Latest news on Rimworld 1.0 impending launch date: https://ludeon.com/blog/
That’s coming up fast. Will be interesting to see what happens after this one.
Five and a half years is a long time Tynan has been working on this one, so in one sense this is a decent example of how a game can sort of get stuck in EA mode and never leave it, but on the other hand it’s a great example of how EA works when it works right in that the game has received an amazing amount of content and patching during this period.
Regardless it’s good to see it finally getting pushed out the door if for no other reason that it will get some more visibility for more folks to discover and enjoy it.
And I suspect Tynan is probably not completely done with his baby and there will be some more patching still and who knows, probably a bit more content possibly in the form of DLC.
I am still amazed the game has never gone on sale due to being in EA. Lets see if that lasts for awhile once 1.0 hit.
I guess selling over a million copies while still in EA means no sale is a luxury afforded to developers who are so lucky. I can’t say as I recall ever seeing Factorio on sale either. Could be the a common factor is overwhelmingly positive reviews mean both managed to hit a specific target audience just right I guess. I know I’m rather fond of both of them myself.
I think it’s an amazing achievement. The sheer audaciousness of the design is incredible. Major kudos to the developer for making it to a 1.0 release.
The one thing this game desperately still needs is a greater variety of events. The few mods I’ve found on-line tend to go whacky with them, so finding something that is still being updated and blends with the vanilla game is my holy grail right now.
It has nothing to do with it being EA, the developer doesn’t believe in sales.
https://twitter.com/tynansylvester/status/1012197795736850432?s=21
haha, pretty sure he’s said it would actually go up when it leaves EA…
There is zero reason for Tynan to put Rimworld on sale. The game is the only serious contender in a niche genre. People either will pay full price to play it or not bother with it even it was heavily discounted.
I got a 1000 hours worth of playtime out of Rimworld. Even if it had cost €100 it would still be well worth the price.
The only time I might see Tynan discounting it is if he releases a sequel.
I tinkered with Rimworld a couple years ago and decided to wait. I didn’t really play enough to forma strong opinion. I’ll have to give it a go when it hits 1.0.
Or I was thinking there’s a lot you could do in the way of DLC or expansions to flesh out still more of the game, there’s a lot he could still add.
RimWorld amazes me in that he broke a ton of ‘rules’ and yet people stuck with him. By rules I mean things that other indie devs have done, and they have suffered consequences for them.
I know some people don’t like to hear it, but there was/is some level of cult of personality going on. This was often evidenced when the game hit steam and any negative reviews would be quickly shouted down.
Some examples of the broken rules could be:
- ‘Borrowed’ art and art concepts from Prison Architect for the KS pitch, which ultimately stayed in the game in some derivative.
- Simply announced and then took six months off from development, resulting in 8+ months without a patch in EA
- No sales of any kind ever on Steam
- His code is not obfuscated or hidden, I believe even your Grandma could steal it
- One man dev shop, made a ton of money but never really expanded to a team to provide more stability/efficiency/better schedule
I think this really shows the untapped demand that there was at the time for a simple DF-lite game. I am not knocking the game, as I could cite a list of what makes it so good. But he has definitely been able to manage minefields other projects have been criticized and even destroyed in. The customer loyalty factor for this game is quite high. Off the charts imho.
I guess, maybe. But I haven’t heard anything about any of the items in your list, couldn’t name the developer, don’t follow the early access news, and bought and loved the game. Sometimes people like things because they’re good, and there’s no deeper meaning.
Accessible DF games is in demand, but despite all those other things, Rimworld doesn’t feel empty or rushed or abandoned. I have lots of complaints, mind you. He relies solely on mods to fix the inventory problem and the AI isn’t smart enough to really do important stuff on it’s own but… compared to other games with bigger teams, better grapics, who didn’t take half a year off, which have gone on sale… Rimworld is just in better shape. I mean that probably has more to do with it than other factors.
I am not so sure about that there is some sort of cult of personality going on. It is simply a good product that has evolved over time.
- He borrowed the art style from Prison Architect which is another beloved indie game and a style that lends itself well to this genre. If there is an objection to be made it would be from the PA guys, not customers.
