This is how A44 is handling the whole thing

[it's a gabe]

So, as the Steam discussions rage on and Epic users have to resort to these forums to seek communication with other users as well as help, A44 finds it more sensible to address their public through Twitter and their official website rather than... I don't know, the Steam discussions or even the announcements section, since their community is primarily based here whether they bought the game through Epic or not.

Game director Derek Bradley wrote a short blog on the official website where he pretty much disregards Steam and even claims they're working with Microsoft to bring Ashen to the Win10 Store AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. Other platforms? Ashen will be available to them in the future (not even near future, just future). The whole thing if you're interested: http://www.ashen-game.com/news/ashen-launch

Some excerpts I found interesting:

"We are currently working with our partners at Microsoft and the ID@Xbox team on bringing Ashen to the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 as soon as possible. We wholeheartedly agree that this would have been better available day one. We are a small studio that just shipped a very big game, but have been actively working to get it there. Rest assured, it is coming."

"Our publisher, Annapurna Interactive, approached us with a unique opportunity from Epic Games to make Ashen a hallmark title for their store’s launch. As a developer we want as many players as possible to have the opportunity to play Ashen. A big part of that is having Ashen featured in a place that isn't crowded and at an exciting time when a great new platform, one that genuinely wants to do the best for developers and players alike, first launches."

Yeah... I have a few things to say about that second excerpt.

First of all, A44 is solely responsible for what's happening now. As you can see, their publisher approached them, meaning the decision lied in their hands. We could also blame Epic and Annapurna but in the end, A44 had the final say on the matter. I guess that says enough about what kind of developers they are because as I'll explain next, the game isn't available to as many players as possible.

Steam, in case any of you didn't know (and it seems A44 doesn't know that either) makes use of regional pricing. And oh, I know that a lot of Americans detest the idea of regional pricing. I've had my fair share of blows exchanged with Americans who didn't accept people from poorer countries complaining that this or that developer removed regional pricing for their game. "The game costs $60 so you gotta pay $60 regardless of where you live or how the economy is there," they said. "If you can't afford it, then shut up and just don't buy the game."

Unfortunately for those who are against regional pricing, that's one of the key factors in fighting piracy. As an example, I'll use Ashen and the Epic store, which doesn't make use of regional pricing (which makes no sense if we consider how much of a phenomenon Fortnite is)

Living in Brazil, I can purchase Ashen right now. The payment methods used here are available through their storefront. However, the game costs $40. I don't get to see how much it'll cost me until I progress a few steps into the payment (but before I actually have to commit any information, so that at least is good). The game costs around R$160 tax-free.

With R$160, I can pre-purchase the DELUXE edition of DMC5 RIGHT NOW and have a spare R$10 for ice cream. So why would I flip to a platform that's overcharging me and doesn't offer customer support instead of purchasinng a new AAA release I'm expecting on a platform I know, where all my games are, and where I get customer support (and yes, we all know Steam doesn't have the best customer support out there but at least we have it and we know what to expect). Why would I not do that and just pirate Ashen outright? Because it's wrong to pirate? That's never stopped pirates before so why is it gonna stop them now that the accessibility offered by regional pricing isn't an option? No one should care just because pirates would pirate anyway regardless of price? Well, I used to pirate all the games I had the slightest interest in but other factors included, regional pricing was one of the reasons why my Steam library is the size it is now—and it's always growing, too. So you see, how can anyone fight piracy with the mentality that it doesn't matter how much it costs, pirates will pirate anyway? Regional pricing helps fight piracy whether some people like to admit it or not and I know many a Steam user is proof of that.

So you see... I don't understand how Bradley can say "As a developer we want as many players as possible to have the opportunity to play Ashen" when they themselves chose to limit how many people have access to the game? I'm not gonna give R$160 on a game that should cost less while I could get other games around the same price range that I've been waiting for.

And quite frankly, the part "a great new platform, one that genuinely wants to do the best for developers and players alike" also confuses me cuz as of now, I'm aware of what Epic wants to do for developers. I didn't hear a word regarding their position on the features they plan on offering us, nor how their customer support is meant to work. Can we even refund games in their storefront? Cuz I didn't hear a word about that yet.

But let's get to the part that really matters: when is it coming to Steam after the game was silently temporarily pulled from the platform after it garnered the majority of its fans here?

