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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
That looks beautiful and they translated HLD's style to 3D pretty well!
Unfortunately, unlike Hyper Light Drifter which I supported wholeheartedly on Kickstarter, I won't be buying this game. I wish Heart Machine and the team all the best, but I'm sure the EGS exclusivity means that's already taken care of.
Unfortunately, unlike Hyper Light Drifter which I supported wholeheartedly on Kickstarter, I won't be buying this game. I wish Heart Machine and the team all the best, but I'm sure the EGS exclusivity means that's already taken care of.
EGS? Yeah, no thank you.
As much as I enjoyed HLD, I think I'll wait for the console/switch port then
As much as I enjoyed HLD, I think I'll wait for the console/switch port then
...is every thread about games coming to EGS going to devolve into this? Christ.
The game looks neat, very cool that it shares the same universe as HLD. That was one of my favorites games ever, and I'm really happy to jump back into that whole vibe. Can't tell much from this trailer, but it's almost guaranteed to be a day one purchase.
The game looks neat, very cool that it shares the same universe as HLD. That was one of my favorites games ever, and I'm really happy to jump back into that whole vibe. Can't tell much from this trailer, but it's almost guaranteed to be a day one purchase.
Yes, and they should since Epic's trying to keep everything off other launchers.
I don't remember any other Storefront bars you from other option for 1 year long.... (excluding games made by 1st party).
Before anybody try to said that Steam does the same since there are numerous games that only available there, no they don't since those are completely on the devs or pubs for not bothering to put their game anywhere else.
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The closest analogue in the console space is the timed exclusivity on Rise of the Tomb Raider and I remember everyone being pretty annoyed at that too.
God of War or Breath of the Wild aren't great analogues since they're funded by the platform holder so they wouldn't exist otherwise. Even third party exclusives typically have funding from the start from the big 3, or otherwise not bothering with multiple SKUs is an internal business decision. It's Epic going out and sniping finished games that were already set to release on multiple platforms that makes them easy to dislike.
Would gladly install an Annapurna launcher, they're the ones funding this after all. Epic's only out to compete in the worst possible way.
This post is an excellent starting point if you can spare the time to read it.
If I was to sum up the situation, it's that Epic trotted onto the most open gaming platform in the last two decades and started buying their way into relevance. They did that not by being good despite the extensive study of the competition they did with SteamSpy, but by moneyhatting games. What added insult to injury is that those studios are often very beloved, having come from humble or kickstarter beginnings which reflects poorly on them.
This isn't about the developpers, they chose already highly successful studios and bought games that generally seem like near the end of their developpment. Epic is basically trying to harvest the next few years of highly-anticipated indie releases and lock it behind their store to force us to make it successful.
This also isn't about competition, this is about removing competition from everyone else.
Epic doesn't give a damn about PC or what made it so valuable and great for the past decades. They are selfishly poisoning the well and we are pushing back agaisnt that before it does too much damage.
Good Lord people need to get over this epic store thing. You're not fighting the good fight.
Solar Ash Kingdom is obviously not a "finished" game they have just bought up.
Maybe the devs who make the games know the realities of their licensing deals and financial pressures better than a bunch of us morons on the internet.
Solar Ash Kingdom is obviously not a "finished" game they have just bought up.
Maybe the devs who make the games know the realities of their licensing deals and financial pressures better than a bunch of us morons on the internet.
So you would consider this to be a "first party" game from Epic?
None of us are "fighting the good fight". We're all just focusing on our best interests. Sometimes that doesn't align with what Epic Games is doing with their store. The Devs and Publishers have the right to fund themselves and release as they need and we have the right to choose our purchases.
Nothing more and nothing less.
You're post would be better received if there wasn't a whiff of "moral high ground" coming off of it.
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I guess I'll bite again. While you are welcome to call yourself a moron, I take offense to the insinuation that we shouldn't be calling out and boycotting blatant anti-consumer practices that will have negative consequences for gaming in the short and long term. As a consumer, being against the EGS has absolutely nothing to do with the developer. I can understand the financial reasoning behind the decision for the developer, but I can't support the damaging anti-consumer practices that Epic is using to gain a foothold.
I'm not particularly fussed how my post is received, I don't expect to change anyone's mind. This has become one of those issues in gaming that should be a minor thing but has become a real crusade for some people.
No, it is obviously not a "first party" game but neither is it a nearly complete game that has just shifted over the a different store. That has certainly been something that has happened and is much more worthy of discussion. Such as happened with Metro.
