FAQ: Demo version

Make it like the old SimCity when you didn't pass the game validation (I forget what the scheme was).

After 100 or so turns into the game, just make space monsters start popping up every other turn.

No, I hate it whenever the game ends after some time. Just make it a tiny skirmish type map or something, and limit the tech to like frigates or regular battleship. I hope it comes out sooner.

Of course still most companies don't know about releasing demos before the final product. Usually it gives you a more stable user base, since if they played the demo before they bought it there would be significantly less disappointment and complaining after the game releases and people buy it. Look at Master Of Orion 3.

We had an open beta program so that kind of solves that issue.

MoO3 had a demo. I have it on a disc somewhere. Never played it since it wouldn't work properly.

~SDC~

MoO3 never had a demo. It was a pirated internal beta build that escaped and even managed to get included in a CD distributed by a gaming magazine. The company never endorced this "demo", it's not publicly available, and no feedback was gathered from it.

You're kidding? LOL I'll have to go look for stories about it, thanks.

~SDC~

Well the initial problem with betas is the sample size. With a beta, it's selective and small in number. A full public demo compiled with a couple of dev team members and a monitored forum could in theory achieve better results. Since more often than not betas are almost always comprised of people who would tend to be more "fanboys" of the genre than not.

Sometimes you need a larger sample to do so. Something again I think contributed to MoO3s rather rocky and unstable start. It COULD be fixed, but doesn't look feasible at this point.

MoO3 did have a demo. It was on a CGW a year ago or so. All it was was the combat part of MoO3 though, I think. I didn't work all that well. It's on the MoO3 website as well - the BattleField Simulator I think it's called. It's not much of a demo, but its there.

No Tromikus, there was no demo from MOO3. Desslok's post is correct. The Battlefiled simulator is not part of MOO3 but an example of how ground combat functions and is nothing like the actual ground combat in MOO3.

Frogboy, why not put up a "big" demo for those that don't mind downloading a large file and have a smaller one later? I've downloaded 200+MB demos already or other software. I just want to see GalCiv before buying it after the MOO3 disaster regardless of size.

i agree with geoffery here i realy wantthis game and have the band with for that kinda demo but right now i dont have the money to buy it (i'm 15) it should not limite the number of turns but not let the tech get to far past battle ships but still have all the polictalal and allaince stuff

GalCiv is around 600 megs. Even getting it to 200 megs will take work and we want to get the demo down to 50 megs. Right now our development resources are focused on people who have already bought the game. But the demo should be done in a couple of weeks.

What Frogboy is so politely trying to say is... -ahem-:

The game is selling like GANGBUSTERS man! And almost 95% of the feedback reads like: "OMG this game ROCKS!" even when the same feedback comes in with some cool suggestions that Brad implements in a matter of minutes, or bug reports that result in minipatches within an hour.

What I'm not so humbly trying to say is, FORGET THE DEMO PEOPLE, BUY THIS GAME!

heh heh... that was fun. been wanting to be able to say that about a game for years.

~SDC~

I did buy it. I'm just waiting for it to ship. I think Amazon.com ran out of copies! It's worth the wait, though, because I signed up for an Amazon.com VISA, got a $30 credit, and with free shipping the game was almost free. Not a bad deal for me *or* Stardock, I'd say. LOL

~SDC~

Yep, sweet deal. Amazon did run out I bet, that's when they usually put ships in 3 to 4 days... ie. when they get MORE!

~SDC~

That reminds me - I have to go check my order status - again. LOL

~SDC~

the demo seems to be a lost art.i remember back in the day when they were all over the place.makes me wonder....... :notsure: what happened to em

Methinks they don't really move many units.

~SDC~

I purchased Doom, Doom 2, Heretic, Hexen, Descent, Rise of the Triad, and Dark Forces on the basis of available demos.

I would, in fact, say that the majority of the games I've purchased from iD and Interplay were a direct result of those early demos. Of course, nowadays, I'm less likely to touch an Interplay product, what with the combination of them bleeding licenses right and left and their constantly declining quality. :-/

~SDC~

Hello everybody.

Is there a way to be notified (via email) when the demo will be avalaible?

Thank you very much.

Sagitter

LS Boreas: I also ordered from Amazon, as a preorder about a month before release.

A week after release, Amazon had not shipped; I said "screw it", cancelled the order, and ordered direct from Stardock. By the miracle of broadband, I was playing GalCiv two hours later.

Obviously, not an option if you don't want to download the game...!

But Amazon seems to be screwed up on shipping GalCiv, somehow. Normally they're excellent; I've often had pre-ordered software arrive a day or two before the release date. Not this time, though.

Re: demo size
I think it unnecessary to try and pare the game down to 50 MB.
First, it's been over two years since I've seen a demo that small, anyone who deals with demos has long since gotten used to whatever measures are necessary for them to enjoy the bigger, better internet (cable modem in my case ;)).
Second, if you can really keep the core game in 50 MB, fine, but if it means that people will only be getting a very tiny slice of the game versus just limiting the amount of time they can play with a more or less full demo then it won't get their attention. If they download it at all, they'll miss the depth of the game and pass it over.
Third, if you've got broadband, then size is largely irrelevant, but if you're on dialup, the difference between 50 and 200 MB is just one more night tying up the phone line while you sleep. The guy who's willing to download anything over 10MB on dialup is willing to download almost anything under 300MB. The others will do what they've always done: get it off a magazine CD.
Fourth, since the greatest trick for this game would be to hook people with the demo and then let them buy and download it *that* day, I'd be thinking your core audience is the broadbanders and patient users of GetRight anyhow.


Re: sales from demos
I can't speak for Joe Sixpack, but for the "old" strategy gamers that this game is really targetted for, I think a demo would be very effective at generating sales. I purchased the game based on past experience with Stardock products and Brad's long time presence on CSIPGS, as well the overwhelming positive response there among some very nitpicky game curmudgeons. But, without that sort of exposure to the product and feedback, I have a hard time seeing anyone just picking this game up and buying it in a store or spontaneously purchasing the downloaded version based on an ad. But a good demo coupled with a decent advertising campaign would let the curious see for themselves before they reached for their wallet. When it comes to strat games, unless you know the developer well, or trust the word of mouth, it's quite a crap shoot to buy a game untested. In general, no demo means I wait until it hits the bargain bin, and maybe not even then.

The whole game, sans the multimedia (music, movies?) is 85 mb. How much less content is 50?

~SDC~

Well, when you have a Cable Modem, it doesnt really matter how big it is. I mean, i DLed the E&B demo....a whopping 1.3 gig DL, but it only took me about 2 hrs. So, regardless, make it as big as you want...i pity the Dial Up users (No offense to them LOL )