A Proposal to the Devs

[erichswafford]

I'm writing to you as a customer and as someone who's been playing Harpoon in its various guises since 1989 (on my Amiga, of all things). I last played the game many years ago (approx. 5-7), but recently got the urge to revisit one of my favorite subjects - modern naval warfare.

The reason I'm writing is because I found the present state of affairs re: Harpoon to be less than desirable. I really wanted to play the newest iteration of Harpoon2 (which I now know became Harpoon3 when it was ported to modern OS's), but found that the version with the most community support can no longer be found. Anywhere. That would be 3.6.3.

I'm downloading ANW right now from Matrix, so I'm really hopeful that it works well.

I realize you are working hard to bring ANW up to the level of stability possessed by 3.6.3, but - in the meantime - is there any way you could consider including 3.6.3 when a person purchases ANW? Just as a "fall-back" so I could use my favorite 3rd-party database, for instance.

I think you would generate quite a few sales, judging by the number of people on the forums trying desperately to find a copy of 3.6.3. It would also show a lot of good-will to a very small and close-knit community - which would surely be in your best interest.

By preventing people from obtaining 3.6.3 (even if they want to pay for it like I do), and forcing them to go with ANW, you are simply decreasing your sales.

So I had an idea: include 3.6.3 and call it "ANW Classic" if you like. That would allow customers like me to try out both the cool new features in your ongoing ANW releases, while maintaining a "tried and true" version that was 100% compatible with all the 3rd-party add-ons/mods out there.

Please, please give this some serious thought. I'm just a naval warfare enthusiast and I have no axe to grind or anything. I just want both you guys and Harpoon to succeed, and I really think this would help tremendously.

Sincerely,

Maj. Erich Swafford USAF MC

[rsharp@advancedgamin]

Howdy Major Swafford,

Thanks for your patronage and input. Thanks for your continuing interest in our game as well.

I'll assert that the most community support goes to the latest version of Harpoon. The HUD3 (Darren Buckley's database) is made for the latest version (3.9.4). Also, the PDB, releases scenarios for both 3.6.3 and 3.9. These two databases are the most actively supported databases out there.

Community support is something we enjoy but it is not something we can depend on. We only have the resources to deal with one version of Harpoon 3 at a time.

Your idea is interesting and the best one I've heard in a long time. However, we're committed to moving forward and will continue to do so.

Since you've already purchased ANW, I recommend you update to the latest version yourself and make your own call before subscribing to anyone else's opinion. What do you think is missing community support-wise?

Thanks and I hope you continue to enjoy the game,

[hermanhum]

ORIGINAL: kondor999

I realize you are working hard to bring ANW up to the level of stability possessed by 3.6.3, but - in the meantime - is there any way you could consider including 3.6.3 when a person purchases ANW? Just as a "fall-back" so I could use my favorite 3rd-party database, for instance.

I think you would generate quite a few sales, judging by the number of people on the forums trying desperately to find a copy of 3.6.3. It would also show a lot of good-will to a very small and close-knit community - which would surely be in your best interest.

By preventing people from obtaining 3.6.3 (even if they want to pay for it like I do), and forcing them to go with ANW, you are simply decreasing your sales.

I agree with your line of reasoning, Major. $50 is $50. As long as the same amount of money ends up in Matrix and AGSI pockets, what does it matter what the customer gets (H3 or ANW)?

I've never subscribed to the notion that the customer is always right, but I believe that the paying customer is always right.

There are other games that continue to sell (i.e. Dangerous Waters) even though they have no official support from the developers and rely solely upon community initiatives. All the developers do is continue to sell their game and cash their royalty cheques. [8D]

[erichswafford]

I'd go so far as to say I'd happily pay for a "Deluxe" version that contained both 3.6.3 and the latest iteration of ANW.  $75 would be reasonable and a useful source of extra income for AGSI.

Anyway, I've just installed 3.9.4 and I'm re-learning how to play...