Update on Steam Workshop + Modding, Engine Issues, Release Status

At the moment, I'm juggling 3 major tasks before releasing on Steam.



1. Setting up the Steam Store for FleetCOMM. I've been communicating with Valve staff over the possibility of releasing Arcade Edition and Operation Vigrior as 2 separate packages. The option they gave me was going for a "complete package", using the DLC mechanism.



Unfortunately, I'm starting to feel awkward about putting a $2 "base game" (arcade mode), while supplying a DLC that costs $8.



I may end up publishing Operation Vigrior only on Steam, while other distribution platforms will get the arcade edition.



For those who were part of the Groupees deal a few months back; I WILL HONOR a Steam copy, regardless of how I setup the release (so if I end up publishing the $10 version on Steam only, the groupees bundle buyers will get the $10 version)



Again, the store setup isn't set in stone yet, but I felt like sharing this.



2. The FleetCOMM Engine + Encryption. As published before, I'm encrypting the soundtrack, but leaving everything else open for copying + modification. In fact, with enough programming skill, one can technically publish an entire new game unrelated to FleetCOMM, using all new assets, all new shaders and sounds, by simply repackaging the ZIP file with a different of base of Lua code. This leads on to the next topic....



3. Steam Workshop + Modding.



If you haven't caught the news yet, there seemed to be some heavy controversy over the Skyrim community that focused on paid mods. Steam has opened up the market for mods to receive payment through the workshop (I'm still researching the specifics into this mechanism).



I feel extremely ambivalent about paid mods. Modding FleetCOMMs engine itself, and releasing it for free was never an issue for me, and I considered it to be a normal part of game development. However, paid products, mods or not, activate my business sense. This is where I start thinking about how gamers will feel about paid products related to FleetCOMM, on all scales.



FleetCOMMs engine allows for "total conversion", and for that matter, it allows for *any* kind of game to be made, by simply editing the ZIP file and replacing it with brand new scripts, sounds, images, you name it.



A. If I'm going to allow paid mods, I want the modders in FleetCOMM to receive the best support, documentation and engine integration possible. Unfortunately, I still haven't made publicly readable documents regarding the RogueStar engine. This is something I have to do on my own time after I release FleetCOMM, and will take a significant amount of effort.



B. Growing the FleetCOMM player base takes precedent, before I can allow a Steamworks environment that charges my gamers for FleetCOMM mods. Simply put, I don't want people diving in to make paid mods for FleetCOMM, not while I'm still trying to grow my player base. Of course, free mods don't bother me as much. It's the commercial aspect, the business sense kicks in, and I'd like to make it a good business for everyone involved, gamers and modders. On FleetCOMMs release, I'm considering a 3 month window before I will allow paid mods, and I'll research this with Valve to see if I can either curate or control paid mods in the Workshop.



C. "Total Conversion", or brand new titles, made with FleetCOMM engine deserve a better cut. Of course, there will be aesthetic, or even mild mods that won't change much of FleetCOMM itself. Disclosure, I won't charge more than 5% for people to use my core engine, if its a "total conversion" or a new title in itself. However, mild conversions, aesthetic modifications, art asset redraws and soundtrack remixes aren't really "total conversions", and giving them a scaled rate makes more sense. I'm still reading through how paid mods work, its a complex topic, and I don't want to rush into this potential market.



That's it for now. Stay tuned for more.