There are people in this thread suggesting that is the only thing Epic are dong but that is not the case at all with this game. This game seems some way off and is by a very small team. The extra money could be a real boon. Maybe it will allow them extra development time. Or perhaps it is just a bunch of extra cash in their pockets. Who knows?
My problem is that the same arguments get parroted about repeatedly, with little real thought put into them. Often dropped unceremoniously into threads over and over again.
(I'm not calling you out here, just explaining why i'm so irritable.)
You may think that this will result in negative consequences, short and long term but I disagree.
I don't really want to get into the reeds with this but the whole idea that anyone could compete with Steam in any other than this is laughable. Steam is the only game in town and nobody is going to buy from a different store front just because it has a better friends list system or whatever else.
If an alternative to Steam arrives, that means that Devs have more choice where to put their games, make more money from them and it has little to no effect on buyer then I consider that a good thing.
I'm not saying you have to use the EGS, use whatever you want. I'm just so tired of it being made to seem like some epic crusade against some mighty enemy. I also hate the phrase anti-consumer but that's a whole 'nother thing.
So the extra money could be put forth to further development costs, so quasi first party? Shadow publisher?
It's not Metro Exodus or Phoenix Point, or even the Division 2 issue. It isn't such a situation where I hold any ill will against the publisher, this isn't a bait and switch situation.
However, the Epic Games conduct in other areas regarding this new store front venture have turned me against the store since December. Strongly against. PC gaming is flush we games and many of us would gladly wait until its available on a platform we feel comfortable supporting.
EGS is going to come up in every thread that has a game coming to it. It is. Epic Games wanted to disrupt the PC games market and they've done that for sure. Their betting on deep pockets to outlast resistance. We'll see if that happens.
Steam has competitors, especially in regards to the store front. In no way is it "the only game in town". Do you have a lot of games on the PC/play games on the PC?
What is wrong with the phrase 'anti-consumer'. Is customer-hostile better?
I think in terms of the Epic timed exclusives so far, this one was handled properly and in the fairest manner
Out front with it in announcement trailer
No subterfuge or spin, really
It's announced, it's on here, they aren't sure about consoles or other bits yet, just roll
Compared to Phoenix Point which lord in heaven what the hell
Out front with it in announcement trailer
No subterfuge or spin, really
It's announced, it's on here, they aren't sure about consoles or other bits yet, just roll
Compared to Phoenix Point which lord in heaven what the hell
Yeah, amazing seeing a glimpse of their next game already. Art style looks stunning again. Definitely in again if it comes to console like HLD.
Yeah, the translation of the art style to 3D, at least that's what it looks like, looks incredibly well done.
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Let's imagine a hypothetical world where everyone has access to a PS4 and Xbox One. Let's say the PS4 has a ton of very popular features, and so gets a lot of games that the Xbox doesn't get, but the Xbox has a great backwards compatibility program, so you can play a ton of, oh let's call them good old games on that console. Not every game comes out on both, but neither console has ever paid for a third-party exclusive in their history, and you have access to both consoles anyway, so all's fair.
Now let's say Google release their new console, and you can order it for free. They only have two or three of the PS4's features, and don't show much interest in adding many more in the near future. No backwards compatibility. None of your friends own one, and some are region-blocked from even trying to get one. Owning the console also opens your Google account to an unusual amount of hacking attempts. And then, instead of working to improve their service, Google just pays to get a year's exclusivity on, say, Sekiro, and a bunch of interesting indie games. "We're giving the developers a better cut!" they say.
I don't think it'd go down well.
This article went up on Eurogamer today (handily for me):
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...-games-store-exclusive-deal-for-phoenix-point
I point to this specific part:
'Gollop said he had approached Epic about the possibility of signing a deal, and the money received would significantly benefit the game.
"It allows to commit more to the launch without risk, and more to supporting the game immediately post launch," Gollop said.'
Obviously is not directly contributing to development but if developers are going to them then it must be a beneficial thing for them.
I agree that there it must be irritating if you pledged for a Steam key but it's not like there was somewhere else for the game to launch whenever this kickstarter went up. The market is now fundamentally different.
In regards to competitors, there are other storefronts, sure. They are nowhere near the scale of Steam however and many of them sell Steam keys. Steam is the de-facto launcher. It holds tremendous power and that is why so many developers show frustration with their opaque policies and limited communication.
The reason they can be so relaxed with the way they operate is lack of competition. They got to this position through their own hard work and smart moves at the right time but it is not good for developers, buyers or anyone else for one supplier to hold so much power.
As for anti-consumer, I feel like I could write an entire diatribe but for now:
- It is over used to the point where it has lost any meaning it ever had.
- It adds to weird deification of "consumers" in gaming.