"Right now you can play Ashen on all the hardware we have promised since day one. We know that is not enough for everyone. We will be coming to other platforms in the future. If you must wait for those, we totally understand. We are super proud of the game and hope you will enjoy it whenever and wherever you play it."

Oh. OK. Well... I was willing to give A44 the benefit of the doubt. I was expecting they would say something on the matter soon. An apology for turning on their Steam userbase quietly and keeping quiet about it would've been good, ya know? But now I'll just remove the game from my wishlist and hit "ignore," which means I'll likely never see it on Steam again (there is a chance during sales but for the most part, I won't). I don't care how cool and innovative a game looks, I'm not going to support a developer who's not even sensible enough to say "we're sorry."

If you have the game through the Epic launcher or you plan on getting it, more power to you. No, I'm not going to declare war on those people. I have enough trouble in my life as it is. I don't need to buy fights with people I don't know because of what they decide to do with their lives and their money. If you did that, that's your decision and I hope you're having funn with the game!

This is just my position on the matter and I believe more people should be informed about A44's response. About what they think the Steam userbase means to them, saying they'll work on making the game available on the Windows 10 store as quickly as possible but on Steam (they don't even mention Steam ffs) in the future. Not even a damn "sorry." Nothing.

So they won't have my money either. I have enough games to play already. In fact, if you want to play a pretty good game developed by a small team, one that won't trick you like this, look no further than CrossCode. It doesn't have multiplayer but that's one of the best RPGs of the year and it deserves more visibility. Kenshi is also pretty good if you're looking for a free-roam sandbox RPG. I've been having a good time with both—though I haven't been playing Kenshi as much as I intended to when I wishlisted it last year, but still.

Y'all have a good time.

[HeLLfirE]

same issue..cant buy due to no regional pricing on EPIC store, even tweeted to EPIC abt it.well, i had no choice but to get it for free even though i would haev bought it on steam.

[Fragmental]

I'm playing it on xbox gamepass free-trial, as a devoted Souls fan, that has dedicated more than a thousand hours in these games, I can say that you're not missing out on much.

Not on a game design level, not on a mechanic level either, it gameplay it's sort of stale and with less variety than any other "Souls-like", walking simply doesn't feel tight, and hitting enemies doesn't feel impactful, the equipment is quite limited too, though I haven't finished the game yet, take that with a grain of salt.

I personally prefer Lords of the Fallen over this, and don't that that as an insult if you haven't played Lords, but her people ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ over it, Lords is a descent game, souls games just have too much quality in them so it's hard to compete, Lords was the first to take the hit and copy their mechanics, so that is the reason why the game got a bad rep, but judging in it's own merits, it's a good game.

This is my top "Souls" if anyone cares:

Bloodborne> DS1 > DS3 > DS2 > Demon's Souls > Salt and Sanctuary > Lords > Ashen > The Surge

Where the game stands out is obviously the art style and simplicity, I confess I'd buy the game no matter how bad it would be, just for that reason alone, i'm a sucker for artsy titles, to whoever is reading, if that isn't your case, you'll do yourself and the gaming market a favor by just not playing it, there's nothing there that makes it stand out in any way.

But now that this happened, I'm just not interested anymore, I won't get it even when it comes to Steam.

[Player One]

"As a developer we want as many players as possible to have the opportunity to play Ashen"


As a consumer, I can safely say that you're doing it wrong...

[ChubbiChibbai]

Here's the thing.
The game is not that good. Its getting very mild reviews. Most people saying it feels stale already. Watered down.

Litterally the only thing going for the game right now is hype surrounding a new game launch. Many gamers tend to impulse buy. Steam makes that even easier with its refund window. I have tried many games that way and honestly ended up keeping a majority of them.

Right now all that is happening are two things:
1. more and more reviews and feedback are coming out. all of them saying a similar thing. the game is average. there are better games on the horizon.
2. people are angry with the way this is handled.

You have littlerally blown your chances of making any of those impulse launch sales. Anyone who would have impulse bought is unable to. Anyone who was on the fence has watched gameplay or reviews and probably realised the game really isn't worth it in the long run.

If and when this ever does come to steam the only sales it will make are during a deep discount. You have litterally devalued your hard work from highly anticipated to yesterdays flop.

