definitely has a lot more content than banished and I like more content, so if banished wont supply it, and this game does than that seems like a good reason for a second banished.

[jhughes]

Originally posted by thundersen:

Originally posted by mistresswitch:

This isn't such a bad question to ask though, the developing team was only 'brought together' in 2020; and there is no information about who is actually in their team.

From what I looked at I couldn't see a single post introducing the dev team to the community, whether they were old modders of Banished who progressed, or just gamers who develop and made a game.
[...]
My issue is I have no idea about the development team, noone has answered the questions when asked (in FAQ & other threads, and on YouTube posts); and for a dev company less than 2 years old; is the investment worth it?

Have you managed to find out anything about the dev team in the meantime? I have asked on the Discord about them and what "SZSS Interactive" is (save games are stored under that name), but the question has been ignored.
The only website I found is this rudimentary thing: https://gleamer-studio.prezly.com/

I could understand, if they want to focus on working on the game instead of public relations, but I find this complete lack of information unusual.

They are a small independent game developer, and they seem to be their own publisher as well. If one does not like small, unproven publishers or developers, then this game may not be for you.

If one does not like Early Access games that are not fully release ready, then this game might not be for you.

I can only go on what they are doing right now, which is taking feedback, publishing updates, and building a game I enjoy playing.

Some people only want to buy games from AAA developers and publishers. If that is you .. great. For me, this is quite a fun game and I have already gotten, IMHO, much more than $15.00 worth of enjoyment from this game.

[thundersen]

Originally posted by jhughes:

Originally posted by thundersen:

Have you managed to find out anything about the dev team in the meantime? I have asked on the Discord about them and what "SZSS Interactive" is (save games are stored under that name), but the question has been ignored.
The only website I found is this rudimentary thing: https://gleamer-studio.prezly.com/

I could understand, if they want to focus on working on the game instead of public relations, but I find this complete lack of information unusual.

They are a small independent game developer, and they seem to be their own publisher as well. If one does not like small, unproven publishers or developers, then this game may not be for you.

If one does not like Early Access games that are not fully release ready, then this game might not be for you.

I can only go on what they are doing right now, which is taking feedback, publishing updates, and building a game I enjoy playing.

Some people only want to buy games from AAA developers and publishers. If that is you .. great. For me, this is quite a fun game and I have already gotten, IMHO, much more than $15.00 worth of enjoyment from this game.

I don't know where this is coming from. Please don't put words in my mouth like that. I'm well aware that this is an early access game. I understand that concept and I almost exclusively play indie titles.

I just haven't encountered another game where there was practically zero information about the devs. I find that strange and I would like to know whose product I have bought. Nothing more, nothing less.

[jhughes]

Originally posted by thundersen:

Originally posted by jhughes:

They are a small independent game developer, and they seem to be their own publisher as well. If one does not like small, unproven publishers or developers, then this game may not be for you.

If one does not like Early Access games that are not fully release ready, then this game might not be for you.

I can only go on what they are doing right now, which is taking feedback, publishing updates, and building a game I enjoy playing.

Some people only want to buy games from AAA developers and publishers. If that is you .. great. For me, this is quite a fun game and I have already gotten, IMHO, much more than $15.00 worth of enjoyment from this game.

I don't know where this is coming from. Please don't put words in my mouth like that. I'm well aware that this is an early access game. I understand that concept and I almost exclusively play indie titles.

I just haven't encountered another game where there was practically zero information about the devs. I find that strange and I would like to know whose product I have bought. Nothing more, nothing less.

I was using YOU in the general sense.. Not specifically "you" :)

As in.. If a person doesn't like these things THEY may not like this game.

[Warren G.]

Originally posted by Zelgabunny:

People make new games because they think they can make them better than any previous similar games. I'd say this most applies to sports games, why make a new Madden every single year, its still football right? The devs think they've improved it over last year. Lots of action rpgs trying to mimic Diablo over the years as well since it set such a mold. But there has been lots of similar games made since it that are still very enjoyable to play, like Path of Exile, Victor Vran. Van Helsing, Torchlight, Titan Quest. Just because one game was considered the best of its time doesn't mean other people shouldn't try to outdo/improve upon it in the future. Core gameplay may be the same as well, but new features could be added, new designs or mechanics to make things more interesting. Some developers might simply be going for a different visual stuff with nothing else remarkable too, and that's fine as long as the game price reflects its quality.

