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#1 Another Awsome Pack From Ron :) Thanks I really love ur work Ron I hope to beable to get Ur Cave Pack here soon Just haven't had much work lately but here soon thanks I wish U Luck Ron Don't be a Stranger :) Later

Terry

#2 Ron,

I love your stuff, and it's sad to see you're heartbroken over this. But, you needn't be. I truly believe that the only reason you haven't done as well as you might have hoped is because your packs are too bloody big. If you'd put those conifers out as a pack of trees, and then some palms, a few bushes, etc., as separate packs (for $5 a pop) you'd have a steady trickle coming in each month.

Add to this the fact that you could be commissioning your talents out for the rest of us, that's where you'd really shine, I think.

Hang in there mate. You've put in a good few years on this, and you're bound to have hiccups from time to time. Learn from it; take a break if you need to, then get back on the horse.

#3 @Dan Ya I Agree Ron Really Does have some Great Packs

Terry

#4 Hey Ron, give some thought to retooling the packs for other engine use and imo bump the price up to $100 per pack, the quality is extremely high and the price should reflect that.

Are you continuing development on your game? Hope so.

Thanks for all your work and dedication.

#5 Ron Agian I wish U the Best and Good luck in what ever U do U r a Great Person and A Great (Awson Artist Please Don't be A Stranger Takecare

Terry

#6 @Ron,
If your mind is made up fine.
But maybe go read up about this guy: http://typodermicfonts.com/about/

I had a conversation with him about his passion for fonts. He is a great guy and really down to Earth.

Don't forget anything worth while is going to take close to 10,000 hours to master. People with greater talent generally have done it longer and paid closer attention to cyclic self introspection. They aren't necessarily any better than anyone else.

#7 Ron,

I respect you as a business professional-you took a leap, with a major risk and it bit you in the rear. I do however have a business proposal for you, you'll have to contact me offline about it however, it involves hush hush information, a car... in the middle of the night and exchanging some powder substance in a small zip lock bag. *I'm kidding... it's just e!*

Ron I appreciate that you've taken an active role in what you do, you've submitted work-released work for free use and immensed yourself into the world of Game development. That takes courage, commitment and motivation. It's tough to have those things when you don't have the backing, what is a general without troops? Troops in this situation would be the tons of developers that flocked elsewhere from GarageGames.

That is in part why I made Torque3d.net-to push this game away from GG and give it a rebirth of sorts, get rid of post from 2002, while they are invaluable in information they show new comers to our lovely world that nothing new is emerging when things are! Look at Beam, Look at Legions-these are epitomizing what Torque could become.

I know you and I are on the same page Ron, a lot of talk around here but little being done. You and I are do'ers-we invest and expect results-no bs, no excuses, win the gold or get your throat slit. So again I recommend we talk, my e-mail: lethedethius@gmail.com... from there I'll give you my phone # and we can have a legitimate conversation. But either way-THANK YOU for your years of service!

#8 @Ron : Sad news for sure but the message you deliver I think is extremely valuable to anyone interested in this line of work.

So many bright-eyed dreamers think that simply because they choose a path, the destination is guaranteed to be success. Reality is a harsh mistress sometimes.

I think no one can complain about the quality of the packs, these are pro-grade through and through. I just wish you hadn't convinced me to join the T2D Committee, otherwise I might still have time left for T3D.
:)

as Dan points out, dividing these packs in smaller item packs *might* be a neat idea.

The problem with targeting an open-source engine is that a good portion of the population using it do not have the means to use commercial-grade engines, making the art of selling additional products and packs to them an incredibly difficult task.

Mack discussed targeting other engines; I'd go even farther and release these as game-ready content on turbosquid and 3d asset stores like that, you never know!

Best of luck in your new projects!

#9 Ron, you've definitely been a leader in this community. I'll be very sad to see you 'go', but I wish you all the best wherever you end up next! Do pop in when you can. We'll be a poorer community without you.

As for the economics of game development... it's a sobering piece of advice, and a real reality-check to hear it from one of the best of us. It's chilling to have (at least one) confirmation of what I've suspected for a while - the active Torque community is unfortunately small. And, of course, includes lots of hobbyists like myself who don't make for a good market!

#10 Thanks Ron, you are an inspiration to most here I'm sure. I know for me personally.
No offensive, to GG but you would still sell well promoting your work for other engines as we'll.
Your work is more on a worldwide level and should be promoted as such.
Ron your one of the best artist I know. You just need a wider audience. I hope you still stick with game development.

Good luck...

#11 Alas something about eggs and baskets springs to mind. I really don't think middleware/asset developers should be aiming for a single end audience but would be much better served with "carpet bombing".

Rule #1 of business - go where the money is.

