The Price of Alpha

I think Prison Architect and Kerbal Space Program are taking indie dev & alpha funding to the wrong direction.

The Price of Alpha - or How Much We Should Pay for Indie Games and/or Alpha Versions?

As of 21st of March 2013, Kerbal Space Program costs €22 (~$28) and Prison Architect costs €26 (~$33) via Steam Early Access)

When KPS costs nearly as much as ArmA 3 Alpha and Prison Architect more than (!) ArmA 3, I think the alpha funding and indie developers are taking turn for the worse.

But on the other hand: it's not the fool who asks...

And Introversion made a million with Prison Architect already :/

Steam's ingeniousness with currency conversion $1 = €1 makes things even more expensive for us using Euro; 25 dollar game costs €25 for us = over 32 dollars.

This makes KSP €22 in Steam, which kinda kicks it in the leg when in reality it "only" costs $23 (~€18). Luckily most games are sold directly by the developers too. But still.

Is 23 dollars (or 18 Euros) too much for unfinished (indie) game?

Indie Games Should Be Cheaper?

With the more reasonably priced *finished* Indie titles like Minecraft ($20), Legend of Grimrock ($15) or Driftmoon ($15), FTL ($10, or even $5) - I don't think Kerbal Space Program's or Prison Architect's price is right.

Among the first games in Steam Early Access is also Gnomoria. €7. - Perfect. There's something I could vouch for, even if I knew nothing about it.

Cart Life on Steam? Five euros - Awesome. Almost full version is free from Cart Life website. I love it.

It's Not About the Money

The most interesting thing is that I don't mind paying for something that's good, or something I want to support. I've backed up several projects in Kickstarter for much more than the finished game will cost when it's out.

I've donated over $50 for Dwarf Fortress - and that game is free.

I backed up Factorio's Indiegogo project with $50.

I've bought Cart Life two times for $5 just because I like it so so much and I want to support the developer.

I would've probably been happy to throw $20 or more to FTL if I'd happened to see their Kickstarter.

While I haven't played either title... From what I've seen, I think I'd like KSP and Prison Architect as much as those I mentioned above. I might even be happy to voluntarely back them up with $30 or $50 or more, but when that's the low price point - I don't.

Now I almost feel like boycotting them.

Human mind works in strange ways :)

So yeah, I think Gordon Gecko was wrong - Greed is not good.

What Do You Think?

What do you think? Have you played/payed for KPS or Prison Architect? Worth the money?

What's the right price for an indie game in development, if sold as alpha version?

What's the right price for finished indie game?

Should indie games cost the same as "AAA-titles"?

p.s. Discussion also at my forum: http://w11.zetaboards.com/Zemalf_Forum/topic/8592637/1/

Gone Fishing.

I didn't play WoW between the 2.4 patch and just-launched 3.0.2, and during those months several of my old WoW friends have moved on, and some of them I miss already. Happily, I'm in active guild (and they didn't kick me out or anything) and my friend list is not totally gray (everyone offline), so I won't turn too lonely in game :)

But that wasn't what I planned to write about as the new patch 3.0.2 brought a load of new features to the game, which will keep me busy too..

Hail to the WoW Achievements!

I had a post earlier this year about What kind of bartle player you are?. This of course refers to the Bartle Test, which categorizes players depending on what their interest in game is. I was somewhere along achiever-explorer-socializer-killer lines, in that order. And at least the achiever part is dead on..

With the new Achievements in 3.0.2, I started rethinking the whole thing, and realized that I must be quite a bit on the "achiever" side, as I immediately started checking the achievements and planning how I can start working my way towards the more difficult to reach achievements.

So I'm doing all kinds of odd things around Azeroth and Outlands, just to get achievement unlocked, couple of points and possibly a mount or title at some point. Some couldn't care less about the achievements, but for me, they're something to work towards, keep me busy and feel that I achieve something. Even that I don't actually achieve much, but anyway :)

At the moment, I'm concentrating on fishing - for those who know me in-game, no big surprise :) The Accomplished Angler achievement for title of "Salty" is what I work towards. The achievement requires a murloc-ton of running and fishing rare fish in hard to reach places, including raid instances SSC & ZG and opposing capital - Orgrimmar for me. Before I had no reason to go and bug Hordies in any way, but now I have a reason. Fish.

