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Just a quick idea related to 3d printing
Der Leo
Member
Hey Guys and Girls,
just had a quick idea about 3d printing models like your own character. Together with the currently under development charackter desinger, it would be a really cool feature to being able to print your own Character. Later on with the game implementing more armor types etc, printing your own charakter with your specific gearset would be a amazing feature to add. The 3d printing community myselfe included is big and i´m sure would love such a feature. Those models could be used in table top games etc. To credit Ashes the models could be generated with e.g. a Ashes of Creation base.
I´m just interested in your overall opinion about this.
Greatings
Léo
just had a quick idea about 3d printing models like your own character. Together with the currently under development charackter desinger, it would be a really cool feature to being able to print your own Character. Later on with the game implementing more armor types etc, printing your own charakter with your specific gearset would be a amazing feature to add. The 3d printing community myselfe included is big and i´m sure would love such a feature. Those models could be used in table top games etc. To credit Ashes the models could be generated with e.g. a Ashes of Creation base.
I´m just interested in your overall opinion about this.
Greatings
Léo
6
Comments
It'd be cool to have my own little mini-figures, though.
I could see them adding a function similar to a screenshot, but that provides an STL file (or what ever they use) of your character in the gear and pose they were in when you pushed the button.
I have absolutely no idea how hard this would be. The mesh is already in the game, I just have no idea at all if that mesh data can be pulled.
I could see people making chess sets out of in game characters, things like that.
That would be AWESOME!
Would this not work?
Pretty sure for home use, it would be fine, you just wouldn't be able to sell them without permission.
Maybe something an intrepid person (see what did there) could take on and make some money!
I believe there is a plan to make an Ashes tabletop campaign so this may be good marketing for that. You can advertise that players are able to take their characters from the video game and use them as figures on the tabletop.
I'd love to print a large version of my character and paint it up to show off.
I imagine that Intrepid can put in some language about this not being available for commercial use, so that if someone decides to take their models, turn them into items, and then sell them on Etsy or whatever, they have recourse to go after them.
Maybe Intrepid could also offer printing as a service, instead of just the digital file? If they only did the printing themselves they could also prevent any copyright thievery.
My local library, however, does.
Many larger towns and cities also have communities of people with printers that will allow others to use them (often for a cost).
While I am not against the idea of Intrepid printing and shipping them, that then means they are in the physical goods market - and that has a lot of intricacies to it that selling digital goods simply doesn't have. They would either need to sell a lot of these, or sell a few for a very high price.
The digital version is so much easier from their perspective.
@Noaani I have serious doubts that Intrepid has a problem with the "intricacies" of selling physical goods.
I'm pretty sure Steven got most of his loot from an e-commerce site which did exactly that. I imagine he can jump over the hurdles needed to figure out manufacture, warehousing, selling and shipping (AKA e-commerce).
After the game launches I fully expect a complete line of swag from T-shirts, hats, bags, mousepads (that no one uses anymore by the way) and you name it, including 3D printed characters straight from your very own account. It would be entirely incompetent from a business perspective for them to neglect this. At the very least they would outsource it to another company but they would still retain all the rights and would be the ones handling the selling and distribution (and making the profit$).
Besides are you seriously going to make me go down to the library for the first time in 15 years, get a library card and deal with all that hastle, what is this? the 1990s?
The thing is, all of that stuff is done by a company that takes your image and prints it on some stock item they have, companies like Teespring. That company then handles the stock management, warehousing, shipping, even printing clothing designs (though you usually need a minimum order for each design). They handle all of that stuff.
I have no expectation that Intrepid would ever want to take that on themselves. They simply aren't going to sell enough product to make it worth it.
If they tried to get models done using the above system, they would run in to a brick wall. Physical goods require either large volume (aka, not custom), or very high prices. Thus is as true for 3D printed items as it is for injection molded, or folded steel.
It just isn't viable for any company to make custome 3D models like this. So it is a straight up hard "no", that simply will not happen.
You may be able to get a single figure based on some Ashes character, but you would not be able to get your character printed and sent out.
As for the library - if you have a library near you that has a 3D printer, then yes, I am strongly suggesting you go there. You are missing out by not going, as there is likely many other things they have/do that you would be unaware of.
Why wouldn't you go?
On the website, I would simply see this 3D model file that I can pay to download with a license that I must sign somehow, I would think that is not something for me, it must be for some kind of programmer or something and skip over it.
With the state of consumerism these days, I think they should still offer the service and charge a little extra, something like:
- $50 yourcharacter.3d download (copyright license signature required)
- $150 a 3D print of your character shipped to you
- $250 a 3D print of your character, painted and shipped to you
It might be lame, but I would go for #3. I have major doubts about my miniature painting skills.
Intrepid can then pay some high school kid on his summer break to run on down to the library, print and do the painting for me.
/Support!
The problem is, it doesn't work this way.
If Intrepid set up a system to create the files as per a screenshot, they could essentially offer them for free (when was the last time you paid to get a screenshot?)
However, you simply couldn't pay to have a customized model printed. There is no viable way Intrepid can do it and maintain a good customer reputation.
Every model would need work done to it to ensure it would print well, and would probably take a few prints to get right. When you buy a model that has been 3D printed, this work is all done, but the company sells hundreds of the same model and that work only needs to be done the once. With custom models, it needs to be done on each model.
The issue then becomes Intrepid need to hire a full time 3D printing expert, just to make the models.
Your $150 per model is way off, far too low. You would potentially need to add another digit to that - no joke.
There is a LOT of work and a LOT of expense in custom anything, which is why you can't buy custom much, and when you do, it is stupid expensive.
That is why 3D printing exists - so people can do it themselves. If that isn't for you, the you just miss out on those custom things.
Or, you could get the potentially free file, find yourself someone willing to turn it in to a viable print then find someone to paint it.
It just straight up isn't something Intrepid - or any company - would be able to offer.
This not being a thing for you does not deter from the fact that it would be an awesome thing to do for those people that are in to 3D printing.
I think I am in the wrong line of work.
Printing for yourself doesn't cost as much. Just as doing anything for yourself doesn't cost as much. What it does take a lot of though, is time.
The biggest cost for something like this is the staff - this is the case for almost anything.
While a company could indeed make 20,000 of one item fairly cheaply, that isn't the point. All 20,000 of these would be the same, and we are talking about custom models.
When you are making custom models you don't make 20,000 of them. You make 1.
If it were possible for Intrepid to contract a company to make individual figures for a reasonable price, you would be able to commission them to make one yourself. If each item is different, MOQ's no longer apply, so selling an item to one person is no different than getting 20,000 different custom models to one company.
Now you just need to go and get some of those big rectangle things with bits of recycled tree in them. Called something like a "book"!
Go go go! We believe in you!