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98 Comments
- jeffmon, on 09/07/2008, -2/+63Stardock's list of gamer's rights.
The Gamer’s Bill of Rights:
1. Gamers shall have the right to return games that don’t work with their computers for a full refund.
2. Gamers shall have the right to demand that games be released in a finished state.
3. Gamers shall have the right to expect meaningful updates after a game’s release.
4. Gamers shall have the right to demand that download managers and updaters not force themselves to run or be forced to load in order to play a game.
5. Gamers shall have the right to expect that the minimum requirements for a game will mean that the game will play adequately on that computer.
6. Gamers shall have the right to expect that games won’t install hidden drivers or other potentially harmful software without their consent.
7. Gamers shall have the right to re-download the latest versions of the games they own at any time.
8. Gamers shall have the right to not be treated as potential criminals by developers or publishers.
9. Gamers shall have the right to demand that a single-player game not force them to be connected to the Internet every time they wish to play.
10. Gamers shall have the right that games which are installed to the hard drive shall not require a CD/DVD to remain in the drive to play. - MxM111, on 09/06/2008, -0/+35The thing is that you miss TONS if you just pirate it. The patches contain so much improvements, that it well worth paying for it. That's apart from simply rewarding stardock directly for publishing game WITHOUT ANY DRM!
- Jeepy, on 09/05/2008, -0/+33I got the game around launch and I have to say I'm impressed with stardock. The download and install took about 15 minutes on my rig and it's a pretty decent way to get updates quickly. I'm glad to see something other than Steam out there as a digital distribution network for the PCs so this is a good step in the right direction.
The game itself is pretty deep I have to admit, but once you get past the learning curve you get a really good feel for the three races. The balance is remarkably fine tuned and with the last few patches multiplayer has become something reminiscent of Starcraft. So between having a really decent game at the core and doing digital distribution correctly I give the whole thing a thumbs up. - Layne, on 09/07/2008, -1/+27In addition to not having DRM, Stardock frequently patches their games with fixes and new features. They also listen to the community. I never regret giving them my money.
- Cleancut360, on 09/05/2008, -0/+21totally pirated this game when it was released and have to say i bought it the next day Returning armada FTW
- Mohdoo, on 09/07/2008, -2/+21If game creators make good games, people buy em. Everyone pirates it at first to try it out. Once it is deemed good, purchase occurs. Simple, really.
- Stonekeeper, on 09/07/2008, -1/+18From an earlier interview:
"The reason why we don't put copy protection on our games isn't because we're nice guys. We do it because the people who actually buy games don't like to mess with it. Our customers make the rules, not the pirates. Pirates don't count," Wardell argues. "When Sins popped up as the #1 best selling game at retail a couple weeks ago, a game that has no copy protect whatsoever, that should tell you that piracy is not the primary issue."
Couldn't agree more...
If this runs under wine, I'll buy it. Looks good. - CalcProgrammer1, on 09/07/2008, -0/+16What if their costumers dress up as pirates? Does that make them pirates? Would they be treated as pirates? After all, costumers are known to wear costumes....customers on the other hand, don't treat them like pirates.
- seldon452, on 09/07/2008, -0/+16Also, this game has the most bad ass name ever.
Sins of a Solar Empire?
Pure awesome.
Better then something generic like "Space Galaxy Wars". - solistus, on 09/07/2008, -0/+15Nope, Stardock is just that awesome.
http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/08/29/stardock-re ... - LMN8R, on 09/07/2008, -0/+14500,000 sales on a $1 million budget. Assuming an average sell price of $30, that's a cool $14 million profit right there.
- danieldrehmer, on 09/05/2008, -1/+12I'll digg because I wish to see more games that privileges game play and a wide range of graphic cards instead of the usual "awesome graphics, but you need the latest hardware".
I also think is very nice of their part not to treat their costumers as would-be pirates. - Chainheart2, on 09/07/2008, -0/+10This game has nothing compared to Crysis and STALKER in terms of hype, so I'd so it's done something very well
- mf89, on 09/07/2008, -1/+9So would I, you spent 1000 bucks on a game?