After I get the fishing achievements done as far as I can pre-expansion, I'll turn my eyes on Cooking and start pursuing the Hail to the Chef and title "Chef" to go with the "Salty" from fishing one.

Heck, when the expansion is out, I might even try to shoot for the Realm First! Grand Master Angler, but I think it might be really hard and would need me to get the game as soon as possible.

That pretty much describes the game experience for me, there's always something to look forward to. At some point I might (again) get bored, and take a break, but I don't see why I wouldn't keep playing/returning to WoW every now and then. When the expansion is launched and level cap is opened, the leveling start again and the brand new gear will be there to be looted - so again, there will be something to look forward to.

So WoW is quite a bit about achieving and pursuing something. And at the same time exploring things you've not seen or experienced before. But one can't deny the social aspect of the game, the friends you have in the game can also be the reason you keep returning to the game.

Perhaps that's what has made WoW so popular - something for everyone.

Risk and Reward in Eve

I've been mostly trading the last few days in EVE Online. My ISK balance has been steadily improving, so it's been good.

Risk and Reward in Eve

Two times I've been blow to pieces when hauling in low-sec, both times my industrial has been empty. The first time I got pod-killed as well, second time I managed to warp my pod to safety (after first undocking straight into the only other pilot in the system, who happened to be a pirate, duh).

Since then I've plugged myself with attribute enhancing implants to boost my skill training, and because of this I've been more and less travelled in high-sec only.

This morning I spotted lucrative trade route, but the buying end of the route was in low-sec, and then I realized that if I go for it, I can lose it all: If I make it to the station and make the purchase, most of my ISK will be tied to the goods in my cargo. If I get destroyed after that, it's all gone. If I get podded, I lose substantial investment I made in the implants. Even that I checked the system stats for recent activity, and it looked "safe", I didn't do it. I had too much to lose.

Then it hit me. This was fear. I was afraid to lose it all.

This is what makes Eve unique from anything I've experienced in massively multiplayer online games. I can actually lose something if things go bad. So it actually possible to risk it all (not recommended!). In other games I've played, like WoW, what you risk in the end? Not much. Your risking "to waste time" if you die, but that's pretty much it. In Eve, it's a whole new ball game.

Thus, I have to constantly evaluate the risk and reward of every action in Eve. And this is why I've enjoyed Eve so much. The rush after succesful "risk-run" is amazing!

All Things Eve (Further Reading)

Into Eve Online
Risk and Reward in Eve
Eve Kick-Start: Fitting Your Ship

Eve Kick-Start: Creating a New Eve Character
Eve Kick-Start: Skill Training for Newbies
Eve Kick-Start: Tutorials and Beyond

Taking a break from WoW

The boredom came after six months for me.

I played way too much and I simply got bored.

And playing through the end-game content felt like work more than fun game.

With all the grinding needed to keep up with raiding is just too much.

Early in the game, rewards (e.g. gear upgrades) come every hour or even every minute - at the end game rewards come monthly. Weekly or daily if you're extremily lucky.

End game is just too slow for me. I might come back some day, but it'll be more casual.

I have subscription until end of May, so I'll be playing a bit every now and then, but it's very likely I don't renew the subscription anymore.

Blog Watch: Interview with a Gold Seller

I was pointed to the blog in question by Matticus' post at World of Matticus.

And whether you approve gold selling, buying it, cheating in a digital game or are very much against all that, I think one of the most interesting blog posts last week was Tobold's MMORPG Blog: Interview with a Gold Seller.

I found it interesting, because it made me think again (yes! it happens, thank you very much): What kind of player I am (how I play), and why do I play WoW (or any other game).

