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Solar Ash Kingdom announcement trailer (Hyper Light Drifter dev Heart Machine, Annapurna publishing, coming to Epic Games Store)
- Thread starter AlexFlame116
- Start date
This is awesome news. I love his music. Got that special edition Fez double LP. Fantastic.
I feel like some people have a blind spot for art style nuance beyond "low poly" vs more realistic styles. For one the color palette is completely different, a lot more colorful, plus the environmental structures are a lot more whimsical and fantastical than Ashen's mostly barren, tree and fortification strewn landscapes. As someone else mentioned too this will likely play nothing like a Souls game too so not seeing the issue.
Now there are some generalized visual style criticisms that have merit, notably the 360/PS3 oft-complained brown and green looking games that plagued a lot of titles. Thankfully a lot of devs have moved away from that and embraced more color this gen, like the game in the OP :)
Another good-looking indie game bites the dust. Oh well. I certainly don't blame Heart Machine for taking the money. Best of luck, and all that.
I hope Annapurna are the ones responsible for the exclusivity deal because it sure feels like a slap in the face after their kickstarter beginnings.
Hard pass until it gets on a store that actually respects the PC platform. It's a shame because damn with how much I love HLD I'm pretty sure this one is going to be great. I wonder how they will handle the transition to 3D.
Hard pass until it gets on a store that actually respects the PC platform. It's a shame because damn with how much I love HLD I'm pretty sure this one is going to be great. I wonder how they will handle the transition to 3D.
OH also also; console releases are in the cards, working out when we do what since it's still a bit off
Game looks cool!
The whole "won't buy it because Epic store" shtick is becoming somewhat grating though. If the developer decides this way, I can't fault them. Also I can't remember people not stopping to complain about Overwatch or Destiny just being available through Battlenet, for example.
I feel like exclusivity, be it permanent or temporary, is the only way to actually compete against the behemoth that is Steam when creating new online stores, and attracting devs by either better deals on sales or exclusivity deals is - imo - the only logical way to do this. Oh and by not putting your game next to gazillion of horrible, cheap, offensive or plainly hateful shovelware crap without any sort of promotion or help to get it to the user.
If Epic's successful with this and if developers are happy with EGS, I'm happy to use multiple stores. Exclusivity sucks as an idea, but it's not like you can't get the game if you're using Steam as your 'main' store. You're not excluded from creating an EGS account. And besides, Steam most probably will not be the king of online stores forever, that's just how things go, especially on the internet once competition turns up. I don't really get why people purposefully put all their horses in one stable instead of using what's available.
The whole "won't buy it because Epic store" shtick is becoming somewhat grating though. If the developer decides this way, I can't fault them. Also I can't remember people not stopping to complain about Overwatch or Destiny just being available through Battlenet, for example.
I feel like exclusivity, be it permanent or temporary, is the only way to actually compete against the behemoth that is Steam when creating new online stores, and attracting devs by either better deals on sales or exclusivity deals is - imo - the only logical way to do this. Oh and by not putting your game next to gazillion of horrible, cheap, offensive or plainly hateful shovelware crap without any sort of promotion or help to get it to the user.
If Epic's successful with this and if developers are happy with EGS, I'm happy to use multiple stores. Exclusivity sucks as an idea, but it's not like you can't get the game if you're using Steam as your 'main' store. You're not excluded from creating an EGS account. And besides, Steam most probably will not be the king of online stores forever, that's just how things go, especially on the internet once competition turns up. I don't really get why people purposefully put all their horses in one stable instead of using what's available.
You all think it'll be out this year...
Looks awesome!
I want to bid on it in my League.
Although it's not on there yet!
Although it's not on there yet!
Looks awesome!
Yup, kind of a shame but honestly, I have too much to play as is.
What's grating is Epic shutting down everyone else from playing all these amazing games unless you agree to support their toxic business practices on PC. I'm tired of hearing about them as much as you but this shit won't stop until it has consequences.
