topo and willy are doing a thing

[Willy]

I think you'll find IceBall doesn't have any players because it was made intentionally 'difficult' (read: more than it could've been) to install and the lead dev point blank refused to make to more user-friendly in the hopes that he'd garner the respect and admiration of a very niche market....totally his own right to do that, but that's not what we're looking to achieve here.

[LeCom]

I don't think user friendliness does such a difference. For example, there's a program that can enable clicking on a server to connect. And the instructions pretty clearly say what to do.

[Warp]

I don't think user friendliness does such a difference. For example, there's a program that can enable clicking on a server to connect. And the instructions pretty clearly say what to do.

I am coming at this from a kinda Outsiders point of view, but the fact that Iceball wasn't allowed to have a SMG etc may have put people off.

Also, see this quote from the thread:

The source code is at this URL: https://github.com/iamgreaser/iceball/ (NOTE, this is not an official Buld Then Snip LLC project!)

You will need the following libraries to compile the code:

SDL 1.2 (NOT 1.3/2.0!)
Lua 5.1 (NOT 5.2!)
zlib
GLEW for the GL renderer
sackit - it loads/plays .it (Impulse Tracker Module) files

If I was a "standard" PC Gamer, then compiling source code, even though I have MinGW and Microsoft Visual Studio, (Just to try a game) wouldn't be for me.

Hence, no one plays it.

[MrHaaax]

Yes, newbie-friendliness was something Iceball didn't have. First, the difficulty to install the game (although I'm sure there was pre-compiled builds somewhere). Second, the difficulty to play the game; Iceball was made with many options disabling noobs to play like kick_on_join enabled by default. If you weren't the type who likes to poke the game's file, which is 99% of the gamer these days, there's no way you can play and/or enjoy Iceball. 'Hence, no one plays it'

@Warp, GreaseMonkey did made an SMG, but by that time Iceball's pretty much abandoned.

[LeCom]

When I downloaded it, there was an option to get a compiled binary version. I could also normally join the server and play it alone. That was just before the game was fully given up though.

[Willy]

Either way, paid or f2p, a game needs to be marketable to it's desired/intended audience. I wouldn't know how to market a game where ease-of-use is actively discouraged.

Also IIRC BR made the smg for Iceball

[MrHaaax]

Speaking of which, what kind of audiences do you plan to introduce this game to, Willy? I'm certain that we've had enough of Minecraft fans and 13 year old kids screaming profanity in the chat.

[EldredChandler]

First, the difficulty to install the game (although I'm sure there was pre-compiled builds somewhere). Second, the difficulty to play the game; Iceball was made with many options disabling noobs to play like kick_on_join enabled by default.=

There were Windows builds right on the site.

[LeCom]

Either way, paid or f2p, a game needs to be marketable to it's desired/intended audience. I wouldn't know how to market a game where ease-of-use is actively discouraged.

That sounds like a comment of one of these companies that turn games into shit by sucking money out of them.
In any case, it's easy to make a game simple to use, the programmer just needs to work on it. However, Iceball may also have just been too boring, since there's only the rifle and the map isn't really classicgen.

[ThisFrickinSite]

No, OpenGL doesn't work fine, you just don't notice that on your expensive PC.
Iceball is a fully new and different game too, but nobody plays it cause it doesn't have any players.

You don't need an expensive computer for OpenGL to work fine...

[Xpert658]

No, OpenGL doesn't work fine, you just don't notice that on your expensive PC.
Iceball is a fully new and different game too, but nobody plays it cause it doesn't have any players.

You don't need an expensive computer for OpenGL to work fine...

You don't really need a good comp, just optimize the game well.
*cough* Half-Life 1 *cough*

[1Shot1Kill]

No, OpenGL doesn't work fine, you just don't notice that on your expensive PC.
Iceball is a fully new and different game too, but nobody plays it cause it doesn't have any players.

You don't need an expensive computer for OpenGL to work fine...

You don't really need a good comp, just optimize the game well.
*cough* Half-Life 1 *cough*

A game that came out about 15 years ago runs well even on crappy computers? Go figure.

[Xpert658]

No, OpenGL doesn't work fine, you just don't notice that on your expensive PC.
Iceball is a fully new and different game too, but nobody plays it cause it doesn't have any players.

You don't need an expensive computer for OpenGL to work fine...

You don't really need a good comp, just optimize the game well.
*cough* Half-Life 1 *cough*

A game that came out about 15 years ago runs well even on crappy computers? Go figure.

It uses OpenGL.
Look, my point is, as long as it's optimized right, it can run on crappy pcs.

[LeFizzy]

Don't forget the Linux & Mac users! :D

[LeCom]

OpenGL needs a lot more time when rendering voxels though. I have a few really good PCs, one is even super new bought just before summer this year, and runs openspades with 10-20 FPS with lowest settings. Other games automatically run faster cause their terrain is different.

@Fizzy, at least linux has Wine ;)