Steam Sale Dom3 players might like.

[Foodstamp]

In the United States at least they would not be able to do that. They would need to give you your previously purchased content without the monthly fee. They could start charging a monthly fee, but it would have to apply to new content only. If they tried to do it the way you suggest, they would have a huge lawsuit on their hands.

Back to Mount and Blade...

Where can I ransom captured lords? And I think the most fun I have had in the game so far is recruiting the Peasant girl "Ymira" and turning her into an all out warrior .

[Baalz]

Yeah, I actually captured a king (due to participating in a ginormous battle at which I was a bit player), but the ransom broker didn't want anything to do with him, no special options when I talked to my king...even took him back to his country but just got chased around by P.O.'ed dudes. After awhile he just escaped...

[Illuminated One]

In some mods you can "ask" captured lords to join your kingdom (that is if you have one) or kill them (1 less army for your enemies) - I really don't know why you'd want to play vanilla if there's 100s of good mods around. In the vanilla game you will eventually be offered ransom money via a messenger.

[Ink]

hang on to captured lords/kings for awhile and eventually their 'families will offer to pay you for their release'

that's all there is to it, just have to wait. the message will just pop up as you are wandering around the overland map. they usually pay from 3-6k. also, while talking to other lords they will occasionally offer to take them from you for a lesser amount.

[AstralWanderer]

Originally Posted by Foodstamp

In the United States at least they would not be able to do that...

Why not? There's plenty of precedence for changing contracts and charging regular fees (certain credit cards being a clear example) and Section 2-209 of the Uniform Commercial Code specifically allows for such amendments. In Steam's case, there wouldn't even need to be a change - section 4B of the Steam Agreement includes the following:

"...Valve reserves the right to change our fees or billing methods at any time and Valve will provide notice of any such change at least thirty (30) days advance. All changes will be posted as amendments to this Agreement or in the Rules of Use and...you are responsible for reviewing the billing section of Steam to obtain timely notice of such changes."

Now whether Valve will go down this route is purely conjecture, I'll agree. But it would be immensely profitable for them (the only downside is deterring new customers, which could be countered by having more "Steam-exclusives") which in the world of business makes it a "when" rather than an "if".

As Mount and Blade has its own online activation system too, this means that it will almost surely die if Taleworlds shuts down also.

[Ink]

you need to read up on more economics to go along with your archival knowledge

http://www.investopedia.com/universi...economics4.asp

the service steam provides is very elastic, it isn't essential and can be supplied easily by any number of other existing competitors providing similar services. Therefore, it will never be profitable to levy a subscription fee for a steam account because people will just leave steam.

[Foodstamp]

Originally Posted by AstralWanderer

Why not? There's plenty of precedence for changing contracts and charging regular fees (certain credit cards being a clear example) and Section 2-209 of the Uniform Commercial Code specifically allows for such amendments. In Steam's case, there wouldn't even need to be a change - section 4B of the Steam Agreement includes the following:

"...Valve reserves the right to change our fees or billing methods at any time and Valve will provide notice of any such change at least thirty (30) days advance. All changes will be posted as amendments to this Agreement or in the Rules of Use and...you are responsible for reviewing the billing section of Steam to obtain timely notice of such changes."

Now whether Valve will go down this route is purely conjecture, I'll agree. But it would be immensely profitable for them (the only downside is deterring new customers, which could be countered by having more "Steam-exclusives") which in the world of business makes it a "when" rather than an "if".

As Mount and Blade has its own online activation system too, this means that it will almost surely die if Taleworlds shuts down also.

I didn't say they couldn't change their billing scheme. I said they can't hold your purchased content for ransom.

And there is no way it would be profitable. Steam has several near competitors that would be the ones to reap the benefits of such a change. It would take more than just some Steam exclusive content to make people want to pay a monthly fee, it would take A LOT of content, and that content would need to be premium and would be expensive to negotiate exclusive rights to.

What you guys are suggesting sounds less like business and more like evil conspiracy that goes against making profit and more into the realm "Lets screw our customers".

No business is in the business to piss off customers. Or they won't be in business for long.

[Arralen]

Originally Posted by AstralWanderer

I purchased this about a year ago, found out it required online activation (*without* making it clear on the packaging) and sent it back. It's bad enough having to deal with CD checks or cardboard codewheels, but online activation means the program dies when the servers shut down ...

This is not quite true, or at least not the full picture:


http://www.taleworlds.com/salesfaq.aspx

Q: Will my serial key work for updated versions of Mount and Blade?
A: Absolutely. We actively maintain Mount and Blade and we will release new versions with added content and updates frequently. Your serial key will work with these updated versions. Just install the updated version on your computer and run. The game should recognize your serial key.