- He did take six months off due to burnout. However, he did this and returned before the game was launched in EA so on this point you are factually incorrect.
- I agree with his no sales policy. If the game is in development why should it go on sale? Too many developers are cutting their own throats by having periodic sales on EA titles.
- I do not understand the point about the code. The game can be easily modded. Is that a problem?
- Again you are factually incorrect. He actually hired others, including someone who was working during that six month hiatus. He has frequently communicated with customers and set the proper expectations. I am not seeing the problem.
That he released a good product seems like a much better explanation rather than some sort of cult of personality.
It is interesting that you want to defend against these things. I did not say he did anything wrong, I said he broke rules - went against norms and traditions, etc. in game development. I think this is all very true.
Some PA customers did object to this early on. The PA guys ultimately said they did not care. I am not faulting him for it, as the art style fits perfectly for this type of game - even better than in PA. But it was definitely an “ask for forgiveness, not permission” approach. I would be shocked if anyone else would have gotten away with it. I doubt it.
If we are being accurate, and meaning Steam EA, then yes, that is factually incorrect. A better use would be the term “1.5 years Alpha period after KS sales and follow-on sales”. The point is, in game development momentum is key upon first release to the public. But even with the time taken off, the customer base waited like a faithful fiancee. That is a highly unusual thing to actually regain the momentum lost.
I actually think it is great that he maintains the value of his game. But there are other games that get highly criticized because they do not participate in the race to the bottom.
I am not saying it is something he did wrong that makes it less than a game. The point is, the game is entirely open sourced when you think about it…and completely opened to piracy and hacking (different from a modding interface). Traditionally developers have great issues with allowing full access to source. This never seems to have been a thought. I know there have been a couple of knocks that made it to a sales point that were removed, but really he has not suffered from this. Even Minecraft was obfuscated, but Notch had reached such critical mass the obfuscation code was broken and documented for modding purposes. I have no doubt that would have been the case for RW as well. But as a ‘rule’, you don;t just give your full source away.
Hiring a polish teenager for three months out of the year, and to do occasional work while you are out enjoying the sales you reap is not building a team. And when has it ever been “proper expectations” for a developer to make millions, and then not dedicate true resources to a product. If he really wanted to set the proper expectations, would have had a team in place. Again, I am not saying he is evil, what I am saying is the customer reaction to this activity flies in the face of reactions to other projects under similar circumstances.
But it does amaze me to still see certain bugs and issues with some of the basic mechanical processes of the game like pathing and job assignment. and yet the customers do not care even though the project has made profits in the eight figures range.
Aye, it is a good game. and most of the good stuff was there on day 1. But I do think there is some level of customer loyalty the he enjoys over many other good/great projects. And it seems to me based more than just “its a good product”.
It helps that there aren’t many games that scratch a certain itch in the way Rimworld does. Plus it’s no so much consumer loyalty in the traditional sense where people keep buying from a person or company since there is only the one game. Everyone who likes and supports Rimworld already put their money down.
You also make a good point that most of the good stuff was in early on. I’d imagine that’s one of the reasons the fanbase is so positive in general. A lot of early access games are just rough potential where one keeps hoping the devs will fulfill that potential. Look at 7 days to die for a game that suffers eternally from a sense of that in just a few more patches things will come together into a truly worthwhile play experience that lives up to the potential. Rimworld has been playable, and completely addicting, through most of its early access run.
The only thing it’s really been missing is an decent endgame, and I look forward to what they have now announced for it, but I don’t know if an endgame it really truly necessary with something like Rimworld. One of my favorite playthroughs was after I built a ship and blasted off, I let time keep running to see what would happen to my abandoned colony. A wanderer eventually came by and make it his home and I kept playing.
That’s outstanding! I really need to get back to Rimworld. I rarely get past the first 20-30 days or so…
I don’t see the need for an endgame in this design, though I believe we have reached the pinnacle of the way the game is played with success achieved - and are still looking for more…and how much more can there be…? I don’t know. It may be the same reason people want "z-levels’ sometimes. They somehow want to expand the nature of the game. I don’t think I have the right words to express for it.