ORIGINAL: VCDH
Scenarios hosted by Matrix, using Matrix hosted DBs are the responsibility of Matrix and should be rebuilded [sic] by them.
That has been the model for the Harpoon community for many years. Each database author posts his database to his personal fan site and nowhere else. Does this mean that no other arrangement can work? I certainly hope not.
Seventeen months ago, when StrategyZoneOnline [nee WarfareHQ] decided to establish a Harpoon forum to support the community, there was much trepidation and anxiety over fears that an established company like WHQ would be competition and come to dominate the Harpoon arena. Despite all the reassurances from WHQ management that they was not in competition with other Harpoon fan sites, some sites continued to worry and agitate. Today, everyone can see that their fears were for naught.
In fact, visitation and membership in all other Harpoon fora has risen! Some sites had only 40-50 daily visitors but now have 60-70 in the same period. Sure, SZO has around 100 members and unregistered visitors regularly dropping through every day, but that doesn't mean they are competing with anyone. They just attract the most eyeballs because they already have a huge membership. And when folks visit SZO, they find links to visit other Harpoon fan sites.
SZO has led the way by having a file archive totally open to the membership and it has the largest selection of Harpoon scenarios on the entire internet. Anyone and everyone can post their scenarios or database without fear or restriction to the archive of the biggest and busiest fansite for Harpoon. Quite a feat for a 17 month-old project.
Just as SZO blazed the way with a new concept, so, too, can Matrix. The old World thinking of one database / fansite is just that, Old World. Matrix is about to open the door on Multi-player, why continue to live in the old World?
For Matrix to focus solely on H4DB is very limited thinking. SZO has proven without a shadow of doubt that an open file archive can be a resounding success. As with any business, they are in it to make money. What better way to expand their fan base than to show visitors a huge archive of FREE scenarios? At present, there are about 300 Harpoon 3 scenarios posted around the web. If the price of ANW is in the $70 range and a potential new customer sees 300 free scenarios, even if he only expects to play one-third of them, that translates to less than $1 / game. Do you think that he's going to buy ANW?
Having an archive built around one single database, H4DB, would be akin to renting a billboard for a single Post-It note or visiting a buffet for just the breadsticks. With all the different 'flavours' of databases out there, why limit yourself to just one? Of course there are always going to be folks who just can't bear to 'lose' control of their work so they will continue to hide in their caves in hopes that frequent spam on the various fora will produce a sufficient trickle of new visitors for them.
