Game complication, a detrement to the hobby?

[Lobster]

ORIGINAL: Simulacra53

Actually clones are relatively easy to produce.
Panzer General clones are a dime a dozen today, including on mobile platforms.
Look at XCOM the original series and the current series, again plenty of games that have copied the concept.

So there is little or nothing stopping a company from creating a modern up to date Steel Panthers, except the name.

And no hope of profits.

[Simulacra53]

So you are saying that all those Panzer General clones are generating no profits?
Poor Matrix, they have published Panzer Corps, Panzer Corps 2, Order of Battle and CommanderThe Great War and some more titles of the ilk.
All without any chance of profit?

We have seen Close Combat, no profit? Why produce Bloody First?

Why would a Steel Panther clone / inspired game with up to date graphics generate a loss?

[jmlima]

ORIGINAL: Perturabo
...

But to a point. My huge problem with complexity in wargames is lack of subordinate AI. Why should I have to handle company mortar fires if I'm a regimental commander? Why should I have to oversee movement of every single squad during urban combat?
...

Couple of reasons , that also explain why games like WitP exist. First and foremost, it's bloody difficult to program and nobody in the commercial wargames market has yet succeeded in creating a fully competent subordinate commander. Problem here is that it's not enough that the feature exists, it must be good at what it does otherwise players would moan about incompetent AI making them lose games. Secondly, the (very) vocal minority of players likes to command every single thing and granularity to the extreme. This is no reflection whatsoever on the tastes of the majority players but it's a kind of an echo chamber and is what developers have to go by, these guys scream really loud that you can never have enough detail. On the other hand you also some old school programmers / developers that grew up frustrated at not being able to play CFNA in board format and now spend their entire life trying to get pc wargames ever closer to being able to do so (meanwhile, losing the bulk market that does give a fig about these complex consims, hence perpetuating the niche aspect of pc wargames). But there's hope, there's new stuff coming out that actually does a decent job at these shortcomings (even some fail miserably in other areas, I'm looking at you cmano).

[Lobster]

ORIGINAL: Simulacra53

So you are saying that all those Panzer General clones are generating no profits?
Poor Matrix, they have published Panzer Corps, Panzer Corps 2, Order of Battle and CommanderThe Great War and some more titles of the ilk.
All without any chance of profit?

We have seen Close Combat, no profit? Why produce Bloody First?

Why would a Steel Panther clone / inspired game with up to date graphics generate a loss?

We were talking about steel panthers. [8|]

[Simulacra53]

Ok, that really explains why a game with up to date graphics would fail to generate a profit - thanks for making that clear.

[Anonymous]

[Deleted by Admins]

[Simulacra53]

So Panzer Corps 2 and Close Combat Bloody First are viable, but an updated Steel Panthers is not, right?

I fail to see the logic here, but I am not smart.

[Lobster]

ORIGINAL: Simulacra53

Ok, that really explains why a game with up to date graphics would fail to generate a profit - thanks for making that clear.

Pleased to be of service. [:)]