[Chaz]

I've looked at some footage and from what I could see, it looks like it doesn't have enough variety to be an interesting game worth 40€ anyway:

- There are just three types of weapons and they all look like they behave the same, with the only diference being damage output and stun chance - one handed and two handed clubs and axes, and spears that you can also throw, no spells, no bows/crossbows, etc.

- It looks like it's an extremely linear game with a small map - you are almost forced to make the side quests (fetch quests) to increase your health and stamina significantly so you don't get tired after 3 swings.

- In regards to exploration you see a loot thing hidden in some corner, you get excited and take your time to get there, what would it be? And... it's a fu-king healing item or some other useless sh-t. (you have what looks like a replenishing jar so you don't need other healing items).

I recommend trying out Salt and Sanctuary (the only con is that it's 2D if that can be considered one) to anyone who wants a similar souls-like experience but with actually rewarding exploration with more complexity, a greater weapon and enemy variety and replayability value.

Thanks for the recommendations and you have a good time too amigo, fica bem xD

[Night]

like you say, 40$ in Brazil it's a lot.

[tmaddox]

Originally posted by HeLLfirE:

same issue..cant buy due to no regional pricing on EPIC store, even tweeted to EPIC abt it.well, i had no choice but to get it for free even though i would haev bought it on steam.

You had a choice not to play it all until it actually releases on Steam (or the windows store), because it does sound like it will eventually make it here. That is what I am doing.

You did not HAVE to play it now. You WANTED to play it now. It was own your choice to obtain the game the way you did so stop trying to blame Epic or the developers.

[Fragmental]

Originally posted by Chaz:

I

This, to anyone who played Souls or any Souls inspired game, there's nothing particularly appealing about this one, it doesn't add anything, on the contrary, it's less of the same.

It's not offensively bad or anything, the one good thing it has going for it is the art style, but on a technical level it still looks dated, like a 2014 average looking game.

[Galenrandir]

Originally posted by DS Rusty:

"As a developer we want as many players as possible to have the opportunity to play Ashen"


As a consumer, I can safely say that you're doing it wrong... [/quote]

+1

Because making your game exclusive to a launcher is totally the way you get as many players as possible to play your game

[Galenrandir]

Originally posted by unnecesaurus:

So, as the Steam discussions rage on and Epic users have to resort to these forums to seek communication with other users as well as help, A44 finds it more sensible to address their public through Twitter and their official website rather than... I don't know, the Steam discussions or even the announcements section, since their community is primarily based here whether they bought the game through Epic or not.

Game director Derek Bradley wrote a short blog on the official website where he pretty much disregards Steam and even claims they're working with Microsoft to bring Ashen to the Win10 Store AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. Other platforms? Ashen will be available to them in the future (not even near future, just future). The whole thing if you're interested: http://www.ashen-game.com/news/ashen-launch

Some excerpts I found interesting:

"We are currently working with our partners at Microsoft and the ID@Xbox team on bringing Ashen to the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 as soon as possible. We wholeheartedly agree that this would have been better available day one. We are a small studio that just shipped a very big game, but have been actively working to get it there. Rest assured, it is coming."

"Our publisher, Annapurna Interactive, approached us with a unique opportunity from Epic Games to make Ashen a hallmark title for their store’s launch. As a developer we want as many players as possible to have the opportunity to play Ashen. A big part of that is having Ashen featured in a place that isn't crowded and at an exciting time when a great new platform, one that genuinely wants to do the best for developers and players alike, first launches."

Yeah... I have a few things to say about that second excerpt.

First of all, A44 is solely responsible for what's happening now. As you can see, their publisher approached them, meaning the decision lied in their hands. We could also blame Epic and Annapurna but in the end, A44 had the final say on the matter. I guess that says enough about what kind of developers they are because as I'll explain next, the game isn't available to as many players as possible.

Steam, in case any of you didn't know (and it seems A44 doesn't know that either) makes use of regional pricing. And oh, I know that a lot of Americans detest the idea of regional pricing. I've had my fair share of blows exchanged with Americans who didn't accept people from poorer countries complaining that this or that developer removed regional pricing for their game. "The game costs $60 so you gotta pay $60 regardless of where you live or how the economy is there," they said. "If you can't afford it, then shut up and just don't buy the game."