- It barely makes sense, why would someone who wants to sell you something try to restrict your ability to consume?
- It contributes to the all enveloping swirl of misinformation around the development process.
That's a single game on a single launcher. Almost the opposite of my point.
My point was, if everything was available on Steam and Epic's game launcher, at this point, no one is preferring Epic. Why would they? Steam is so established there is no way to compete directly with them, everyone is already entrenched.
So the only way to create competition is to force it a little bit.
Loved HLD but I don't like Epics style of buying exclusivity I'm all for them offering devs more of a cut but I feel bad as a consumer when I can only get a game from one place. I like to look around for deals (either on the games themselves or on currency/store credit codes) to get the best value and it sucks when there is only one place to get it from when there could be more places.
Like, ok, if it was on Epic AND Steam but steam it cost more (so the dev got the same amount of money per copy) then cool, great, there is a compelling reason to use the Epic store over another store (because the game is cheaper for me, the consumer) but when it's exclusive it sucks.
Like, ok, if it was on Epic AND Steam but steam it cost more (so the dev got the same amount of money per copy) then cool, great, there is a compelling reason to use the Epic store over another store (because the game is cheaper for me, the consumer) but when it's exclusive it sucks.
I heard about the situation surrounding the Epic Deal with Phoenix Point. I even browsed the AMA they had yesterday.
They kicked the tires, tried so see what they could get. Epic gave them a fat stack.
Also, it wasn't just "crownfunded", backers used a crowndfunding/investing service called Fig, that pays out to investors based on return/revenue of what they backed.
I don't understand the hang up over having steam be the "de-facto" launcher. Many stores offer DRM free versions of games, specifically Humble Bundle and GOG. GOG even has its own steam like launcher. Ubisoft games use the Uplay launcher and EA games have the origin launcher. All of those launchers are more complete products than the Epic Games launcher at the moment. I have plenty of games where I need to use another launcher than steam. You can bet DOOM eternal, Rage 2, future EA and Ubisoft game are going to skip over steam as the launcher.
1. I disagree. Offering a lesser product for higher money with poorer service is not in the interest of the paying consumer.
2. "Deification"? Oh, ok. No one should be deified anywhere. We're all just acting in self interest.
3. To force you into a situation where you must purchase from only one place, one example. From the horses mouth "Game Supply". They're betting that getting 100% of fewer purchases is better than getting a smaller percentage of a larger number of purchases.
4. Not really sure what this has to do with anything.
Its certainly not a positive for PC gaming and many of us who have been in the PC gaming world since the early days of steam are not on board with Epic Game's strategy.
Yeah, it sucks that every thread with a game going to EGS is just people popping in to let us know that they're going to boycott.
Loved HLD and I'm definitely interested in this game.
It's not so much that Steam is "established", it's that Steam offer a great many of user-friendly functions/services/features.
Epic should be coming up with an answer to the question "if a game is on both Steam and Epic store, why would I prefer to get it on Epic store?" because right now there is no answer to that question.
That would be competing.
I still don't understand how people can say EGS is good for competition when they are trying to impose anti-competitive practices. It makes me wonder if they are arguing in good faith.
Don't understand the love for HLD. Gameplay was meh. Good for the dev to get that Fortnite money. Don't have to worry about sales now. Can just kick back and chill.
But that's not the case in the real world though. Doesn't all console makers "pay" for exclusivity?
Edit: Noticed Mods are giving people warnings, but is it fine to say I don't see what's so bad. I think the future is going to be Storefront "Wars" just like the Console "Wars"...
Also, this game doesn't fit some people's Narrative because the game was just announced, unlike others that turned to exclusivity after an announcement.
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Looks gorgeous, though not sure if it will capture the same vibes as HLD in 3D (love that game dearly). Need to see more.
If it is truly an Epic Store exclusive means no buy from me day 1 at least. I'm fine purchasing a copy of A Way Out from Origin and then cracking it to avoid the launcher, but don't want to support Epic trying to compete with "exclusives". Will wait for the ports on this one
If it is truly an Epic Store exclusive means no buy from me day 1 at least. I'm fine purchasing a copy of A Way Out from Origin and then cracking it to avoid the launcher, but don't want to support Epic trying to compete with "exclusives". Will wait for the ports on this one
It's not the case in the real world.... unless you play on PC. In which case, lots of games come out on Steam, and Steam keys are sold in lots of stores. Many of those also come out on GOG. And Humble. And itch. And even Uplay and so forth. All at the publishers' or developers' discretion - no store has ever restricted a third-party game from being sold elsewhere. Until Epic. It's not a welcome trend.