After researching further into Steam and the way SteamWorks affects the products into which it has been integrated I have a number of questions, I can't state them all clearly yet so I'll start with this one:
This question assumes 1) Civ5 will not be perfect when it goes Gold and 2) You intend to support the product by issuing patches to fix imperfections.
On Civ4 it was very common for certain types of Mod to be highly dependent not just on your version, i.e. vanilla/warlords/BTS but also on your patch level.
Given that Steam forces you, when running a game online, to update your game to the latest patch, how will this affect the mods available in your new online community hub.
It appears, if modding capabilities are to be as extensive as promised, as if any time a patch is released some/many/most (depending on implementation) of the mods available in the online mod hub would be instantly invalidated due to not working with the latest patch, as was the case with Civ4 when (e.g.) BTS3.19 was released.
Some examples of why I am concerned:
- The Steam option 'No automatic updates' does not mean what many people think it does.
What it actually means is don't download and install patches for a game unless I manually tell you to...which sounds fine until you realise that the act of running a game means you are, in Steam's eyes, ready to patch, at which point it will now, as I understand it, refuse to run the game, even if you try to go offline, until it has been patched.
- I realise that one can, in theory, avoid updating to a new patch level by playing offline all the time, but...
this solution is fraught with dangers and a poor solution for the average gamer. For example, staying offline means one can no longer access the new community hub features and easily acquire updates to mods. Most gamers will not understand the potential conflict issues between mods and patches and will normally be unfamiliar with the existing network of fan sites for acquiring/updating mods without connecting to Steam. These gamers (i.e most of them) will be going online to look for new mods and updates to their current mods, at which point they can get a patch that bricks some of their current favorite mods. This is a recipe for a customer relations disaster.
- Even for gamers that are aware of the issues with mod/patch conflicts and intend to stay offline when playing Civ5...
it is human nature to be forgetful and if they finish playing another online game and then later decide to play Civ it is inevitable that they will eventually accidentally start Civ with the Steam Client in online mode...at which point they are basically hosed because once a patch has been found there is no way to prevent it being applied and even reinstalling will not help because as part of the reinstall Steam will see there is a patch and insist it is installed before the game can be run. Again this has the potential for many unhappy customers.
There are many legitimate, community related reasons for avoiding automated update of a turn-based strategy game, more-so than almost any other type of game. Games of Civ can take weeks, months in the case of PBEM games, and a forced update in the middle of such a game, could brick the mod being used, throw PBEM play into confusion (as some get updated and some do not), fracture the community as some update and some do not etc, etc.
Hopefully these examples give you some idea of the scenarios it is important to address in your FAQ related to this question, this is not an issue just for the hardcore CivFanatics but also for the casual gamers who may be put off the use of mods (which I understood was to be encouraged by Civ5) completely if these issues have not been addressed in the released game.
Note: This question overlaps significantly with the area of DLC.
I realise DLC is not announced for Civ5 per se, but consider this a preemptive hint at the issues it could cause. For example DLC could have the same impact on mods as patches if the DLC necessitates changes in gameplay code, XML schemas or LUA scripts.
Also I assume DLC will require going online to purchase and download (doh!) which means uptake of DLC could be affected by gamers who would like the DLC not being able to get it because of the chain reaction:
Want DLC => Must install patch => brick my favourite mod =>
customer.
and, just as importantly to you guys
Want DLC => Must install patch => Can't use patch since it would brick my favourite mod/ruin my current game => Lost DLC revenue =>
all round.
I'm pretty sure some of these questions have been asked already in far briefer and more succinct ways...but the discovery of the actual workings of the 'No automatic updates' option was an eye-opener to me and was what prompted me to ask this question in my own way.
Hopefully your answer is, don't worry we have planned for all of these. We have designed/coded Civ5 and integrated with Steam in such a way that they do not occur. If not, I hope your FAQ can give us some guidance as to how you do plan to address them.
I cannot stress strongly enough that if Civ5 behaves as Civ4 did in this area then given the wider visibility of mods and the potential impact of patches (+DLC?) on any currently installed mods the likelihood of significant customer dissatisfaction is high.
