Planetary Annihilation: Total Annihilation IN SPACE

[Billick]

I do kind of wonder how many people were pushed away from the game "permanently", and how many people are just waiting for the price to drop, or at least wait for the official release.  You can't deny that early access is a pretty hot thing right now, and lots of people are willing to pay extra for it.  Now would I personally pay $90 for an alpha/beta?  Hell no.  But I have a feeling that the extra income from charging more for early access will more than make up for the relatively few people who will never buy the game because of the early pricing.  I honestly don't think that many people are paying that much attention.  The bottom line, I think, is that if the game is good, they are going to come out okay.

[Mick]

I think the price was ridiculous, but not in a way that makes me angry and all boycotty or something. However, it very much did raise my threshold to consider buying it when the game is released.

I dislike the attitude that kickstarter backers have sometimes though, where they feel entitled to be treated like a special class of customer that is forever above all others. I don't like 'exclusives' that are added to games that only backers receive (I'm fine if it's some out of game thing). Things like that pretty much mean I won't purchase that product.

[Misery]

I do kind of wonder how many people were pushed away from the game "permanently", and how many people are just waiting for the price to drop, or at least wait for the official release.  You can't deny that early access is a pretty hot thing right now, and lots of people are willing to pay extra for it.  Now would I personally pay $90 for an alpha/beta?  Hell no.  But I have a feeling that the extra income from charging more for early access will more than make up for the relatively few people who will never buy the game because of the early pricing.  I honestly don't think that many people are paying that much attention.  The bottom line, I think, is that if the game is good, they are going to come out okay.

Yep.

And this developer is lucky that they have such a product being put out, or honestly, this could have damaged them quite a bit.  As it is though, they'll end up with lower profits than what they could have had, which is what happens when you anger consumers.

Still, the number of irritated non-buyers is higher than you might think.  Damn game still comes to mind alot for me because this is usually what I hear about it whenever it's being discussed. It's a big part of why the number of "haters" is still high, even with the price drop now.

My own interest is completely dead though one way or another.

[Cyborg]

They have the ability to wreck planets, which is a huge selling point for me.


They also appear to be a bunch of asshats. I'm not committing one way or the other yet, but I am not going to buy it for anything less than cheap.

[Billick]

Yep.

And this developer is lucky that they have such a product being put out, or honestly, this could have damaged them quite a bit.  As it is though, they'll end up with lower profits than what they could have had, which is what happens when you anger consumers.

Still, the number of irritated non-buyers is higher than you might think.  Damn game still comes to mind alot for me because this is usually what I hear about it whenever it's being discussed. It's a big part of why the number of "haters" is still high, even with the price drop now.

My own interest is completely dead though one way or another.

Well I could be wrong.  I haven't been following the game that closely.  I will note that angry people tend to be more vocal than happy people in this sort of thing.

[Wingflier]

Well, PA just released its official "Galactic War" mode which takes the battle from the solar system level, to a turned-based into real-time galaxy level battle with the AI.

I suppose I'm finally dusting off my Kickstarter Key and giving this game a chance. I wanted to wait for official release but I'm breaking my vow and trying it in "gamma phase" (their words, not mine).

Wish me luck.

[keith.lamothe]

Well, PA just released its official "Galactic War" mode which takes the battle from the solar system level, to a turned-based into real-time galaxy level battle with the AI.

I suppose I'm finally dusting off my Kickstarter Key and giving this game a chance. I wanted to wait for official release but I'm breaking my vow and trying it in "gamma phase" (their words, not mine).

Wish me luck.

I heartily hope you find it enjoyable.  Let me know how it goes as I've also been sitting on my kickstarter keys rather than expend my first-actual-gameplay-impression on a pre-release version.  The Galactic War thing was the biggest piece I was waiting for, though I figured I'd wait until its initial balance and such shook out.

[Mick]

$17 now on Steam... lol

[madcow]

How far off is this from its expected final release? I understand those dates usually slip, but are they saying another year, another half year, just a few months?

[Toranth]

How far off is this from its expected final release? I understand those dates usually slip, but are they saying another year, another half year, just a few months?

Pretty close - they've already started shipping physical copies to retailers, although what they are shipping is labeled "Early Access Edition".  Supposedly all they're doing now is bug fixes and balance tweaks.

Retail MSRP is $49.99, which makes 66% for the Steam Summer Sale a little high of a discount for something not officially released yet... but then again, it's been playable for over a year, to people who were willing to pay for the privilege.

[madcow]

Yeah, that's why I'm tempted by it. You have 40ish hours to convince me

[Wingflier]

IT HAS BEEN RELEASED!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enzglv8sLn8

And I have to say, the launch quality is freaking awesome. Absolutely worth the $100 I spent (to support Uber) and the two year wait. This game is going to keep me busy for a long, long time to come.

As a person who grew up playing Total Annihilation, who always wanted a worthy sequel, and who was disappointed by the SupCom series as a whole, I can honestly say that this game has exceeded all my expectations. I only hope that they keep putting in the time and effort they have so far to make it better and better.

[keith.lamothe]

Glad to hear it   But can I play singleplayer without an internet connection?

[Wingflier]

I don't think so, but why wouldn't you have an internet connection?

[keith.lamothe]

Mine drops periodically, and even if it didn't I'd prefer to avoid the point-of-failure of the server-side losing connection or getting bogged down, etc.