Hi everybody. Much thanks to Arby3 for kicking this off and to everybody who submitted questions. We'll be doing these monthly, with the Patron Commander level subscribers leading the process.Onto the Q&A!
Arby3 wrote:What is the status of a mobile app for IC?
Deprioritized, unfortunately. There are a few things with the core game that need to be ironed out as a higher priority before I’m comfortable diving into the app. It’s still on the list for sure, but it will be out later than planned. Current (hopeful) ETA is 2018 but it can change in either direction; hopefully sooner.
Arby3 wrote:If a mobile app is made, are you going to guarantee not to walk down the dark path of P2P features?
Absolutely. IC has too rich of a history and too strong of a community to be cheapened in that manner. I know I’m not the only one who avoids p2w games like the plague, and for good reason. There are better ways to make money that don’t involve exploiting our playerbase.
Arby3 wrote:When is the estimated time frame of doing the mass email circulation of registered users to help drum up old farts and faces?
Current plan is later this month. We’re finally in a place where some larger changes are settling and reaching out to our oldbies makes more sense.
Arby3 wrote:Any advertising plans to increase new registered and active users?
Definitely. I've experimented a bit so far with Google, Facebook, and reddit ads with some decent results and plan to do more. On top of that, I’m looking at free promo options like YouTube videos, artwork, and even giving writing a shot.
Arby3 wrote:Will there be merchandise available any time soon? (And I don’t mean socks)
Probably not “soon” but it’s definitely something I want us to have. The challenge here is that the sources of most of our graphics are still generally unknown, which means selling anything based on our current imagery puts us in questionable legal territory. We’re slowly fixing this but contracting an artist is more expensive than I can afford right now.
Arby3 wrote:What is the current outlook of a graphics overhaul and is there any projected plans on getting community involvement?
In addition to the legal issues above, we also have a serious lack of consistency in our visuals. We deserve a proper graphical/theme redesign but again budget is the challenge.
As for community involvement, that’s a big YES. The ideal system I have in mind is one where we have a default theme but it can be changed to player-created submissions. So any creative player could spin up their own images and submit it for everybody to use as their preferred visual experience.
On top of that, I’ve been thinking about reaching out to artists from my days as a webcomic author and fan. There was a strip I used to read called Nervillsaga that was a riot. I'd love to work with its creator, Kyle Weems in some manner. Shout out from a fan, Kyle!
Arby3 wrote:Operating costs of the server is now covered by Patreon subscriptions. You don’t make any money, but you’re not losing any money either from an operating perspective. How much “free” time are you scheduling out of your workload to work on IC projects?
More than is responsible to be candid. About 6-10 hours a day depending on what else is happening with my day job and freelance work. I’m hoping this changes for the better, and the Patreon subscriptions are gaining traction (you guys are awesome!) but unfortunately for the moment I’m still subject to have to switch to “no time for IC” mode if I find myself in dry spells with my other job(s).
Arby3 wrote:TBO wants to cash in his tag points. Are they going to be of any use in the future?
YES! I’m really excited about this actually; there are some community features in the works in which players will be able to “spend” their points on various items. Nothing to gain an in-game advantage, but stuff like naming solar systems, earning enough to run a custom galaxy without donating, that kind of thing.
Arby3 wrote:How is the new management structure going to work. Are you going to be available 24/7? As the game grows, will this expand based on volunteers or a compensated position that would be dedicated support 24/7?
I’ll do my best but at some point will probably become less and less available in chat. 
. It sucks to say but as mentioned above my other jobs will dictate my overall availability.
The good news is, IC has a strong history of volunteer staff and I anticipate that continuing in some form. Our best help has always been fellow players with strong standing within the community.
I don’t think a compensated position is viable given our budget but you never know.
Arby3 wrote:Are there plans for creation of a tutorial instead of an old outdated FAQ?
Yeah, the goal here is to integrate the surface-level FAQ and Guide information directly into the game in the form of info blurbs. You can see the initial iterations of this in the current fleet-build page, which used to look so much noisier.
