Will AE make WITP obsolete?

[Gem35]

Original: Gem35

It's just like games out in the mainstream markets today.
Take Sid Meir's Civilization series.
I own Civ III and there is several expansion packs for that game such as "play the world"( an online version of the game) and "conquests".

Each expansion was marketed and sold individually but you cannot play "play the world" or "conquests" without first having original vanilla Civ III installed.
It happens ALOT with PC games, you have a great game/idea and then because it is so popular for so long, add-ons are made for it and we all enjoy it more.

There are other games that have expansions that are "stand alone" such as Disciples II, I think there are at least 3 flavors of that game and each is a stand alone game(priced accordingly I might add).
My answer to the OP's question would be yes, WitP would be obsolete if adding on AE, I would never go and play original vanilla Civ III ever again since I now have 2 expansions for it that make it a "complete" game.

The additions/features from the expansions raise the fun-level of the game to the effect that while knowing they are in place and available would cause me to not like playing without those additions and game features.

ORIGINAL: sanch

Think about it from the company's point of view.

First, they depend upon sales to recoup the up-front cost of developing the game. And, if they're smart, they will have enough money to fund some number of patches.

But, after a while, it is no longer viable to fund more patches (bug fixes and/or new features). WitP has been for 4 years now, and I suspect they have hit this point.

So the solution is an expansion pack. Fix the bugs, throw in some more features, and get some money to pay for it. I see this trend with several other games/companies as well. It's all about how to finance on-going fixes and features.

And of course, there's also that old adage: When you install a new version, you are simply trading in a set of known bugs for a set of unknown bugs.

well, there you have it, the galss half-full and the glass half-empty.
back to Bristol and our ESPN Studio.....[;)]
Either way....
WHEN IS IT DUE !!!!!!!!!!!!!![&o]
[;)]

[Hornblower]

No copy of AE under the fathers day tree..  maybe 4th of July basket??? 

[SuluSea]

I'm a huge fan of what the staff does here but on some level this doesn't feel right. Maybe it could be that I don't own WITP and to play AE it would require me to purchase both. If AE cost 50 dollars or more I feel I paid you for a game. Hopefully there will be some kind of package deal for the people that have never played either. If not I'll keep hammering away at UV which I have 2 copies supplementing it with Carriers At War untill someday in the future I catch one on Ebay at a reasonable price.

Have a great day all!!!!!![:)]

[String]

It's an expansion for gods sake. It needs the core files from WitP to function. Would you like to pay even more for it so you could play it as a stand alone? How would the current witp owners feel about that?

[SuluSea]

I have 2 copies of UV, if and when Carrier Force comes out and its a stand alone, repackaged and upgraded version of UV it wouldn't bother me at all but then again I'm not selfish. I've already recieved hours upon hours of fun for my cash I plunked down.

It's just a hunch but I'd imagine that Matrix would hope to target a wider audience than just the people who currently own WITP. I imagine it's good business practice to try and expand the customer base. The folks who have already paid cash for WITP , I'm sure they've had plenty of fun in return for their entertainment dollar. I was just speaking my opinion from a non owner of WITP, at some point [ and the figure is different for everyone] the cost becomes prohibitive. There are many titles to chose from by many developers to be raked over the coals for one game. I'm not saying that will be the case, nobody knows until the details of the release are known.

[Nomad]

ORIGINAL: SuluSea

I'm a huge fan of what the staff does here but on some level this doesn't feel right. Maybe it could be that I don't own WITP and to play AE it would require me to purchase both. If AE cost 50 dollars or more I feel I paid you for a game. Hopefully there will be some kind of package deal for the people that have never played either. If not I'll keep hammering away at UV which I have 2 copies supplementing it with Carriers At War untill someday in the future I catch one on Ebay at a reasonable price.

Have a great day all!!!!!![:)]

Why should those who didn't buy WitP get a deal? How about those of us who bought it day one and therby supported it the whole way? What a crybaby. [:@]

[SuluSea]

ORIGINAL: Nomad

ORIGINAL: SuluSea

I'm a huge fan of what the staff does here but on some level this doesn't feel right. Maybe it could be that I don't own WITP and to play AE it would require me to purchase both. If AE cost 50 dollars or more I feel I paid you for a game. Hopefully there will be some kind of package deal for the people that have never played either. If not I'll keep hammering away at UV which I have 2 copies supplementing it with Carriers At War untill someday in the future I catch one on Ebay at a reasonable price.

