Blackhole is probably going bankrupt

[Angelspit]

Shouldn't Ubi have tons of full time software developers that they could have assigned to make Heroes 6? If Ubi had too many other games they were focusing their man power on then why not hire more people, or put off development of Heroes 6 to another time when other games you're working on are finished.

In-house studios are assigned to their best-selling franchises (such as Assassin's Creed) while smaller franchises are developed on a contractual basis. New employees are expensive (training, full-time salary, benefits), so adding more and more people to a workforce to increase production isn't a viable solution.

[Zareth]

It is hard to make big-budget game just for the PC. It is a small market and many people use pirate versions.

If they release on consoles like XBox360 and PS3, maybe there will be more budget and sales.

I hope you're not assuming that people don't pirate games on the Xbox and PS3 with this statement...

[Torur]

Ubi should be ashamed of itshelf.

[Kelben]

It is hard to make big-budget game just for the PC. It is a small market and many people use pirate versions.

If they release on consoles like XBox360 and PS3, maybe there will be more budget and sales.

I hope you're not assuming that people don't pirate games on the Xbox and PS3 with this statement...

The pirating issue is very familiar to me since I have been living in the Philippines... The thing is you pirate a game to try it out and if you like it you buy it, as I did with Heroes 6. But it was more of a childish impulse associated to a very low rate at the shop. You buy a game if online features are great (SC2 comes to mind), if you intend to buy the expansions as well and if it gonna be patched so often that you don't want to re-download it every now and then (Skyrim for instance).

See how does this stick to heroes 6? Online features rather unstable, before talking about expansions, let's talk about getting the basic bug free... and this is done by a laughable patch every blue moon...

EDIT: so yeah, of course it will not sell well but I think you approach the problem the wrong way. Make a good game and it will sell despite pirating. Not don't make a good game because it won't sell anyway because of pirating. Anti-productive mindset

[Kalah]

Make a good game and it will sell despite pirating.

Hear, hear!

[Naki]

It is hard to make big-budget game just for the PC. It is a small market and many people use pirate versions.

If they release on consoles like XBox360 and PS3, maybe there will be more budget and sales.

Are there any turn-based games on consoles!?
You are joking, right? Playing Heroes or any other turn based game with no mouse and no keyboard will be awful...

[Avonu]

It is hard to make big-budget game just for the PC. It is a small market and many people use pirate versions.

Tell me that you are joking.
Pirate versions exist on consoles too in same numbers, if not in greater. This is just an excuse for developers for defending their poor quality products, which didn't sell as they thought.
And I don't think PC is "small" market. See at EA games for example - Sims and others "series".

Are there any turn-based games on consoles!?
You are joking, right? Playing Heroes or any other turn based game with no mouse and no keyboard will be awful...

Quest for the Dragonbone Staff can be? Well, it's quasi TBS game but still.

[Zareth]

Make a good game and it will sell despite pirating.

Hear, hear!

I bought Starcraft 2 because I knew it was going to be a good game. And it didn't disappoint me. There are a lot of games I've bought because I thought they were good so I know that if the game is good, it'll sell regardless of how many people pirate it.

[Slayer of Cliffracers]

Well they made a game dominated by an internet functionality with simply doesn't work in my case. Not that I should care; damn those stupid dynasty bonuses to hell I find all the net tyranny pretty annoying anyway. Down with big brother!

As for the game itself, not bad otherwise. The story's okay thus far (admittadly I've only reached the end of the tutorial) okay, the politics kind of remind me of CK II (my other birthday present) what with all the warring duchies and distant emporer.

The intro sequence is just aweful though. Duke Slava just comes across as a person with Charisma score 0.

But what's the point of Heroes VI. It's just Heroes V simplified, an expansion pack to Heroes V would equal all the additional features. Less resources, less factions, every word on less.

[Naki]

But what's the point of Heroes VI. It's just Heroes V simplified, an expansion pack to Heroes V would equal all the additional features. Less resources, less factions, every word on less.

Nope, better graphics! (Not that graphics matter in a TBS game much.)

[ThunderTitan]

Pirate versions exist on consoles too in same numbers, if not in greater. This is just an excuse for developers for defending their poor quality products, which didn't sell as they thought.

No, no, no, see piracy is always at fault, that's why the pirated 360 did so much worse then the unpirated PS3 until last year when the ps3 finally got hacked...

[MattII]

Nope, better graphics! (Not that graphics matter in a TBS game much.)

Since the Haven looks like a bunch of ornamental garden shed, forgive me for disagreeing. Also, Ubisoft wrecked the scale, the hero now looks like a RPG character than the icon of a massive army.

[Naki]

I mostly meant the adventure map graphics.
Are you referring to the haven troops/units graphics? Or do you mean the town shown on the adventure map?

[MattII]

The town shown on the adventure map. Also note my comment about scale.

[ThunderTitan]

Since the Haven looks like a bunch of ornamental garden shed, forgive me for disagreeing. Also, Ubisoft wrecked the scale, the hero now looks like a RPG character than the icon of a massive army.

And that has what to do with the graphics? (hint: that's the art direction).

[Slayer of Cliffracers]

But what's the point of Heroes VI. It's just Heroes V simplified, an expansion pack to Heroes V would equal all the additional features. Less resources, less factions, every word on less.

Nope, better graphics! (Not that graphics matter in a TBS game much.)

Indeed. One could go further and say does graphics really matter on any game at all? I wonder if some of time spent on graphics would be better spent on gameplay, but then again it's graphics that people see (hence what sells).

The gameplay additions aside from the subtractions and simplifications (ie 4 resources) that renders the strategic element of the game rather mindless (just take an ore, wood and crystal mine and sorted); are essentially the equivilant of an expansion pack to Heroes V.

One of the sillier additions is the instant conversion feuture, wave a magical wand and one instantly has a town or dwelling of your race hello where did the pretence of stategic realism go?

Never-the-less, the campaign maps seem pretty good and full of rigged decisions that are sometimes hard to spot. You have a Blood/Tears alignment system which essentially is just another way of saying Yin/Yang, but just going with your established path all the time is a pretty sure road to ruin as I recently found out.....

[MattII]

And that has what to do with the graphics? (hint: that's the art direction).

Naki said H6 had better graphics than H5, I was disagreeing with him. Okay so it might have been art direction rather than art quality, but that's neither here nor there really. Still, NWC knew what they were on about, they knew the hero was an icon for the army, so they knew they didn't have to make him to scale. Just one more boneheaded mistake by Ubisoft.

[MoNoXiDeBlue]

Below is a link from Gamespot that shows all of BlackHole Games...games...
http://www.gamespot.com/games.html?type ... mode=75038 Their games seem hit or miss.

[ShadowLiberal]

It is hard to make big-budget game just for the PC. It is a small market and many people use pirate versions.

If they release on consoles like XBox360 and PS3, maybe there will be more budget and sales.

Are there any turn-based games on consoles!?
You are joking, right? Playing Heroes or any other turn based game with no mouse and no keyboard will be awful...

On the question of any turn based strategy games on consoles, I think of one series, Shining Force... for the Sega Genesis, and that's it. But then again, the last game console system I bought was the Sega Dreamcast, so I wouldn't be the most qualified person to answer that question. After that I stuck with just PC games.

Also, yes, Heroes of might and magic on a game console would suck.

Make a good game and it will sell despite pirating.

Yep. And make a game with lots of annoying DRM and you'll drive paying customers away.

Plus, there's lots of evidence piracy is often a form of free advertising, and/or a sign that the company is leaving money on the table by refusing to sell their products in certain parts of the world.