Re: Bye everyone!

From: lindahl@pbm.com (Greg Lindahl)

Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 00:00:00 +0000

matt_scuri@hp.com writes:

> First off I have never posted to this group before, but I do have a fair
> backgrounds in PBMs/PBEMs.  I started way way back when PBM was the ONLY way
> to play Space Empire type games.  I remember paying a fortune ($15 startup
> fees, $5-20 dollar turns) back in 1983-87 to play Supernova (which I helped
> design, Stellar empires, and a few others.  I am a whole lot happier playing
> Stars! and VGA Planets since 1) Turn fees are zero thus limiting my
> investment to initial purchase of a program ($49.95 at most) 2) Turns are
> faster and more accurate (I remember feeling very ripped off when I filled
> out bubble sheets and punch cards for orders, seemed unfair to charge me for
> running something through the computer) 3) I can play several games at once
> and THEY END!!! With a Victor! Waddya know!  4) The community of turn-based
> strategy PC games is very very well established and growing <check out the
> Stars! or VGA Planets newsgroups sometime> and lastly the complexity of these
> games is much greater than the average PBM.

This is a very interesting reply. From it I would pull the following
conclusions:

1) He knows how to spot a bargain. Even though VGA Planets only
charges a flat fee, the author makes a lot of money. So here's an
example of a fee that both the author and player agrees is reasonable.

2) He likes a complex game. This goes against the claim that paperless
games tend to be less complex. I'm not surprised; electronic turn
submission allows a complicated game without high fees for typists.

-- g

References

Re: Bye everyone!
matt_scuri@hp.com
Thu, 18 Feb 1999 00:00:00 +0000