Your thoughts: retail multiplayer ofp addon

[The_Captain 0]

Here's the deal, I've often heard a lot of rumblings about how people feel that retail addons are a bunch of hooey. Well, I'm just letting you all know about mine, because I'd love to hear your thoughts. Before I say anything more, I'm going to mention that all my meager profits are going right to maintaining official servers, so don't bitch about evil people making money off of unsuspecting fans. This multiplayer addon is going on a campaign disc, with 3 good quality campaigns. (I'm not promising the campaigns are as kickass as the BIS ones, but they are worth your time). The pack should retail for around $15. Another note: There are NO addons included on the cd, the map uses original flashpoint content. However, addon packs will be released later.

Here's the official box blurb:

HOMELAND SECURITY

The Ultimate Terrorist vs. Black Op. Multiplayer Battleground

Team oriented, class based online warfare

Gameplay: Earn funding for equipment by making kills, completing objectives, and winning scenarios

Scenarios: Play Five minute rounds grouped into themed scenarios, with custom ten minute finale missions with unique objectives

Objectives: Defuse/place the bomb, capture/rescue hostages, VIP assassination, steal inteligence, and more!

Mission Generator: Creates randomized scenrios on the fly for the ultimate in replayability

Classes: Six unique player classes: Officer, Commando, Recon, Sniper, Heavy, Demolitions

Equipment: Purchase all flashpoint weapons and vehicles: Berettas to jeeps to grenade launchers

Abilities: Set up machine gun nests, call in laser guided air strikes, parachute behind enemy lines, snipe from helicopters, purchase and lead convoys of vehicles

Dynamic Updates: Instantly download updates, keeping game balanced and adding new features

Description of classes:

Officer: Limited weapon choices, (ak47/gl or M16/GL) but leads players into battle, buys vehicles and interventions (parchute respawns of dead players, ammo crates, air strikes) at the beginning of rounds, and calls in interventions during gameplay

Commando: Has cheapest rifles, and can carry lots of extra clips, (others usu. 4), weapons limited to rifles, sidearms grenades, and a law in later rounds. For an extra charge, can choose to parachute over the objective rather than landing at insertion zone like other players. Only unit to have AA launcher

Recon: Can heal other players, and carries GPS locator which pinpoints enemy locations within 50-150m to all friendly units nearby (must buy upgrades to increase range). Weapons limited to grenades, smokers, and silenced smgs. Has cheapest NVG's/binoculars. Can buy laser designators to call in airstrikes (officer must approve and send them though)

Heavy: Weapon choices limited to M60/pk and sidearms. By default carries two sandbags he can deploy. Can buy A/V mines. Can buy M2 .50 machine gun which he can deploy/pack up anywhere. Only unit to get skorpion in round 1. Can pay extra to be gunner in orbiting blackhawk, or use 20mm grenade turret on a cessna.

Sniper: Weapons limited to HK G3/Fn Fal, sidearms, and m21/dragunov. Can buy 'cloaking' device which hides him from recon GPS for 15 seconds/30 seconds/60 seconds (based on upgrade).

Demo: Explosives! Gets access to AT launcher, LAW/rpg before other classes, rotational grende launcher, M16/AK with underslung, and gets hand grenades in round 1. Also gets time bombs and satchels. w00t!

Because of time issues, the map will take place on the island Nogova, with rural north european terrorists. 4 New islands/locations will be added in the future. I'm planning in the future to include addon content from *consenting* addon authors that will be available for free download by anyone, ("Counter Terrorist Compilation Pack, etc.) but will be mainly utilized as serverside addon packages that are used exclusively by the map. The packages I'm planning are: Ultimate Weapon Upgrade (50-60 new kickass weapons), Desert Warfare, Jungle Warfare, Urban Warfare, Arctic Warfare. The goal of those packages would be to expand use of really damn cool addons in multiplayer, as well as facilitate gameplay. Some of these addons are just really damned awesome, and they aren't used outside of clans or groups of friends in multiplayer. The idea is NOT to 'make money' off of other's hard work, but to make the addons a larger part of the general public's OFP experience.

Now, you probably ask why it's going retail instead of being just for free:

1) To maintain balanced gameplay, there need to be official servers that download the content to player's machines. 1 Server is manageable in the cash department, but 5-10 a month can put a drain on the pocket book.

2) To actually use the addon packs I outlined, there have to be, once again, at least one server per package so folks actually use them online. Otehrwise, the addons would never get used. More $$.

3) I'm putting up at *least* one free beta server, which has a slightly feature limited version of the map so people can try it out and play for completely free, no addons required to play.

4) If it goes retail, that means a larger audience gets the chance to play it, rather than just the people that peruse a website and download a map.

I'd really like to hear your thoughts. Once I work a few more bugs out, I'll set up my public beta server.

[Aaron Kane 0]

Sounds cool. But I dont play multiplayer, so....

*runs away*

[Placebo 29]

And do you have Bis'/CM's permission to make money from their game?

Addons and mods belong strangely enough in the addons and mods forum

Moving to A&M