RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (Full Version)

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diablo1 -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/2/2010 5:42:45 PM)

Hey I know let's us make a top 10 list of Matrixgames?

01. Steel Panthers Generals Edition

02. Panzer Command:Kharkov/Winterstorm/Osfront(soon)

03. Tin Soldiers:Julius Caesar

04. Advanced Tactics

05. Forge of Freedom

06. Distant Worlds

07. Field of Glory + all expansions

08. Spartan/Troy

09. Close Combat:The Longest Day

10. Making History I & II

There now we have a top 10 list of Matrixgames. [:)]



Yogi the Great -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/2/2010 6:55:51 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Zap

But I see one possible problem with the top 10 list. Buyers might not take a look at the other games. There would be a certain prejudice to looking at the less popular games. People may feel since they are not popular they are not woth the effort.

I think this is one the reasons for Matrix policy


Well maybe for a few people who can't make their own decisions, but I don't think it would detract from sales. I enjoy seeing the top sellers just for curiosity and to see what others are buying. I think most of us choose based on topic, scale, features etc. that match our personal preference. Probably for me, I would have little or no interest in many of the games that could make the top ten sellers. Why? Because I'm an old fart who likes classic style wargames. I don't buy for graphics or glitz. I don't play fantasy games. I don't much care for real time games. I don't like arcade style shoot up games. I guess I'm boring. Hence, I have a hunch I already don't buy all that many "Best Sellers".



Hertston -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/2/2010 7:53:13 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: diablo1

Hey I know let's us make a top 10 list of Matrixgames?


Ha, there's a challenge! With apologies to the devs of those I haven't played, this must be a 'favourites' and not 'best',

1. BftB/CotA/HttR (will take the liberty of including those together)

2. WitP:AE

3. TOAW 3

4. Distant Worlds

5. Field of Glory

6. GG War Between the States

7. Advanced Tactics

8. Harpoon CE

9. TS: Julius Caesar

10. Flashpoint Germany

I just never could get into Steel Panthers, heretical though that may be!



SlickWilhelm -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/5/2010 10:53:02 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

lol - exactly. I hit the Buy Now for Battles from the Bulge so many times and chickened at the last minute


Wait, you mean you've actually been able to resist purchasing a game? LOL, what's next, pigs that can fly? [:D]



Fallschirmjager -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/5/2010 11:16:43 PM)

Makes one wonder why Matrix gave up on their attempt to create a Steel Panthers 'sequel'
It would be a guaranteed seller if they could ever get one off.



SireChaos -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 12:01:35 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Makes one wonder why Matrix gave up on their attempt to create a Steel Panthers 'sequel'
It would be a guaranteed seller if they could ever get one off.


But how do you improve on something that´s already perfect (or very nearly so)?

Less frivolously, how do you improve this game enough that it justifies selling it as a different game than the old Steel Panthers, without changing those things that made the original game great?



Lützow -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 12:20:19 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: SireChaos


quote:

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Makes one wonder why Matrix gave up on their attempt to create a Steel Panthers 'sequel'
It would be a guaranteed seller if they could ever get one off.


But how do you improve on something that´s already perfect (or very nearly so)?

Less frivolously, how do you improve this game enough that it justifies selling it as a different game than the old Steel Panthers, without changing those things that made the original game great?


Rework gfx and adjust the engine to native screen resolution.



Fallschirmjager -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 12:27:40 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SireChaos


quote:

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Makes one wonder why Matrix gave up on their attempt to create a Steel Panthers 'sequel'
It would be a guaranteed seller if they could ever get one off.


But how do you improve on something that´s already perfect (or very nearly so)?

Less frivolously, how do you improve this game enough that it justifies selling it as a different game than the old Steel Panthers, without changing those things that made the original game great?


Lets not let nostalgia get in the way of judging the game. SPWAW could be improve in a lot of ways. It looks terrible on modern large monitors over 20 inches. The artwork looks like it is 15 years old and I can see the individual pixels.
It does not work on a lot of modern systems. There are OOB limitations still in place because it is an old game. Scenario development is limited by tools and triggers that need to be updated.
A new game would breath new life for scenario and campaign makers. Matrix no longer supports the game with patches or mega campaigns.
The AI is pretty bad at attacking and buying it's equipment.

