AfterWorld Survival Forum

Huh, didn't know that. So I guess the only work to do to make AW completely open source is to unlock the custom coding that was done and submit it to the Torque 3D GIT? Or do they have third-party add-ins or something that makes it more difficult, I wonder. I've yet to work on any open source project so I'm not sure how AW could only be mostly open source.

I have to admit it, that is a crazy amount of skill levels. I almost have to wonder how the money required to get those skills wasn't enough all by itself to support the whole dev team, LOL.

Right, but these tasks would need to be undertaken to make the game open source as well since the Torque engine is not open source itself.

I think the idea is to model a monthly subscription system after Star Citizen's subscription options. That game has no required subscription fees, yet hundreds (maybe even thousands) of people are paying $15 or more per month just to help fund the game. Those people get early access to some of the upcoming features in the form of a "private" newsletter, but they don't get any in-game benefits since it's a one-time purchase game where everything that can be bought now will be available within the game and obtainable by playing it; i.e., no real special privileges.

Since this game is not a one-time purchase, players who pay a monthly subscription would still get AWD for the dollars, but could also get to vote in closed polls created by the devs for whatever purposes they needed them, just as they used to do with closed testing groups. Giving a monthly donation could guarantee that you are part of the closed testing group(s), but those payments wouldn't be required to be in the group and in-game testing and feedback should still be given greater emphasis and rewards.

But the larger idea is that if the devs knew that they would have a monthly income stream, regardless of what state the game is in during any given month, they could focus their energies and time into development rather than trying to work out deals with outside funding sources - sources that will almost certainly have return on investment goals that are entirely different than our goals as players.


P.S.: I only voted for the $10-$20 per month option because that's what I know I can afford right now. When my finances improve (whenever the hell that is, haha), I'd be more than willing to raise the monthly amount.

I'm eagerly awaiting the response from the other coder as well. I'll enjoy playing AW no matter what the business model!

But Snakeeyes11 makes a good point. How could the game possibly become an RCE if its code is open source? I don't think it would be secure enough for that to work. I wonder if it would be better to instead convert all of the assets and begin anew on a modern engine like Unity. Work could begin using the free Unity engine, then transfer to the Pro version for a one-time purchase of $1500 or a $75 monthly subscription.

Hehe, that would definitely bring them lots of cash, but sadly it doesn't seem like they've worked on that capability at all yet.

imagine this..: AWS as it is now bugged no mining fixed but still u can see how mining works even bugged, hunting the few creatures are around, picking here and there at the edge but u can see how pick works, crafting works ok so far, unbalanced loot but enough to let u see how the trading works ...+ few other things they have to add, the 3 new cities ( as they said those are ready ) new avatar look, few other guns and items they have ready, the cars. And on top of all this, landscapes, concept, beauty of details, dalewj book, wrapped into a good advertise to start the kickstarter....and on the other side the lame games that have raised millions of funds.

Plus the unique crafting system that makes sense, the ability to know very well what will happen when you hunt, mine, or craft with a little bit of effort, yet still have enough variability to keep things exciting. All of these things combine to make a very compelling game that we have all kept playing and investing into. It's really difficult to come to the same conclusion that Anti and the devs have come to, that the game is too buggy to get funded on Kickstarter. Most of the campaigns on Kickstarter are little more than ideas, hopes, and dreams by completely unknown people who have not shown any ability to come through with their goals, yet nearly 40% of all projects are successfully funded.

...despite all the issues they might have inside, I see just these stuffs and to me is enough.

I completely agree. There is absolutely enough for anyone interested to get a very good feel for what this game will become and what the devs are capable of when they have the necessary funding. Yes their timelines have been overly optimistic and their goals have been overly ambitious at times, but in the end you can see what is possible just by playing the game. At the same time, very ambitious goals are exactly what gets people's excitement and anticipation raised up enough for them to become backers, and being able to experience what they've done so far on what is effectively a shoestring budget will make many people say