Vampiro
Volunteer Moderator
Yes, the interview was quite some time ago. Credits go to Angelis, as i believe it was his interview. (It's still on Youtube if you want to listen to the complete interview)
Product Update - Planet Coaster is coming to Steam
- Thread starter Edward Lewis1
- Start date
Yes, the interview was quite some time ago. Credits go to Angelis, as i believe it was his interview. (It's still on Youtube if you want to listen to the complete interview)
After a nights sleep i would like to write something more about it.
If it stays like this it takes the brilliant idea of easy sharing to the grave in my opinion.
Though the devs wrote they are aware of that, i have the feeling Frontier got caught by surprise there. Brett did not know what i was talking about when i started this all.
It is a mystery to me why all Hardcorefans asume that everyone has (and want) an unlimited account, have enough money to "just" pay something or spend money on this they don't want. And it does not matter if you don't understand this. Just accept that it is like this.
It is interesting how some come up with the Alpha price though the most effected will be the pre-orders and we are talking much less money there. Some of them tried hard to buy or get it as a present etc.
I think it is very offensive to write something like "Just pay.", "Change your life." or "Play less." You know nothing about their lives. I can't understand why Frontier keeps quiet on this, though i have to admit Brett wrote something about it once.
Another mystery is why some, in my opinion, get agressive when people don't like Steam or only want to use it if there is no other way. If it had the other way round they would be in the position not being statisfied, not please everyone as some smugly wrote (Which is always the easiest way not being disturbed or deal with concerns.
), they won't be happy and beg for a two way solution.
It comes down to this. People are creating value (and it does not matter if it fits mine or your taste) and they shall pay for sharing it and be part of the Steam community? Something they already paid for? Really? You really think the majority with new or limited accounts will do that? A bit naive, isn't it?
I hope Frontier is preparing for "I can't share my ... etc."
They will play, they will download and those who can share may complain again, that they are doing all the work and might pull their items.
Those are scenarios which have to be thought about. Living in lalaland is not helping there.
I hope Acejas has a lot of keys to give away to satisfy the upcoming demand and Steam won't notice then.
It might be a fee to prevent spam, but it is also Steams earnings there.
I don't know why there should or could be no other way. An Indie game with 3 developers is going to do a better job on this then Frontier? Something i refuse to believe.
In game you choose where to share it there; Either at Steam or the Mod/Blueprint site.
So. Everything said i guess. Feelig much better now.
And now you can throw me under the bus if you like.
If it stays like this it takes the brilliant idea of easy sharing to the grave in my opinion.
Though the devs wrote they are aware of that, i have the feeling Frontier got caught by surprise there. Brett did not know what i was talking about when i started this all.
It is a mystery to me why all Hardcorefans asume that everyone has (and want) an unlimited account, have enough money to "just" pay something or spend money on this they don't want. And it does not matter if you don't understand this. Just accept that it is like this.
It is interesting how some come up with the Alpha price though the most effected will be the pre-orders and we are talking much less money there. Some of them tried hard to buy or get it as a present etc.
I think it is very offensive to write something like "Just pay.", "Change your life." or "Play less." You know nothing about their lives. I can't understand why Frontier keeps quiet on this, though i have to admit Brett wrote something about it once.
Another mystery is why some, in my opinion, get agressive when people don't like Steam or only want to use it if there is no other way. If it had the other way round they would be in the position not being statisfied, not please everyone as some smugly wrote (Which is always the easiest way not being disturbed or deal with concerns.
), they won't be happy and beg for a two way solution.
It comes down to this. People are creating value (and it does not matter if it fits mine or your taste) and they shall pay for sharing it and be part of the Steam community? Something they already paid for? Really? You really think the majority with new or limited accounts will do that? A bit naive, isn't it?
I hope Frontier is preparing for "I can't share my ... etc."
They will play, they will download and those who can share may complain again, that they are doing all the work and might pull their items.
Those are scenarios which have to be thought about. Living in lalaland is not helping there.
I hope Acejas has a lot of keys to give away to satisfy the upcoming demand and Steam won't notice then.
It might be a fee to prevent spam, but it is also Steams earnings there.
I don't know why there should or could be no other way. An Indie game with 3 developers is going to do a better job on this then Frontier? Something i refuse to believe.
