A challenge to paradox: Make a single large scale DLC for this game before killing it forever.

[klopkr]

We've all seen the recent news that the devs for Imperator are being shifted away and that there are no major plans for this game this year.

I won't rehash our feelings towards this here since there's a perfectly fine thread for it.

This thread is a challenge and a plea to the higher ups at Paradox.

Give this game one major feature rich DLC before killing it. Be it in 2022 or later. Just give it one try before you put the nail in the coffin. Give it an actual marketing team and hype it like you did when you released the game. Give the world a chance to see that Imperator isn't just the game it was on release and actually market it as a good game to new fans instead of a broken game you quietly fixed.

And when we're talking about a feature rich DLC I mean a real feature rich DLC that leans on the tropes the public LOVES about the setting. Like you do for vikings in CK, Germany in HoI4, or the HRE in EU4, or sweden in any of your games .

Things regular people know and love about the setting:
Caesar
Cleopatra
Taking over the republic/civil wars
Carthago delenda est (actual end all winner takes all war with carthage)
Barbarian invasions
Some ambitious general conquering all of gaul, africa, or persia because he can

Just use the fanboy popular culture of rome for your benefit and pitch it that way through marketing. If Total War can make a remaster of their old game in the setting sexy then so can your marketing department with Imperator!

Hell it might be the most work but if you put in a start date with literally any of the memorable historical figures of rome (punic wars, caesar, marc antony v augustus, etc) and locked it behind the DLC I am sure it would be able to sell a $30 DLC very well. Especially when players come back and see all the free fixes they missed along the way.

 

[olivenkranz]

I'd buy!

 

[Chehabian]

Take my money!

 

[Dnote]

Sure, find me some devs and we'll get right on it!

 

[Bovrick]

Sure, find me some devs and we'll get right on it!

I'd like to recommend Arheo, I'm sure he can pick a decent team, maybe some that work on this old game that's been put on ice

 

[klopkr]

Sure, find me some devs and we'll get right on it!

If you guys don't get devs after the pandemic that's not on us anymore! I can see how it's tight right now. I feel for you. But if I see those dev positioned filled in the next few years and this game abandoned I'm holding this one to you guys. (lets hope it never comes to that!)

I know you have dreams of what this game can be too though. And I know you're on our side when it comes to this game. I just really hope this doesn't have bad knock on IP prioritization effects in the long run.

The magic is all here! If it takes 5 years or you guys to get back to us that's fine by me! Just don't let the dream die!

 

[Basileus2]

Sure, find me some devs and we'll get right on it!

I can't code worth my life but I'd be happy to write content...

 

[Torugu]

I can't code worth my life but I'd be happy to write content...

Jobs list - Paradox Interactive

Job openings at Paradox Interactive

career.paradoxplaza.com

There are currently two content designer positions open at PDX (one for HOI4, one unspecified).

 

[klopkr]

Jobs list - Paradox Interactive

Job openings at Paradox Interactive

career.paradoxplaza.com

There are currently two content designer positions open at PDX (one for HOI4, one unspecified).

If I had even the modicum of coding ability to not turn the entire game into a mess somehow while content designing and the ability to move to sweden I'd take that job in a heartbeat.

Writing and coming up with the events and researching them is the fun part! knowing how to properly put in the game without breaking stuff is the hard part.

Until I actually learn to code i'll have to stick to making crappy bugful mods that clearly show I have the heart but not the knowledge.

Now if there was a position to just endlessly write events in a word doc and ship it off to someone who can actually put it in the game I think some of us here could fill the game with several war and peace length novels of events lol.

I don't totally understand why pdox has to centralize its employees considering how effective modders are at making content for these games from the comfort of their own homes but I know the corporate world has all sorts of layers... like an onion, that can't easily be changed without throwing everything into chaos.

Anyways if you guys are really passionate about this but aren't gonna apply then lets get to work making some mods to continue the legacy of the game.

I always wanted to add china to this map because all the time period is roughly contemporaneous with the warring states period. I know it would be a popular addition. There just isn't the modder base like CK3 to do it though.

 

[Noxbru]

If I had even the modicum of coding ability to not turn the entire game into a mess somehow while content designing and the ability to move to sweden I'd take that job in a heartbeat.

Writing and coming up with the events and researching them is the fun part! knowing how to properly put in the game without breaking stuff is the hard part.

Until I actually learn to code i'll have to stick to making crappy bugful mods that clearly show I have the heart but not the knowledge.

Now if there was a position to just endlessly write events in a word doc and ship it off to someone who can actually put it in the game I think some of us here could fill the game with several war and peace length novels of events lol.

I don't totally understand why pdox has to centralize its employees considering how effective modders are at making content for these games from the comfort of their own homes but I know the corporate world has all sorts of layers... like an onion, that can't easily be changed without throwing everything into chaos.

Anyways if you guys are really passionate about this but aren't gonna apply then lets get to work making some mods to continue the legacy of the game.

I always wanted to add china to this map because all the time period is roughly contemporaneous with the warring states period. I know it would be a popular addition. There just isn't the modder base like CK3 to do it though.

