Haruspex
@haruspex3.bsky.social
Not really, political climate on both liberal and right wing side in Poland is against any intervention and sabre rattling.
December 20, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Not really, political climate on both liberal and right wing side in Poland is against any intervention and sabre rattling.
But they're still making games tho? Artifact bombed but Deadlock is coming along nicely. We had Alyx before that as well.
November 18, 2025 at 9:50 AM
But they're still making games tho? Artifact bombed but Deadlock is coming along nicely. We had Alyx before that as well.
There's a good paper in that vein as well: web.stanford.edu/~diamondr/DM...
web.stanford.edu
November 16, 2025 at 8:27 PM
There's a good paper in that vein as well: web.stanford.edu/~diamondr/DM...
In Poland this holiday is a happy celebration. There is simply no recognition of "this was insane calamity that we shall remember to not let it happen again". There's just "all our oppressors got fucked and we're independent again, fuck yeah!"
November 9, 2025 at 9:41 AM
In Poland this holiday is a happy celebration. There is simply no recognition of "this was insane calamity that we shall remember to not let it happen again". There's just "all our oppressors got fucked and we're independent again, fuck yeah!"
Colony Ship, Underrail, Dungeon Rats, Age of Decadence
October 31, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Colony Ship, Underrail, Dungeon Rats, Age of Decadence
Most of the money made from sales goes for labor compensation, that's true for virtually 90% of businesses and gaming is no exception. Video game developers are famously undercompensated despite that and even if Activision spent everything left after operations on labour it would still be true, lol.
October 23, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Most of the money made from sales goes for labor compensation, that's true for virtually 90% of businesses and gaming is no exception. Video game developers are famously undercompensated despite that and even if Activision spent everything left after operations on labour it would still be true, lol.
I think in actual abstractions, conventions necessitated by gameplay and similar games are actually more like theatre than the cinema tbh. But it is hardly ever acknowledged and we rarely have theatre afficionados working here.
August 3, 2025 at 9:51 PM
I think in actual abstractions, conventions necessitated by gameplay and similar games are actually more like theatre than the cinema tbh. But it is hardly ever acknowledged and we rarely have theatre afficionados working here.
The core of video game is game part of it - the gameplay experience.
August 3, 2025 at 9:32 PM
The core of video game is game part of it - the gameplay experience.
Which is why I think games like Pathologic 2 have a much better case for that rather than visual novels or walking sims.
August 3, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Which is why I think games like Pathologic 2 have a much better case for that rather than visual novels or walking sims.
The GEP gun is the most silent way to eliminate Manderley
July 14, 2025 at 4:25 PM
The GEP gun is the most silent way to eliminate Manderley
I guess the transition to F2P changed the situation quite a bit
July 7, 2025 at 4:33 AM
I guess the transition to F2P changed the situation quite a bit
Oh I am not disbelieving you and I believe we talked on Stormgate's discord. I'm just surprised by this because it runs counter to numbers provided by Blizzard themselves nearly a decade ago or what other RTS games report.
July 7, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Oh I am not disbelieving you and I believe we talked on Stormgate's discord. I'm just surprised by this because it runs counter to numbers provided by Blizzard themselves nearly a decade ago or what other RTS games report.
Iirc Frost Giant people (who oversaw transition of SC2 into F2P live service game) confirmed this as well but can't find the Discord post anymore :x
July 7, 2025 at 4:24 AM
Iirc Frost Giant people (who oversaw transition of SC2 into F2P live service game) confirmed this as well but can't find the Discord post anymore :x
www.ageofempires.com/news/pre-ord...
"Our most visible cohort tends to be our competitive community, tournament organizers, and streamers, but there’s a rather massive and understated majority of our players that show up week over week and month over month just to enjoy their favorite Campaigns."
"Our most visible cohort tends to be our competitive community, tournament organizers, and streamers, but there’s a rather massive and understated majority of our players that show up week over week and month over month just to enjoy their favorite Campaigns."
Pre-Order Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Chronicles: Battle for Greece - Age of Empires - World's Edge Studio
We are excited to announce the next DLC for Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition - Chronicles: Battle for Greece, an immersive narrative expansion that
www.ageofempires.com
July 7, 2025 at 4:22 AM
www.ageofempires.com/news/pre-ord...
"Our most visible cohort tends to be our competitive community, tournament organizers, and streamers, but there’s a rather massive and understated majority of our players that show up week over week and month over month just to enjoy their favorite Campaigns."
"Our most visible cohort tends to be our competitive community, tournament organizers, and streamers, but there’s a rather massive and understated majority of our players that show up week over week and month over month just to enjoy their favorite Campaigns."
