This game uses development/business model similar to Torchlight 1 and 2. This is a BIG problem. Torchlight 2 died completely a long time ago. This is because of ONE big reason:
Lack of official multiplayer servers and lack of trading.
People play D2:LoD for 12 years (like me) because that game has excellent official severs (battle.net) and great trading experience (chat and d2jsp).
If developers of this game want it stay relevant for many years, they should seriously consider setting up official severs with good trading support.
The business advantage of this solution is that it greatly reduces piracy, since people are feeling that they are losing something important by not being able to access the official servers. This can significantly boost sales, as was the case with Diablo 3.
Well with Mod Tools coming out real soon now, I’m sure people will stick around for a while, and those that have left will probably come back to try the mods being created for grim dawn, or try the mod tools.
And then there are Expansions to Grim Dawn which will keep Grim Dawn updated.
But as for an official server like D2, I’ve read a lot about people wanting Crate to do the same, but people say it would cost a lot to do that… I’m guessing they mean it would cost a lot to pay for stable servers and maintaining the server costs over the year… We have multiplayer available, so there probably isnt a need to program too much more for an official server.
Maybe a Dev will explain more info about the possibilities/problems with an official server.
Releasing modding tools will amount to nothing, because modding is best suited for sandbox style games (Skyrim, Minecraft, etc.). This is not a sandbox game.
There is a reason why it’s Diablo 3 which sold around THIRTY MILLION copies.
It’s not like you can just throw a couple $k at obtaining a server box and then have a central multiplayer system. Grim Dawn is a one time price point deal which means all of the money for developer time spent on maintenance comes out of that. This would likely cause a restructuring of their business plan, which could drastically alter their long term goals possibly affecting things like development on an expansion. Having said that, this is actually the easier part of the equation.
The real hard part is completely overhauling the code base to cross over from a peer-to-peer structure into a central server managed system. It’s not a trivial task considering the number of design decisions and assumptions the underlying engine uses right now that could possibly break in the process.
The reason why Diablo 3 sold THIRTY MILLION copies is because eveyrbodywas eargerly awaiting for a sequel for over 10 years and because of the names Diablo and Blizzard.
If Diablo 3 had a completely different name, wasn’t related to the DIablo series in any way and was made by a different developer, it would never have sold THIRTY MILLION copies.
I know a lot of people that regrets buying Diablo 3 to this day and don’t even play it anymore.
Official online servers could be deployed with a new monetization scheme. Cosmetic items could be sold or some kind of crafting/gambling currencies.
Cost of servers is not a big factor; probably it’s the mindset. With this new approach you have to think about your game as a service rather than a product.
I disagree that it’s not a sandbox game. It’s designed primarily as a single player experience.
Also, Diablo3 sold 30 million copies because it’s Blizzard. They’re a friggin’ juggernaut. They could sell thirty million copies of poop-in-a-box (ie Diablo 3, winkwink) if they wanted to. They’re able to spend (b)millions on marketing, not to mention the sheer amount of peoplepower to add a level of art and polish rarely seen in other games. Hell, they re-developed the game completely over before what we now know as D3 came out. I don’t know of any other company that has the kind of resources that it can completely tank a project part way through development and rework it from scratch, taking years to do so in the process.
That’s what I’ve been thinking for some time. Reviews would probably have gone something like: “Mediocre Diablo clone with good animations but outdated graphics and shallow game mechanics - 63%”
Diablo 2 has had a few very successful mods that I hear about people playing to this day. Eastern Sun and Median XL come to mind.
Grim Dawn is more of a sandbox game than Diablo 2 is. I have no doubt that modding will increase its longevity. Just look at Titan Quest, whose mods are still played, and is still popular enough to even get PATCHED a few days ago by Nordic Games. And TQ is quite linear.
This is so true. Even with sh*tload of negative feedback and reviews, I still tried and bought it. I regret not buying it on sale, and even then, I regret putting my 50 or so hours of my life to it. GD offers so much more.
Having said that, trading and ladders might be appealing to some people, but it might be too far to say that GD “needs” those things to survive. I myself, played D2 for almost 10yrs without battlenet and trading. I just enjoy building different classes and collecting loot. Which I think every ARPG should showcase. Everything else is a bonus.
Lack of official multiplayer servers and lack of trading.
I doubt that would have made much of a difference, sure, there are a few people who care for this, but most do not
People play D2:LoD for 12 years (like me) because that game has excellent official severs (battle.net) and great trading experience (chat and d2jsp).
and what percentage of players is that, 0.1 ?
The business advantage of this solution is that it greatly reduces piracy,
that only matters if the increase in sales offsets the costs of creating the servers, which is highly unlikely…
since people are feeling that they are losing something important by not being able to access the official servers. This can significantly boost sales, as was the case with Diablo 3.
no one cared for D3 servers, most people played solo. The sales are due to marketing.
I do not miss servers one bit, I would not use them if they were available. I do not play D3 despite them and have more hours in GD than I will ever have in D3.
And it