Stardock Magazine: June 2017

This edition of Stardock Magazine brings you an editorial from Brad Wardell, Fences on Steam, a huge update for Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, and more. Stardock Magazine June 2017 By Brad Wardell (@draginol) Contents: • The changing PC market • Galactic Civilizations III: Crusade released • Software on Steam • Offworld Trading Company: Jupiter's Forge • Object Desktop • Cool stuff from WinCustomize.com Editorial: The Changing PC Market If you're a consumer of software, this is a golden age. If you're a software developer, the world has gone upside down. The issue has become one of discoverability. When I founded Stardock while in college, there was only one way to reliably reach the general public: You put your software in a box and got it on retail shelves. 23 year old me was thrilled to see something I made on the shelves of CompUSA, Micro Center, Electronics Boutique. My lovely wife would take pictures of me at various stores holding a box of Galactic Civilizations® or OS/2 Essentials or Object Desktop™. Promoting your software was similarly straightforward. If it was software, there were a few magazines to get into. I used to write for Game Developer back in the 90s. Miller Freeman would pay me $1,500 an article (in 1993 dollars) to write about game development. PC Magazine, PC World, Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, Infoworld and a handful of other paper magazines, all located in San Francisco (except PC Magazine which was in New York) made it easy for a kid to scrape the money to promote his software and/or game. This substantial barrier to entry reduced consumer options but at the same time, weeded out a lot of the chaff. It wasn't better, it was just simpler. Fast forward to today: The PC market is little different than the app-store except in some ways worse as there is no centralized place to get your software. On games, you have Steam® and GOG and Humble Bundle and GMG but there's no equivalent for software. Having a massive store is no panacea either. How do you even find something on Steam these days? I'm reduced to surfing YouTube to see what the Let's Play people are playing to decide if I want to buy it and that still means 99% of the treasures go missing. One of my favorite games, FTL, got in at Steam before the floodgates were opened. I've wondered how FTL would do if released now. The games market is both huge and tiny simultaneously. It's huge but spread thin over many games. While multiple titles fight for the space 4X scene, all of them combined make less money than Start8® did. Last year, the PC game market grew slightly in terms of revenue but it was spread over nearly twice as many titles. That means there will be a real shake out. The PC software market is much harder to determine. Enterprise software selling has gotten somewhat easier for a smaller developer such as Stardock. But consumer software selling has gotten much more challenging due to discoverability even as price sensitivity has increased. So what does this mean? I don't know. What I do know is that something that can't go on forever won't. Stardock continues to succeed because of you. We have the advantage of having millions of existing customers who we can engage with and who continue to buy our software and games. But what about all those VC fueled companies who suddenly find reaching consumers vastly more difficult? In the short-term, the consumer wins as there is a flood of relatively high quality software and games (mostly games). But in the long-run, there will be a shake out. Right now, discoverability is killing the PC consumer software and game market. For example, if a given game costs $5M to make and its list price is $30 then you can assume it's typical buy price is $15 (because people have been trained to buy during sales). Take out the distributor's piece and other charges and you're down to $10. Take out the extremely generous return policies and you're down to $9. Now, go onto [www.steamspy.com](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGVhbXNweS5jb20vP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWlsJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09c2RtYWcmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9U1RFQU1TUFkmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPVN0YXJkb2NrJTJCTWFnYXppbmUlMkJKVU5FMjAxNw==). It's not super accurate but it gives you a ballpark. How many copies do you have to sell just to break even on development? 