Plus, they renewed the license. That alone should stop the constant "IS THE GAME GOING TO END" speculation every time there's a generous sale or giveaway.
This game needs a fresh infusion of talent on the team, with fresh ideas and the resources to implement new modes and update existing material on a timely basis (Gauntlet/Honor Hall/Time Portal)
With all the added resources, there are a few key things that I would love to see introduced, in the name of communication and transparency.
1) A standardized calendar for regular updates, which could be annual, semi-annual, quarterly, etc...
- all the various crew pools (portals, voyages, etc...)
- gauntlet crew
- honor hall crew
- collection additions/expansions
- achievement additions/expansions
2) A published development roadmap that looks out 6, 12 or even 18 months. Not only would it be great to know what new things lay ahead for the game, but it would be an effective way of closing the loop on all the various feedback players provide via surveys both in-game and on the forums.
With all the added resources, there are a few key things that I would love to see introduced, in the name of communication and transparency.
1) A standardized calendar for regular updates, which could be annual, semi-annual, quarterly, etc...
- all the various crew pools (portals, voyages, etc...)
- gauntlet crew
- honor hall crew
- collection additions/expansions
- achievement additions/expansions
2) A published development roadmap that looks out 6, 12 or even 18 months. Not only would it be great to know what new things lay ahead for the game, but it would be an effective way of closing the loop on all the various feedback players provide via surveys both in-game and on the forums.
And...better communication. We had someone from DB (Erin Prince?) mention in a podcast and on here that they were working on things, and nothing ever came about, such as a fleet leaderboard, fleet rewards among others. So hopefully better communication with TP. TP is the new DB?
Just to help manage expectations...
Adding people may and may not be meaningful. Hopefully it is. But what if one of the new people is HR? And another accounting? These things could have been managed by someone from DB who did that stuff for all games that DB runs. Now DB is out. TP has to dedicate staff to these functions. It will be great if TP breathes some new life into the game. I fully suspect that they will. But... They will have limitations and I respect that too.
I dont see there is anyway to grow thier investment without some game dynamic investment. Sure there may also be just more money grab but need to engage the spenders not just ask for more money for the same product.
I dont see there is anyway to grow thier investment without some game dynamic investment. Sure there may also be just more money grab but need to engage the spenders not just ask for more money for the same product.
I think it could be really good.
I don’t know much about the business world but it’s possible they could have bought it because it’s a money maker already without the need for real changes
Tilting Point has exhibited their influence on the game via better offers for the money spent. That was something DB struggled with. DB priced their low-mid range spenders out of the picture with their old offers. When Tilting Point came in, you began to see offers that even the mid-low market spenders would bite on.
Offers like the $10 LTO golds, 490 dil reduced mega packs, 390 dil recaps, campaigns, the convergence day offers.
Good economic practices dictate that if you can appeal offers to your low-mid range spenders, you make far more money. Mega whales are gonna light money on fire regardless. But if you can get the next level of spenders to spend a bit more. Tilting Point seems to get this, given their reputation and history in the mobile game market.
The trick is to see if they can continue to manage these offers without breaking game balance and the entire economy.
Tilting Point has exhibited their influence on the game via better offers for the money spent. That was something DB struggled with. DB priced their low-mid range spenders out of the picture with their old offers. When Tilting Point came in, you began to see offers that even the mid-low market spenders would bite on.
Offers like the $10 LTO golds, 490 dil reduced mega packs, 390 dil recaps, campaigns, the convergence day offers.
Good economic practices dictate that if you can appeal offers to your low-mid range spenders, you make far more money. Mega whales are gonna light money on fire regardless. But if you can get the next level of spenders to spend a bit more. Tilting Point seems to get this, given their reputation and history in the mobile game market.
The trick is to see if they can continue to manage these offers without breaking game balance and the entire economy.
True this! The $25 offers that include 3500, 4000 dilithium are a great example of this as well.
No, they cooperated with Tilting Point at first only:
"In fact, Timelines was one of the first games supported by the company’s user acquisition fund. And through those efforts, the Tilting Point team came to believe that there’s still plenty of opportunity for growth.
“We spent a good amount of time over the past year-and-a-half to two years helping the team scale the game to success, helping them bring a user to the game using our ability to do user acquisition, as well as improving the game itself in terms of our operations,” El Agili said. “What we have seen over this time is that Star Trek Timelines is a very impressive game, its users are very sticky.”
With the last part they are right considering how many loyal fans we see here in the forum...