I don't even like Steam all that much. I remember the paid mods debacle, I remember all the rather greedy and corporate comments Newell made. They are not angels and much of the criticism levied at them is fully justified. But they are by far a saner and healthier symbol for the PC than Epic has shown itself to be these past months. They don't care about PC and would gleefully ruin the place if it afforded them a dominant position.
I do feel for the developpers but remember that the 70% cut is an industry standard on consoles and that they can get 100% if they sell keys elsewhere. There is also a marked selfishness in many devs that just don't give a damn about PC and care only about getting in while the moneyhatting goes on. I don't get the impression that this is about being a rising tide that lifts all ships for the indie world. It's much more of a "screw you, got mine" mindset. This isn't about helping those struggling indies choking below 10k yearly sales on Steam. Those that before Steam opened up would have had to pray they got picked up by a publisher or indie program to get on a distribution and advertising platform. These guys are still getting nothing from Epic. These handpicked studios are all already highly successful and visible.
This isn't about the devs, this is about handpicking the games Epic knows we want and taking them hostage to force us to make their shitty store successful.
I just can't agree to such short-sighted and destructive, so-called realistic business tactics. They will lead us to a very unpleasant place if they become the norm. Being a better platform with better prices and feature parity is actually enough, it just takes time. Wanting to dethrone Steam in a day just isn't a realistic expectations to begin with, especially not by wanting to get away with doing the shit-bare-minimum.
Anyway, sorry for this thread derail, I just wanted to justify the nagging about Epic. I love HM's work on HLD, their world and vision for adventure games and I can't wait to see what they've been cooking. Disasterpiece returning to the party is awesome to hear as well :).
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surprised annapurna's waiting on announcing outer wilds as exclusive
it's a shame that they're moving their output like this since all their published games so far have been great.
it's a shame that they're moving their output like this since all their published games so far have been great.
Yeah I'm wishing they were worse at their jobs because they choose fantastic games which all sadly become exclusive. I've been very hyped for Outer Wilds and it would be a shame if it came out on EGS only.
It should ALWAYS be about the games. I will reward good games, period! If Epic gets their hooks in them and turns every game into a GaaS monster then we can agree they are toxic.
A part of me wishes the game was pixel art again, but I understand the need to branch out and try different things. I dont PC game but I will try and support this game any which way I can as HLD is in my top 10 games of all time.
You expect people to complain about Blizzard games being on Blizzard's store?
Did Blizzard pay Blizzard to not put their games on competing stores?
Do you think people would be complaining as much if this developer decided to just sell their game through their own website?
Why are you comparing two obviously different scenarios as if they are identical?
If you deliberately remove everything else from the discussion, I'm right with you in celebrating whatever Heart Machine is working on.
Unfortunately, Epic added themselves to the equation by removing everyone else and holding hostage a large part of coming indie game releases to promote their store. The impact their business practices will have on the PC ecosystem means that their behavior cannot be ignored. I'm sorry this situation has to suck but it's on them, not on people for voicing their opposition to seeing a historically open platform turned into a battlefield for moneyhatting and exclusivity wars.
So not sure if anyone here mentioned it but from reading their tweets, this game is NOT a sequel to HLD but it IS based in the same universe as HLD.
Therefore...
This is a prequel. Calling it. The enemy at the end has that pink eye that is all too similar to the phantom enemies in HLD. Also, the ruined buildings in the beginning of the trailer look damn similar to the same ruins in HLD.
Therefore...
This is a prequel. Calling it. The enemy at the end has that pink eye that is all too similar to the phantom enemies in HLD. Also, the ruined buildings in the beginning of the trailer look damn similar to the same ruins in HLD.
i LOVED hyperlight drifter
i know it wasn't for everyone, but i still think it was criminally underappreciated
so fucking psyched for this
i know it wasn't for everyone, but i still think it was criminally underappreciated
so fucking psyched for this
You keep saying "holding hostage" but...
