Cost of going Inf. retail

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that guy

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Mar 27, 2005
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Just to fullfill my curiousity, what would be the costs of going commercial with Inf and the Source engine?

I tried to google up licencing costs but most sights said that they were under NDA but estimated around $350K-750K with most around the 500K mark (USD OC).

Anyone have any Ideas about this? Not ultradetailed or anything just a rough estimate of dev over say 3.5yrs.
 

geogob

Koohii o nomimasu ka?
The biggest cost could be content-wize.


EDIT: In other words, I don't think it's possible to make a game as good as INF by going retail. This sort of game is more "underground". If you want to go retail with a 500k engine license + dev costs, you have to make sales... to make sales you must make a mainstream game (see BF1942, CS and cie). Hence my comment, the biggest cost of INF going retail would be in the content. Of course the modification could go retail... mm but that pretty close to what they did with 2.9, selling CDs. Only difference is that it would have to be distributed by someone (atari, or what ever) that distributes game to stores. That would be much less expensive than licensing the engine... but selling a modification like that...mmm. Then you could go retail over steam (I guess). But one way or the other, licensing an engine would affect the game content a lot. It has to (unless they want to do a 499k gift to this community.
 
Last edited:
Apr 2, 2001
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Well, "The third Reich" Team just bought a commercial license (some sort of less wellknown engine... forgot the name).

I don't think you need wagonloads of money but beeing forced to aim for commercial success might be the biggest sacrifice... like Geo pointed out.
 

(SDS)benmcl

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May 13, 2002
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The bigger the budget the more water down the product. Just take a look at the movie industry. The bigger the budgets the crappier the movie is. Yes there are exceptions but they just prove the rule.
 

that guy

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Mar 27, 2005
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Yeah I play TO 2.0 for quite a while, TO:AOT 3.X sucked big time and the cost for going retail was a crappy game.


I think though Inf. would/could avoid this trap as the team is pretty certain on what they want.
 

AlmostAlive

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Usually, or at least often, smaller compaines will have to do whatever they are told to do, wheter they like it or not. The gaming industry works much like other industries. The guy with the money calls the shots. If developers are told to "Make it more like Counterstrike" or "Why is this guy moving slower sideways than forward? Fix it.", then that is what developers do. Freedom within the preset frames, yes. But if the million dollar-man tells you to change something, you do.
 
Apr 21, 2003
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Yes, keep INF free, so SS can make what ever it want/can. Most of us are aware of that making a game in freetime costs time, but thats the prize for such a great project.

I just hope SS can pack a huge ammount of personal (modelers, coders, skinner), that would increase the time. Hell I would applicate myself to SS, but my skills are low and I have nothing to present. I'm not a help :(.
My only skill is to present insane ideas and useless suggestions, which I will release in a pdf soon :D, even if nobody, not SS cares about, lol.
 

mbs357

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Agreed. To go retail means you need to make a profit. You're not going to make a profit off the entire Inf community as it is (35 people?), so they'd have make the game more 'conventional'...then we'd hate it.
 

Burger

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Psychomorph said:
As I know Tactical Ops for UT went retail. Don't know about it, never really played TO.
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Yes, keep INF free, so SS can make what ever it want/can. Most of us are aware of that making a game in freetime costs time, but thats the prize for such a great project.

Does anybody have a link to the highest downloadable version of Tac Ops?