- norman619, on 09/07/2008, -2/+10Is that why the computer game industry is still going strong?
- LMN8R, on 09/07/2008, -0/+8500,000 copies earns them a 15:1 return on their investment. The game had a $1 million budget, made around $15 million in revenue.
High profile console games can easily have a $15 million advertising budget alone. - davidcg, on 09/07/2008, -1/+8At 50 bucks a pop that is 25 mill. Not to shabby. 100,000 online is 5 mill. And the other 400,000 at some royalty amount is probably not to shabby also. Motivates me to get my game published.
- meekmassacre, on 09/07/2008, -2/+9Sins of a Solar Empire got great reviews - it isn't burdened with copy protection?
I'm buying it right now if only to support the company...
Also, digital distribution is great - Make it easy for gamers to purchase and download quality games! - hotcod, on 09/07/2008, -2/+9You really don't get the point do you? do you have any idea how much most console games cost to make? how much the biggest selling one spend just to market there games? Halo 3 for example spent 10 million on there ads... that's 10 times more than sins cost to make full stop. Now halo 3 has sold what? 8 million or something stupid... lets just say that for ever million spent on marketing halo 3 it sold a million games... for the million spent making sins it's sold half that. If you want to factor in what halo 3 cost to make... well... it's ROI isn't going to be all that much higher than sins.
Now remember we are talking about a niche game, with no hype, next to no marketing out side of word of mouth and internet ads no DRM and is still a game that isn't fully stocked like a mainstream title and was hardly stocked at all when it first was realised.
So yes, 500,000 copies on console isn't much... it isn't much for mainstream PC games... but once you wrap your head around just where sins has come from it is astounding not only that sins is a damn amamzing game. - tbredofsin, on 09/07/2008, -1/+8For an indie computer game with a relatively small budget (as compared to mainstream titles), this is HUGE. I've read that this game cost $1,000,000 to make. Let's assume that's accurate, and be very ungenerous to the developers and say they made $30 in revenue from each sale.
That would be $15,000,000 in revenue. You do the math on the profit margin. - LMN8R, on 09/07/2008, -4/+10It is commendable how successful Stardock has been with an incredibly niche title, foregoing all DRM, but I don't buy the pretense this article makes, stating this is *THE* way to do PC gaming.
When titles like Crysis and STALKER can sell nearly two million copies in the case of the former, and more than 2 million copies in the case of the latter, I'd say that there are still plenty of ways to "do PC gaming right".
Piracy is a big problem, no doubt, but it doesn't help to constantly bitch and moan about it, especially in the wake of unexpected success. I do hope that EA and other companies quickly learn how ***** useless DRM is. - lickingairwave, on 09/07/2008, -1/+7I love this game - and I'm by no means a "hardcore" gamer. Glad to see that it's doing well - I talk it up to people all the time but relatively few know what I'm talking about!
I've heard horror stories about SecureRom, used in the Sims titles released by EA, and I'm a little worried about the new computer. I liked not having to worry about breaking it when I installed Sins. - clonemaster, on 09/07/2008, -0/+5My name is John McCain and i support this message.
- themastersb, on 09/07/2008, -1/+6No DRM or Copy Protection. Sounds like that was a major selling point.
- MrWally, on 09/07/2008, -2/+7Sins of a Solar Empire is a great game.
- 2Bnor2B, on 09/07/2008, -1/+6Its ironic. I have the preorder paperwork for Spore in my hands now but I am seriously considering canceling it because of their limited activation policy. I do not mind game verification when you go online, but this "renting" software concept that EA is pushing is wrong.
I applaud Stardock. I love the fact that I just need to click on the icon and play without hunting for my CDs or seach sleezy sites for NoCD cracks. You have my loyalty and I eagerly look forward to your next release. - Azerael, on 09/07/2008, -3/+8You actually bought Crysis, didn't you.
- theclaw1, on 09/07/2008, -0/+5Post of the year confirmed.
- inactive, on 09/07/2008, -2/+6This is how they do it.
http://createdigitalmusic.com/2008/03/13/stardock- ...