Aren't these developers making the choice to go to Epic?
Okay so it's the publishers making the decision then, not Epic taking them hostage?
I am referring to the absence of choice given to the players who have to suck it up for a year or cave in and support Epic. You can also make the point that in the case of HM, it was perhaps less their choice and more Annapurna's.
Developers are not making the decision in many of these cases, the publisher is.
And Epic are paying to get these games pulled from competing stores.
I imagine in general a developer would like their game to be played by as many people as feasible, and available on as many stores as feasible.
But if Epic is cutting the devs/pubs a greater cut of profit, isn't that worthy of a consumers support?
Aside from that, Steam has had a theoretical monopoly on the market for long enough and personally, with Steam's whole "hands off approach to moderating content", it leads me to feel more comfortable with paying attention to Steams competitors. That's just my angle. I mean, I can support both, but in the end, if my favorite devs are releasing games on a platform where they get a fair shake and I'm not put off by it, then I'm all around happy.
Ah ok, so Epic is strong arming then.
Well! Heart Machine did already confirm this is coming to consoles so, the Epic Store exclusivity is limited in some way.
How is Epic paying games to get pulled from competing stores in any way a good thing?
I'd have no problem with it being on Epic store in addition to other stores, but removing consumer choice is transparently a bad thing.
I'd much prefer Epic were compelled to improve their store to compete with rival stores, but they are not interested in this, they are just seeking to prevent games being available on competing stores.
Yeah apologies, I read your response about them strong arming while I was typing that one post up.
Not if it's at the expense of the health of the entire ecosystem and only for the benefit of a few studios who also happen to be the most successful indies and whose titles are already highly anticipated, thus removing the biggest hurdle indies have to face. They're not doing this for the little guys, unfortunately. I think MS (XBLA) and Steam did more good for indies than anyone else at a time when they really needed it. I'm not sure people remember what it was like before Steam opened the much lamented floodgates. Steam is also far from being a monopoly as you mention. For one, most AAA releases have moved onto their respective publisher's store. Between itch.io and GoG, Steam has long stopped being the only player on PC for those store's respective specialties.
Another thing is that Steam will earn exactly US$0 on keys sold on other sites that still use their infrastructure to distribute the data and provide you with all the features of the Steam platform. I'm not sure Epic would be that gracious.
I'd just like you to think of the consequences of a world where Epic's business practices make deep pockets the only criteria that matters for a store. Really, I don't want to argue in circles about this. It's derailing the thread and my points have been made over and over again. I also don't want to piss everyone off because I love HLD as much as everyone else in this thread. I just hate that Epic got their hands on it, I voiced my displeasure and I think that should be the extent of it.
As a side-note, I feel it's interesting that we are seeing an increasing number of indies make that jump from 2D in their previous work to 3D. It's like seeing that time in the late 90s all over again and I feel these guys might do some very interesting things.
No worries, I'm not here to argue either! I'm just not very informed on the big picture of things. Your points have been educational and I appreciate it.
I love HLD as well believe me. Lemme grab onto that side note of yours...
Interesting observation! That just plucks the nostalgia strings in me thinking about that. What are some other indies that have done this transition that you can think of? I swear I've got one in my mind but I can't figure it out.
Man, so much port/launcher begging in here. Is every thread about games launching on Epic going to be like this?
Risk of Rain 2 was the other one I was thinking about :). And thank you!
Sick. I have to finish HLD one of these days. Such a pretty game but I started it at the wrong time. Had too much to play and it got pushed aside.
Also, Isn't platform begging against the rules? I don't see the mods doing anything about these "no Steam no buy" type posts. But posts highlighting how stupid that complaint is get flagged. Really shitty and derails threads constantly but seems to go unchecked.
Also, Isn't platform begging against the rules? I don't see the mods doing anything about these "no Steam no buy" type posts. But posts highlighting how stupid that complaint is get flagged. Really shitty and derails threads constantly but seems to go unchecked.
