2020-10-06 Shores of Hazeron Moving to Steam

[Haxus]

The following was posted on our Patreon page. It was accompanied by a poll asking whether to keep the universe database or reset the database when we go live on Steam.

I copied it here because I prefer the UI in the forum to that of Patreon. Also, I will resume posting updates here until the transition to Steam is complete. Then it will depend on how much I like Steam's UI. It is probably nice and it would save me from having to maintain this forum.

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There are things I really like about Patreon but I don't see it as a realistic way to achieve my goals.

Shores of Hazeron is in the final stages of publishing on Steam. With luck it will be available for download there on November 2, later in November if that deadline goes whooshing past. There are still a couple of items on my "must do" list.

Shores of Hazeron will show up on Steam as a Coming Soon title, two weeks before it is publicly released.

In preparation for that, I halted the Patreon billing cycle scheduled for November 1. It cannot be unhalted. After people have time to read this announcement, I will delete this Patreon campaign entirely, probably November 2nd.

The Shores of Hazeron app on Steam will not be free. There will be a one time fee, not a monthly subscription, somewhere around $25.

I am going all-in on Steam, since other efforts have not been successful. If Shores of Hazeron can't make it on Steam, then it won't make it anywhere. I am prepared for that eventuality.

The biggest unfinished thing is the gen 4 creatures. I really wish I had time to finish but I don't want to wait another year.

Thank you for all of your support. I hope to see you on the other side.

I can maintain the current Universe through the transition. When you launch the game from Steam, you will have a new account and a new list of avatars. I could then transfer your old avatars to your new Steam account.

Poll Question:

1. Keep the current Universe when Shores of Hazeron is published on Steam.
   
2. Reset the Universe when Shores of Hazeron is published on Steam.
   

[nightslaysanta]

you can not think that a one time payment on a barly known game would help a 3k a month server running fee. you needa rethink that strategy

[Zensras]

@Haxus
There's a thread in general with a lot of people writing about this on. Can you check it when you have a moment

[Haxus]

The $25 is not cast in concrete. I was testing the water to see what people thought of the idea of a one-time fee vs monthly subscription. I think No Man's Sky is a one time fee of $30.

You are correct, it would not be sustainable if all players played for more than two months.

However, if most players play for less than two months, then it is more than I am getting now.

[nightslaysanta]

but on a barly known game you need at least 120 new players each month for a onetime fee of 25$

[danthemanisme95]

So I'll put a copy of my messages from earlier...
"I wanna make my opinion known on this one... DO NOT SUSPEND OR END THE PATREON CAMPAIGN... The $25 price tag on steam is probably ok... But the game is far to indev to go "all-in" on steam. Doing so might just be disastrous. The game is too unstable and too incomplete to fair well against the steam review system. Meaning it is unlikely a lot of purchases beyond the already established fan base will occur. By labeling the game early access and using patreon during that time period it may be possible to sustain income until the game is ready for release at which point end the campaign and hike the price up to the $35 - $45 range."

Haxus -
" Steam Early Access has a clear set of criteria for software in that category. Shores of Hazeron does not belong there. "

Me-
" Went through the tos I see what you mean ... Does steam's regular sale forbid the usage of Patreon or other revenue streams?"

Haxus -
"It is not forbidden. In fact there is at least one game that is on Steam and also has a Patreon. Steam only asks for fairness. I can' t charge more for my game on Steam than I do elsewhere. They want their members to be treated fairly, to be sure they are getting the same deal they would get anywhere else. "

And it's this last comment here I want to draw attention too... As imo that is going to be the most productive and worthwhile method of maintaining the current development method as well as utilizing steam as an advertising and distribution platform.

The ~$500 from patereon is going to be imperative in the first few months of steam usage as the game likely will not get any more attention there compared to what it is getting now

[nightslaysanta]

use steam as a advertisement instead of a business model

[jakbruce2012]

I would like to be able to switch accounts just as easily on the steam version, as we do now.  Many steam games that have multiplayer still have a separate login system.  The way the game currently works, only being able to log in one character per account makes fleet and empire management difficult.  If the steam version restricts us to one set of characters per steam account it will be way too clunky.  Perhaps add in a way to purchase additional accounts/slots within the same steam account, and allow them to login at the same time. Or retain the current accoutn registration system.  With steam ONLY being used for the software distribution and activation.

We are also going to need a much better way of storing and loading existing designs for buildings and ships.  If this really takes off on steam there will be hundreds of gigabytes of designs to load every time.  This is not practical.  It will be necessary to cache commonly seen designs client side, and only download the descriptions of unused designs until needed to be rendered.

Some suggestions for lands under steam:
Make land claims per account instead of per avatar + logging in any character on that account refresh all lands.
Have the full list of lands claimed available to view on any character tied to that account, and be able to claim new land to the list from any character.
Provide a way to buy additional land slots if more than the default are needed.
The way this works currently is clunky and irritating.

[OnePercent]

use steam as a advertisement instead of a business model

This.

[bonusmop]

Copying my post from Patreon: 

Shores of Hazeron is a game that you’ve clearly put a lot of passion into. I can understand the frustration of putting so much time into a project that never seems to get the momentum you need to see it through. And I get the attraction to putting it on Steam: it either pulls in enough people quickly to fund the changes you want to see, or it fails and you can wash your hands of it entirely. There’s no more limping along hoping to find a way to finish everything by yourself. If you go this route, and it sounds like you’re pretty set on doing just that, I will buy the copy on steam, wish you the best of luck, and hope that the game meets with huge success. Everyone here wants to see the game achieve mass appeal.

I share concerns expressed above though that there are big risks. I’ve introduced people to the game only to have them give up on the experience after not figuring out the interface or after they get stuck in terrain and must restart. I hate that they are missing out on such an amazing world, but I understand – entertainment time is limited and any barrier to entry motivates them to look elsewhere. Intuition tells me this will cause a brutal reception on Steam because the vast majority of gamers will play for 30 minutes, demand a refund, and leave a scathing review. They will never see the deep universe you have created or enjoy the sense of exploration that most games cannot hope to offer. They will miss out on everything that appeals to me in this game and discourage others from even trying. Hazeron is not ready for Steam.

Like everyone else, I have suggestions: targeted advertising, adding more Patreon tiers, allowing voluntary contributions from software developers, artists, UI designers, maybe even looking into a deal with an established publisher. There are inherent risks in all of these -- someone might steal code, or Patreon tiers might lean towards pay-to-win, etc. -- but if you are at the point where you are ready to go all-in, the risks don’t really matter anymore and you can simply make sure you’re on the path that has the best odds of success. I’m sure you’ve spend much longer considering these options than any of us, so you certainly have reasons for going the route you’ve chosen. I hope it all works out because I would love to still be playing Hazeron in a decade, one way or another.

Thanks for everything so far, Haxus!