600,000. Throw marketing at that and you're up to 750,000 units to break even. And remember, for investors, you're competing with other markets. An investor could put $5M on an index fund and make $500k per year every year. This is one of the reasons why Stardock invests so heavily into the underlying technology of our software and games. Having unique technology allows us to create things that others can't (or at least, not without spending multiples of what we do). The issue, however, isn't about Stardock as its position is somewhat unique due to the blend of consumer software, games and enterprise software and OEM partnerships. The issue is what is going to happen to all those developers who can no longer build a business plan around the PC consumer market because it's become like the Apple/Android app store - a crap shoot. Until the issue of discoverability is resolved, it's going to be a rough time for developers new IP. -brad Galactic Civilizations III: Crusade Released In early May, we released the "Crusade" expansion for Galactic Civilizations III. It received extremely [positive reviews](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5tZXRhY3JpdGljLmNvbS9nYW1lL3BjL2dhbGFjdGljLWNpdmlsaXphdGlvbnMtaWlpLWNydXNhZGU-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1haWwmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1HQzNNRVRBQ1JJVElDJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) and fans of the base game loved what it brought to the table: galactic citizens like spies, diplomats, and privateers, interactive invasions, espionage, a civilization builder, new civilizations, and a whole lot more. [Galactic Civilizations III: Crusade Bundle] Here's what people have been saying about Crusade: 9.5/10 -[Gaming Nexus](=/aHR0cHM6Ly9nYW1pbmduZXh1cy5jb20vQXJ0aWNsZS81Mzc3L0dhbGFjdGljLUNpdmlsaXphdGlvbnMtSUlJLUNydXNhZGUtLz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PUdBTUlOR05FWFVTJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) "An example of what a good expansion can be. Adds depth and breadth to the original. Worth the 20 bucks, and more." 9/10 -[PCGamesN](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucGNnYW1lc24uY29tL2dhbGFjdGljLWNpdmlsaXphdGlvbnMtaWlpL2dhbGFjdGljLWNpdmlsaXphdGlvbnMtMy1jcnVzYWRlLXJldmlldz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PVBDR0FNRVNOJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) "It makes every turn feel important. There's always a new deal to be made, more citizens to groom, burgeoning worlds to fine-tune and enemies to spy on." 90/100 -[GamingTrend](=/aHR0cDovL2dhbWluZ3RyZW5kLmNvbS9yZXZpZXdzL2EtdW5pdmVyc2Utb2YtbmV3LWZlYXR1cmVzLWdhbGFjdGljLWNpdmlsaXphdGlvbnMtaWlpLWNydXNhZGUtcmV2aWV3Lz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PUdBTUlOR1RSRU5EJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) "Crusade manages to take something conservative and turn it into something extraordinary." Crusade is the answer to the mid-to-late game grind that 4X strategy games have struggled with for years. We answer this with features such as the new citizen system that allows you to execute powerful actions late game, as well as take full advantage of the new, 64-bit, multi-core custom game engine that was made exclusively for creating space 4X games. We also just released an update with a brand new "ludicrous" map size. You can read more about that insanity [here](=/aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3J1bXMuc3RhcmRvY2submV0LzQ4MzMyMz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PUdDM01BUCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249U3RhcmRvY2slMkJNYWdhemluZSUyQkpVTkUyMDE3). If you've been thinking about getting into GalCiv III and haven't yet, now's a pretty good time - you can get it bundled with Crusade on [Steam](=/aHR0cDovL3N0b3JlLnN0ZWFtcG93ZXJlZC5jb20vYnVuZGxlLzMyOTIvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWlsJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09c2RtYWcmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9R0MzU1RFQU1CVU5ETEUmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPVN0YXJkb2NrJTJCTWFnYXppbmUlMkJKVU5FMjAxNw==). Software on Steam Software has been making its way to Steam. We released two of our most popular Object Desktop products, [Fences](=/aHR0cDovL3N0b3JlLnN0ZWFtcG93ZXJlZC5jb20vYXBwLzYwNzM4MC9GZW5jZXMvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWlsJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09c2RtYWcmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9RkVOQ0VTJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) and [Start10](=/aHR0cDovL3N0b3JlLnN0ZWFtcG93ZXJlZC5jb20vYXBwLzYyMDA1MC9TdGFydDEwLz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PVNUQVJUMTAmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPVN0YXJkb2NrJTJCTWFnYXppbmUlMkJKVU5FMjAxNw==), on