Vortex Wars

What can we do to revive this once great game and greater community?

My understanding is that Lopdo has forsaken us and Beaver is too busy to effectively administrate.

So my line of thought is that we need an active developer and some sort of advertising in order to draw in new players.

Fangfallen wrote:So my line of thought is that we need an active developer and some sort of advertising in order to draw in new players.

I don't think we really need advertising to draw in new players (although it would certainly help) to begin rebuilding VW. I say that simply because a new admin who hasn't made any money off the game isn't likely to start paying for ads. A re-release as a rebranded game always seemed like the best option for drawing in players on Kong, AG, etc. Word of mouth seems like the only other way that's been utilized to spread the fame of the game. I think having a few ads in-game to help the admin make some money would help them feel more comfortable with placing their own ads for VW. I've posted a few things on the AG forums to see if I can get a response from someone interested in taking over, but haven't had any hits yet.

Release onto steam, some ads on YouTube or so.

But we need to update the game and finish some of the features beaver had started.

For example the way town of Salem has developed over time with going onto steam and then mobile shows that it can work

Ryankill wrote:Release onto steam, some ads on YouTube or so.

But we need to update the game and finish some of the features beaver had started.

For example the way town of Salem has developed over time with going onto steam and then mobile shows that it can work

Town of salem also has a decent following on YouTube (as in YouTubers playing that game) Example ChilldedChaos and See Royal Viking, I used to watch them play TOS all the time, which got me playing it. Now, I think they play a lot of shellshock which also has a cult following. Lots of factors helped out TOS other than steam and mobile.

I think the only way it could be resurrected at this point is with a VW3 release. The current game is too buggy and unstable to attract the die hard try hard Risk fans that would stick around longer than the game is featured on Kong. It also needs a better rating system and a way to play several slower games at once with say, 24h to complete your turn.

There's another site called Conquer Club which is much closer to the real Risk, but the design is massively scuffed and there aren't game settings like Hardcore, spawns like border/random, etc. It has crazy team modes, though, better maps and as I said, the ability to play as many games as you want at once (if you buy the premium) with a day to do your moves in those games, or you can just do speed games which are just like regular VW.

Overall there's no reason VW couldn't implement these changes and leapfrog that site, which has a comparatively massive and loyal following, because of the appeal of shiny graphics and animations that they don't have and can't easily implement. It would take a dev to actually carry it through the process, though, and as the others said it could be released on Steam. The game has tons of similarities to Shellshock (actual gameplay aside) and it really worked there.

It's a pipe dream, really. I wish this game could be revived but I think there's little to no chance of that happening at this point.

I have thought intensely about this question, and it wasn't until recently that I discovered the solution. I gather that there are 6-10 loyal players still lurking around. Instead of "finding" new players, we just have to generate them! If each of the 6-10 of us has 4 kids, the population will grow by 24-40 new players. Which, as you all have probably (instinctively) converted, equates to 3-5 full 8 player games!

So in about 15 years time, we'll see: 10 old players + 40 gen 1 players = 50 total players *Note that the 50 players will only be true for about 3 years before slowly dying down
-After the span of 18 years, we will have: 10 old players + 10 gen 1 players = 20 loyal VW players

It is now up to the loyal gen 1 player to have 4 kids each: 5 old players (half of us die off) + 10 gen 1 + 40 gen 2 = 55 total players
-18 years span: 5 old players + 10 gen 1 players + 10 gen 2 players = 25 loyal VW players


AND WE'VE DONE IT! Vortex Wars is now self-sustaining! We can have 3 full 8 player games going at any given time. We will only have to generate new players at a 1:1 ratio with the deaths of the old players. This can be maintained and regulated in the form of a fun forum game. Ex: a hot-potato-like, "you have the next child" type game.

Damon 12 wrote:I have thought intensely about this question, and it wasn't until recently that I discovered the solution. I gather that there are 6-10 loyal players still lurking around. Instead of "finding" new players, we just have to generate them! If each of the 6-10 of us has 4 kids, the population will grow by 24-40 new players. Which, as you all have probably (instinctively) converted, equates to 3-5 full 8 player games!

So in about 15 years time, we'll see: 10 old players + 40 gen 1 players = 50 total players *Note that the 50 players will only be true for about 3 years before slowly dying down
-After the span of 18 years, we will have: 10 old players + 10 gen 1 players = 20 loyal VW players

It is now up to the loyal gen 1 player to have 4 kids each: 5 old players (half of us die off) + 10 gen 1 + 40 gen 2 = 55 total players
-18 years span: 5 old players + 10 gen 1 players + 10 gen 2 players = 25 loyal VW players


AND WE'VE DONE IT! Vortex Wars is now self-sustaining! We can have 3 full 8 player games going at any given time. We will only have to generate new players at a 1:1 ratio with the deaths of the old players. This can be maintained and regulated in the form of a fun forum game. Ex: a hot-potato-like, "you have the next child" type game.

Genius. I will run this by my wife immediately.

The words of a true Scholar, Damon 12.

Okay, I think we need to do a VW3 Release and put it on Steam as recommended by Ryankill. Here's where I start modifying his scenario though. Player Customization needs to be a thing, Population upgrades (bought or free) need purged. This will make my favorite race either useless, OP, or broken, so hear me out. Population Reinforcement Cap needs to be a player decision for either Map Designers, Players setting up Lobby, or Both with a "Map Recommended Pop" by designer with lobby creator over-ride.

The most demoralizing thing you can do as a new player is join a huge 8 player FFA and realize you lose because you're capped at 20, and some guy can reinforce at 3x your level. I truly feel this is why Vortex Wars failed. So for the Steam Reboot, race bonus' are important for sure. For the sake of game balance, bonus' and reinforcements CANNOT be premium items.
Races = Great Premium or Freemium items.
EXP and Shard Drop bonus = Great Premium Bonus.
Do not make inherent game balance mechanics premium or you WILL lose a stable player base for the long haul. (Hence us here now)
I never even got to the point of buying all the upgrades, cause after level 21 most of the players I could actually fight >reasonably< on large maps were already gone...

On steam, fullscreen is obviously a main priority. As for the name on release, I would go with;
"Vortex Wars: Reloaded"
"Vortex Wars: Definitive Edition"
"Vortex Wars" -Full Edition
"Vort3x Wars"
"Vortex Wars: Final Rift"

When it goes up on Steam, I think the Steam forums need to be setup to accommodate clans or traffic for them redirected here ASAP, and clans should be ready in-game upon release. Team Games need to be setup where all allies are green, you're blue, and enemies are Red (Yellow for Color Blind Mode)
I'm not sure if it'd be easy, but a full Color-blind mode may be a nice addition now that I mention it. Would that be doable?
https://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/133078/what-colors-to-choose-for-colorblind-people

That's all for my ramblings. I have more ideas, but I'm sure this is already too much

I just realized, with some Re-mapping Vortex Wars wouldn't be unplayable on a Controller! o-o VW:FR could be a cross-platform experience with a release on Console if we can get it off the ground, or provide technical support. That's it. I'm learning to code.