Or are there no major releases, because the games got put out, but people would rather just play the “main games”?
The releases aren’t major until a lot of people are buying and playing.
Its not fair to say there have been no major releases in the past few months (Palworld was mega for a hot second) but it’s the concept that playing COD, Minecraft, GTA V, Fortnight etc is somehow reverting to the mean, that is the challenge for big publishers.
Im saying big title releases. Things like Starfield, Civilization, GTA and other games in the same mould. There’s not really been anything huge except for Helldivers 2. Palworld wasn’t a big release, but then became a big release and I’d say it was extremely random on that one. But you’re looking again at very different gaming models. COD, Minecraft, Fortnight and GTA V (Multiplayer) are purely based on the multiplayer followings. Apart from Helldivers, there’s not been any big multiplayer games that have come out to compete and the last single player games that have come out have done so long enough that players have played them to death.
We are comparing two VERY different models of games and in all honesty I can’t see to find any data with regards to profitability. With your P2P games, your post-release support (if properly released) won’t be huge and won’t eat into your profits, it’s only the upfront costs. With F2P, you obviously have huge teams that are constantly looking at making new content to make sure people are engaged, which means your operational costs become larger as well as your upfront costs.
In saying that, it’s become REALLY obvious that thanks to the biggest companies, the gaming industry has very much stagnated. There really hasn’t been that many brand new titles that have made a huge splash in years. In the past decade, I can think of Starfield, Cyberpunk and maybe God of War off the top of my head? They’ve very much been EXTREMELY risk adverse and they’re currently focusing on either sequels or revamping older titles. Something that has definitely dropped the bar and has been creeping in for at least the last 20 years
I think this is unfathomable.
There have been so many good games. Too many good games. Last year alone I’ve left Zelda TotK on the table because I had too many other amazing games.
I played Baldur’s Gate 3, Alan Wake 2, Spider Man 2, Diablo 4, Super Mario Bros Wonder, Super Mario RPG, Final Fantasy 16, Mortal Kombat 1, Jedi: Survivor… And those are just the good games. I also played Starfield!
I mean completely new titles. Not titles that are simply sequels to previous games, but ones that come up with a completely brand new story line or a brand new concept. It’s easier and less risky to make a sequel to a game than it is to make a brand new game. The current focus by studios will only last a certain period before it gets old and stagnant. It’s not that dissimilar to the biggest movie studios going out and just making a Marvel, Fast and Furious or Star Wars movie.
I’m thinking I’m beginning to get to the start of getting my head around Dishonored.
The big one is if you want to play high or low chaos. Each one means a VERY different style of play and comes with it’s own long and short term repercussions.
Yeah, I’m up to the infiltrating the tower at the end mission. Which would be the last?
If it is, it’s a short game so you can play it through a few times without getting sick of it.
I’m beginning to enjoy the process of figuring out the solution to the problem. I can also see how just going high chaos would be simpler.
It is and it isn’t. High chaos causes more rats, guards and guards will be way more vigilant. There’s also alternative endings based on those choices.
I am shocked by this betrayal!
Ive bit the bullet and started playing Manor Lords. Absolutely loving it so far, although I’m 99% sure i’ve screwed up my current village by growing way too fast. Every winter I’m right on the cusp of starvation and i’m finding i’m struggling to get enough food, even though I’ve got a fair bit of veggie plots in the homes, plus some huge farms with fields. My population is a bit of 100. I also made a very silly mistake in selling all of my stone, not realising that I’d end up with nothing.
Currently importing a whole load of meat and a tiny bit of stone. To those playing, do you take the farmers out once the fields have been set, to work elsewhere, or do you leave them in the farmhouse?
I take them out until harvest time yeah. Not doing much otherwise.
Where do you think the meat comes from?
Meat vat?
What size are your veggie plots? Make sure you build then quite long, and build then from east to west rather than north to south. Also, then make sure you allocate the people living in these houses with the veggie plots to be your farm workers, then they will have the time to actually tend to their veggie plots compared to say someone working in the sawmill. After around 1-2 years they should be creating enough food themselves to cover your needs. I make around 1/3 of my houses with these long veggie plots, 1/3 with chickens then the remainder as various trades and a couple with goats for additional hides.
Regarding the farms, you’re also better off making them around 1.5 morgen in size and building more of them and then rotating them each year. Around 4-6 emmer fields with 2 of them in fallow each year will be enough long term for your food. In my current save I’ve done this in an area which has shit fertility (yellow/orange at best) and I’m starting to produce a shitload of bread.
Best time to build things is during the winter, take out the farm workers and you’ve got a shitload of people to help build during those few months.
Also when you gets your first development points, spend them on the trade upgrades.
I think I’ll stick to killing bugs in Helldivers II and destroying evil minions in Diablo IV
Manor Lords sounds a little bit like Banished. Banished was also a dev team of one about a decade ago, and had the premise of building a medieval town from scratch. I don’t think I ever went back to it after building to a town of 300 over nearly 100 years in-game, then the black plague came and pretty much wiped everyone out.
That’s pretty much what Manor Lords is; Banished but with a couple of big battles sprinkled in.
I think that’s my problem, I’m definitely not making long plots, and not doing the allocations correctly. I have started on my second play through and i’m definitely in a better position. Ive gone through and allocated villagers properly for the berries and the meat and thankfully have a deposit where I have rich hunting which is massively helping.
The only thing annoying me is that i’m finding it hard to upgrade my houses as my soil is crap for barley, so it’s almost impossible to keep my tavern supplied. I’m importing it though, which is costing an arm and a leg, but apparently my villagers love getting pissed…
I reckon I’ll snap up Manor Lords in the next sale and call that my single “big” game purchase of this year. I might only have to wait 3-4 weeks for it.
Manor Lords is far more detailed and simulationist than Banished. I also think dramatically harder. I never struggled to survive in Banished, but I have in Manor Lords.