R.U.S.E.

[Trash]

Are you guys forgetting that rather good Axis campaign in that expansion to CoH? Not to mention a whole slew of other RTS games which offer both an Allied and Axis campaign. Claiming this was left out in this game because of political reasons is silly, unless by Axis campaign you think about an einzatsgruppen sim.

 

[Derek Larp]

So he wasn´t trolling after all?

No, that's the trolling part. FFS.

Ah, okay. I get it.

Fair enough.

 

[Tramboi]

Yep, the real reason there is not a campaign per camp is of course because of production time and money constraints, and because this wouldn't increase the appeal of the game very much. After all it is a MP game in essence.
My trolling was just paying homage to the Himmler1488, DasReichKevin and JonasBrothersWP kiddos you find online playing WW2 games, and we all met some of them while playing.
The remark about swastikas and SS divisions was a related sidenote while trying to expand the discussion.

Didn't think I could troll the Kodex too hard, guys

And yep we managed to convince Ubi to remove their Orbit DRM, precisely because the multiplayer needs Steam already so no need to bug the solo users. I hope more and more publishers will get this in the future.

 

[Korgan]

Earlier, you said you weren't on the dev team. You retarded fuck. :D

 

[Mangoose]

Earlier, you said you weren't on the dev team. You retarded fuck. :D

No... No, he didn't.

By the way I'm no PR nor game designer, just a codex reader who jumped on the wagon to discuss about the game I took part in coding.

If you're raging for Kodex Kool points at least try to read?

 

[Korgan]

D'oh.

 

[Mangoose]

$50 is kinda expensive for a multiplayer-focused game, though. I'd expect a single player campaign that's better than a tutorial, or I'd pay maybe $30 for a multiplayer game.

Then again, the devs probably had nothing to do with it, just big-name Ubisoft trying to make money.

 

[commie]

My thoughts exactly; damnit, the holocaust would be a big gameplay factor there, so its absense is VERY conspicious, yet no-one cares! Hell, this is so fucking stupid, they could just take away 20PP and leadership for some abstract "repressive infrastructure" if you chose to be a hardline Nazi just to simulate the economic consequences. But no, it's all taboo.

But no publisher would want a game where the holocaust can be an advantage for the player if used correctly.
The media would lynch such a game.

Well Korgan is making it a disadvantage, as it really was for the Germans. I think that would be a good thing to model abstractly as he suggests. In this way there is a negative to face as the war drags on. To show such a thing, rather than glorifying it, would actually be even educational in showing how counterproductive it was. Maybe make it gradual so you as a German player can try and beat the clock by winning before this becomes a problem, or even use influence from victories to get the leadership to postpone or abandon the policy, give it a bit of roleplay like happened all the way back in 1994 with Panzer General where you could use prestige not only to 'buy' units, but even use it to convince high command to attack in a different direction.

 

[Tramboi]

$50 is kinda expensive for a multiplayer-focused game, though. I'd expect a single player campaign that's better than a tutorial, or I'd pay maybe $30 for a multiplayer game.

It's even more expensive in Europe : 50€

 

[Tramboi]

...final solution non-tasteless game mechanics...

Yep that could work...

 

[YourConscience]

And yep we managed to convince Ubi to remove their Orbit DRM, precisely because the multiplayer needs Steam already so no need to bug the solo users. I hope more and more publishers will get this in the future.

For this you deserve 1000 Kool Kodex points. But for not bugging them into a $10 price tag you deserve to loose 1000 Kool Kodex points. Seriously, all the steam sales really show is that the current default price tag of $50 does not give you the maximum return of investment possible. In fact, it results in almost the smallest possible roi.

Point in case: I liked the game a lot during the betas, and I'd have bought it. But I pay 50 only for a very few select titles of developers I know and want to support. The developers of RUSE do not belong to that elite. But they could, with time, if they stay around and continue producing quality products like RUSE. As a first title its task should be to get to as big a user base as possible.