the platform recently. Steam has been a great channel for reaching new people, especially the gaming community, who we know will benefit from these products. There are some [tutorial videos](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g-dj1IbG4wMGEyYjBXWSZsaXN0PVBMU3RTX3pJWHhQTnBBUHZIT1V2NjVzMnRqM3FHek4tXzImdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1haWwmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1GRU5DRVNWSUQmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPVN0YXJkb2NrJTJCTWFnYXppbmUlMkJKVU5FMjAxNw==) for Fences, so if you're curious about the software and want to take a look at what it can do, this is a great way check it out. A lot of people don't realize just how much is packed into the Start10™ app, so we made a [video](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g-dj16bHNqbDRtaGJlZyZ1dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PVNUQVJUMTBWSUQmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPVN0YXJkb2NrJTJCTWFnYXppbmUlMkJKVU5FMjAxNw==) to show how it can make the Start menu something that's really unique to you and your PC. Offworld Trading Company: Jupiter's Forge Also in May (boy, was that a busy month), we released the first expansion for Soren Johnson's Offworld Trading Company™. [Jupiter's Forge](=/aHR0cDovL3N0b3JlLnN0ZWFtcG93ZXJlZC5jb20vYXBwLzU2MTE1MC8-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1haWwmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1PVENKRlNURUFNJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) was met with a lot of excitement from the community. Like with the rest of the game, the Mohawk team extensively researched Jupiter?s moon, Io, before choosing it as the setting for the expansion. Some thoughts from Soren on why they chose Io: "Reworking the resource tree would be the most significant change as everything in the game is downstream from how the resources interact. We knew this change should not be minor, so we looked for a location in the solar system that could flip the water tree, which led us to Io, a moon without water but with sulfur oxide ice and a steady stream of hydrogen ions from the neighboring planet. Here, instead of splitting water into oxygen and fuel (hydrogen), the player would melt the ice for oxygen, collect hydrogen from Jupiter's radiation, and combine them into water. Life support becomes much more challenging when the player can't just extract water straight from the ground." Jupiter's Forge also has two brand new factions, an infinite map challenge, and [lots more](=/aHR0cHM6Ly9mb3J1bXMub2Zmd29ybGRnYW1lLmNvbS80ODI4MDMvTmV3LUp1cGl0ZXJzLUZvcmdlLUV4cGFuc2lvbi1mb3ItT2Zmd29ybGQtVHJhZGluZy1Db21wYW55LVJlbGVhc2VzLVRvZGF5P3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWlsJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09c2RtYWcmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9T1RDSkZGT1JVTVMmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPVN0YXJkb2NrJTJCTWFnYXppbmUlMkJKVU5FMjAxNw==). If you're interested in taking a look at how the gameplay flips in Jupiter's Forge, Pravus Gaming has an excellent playthrough on [YouTube](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g-dj04bmF2MWdhYlc4dyZsaXN0PVBMTm43YzMxSDdOam1yYnI4eG1PS0FNWUo2emdoTXRsYWEmdXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1haWwmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1PVENKRlZJRCZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249U3RhcmRvY2slMkJNYWdhemluZSUyQkpVTkUyMDE3). Object Desktop If you're like the rest of us here at Stardock, you spend a lot of time (probably too much time) in front of your PC. For me, the software in [Object Desktop](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vcHJvZHVjdHMvb2RudC8-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1haWwmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1PRE5UJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) is absolutely essential for my day-to-day functions. Being able to find a file I need during a meeting without wasting time thanks to [Fences](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vcHJvZHVjdHMvZmVuY2VzLz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PUZFTkNFUyZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249U3RhcmRvY2slMkJNYWdhemluZSUyQkpVTkUyMDE3) and its folder portals, or quickly accessing important programs for work on my Start menu with [Start10](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vcHJvZHVjdHMvc3RhcnQxMC8-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1haWwmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1TVEFSVDEwJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) is