Plus, they renewed the license. That alone should stop the constant "IS THE GAME GOING TO END" speculation every time there's a generous sale or giveaway.
If we disregard the commentary and get down to the facts, over several months the offers and rewards have been better and more frequent. As they have been working together for some time now it would seem clear that this has been a joint venture to improve the game and experience for all.
And maybe “sticky” being taken negative by some but trek fans are sticky/serious/loyal or any other word that could be used to describe us. I dont take it negative. As long as the game is fun, we will “stick” around, loyalty. 🖖🏻
@shan 👍🏻🎉 our sensory pathways are accustomed to your input. On this we may be “sticky” serious.
There was a mention of this being planned for months. It may have been part of the plan to run some abnormally good sales to get TP a little starting capital. Call me a pessimist, but I do not look for these deals to continue. My hope is that TP adds new content/gameplay and figures out how to monetize that to cover the costs of a new feature.
There was a mention of this being planned for months. It may have been part of the plan to run some abnormally good sales to get TP a little starting capital. Call me a pessimist, but I do not look for these deals to continue. My hope is that TP adds new content/gameplay and figures out how to monetize that to cover the costs of a new feature.
Time will tell. I am much more worried personally though where Star Trek:Picard is going than Star Trek Timelines.
Some things don´t quite add up really. DB seemingly wants to focus on technology and business deals like the selling of STT take time. DB announced to release an Archer (no Banjo, not your beloved Archer) in november though.
So how does that fit their new direction? Has this Archer game been cancelled after first announcing it? Which would be a strange way to plan business. And if it still will be released why focus on a franchise with not as much possibilities as Star Trek and let STT go? I find that quite puzzling really.
On the other hand when the cooperation with Tilting Point point started TP invested 29 millions to promote STT, get new users into it etc. It seems DB and TP are really close partners by now, so maybe DB gave it over to TP so that as the sole owner they will get more of their cash back. While DB will benefit from them in different ways...
I dont see there is anyway to grow thier investment without some game dynamic investment. Sure there may also be just more money grab but need to engage the spenders not just ask for more money for the same product.
I think it could be really good.
I don’t know much about the business world but it’s possible they could have bought it because it’s a money maker already without the need for real changes
Can confirm this is a thing; one of my previous jobs was at a place that had revenues of $10-15 billion a year with I think more than a $1 billion in profits...they got bought a few years before I started there because the company that bought them wanted a solid stream of income more than anything else.
Some things don´t quite add up really. DB seemingly wants to focus on technology and business deals like the selling of STT take time. DB announced to release an Archer (no Banjo, not your beloved Archer) in november though.
So how does that fit their new direction? Has this Archer game been cancelled after first announcing it? Which would be a strange way to plan business. And if it still will be released why focus on a franchise with not as much possibilities as Star Trek and let STT go? I find that quite puzzling really.
On the other hand when the cooperation with Tilting Point point started TP invested 29 millions to promote STT, get new users into it etc. It seems DB and TP are really close partners by now, so maybe DB gave it over to TP so that as the sole owner they will get more of their cash back. While DB will benefit from them in different ways...
Well the blog is gone. There is no more reference to the Archer game on their website. It certainly feels like the game has been dropped.
Alternative conspiracy hypothesis. DB was bleeding cash. All the recent offers were their attempt to bring in enough cash to keep the lights on. They may have even owed money to Tilting Point from their previous deal. In the end DB needed cash or they were going to go bankrupt. Selling STT to Tilting Point gave DB enough cash to continue focusing on their Disruptor Engine. Or possibly Tilting Point acquiring STT was a result of DB defaulting on obligations to Tilting Point from their previous partnership.
In the end, the news for STT is good. It is now owned by a company that from all indication wants to invest more money into the game.
What that means for DB in the long term is an open question. But at least STT should be able to survive.
Well the blog is gone. There is no more reference to the Archer game on their website. It certainly feels like the game has been dropped.
Alternative conspiracy hypothesis. DB was bleeding cash. All the recent offers were their attempt to bring in enough cash to keep the lights on. They may have even owed money to Tilting Point from their previous deal. In the end DB needed cash or they were going to go bankrupt. Selling STT to Tilting Point gave DB enough cash to continue focusing on their Disruptor Engine. Or possibly Tilting Point acquiring STT was a result of DB defaulting on obligations to Tilting Point from their previous partnership.
In the end, the news for STT is good. It is now owned by a company that from all indication wants to invest more money into the game.
What that means for DB in the long term is an open question. But at least STT should be able to survive.
