Why I think this game will fail.

[Robert Terwilliger]

The price. It is an absurd amount for how little content is actually there.

The business side is going to kill any potential for this game because while the models look cool and allow for some stylish screen shots, asking almost 70$ for such minimal content is laughable. Even on sale I felt like I spent too much.

The largest maps are super small and simplistic, unit variety is quite shallow and while the combat can be fun it is no where near as complex as even older RTS like SC2. Not to mention factions, given how little unit variety there is I would expect at least 5 factions.
(Just to be clear, when I say unit variety I do not mean the style or artwork of the model. I am talking about how many different rock paper scissor combinations there are across the factions that allow for more dynamic game play).

Will they add more content in the future? Maybe, but that is an expensive gamble. I think it is a unique niche for a game and the business side understands this and will exploit people's love for a specific genre.

I sincerely hope I am wrong.

[Blackmage]

Iron Harvest kinda already did fail.
It had a No Man's Sky / Cyberpunk 2077 launch (before CP77). Plenty of bugs, a bunch of absent features that are present in pretty much every other RTS game, a crappy skirmish AI, etc etc etc - yet it was boasted during its development that it would revolutionize the RTS genre. I think C&C Red Alert 2 is still the king of the RTS genre despite being 20 years old, but that's just my opinion.

I still enjoy playing Iron Harvest once in a while anyways. Mostly because it's awesome to watch mechs crush buildings. Strangely enough though, they can't kick down trees, lol.

[Jay Akula]

You know when game has a "healthy" life when its sponsored content creator "2sk3tchy", has stop making Iron Harvest content for over 4 month.

[GMChronos]

Originally posted by Maillotins:

You know when game has a "healthy" life when its sponsored content creator "2sk3tchy", has stop making Iron Harvest content for over 4 month.

they are releasing dlc now

[Count Shagula]

Lack of content? Its has the best RTS campaign since world in conflict

[shadain597]

It's not really a "maybe they'll add more content" but rather that the 'Merica DLC that adds flying units is already announced and on the way. And the $70 version of the game includes the DLC. Personally, I agree that $50 for the base game seems entirely too steep, but the sale price of $25 for the base + $10 for the DLC was much more reasonable. That said, even at that price I'd only recommend the game to people who are big fans of mechs/dieselpunk, because if you just want a good RTS there's other options that are (currently) better.

[Jay Akula]

Originally posted by Chronos:

they are releasing dlc now

I won't deny that the Usonia faction looks interesting, but I still have a bitter taste in my mouth from the half-baked launch and the underwhelming experience.

They are mechs for crying out loud. Yet, they can't run, jump, and climb around the battlefield? Instead they just act as turret less tanks. And the Tur is no where near the size it was advertised. These were major let downs for me.

[Blackmage]

While the development team might be mostly content with their product, even they can't ignore the botched launch and waning interest reflected by the low multiplayer count. The criticisms against this game have been very loud despite the game's good review scores.

Thus, I think the DLC is coming in part only because it was promised. If it got cancelled, they'd probably lose a lot of money and maybe face some lawsuits.

[shadain597]

Originally posted by Maillotins:

They are mechs for crying out loud. Yet, they can't run, jump, and climb around the battlefield? Instead they just act as turret less tanks.

These aren't Japanese-style future mechs. They aren't even close to Titanfall-levels of tech, nor Pacific Rim. We're talking alternate-reality 1920s. So why in the world would you expect running, jumping, and climbing to be standard abilities? I could potentially see those on very specialized, rare mechs, but more than that and it'd just totally shatter the immersion. Heck, we're 100 years into the future and it's still not practical for us to make mechs similar to those in the game. And that's not even considering the potential headache of balance in a combined-arms game.

[Varien]

Originally posted by shadain597:

Originally posted by Maillotins:

They are mechs for crying out loud. Yet, they can't run, jump, and climb around the battlefield? Instead they just act as turret less tanks.

These aren't Japanese-style future mechs. They aren't even close to Titanfall-levels of tech, nor Pacific Rim. We're talking alternate-reality 1920s. So why in the world would you expect running, jumping, and climbing to be standard abilities? I could potentially see those on very specialized, rare mechs, but more than that and it'd just totally shatter the immersion. Heck, we're 100 years into the future and it's still not practical for us to make mechs similar to those in the game. And that's not even considering the potential headache of balance in a combined-arms game.

Indeed, the game wont be getting something like a gundam of course or anything modern since it doesnt match the overall theme of the game. That said, I wonder what Japanese steampunk mechs would be like, hell it could be the next faction to come after the Americans since the Japanese did fight the Russians around the general time this game is based in. Curious as to what this secret faction is too.