The game could really stand an update. It is close to 20 years old now (wasn't it based on SP2?) And based on activity of the forums I believe that Matrix know it could be a big seller. Plus the could spin out new fronts or mega campaigns for the next decade and have a steady stream of income.



diablo1 -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 1:40:13 AM)

SPWAW easily works on any OS with Dosbox or Defend-Reloaded. So, there's no issue with it running. Graphics could be improved yes. I'd like to see isometric graphics from a 3/4 view angle. Even graphics like Combat Mission or Panzer Command would do. AI definitely could use some reworking and more difficulty levels even after that.



junk2drive -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 2:11:20 AM)

That's part of what I like about Battlefield Academy. It plays like a game, not a complicated simulation. The 3D units are low detail so that you don't need a super computer to run it. The units and map items are large enough so that my old eyes can see them and I can zoom in and out with the scroll wheel. It is IGOUGO so that I can keep up with it. It has details behind the scenes and dice rolls to keep it risky.

It's about as close to SP as you are going to get from Matrix/Slitherine. But you never know. Who would have thought that the guy behind PGF would get to make a commercial game of it.



Arctic Blast -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 4:16:16 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Makes one wonder why Matrix gave up on their attempt to create a Steel Panthers 'sequel'
It would be a guaranteed seller if they could ever get one off.


Would it?

First off, they would have to build this entirely new game from scratch from the ground up. So the development expense would, I'd imagine, be more significant than it was for SPWAW where they at least had an engine to start from.

And second, how many avid fans of SPWAW actually BOUGHT it? How many just play the outstanding free version with all of that content? You can't look at every person who still plays SPWAW as a sale of a future release because the majority didn't pay for anything with SPWAW.



JudgeDredd -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 7:44:58 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Slick Wilhelm


quote:

ORIGINAL: JudgeDredd

lol - exactly. I hit the Buy Now for Battles from the Bulge so many times and chickened at the last minute


Wait, you mean you've actually been able to resist purchasing a game? LOL, what's next, pigs that can fly? [:D]

I know - but I did manage.

What is a shame is because I'm an impulse buyer that is a lost sale to Matrix now. And they probably won't get me to buy it...the moment has gone, if you will. I don't suppose it matters too much to them. I'm sure, as other people have said, they priced it right to maximise profit...but they did lose my guaranteed sale because of the "price shock". I don't know if it would've been any different if they had announced the price earlier...it might have given me time to think about it and get used to the price - even stay away from buying other games to get it (like I have done for War in the East)...but it's a "might have".

I still haven't got BftB and I'm unlikely to pick it up now...when games go past the shiny new, I seldom go back. Look at Highway to the Reich. I steered clear of getting it because it was a couple of years old and a shiny new (CotA) was round the corner. Turned out CotA was about 2 more years round the corner - but I NEVER picked HTTR up - why bother? All that was in that game and more was going to be implemented in the latest release.



diablo1 -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 9:40:29 AM)

quote:

because the majority didn't pay for anything with SPWAW.



You got any PROOF of that? I think NOT!



JudgeDredd -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 10:20:38 AM)

Hasn't Steel Panthers been/was free for quite some time?



Arctic Blast -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 10:43:59 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: diablo1

quote:

because the majority didn't pay for anything with SPWAW.



You got any PROOF of that? I think NOT!


Common sense dictates that if there is a free version of something and an $80 version of that same thing with mega campaigns, the majority of people are playing the free version.



diablo1 -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 11:30:16 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Arctic Blast


quote:

ORIGINAL: diablo1

quote:

because the majority didn't pay for anything with SPWAW.



You got any PROOF of that? I think NOT!


Common sense dictates that if there is a free version of something and an $80 version of that same thing with mega campaigns, the majority of people are playing the free version.



