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Defrag · 09-23-2007, 06:15 PM

I don't think you can necessarily blame Valve for not advertising FF -- they've got their own (similar) project to advertise right now -- one they've put a zillion hours into and a lot of money to boot. If Valve was really that worried about FF they could've made our lives awfully difficult via legal issues and ignored any requests for help. They've always been perfectly polite when we're in touch. We've never been under the illusion that they'd bend over backwards to help us out in terms of steam messages or getting the word out, so I can't say we're surprised. They're a business and I don't think you can hold it against them.

As for the mod stuff: The other problem we face is a mod is investment. I don't mean financial investment, I mean the investment people make in things they either buy or download. If someone downloads a free mod and spends $45 on a new game, they do approach these things with a slightly different mindset.

They might try the mod for an hour and, if it doesn't immediately grab them, or they find it hard to get into or it crashes (even if it's not a mod-specific crash), they will probably be inclined to uninstall it and say "whatever". The game is a different story, though. They've made an investment in it and will be more inclined to spend time on making sure their initial opinion wasn't a mistake. I've heard quite a few old TFCers bitching that "TF2 sux" etc. and then I come back a few days later and the same people are now singing its praises. So, if they were sure it "sux", what were they still playing it for? Answer: They just spent $45 on it and felt compelled to keep trying to get into it. They then got used to the fact that TF2 != TFC and is a good game in its own right (I don't yet have an opinion because I haven't got TF2 yet; I'm skint :P).

Anyway that's the flip-side of the advantage of mods being free. You may get people in through the door initially by the virtue of the mod being free, but I think you have to try even harder to grab the gamer the moment they start up the mod. TF really isn't the easiest type of game to learn, even with all the hint stuff & map overviews etc. we've put in it takes some time to get an understanding of the game mechanics.

09-23-2007, 06:15 PM	#15
Defrag Retired FF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Scotland Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	I don't think you can necessarily blame Valve for not advertising FF -- they've got their own (similar) project to advertise right now -- one they've put a zillion hours into and a lot of money to boot. If Valve was really that worried about FF they could've made our lives awfully difficult via legal issues and ignored any requests for help. They've always been perfectly polite when we're in touch. We've never been under the illusion that they'd bend over backwards to help us out in terms of steam messages or getting the word out, so I can't say we're surprised. They're a business and I don't think you can hold it against them. As for the mod stuff: The other problem we face is a mod is investment. I don't mean financial investment, I mean the investment people make in things they either buy or download. If someone downloads a free mod and spends $45 on a new game, they do approach these things with a slightly different mindset. They might try the mod for an hour and, if it doesn't immediately grab them, or they find it hard to get into or it crashes (even if it's not a mod-specific crash), they will probably be inclined to uninstall it and say "whatever". The game is a different story, though. They've made an investment in it and will be more inclined to spend time on making sure their initial opinion wasn't a mistake. I've heard quite a few old TFCers bitching that "TF2 sux" etc. and then I come back a few days later and the same people are now singing its praises. So, if they were sure it "sux", what were they still playing it for? Answer: They just spent $45 on it and felt compelled to keep trying to get into it. They then got used to the fact that TF2 != TFC and is a good game in its own right (I don't yet have an opinion because I haven't got TF2 yet; I'm skint :P). Anyway that's the flip-side of the advantage of mods being free. You may get people in through the door initially by the virtue of the mod being free, but I think you have to try even harder to grab the gamer the moment they start up the mod. TF really isn't the easiest type of game to learn, even with all the hint stuff & map overviews etc. we've put in it takes some time to get an understanding of the game mechanics. __________________ Fortress Forever. Level Designer, Gameplay Dude and whatnot.