Friday Facts #124 - Steam Status I

[kiba]

I think of payment for ongoing development of factorio, not just a copy of the game.

Although it's only a one-time payment rather than an on-going subscription.

[Nic]

In the end the Steam customers pay 20€ for it, so they pay the same as people did before to get the same package.

The only people who get something "special" are the people who bought the basic tier here on the website.

Yet since Steam takes away around 30% of every purchase WUBE recieves only the same amount of money they got from the original basic tier.

[Xterminator]

I can understand how people are upset by these things, but to be honest it isn't like they are taking away the extras you got from whatever tier you purchased. As Tomas stated in his quote of the terms of agreement, the content and pricing of tiers are subject to change. Now if this was not written in the terms of agreement and then they made this decision we would definitely have a problem, but that's not the case. I feel like people should of been prepared for something like to happen at some point, and if you thought the tiers would never change than I think that's kind of on you.

Prices and features of pretty much any product are subject to change. It happens all the time in the world when a company decides to lower the price on something or add an extra feature to it at some point.

[daniel34]

In the end the Steam customers pay 20€ for it, so they pay the same as people did before to get the same package.
The only people who get something "special" are the people who bought the basic tier here on the website.

Prices and features of pretty much any product are subject to change. It happens all the time in the world when a company decides to lower the price on something or add an extra feature to it at some point.

As a matter of fact, the Furnace Attendant tier (game + scenario pack) was always 20€.
It was 20€ when Wube had the indiegogo campaign, it was 20€ when first selling it on the webpage, 20€ when I bought it, and it still is at 20€ when sold on Steam. It is actually even cheaper for US citizens and countries relying on the USD, as it was $26 USD in 2013 and now is at $19.95 USD Steam retail price.

The price increased for the lowest tier (Transport Belt Repair Man) from 10€ to 15€, but this is not different from other games which increase their price as game development progresses.

Steam actually says it right on the sales page: This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development.

[Fatmice]

So, we have a juicy discussion going, that is good=))

To be honest, I have expected a bit of uneasiness, so let's just clarify a few things first and then see what can be done in the future.

1. The names / status of the existing tiers is not going to change.

If someone has bought the mining-drill-operator / furnace-attendant that is what his status will still be. And if we are lucky and persistent enough and one day we have forums - website logins integration, this is what will most probably be visible in his profile.

2. The content of the mining-drill-operator is not going to change either.

So if someone bought the mining-drill-operator he will still have access to the name-in-the-game feature, the wiki and the gfx book.

Thank you, Tomas. That is all I needed to hear. I don't care or need any other form of appreciation. It is enough that your team has produced a wonderful game and one where I enjoyed it enough to mod.

3. The terms of service clearly state ("The contents and the price of particular tiers are subject to change in the future. We reserve the right to change the tier prices and add content when we feel it is appropriate.") that this situation is part of the agreement.

Of course, it is well within Wube's right. It is however within Wube's interest to make changes that have good optics. The latter is more important than any TOS that you can hide behind. We humans operate on more than just the governing of a TOS and it is that intangible that is often more binding than the former.

4. There is a possibility that we will reward the furnace-attendant and mining-drill-operator tiers in some other way in the (near) future (there were a few interesting suggestions in the discussion so far). However this is a possibility that cannot be promised at the moment. That is why it is not mentioned in the blog post (we have learned a few lessons about making premature promises already).

Don't matter to me. I'm satisfied and appreciated enough.

5. If you feel negatively affected by this change, that is rather unfortunate. We truly appreciate the great support we are getting from the community either in financial form (buying extra tiers or buying the game at all instead of torrenting it) or in the form of suggestions / bug reports / etc. We try our best to make Factorio a truly outstanding and enjoyable game. One of our mantras is not to take shortcuts, make things properly and make best game for the players we can. My impression so far has been that the community support is a kind of helping hand from players all over the world. Seeing you guys enjoying the game so much is a great source of fuel for the development. This has been said a few times already but I find it important to mention it again and again, because I find this to be one of the cores of the game success so far.

However we don't feel indebted to people buying the game. We don't feel that there is something we have to do in return for them spending their money on Factorio. So if somebody bought the more expensive tier and now there is a feeling that we have to do something to compensate him for providing the content of that tier to wider audience, then that is not the way I view things. We might still do that (as mentioned in the point 4), but that would be to express our gratitude to people who have been with us for a long time and not because we have changed the package content and now we have to make sure that we don't hurt someone's feelings.

Hope this provides some clarification.

