IotaOne
Mar 10, 2016
It is hardly advertised on steam, thats probably a main issue. It never showed up until i searched for it. I tried to write a review, but either i have to own the game or i was too stupid to find the button.
jack1974
Mar 10, 2016
Yes you need to own the game, you can redeem the keys here (I seem to recall you bought it directly):
http://www.bestanimegames.com/steam/
It's hardly advertised probably by a series of factor, first that there are a ton of new releases nowadays (compared to last year, it increased a lot already!) and that the game is not performing well.
It could just be that card games are too niche and don't sell well on Steam of course. I made this one more like because I like them, but I didn't check the market for it (probably a big mistake
).
fabulaparva
Mar 10, 2016
It's not only even a question about having the key, unless you bought it via Steam. Steam doesn't allow one to review games on there unless you've spent at least $5 there within a certain timeframe... at least that's what it told me (once again) when I tried to submit a review for PSCD. Since I always buy direct, I'm logged out of Steam review writing until I make a purchase on a game only available through Steam. I know this will happen eventually, as there is in fact one such an MMO in pre-beta at this time, but for the time being I'll still be forced to remain silent on Steam.
EDIT
I am only a bit worried now since same art will be used on Roger Steel but well, nothing I can do about it now, it's already done.
Haha, out of all your games not to be released in the immediate future, I'm waiting for Roger Steel the most.
jack1974
Mar 10, 2016
Ah lol didn't know they had such limitations!
Haha, out of all your games not to be released in the immediate future, I'm waiting for Roger Steel the most.
FEAR
Haha Roger Steel will be a RPG, so very different. I hope people won't mind the more realistic art. Honestly I think PSCD will be just one of those games, which everyone who plays it loves it, and you keep wondering what you did wrong, without a real answer. As a creator, is better to forget about it and move on
By the way I want to thank everyone (like you) who bought it, even if maybe is not a RPG or the art is not exactly what they like, etc, because even if you buy a game you won't like 100% you still help me to go on, and make the other games that maybe you like more. You are the true fans
pahldus
Mar 10, 2016
Personally I loved the art style, but I must admit there are a lot of people who probably passed it over because of the art style.
IotaOne
Mar 10, 2016
@fabulaparva ugh, you are right, i have to install and play it via steam.
jack1974
Mar 10, 2016
Personally I loved the art style, but I must admit there are a lot of people who probably passed it over because of the art style.
Yeah, art but also setting and the mix with card game. I spoke with RS writer by email and he agreed saying an interesting thing:
if there's one fundamental problem with the game it is that there's too much of a disconnect between audiences that love WinterWolves VNs AND those that like challenging card games AND those that like SciFi. If you imagine a Venn diagram with each of these as a circle, the intersection between them all is probably quite small - with a fantasy game, it may have been a little bit larger
I feel a bit dumb to not having realized it before !
Rebly82
Mar 10, 2016
Sorry to hear all that, Jack. I think PSCD is pretty unique, with it being a card game. I thought that would appeal more to the geeky type of people who like calculation, strategy and things like that. One thing that I love about your games, is that there is some unique gameplay element along with the VN, that is fun, but not too challenging (you have various difficulty levels) or rushing for me.
I know there is a game that must not be named.
However, sometime back I've observed people (elsewhere) talking and waiting for it. So, I think it's right to say that if such anime games with anticipation do well, then whew!, you know it's just a matter of the art, which is an easier matter to rectify.
jack1974
Mar 10, 2016
Oh yeah for sure it was a unique game. Different art style, different gameplay, etc.
It would be much worse if one of my usual dating sim with anime art was doing badly
Honestly I always wanted to make a card game, maybe the only thing I would redo differently now, is to make the game smaller. It's not a wise idea to try a new genre with a big game. That's why I made Planet Stronghold first, and then Loren and SOTW after
Franka
Mar 10, 2016
Looks like your future is $9.99 games with less than half the content of your current games.
jack1974
Mar 10, 2016
Or maybe no more cards games! I hope not, but...
Franka
Mar 11, 2016
Wow, I hadn't imagined that it would get so little interest...
I can't believe there aren't more people like me around, who think this is the best game you ever made.
http://i.imgur.com/RgQFIv5.jpg" style="max-width:100%">
jack1974
Mar 11, 2016
Hahaha
Yes I must admit that I was surprised too! I never thought it would have been a topseller, but to have it do so badly...(especially on Steam, direct in the end is OK everything considered). Uhm, it's a bit hard to explain or find the reason. Anyway I have been told privately by a few people that they think is my best game, and several that they think it's a good game. As for Steam I think the price could be a problem perhaps. Probably it's not wise to mix two genres and have a higher price. If I just did the card battle with ZERO story, I could have sold it for $9.99 (since expenses would have been much lower). So either you must make a game for Steam, or not. This is a long topic that could be worth a blog post...
Anyway: if even Undead Lily will underperform, I will stop making card games completely for sure (it would be foolish for me to keep going!).
jack1974
Apr 18, 2017
I admit it was really a bit hit to my morale when I finished this game
I mean, usually I'm quite modest but I thought this game could have been very popular (for my standards of course, nothing big). Then, when I released it...
However as I wrote already in the past, it was also a big shock because last game I released was SOTW in 2015, and meanwhile market changed incredibly fast (in worse obviously).
Right now on Steam you MUST make fanservice games to get attention with visual novels. That's why in future games I'll have the OPTION to have more fanservice.
Regarding the art, the idea of making a manga version of this game is not abandoned... we'll see how it goes when it's finished
Ayacast
Dec 30, 2017
Hello, I've nearly finished my first playthrough of PSCD in VN mode (I got stuck in card mode early on even in easy difficulty ^^') and for some reason Steam achievements remain locked though I do see them pop up in-game...
Is it because I'm playing with a Mac?
jack1974
Dec 30, 2017
Are you playing the Steam version right? because in my games I made a pop-up system similar to what happens on Steam
So if you're playing Steam's version, it should work, however in many cases I had report of people who:
- could never get them to unlock
- they would unlock ALL at once after a log off/log in
- they would unlock randomly
- they would unlock after a Steam update
etc etc so as you can see it's a bit random
In general they should work fine, in my developer panel I see people that unlock achievements so "in general" they work. But it's not the first time that I heard they stop randomly (and it could even be Steam's fault, server busy, etc).
Ayacast
Dec 30, 2017
Yes I'm playing on Steam with the latest game version and I see the the pop-up inside the game but not the Steam pop-up. Though the majority of games work fine, I've played some where achievements were unlocked when opening the main menu or quitting the game but it does not seem to do the trick here ^^' Well, that's no great matter, thanks for the answer =D