In game you choose where to share it there; Either at Steam or the Mod/Blueprint site.
So. Everything said i guess. Feelig much better now.
And now you can throw me under the bus if you like.
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Edward Lewis1
Frontier
Hey Periocus - some news here that will answer at least one of your queries.
We've spoken with Steam and they were really helpful on this matter. Anybody who already owns Planet Coaster will receive a code that waives the initial $5 account limitation. Basically if you haven't got a Steam account already, the code you receive from us will de-limit new accounts.
EDIT - we're updating OP and FAQ to reflect this.
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Brett is not a developer on Planet Coaster, as far as I am aware. He is part of the community team (with responsibilities for the forum, web, etc.), as are the majority of the 'devs' you see post here like Ed and Zac. You've raised a good point, one that Frontier will now be considering if they haven't already. If we don't get a definitive answer, keep asking the question.
[edit] And there we go! [/edit]
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Vampiro
Volunteer Moderator
Wow!!
I never had any problems with it (already have an unlimited account) but this must be -awesome- news for everybody who had worries about this matter!
Thank you very much.
I have one more question if anybody knows. What would happen with our parks saved? Would we be able to play with them in steam?
Thank you Edward and Thank you Steam that there is a solution.
I should have waited a bit longer then. But then again i got a chance to clear my mind and let of steam. [big grin]
So happy and please don't get me wrong. I am so eager to get into blueprints.
Something i was looking forward to from the start.
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Awesome news Edward. Thank you for the prompt response and information.
I am not big on steam as I believe they have a bit of a monopoly but I understand for going this route as it is easier for the infrastructure of what the game requires.
I hope you are not having to take such a high margin out for selling through Steam as the 30% that has been banded about assuming that going forward it will be Steam release from Beta onward as well.
What will be interesting from hopefully either the Q&A or Livestream is how Frontier are looking to control/organise the content shared as that is biggest issue with the platform.
Can you force people to make sure there is an image of their UGC/Blueprint?
Will you be vetting models if it is UGC?
Will you be creating the correct sub forums and maintaining these during the life of the product so that it is easy to navigate to what we are looking for?
I don't see it as a big issue as long as the support is there and we have some sort of moderation team for the community hub.
I am not big on steam as I believe they have a bit of a monopoly but I understand for going this route as it is easier for the infrastructure of what the game requires.
I hope you are not having to take such a high margin out for selling through Steam as the 30% that has been banded about assuming that going forward it will be Steam release from Beta onward as well.
What will be interesting from hopefully either the Q&A or Livestream is how Frontier are looking to control/organise the content shared as that is biggest issue with the platform.
Can you force people to make sure there is an image of their UGC/Blueprint?
Will you be vetting models if it is UGC?
Will you be creating the correct sub forums and maintaining these during the life of the product so that it is easy to navigate to what we are looking for?
I don't see it as a big issue as long as the support is there and we have some sort of moderation team for the community hub.
Edward Lewis1
Frontier
Hello!
Your parks and saves will remain in the transition to Steam, much in the same way as they did from Alpha 1 to Alpha 2.
Because of all the improvements we're adding to the game, there's a small chance there might be a couple of tweaks and changes you'll need to make to your parks to get them back to exactly how they were. We hope all the cool stuff we're adding will make you want to update your parks anyway!
That said, we're doing our best to make sure any kinks are as minimal as possible
Edward Lewis1
Frontier
More news on how it will all work soon! But I can promise you that we're going to support it and make it as easy to use and family friendly as possible. We'll keep supporting our community in the best way possible too... you know that! That goes without saying
So we'll do our absolute best to make sure all the best and coolest content is easy to find and showcased.Edward Lewis1
Frontier
I don't think you'll be disappointed.
More news on how it will all work soon! But I can promise you that we're going to support it and make it as easy to use and family friendly as possible. We'll keep supporting our community in the best way possible too... you know that! That goes without saying
Cheers for the super quick response Ed [happy]
I certainly don't have issues with anything you guys have done so far, am just aware of the mammoth task that it is to provide this service. In fairness I lost interest in Ark but the way they have handled the Community Hub and Workshop in fairness has been superb other than missing ETA dates consistently since it was released.