OH YEAH I FORGOT ABOUT THAT ONE.
Thanks for that reminder! Exciting times.
Excited for this , loved hld. No worries about EGS... the only games I was offended by were ones that were coming on Steam or elsewhere, and pulled the rug out from under buyers and backers at the 11th hour to go EGS exclusive. And that really says way more about the publishers than it does about Epic... Epic offering money for exclusivity isn't the problem, its publishers accepting the deal.
But if it is EGS exclusive from the get go, I'm "ok" with that.
But if it is EGS exclusive from the get go, I'm "ok" with that.
I'm not sure how I feel about the transition to 3D but I expect Heart Machine's good animation and feedback to stay intact. Disasterpeace coming back for the soundtrack is great to hear too.
In a way, it's nice that Epic is giving all these indie devs a running start regarding "sales" (even if it is mostly them paying the pubs/devs for the exclusivity). Personally, it takes the pressure off of me as a consumer to support the dev on launch. As much as I liked Hyper Light Drifter and the ideas behind it, it was a game I waited years for to show up in a bundle. And I don't think this game will be any different. At least this way, I know they'll be successful enough to work on another project regardless of whether I buy it by the time it launches on Steam. I doubt the gravy train will be running for long (1-year exclusivity makes me think that Epic thinks that their store will have a large enough userbase in a couple years and thus taper off these deals) so if a dev can use Epic's money to guarantee another game, that's fine with me.
In a way, it's nice that Epic is giving all these indie devs a running start regarding "sales" (even if it is mostly them paying the pubs/devs for the exclusivity). Personally, it takes the pressure off of me as a consumer to support the dev on launch. As much as I liked Hyper Light Drifter and the ideas behind it, it was a game I waited years for to show up in a bundle. And I don't think this game will be any different. At least this way, I know they'll be successful enough to work on another project regardless of whether I buy it by the time it launches on Steam. I doubt the gravy train will be running for long (1-year exclusivity makes me think that Epic thinks that their store will have a large enough userbase in a couple years and thus taper off these deals) so if a dev can use Epic's money to guarantee another game, that's fine with me.
Maybe if Epic stop their anticompetitive behaviour, people will stop calling it out.
I'm hoping for a Switch release as I do not want to support toxic business practices for a platform that was previously open to whichever storefront you want but not ignore the others.
I'm honestly not surprised given the publisher and I'm now wondering if this is a series of games signed up for a bigger pay check? No way is Epic's store doing anywhere near the same numbers as releasing on Steam would for these big indies so either the revenue split plus moneyhat is enough for them to cover the terrible sales or they truly think that come a Steam release they'll make back more money.
I'm doubting both of these situations. Especially when we aren't hearing any devs exclaim their game is selling amazingly on EGS and the goodwill is being burnt mighty fast. Surely you'd think multi release would be the best for gaining money but I also feel like Epic are making it clear that they will only accept you on their store if you are a) a successful indie team or b) will stay exclusive for a year.
You can't port beg/store beg, that's only valid for platform begging. What is happening here is discussion and opinions on a storefront deliberately being anti-consumer.
I'm honestly not surprised given the publisher and I'm now wondering if this is a series of games signed up for a bigger pay check? No way is Epic's store doing anywhere near the same numbers as releasing on Steam would for these big indies so either the revenue split plus moneyhat is enough for them to cover the terrible sales or they truly think that come a Steam release they'll make back more money.
I'm doubting both of these situations. Especially when we aren't hearing any devs exclaim their game is selling amazingly on EGS and the goodwill is being burnt mighty fast. Surely you'd think multi release would be the best for gaining money but I also feel like Epic are making it clear that they will only accept you on their store if you are a) a successful indie team or b) will stay exclusive for a year.
You can't port beg/store beg, that's only valid for platform begging. What is happening here is discussion and opinions on a storefront deliberately being anti-consumer.
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Annapurna is just killing it with their games publishing arm. I'll definitely look into this on consoles.