My (Oliver's) Visit To Stardock '17

[Nasarog]

https://explorminate.net/2017/12/04/my-visit-to-stardock-studios-17/

Oliver got a tour of Stardock Studios in Michigan and a chance to sit down and talk to Brad.

Any thoughts on the piece?

[AK_icebear]

Regarding the GC3/4 question: move onto GC4. Given what Brad said about the engine, the new game could be developed with about 25% of the resources. And the scale of the galaxy comment sounded encouraging.

More importantly: Sins 2!

[Rob]

I get the impression that Sins 2 is far, far away.

And I think that one more expansion could really bring GC3 to its full potential. Hoping it brings new, unique mechanics...

[Mezmorki]

Ursprungligen skrivet av AK_Icebear:

Regarding the GC3/4 question: move onto GC4. Given what Brad said about the engine, the new game could be developed with about 25% of the resources. And the scale of the galaxy comment sounded encouraging.

More importantly: Sins 2!

Yeah - I think the galaxy scale idea could be pretty cool. Stellaris sort of fakes the idea by having seperate strategic level vs. in-system level movement, and to be honest I don't know if you really need an actionable layer in-between the two. That said, being able to smoothly zoom from the galaxy level down to a system level to a planetary orbit level would be cool.

Powers of 10 baby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0

Ursprungligen skrivet av DevildogFF:

I get the impression that Sins 2 is far, far away.

And I think that one more expansion could really bring GC3 to its full potential. Hoping it brings new, unique mechanics...

Yeah - based on the latest news from Brad (since this interview) it sounds like 1 more expansion will be out and then the focus will shift a bit. Hopefully they can use what they learn on this expansion (political focus I think?) to make a more robust GC4 at launch.

[Rob]

I’m likely going to be contracted for the expansion again, so hopefully I can help make it the best it can be.

[TheFunMachine.]

Great piece, thank you for posting!

IMO, I think GalCiv3 has room for one more major expansion to round it out. When they put that out and polish it up post-launch I will have considered that a great send off for the game, it has had a good run all things considered. It sounds like Brad has a big vision for the future of the franchise. GalCiv 3 is pretty settled and I think changing it up too much may turn away more than it attracts and you'll also never really get back those who have left anyway.

Adding in politics will do a lot for GalCiv 3, though. and hopefully we can get some more AI goodness while we wait for #4.

Wish we could get Sins 2 quicker, though :)

[Mezmorki]

It's interesting. Even with many of the changes (more to come with a new expansion?), GC3 really feels like a modernization of GC2 more than anything - for good or bad. My sense is that Brad is pretty well-aware of the shortcomings and missed opportunities of the 4X genre as a whole - and I think (hopefully) GC4 will let stardock break with the past and try to push the frontier of what can be done in a 4X game.

He acknowledged the success Stellaris is having, and also spoke quite glowingly about Distant Worlds and how ambitious that design is. So I think he's seeing the potential in the genre.

The good news, is that the engine in GC3 is probably best poised to capture success at a technical level, where other games that strove big often struggled. The stellaris engine must be busting at its seams to contain the scope of the game's design. StarDrive 1 imploded. Distant Worlds had to make due with a very rough visual system. With the GC3 engine in place, if full attention can be given to pushing and innovating on the design, it seems like there is a tremendous opportunity for Stardock to deliver the next big thing with GC4.

[Gregorovitch]

That was a really good piece, very intersting. Brad seeems like a go to guy for getting some real dope about making and marketing 4X games, well, any games really.

Personally I think he should put half the GC3 team on starting serious work on GC4 and the other half making one final whacking great GC3 expansion, maybe use it to test drive a central idea or concept in the pipe for GC4. From a purely business perspective I think GC4 is always going to get a lot more traction than GC3 ever will now, which argues for just going straight for GC4. But having a really good and well recieved final piece for GC3 is going to inspire additional confidence in GC4 and generate a lot more interest/anticipation in it when it arrives I would think.

The strap line's got to be "Well, yeah, GC3 we had to build this amazing new engine, but we done that now, GC4 has been all about the game, the whole game and nothing but the game".

[athelasloraiel]

GC4 after one more rounding up of GC3.

But,
GC4 should have shiipdesign like SD2, battle tactics like Dominions with programming of orders, politics and diplomacy like EU/Stellaris/CK2, spy system like.....

why not 3d map like Swords of the stars 1?

also, DD, GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!

PS I cant wait for Sins2.

WHY oh why do we need to beg them==?==????

Sins has to be one of the greatest hits in that regard and its a great ganme still, but can be sop much more....

I wish Stardock would team with DW2 team, offer them Nitrous and take a cut - that would be something....

[BitGamerX]

Good stuff. The industry used to be filled with Stardock's and now they are kind of a rarety. I wonder how Stardock has managed to survive and how they plan to keep adapting to the changing market.

[athelasloraiel]

They got needed cash injection with sale of Impulse but future will be really tough.

[Nasarog]

Ursprungligen skrivet av BitGamerX:

Good stuff. The industry used to be filled with Stardock's and now they are kind of a rarety. I wonder how Stardock has managed to survive and how they plan to keep adopting to the changing market.

Enterprise software. They make a good amount of money doing that.

[Gregorovitch]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Nasarog:

Ursprungligen skrivet av BitGamerX:

Good stuff. The industry used to be filled with Stardock's and now they are kind of a rarety. I wonder how Stardock has managed to survive and how they plan to keep adopting to the changing market.

Enterprise software. They make a good amount of money doing that.

Brad's commented on that in the past. Like it's a totally different league, that enterprise software stuff, compared to games money-wise. I think it means Brad makes games 'cos he likes making games more tha anything else. It's also why he could sink $2.5m into his shiny new 64-bit engine.

[Nasarog]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Gregorovitch:

Ursprungligen skrivet av Nasarog:

Enterprise software. They make a good amount of money doing that.

Brad's commented on that in the past. Like it's a totally different league, that enterprise software stuff, compared to games money-wise. I think it means Brad makes games 'cos he likes making games more tha anything else. It's also why he could sink $2.5m into his shiny new 64-bit engine.

Exactly, and that's what also gets under his skin. When he is making games, but people give him shit over it. I think if he adopted the attitude of the Dominions 5 Devs, he'd be a happier developer :D

[Martok]

Great article, Oliver! A very enjoyable read.

As long as it's not yet another reskin/modernization of GalCiv2 (and Brad's comments indicate he's realized doing so would be a major error), I'm all for moving onto GalCiv 4 after this next major expansion comes out.

[Terminus]

Great job! I like the down to earthness of Brad. It sounds like game development is just fun for him. It makes me want to see him (and Stardock) succeed.