Have a great day all!!!!!![:)]

Why should those who didn't buy WitP get a deal? How about those of us who bought it day one and therby supported it the whole way? What a crybaby. [:@]

If you paid full price when the game was relatively new good for you. Myself, I don't think its worth 80 bucks for a 4 year old game that I may or may not care for.

[wworld7]

Guys,

Let it go. These issue(s) have been hashed and re-rashed many times since the AE announcement.

At some point prior to AE's release Matrix will announce the pricing details they have decided upon (including of course any package deals new players hope for).

What will be will be.

[Feinder]

Naturally, I have no idea what the official plans are, but as with every "expansion" that I can think of,
 
it (usually) eventually gets bundled..
 
It usually takes a while.  But consider in the examples above..
Civ2 + Civ2 scen pack = Civ2 gold.
Civ3 + Civ3 scen pack + Play the World = Civ3 Gold.
Same for a host of other games.
 
It's not something I'd hold my breath for.  But eventually things turn flat and it's easier to bundle them together to squeeze the last of the water from the sponge.  But Matrix has certainly got a right to make everything they can off WitP and AE (separately); that's just the way our economy works.
 
-F-

[Gem35]

We need Robert to post one of his "beat a dead horse" smileys.[;)]

[aciddrinker]

ohh well i have hope that AE will be stand alone version, becouse im not playing at this moment WitP, and dont have even idea where is CD whit WitP.

[Nomad]

ORIGINAL: Gem35

We need Robert to post one of his "beat a dead horse" smileys.[;)]

Will this one do?

[Cmdrcain]

ORIGINAL: Mike Solli

ORIGINAL: bradfordkay

Not really... AE doesn't depend upon the version of WITP that you have, it only requires that you have WITP.

What?! You mean I have to keep a game on my computer that I'll probably never play (after my last PBEM ends) just to play AE? That's ridiculous.

Civ III required it be installed to use any expansion packs [:'(]

Civ IV also requires same

Theres other Games that require original version be installed to install expansions [:'(]

[madgamer2]

Back to square one dude. You now have WitP,RIGHT?...right.
You buy AE
you can simply alter your present WitP by installing AE...and....wella it is now AE
You can also make a copy of your CURRENT WitP game and install AE on either the original or the copy version
You will now have BOTH the AE expansion version AND the old WitP version.

As to support for WitP (old version) I think not as the company has spent time money and resources on AE and now should look ahead to other projects. I would say you have a better chance of WitZP II than support for the old version after release of AE.
Consider the following:
The design team could have reached a point where they could like other companies release many patch's for a game like WitP but perhaps saw the writing on the water so to speak. What WitP needed was either a second new version or a expansion pack like AE. I think if they could have seen where they would be 7 months after the announcement of AE they might have gone the other way and with other games they might do just that. I am sure this whole project has been a learning experience for the design team and Matrix games as well, to say nothing of the many player out there like me. I comend them for sticking to there guns and doing what they set out to do. What ever AE is or is not it will have my support and thanks.

Madgamer

[madgamer2]

you have hit on something that I find very interesting. There will be folks that want to play AE but do not own WitP.
Matrix being the company they are could do several or more than one of the following.
1 continue to sell WitP & AE separately
2. Sell the 2 together at a special deal
3. release a version of AE that DOES NOT need the original WitP.
4. continue to support both WitP & AE
5. At some point release a WitP II which would need nither of the other 2 to be purchased
6. release a WitP II that would need AE to install
The choices stated here are not the only ones but just the ones I can think of. The release of AE is a whole new concept because it will install a separate version of the WitP game ONLY IF it finds a version of WitP all ready presently installed. Now there are those who will say that this makes AE a new version of the game because it creates a new game from the old version. I wonder if other companies will follow this lead in future releases? I comend Matrix for supporting there products the way they do. To many times a company's official game web site will only support the CURRENT version of there game. In a sense we are entering in an unchartered area here but in no sense of the word do I feel that Matrix is out to make some quick $$$$ ort is trying to get money from us in some unethical way. I will buy and support this company come what may because I believe they have the gamer's interest at heart

Madgamer

[bradfordkay]

It was announced a while ago that there will be at least one more patch for WITP, to be released sometime after AE is released. I haven't heard of any changes to those plans, have you?