This is the kind of answer you should expect if you simply ask what's the point. If you want specific answers, then you should ask specific questions. Like what new features are in this game compared to other similar games. How many different buildings can be constructed? What are all the different jobs people can have? What features greatly impact the replay value of the game? I don't know the answers to these questions since I haven't felt like researching the game much yet, but there should be a wiki being developed at some point as there is for most strategy or rpg games. Find out what you like most about colony sim games then ask if this game has any of that, and to what extent.

what a joke
they dont improve they just want more money tf is happenin

[jhughes]

Originally posted by Warren G.:

Originally posted by Zelgabunny:

People make new games because they think they can make them better than any previous similar games. I'd say this most applies to sports games, why make a new Madden every single year, its still football right? The devs think they've improved it over last year. Lots of action rpgs trying to mimic Diablo over the years as well since it set such a mold. But there has been lots of similar games made since it that are still very enjoyable to play, like Path of Exile, Victor Vran. Van Helsing, Torchlight, Titan Quest. Just because one game was considered the best of its time doesn't mean other people shouldn't try to outdo/improve upon it in the future. Core gameplay may be the same as well, but new features could be added, new designs or mechanics to make things more interesting. Some developers might simply be going for a different visual stuff with nothing else remarkable too, and that's fine as long as the game price reflects its quality.

This is the kind of answer you should expect if you simply ask what's the point. If you want specific answers, then you should ask specific questions. Like what new features are in this game compared to other similar games. How many different buildings can be constructed? What are all the different jobs people can have? What features greatly impact the replay value of the game? I don't know the answers to these questions since I haven't felt like researching the game much yet, but there should be a wiki being developed at some point as there is for most strategy or rpg games. Find out what you like most about colony sim games then ask if this game has any of that, and to what extent.

what a joke
they dont improve they just want more money tf is happenin

Originally posted by Warren G.:

Originally posted by Zelgabunny:

People make new games because they think they can make them better than any previous similar games. I'd say this most applies to sports games, why make a new Madden every single year, its still football right? The devs think they've improved it over last year. Lots of action rpgs trying to mimic Diablo over the years as well since it set such a mold. But there has been lots of similar games made since it that are still very enjoyable to play, like Path of Exile, Victor Vran. Van Helsing, Torchlight, Titan Quest. Just because one game was considered the best of its time doesn't mean other people shouldn't try to outdo/improve upon it in the future. Core gameplay may be the same as well, but new features could be added, new designs or mechanics to make things more interesting. Some developers might simply be going for a different visual stuff with nothing else remarkable too, and that's fine as long as the game price reflects its quality.

This is the kind of answer you should expect if you simply ask what's the point. If you want specific answers, then you should ask specific questions. Like what new features are in this game compared to other similar games. How many different buildings can be constructed? What are all the different jobs people can have? What features greatly impact the replay value of the game? I don't know the answers to these questions since I haven't felt like researching the game much yet, but there should be a wiki being developed at some point as there is for most strategy or rpg games. Find out what you like most about colony sim games then ask if this game has any of that, and to what extent.

what a joke
they dont improve they just want more money tf is happenin

So this is ridiculous. Many people want to build a better game, or a better piece of software, than currently exists. I know this to be true for a fact.

They also would like to make a living making games, so yes, they also want to be paid. I don't suppose you do your job for the fun of it and not to be paid for it? Does that mean, since you work for money, that you also don't care about the type of job you do at your workplace?

[Honeywell]

Originally posted by Warren G.:

what a joke
they dont improve they just want more money tf is happenin

Settlement Survivor is a much richer game than Banished. There's more content. More objects. More production chains and even more feedback loops. New features like introducing a tech tree, new disasters, events and even additional game modes. And all of that new content serves a purpose in that there's an actual early, mid and late game--that's a huge improvement.

You can see the thought, care and attention throughout the entire game at every level. Is there work still to be done? Yes, but It's not a cheap knock off.