There's actually a "Content Designer" position advertised: https://career.paradoxplaza.com/jobs/1142366-content-designer. And I see maybe too many artists and too little programmers :/ Not that I could apply with just knowing C.

 

[Marcin6669]

For PDX only money is counting. They prefer make a bugged DLC in a patch 1.64337 in game with more players, than something good like 2.0 in Imperator

 

[MohawkWolfo98]

I'd like to recommend Arheo, I'm sure he can pick a decent team, maybe some that work on this old game that's been put on ice

I also heard Snow Crystal and Trin were excellent developers. There is also this new Studio that Paradox set up known as Paradox Thalassic - perhaps we could take a few from there?

 

[Jayavarman]

We've all seen the recent news that the devs for Imperator are being shifted away and that there are no major plans for this game this year.

I won't rehash our feelings towards this here since there's a perfectly fine thread for it.

This thread is a challenge and a plea to the higher ups at Paradox.

Give this game one major feature rich DLC before killing it. Be it in 2022 or later. Just give it one try before you put the nail in the coffin. Give it an actual marketing team and hype it like you did when you released the game. Give the world a chance to see that Imperator isn't just the game it was on release and actually market it as a good game to new fans instead of a broken game you quietly fixed.

And when we're talking about a feature rich DLC I mean a real feature rich DLC that leans on the tropes the public LOVES about the setting. Like you do for vikings in CK, Germany in HoI4, or the HRE in EU4, or sweden in any of your games .

Things regular people know and love about the setting:
Caesar
Cleopatra
Taking over the republic/civil wars
Carthago delenda est (actual end all winner takes all war with carthage)
Barbarian invasions
Some ambitious general conquering all of gaul, africa, or persia because he can

Just use the fanboy popular culture of rome for your benefit and pitch it that way through marketing. If Total War can make a remaster of their old game in the setting sexy then so can your marketing department with Imperator!

Hell it might be the most work but if you put in a start date with literally any of the memorable historical figures of rome (punic wars, caesar, marc antony v augustus, etc) and locked it behind the DLC I am sure it would be able to sell a $30 DLC very well. Especially when players come back and see all the free fixes they missed along the way.

Create a petition and/or kickstarter campaign.

 

[olivenkranz]

Great ideas, but when it comes to large scale DLCs recently, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it!

Imperator was pretty smooth. And don't tell me that 2.0 wasn't huge.

 

[Limbojack]

Sure, find me some devs and we'll get right on it!

OMG, IT'S CONFIRMED!

 

[DesNibelungen]

Do the math - add up just the salaries of the team that would be required to continue to work on the game (and the team is not just developers - many other roles are also required). Now add up the revenue for selling a few hundred units of a new DLC.

There's your answer.

 

[Noxbru]

Do the math - add up just the salaries of the team that would be required to continue to work on the game (and the team is not just developers - many other roles are also required). Now add up the revenue for selling a few hundred units of a new DLC.

There's your answer.

Let us say that there's 10 people fully dedicated to I:R (2-3 programmers, 2-3 content designer, 2-3 artists, 1 game director), and that they earn on average ~30.000€ a year. That they spend 6 months to prepare a new DLC/content pack. That's about 150 000€. Assuming that the peak number of players during the last week (~1500) buy the DLC, to break even it should be valued at ~100€.

The question would be then: Can they reduce the number of people and assume losses until the people playing explodes (If/when)?

 

[DesNibelungen]

Let us say that there's 10 people fully dedicated to I:R (2-3 programmers, 2-3 content designer, 2-3 artists, 1 game director)

So who does the QA? Who manages builds and releases? Who writes documentation? Who does marketing and publicity? There are so many more people involved in supporting a software product beyond just the people working directly on content creation. But it's irrelevant, anyway, as PDS just answered that question.

 

[Noxbru]

So who does the QA? Who manages builds and releases? Who writes documentation? Who does marketing and publicity? There are so many more people involved in supporting a software product beyond just the people working directly on content creation. But it's irrelevant, anyway, as PDS just answered that question.

That is why I said 'Fully Dedicated'. QA, marketing and publicity could be part of the Studio, or shared with other 'minor' titles. The game director could be the one in charge on builds and releases. And good software practices say that you should write documentation along your code (not that we follow them when we code XD).

 

[Mr. Wiggles]

Let us say that there's 10 people fully dedicated to I:R (2-3 programmers, 2-3 content designer, 2-3 artists, 1 game director), and that they earn on average ~30.000€ a year. That they spend 6 months to prepare a new DLC/content pack. That's about 150 000€. Assuming that the peak number of players during the last week (~1500) buy the DLC, to break even it should be valued at ~100€.

The question would be then: Can they reduce the number of people and assume losses until the people playing explodes (If/when)?

Are you using the hourly average players count?
There are 10s of thousands of people playing everyday if we use this meter, most people play 1-2 hour everyday and then they quit.

10 people working on imperator dlcs full time are a lot of people, too many.