Any Plans

[sector24]

lch said:
Okay, so Steam is something where I have to register by telling lots of private information about myself and install some spyware-esque program which requires that I have an internet connection to be able to get and play games? Sounds great, sign me on!

Speaking of Stardock...

[llamabeast]

My understanding is that Stardock is quite benevolent. People keep on saying things like that on the GalCivII forums and Brad gets a bit upset. I guess there's some basic level of annoyingness required for that kind of program.

[Shovah32]

which requires that I have an internet connection to be able to get and play games?

Not completely true. You can start steam in offline mode, and still play plenty of games.
Its also nice to be able to get a new computer and just load up steam to play your own games again - or play them at someone elses house.

[Sombre]

I haven't found stardock annoying at all. It isn't like you have to leave it on - you just start it up every now and then to check for patches and browse through some other stuff.

[S.R. Krol]

Steam sucks.

But to address the actual original question it is extremely doubtful it will be offered as a download (there's a reason why we went all out with the manual, after all), but if it ever was offered as a download it wouldn't be with another company, but direct from us.

And if your friends are balking at the $54 cost there are a couple things to bring up:

1. You can play the game daily for years and still discover things. Ask anyone who's been playing since release day one. Therefore the cost to fun ratio is extremely high.

2. $54 gets you what, about a tank and a half of gas? A week's worth of groceries for one person? Five days of lunch? What's going to last longer, everything I just listed or the game?

3. You can spend $60 on a console game that has six hours of gameplay.

It should also be noted that periodically we offer sales, and if your friends are by any chance university students or in the military, we offer a discount program for students and military personnel. Details can be found on the store site, look for the "Savings for Scholars and Soldiers" link on the bottom left.

[Zeldor]

Exactly, standard console game costs $59.99 + tax. And if you live in Europe there is a huge discount made by US goverment, that is low value of dollar

And there were many topics stating that selling small amount of copies is much more expensive [per copy] than tens of thousands.

I guess many people tried here pirated version, especially in the beginning, when it was really hard to get it. But that game is sure worth buying and paying full price. Try to name 10 games with playability over 2 weeks

[vfb]

Panzer General & sequels, Civ/Civ2/AC, MoM, Moo I & II, XCom, Thief I & II, Nethack, Moria & clones, Starcraft, and ... and ... and ... oh, brain freeze ... and ... oh, Warlords or TG16 Military Madness or Sega Master of Monsters. or something like that.

But I only play Dom3 these days .

[Theonlystd]

S.R. Krol said:
Steam sucks.

But to address the actual original question it is extremely doubtful it will be offered as a download (there's a reason why we went all out with the manual, after all), but if it ever was offered as a download it wouldn't be with another company, but direct from us.

And if your friends are balking at the $54 cost there are a couple things to bring up:

1. You can play the game daily for years and still discover things. Ask anyone who's been playing since release day one. Therefore the cost to fun ratio is extremely high.

2. $54 gets you what, about a tank and a half of gas? A week's worth of groceries for one person? Five days of lunch? What's going to last longer, everything I just listed or the game?

3. You can spend $60 on a console game that has six hours of gameplay.

It should also be noted that periodically we offer sales, and if your friends are by any chance university students or in the military, we offer a discount program for students and military personnel. Details can be found on the store site, look for the "Savings for Scholars and Soldiers" link on the bottom left.

I've linked em all to the demo.. Again they cant get past the price. And really i find the demo pretty underwhelming it gives you basic idea about the game play but doesnt let a person truely appreciate the variety of nations and strategy not to mention mods .And all thats very important considering the lack luster graphics .


People have limited funds for entertainment products . 60 dollars for an indy game is a pretty big investment ..And the people im talking to arent big console gamers and most assuredly not the kind that drop 60dollars for a shooter that'll last em one day.. Not to mention PC games are usually cheaper than console ones so not even a good comparison.

So just curious if there are any plans about a price cut.

[capnq]

Theonlystd said: I've linked em all to the demo.. Again they cant get past the price. And really i find the demo pretty underwhelming it gives you basic idea about the game play but doesnt let a person truely appreciate the variety of nations and strategy not to mention mods.

If someone can't see how much variety and strategy the game has from the demo, they haven't spent enough time playing the demo.

People have limited funds for entertainment products . 60 dollars for an indy game is a pretty big investment

This is a pet peeve of mine. Gamers are notorious cheapskates who often seem to forget that games are a luxury item. They constantly whine about how expensive indy games are, even after people have repeatedly explained the concept of economies of scale to them. I'd rather see Shrapnel and Illwinter stay in business and make more games, than try to placate the complainers who will never be satisfied with a game's asking price.

[NTJedi]

Theonlystd said:

I've linked em all to the demo.. Again they cant get past the price. And really i find the demo pretty underwhelming it gives you basic idea about the game play but doesnt let a person truely appreciate the variety of nations and strategy not to mention mods .And all thats very important considering the lack luster graphics .


People have limited funds for entertainment products . 60 dollars for an indy game is a pretty big investment ..And the people im talking to arent big console gamers and most assuredly not the kind that drop 60dollars for a shooter that'll last em one day.. Not to mention PC games are usually cheaper than console ones so not even a good comparison.

So just curious if there are any plans about a price cut.

A few times during a year shrapnel games might provide a 10% to 15% discount. I purchase about 3 games during a year and would definitely recommend buying this game for any TBS gamer.
IDEA_1: If these friends are relatives you could buy them the game as a birthday present.
IDEA_2: You could also uninstall the game on your computer, let them have your copy of the game for one week thus you'll have to play other games. After a week passes they uninstall the game and return your copy of the game back to your hands. One week should be enough time to determine whether or not they enjoy the game. This idea will only work if these friends are honorable and local to your area.
IDEA_3: If any of these friends visit your house once a month or more then you can organize a hotseat game on your computer.
IDEA_4: If they play at least 3 different games in the demo those friends will probably enjoy it enough to purchase the game. At least that's what worked for me on the Dominions_2 demo.