a lifesaver in the kind of fast-paced environment we have around here. The software in Object Desktop does a lot more than just make my computer look neat, though. [Multiplicity](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vcHJvZHVjdHMvbXVsdGlwbGljaXR5Lz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PU1VTFRJUExJQ0lUWSZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249U3RhcmRvY2slMkJNYWdhemluZSUyQkpVTkUyMDE3) lets me control the two or three computers I have laying around the office (really, I've got stuff everywhere) right from my laptop in the middle of a meeting so I always have access to everything I need. While all of these products are available separately at Stardock, Object Desktop combines over a dozen of them and makes sure that you keep up with all of the latest updates and betas. We're always working to improve our software and your feedback is really important to us. Feel free to join up on our software channel on [Discord](=/aHR0cHM6Ly9kaXNjb3JkLmdnLzhUVjh5NXI-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1haWwmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1ESVNDT1JEJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) if you have any questions or just want to chat about what's new. Cool stuff from WinCustomize.com Are you an Object Desktop user? Then make sure to check out [WinCustomize.com](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy53aW5jdXN0b21pemUuY29tLz91dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PVdJTkNVU1RPTUlaRSZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ249U3RhcmRvY2slMkJNYWdhemluZSUyQkpVTkUyMDE3). If you don't, definitely make sure you check it out - there are thousands of customizations there for your favorite products. Things like this [Makina](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy53aW5jdXN0b21pemUuY29tL2V4cGxvcmUvY3Vyc29yZngvMzIwOS8-dXRtX3NvdXJjZT1zZG1haWwmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1zZG1hZyZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1NQUtJTkEmdXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPVN0YXJkb2NrJTJCTWFnYXppbmUlMkJKVU5FMjAxNw==) mod for CursorFX or these [Altosa](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy53aW5jdXN0b21pemUuY29tL2V4cGxvcmUvd2luZG93YmxpbmRzLzc2MTcvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWlsJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09c2RtYWcmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9QUxUT1NBJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) and [Jedi Interceptor](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy53aW5jdXN0b21pemUuY29tL2V4cGxvcmUvd2luZG93YmxpbmRzLzg2NzUvP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWlsJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09c2RtYWcmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9SkVESUlOVEVSQ0VQVE9SJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1TdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCSlVORTIwMTc=) skins for WindowBlinds™ go a long way in customizing your desktop so that it suits your unique personal style. [Stardock](=/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zdGFyZG9jay5jb20vP3V0bV9zb3VyY2U9c2RtYWlsJnV0bV9tZWRpdW09c2RtYWcmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9U1RSTE9HTyZTdGFyZG9jayUyQk1hZ2F6aW5lJTJCYXByMjAxNw==) Stardock, 15090 Beck Road, Plymouth, MI 48170. This message was sent to [{EMAIL}](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3RhcmRvY2suY29tL2FjY291bnRzL3N1YnNjcmlwdGlvbnM-ZW1haWw9dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTJAZ21haWwuY29t). Click here to [unsubscribe](=/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3RhcmRvY2suY29tL2FjY291bnRzL3Vuc3Vic2NyaWJlLmFzcHg-ZW1haWw9dHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luOTJAZ21haWwuY29tJmxpc3Q9MSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPXNkbWFpbCZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtPXNkbWFnJnV0bV9jb250ZW50PVVOU1VCU0NSSUJFJlN0YXJkb2NrJTJCTWFnYXppbmUlMkJhcHIyMDE3). If you have any questions, email [promotions@stardock.com](mailto:promotions@stardock.com?subject=Stardock%20Magazine:%20June%202017). © 2017 Stardock and Stardock Entertainment. Fences and Start8 are registered trademarks of Stardock. Galactic Civilizations is a registered trademark of Stardock Entertainment. Ashes of the Singularity is a trademark of Stardock Entertainment. Oxide is a trademark of Oxide Games. Offworld Trading Company is a trademark of Mohawk Games. Steam and the Steam logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and copyrights are the properties of their respective owners.