If you provide the same level of feedback, information, content control as they do then I can see this being very successful.
Even if Steam take a 30% cut, there's a clear tradeoff between that and market reach. A naive calculation shows that to make the same profit selling on Steam vs. self-publishing you would have to sell ~43% more copies of the game on Steam than through your own portal. [It isn't quite that simple as publishing on Steam removes other costs such as paying for bandwidth, development of storefront, etc.]
Being on Steam significantly increases reach so I would say that 43% extra is eminently achievable.
Need to quote myself, because i#m more confused now
Who will send the code? Frontier or Steam?
Edward Lewis1
Frontier
We will give you the code that you need. Most likely via email, or it would be simply added to your Frontier account. I'll let you know the exact details ASAP.
Aye, that makes sense but there are a lot of other factors, I am aware that some companies have negotiated below this 30% as that was given as an average or default value.
I just believe between the publicity that PC gets and the fact that they had a launcher etc the trade off isn't as big as say an indie developer that needs more support from Valve via Steam.
I could see that Frontier for instance might only be at a 20% royalty and since we have all brought the key as such prior to Steam that the % is normally waived as it isn't direct from the store, however it could be that Frontier have also paid say 5% to get the keys sorted and to make sure they activate for full Steam account that people have asked for.
There is so much to it and so much we will never know as Valve do not make these details public and believe they also stop developers from sharing this information also.
43% is still a very large market percentage to achieve bearing in mind the numbers that were banded about for the Alpha/Pre-release figures in honesty. I believe it will happen but those numbers would be a much longer term goal of 'X' number of years compared to say 6 months after release (assuming that is when it is added to Steam to purchase).
Hello!
Your parks and saves will remain in the transition to Steam, much in the same way as they did from Alpha 1 to Alpha 2.
Because of all the improvements we're adding to the game, there's a small chance there might be a couple of tweaks and changes you'll need to make to your parks to get them back to exactly how they were. We hope all the cool stuff we're adding will make you want to update your parks anyway!
That said, we're doing our best to make sure any kinks are as minimal as possible
Thank you Ed for your above quote. This was something I was a bit concerned about, when the game is transferred to Steam. Having spent countless hours designing a number of parks, I am glad that these can now be saved. Not that my parks are to the same quality of many others I have seen on Youtube, but they are my own creations, which, for a 72 year old, I am proud of. One of them I have named, "Old Codgers Funland". [where is it] [haha] [haha]
Anyway, to keep on topic, I really don't know what all the fuss is about regarding Steam. It seems that most people have no issue with this, including myself. I am nowhere near the top of the list when it comes to technology and playing games through Steam, has come a long way since I played games on an old Amstrad, which is still up in my loft somewhere, gathering cobwebs. [cry]
I wonder if it still works! [woah]
So now I have managed to live with all these changes, I am quite happy to go along with the flow and enjoy Planet Coaster, just as much through Steam, as I have done so far through the Frontier Launcher. For those few who have posted on here, who have no intentions to take out a Steam account, then you will no longer be able to play the game, seems a bit trivial. I really can't see what the problem is. As I have already said, I cringe at computer technology, because I just can't keep up with the fast pace of life these days. But I have a few games that require Steam and so far have had no problem at all and you automatically get instant updates, if you haven't played for a while. How simple is that. [yesnod]
Maybe technology isn't such a bad thing after all! [hehe]
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Good news indeed, 200+ games on steam and now i get to add another one to my lovely list instead of wasting space with another launcher. Thank you very much.
And people complaining about steam... That's classic. At least steam is actively battling fake CD keys, Let's face it. With there own launcher they'd be easily pirated and cracked but with steam, Not as easy. At least most people don't want to run the risks for it.
And people complaining about steam... That's classic. At least steam is actively battling fake CD keys, Let's face it. With there own launcher they'd be easily pirated and cracked but with steam, Not as easy. At least most people don't want to run the risks for it.
Just as an example, Elite: Dangerous on Steam shows that approximately 50% of the total owners of the game (based on SteamSpy numbers for Steam owners and Frontier's own statements on total ownership) own it through Steam. Again, there are other factors so it's not this simple, but naively that's a 100% increase in reach.
Let's put it this way: Frontier wouldn't be publishing on Steam if they didn't think it was worth their while.