A Free Version

[elaxter]

I think it would be very cool for there to be a free version. Cut everything except multiplayer on password locked servers. That way hosting a game for some friends would be super easy.

[mimizukari]

If the population doesn't increase on release, I'd want to have something like this, but if the population rises after the official release then I figure we'll have enough people to play with.

[Heroine Nisa]

... What?

[Rice]

He wants a version of the game that's free. With the stipulation that you can only connect to p/w protected server, with the intention of only being able to use this new client to connect to your friends.

[Hoshi]

So, he wants a version of the game with the only viable way to play it, but for free?

[Rice]

Essentially yes. ^^;

I thought it was already enough that you could make whatever board game you owned / download ones others have made for essentially the cost of the game. (The savings are immense, but ofc it isn't the same as a game in real life)

[Drammin]

I get where the OP is coming from. Right now there are not enough players to make something like TTS viable. Will that change when the early release version has come out? I tend to think no and I have purchased the game but have not gotten it to work too well due to lag issues. There are other places to play most of these games for free such as Vassal and boardgameareana that have challenges attracting players. What is going to separate TTS from the pack of free sites.

[isu-kun]

The only way i could see a free version working is if they shifted their business plan towards licensing from paid DLC. But they would need a lot of publisher support to pull that off.

[mimizukari]

Originally posted by isu-kun:

The only way i could see a free version working is if they shifted their business plan towards licensing from paid DLC. But they would need a lot of publisher support to pull that off.

board game arena has plenty of games that developers willingly offer for free, solely to get their name out there, saboteur, race for the galaxy, neutreeko, seasons, stone age, libertalia, etc.

[isu-kun]

Originally posted by epsilon Rose:

board game arena has plenty of games that developers willingly offer for free, solely to get their name out there, saboteur, race for the galaxy, neutreeko, seasons, stone age, libertalia, etc.

That's great for them, but I'm pretty sure Berserk Games wants to make money off of their product. They're not going to make their software free and then also not make anything on DLC. That's fine for the fan projects that are more concerned with creating an environment for fellow gamers, but Tabletop Simulator is a for profit project, so I don't see them going in that direction. Also, the product they are trying to offer is supposed to be more high quality with better production values than the web-based games which are often bare bones presentations.

[mimizukari]

Originally posted by isu-kun:

Originally posted by epsilon Rose:

board game arena has plenty of games that developers willingly offer for free, solely to get their name out there, saboteur, race for the galaxy, neutreeko, seasons, stone age, libertalia, etc.

That's great for them, but I'm pretty sure Berserk Games wants to make money off of their product. They're not going to make their software free and then also not make anything on DLC. That's fine for the fan projects that are more concerned with creating an environment for fellow gamers, but Tabletop Simulator is a for profit project, so I don't see them going in that direction. Also, the product they are trying to offer is supposed to be more high quality with better production values than the web-based games which are often bare bones presentations.

bare bones? they have all fully scripted rules, and are infact, a pain of the ass to play on tts, but some people still play them nonetheless.

[Rice]

Yes, because without fully scripted rules, how would one ever manage to play a board game?

[mimizukari]

Originally posted by RiceKun:

Yes, because without fully scripted rules, how would one ever manage to play a board game?

the same way you do in TTS.

[isu-kun]

Or the way you do in real life. And by bare bones, I mean they're coded to run in a browser with flat graphics and low end presentation. Scripting in the rules isn't actually that hard with the kind of setup they have.

[mimizukari]

Originally posted by isu-kun:

Or the way you do in real life. And by bare bones, I mean they're coded to run in a browser with flat graphics and low end presentation. Scripting in the rules isn't actually that hard with the kind of setup they have.

the presentation is pretty good... have you ever used BGA?

[isu-kun]

I've seen what it looks like and the presentation looks like a web-based game. You can sit there and argue all you want, but nobody is making 3D models and props for BGA. It's all flat images with some scans of game materials and a lot of counters. It doesn't really give the feel of playing a board game and publishers know that.

Besides, what does this have to do with my original point that Berserk Games is a for profit company looking to make money from their product? As I said before, they aren't enthusiasts just looking to make a non profit platform for other enthusiasts. If they want to make money on their platform, they either need to sell it for money, or get licensing through DLC, so they aren't just going to open their platform up and make it available for free AND not charge for DLC. BGA gets their money through subscriptions and donations, but their goal is very different from Berserk Games.