Future of Capitalism Lab

[WilliamMGary]

1. Will Capitalism Lab still be developed in concurrent with the "new game"
2. Will Capitalism Lab have DLCs of its own just not the city economics
3. Will there be a specialized DLC for Capitalism Lab that ports some of the features from the city economic game where it makes sense?
4. Will Capitalism Lab + Subsidiaries be the last development other than bug fixes for the game?
5. Will there be an effort to include missing features (see my post here) to the subsidiary DLC
4. Are the devs open to a financial DLC for Capitalism Lab that provides some long wanted features (tender offers, bonds)
5. Will improvements to the AI continue being made.

What's the plan for Capitalism Lab doesn't seem to have been determined and/or communicated to us other than we will get a subsidiary DLC.

[David]

I think these all depend on 1) user feedback to the latest development/features 2) whether it makes business sense for the company to do that.

User feedback and preferences are important. But at the same time, as a company, we also have to make decisions that make business sense in order to stay in the business for the long haul. (In other words, we cannot develop something that 1) nobody wants to play or 2) nobody wants to buy, or 3) too few people want to buy, or 4) dev costs are higher than the projected sale incomes.)

A lot of these elements are dynamic, so we will constantly analyze and adapt to the latest market realities and make changes to our plans if necessary.

[rhoussami]

Dave,

I agree with you, i think a launch on steam will help sales and going multiplayer will definitely increase sales. i would love to introduce this to many of my friends that i know would play it for sure. The first question they ask me, is it multiplayer i say no they are not interested.

I think we should poll and see who would pay monthly to have multiplayer to support you guys to keep bringing updates! You guys have hands down the best business simulator on the market today! ive played MANY and nothing comes close to this!

those are my thoughts!

[azxcvbnm321]

I think there is very little interest in multiplayer. With games like this that take A LONG time, only a very few hardcore players ever end up using the multiplayer on a regular basis. A lot of people say that they want to play, but I bet you that you and your friends will play and try out the multiplayer, but won't bother to do it again after a little while. Games can take weeks to months to finish and most people aren't going to be dedicated enough to find the time to set aside so that both are available to play. And there's zero chance two randoms will play more than one session (a few hours at best), which means they'll barely be into the game before someone has to go and the game ends. Hell, it's hard enough in GTA V to find someone who will stick around for 20 minutes and that game has tens of thousands online at any given point.

I also don't think multiplayer will get someone to purchase this game that wouldn't purchase it otherwise. This is a good business simulation that doesn't have a decent competitor. People who are interested in this type of game will buy it for the single player.

I think that the developers should spend their time and effort on improving single player as much as possible. Multiplayer would be a good addition only if there were literally nothing else for the developers to do.

[David]

There is an indirect competition system among friends called Challenge Game.

You may take a look at it if you are interested:
http://www.capitalismlab.com/challenge-games.html

[WilliamMGary]

Everybody who wants multiplayer dead pans the challenge games. I find it interesting that the company decided to invest in a new game concept instead of extending Capitalism Lab and/or putting effort into multiplayer....this is just a curious decision that I'm bearish on but we will see how it plays out.

[rhoussami]

i think your very wrong about multiplayer, my friends and i play monopoly tycoon multiplayer and we have been playing for YEARS... i think the community is so tight that we would be able to set aside sometime to play multiplayer. Challenge games are fun but i like competing against my friend live!! anyway its just a thought and this game doesint have competition, You can always add LAN. Capitalism 2 had lan, and if you go on game ranger ul find people playing and opening rooms all the time. Its a BIG missing aspect of this game, whats the best part of business simulation is playing against human players!

things i love about this game, is that the developer actually listens to us, its the best thing ive ever experienced as a gamer. I write something in the post he actually reads it and if its good enough he will emplement it. Dont change that, id rather support you financially then EA sports who doesint care about my concerns.

Just a thought!

[David]

Everybody who wants multiplayer dead pans the challenge games. I find it interesting that the company decided to invest in a new game concept instead of extending Capitalism Lab and/or putting effort into multiplayer....this is just a curious decision that I'm bearish on but we will see how it plays out.

Our analysis of the situation is the same as what azxcvbnm321 has written. Besides, the cost of developing and maintaining multiplayer is extremely high, and there is no way that we could break even.

It is just a normal business decision that favor allocation of resources into something that has a chance of breaking even and making a profit, as opposite investing into something else that will consume a lot of resources and end up losing money.

Actually we have brought up this perspective long time ago and I am just reiterating it.

One more thing: The challenge game system is being used with good results in educational uses: http://www.capitalismlab.com/forum/view ... 856#p14768

[brianwiz]

I will add.. When I first started playing this game I never really understand how to build a business. Educational wise this is great for students.

[WilliamMGary]

I will add.. When I first started playing this game I never really understand how to build a business. Educational wise this is great for students.

I couldn't figure out how to play the game until I read the manual for Capitalism II...it was worth while for me to do.