Why not bringing echoes+ to steam ?

[BZooFan]

First i have to say i've been playing echoes for a very long time, i enjoy this game very much, and
i must admit i could not believe such a quality game was released for free. The 2D engine is really impressive.
I'm a big fan of shmups and especially asteroïd like games. To me echoes is even better than geometry wars 1,2, or evolved.
Since i like so much echoes, i was very happy to discover that echoes+ was coming to Xbox live indie and of course i bought it.
It has very good improvements compared to Echoes, and i was just thinking that for sure, i would pay for it if it came to steam.
So this is a very basic question : Do you have any plan to bring Echoes+ to Steam ?

Not related to this topic, but also tried DUO, not as much exciting as Echoes, but still a very good game.
Was just wondering : what are Binary Zoo plans currently ? any new amazing shmup based on your 2D engine ? Any new improvement for your 2D engine ?

Whish you all the best because you really deserve it, thanks again for all the fun you gave to me with echoes !

[T_M_C]

I have mixed feelings about steam.

It has pro's and cons.

If Fog wanted the game to appear on Steam, he would first have to submit it to the steam peer review process.

Where the game would be playtested to see if it was suitable for placement on Steam.  Which i'm, sure it would be.

Then the game would have to be modified to use the Steam client.  Software integration so it can be used on the steam service.

This probably wouldn't be an issue for Echoes + ( since it's written in C# and XNA ) , but the original echoes probably couldn't be modified.

And there is also no reason why Fog couldn't sell the game from this website.  Using a 3rd party to handle to financial transactions.
But then, the issue of game advertising arises, if you want to make sales.  And that can be very time consuming.

One big benefit steam would bring though, is the high amount of traffic it gets.  So, that in itself is a big draw for alot of developers.
And of course the anti piracy issues of the steam service.

TMC

[fog]

Hi BZooFan.  Welcome and thanks for the kind comments

It has very good improvements compared to Echoes, and i was just thinking that for sure, i would pay for it if it came to steam.
So this is a very basic question : Do you have any plan to bring Echoes+ to Steam ?

I don't have any specific plans for Steam right now, but when I get Echoes+ ready for PC I'll look at what distribution channels are possible including Steam.

Not related to this topic, but also tried DUO, not as much exciting as Echoes, but still a very good game.
Was just wondering : what are Binary Zoo plans currently ? any new amazing shmup based on your 2D engine ? Any new improvement for your 2D engine ?

Lots of plans when I have time...

- Finish "1982" (retro fixed screen shmup) for an XBox360 release.

- Release Echoes+ and 1982 on PC and (hopefully) Windows 7 Mobile.

- Release the final version of mono on multiple formats (old demo available in Games section)
 
- Then once all that "old" stuff is updated and released I have a stack of new game ideas I want to try out.

Whish you all the best because you really deserve it, thanks again for all the fun you gave to me with echoes !

Thanks again.  As long as people are having fun then I'm a very happy man

[fulesnabel]

I like Steam
I like Echoes+

I would buy it if you published it on Steam so I could play it on my laptop while doing boring business trips.

PS. Echoes+ is my current favorite game on XBOX 360. I bought it and rated it a 5 as instructed to do on your homepage.

PS. Echoes+ for Windows 7 mobile sounds tasty.

PS. Can I buy/download the music for Echoes+ anywhere. I really enjoy it.

[JDog053]

I really enjoy Echoes + too but unless Fog can set my mind at ease, i'd imagine getting agame like that to play properly at that size would be very tricky without thumbsticks.

Everything else sounds cool nonetheless but its his call. I'll just agree with his decision

[fog]

Hi fulesnabel and that's for the comments

PS. Echoes+ is my current favorite game on XBOX 360. I bought it and rated it a 5 as instructed to do on your homepage.

Thankyou.  Much appreciated.

PS. Can I buy/download the music for Echoes+ anywhere. I really enjoy it.

That's really up to Hybrid Two.  Maybe Aaron or Mike can answer that one?

One of the tunes is in the original Freeware version of Echoes so you could download that and get the mp3 form there.  And you'd also end up with a version of Echoes that would hopefully work on your laptop and help on those "boring business trips"

Download link at bottom of page

PS. Echoes+ for Windows 7 mobile sounds tasty.

I really enjoy Echoes + too but unless Fog can set my mind at ease, i'd imagine getting agame like that to play properly at that size would be very tricky without thumbsticks.

Yeah I could get Echoes+ up and running on a Windows 7 Mobile quite quickly, the problem would b getting the controls to work satisfactorily.  Having played plenty of iPhone games I don't think there is a touch screen control system I'd be happy with and in that case I'd never release it.

Current project 1982 though should be perfect for the Mobile format.