*points accusingly at Crytek* - TheUngod, on 09/08/2008, -0/+4This was proven with Oblivion. No DRM so far as I remember and it sold just fine.
- nemoder, on 09/05/2008, -3/+7I bought the game and I enjoy it but I am very disappointed that they will no longer be releasing stand alone patches. The last thing I want is to be forced to install another steam clone with all the DRM checks just to update my game.
- scabbers, on 09/07/2008, -0/+4Just think, it sold all those copies without a year's worth of hype like Crysis had.
- inactive, on 09/07/2008, -0/+31400% returns on investment.
- morningmatters, on 09/07/2008, -1/+4I actually installed game on my computer from a DVD made by the friend. After spending about 12 hours on the game I went out and forked over $40 for the real game. Game companies which make good games should be rewarded.
In order to discourage pirating you just have to create a good online environment, and additional contents which could only be accessed by people who paid and registered. Of course, you will need a good game first, sadly that's something which doesn't happen too often. - Jalada, on 09/07/2008, -0/+3Great quote. I think other companies could definitely learn from Stardock - don't mess with paying customers. Far too many companies are - like EA with Spore, and their limited activation (you don't even gain an installation by uninstalling...I mean what the hell!)
- inactive, on 09/07/2008, -2/+5shame they cant bring that "low system requirements" thing over to windowblinds. every couple of years i fall for that, update my sub and use it for a while. turn it off, next fast computer comes around. its still crap.
- Lyanto, on 09/07/2008, -0/+2They nerfed it in the 1.1 beta patch. It now costs resources to use and has a 10 minute cooldown. While you get twice as many ships, the cooldown means the wait period between uses is about three times longer (I think) than just waiting for the antimatter to replenish.
- zeptobyte, on 09/07/2008, -0/+2The name is honestly like 70% of the reason I want to play it. Read about it a long time ago and wanted to play it, then sort of forgot about it. Then heard about it again the other day and remembered. Then forgot again. Then read this article, and I'm downloading the demo now.
- frozensnake, on 09/07/2008, -0/+2funny, i pirate games regularly but for some reason i bought sins.
- TiMMY8765, on 09/07/2008, -1/+3they always required you to register the game to get the updates. that's all this is, except it's apparently easier for them to release updates through impulse than to make patchers. after you update, you can start the game the same way you always did. no impulse running, no internet connection, or anything
- greevar, on 09/07/2008, -0/+2@LMN8R
Stardock's business model is one good way to encourage consumers into paying customers. It's not the only way, but this one does address most of the issues people complain about in PC games.
Low system requirements
No DRM
A stronger focus on game play rather than eye-candy
A lower price point
Good support (timely patches)
Ease of consumption (painless install, purchase experience)
Just FYI, I purchased this game over other games because it had no restrictive DRM and it was cheap ($30 US). - Sabretou, on 09/07/2008, -1/+3WTF?
- stereoa, on 09/07/2008, -0/+2Why use those ***** programs when you can just patch uxtheme.dll? Seriously is there some benefit?
- danieldrehmer, on 09/29/2008, -0/+1Sorry mate, I'm not in america and I still have work to do with my english skills. But I appreciate the pirate hiring idea.
- Pherdnut, on 11/25/2008, -0/+1A campaign would have been nice, but at it's core the replay value for single player is in the random maps. The huge ones are pretty massive. It's neither MOO nor Homeworld but it scratches both itches for me.
- ufee, on 09/09/2008, -0/+1Suits me to forget to actually read you're comment. XD
- legatus, on 09/08/2008, -0/+1Have they fixed the hosting problems yet?
- Gregus1032, on 09/07/2008, -0/+1ill be picking up a copy later this week for sure. need something to do between football sundays
- jaythewise, on 09/08/2008, -0/+1One of the best game to come out in years, great game.
- PhishTahko, on 09/07/2008, -0/+1Steam requires you to have logged in at least once on the machine you're playing on. I haven't logged on to steam in about a month but I'm still able to play.
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Show 51 - 98 of 98 discussions
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