How much do CDs cost nowadays? Not very much. So... I started thinking about how Guild could make money by selling Vendetta CDs to people with dialup. Eventually more rigorous server testing will be required before the game becomes popular. I think that time would be good to start offering more options on actually getting the beta.

I'd estimate that shipping and handling would be five bucks. So maybe $7-9 total would be a reasonable price. Essentially a new CD will be burned for every new point release (i.e. 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, etc.). A printed manual and bonus features (sketches, interviews, etc.) will be included also, unlike the online download. Of course people can still download the beta online, but for someone to download Vendetta from the start (or even major updates) on a dialup connection can be tedious.

Another thing is merchandise. C'mon, guys!! I'd LOVE to pay for a Vendetta t-shirt or hooded sweatshirt! Have a nifty rendering or schematic outline of a Hornet in the front, and make it look all mechanical and technical. It would be a series of shirts with a different ship on each one or whatever. There are so many possibilities. Point is, any Vendetta fan would love to burn a few bucks on merchandise, and it seems to me that the company is missing out on another source of income.

Guild Software has been awefully quiet about their financial status, and it's starting to get me worried. Hopefully everything is under control and there's enough to get the ball rolling. However, I think there are many solutions to providing more income to make production last, while at the same time having fun and getting fans more into the game.

If it came with bonus features, I'd buy a copy even though I've got DSL... Oh yeah, and I'd buy a shirt or something too... And I'd love a nice mug to replace my Amazon.com one (even though I love it).

Edit: Distribution and production would be a problem, but what if they used cafepress?

would also be good advertising having people walking around with shirts and mugs and stuff

The schematics page on the Valkyrie (http://www.guildsoftware.com/ven.itani.ship.html) would be nice. PS: I'd buy a T-Shirt in 5 seconds. I'd also buy CD's. I want to support you guys, but I got no credit card and I am not allowed to use PayPal. :(

Heh, I'd buy a Vendetta T-Shirt with a vulture firing dual gauss;)

A t-shirt would be cool, tho getting shirts printed can be on the expensive side. on the other hand i'd pay $20.00 in a heartbeat for a shot of a rangarok with dual avalons coming out of it. And t-shirts that don't sell could maybe even be written off as advertizing.. give em out to game publishers next year at e3
:)

Hehehe! Me thinks it's time to prod Waylon and ask him about the new ship designs after he's done with the modular stations. Remember, we can only hope that most of the current ships will make it into the final game. The poly count and texture quality needs to be increased in order to be up to par with the current specials. But I suppose the first batch of t-shirts can be of the current specials only, since they'll have the highest chance of making it into final form.

I personally like the intro splash screen to Vendetta with the schematic artwork. So even though most of the current ships have low poly counts and mediocre textures, I still think each one has the potential to look sexy if they were revised a little bit and turned into a schematic theme, rather than a full rendering of the model. Either way, though, I wouldn't mind. It's all good!

little metal ship models please
reserve me a sercan vulture

Arolte: it is indeed truth, that the Valkyrie, Marauder, and Prometheus will be in the final game.

Ohhh nice!! Even better suggestion there, cembandit. Have a cockpit that can slide open, thrusters and retrorockets that can be adjusted, landing gears that can be retracted, and custom loadouts that can be snapped on to the fuselage and wings. Not necessarily a toy, but one of those complicated and expensive models that you see on the desks of CEOs for aerospace and automotive companies. Muwhahaha!!

Another thing to consider is to maybe have collector bobbles of all the devs! Their oversized heads would bob up and down on your dashboard or desk, pretending to agree with every suggestion you have to throw at 'em about Vendetta. Hehehe...

I would kill for a mug.

I would mug for a mug

I would rob for a mug.