When I'm playing a single player game, I don't use cheat codes or such, as that would be cheating and what's the point in cheating yourself?

In a multiplayer game, I play with what is given to me, as doing something against the rules would be cheating, not only against yourself, but against everyone else in the game too. Remember, you are not alone.

So personally, I would never buy gold, items, leveling service or whatever these companies offer, because that would take away everything I love in World of Warcraft:

What I got, I have earned. What I got, I had others there to help me. And what I got, I can help others with.

And where's the fun in buying bytes with credit card, when I can have the most fun trying to figure out a virtual economy and play a little business game inside the fantasy world?

When someone finally gets that *ding* for level 70 or gets that Epic Flyer after hours of grinding, I'd cheer her, she worked for it: She earned it.

But if someone would pay real life currency for the same, it wouldn't be the same, would it?

I don't admire people for what they wear, I admire them for what they are.

Are You a Mature Guild Member?

After reading Matticus' post "20 Characteristics of a Mature Guild Member", I realized that those characteristics pretty much summarize what I respect the most in my fellow players.

I feel that there is great wisdom hidden (or in plain sight) there.

So I highly recommend you to check it out, "evaluate" yourself and see if there is room for improvement. I certainly spotted some weak points I have.

(posted on mobile, edited the previous version)

You Are Not Alone

I might be happy with my new gear or the fact that we downed three bosses in Zul'Aman. I might be looking forward to my upcoming gear upgrades or that we might be able to pull ZA timed event for two bosses next time, and the sweetest staff might drop.

But none of that really matters.

In the end, I look forward to healing my favorite tank through heroics and more than gear, I'm looking forward to doing all the things together with someone, whether it be gearing up or raiding, it's about other players. It is a multiplayer game after all.

When I switched guilds recently, and old guild friend says "You are genuinely one of the nicest people I've met on WoW", I knew I've done things right. And *that* makes me truly happy.

Moving on to an related issue - in his post "Raiding is Hardly Hardcore", Matticus lists some very important characteristics of a good raider:
* A quick 30 minute buff after a player dies
* Staying quiet and doing as the raid leader says
* AFKing only when necessary and only on trash
* Showing up on time

Notice something there? None of those have anything to do with gear or how skilled one is. Every single one of these can be done if one wants (and learned, if you will).

And I say, you nailed it Matticus! If I solo/grind/quest, I can waste all the time I want. But when I'm with 9/24/n-1 others, who am I to waste their equally valuable time with: "dinner, brb 30 mins", "just a sec, I gotta put these items in auction" or "oops, I'm out of reagents" and such.

Whether you call it hardcore raiding, maturity or dedication, or how I like to play, it all comes down to one thing: selflessness. You are not alone.

Forum Watch: Most Viewed Topic in WoW-EU Priest Forums

In WoW-Europe.com Forums -> Priest, the most viewed thread is the most unlikely one.

The Most Viewed Post is an innocent "Hi, it's me" post, which wind picked up. It has most replies too. See for yourself: Steve

The stickied Complete Priest FAQ is something to look into if you're new to playing a priest or to the forums.

Oh, and you might want to know that I'm happy with (planned) 2.4, I posted as a countermeasure for all the whining / rioting going on in the forums (but it will most likely pick up more whiners than happy faces, which is just sad).

For you in the US, look into US-side Priest Discussion for similar and remember to contribute if you feel like it.

The Most Important Info About Patch 2.4

There's a shipload of news pouring from the test realms.

But there's really just one thing you have to know when the patch comes out and I was a bit surprised that there wasn't a lot of information on the subject.

There are all kinds of news about The Kaliri have learned to fly up in Skettis, all kinds of new items and constantly updated news from PTR.

But there is only one thing I need to know about patch 2.4.

And this is the question you will see the most in Trade Chat when patch goes live.

How Do I Get To Sunwell Isle?

Yes, that is all you *have* to know about patch 2.4.