Indeed, I have no more negative feelings. Others may feel differently. Perhaps, the FFs should have had better wording in the passages that I quoted as it read more along the line of things being subtracted to make room for steam launch. To the last point, I wish you all the best and a lucrative steam launch.

P.S. I think it is also high time Wube give a better roadmap for post 0.13. I fully expects that the space and underground surfaces be paid expansion(s).

[CrushedIce]

Another aspect regarding the steam release:
Did you already think about whether or not to anticipate at upcoming steam sales?

On the one hand this could lead to significantely more players ( people on steam love to buy games during the sale )
But on the other hand there could be people upset because of a preferential treatment of the steam customers.

So I'm quite unsure about this point..

[DanGio]

Plus, who bought Factorio before Steam release got access to :
- those wonderful FFF
- this wonderful forum led by the coolest community (seriously, congrats to the mods and all members for always posting very interesting stuff)

I'm really OK with these changes

[Theace98]

Steam on the 25th? I guess I need to start putting together word docs for guides of the game to help the new players. And think of a good review to write as after losing a lot of time already to Fortress Craft Evolved Factorio is going to need all the help to go big on steam.

And the bonus screen is a nice addition as it means I no longer going to have stare at the research screen to figure out which bonuses I have.

Can't wait to see Factorio on steam.

There is a dedicated guide already.

Which is paid for, and frankly well out of the way for a steam user. Since the steam overlay makes it possible to view guides in game, a good guide on steam will help loads.

[sazw112]

Can you make factorio 15 for launch day on steam? I have been waiting for this almost a year just to be able to buy it, but even if at launch day it will be 20 (for me 23) I will pirate it becauce i have been waiting for way to long and to wait until steam sale .... Nope

[Koub]

You can buy it right now, and you'll get a steam key to add it to your steam account if you wish.
Threatening to pirate the game because you want to buy it only once it's on Steam, and only for 15 won't do any good.

[deemer]

The bonus screen reminds me of a feature ask:

I want to see the max follower count without lunching a follower. The bonus screen looks like the right place to put it.

[Nic]

Can you make factorio 15 for launch day on steam? I have been waiting for this almost a year just to be able to buy it, but even if at launch day it will be 20 (for me 23) I will pirate it becauce i have been waiting for way to long and to wait until steam sale .... Nope

You can send me 15€ and I buy it for you on the website (sending you back the gift link via email).

[Drury]

Can you make factorio 15 for launch day on steam? I have been waiting for this almost a year just to be able to buy it, but even if at launch day it will be 20 (for me 23) I will pirate it becauce i have been waiting for way to long and to wait until steam sale .... Nope

You remind me of a certain article that is getting more relevant to Factorio by the minute

http://ramiismail.com/2014/01/how-to-co ... developer/

[sazw112]

You can buy it right now, and you'll get a steam key to add it to your steam account if you wish.
Threatening to pirate the game because you want to buy it only once it's on Steam, and only for 15 won't do any good.

Just facepalm... If I would be able to buy it in web site I would done it by now.

[TuckJohn]

(I have been too lazy to read the whole thread here, so I appoligise if someone already brought this up)

You guys are having a base price of $20?? Thats it? This is the quality of a $30 game, AT LEAST. You should look into the price a bit more- any game that you can put 500+ hrs into and not get board should not be priced at $20. No matter what the game is.

[Zeblote]

You guys are having a base price of $20?? Thats it? This is the quality of a $30 game, AT LEAST. You should look into the price a bit more- any game that you can put 500+ hrs into and not get board should not be priced at $20. No matter what the game is.

Not everyone will put 500 hours into this game. Those that do and want to support the devs can buy the (seperate) $30 tier

[TuckJohn]

You guys are having a base price of $20?? Thats it? This is the quality of a $30 game, AT LEAST. You should look into the price a bit more- any game that you can put 500+ hrs into and not get board should not be priced at $20. No matter what the game is.

Not everyone will put 500 hours into this game. Those that do and want to support the devs can buy the (seperate) $30 tier

In the post they stated that they would be getting rid if the different teirs.

[Originus]

when I look at my savegames I can see that I spent at least 250h into factorio

when I look into my steam library I find a bunch of games which I played alltogether less than 150h, but I paid ~200€ for them -> Factorio is totaly worth it!

[starholme]

You can buy it right now, and you'll get a steam key to add it to your steam account if you wish.
Threatening to pirate the game because you want to buy it only once it's on Steam, and only for 15 won't do any good.

Just facepalm... If I would be able to buy it in web site I would done it by now.

Why is it that you "can't" purchase it via the website?

[_aD]

Not everyone will put 500 hours into this game.

Amen, buddy. Some of us are serious players.