This hypothesis surely sounds like a possible scenario. Also as you found out well: The blog about the Archer game is gone. Probably another case of not well thought out/planned business. Same as time back when they got too confident of success, bought expensive office buildings etc. And then their Walking Dead game flopped.
But as you said: For STT the current development seems good. More manpower, as some news say an inspired team that has fresh ideas. Which could lead to good things.
Yes, the perspectives for DB don´t seem too rosy right now, at least for the moment the outlook for this game is better.
What does everything think about the Event changes? Tipping Point getting right into it?
Too early to judge imho. If it is indeed a unique thing like Shan said
"Unless things change and are communicated as such, the 4* ranked reward being bonus crew for a following event is unique to this particular event."
and since I am not overly interested in this event apart from getting Bashir I don´t mind. Let´s see if it will become a regular thing in the future, that would be something else...
What does everything think about the Event changes? Tipping Point getting right into it?
Too early to judge imho. If it is indeed a unique thing like Shan said
"Unless things change and are communicated as such, the 4* ranked reward being bonus crew for a following event is unique to this particular event."
and since I am not overly interested in this event apart from getting Bashir I don´t mind. Let´s see if it will become a regular thing in the future, that would be something else...
Yes. But the other thing they did not pass on info to us through Shan. The extra 5 🌟
"The truth is like a lion; you don't have to defend it. Let it loose; it will defend itself."
And maybe “sticky” being taken negative by some but trek fans are sticky/serious/loyal or any other word that could be used to describe us. I dont take it negative. As long as the game is fun, we will “stick” around, loyalty.
My gosh. I knew what was meant by "sticky". It was my attempt at a joke. Humour does not travel very well on the internet clearly.
In my experience, these kinds of acquisitions rarely go very well for existing users. I won't hold my breath, but who knows.
Since DB moves away from games and in a completely new direction without Tilting Point getting STT the game would be gone completely I guess. So at least for the moment (this year?) we can enjoy it still. Better then nothing. Let us see what the future will bring...
Well the blog is gone. There is no more reference to the Archer game on their website. It certainly feels like the game has been dropped.
Alternative conspiracy hypothesis. DB was bleeding cash. All the recent offers were their attempt to bring in enough cash to keep the lights on. They may have even owed money to Tilting Point from their previous deal. In the end DB needed cash or they were going to go bankrupt. Selling STT to Tilting Point gave DB enough cash to continue focusing on their Disruptor Engine. Or possibly Tilting Point acquiring STT was a result of DB defaulting on obligations to Tilting Point from their previous partnership.
In the end, the news for STT is good. It is now owned by a company that from all indication wants to invest more money into the game.
What that means for DB in the long term is an open question. But at least STT should be able to survive.
This hypothesis surely sounds like a possible scenario. Also as you found out well: The blog about the Archer game is gone. Probably another case of not well thought out/planned business. Same as time back when they got too confident of success, bought expensive office buildings etc. And then their Walking Dead game flopped.
But as you said: For STT the current development seems good. More manpower, as some news say an inspired team that has fresh ideas. Which could lead to good things.
Yes, the perspectives for DB don´t seem too rosy right now, at least for the moment the outlook for this game is better.
The Archer game confused me from the start...the show hasn’t been great since season 6 or so and might not get renewed past season 11 later this year because ratings have been dropping since the beginning of season 5. Starting development on a game only a few months after the renewal for what very likely could be the final season of the show seemed to me like it would end even worse than the TWD debacle.
In my experience, these kinds of acquisitions rarely go very well for existing users. I won't hold my breath, but who knows.
Since DB moves away from games and in a completely new direction without Tilting Point getting STT the game would be gone completely I guess. So at least for the moment (this year?) we can enjoy it still. Better then nothing. Let us see what the future will bring...
The way I read the announcement, DB will no longer be developing whole games as it focuses all of its efforts on middleware development. If DB goes under after all, I would be surprised if TP/WRC would not bring in enough DB development talent to maintain the Disruptor Engine and protect their investment rather than giving up and eating the loss of millions of dollars of income and tens of millions of investment dollars.
Since DB moves away from games and in a completely new direction without Tilting Point getting STT the game would be gone completely I guess. So at least for the moment (this year?) we can enjoy it still. Better then nothing. Let us see what the future will bring...
The way I read the announcement, DB will no longer be developing whole games as it focuses all of its efforts on middleware development. If DB goes under after all, I would be surprised if TP/WRC would not bring in enough DB development talent to maintain the Disruptor Engine and protect their investment rather than giving up and eating the loss of millions of dollars of income and tens of millions of investment dollars.