@ Demolishun
I always use Ray Larabie for my fonts. :)

#12 Maybe I'd missed it, though I've been trying to pay attention to the pack news, but was the SSDO or the cloud shadows ever pushed out in any of the packs?

In my personal situation, I've actually got building and foliage models to spare(not a dig against your work Ron, I just was already set when you started pumping out your awesome stuff) but the 'effects' seriously grabbed my eye. While I may not have need for more trees or whatnot right now, something like the supporting effect shaders would definitely have been/be a must buy for me to add that extra polish.

Like others said, you probably wouldn't go amiss to break things up a bit more. It's easier to choke down a $5 or $10 purchase for some tree models you definitely need than 20+ for some tree models you need....plus a bunch of extra stuff you don't.

That, and the effects work you were doing could easily constitute another micro-pack that could trickle more funds your way. Like I said, I know I'd drop cash to get them if you put them up.

Still a good point of keeping things managed until you HAVE 'made it'. The tried and true 'don't quit your day job' is still pretty apt for most people's situations.

#13 Hey Ron, I emailed you a 2-3 days ago about doing some work for us but never got a reply. Maybe check your spam folder. It would be a travesty to see a talent like yourself pick up a shovel and go to work for "the man" full time! We all have to do it sometimes though to support the things we really love doing. I hope you can keep your foot in the door enough to spot opportunities as they come along!

#14 As a content maker, I agree that the torque community can't single handedly make content packs worth it. Release the packs for unity and put them on turbosquid. You probably won't do much better, but it will help with your losses.

I certainly hope you're getting a portfolio and resume and all that together and are planning on applying to various studios. Or at least preparing to freelance full time.

Shoot me an email (through my website) if you want some back and forth on any of this. I've been where you are.

Adam

#15 I can also pitch in and say that the IPS Bundle has got me (while I don't want to go into specific numbers) less than 20 sales.

The Torque community is not a gold mine, and I have always been realistic about that. The only reason I actually created the IPS is because I wanted to create it, not that I saw a possible income source from it.

Tbh I might even have released it for free if it wasn't because I wanted a product that I could put on my portfolio.
Which is also why it is so cheap (there is a shitload of work in that pack with more getting added as we speak) I wanted it to be cheap enough so that many people could pick it up, by no means I was going to make a living off of it.

So the bottomline is, with the Torque community as it is today, size etc. Is not something you can make a living of, you can only do it because you love to do it. If you want to be able to make a living off of content packs, you'd have to support multiple engines which can be a daunting task, especially the type of content pack you are creating considered.

#16 Since all of you lot are sharing your perspective as content creators, let me share mine, as someone who is supposed to purchase that content.

First of all, I never bought a single package, add-on, model pack, whatever. Why? Well, I don't need model and art packs, because I want to create my own. And I refuse to purchase things like the UAISK because something like that should have already been in the engine. Don't get the wrong message, I like this engine with all its flaws and qualities. But there is just one reason I'm using this engine, and that's because it's free. I'm a young guy just trying to make a game and I don't have much money to spend. So, perhaps you lot should reconsider your choices. I'm sorry that this isn't the right market for you, but that's just the way of things. You can't expect amazing sales when the engine itself is free.

#17 @Dino funny you should mention that. One of the reasons I wrote the IPS Bundle was because I found it ridiculous that the particle system was so simple and really FPS-centric. Sure it was great for explosions, fires and smokes etc. But for advanced spell effects or environmental effects (like burning houses) it didn't really cut it.
Thats why I rolled my own.

Imo such a particle system should just be available stock in the engine (as a matter of fact I offered to submit the infrastructure changes to T3D, tho there was no reaction so it's off the table again) so I can follow you on that it's weird to have to pay for some base features. But then again, a lot of people have to commit a lot of work and effort to create these add-ons so unless you find someone who wants to do it for free there is no other way around than having to buy it. (Except from community-buyouts I suppose, but again that requires some sort of funding.)

#18 T3D MIT and T2D MIT are just getting started. I don't see the community as it is, but as it will be. Once it reaches critical mass it will explode. That is one reason I am investing in this community. The other is the engines are excellent and will help me reach my goals which is a shipped game. I am keeping my eye out for opportunities with art packs, code packs, etc. I believe when the time is right it may very well be lucrative to ship packs for this community. But that day is not today. There is quite a bit that needs to happen before that is a reality.

#19 @Lukas
I'm not saying that you don't deserve to get paid for what you do, just that maybe this isn't the right place to do it. Almost all of you lot invest huge amounts of time just to make the best product you possibly can, and I really do appreciate it, but I'm not willing to spend money on it. I just hope that all of you do find some place where you are able to get the money you deserve.

#20 Sad news Ron, good luck and thanks for the pack.