Ever Consider Making an EB PC Game?

[Rhyfelwyr]

EB is such an incredible mod, and its great to see that v1.0 will soon be ready. However, while I'm looking forward to EB2, I can't see how it will be a whole lot better than EB1. Bar some features such as permanent forts, and the multiple models/skins for units, M2TW doesn't seem to offer much more than RTW for modders.

Rather than making a new version of EB constrained by all the limits of the TW engine, could a team with so much talent not consider making their own PC game. I don't know anything about what would be involved to be honest, but it would be amazing to see EB in Game stores, I'm sure plenty of people would buy it.

[Bootsiuv]

I think Data manipulation and Code manipulation are too different things....just because you can mod a game doesn't necessarily mean you have the knowledge to build one from the ground up.

I might be completely wrong though, so who knows.

They would have to start a worldwide corporation....hope they've got angel investors.

Many EB team members already have careers or are studying in college for something not video-game related.

In light of all of that, I wouldn't hold my breath.

[antisocialmunky]

Talk to Teh Lordz?

[HistoryProf]

Get a grant-writer and apply for assistance from University Education department's: sell the idea as a learning tool.

[raenor]

I dont want to answer for the team...

But I have read somewhere that they are not interested in doing this.

(Please team member correct me if i was wrong)

Bootsiuv is right though. Its a hell of a difference making a game rather than modding one. To build a functional engine is a hell of a job and if you decide to use an existing one im sure there would be some huge costs to consider.

Then there is marketing, advertising, publishing. It all costs heaps of money. If you cant get enough money to do what you want then your game wont be as good as you'd like and you'd have to skimp on certain areas.

Anyways EB is fine the way it is, yea sure the AI is retarded but meh its still very playable and that is no way the fault of the team. It does get better in M2TW.

HP you'd need one hell of a good investor to build a 'good' game, even to build one as good as EB is now, I wouldnt have thought that any university would be interested in funding a computer game of all things. Its just so hard to represent the many conflicting ideas, concepts, basically everything that is TW realistically enough to be an educational tool.

my 2c

[bovi]

EB is a labor of love. The perfection we strive for would never float financially.

[HistoryProf]

Raenor, I dig what you're saying, and there is a lot of truth in it. However, if you saw some of the crap that I've seen schools give out millions of dollars for, you'd see where I was coming from. Plus, with a good, and I mean 'good' grant writer, you can have millions of dollars at your disposal with relative ease. There are literally hundreds or thousands of foundations just waiting to give away money, so they can write up in their quarterly about how philanthropic they are. It's actually one of the reasons I won't do research anymore, and I am even thinking of teaching public school full-time.

Sadly, it's all about the sales pitch.

[Bootsiuv]

Bovi put it quite succinctly....no investors are EVER going to wait 3 years to make a game that the EB team would likely be comfortable putting there logo on.

It's a labour of love. Throwing money in the mix would change everything.

[LorDBulA]

Rather than making a new version of EB constrained by all the limits of the TW engine, could a team with so much talent not consider making their own PC game.

Hey if You have a few million dollars and You dont want to see them ever again then I think there is a chance for EB game.
EB game could never achieve commercial success because of slim audience willing to pay for the product.

[Caveira]

We should make a OPEN SOURCE EB game. I'm going to be a programmer I think, and I would most certainly like to be part of such a project. The only thing we need to do is form a team of programmers (not artists or researchers) and make the game engine. It would take years to make a multi-thread engine (need to play with 100K+ units), but god would it be awesome.

[bollerfant]

an open source eb game would be great but it will cost a lot of time and manpower to finish such a project...

[Caveira]

As if EB didn't already

[raenor]

Oh gods we'd be waiting like 10 years for the release. Im going crazy waiting for EB 1.0.

Seriously its really hard to get a game made from scratch. Well one that would make money. I dont think everyone that buys TW games would by EB purely on the fact that this is a small community. Yes EB is great but different people like different things.

[skuzzy]

By modding EB already would have a great step towards the models and skins, etc... but then they would have to implement an entire engine and even with general principles on how this would be accomplished would take huge amounts of time to complete. AI programming is no fun kids! Just for all you will be programmers, be aware that AI programming makes people cry and commit suicide. That is why I can't entirely blame SEGA for their not so nice AI because it is incredibly difficult to structure and implement.

[Caveira]

bull shit!

[SirRethcir]

We should make a OPEN SOURCE EB game. I'm going to be a programmer I think, and I would most certainly like to be part of such a project. The only thing we need to do is form a team of programmers (not artists or researchers) and make the game engine. It would take years to make a multi-thread engine (need to play with 100K+ units), but god would it be awesome.

Hehe, that's what I was thinking.
Well I'm aiming for 10k soldiers.

[Zaknafien]

Sure, each of you donate 10K or so and we'll get right on it.

[Pharnakes]

We should start a registered charity, something along the lines of :SPCIG (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Intelgent Gamers)

[keravnos]

Ok, here is the situation.

1. EB is NOT going commercial, EVER.
2. CA makes games we mod them. EB is a MOD of a CA game called Rome Total War.
3. CA gets increased sales and we get a great new sandbox every few years.
4. We get a way to make a game as we see fit, you get a free game which a lot of people like, CA and SEGA get increased sales.
5. If the price of that is some "bugs" that slipped through the THOUSANDS of lines of codes, is that too high?
6. It took CA MANY titles to reach the present state of "Total war" games and franchise. As the level of technology available was increasing, so did both the complexity and the level of commitment those guys put in. I am still amazed when I look at a TW game, be it RTW or M2TW that we are so fortunate to play them. What makes people think that we could just snap our fingers and "PRESTO", insta game with NO limitations?

There is a saying which describes the current state of affairs...

If it ain't broke, DON'T fix it!

[Zaknafien]

I dunno, seems to me mods are at the same time detrimental to CA, because it increases the lifespan of their older engine while they want everyone focused on their new shiny engine.

[Pharnakes]

Is it actiualy a signifigant portion of people even n=know about mods though? I mean I only found out by a combination of lucky accident and my overwelming nerdishness....


Surely the majority of customers never bither to try to find out about mods and such, just sticking with the vannila titles from CA (and probably realy enjoying them, I remember that I used to really like RTW, before I knew any better)

[keravnos]

Well, once we start modding Roma universalis, more people might know us.

[blacksnail]

There will never be a standalone EB PC game.

[Caveira]

my parents always told me: "Never say never"

Don't mess with popular portuguese wisdom

[russia almighty]

...but Kern isn't Paradox already ran by fellow history nazi's ?