I would expect Tilting Point has some clause in their license with DB that if DB ever closes Tilting Point gets copy of whatever version of the Disruptor Engine code Tilting Point is using. Then Tilting Point can start with that and keep the game running on their own.
I think there is a lot of wishful thinking about the future of the game. TP said they invested heavily in the game and will “expand the team”. If you look and see what they did, 100% of the investment was in customer acquisition. Yes the deals were better. But that seems to the extent of their plan. They never actually spent money on the game itself. Why would they?
If you read the post from the former game director they put a hold on new features and spent resources on the tech debt (upgrading the game to run on newer and newer OS’s). He gave for example they canceled all new ships re-prioritized funding.
TP figured out the spending which DB was too stubborn to try, DB position was; well people are spending on these overpriced deals why would we offer lower priced deals and make less money. Well as someone pointing out, whales are gonna whale, you don’t have to only make whale deals. You want to figure out how to get regular mid level spenders to spend regularly. For years players told them that a $10 monthly card with a bit more stuff would be something we would spend on. The $10 Campaigns are basically what we asked for 4 years ago.
I see TP doing more of that. The mid week events are what other games do and was inevitably. If you’re happy with the game as is the TP acquisition is great. You will continue to see improvements in the economics of the game. If you are looking for new features I doubt we will get that. Thats not really what companies do when they buy an already established game,
I looked a bit at the other games made by TP and was not impressed. Reading the reviews it looks like this will be the biggest game for them. I hope they don't ruin it.
Comments
That is awesome to hear! Thanks for that tidbit
This game needs a fresh infusion of talent on the team, with fresh ideas and the resources to implement new modes and update existing material on a timely basis (Gauntlet/Honor Hall/Time Portal)
Second Star to the Right - Join Today!
With all the added resources, there are a few key things that I would love to see introduced, in the name of communication and transparency.
1) A standardized calendar for regular updates, which could be annual, semi-annual, quarterly, etc...
- all the various crew pools (portals, voyages, etc...)
- gauntlet crew
- honor hall crew
- collection additions/expansions
- achievement additions/expansions
2) A published development roadmap that looks out 6, 12 or even 18 months. Not only would it be great to know what new things lay ahead for the game, but it would be an effective way of closing the loop on all the various feedback players provide via surveys both in-game and on the forums.
And...better communication. We had someone from DB (Erin Prince?) mention in a podcast and on here that they were working on things, and nothing ever came about, such as a fleet leaderboard, fleet rewards among others. So hopefully better communication with TP. TP is the new DB?
Captain Level: 95
VIP Level: 12
Unique Crew Immortalized: 525
Collections Completed: Vulcan, Ferengi, Borg, Romulan, Cardassian, Uncommon, Rare, Veteran, Common, Engineered, Physician, Innovator, Inspiring, Diplomat, Jury Rigger, Gauntlet Legends
Adding people may and may not be meaningful. Hopefully it is. But what if one of the new people is HR? And another accounting? These things could have been managed by someone from DB who did that stuff for all games that DB runs. Now DB is out. TP has to dedicate staff to these functions. It will be great if TP breathes some new life into the game. I fully suspect that they will. But... They will have limitations and I respect that too.
I dont see there is anyway to grow thier investment without some game dynamic investment. Sure there may also be just more money grab but need to engage the spenders not just ask for more money for the same product.
I think it could be really good.
I don’t know much about the business world but it’s possible they could have bought it because it’s a money maker already without the need for real changes
Offers like the $10 LTO golds, 490 dil reduced mega packs, 390 dil recaps, campaigns, the convergence day offers.
Good economic practices dictate that if you can appeal offers to your low-mid range spenders, you make far more money. Mega whales are gonna light money on fire regardless. But if you can get the next level of spenders to spend a bit more. Tilting Point seems to get this, given their reputation and history in the mobile game market.
The trick is to see if they can continue to manage these offers without breaking game balance and the entire economy.
Second Star to the Right - Join Today!
True this! The $25 offers that include 3500, 4000 dilithium are a great example of this as well.
If we disregard the commentary and get down to the facts, over several months the offers and rewards have been better and more frequent. As they have been working together for some time now it would seem clear that this has been a joint venture to improve the game and experience for all.
And maybe “sticky” being taken negative by some but trek fans are sticky/serious/loyal or any other word that could be used to describe us. I dont take it negative. As long as the game is fun, we will “stick” around, loyalty. 🖖🏻
@shan 👍🏻🎉 our sensory pathways are accustomed to your input. On this we may be “sticky” serious.