(true, if you don't want to see the new content, you don't even have know this)

Here's what I found:

* You can swim north of Silvermoon City.
* There is a flightpoint in Sunwell Isle (connected to EPL, Ghostlands and Silvermoon City).
* There might be a boat ride, but it's not confirmed.
* At some point, there will probably be a portal to Sunwell Isle from Shattrath.

Luckily, this information can be found from WoWWiki, but it's not near complete yet. However, WoWWiki is very likely to be updated with the latest information when it comes out.

Forum Watch: Crafting or raiding for gear?

I'm checking up on forums from time to time, here's some I picked up today.

Welcome to the first edition of Zemalf's Forum Watch :)

crafting or raiding for gear? for healing (WoW EU Priest Forums)

My answer (posted at thread as well):

I have 6 tailored epics (PMC Set, Whitemend Set, Boots of the Long Road) + 1 blue (White Remedy Cape) not yet replaced.

This is what I pretty much had before Kara, or shortly after starting it. With these I'm pretty much overgeared for most of Kara, but there's still upgrades and items for different slots there.

I've complemented my gear with drops from heroics and badges of justice items. And I continue to do so.

So, at least if you have gold, the fastest way to gear-up is tailoring. You can almost gear yourself all the way with tailoring, which makes you ready for heroics, which you can do to gear up more, all without raiding.

I don't see raiding as a method to gear up, gear comes as a added bonus, which enables you to raid more efficiently or in more difficult raids. And as I can speed/ease this process by crafting, I did.

Continued, Other professions

Of course, there are other crafting professions than Tailoring, but there's not much in them for Priests. Engineering has Goggles with +Healing, but those are more +dmg oriented and they're not actually very good either (unlike Mail/Plate goggles).

Enchanting is great compelement to Tailoring, even just for the +Healing Ring Enchant that you can only do them yourself on your own rings.

What kind of player you are?

Different players have different goals in WoW. Some players don't seem to have any goals, or at least are not methodical about their goals. I always have a list of gear I'm working towards and I do research where/how to get it. This was especially true when I was gearing to be effective healer while transitioning from level 6x Shadow Priest to level 70 Holy. And at level 70 I set my goals on rep gear, heroics, Kara, etc.

Reading Matticus Responding to the “I Play for Personal Advancement and Gear Argument” post on the Raider’s Progress that was seemingly not happy with Warcrafter got me thinking, why do I play World of Warcraft and what kind of player I am (and what kind of players I enjoy playing with).

Playing to outstand from others through gear or other visible achievements is only part of the story (and for some, it's not the story at all). And being a bit academic, I want numeric results (that's just how I am), so I figured that the way to reflect one's play style in this case would be through The Bartle Test.

About The Bartle Test

The Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology is a series of questions and an accompanying scoring formula that classifies players of multiplayer online games (including MUDs and MMORPGs) into categories based on their gaming preferences.

The Bartle Test results into "Bartle Quotient" of The Four Categories of Players; Killers, Socializers, Achievers and Explorers. The Bartle Quotient totals 200% across all categories, with no single category exceeding 100%.

I chose the Bartle Test for this post because it's relatively simple, but for example The Daedalus Project used this more expanded model to describe game interests/motivation. Here is the test for it

My Bartle Test

The Bartle Test has also been organized in electronic form, and Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology in GuildCafe was linked in Wikipedia, so I took it.

Results: I'm EASK. Breakdown: Achiever 66.67%, Explorer 73.33%, Killer 13.33%, Socializer 46.67%.

That reflects the reality pretty well. I enjoy exploring new areas and read strategies and guides offline (to gain knowledge), but on the other hand, I love to get new gear and equipment to make myself more effective in what I do (I heal). I don't care that much about having the best gear, so I would be "admired" for it, but to be the acknowledged as "great player", someone who knows how things work and is able to do what's necessary to get the task done.

On the other hand I wouldn't want to be known as "Player with great skills and gear, but not-so-pleasant personality". And all this is also what I respect the most in other players; personality. I take patient, mature & polite person over irritating, hyperactive trashtalker with super-gear any day.

What kind of player you are?