Historicon 2002

DBA On-line

by Russ Lockwood


One new addition to the ancient tournament scene was DBA On-line (probably run off a LAN is my guess). This consisted of linked computers on 19-inch monitors running the computerized version of DBA. It looks pretty good, and I liked the ergonomic enhancements on the screen--the reach of individual units (friendly and foes) in one color, the areas of bad terrain in a "shade" of black lines, and so on.

In the far background, behind a seated Terry Gore, you can see the monitors from DBA On-line peeking out.

As a computer guy, I understand what goes on behind the scenes to make even the simplest analog things work digitally. And I peeked over the shoulder of Trey to see a demo as he explained it to a gamer participating in the DBA Online tournment. For example, to move a group of elements, you have to click on an element, then click on the group button, then click on another unit, and then click on the group button and so on. Once you formed a group, from then on you can move the group simply by picking on any one element. You can tell it's a group because there are little green Gs where the elements touch. To release an element from a group, you have to reverse the procedure.

The artwork is birds-eye view down on flat terrain. Although I wasn't able to tell exactly per se which element was which just walking up to the monitor and looking at the element, a couple of ergonomic points quickly acclimate you to the virtual environment. First, each element has the official abbreviation in a circle in the corner of the element (Ps=Psiloi, Bd=Blades, etc), and second, you can always count the number of figures per element (2 per Ps, 4 per Bd, etc). Please don't ask me about uniforms or periods--I literally did not notice because I was paying attention to the mechanics of the environment.

I sat down and talked to a couple of the DBA Online folks. They use a pay-per-game formula--please don't quote me on the rates because I didn't write them down and my memory can get a bit fuzzy at pre-dinner 6:45 pm Saturday after long days of sleep-deprived efforts--like 10 games for $20 or something like that. I think it was Trey who said the "pay one price game all you want" formula doesn't work because 10% of the people eat up 90% of the resources, citing the now defunct Air War as an example. I also recall seeing a $100 per year subscription rate, but I'm not sure of that either.

I am sure that they were not too pleased that HMGS was inquiring about them paying for their space as if they were a dealer because they are selling a product. They countered that they were a tournament event and other events don't pay, so why should they--and they've already paid enough to come. My interpretation here is that they mean hotels, rentals, and other travel costs. I do not know what HMGS may have countered, but I know DBAO didn't pay table costs.

Digression

I sympathize with DBAO. I really do. I exhibited MagWeb.com at many HMGS shows such as HMGS South in Tampa, HMGS Mid South in Nashville, HMGS Great Lakes in Linconshire (north of Chicago), as well as non-HMGS shows across the country. The biggest expense wasn't booth costs (well, except for Origins, in which booths are 6x HMGS costs) or advertising in the program guide (except for Origins), but travel (hotel, airline, and rental car). Folks attend shows primarily for things they can't get at home, and when you're an on-line company selling on-line wares, that's something they can get at home, so to speak.

Convention and Conference sales are a small part of overall MagWeb.com sales, most of which occur when folks log onto our website, look at the 100 or so free articles, and then decide they want more and sign up on-line. Of course, you use the conventions to introduce the company and product to attendees, hand them a flyer, and give a quick demo. Then, they can go home, and at their leisure, explore the site and decide whether or not to try it.

DBAO is also pretty new--started in 2000 and claims a base of 400 customers. Granted, the Internet is more prevalent now than when MagWeb.com started in 1996, but it is going to take time to grow. And, from six years of observation, folks are a little bit leery of dot coms, and most dot coms tend to believe they'll grow faster than they really do. When most venture-capital funded or ad-supported dot coms blew up in the last couple years, MagWeb.com felt the effects even though our "venture capital funding" was our bank accounts/"sweat equity" and we charge membership fees because generic banner ads don't offer any sort of reasonable rate of return (targeted ads, well, that's a different story). We feel a little like a survivor.

I've often said "there's no short-cut to longevity." In dealing with electronic products, longevity and its resulting trust that you'll be around next week, next month, next year counts for quite a bit. I think DBA On-line is off to a good start. As they appear in show after show, attendees will become more comfortable and start to respond. That's true of any company and product, but I believe especially true of on-line.

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