For more advanced information, TBO has been talking about doing screencasts which I think is a fantastic idea. Now that we have the 1-minute-tick test server, doing simulations is very much attainable.
Arby3 wrote:What is being done to appeal to a new and modern player base.
UI improvements are the biggest thing, by far. The web has evolved so much since Imperial Conflict started and within the last year we’ve made some progress but the game still very much feels like a 2000s era game. Part of that is intended aesthetic for sure, but much of what we have is simply unacceptable by today’s standards.
Modern players expect sleek designs and intuitive UI. While I’m not much of a graphic designer, I do have some UI chops and look forward to cleaning up the experience even more so this year than we did last year.
Arby3 wrote:Is there going to be a custom galaxy creation interface developed to let those who have that ability make galaxies at their own discretion and limitations?
Yep. I have some “secret” features coming here that I hope you all will like, but the general goal is to put the power that was formerly reserved for the moderators directly into the players’ hands.
Arby3 wrote:How much freedom will be granted in options for such custom galaxies?
100% freedom. Anything that a regular galaxy can do, a custom galaxy will also be able to do.
Arby3 wrote:Patreon site states that $2,000 USD per month in subs would allow you to work on IC full time. That’s not much for a developer income. Does that mean you’ll still do the occasional side project as you find time?
The wording there was hard to get right. The phrasing isn’t quite full time but rather, "pay myself at a contractor's rate” which was my way of not scaring people away. Working full time would actually require a Patreon base of $6000 a month which feels a little obscene to ask for, at least until our player base grows.
As for what $2000 a month means, it would allow me to guarantee about 2 hours a day on development, which to be completely honest I’m going to do anyway. I think that number will really serve more as validation than development funding, at least at first. If we can prove that we have enough financial support within the community to secure $2000 monthly then I’ll feel more comfortable taking financial risks by working on IC for 16 hours a day instead of 8.
Arby3 wrote:What gameplay changes do you see in the near future that will change how IC works from the “traditional” sense, such as fam bank, races, or build strategies?
I would like to make battle a more frequent part of the game with more variety in our experiences. For a military strategy game there actually isn’t a whole lot of tactical depth to what we do. The game has long favored a pattern of racing to secure economic stability and giant defensive fleets, which I think gets boring. The big wars have their place for sure, but I think we need to find more ways to let smaller and newer players get a taste of the action. Empires aren’t vulnerable enough, including and especially large empires.
Arby3 wrote:Are game play formulas, such as morale, going to be public information to help pre plan strategic moves? Or are they going to stay secret from the player base to give more randomness to the game action?
That’s a tough one. It’s not much of an answer but I suppose it’ll depend on the feature. For morale specifically, I’m not against opening that up.
Arby3 wrote:Is there anything you want to tell us about yourself that most of the community doesn't already know?
That’s a good question! We’ve all known each other for so long now.
I guess I don’t talk about my non-IC projects much, so that might be something players don’t really know about.
I used to write/draw a webcomic called S.N.A.T. (Still Needs A Title) that I would love to bring back one day, perhaps even using IC as a setting. Our very own Primo was already a guest star in one of them! This could double as a promotional tool.
Then there’s my other browser game, Troutslap. Squirrel-era IC had DragonLords and FinalConquest as its sister games, so Troutslap could be my addition. Oh, and AR_PEE_GEE, the fantasy-themed IRC RPG game. We’ve talked a bit about porting that to Discord and running it for IC’s players. That’d be super fun.
I don't have much time for any of these currently but maybe after IC grows a bit we could explore getting some of these running again.
Arby3 wrote:What is your biggest need from the community itself at the moment, other than Patreon subs and active gameplay?
Word of mouth! If you’ve got online buds feel free kick em a link to our Discord chat, especially if they’re former ICers! If you have RL family members who you like to play games with once in awhile, consider doing a 1-time custom game with them. A 1v1 deathmatch would be cool, right?
Oh, and as always, honest feedback. Your guys’ perspective is invaluable.
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