The game was out years before there was a free version.. so common sense dictates that the publishers made sure there weren't many sales coming in before putting it out there for free. Plus it's more like a demo after that because the GENERALS edition offers so much more now. Thus common sense dictates all those that got the free version then jumped on the GENERALS edition and paid for it. But, you can have your opinion doesn't mean it's the truth as you have no proof by numbers or documentation just words. And since we both are using nothing more than common sense as proof mine is just as valid if not more valid than your usage.



Lützow -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 11:43:49 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Arctic Blast

Common sense dictates that if there is a free version of something and an $80 version of that same thing with mega campaigns, the majority of people are playing the free version.



Depends, I bought the CD version of Shrapnel's SP just for the high resolution and would do the same with Matrix edition if they eventually pimp the engine.



junk2drive -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/6/2010 11:59:01 PM)

I bought both Camo CDs to show support and the higher rez. But that was a while ago. I've tried to find something else in Shrapnel's catalog but nothing does it for me.



Arctic Blast -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/7/2010 12:05:44 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Lützow


quote:

ORIGINAL: Arctic Blast

Common sense dictates that if there is a free version of something and an $80 version of that same thing with mega campaigns, the majority of people are playing the free version.



Depends, I bought the CD version of Shrapnel's SP just for the high resolution and would do the same with Matrix edition if they eventually pimp the engine.



And I have no doubt that a number of others would do the same. My point is that a lot of the people who are playing SPWAW are not the usual core strategy gamer. I know a number of people personally who gave it a chance simply because it was free...as much as some of them have enjoyed it, they probably wouldn't lay down cash for a follow up. And I suspect that a lot of the people playing the game are in that same boat.

And honestly, if Matrix know for a fact that a follow up WOULD be a cash machine, they would have continued development on the follow ups.



junk2drive -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/7/2010 12:16:17 AM)

When they quit CL and CA that was the nail in the coffin. Either they couldn't see a good ROI or there was a legal issue behind the scenes that we will never know.



diablo1 -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/7/2010 12:18:56 AM)

quote:


And honestly, if Matrix know for a fact that a follow up WOULD be a cash machine, they would have continued development on the follow ups.


They don't own the rights to re-engine or update SPWAW but I believe made some special deal to sell SPWAW:Generals Edition. Shrapnel owns the rights and if you notice they DID create a new higher resolution version for sale not long ago. It's also a windows version. They too offer a low resolution version for free but if you want the high resolution with the spiffs then you have to buy it. Isn't that right Erik? ERIK??! YOU UP THERE?! I SAW YOU EARLIER!!



Arctic Blast -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/7/2010 12:46:58 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: diablo1

quote:


And honestly, if Matrix know for a fact that a follow up WOULD be a cash machine, they would have continued development on the follow ups.


They don't own the rights to re-engine or update SPWAW but I believe made some special deal to sell SPWAW:Generals Edition. Shrapnel owns the rights and if you notice they DID create a new higher resolution version for sale not long ago. It's also a windows version. They too offer a low resolution version for free but if you want the high resolution with the spiffs then you have to buy it. Isn't that right Erik? ERIK??! YOU UP THERE?! I SAW YOU EARLIER!!


I know they don't own the rights...they had permission to sue the SP3 (I think it was 3?) engine to make SPWAW, but they don't have the rights to it free and clear. And that's also what limits their ability to 'modernize' SPWAW. So yes, they would have to build a new game (such as Combat Leader) from the ground up. Obviously, they've decided that it doesn't make sense to do so from a profits perspective.



diablo1 -> RE: Matrix -- Highest Selling/Most Popular (12/7/2010 8:30:01 AM)

quote:

I know a number of people personally who gave it a chance simply because it was free...


And I know a number of people personally who gave the free version a try and liked it so much they bought the GENERALS edition AND the new Shrapnel edition. So that basically proves that it's still popular after 10 years+ and people are still buying it AND playing it for free. But, without evidence there's no proof of a MAJORITY of either side. [:)]

Main point being it's the most POPULAR wargame ever from the Matrixgames site free or bought it rules them all. For once WitP has to take a backseat to the king of computer wargames. [:)]



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