 

[commie]

...final solution non-tasteless game mechanics...

Yep that could work...

Well it seems ridiculous that Nazi Germany is treated in games as just another power, with some bonuses in technology or better leader stats. I actually think that such an approach actually glorifies the Nazis and serves as a far better recruiting tool for wannabe Nazis than making a German POV FPS. Same would go for other forces like Stalinist Soviet Union. Even Allied nations should have to face things they never faced in games such as a lower tolerance for casualties and reprehension among the people for obvious brutal acts like bombing of Dresden for example that could hinder the player's ability to easily wage war.

 

[DwarvenFood]

How does this game compare to SC2, the other online rts of the moment ? From what i've read, sc2 has a lot more micro management.. but fun-wise, balance and complexity ?

 

[Tramboi]

For this you deserve 1000 Kool Kodex points. But for not bugging them into a $10 price tag you deserve to loose 1000 Kool Kodex points. Seriously, all the steam sales really show is that the current default price tag of $50 does not give you the maximum return of investment possible. In fact, it results in almost the smallest possible roi.

This is the Great Arcane Mystery of Game Pricing and can probably only be understood if you wear a tie and a suit. I don't.

 

[YourConscience]

This is the Great Arcane Mystery of Game Pricing and can probably only be understood if you wear a tie and a suit. I don't.

No. Suit wearers like to increase their importance with this fairy tale. But the truth is that they just work short-sightedly, trying to maximise the income during the first four weeks of a release. While this works acceptably for 8h single-player games, it's the wrong model for multiplayer games, which are better, the more people play it.

There are also plenty hard facts about the pricing that indicate that 50 is just too much. Russia had and still has two distinct price-markets: Western games cost their 50, and no one buys them. Instead a real huge black-market exists selling you the games in the Pirate bay edition. Next to that is the russian game market which sells you games for around 10 when they are new. Aggravated by the many patches necessary after release, it's just too much hassle to pirate it, so instead people really buy these original versions.

 

[Tramboi]

I don't say they do the right thing, just that they are the ones who decide this kind of stuff.
And everytime you ask them "why this pricing?" they say "because this is the price people are ready to pay".
Considering they are the ones with the expensive data and that they sit on it, the studios pretty much have to trust them or go fully independent.

 

[anus_pounder]

Gamespot review is out and for a change, it doesn't sound like they're full of shit.

Good points are exactly what Gandhi has been saying all along, fun online and skirmish.

Bad points are small online population and a worthless campaign.

 

[YourConscience]

small online population and a worthless campaign.

Throw this into the face of those suit wearers....

Edit: Also the argument about that the customers are ready to pay 50 is nonsense of course. Because the customers are also ready to 100, or 10. The question is how many customers are ready to pay x amount of money. There is a hidden curve there. If x people would pay 50, then are there 2x people willing to pay 25, or is it more like 4x people willing to pay 25? Steam sales found out it's more like 5x... And more like 10x willing to pay 12.

 

[Tramboi]

The industry is made in such a way that I seldom meet them.
Luckily :D

Weirdly there are lots of players in Europe, the problem seems to be essentially in America.
We're gonna region-unlock the Steam territories to max out opponents in the next patch.

 

[AlaCarcuss]

Wow, I have to say I'm really enjoying this game so far.

Agreed that the campain is a bit shit (though ok as a tutorial), but the skirmishes are really fun. I love the fact that it is mostly about 80% macro / 20% micro - so it's much less about how fast you can click (as in SC) and more about the big picture strategies. The ruses really make it stand out from the crowd also.

Exellent presentation, the camera control and zoom mechanics are awesome. I love the way that - when you zoom right out you see the whole map as a map table in a working WWII campain room/bunker. You should see it @ 5760x1200 across 3x screens as I'm playing it - incredible.

Haven't tried online yet, as I only have the full length trial version they realeased on TPB. So looks like I'll be picking this up for real. Just goes to show, releasing full trials like that is a good strategy too.