Officially Bundling With Steam?

[Tarvis]

Out of curiosity, have any of you devs considered contacting 2K for them to perhaps include OpenXcom with the game on Steam, now that we're so close to a 1.0 release? I feel that at this point, there is absolutely no reason to play the DOS (or Windows) version.

I feel that this, combined with maybe other silly things like official achievements could convince many people to buy this again, now that it isn't clunky using DOSBOX with questionable speed, and guaranteed to work on any of the 3 PC platforms. I think a feature as simple as using 2x the base resolution for Battlescape makes the game a whole lot better looking, even in today's eyes.

It's an update about on par with AoEII HD, and I'd say even better due to public mod support. I'd say even using Steam Workshop is a possibility.

[Hythlodaeus]

Personally I think the Steam package should include both OXC and DosBOX.

[Qpoter]

Personally I think the Steam package should include both OXC and DosBOX.

What possible reason would you have for using DOSBox instead of OpenXcom? If you just want nostalgia, the original data files are still there, just download DOSBox manually and run the game with that.

[Solarius Scorch]

I don't really think having any sort of relationship with corporations is such a great idea.

If someone wants OpenXCom, they can download it on their own.

[Warboy1982]

you kidding? I freakin love valve.
though i agree this project may not belong on steam, i'd love to have any kind of association with them regardless.

[Solarius Scorch]

you kidding? I freakin love valve.
though i agree this project may not belong on steam, i'd love to have any kind of association with them regardless.

Well, considering OpenXCom is free, it may not be so bad.
But the fact they take away such a huge percentage of profit from sold games makes them look... controversial in my opinion.
Also, I don't trust such companies one bit, but that's beside the point.

[yrizoud]

If somebody has the right to distribute (sell) the original game data, nothing prevents them from making a bundle with OpenXCOM. They can do any modifications to the program, as long as they keep the source modifications public.

[moriarty]

pro: I guess that Steam is the only way to obtain the game legally these days, right? Or at least the only convenient legal way, which is kind of the same thing. So it would make sense - fans of the game will get something extra, and openxcom gets publicity.

con: if people get something on Steam, they expect something finished. OpenXcom is probably never going to be finished. I don't mean that in a bad way, like "this is never going to be good", but in the best way: "this is always going to get even better". I don't know if that's what people would expect, and that means disappointment followed by stupid posts in the forum...

[Warboy1982]

yeah, you make a good point about a finished product, and that this project may never end, but that's the nature of art and passion.
that said, they WERE looking at putting minecraft on steam, and that thing is still years from completion, so i don't think the expectation is that high.

[alienfood]

A relationship with Steam would be big kudos, if nothing else, for the developers who have put a great deal of effort into this. It would probably be worth their while pursuing it.

[Sharp]

well OXC already has the Julian Gollop seal (twitter message) of approval so I don't think the devs need any more accolades really.

[Tarvis]

Well, considering OpenXCom is free, it may not be so bad.
But the fact they take away such a huge percentage of profit from sold games makes them look... controversial in my opinion.

Well, every distributor does that. And quite frankly, Valve has a very good deal compared to other distributors.

But as for overall project completion, I think 1.0 would be a good enough landmark for a "complete" version. Each update since then can just be any stable release, released as a patch.

Personally I think the Steam package should include both OXC and DosBOX.

I don't think there's any reason to play it, but yeah, I agree it could be thrown in just because it's the original. Duke Nukem 3D on Steam does this, if you right click the game in the library it has an option for launching the DOSBOX version instead.

I hear the Descent games (currently running thru DOSBOX) are also getting an 'official' upgrade, possibly based on DXX-Rebirth.


But anyway, my thoughts for the 'official' bundling wouldn't just be for the sake of having it to begin with (though that would be nice, since it runs a lot better out of the box than DOSBOX does with much less configuring) but rather the frontpage attention such a Steam release could bring.

Now that a lot of people have played the new XCOM and Enemy Within and enjoyed it, they could be wondering (or perhaps not even knew) about the original, and then if they suddenly see a modernized (in technical aspects, you know what I mean) release with higher-resolution support, mod support, and loads of bugfixes appear on the Steam front page, they probably can't help but give it a shot.

All I know is, things like AoEII HD and Duke 3D Megaton (and that one in particular is an open-source port as well) and the like have been very successful, and they don't improve much more than OpenXcom does.

[Qpoter]

OpenXcom could really use some publicity, and this would be just the way to bring in tons of new players, or those who have only played XCOM 2012. On a side note, however, there really needs to be some sort of tutorial function, as the game can easily become overwhelming to new players.

[Solarius Scorch]

Tutorial is always good. As long as it's optional of course.

[Tarvis]

Yeah, such a feature could be done by just having a button in the "New Game" screen. Of course, implementing this would take a lot of work and certainly wouldn't be ready by 1.0. That is, if it was an interactive tutorial and not just a few text screens explaining things. The former would be ideal, though.

But yeah, I could help plan out the actual tutorial when/if it comes time for it. I think the best way would be to have a simple prefab base (1 Skyranger hangar, 1 Interceptar hangar, the access lift, 1 barracks and 1 stores, and no soldiers/gear pre-owned.

Then, popup messages & greyed out menu options would direct the player to buy soldiers and weapons, then go back to the Geoscape to wait out time until they arrive. Then go through equipping them.

Then teach players about building facilities by having them build a lab and manufacturing plant, ordering scientists/engineers, and researching/building something simple like a Medkit.

After that, go back to the Geoscape and have a drone appear for teaching the player about Intercepting and shooting it down. After it's destroyed, have an "enemy base" appear that's just a prefab battlescape training course, and explain how to send soldiers there.

Then once landed, direct the player how to move/select units (by having one move to a specific tile) and then teach facing directions, opening doors, throwing grenades, shooting, things like that.

To keep it lore-friendly, it can all be set up as a training exercise, where no aliens are encountered yet. Targets are just wood targets or something similar. That way after completing the tutorial, your first real battles are still scary and stressful and you still get to have to figure a lot of things out on your own.