Time will tell. I am much more worried personally though where Star Trek:Picard is going than Star Trek Timelines.
So how does that fit their new direction? Has this Archer game been cancelled after first announcing it? Which would be a strange way to plan business. And if it still will be released why focus on a franchise with not as much possibilities as Star Trek and let STT go? I find that quite puzzling really.
On the other hand when the cooperation with Tilting Point point started TP invested 29 millions to promote STT, get new users into it etc. It seems DB and TP are really close partners by now, so maybe DB gave it over to TP so that as the sole owner they will get more of their cash back. While DB will benefit from them in different ways...
Can confirm this is a thing; one of my previous jobs was at a place that had revenues of $10-15 billion a year with I think more than a $1 billion in profits...they got bought a few years before I started there because the company that bought them wanted a solid stream of income more than anything else.
Well the blog is gone. There is no more reference to the Archer game on their website. It certainly feels like the game has been dropped.
Alternative conspiracy hypothesis. DB was bleeding cash. All the recent offers were their attempt to bring in enough cash to keep the lights on. They may have even owed money to Tilting Point from their previous deal. In the end DB needed cash or they were going to go bankrupt. Selling STT to Tilting Point gave DB enough cash to continue focusing on their Disruptor Engine. Or possibly Tilting Point acquiring STT was a result of DB defaulting on obligations to Tilting Point from their previous partnership.
In the end, the news for STT is good. It is now owned by a company that from all indication wants to invest more money into the game.
What that means for DB in the long term is an open question. But at least STT should be able to survive.
This hypothesis surely sounds like a possible scenario. Also as you found out well: The blog about the Archer game is gone. Probably another case of not well thought out/planned business. Same as time back when they got too confident of success, bought expensive office buildings etc. And then their Walking Dead game flopped.
But as you said: For STT the current development seems good. More manpower, as some news say an inspired team that has fresh ideas. Which could lead to good things.
Yes, the perspectives for DB don´t seem too rosy right now, at least for the moment the outlook for this game is better.
Too early to judge imho. If it is indeed a unique thing like Shan said
"Unless things change and are communicated as such, the 4* ranked reward being bonus crew for a following event is unique to this particular event."
and since I am not overly interested in this event apart from getting Bashir I don´t mind. Let´s see if it will become a regular thing in the future, that would be something else...
Yes. But the other thing they did not pass on info to us through Shan. The extra 5 🌟
I definitely get the impression that some of the people here are sticky...
In my experience, these kinds of acquisitions rarely go very well for existing users. I won't hold my breath, but who knows.
My gosh. I knew what was meant by "sticky". It was my attempt at a joke. Humour does not travel very well on the internet clearly.
Since DB moves away from games and in a completely new direction without Tilting Point getting STT the game would be gone completely I guess. So at least for the moment (this year?) we can enjoy it still. Better then nothing. Let us see what the future will bring...
The Archer game confused me from the start...the show hasn’t been great since season 6 or so and might not get renewed past season 11 later this year because ratings have been dropping since the beginning of season 5. Starting development on a game only a few months after the renewal for what very likely could be the final season of the show seemed to me like it would end even worse than the TWD debacle.
The way I read the announcement, DB will no longer be developing whole games as it focuses all of its efforts on middleware development. If DB goes under after all, I would be surprised if TP/WRC would not bring in enough DB development talent to maintain the Disruptor Engine and protect their investment rather than giving up and eating the loss of millions of dollars of income and tens of millions of investment dollars.
I would expect Tilting Point has some clause in their license with DB that if DB ever closes Tilting Point gets copy of whatever version of the Disruptor Engine code Tilting Point is using. Then Tilting Point can start with that and keep the game running on their own.
If you read the post from the former game director they put a hold on new features and spent resources on the tech debt (upgrading the game to run on newer and newer OS’s). He gave for example they canceled all new ships re-prioritized funding.
TP figured out the spending which DB was too stubborn to try, DB position was; well people are spending on these overpriced deals why would we offer lower priced deals and make less money. Well as someone pointing out, whales are gonna whale, you don’t have to only make whale deals. You want to figure out how to get regular mid level spenders to spend regularly. For years players told them that a $10 monthly card with a bit more stuff would be something we would spend on. The $10 Campaigns are basically what we asked for 4 years ago.
I see TP doing more of that. The mid week events are what other games do and was inevitably. If you’re happy with the game as is the TP acquisition is great. You will continue to see improvements in the economics of the game. If you are looking for new features I doubt we will get that. Thats not really what companies do when they buy an already established game,