Game Development: Haven & Hearth on Steam

[pawnchito]

heavy world 8 monetization vibes except jorb speaks corporate now

viewtopic.php?f=39&t=39686&p=528201#p528201

surely that model was great and well received right?

[grumgrumganoe]

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[irongete]

Doing a Steam release to get more attention on the game is fine.
However, please make sure everything is done so that it is as successful as it can be.

You really only release the game on Steam once, and it will be where most new people will see the game and try it out. Therefore, it is best to have everything ready and as best as it can be before launching it on Steam.
If the Steam release is a failure, why even bother to release it in the first place? So everyone who tries it knows not to play the game ever again?

Here's a list of what can impact the Steam release:

Poor new player experience - UI and tutorials
UI and the initial learning experience should be improved to be as best as possible. Most people will give up easily, won't tolerate learning Haven's learning curve.

Poor new player experience - Player on player interaction
Is a tricky topic as open pvp will always have implications on new player's interactions regardless of how much it is changed to accomodate for this.
Partial solutions should be looked into but it's not a major priority.

Server stability
An always online game not being online on launch is not the best first look for a new player. Please ensure stress testing is done as well as prepare a plan B and a plan C in case the main world gets too many players. Be it improved servers or hosting another world that is linked through the ocean. The MMO market can be very unpredictable and the game can get a lot of new players, at least for the first few days.

Current playerbase disillusionment
Ensure the current active playerbase is happy with the Steam release or at least neutral. These are what are going to give the game a bump on wishlists and active players in the beginning. To have people willingly move to the Steam version, it should offer a better experience than what we currently have.
For example: Market integration with hats; Steam trading cards; Steam backgrounds; Steam Workshop for addons and clients; Steam Achievements; Better account and alt account management with a single Steam account.
What not to do: Release Steam only worlds as it will likely only sour the playerbase, essentially forcing them to play on Steam. Not to mention being completely separate accounts.


My Recommendation:

Make sure the game is ready to be on Steam, regardless of how long it takes, the release only happens once.
Release workshop tools, let custom clients be moved into Steam Workshop and host tests for players to use them.
Be it either a test server (which probably won't get much attention) or on the active world, In case Steam and Seatribe accounts are allowed to connect to the same world.
Supporting the Steam client as an option to play the same world as our current launchers is the most ideal scenario as it would allow the Steam version be properly tested, achievements, workshop, etc... before it gets into the wider public.
This could be done by hosting a Beta branch on steam and giving access to current players. Alternatively a playtest version could also be hosted.
A playtest is also a good way to soft launch the game as people can sign in and developers can allow access to a determined amount of players, doing staggered access giveaways and preventing the servers from dying.
Some UI and new user experience updates should be performed to get it as ready as possible for launch.
When the Steam version is deemed stable, an Early Access launch can happen along with a wipe. There is NO reason to do a proper full launch, Early Access gets same visibility and Haven and Hearth is not complete, it is eternally in Alpha.
Include more images on the Steam store page as well as more videos as one is (if I remember correctly) not good enough for the Steam algorithm. I suggest doing or having someone do a simple early game speedrun walkthrough up until claim/pallisade. The current video gives the game's vibes but doesn't really show or explain how it plays and how the progression happens.

If it takes too long to prepare this Steam release, please do not push it, do smaller wipes, test the new wipe cycle, have the current players test the Steam version and have it completely ready for release.

Right now, from what I have seen, it looks like this Steam release is set for failure, not success.
Simply doing a w16 and just releasing it on Steam while letting players choose to play with Steam or Seatribe accounts would be setting it up for a neutral outcome.

this, please

[Noogia]

I don't mind a steam release tbh I think the game will weed out those who like it or not. 3-4 months seems to short though im thinking 6 months would be better so you can actually develop something.

[delirus]

AWESOME!!!!

Will we be able to have private worlds where we can play peacefully with friends at our own speed?

[heros101]

Not rly an active forum user but i have been playing haven every world - going straight to the topic I have been quite hyped for the world reset but after hearing that i literally cannot play with my old accounts there is no point in playing. Using default client is kinda gross and obviously steam make multiboxing not that feasible. I think the best option would be allowing people to connect to steam servers using their own clients and seatribe accounts

[Lurux]

Will the size of W16 be adapted to an expected extension of the population?

What about server capacity?

[Dawidio123]

Will the size of W16 be adapted to an expected extension of the population?

What about server capacity?

I mean what's the expected population? I wouldn't expect hafen to get that much more ppl honestly unless some big streamer talks about it or something of the sort. I feel like the devs were kinda mislead into thinking steam is some sort of free huge exposure while right now you cannot even search for it in the app (At least i can't).
They did discuss the topic of more servers in the case the game really got big.

[ctopolon4]

World duration
6month. realms at d30. no 7d timers(mine cheese animals crops hunger curios). rework fkn credos already(1-7d timed 0-100rnd expgrow slotmachine sucks). less str req for l9 quartz. rare spawn gold&silver boulders at volcanoes
Separate steam accounts
can merge it later when earn some cash, but it should be done. you also can make steam only vanilla_client & easyAntiCheat to see how many normal players wanna play your game

[jock2]

Will the size of W16 be adapted to an expected extension of the population?

What about server capacity?

The server cap on new hardware is 3k max.


Glad your moving to the 6 month worlds, with this focus development on two things:

-content designed from months 4-6 new content that expands gameplay
-user interface and experience - start with cleaning up the combat interface and brining in some minimum damage against pve no mater the colour(inefficient but at least shows you did something).