Oh look its more of the circle jerks and their constant complaints about numbers from steam… How’s playing the forums going?
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Oh look it’s another shill that like to try and force the magical idea that everything is just fine and fatshark can’t do any better.
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The steamchart numbers are very bad when you consider that games are more popular and 40k is a great franchise. Having the same all time peak and concurrent players as a game that was released by the same company in 2018 would generally be considered a failure unless you look at their net income. My assumption is that their operating country and business model allows them to survive off of micro-transactions and MS gamepass money, meaning that they are financially more successful despite the player numbers and inflation. They work in a country where they can take 2 months off. Their business model does not include premium customer service, and their attitude means they consider themselves a roaring success or have a borderline monopoly. I’d wager the entire country isn’t big on customer service.
I think the best comparison is between this and deep rock. Deep rock had many player count dips and re-releases, and while I don’t like its current form because it feels like a slog, I certainly got a lot of enjoyment out of it over the years and understand the appeal. They have also managed to grow their player base significantly.
This game has better characters, dialogue, and combat physics than deep rock, but it has nothing else. The lack of polish in the vaulting and lack of action queuing stand out, leading to a feeling of disconnection that is unacceptable in a modern game. I mean, you can’t even vault up on or over anything higher than waist high, why not just remove all the railings, would the 40k safety committee come after you?
The biggest offender, for me, is the lack of variety in the biomes. The only significant departure from crushing city is the outer areas taken over by the sandy wasteland. If you want to push it you could say there are sewer areas, cathedral-like areas, and various types of city-like areas in addition. The fact that the carnival areas are considered a departure reveals the depth of the problem. Instead of feeling like an epic quest, it all blends together. The end area bosses are just humanoids and are always the same, etc ad nauseum. Completely forgettable.
The fact that that sandy wasteland areas are the least depressing says a lot. This game is reflective of 40k, and that’s no way to maintain player engagement. Look at the daemonhost changes and ignored bugs: this game is still in beta.
FS’s business model allows them to repeatedly shoot themselves in the same foot. Nice!
One more edit: the reason this thread exists is a strange anomaly. Many of the people on the forum are essentially begging for a better game and more engagement. More to the point, they want a true L4D successor, but there are several factors involved that are absolutely killing the playerbase. Currently, players like me have actually quit, and the persistence of gamepass means that even greener players are being put in matches with even more dedicated veterans that, for reasons I don’t fully appreciate, and still grinding it out. At this point it’s pretty clear I’m only coming back with some sort of dlc content, and this dlc content will cause another predictable spike that promptly drops off.
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This really. Its also really apparent. Vermintides content basically died when darktide started getting developed. The console porting forced 6+ months of no new content and this happened TWICE with their games.
And now it seems like they cannot make v2 pvp work without the key figures at the helm.
To those still believing fatshark has some dedicated teams of people who develop content, yeah keep dreaming. Stuff only gets properly and timely done when fatshark is forced to commit “all hands on deck” approach.
At this point even if they fixed crafting tomorrow and made the game extremely good and bug free with tons of content, i doubt it would revive the game. The bad will is there and superior products are now on the market.
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Under most circumstances I’d agree with this sentiment, but the wildcard factor in this case is that Darktide is a 40k game with Warhammer 40,000 written on the side of the box. Something there are comparatively few of. That alone gives FatShark a degree of padding (which, frankly, they haven’t earned and don’t deserve).
I mention this because if FatShark inexplicably started acting like actual adults, with a modicum professionalism, competency, and pride in their work, and managed to produce some substantive improvements, the potential for profits would be greater than the sum of the game’s parts, by virtue of hitching their wagon to 40k.
Will they actually do so? I’m not holding my breathe, but the point I’m meandering towards is that there is potential for gain, and thus some incentive.
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lol 40k has among the most titles to its name in the entire idustry, i wanna believe you meant “good 40k games”
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Balls. No, I actually meant “FPS 40k games”
That’s what I get for not rereading before posting.
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40k seems to continueing to be in limbo to never receive the blockbuster game it truly deserves
much like Starwars or The Lord of the Rings
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I remember a time when people were speculating what chaos god was most likely to be added next, how they might be like to fight. People theorizing Genestealers in the works based on in-game dialogue. Potential for other worlds or areas on Atoma with unique biomes. Maybe even a xenos planet like how you go through Skaven environments in VT2.
Now it’s been ages since the beta… and the only new enemies have been two mini bosses, one boss, and if you really want to stretch it: pox hounds with less health.