Q: Will I experience any problems about my activation if I change/upgrade my computer?
A: We use a very loose scheme of harware binding. Upgrading/changing components of your system generally does not require a reactivation since Mount and Blade will recognize that some of the parts remain unchanged. Also you can install and activate Mount and Blade on a new machine once every 60 days.

Q: What if your company goes out of business?
A: We have no intention to go out of business. However if that becomes a possibility, we will do our best to provide an unprotected executable of Mount and Blade to our customers.

Q: Can I install Mount and Blade on more than one computer?
A: You can install Mount and Blade on a second computer provided you own them both. For example you can install it on your desktop computer and your laptop simultaneously.

http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.p...c,12982.0.html

Manual Activation Process

Mount & Blade allows for manual activation for use on systems which cannot connect to the internet. The process is as follows:

1. Install Mount & Blade on the PC you wish to activate it on
2. Run the activation, and choose "Manual Activation"
3. You will see a screen with a Hardware Hash number and an empty box for the Activation Code
4. Write down the Hardware Hash (you might want to write down your serial key on the same bit of paper)
5. On a PC which has internet access, go to http://www.taleworlds.com/act/. (if that gives you problems, try http://www.taleworlds.net/act/
6. On the activation page, enter your serial and hardware hash. Click OK
7. You will be given a long (16 or so digit) activation code. Write this down.
8. Return to the PC you wish to activate M&B on. Run activation and again choose "manual activation"
9. Enter the activation code you obtained in step 7 into the box and hit ok
10. You should be returned to the M&B splash screen, with "Mount & Blade is running in full mode" displayed to the left

Activations
Each serial key allows you to activate M&B twice in each 60 day period. If you use up those activations, further attempts to activate the game will result in an "Activation Denied" message. If this happens, you will need to wait until the 60 day period is up and your activation counter resets.
The serial is tied to the hardware hash of your machine. If the hardware hash changes, then you will need to reactivate. The hardware hash can be changed by re-installing windows, or altering the system hardware.

So, if the activation service dies one day, you could still run M&B indefinitly on those 2 machines you installed it to as long as you don't change the hardware too much - even if Taleworlds goes under so fast that they can't provide the no-activation patch, or even the founder and programmer can't do this "privately" (Would basically require that a meteor hits the programmer and all his code backups, but you never know ...)


That said, the base M&B game is just that - a base game. But there are tons of great mods out there, which could provide you with quite some fun besides doing the "Knight Lance-The-Whole-Lot" thing


PS: Personally, I wouldn't touch Steam with a 20-foot pole ... so no 5 buck M&B for me ..

[PsiSoldier]

Originally Posted by Foodstamp

In the United States at least they would not be able to do that. They would need to give you your previously purchased content without the monthly fee. They could start charging a monthly fee, but it would have to apply to new content only. If they tried to do it the way you suggest, they would have a huge lawsuit on their hands.

Back to Mount and Blade...

Where can I ransom captured lords? And I think the most fun I have had in the game so far is recruiting the Peasant girl "Ymira" and turning her into an all out warrior .

You dont ransom captured Lords. You just hold on to them as your prisoner usually you will want to build a prison tower or something for this so they wont escape as easily and when that faction wants them back they will offer you a ransom for the lord without you seeking out someone to pay for them.

If you want to make it easier to defeat the faction you can turn down their ransom offer so they start to run out of lords to fight against you and you will loose a little bit of honor, not that that matters too much. I usually turn down the offer unless its a hugely generous offer and I need gold.



As for the whole Steam discussion. Thats absurd they could never get away with ransoming things you had already paid for. Regardless of anything they put in their EULA they would be sued and loose.

However... It might would be a good deal for them if they went for an optional subscription based service where you could download and play any game on Steam for a monthly fee while you still maintained the rights to any game you had previously purchased if you subscribed or not. I could actually see that happening.

[Gandalf Parker]

the predominant purpose of Steam is and shall remain the provision of subscriptions and services related thereto

Valve offers some subscriptions for free, and some for a subscription fee.

THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF USE OR PERFORMANCE OF STEAM, THE STEAM SOFTWARE, AND MERCHANDISE REMAINS WITH YOU.

VALVE DOES NOT GUARANTEE CONTINUOUS, ERROR-FREE, VIRUS-FREE OR SECURE OPERATION AND ACCESS TO STEAM, THE STEAM SOFTWARE, YOUR ACCOUNT AND/OR YOUR SUBSCRIPTIONS(S).

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR ANY DISPUTE WITH VALVE TO STEAM OR THE STEAM SOFTWARE IS TO DISCONTINUE USE OF STEAM AND CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT.

Valve may amend this Agreement at any time in its sole discretion.

All capitalization is that of Steam, not mine. All of this is from the Terms of Service that everyone agrees to when they start an account on Steam.