Hm, the data I cited comes from Matt Morris in Lowko's interview from 2015/2016 and Steam achievements stats for AoE4. Are your numbers about total playerbase or the active slice? For the record WoL sold ~6-7mln copies, DLCS around ~3mln each iirc. This also aligns with what AoE team said recently.
July 7, 2025 at 4:21 AM
Hm, the data I cited comes from Matt Morris in Lowko's interview from 2015/2016 and Steam achievements stats for AoE4. Are your numbers about total playerbase or the active slice? For the record WoL sold ~6-7mln copies, DLCS around ~3mln each iirc. This also aligns with what AoE team said recently.
Esports stuff is largely a myth. SC2 was the only Blizzard RTS game explicitly made with MP in mind though it wasn't MP focused game still (its campaign was significantly more expansive than those of previous titles).
July 7, 2025 at 12:16 AM
Esports stuff is largely a myth. SC2 was the only Blizzard RTS game explicitly made with MP in mind though it wasn't MP focused game still (its campaign was significantly more expansive than those of previous titles).
This isn't really correct though, 80% of SC2 and AoE4 players didn't play a single multiplayer game in these games (as shown in this video iirc). Most of the longevity of SC1 (and WC3) came from custom games rather than esports.
July 7, 2025 at 12:13 AM
This isn't really correct though, 80% of SC2 and AoE4 players didn't play a single multiplayer game in these games (as shown in this video iirc). Most of the longevity of SC1 (and WC3) came from custom games rather than esports.
I agree that SC2 is unreplicable (that SC2 was made in the first place was a happy accident of Morhaime being "when it's done" guy + company sleeping on WoW's money) but I don't think that this genre to be alive needs to replicate SC2 popularity.
July 6, 2025 at 11:54 PM
I agree that SC2 is unreplicable (that SC2 was made in the first place was a happy accident of Morhaime being "when it's done" guy + company sleeping on WoW's money) but I don't think that this genre to be alive needs to replicate SC2 popularity.
www.pcgamer.com/games/rts/cr... this interview illustrates well the talks that devs have with potential publishers
The RTS genre will never be mainstream unless you change it until it's 'no longer the kind of RTS that I want to play,' says Crate Entertainment CEO
Real-time strategy is a "nerd genre," says the developer, and he's happy to make one on those terms.
www.pcgamer.com
July 6, 2025 at 5:12 PM
www.pcgamer.com/games/rts/cr... this interview illustrates well the talks that devs have with potential publishers
Yeah but what made a lot of these old campaigns good back in the day was the budget they got. Something that we get with things like Godsworn, Tempest Rising or Iron Harvest is not that different from what we got from RTS games outside of WC/SC/SupCom/AoE/C&C family.
July 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Yeah but what made a lot of these old campaigns good back in the day was the budget they got. Something that we get with things like Godsworn, Tempest Rising or Iron Harvest is not that different from what we got from RTS games outside of WC/SC/SupCom/AoE/C&C family.
There are also logistical hurdles (popular jack of all trades game engines have close to zero support for RTS type games, pathfinding is a very hard problem that is far from solved) and current market promotes multiplatform games which RTS are not which makes it hard to secure proper funding.
July 6, 2025 at 5:08 PM
There are also logistical hurdles (popular jack of all trades game engines have close to zero support for RTS type games, pathfinding is a very hard problem that is far from solved) and current market promotes multiplatform games which RTS are not which makes it hard to secure proper funding.
As for why they aren't as good it is an open question. There was a bit of going after MOBA playerbase which largely has nothing to do with RTS playerbase.
July 6, 2025 at 5:08 PM
As for why they aren't as good it is an open question. There was a bit of going after MOBA playerbase which largely has nothing to do with RTS playerbase.
I like Grant but he is overstating the MP part. AoE4 didn't even launch with a functional ladder and quite clearly going by the cutscenes and stuff campaign got the most love.
RTS problem lies moreso in that they aren't as good as they used to be. Remakes/remasters of old ones sell really well.
RTS problem lies moreso in that they aren't as good as they used to be. Remakes/remasters of old ones sell really well.
July 6, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I like Grant but he is overstating the MP part. AoE4 didn't even launch with a functional ladder and quite clearly going by the cutscenes and stuff campaign got the most love.
RTS problem lies moreso in that they aren't as good as they used to be. Remakes/remasters of old ones sell really well.
RTS problem lies moreso in that they aren't as good as they used to be. Remakes/remasters of old ones sell really well.