[Creavend]

Originally posted by Varien:

That said, I wonder what Japanese steampunk mechs would be like, hell it could be the next faction to come after the Americans since the Japanese did fight the Russians around the general time this game is based in. Curious as to what this secret faction is too.

Like this https://www.artofboardgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Invaders-6.jpg

[Kurt Nobrain]

Think? Mate, this game already failed. Despite what people may tell you pretty much everyone who heard about Iron Harvest (if they even heard about it) considers it a watered down Company of Heroes with a mediocre campaign and a botched launch. The fact that 8 thousand people decided to buy and play it only now, after 8 months since release when the game dropped to half price shows just how botched the developers' approach to selling their product was.

Give it a few days or a week and we'll be back to seeing 200 players tops during weekends until the DLC drops. Because, at the end of the day, the setting and story don't matter if the gameplay lags behind. And it lagged behind since day 1.

[Treyu]

Originally posted by Count Shagula:

Lack of content? Its has the best RTS campaign since world in conflict

Yeah, the campaign is good (although the ending is quite meh)
But people expect some replayability, like Company of Heroes, it has a nice campaign, and you can actually play some skirmish against an AI that knows how to do things and not be a sitting duck launching assaults at your main base while ignoring everything else.

Plus, CoH has a functioning workshop that's keeping the game alive with some really well made Overhauls.

Iron Harvest don't have that unfortunately, not even a community map editor, the replayability is near oblivion.

Maybe it'll improve, considering it now has Deep Silver as the Publisher, so they'll keep making content, but I doubt that they'll be releasing anything major as a free update rn

And 20 bucks for the new DLC is really too much

It's quite far frome the "RTS revival" (If that genre ever needed a revival to begin with)

[ThotsBContagious]

Originally posted by Maillotins:

You know when game has a "healthy" life when its sponsored content creator "2sk3tchy", has stop making Iron Harvest content for over 4 month.

Who cares about what some clown on youtube does? Unless I'm missing sarcasm through text again, dunno who that is.

[Jay Akula]

Originally posted by shadain597:

Originally posted by Maillotins:

They are mechs for crying out loud. Yet, they can't run, jump, and climb around the battlefield? Instead they just act as turret less tanks.

These aren't Japanese-style future mechs. They aren't even close to Titanfall-levels of tech, nor Pacific Rim. We're talking alternate-reality 1920s. So why in the world would you expect running, jumping, and climbing to be standard abilities? I could potentially see those on very specialized, rare mechs, but more than that and it'd just totally shatter the immersion. Heck, we're 100 years into the future and it's still not practical for us to make mechs similar to those in the game. And that's not even considering the potential headache of balance in a combined-arms game.

Still doesn't explain why the mech the size of a Kaiser or Tur can't climb up steep hills that 16th of their height, or mechs like Smialy must always smash through your sand bag and can't walk over them. And what is the point of adding legs to the heavy MG if all it does it make slower to push it around.

Ignoring the practicality of Gundams. The whole point of giving legs to machine is that it could move around even terrains and climb up steep hills. Why else would the US military be interested in robots like the Big Dog.

If you want to about immersion braking then you should talk about the Rusviet mechs. Their halve wheel and halve legs design make no sense. Your slower than a typical wheeled vehicle on roads and can't go over uneven terrains or climb up hills. Its like the Rusviet couldn't figure out how to add a pair of legs at the back or how to center its mass so it is balance on its legs. It even makes less sense when you see that the Rusviets have successfully built mechs that can move with just legs with no need for trainer wheels. Makes you wonder why didn't make mechs like the Nakovalnya just walk on legs, or even better make it fully wheeled.

But I let the Rusviet go, because I know this game is not based in some hard science universe. The issue I have with the mechs in Iron Harvest is that they don't even feel like mechs. If you re-skinned every mech to look like a tanks you could easily mistaken Iron Harvest as some fan made mod for Company of Heroes.

The mechs in Iron Harvest function no differently from tanks in other RTS. In other games like Zero-K and Beyond All Reason having legs on your vehicles serve a purpose. They provide better mobility over tracked or wheeled vehicles on hills and mountains. KingArt should have added some unique mechanics with their mech units. Make their star of the show stand out from your typical tank units in other RTS, but they didn't. This is why I find it the mechs in Iron Harvest disappointing, to me it was a missed opportunity to give the game a unique feeling.

[SpiffyGonzales]

Normally I'd agree with the people saying its because its a small indie team and that people are judging it unfairly... but I agree that if i'm paying a triple A price than I should expect a triple A game.
I honestly like the game and if it wasn't for small player count (aside from the free weekend and dlc pop increase i mean) i'd be on multi a LOT more.

I really don't understand why they don't just lower the price to 40. :/