Unfortunately for those who are against regional pricing, that's one of the key factors in fighting piracy. As an example, I'll use Ashen and the Epic store, which doesn't make use of regional pricing (which makes no sense if we consider how much of a phenomenon Fortnite is)

Living in Brazil, I can purchase Ashen right now. The payment methods used here are available through their storefront. However, the game costs $40. I don't get to see how much it'll cost me until I progress a few steps into the payment (but before I actually have to commit any information, so that at least is good). The game costs around R$160 tax-free.

With R$160, I can pre-purchase the DELUXE edition of DMC5 RIGHT NOW and have a spare R$10 for ice cream. So why would I flip to a platform that's overcharging me and doesn't offer customer support instead of purchasinng a new AAA release I'm expecting on a platform I know, where all my games are, and where I get customer support (and yes, we all know Steam doesn't have the best customer support out there but at least we have it and we know what to expect). Why would I not do that and just pirate Ashen outright? Because it's wrong to pirate? That's never stopped pirates before so why is it gonna stop them now that the accessibility offered by regional pricing isn't an option? No one should care just because pirates would pirate anyway regardless of price? Well, I used to pirate all the games I had the slightest interest in but other factors included, regional pricing was one of the reasons why my Steam library is the size it is now—and it's always growing, too. So you see, how can anyone fight piracy with the mentality that it doesn't matter how much it costs, pirates will pirate anyway? Regional pricing helps fight piracy whether some people like to admit it or not and I know many a Steam user is proof of that.

So you see... I don't understand how Bradley can say "As a developer we want as many players as possible to have the opportunity to play Ashen" when they themselves chose to limit how many people have access to the game? I'm not gonna give R$160 on a game that should cost less while I could get other games around the same price range that I've been waiting for.

And quite frankly, the part "a great new platform, one that genuinely wants to do the best for developers and players alike" also confuses me cuz as of now, I'm aware of what Epic wants to do for developers. I didn't hear a word regarding their position on the features they plan on offering us, nor how their customer support is meant to work. Can we even refund games in their storefront? Cuz I didn't hear a word about that yet.

But let's get to the part that really matters: when is it coming to Steam after the game was silently temporarily pulled from the platform after it garnered the majority of its fans here?

"Right now you can play Ashen on all the hardware we have promised since day one. We know that is not enough for everyone. We will be coming to other platforms in the future. If you must wait for those, we totally understand. We are super proud of the game and hope you will enjoy it whenever and wherever you play it."

Oh. OK. Well... I was willing to give A44 the benefit of the doubt. I was expecting they would say something on the matter soon. An apology for turning on their Steam userbase quietly and keeping quiet about it would've been good, ya know? But now I'll just remove the game from my wishlist and hit "ignore," which means I'll likely never see it on Steam again (there is a chance during sales but for the most part, I won't). I don't care how cool and innovative a game looks, I'm not going to support a developer who's not even sensible enough to say "we're sorry."

If you have the game through the Epic launcher or you plan on getting it, more power to you. No, I'm not going to declare war on those people. I have enough trouble in my life as it is. I don't need to buy fights with people I don't know because of what they decide to do with their lives and their money. If you did that, that's your decision and I hope you're having funn with the game!

This is just my position on the matter and I believe more people should be informed about A44's response. About what they think the Steam userbase means to them, saying they'll work on making the game available on the Windows 10 store as quickly as possible but on Steam (they don't even mention Steam ffs) in the future. Not even a damn "sorry." Nothing.

So they won't have my money either. I have enough games to play already. In fact, if you want to play a pretty good game developed by a small team, one that won't trick you like this, look no further than CrossCode. It doesn't have multiplayer but that's one of the best RPGs of the year and it deserves more visibility. Kenshi is also pretty good if you're looking for a free-roam sandbox RPG. I've been having a good time with both—though I haven't been playing Kenshi as much as I intended to when I wishlisted it last year, but still.

Y'all have a good time.

Thank you for this well thought out post. I agree with everything you said.

I planned on buying this game if it eventually came to steam until I read their response of “that’s not enough for everyone” even after they trick so many people....now I won’t even buy this game if it comes to steam. I have a backlog of around 700 games so I won’t be wasting my money on a dev that doesn’t respect its player base. Plenty of other games that will be coming out still on steam.

[uri_nrv]

Originally posted by AlexDzindzik:

like you say, 40$ in Brazil it's a lot.

Same here in Argentina. No regional pricing is an instant "not buying".