Expectations in the months following the subpar launch had dwindled people’s expectations of new enemies. People focused on suggesting new Nurgle enemies instead. Plaguebearers and the like. Maybe to go along with a third Nurgle ‘faction’ that’s themed more on the occult. If I recall there is even an achievement with a plaguebearer as the symbol. We haven’t even gotten that.
Where are the new enemies? Where are the new factions?
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What is it with your obsession with circles and their jerking motions?
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Woah now I have fond memories of Battlefront 2 and that one Two Towers game was one of the better adaptations of games into movies as far as I’m concerned. Kind of like that king kong game, way more engaging than the usual ‘we need as many media tie ins to coincide with release as we can afford to make’.
Yeah and that’s the thing, i just don’t expect fatshark to do full 180 anymore. I’ve practically been waiting for that to happen for past 6 years with 2 different games now.
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there’s a difference with a dencent or even good game, and a game that those fanchises deserve.
they are epochal franchises, they are synomous with the time their aired and staples of popculture
nothing you could say about even the better titles compares to how mainstaple they are.
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Sweet baby Jesus. They really have said this. I have seen some threads here about FS holiday schedule but not this. There is no going back after you say something like this. There isn’t an excuse or an explantion that works after this.
This is a lesson to pass when FS inevitably releases a trailer for a new game which they are undoubtably working on now with the money they made on DT release.
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This is a “yes and a no”. Yes, player counts going down over time is normal. But the “over time” part matters - how much time, specifically? Also what are the end results? Really good games will keep players coming back regardless. Bad games just get forgotten.
With all of the above I don’t really know where Darktide sits. I don’t think it’s abandoned by the playerbase, at least not yet. But it’s on the edge, I’d reckon. Too many people to call it dead, too few to call it anything but worrisome.
Can someone define “dead”? Do I think DT is in a bad spot? Yes. Do I think it’s dead? No. Because the servers are working, and you can easily find games. Unless, of course, my definition of dead is different, which is why I ask for a definition.
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The really sad part about this is, at its core gameplay loop, the 'tide games have so much more longevity than the core gameplay loops in these other games - from what I hear, Helldivers especially, which is a bit shallow. The thing is, these games do not have bad core gameplay loops, but they also get a lot of other things right. They have simple, accessible systems and menus. Left 4 Dead had no progression, but the progression system in DRG is about as good a progression system you’ll find in modern games. It’s got a little RNG on overclocks, but the rest is just something you work towards, and your resources for it are account-wide even on weapon upgrades.
If FS basically just copied this - or even the Call of Duty system where you unlock things through using the weapons! - I don’t think anyone would complain that it’s bad aside from some nitpicky reviewers. It would be functional, people would come in and immediately understand it.
But to get back to the core gameplay loop - THAT, THAT is how you add to the game’s longevity for the people who stay invested in the long-term (and will be more likely to give you $$$). You need to add new ways to interact with the system. Like, imagine if you could equip items that give you new abilities. The Ogryn could have big boots that let him knock over small enemies as he moves, the Veteran may be able to equip a knife that lets him cut himself free from one Trapper net per game or something (these may be terrible ideas; just examples). Other ways are new classes/characters (who bring a new slew of interactions), new weapons with interesting movesets, and new enemies who have to be interacted with in different ways.
This is the strength of the game; just get the rest in a working state, then focus on that.
While I do think it’s relevant to mention Helldiver’s numbers here, I think you’re right - I don’t think it has enough depth to have great staying power.
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In my opinion, the makers of this game are giving up on it in favor of more lucrative projects. Many games have years of empty servers as a result of development abandonment, yet maintenance continues anyway (such server contracts generally cost money to terminate).
Fatshark’s assertions make it clear that they want to keep working on V2, they are prioritizing it’s continued development and are devoting further resources and money to it—resources that could have been used on making Darktide a functional game. That, in my opinion, indicates that they believe V2 has a brighter future than Darktide as a product.
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There’s a line where you read something on a forum and you realise the community is in the middle of over dosing on exaggerated Doomerism. This comment was it for me.
Y’all need a reality check.
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Regardless of what player numbers are, “moving on” is only possible if there’s another game in the pipeline somewhere, and it doesn’t look like there is. Vermintide2 Versus won’t be it, i don’t think.
My theory for what’s happening is there’s some sort of conscientious higher up in Fatshark that went - we need to win back the players, so no empty promises until we have something concrete to share. Keep your heads down and work.
Which, in my opinion, is sort of the exact wrong thing that’s needed right now. But what do i know, i don’t make games for a living.
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