Random News II

[mfnick]

If they did remove Cult of The Lamb from sale wouldn’t they still incur costs from it if people install it after that date? 
 

I stand by them doing it 100% but if that’s the case it could cost them even more going forward. Unless they remove the ability to download it as well - like a PT or something. But that creates further issues surely if you stop people who have bought the game from accessing it? 

[DANGERMAN]

Maybe it only applies to copies bought after a set date 

[Maryokutai]

Unity has since backpedalled explained that the install fee only applies once per device, so they should be fine if people re-download the delisted version. Unless of course someone switches hardware inside an ecosystem (ie. going from Series S to Series X), which I doubt happens too often in the grand scheme of things.

[Sly Reflex]

Unity have basically fucked themselves with all this silliness. 

[Craymen Edge]

Their response to people asking how they intend to discount repeat installations, charity bundles, giveaways and other installations that don't come from a sale is basically "We can't tell you, but trust us".

[radiofloyd]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/old-school-crpg-broken-roads-is-fallout-1-via-post-apocalyptic-australia-and-it-finally-has-a-release-date

 

Nag’s Fantasy Critic pic just snuck in.

[Nag]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!

[spatular]

Humble timed this well with the unity thing

 

https://www.humblebundle.com/software/everything-you-need-to-know-about-godot-4-encore-software

 

The whole unity thing is a mess, sounds like they need to find some way of making more money but have gone about it a really bad way, and not explained it too well as it keeps getting reported differently. Its putting a lot of people in a bad situation as even if people move to a different engine thats also potentially very expensive/time consuming. Suspect a lot of companies hoping unity backpedle so they dont have to switch away

[Maryokutai]

The best-case scenario at this point would likely be Unity changing their policies to the point where it's still lucrative for developers, so that games that are currently way into production can be completed without any second thoughts and their studios move on to another engine for the next project. Nobody's going to stick around after this shitshow but let those guys at least finish their current projects.

 

I really hope it'll go like that. Imagine if Team Cherry had to redo Silksong in another engine now. I know Hollow Knight was a big success but that would likely ruin them. If not financially, then morally.

[one-armed dwarf]

Apparently they are looking at capping the fees per install and allowing developers to report the installs themselves, rather than rely on Unity's un-auditable 'data model' for reporting the same

 

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/09/report-unity-considering-revenue-based-fee-caps-self-reported-install-numbers/

 

The damage is done though going forward, this is their Don Mattrick moment but I doubt they will tank through it like xbox did. This isn't something that will just blow over, given the implications it has for them as business partners with indie development

[DANGERMAN]

Read that as Don Draper and was thinking that he wouldn't fuck up like that 

[Maryokutai]

Terraria developers putting all that money to good use:

 

 

[Nag]

 

Quote

Developer White Owls Inc. has lifted the lid on Hotel Barcelona, a collaboration between legends Suda51 (Lollipop Chainsaw, Shadows of the Damned, No More Heroes) and Swery65 (D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die, Deadly Premonition, The Good Life).

 

During Xbox's Tokyo Game Show broadcast, new gameplay from the ‘2.5D slasher film parodic action game’ was unveiled, showcasing Hotel Barcelona's horror influences (including Stanley Kubrick's seminal 1980 horror, The Shining), and offbeat weirdness. Expect to fight AI-enhanced sharks, aliens, and other bizarre enemies during your adventure, as you content with an endless time loop.

 

Said time loop also happens to be overrun by serial killers, and you'll only have your dead past selves to help you out. With Suda and Swery joined by the White Owls team behind 2018's The Missing, Hotel Barcelona is targeting an Xbox Series X|S release sometime in 2024, and you can find out more on the Xbox Wire.

 

[radiofloyd]

That looks like a laugh, if nothing else. Could be cool. 

[Maryokutai]

With those two guys involved, it could turn out to be anything between a masterpiece or a complete trainwreck. At the moment it looks a bit like the latter, but I'll give this a try regardless.

[mfnick]

Very intrigued!! Not sure on the graphical style, combat doesn’t look particularly responsive or exciting & the ‘Deathloop’ mechanic is really off putting but with those 2 involved I’ve got to give it a chance. 

[DisturbedSwan]

 

[DANGERMAN]

Was coming to post this. Maybe a new start at a new small indie means he can do more creative and risky stuff, without the worry of bankrupting Platinum 

 

Or he's being given a studio by a bigger company? 

[OCH]

Dead Space co-creator leaves Callisto Protocol studio after survival-horror debut flops

 

Quote

Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield has departed The Callisto Protocol developers Striking Distance Studios in the wake of the underwhelming performance of their first game.

Striking Distance emerged in 2019 in charge of what was originally envisioned as a narrative-focused spin-off from PUBG: Battlegrounds. It later moved out from under the shadow of the battle royale game to become its own universe, albeit heavily indebted to Schofield’s work on the original Dead Space.

 

The Callisto Protocol launched in December, earning mixed reviews - particularly on PC where it launched with notable performance problems - that translated into lower-than-expected sales, with reports that publisher Krafton had lowered its expectations for the game from five million copies sold to less than half of that.

Despite later patches to fix its stuttering issues on PC and introduce new features such as a New Game Plus mode, The Callisto Protocol struggled to regain much momentum, dropping its first and only bit of story DLC in June.

In-between, the game faced further criticism for its Contagion Mode in March - with players complaining about the need to pay for a hardcore mode and death animations - as well as Striking Distance coming under fire for allegedly leaving a number of developers out of the game’s credits.

 

Striking Distance laid off more than 30 members of staff at the start of August, with Krafton saying the move would “realign the studio’s priorities to better position its current and future projects for success”.

Subsequently, Bloomberg reports that Schofield has also now left the studio after "decid[ing] to pursue new opportunities”, with chief operating officer Stacey Hirata and chief financial officer Johnny Hsu similarly departing voluntarily.

Filling Schofield’s shoes as CEO is former chief development officer Steve Papoutsis, who previously worked with Schofield at Dead Space developer Visceral Games.

Schofield said that the changes wouldn’t affect the studio’s plans, and its “focus is to continue producing exceptional content”.

 

[Nag]

Shame... as I don't think the game deserves the amount of flak it received at all.