Starting today!
https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US

rms

On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
<rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:

>Starting today!
>https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US

Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.

I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play
a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
granted that's the way it is.

Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern
game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the
game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
nonsense, that's not really going to happen.

It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and
resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that
relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get
to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
customers. It's win-win all around.

I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving
out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to
them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole
game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule
- and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
preferable.

But those days are gone, I guess.

On 17/03/2023 14:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
> <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
>
>> Starting today!
>> https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
>
>
> Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
>
> I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
> the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
> idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play
> a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
> granted that's the way it is.
>
> Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
> cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
> you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
> play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern
> game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the
> game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
> nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
>
> It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
> the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
> money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and
> resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that
> relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
> SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
> the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get
> to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
> customers. It's win-win all around.
>
> I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
> present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving
> out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to
> them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole
> game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule
> - and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
> preferable.
>
> But those days are gone, I guess.
>

It could just be confirmation bias but it does feel as though more indie
dev's are using demos as a marketing tool. It definitely worked with me
on Road Warden as I had read the positive reviews but I was still unsure
whether to click that Add to Cart button.

What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
magazine and have a demo disk to try.

On 3/18/2023 3:41 AM, JAB wrote:
> On 17/03/2023 14:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>> On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
>> <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Starting today!
>>> https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
>>
>>
>> Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
>>
>> I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
>> the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
>> idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play
>> a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
>> granted that's the way it is.
>>
>> Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
>> cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
>> you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
>> play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern
>> game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the
>> game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
>> nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
>>
>> It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
>> the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
>> money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and
>> resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that
>> relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
>> SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
>> the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get
>> to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
>> customers. It's win-win all around.
>>
>> I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
>> present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving
>> out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to
>> them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole
>> game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule
>> - and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
>> preferable.
>>
>> But those days are gone, I guess.
>>
>
> It could just be confirmation bias but it does feel as though more indie
> dev's are using demos as a marketing tool. It definitely worked with me
> on Road Warden as I had read the positive reviews but I was still unsure
> whether to click that Add to Cart button.
>
> What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
> magazine and have a demo disk to try.
>
Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.

--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.

On 18/03/2023 11:13, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> On 3/18/2023 3:41 AM, JAB wrote:
>> On 17/03/2023 14:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>> On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
>>> <rsquiresMOO@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Starting today!
>>>> https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
>>>
>>>
>>> Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
>>>
>>> I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
>>> the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
>>> idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play
>>> a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
>>> granted that's the way it is.
>>>
>>> Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
>>> cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
>>> you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
>>> play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern
>>> game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the
>>> game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
>>> nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
>>>
>>> It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
>>> the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
>>> money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and
>>> resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that
>>> relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
>>> SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
>>> the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get
>>> to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
>>> customers. It's win-win all around.
>>>
>>> I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
>>> present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving
>>> out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to
>>> them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole
>>> game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule
>>> - and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
>>> preferable.
>>>
>>> But those days are gone, I guess.
>>>
>>
>> It could just be confirmation bias but it does feel as though more
>> indie dev's are using demos as a marketing tool. It definitely worked
>> with me on Road Warden as I had read the positive reviews but I was
>> still unsure whether to click that Add to Cart button.
>>
>> What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
>> magazine and have a demo disk to try.
>>
> Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.
>

Very true as I have got one but that's because I don't buy already built
systems. Then again I can't actually remember the last time I used it
but certainly not for a few years. Hell, even when I had to replace the
CD player in my car wanting to still be able to play CD's really cut my
options down.

As an aside I did read that for the first time in many years the sales
of vinyl are now bigger than that of CD's.

On Sat, 18 Mar 2023 04:13:13 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:

>> What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
>> magazine and have a demo disk to try.

>Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.

Or a find a (print) magazine, for that matter. /Are/ there any printed
versions of gaming magazines left? I've not seen one at the local
'newstand' for a dogs age.

Of course, optical drives aren't hard to acquire, unless you buy an
off-the-shelf mass-market PC. But every "true" Scots^h^h^h^h^h gamer
builds their own, right? ;-)

Or just picks up a USB optical drive for $10 (which is what I
primarily use. I actually have an optical built into the machine, but
it's difficult to get to, so the USB drive dangling on its cable sees
more usage). Not that it's needed much... although its little motor
did get quite a workout imaging game CDs to be used on the Windows98
computer.

I was never the biggest fan of magazine demo disks, though. Oh, they
could be fun but - being an early adopter of the internet - I usually
had downloaded, played, and deleted the demos long before they showed
up on CDs. And generally, I preferred 'demoing' a game by just buying
it outright. It was mostly the eargerly-awaited games where I tried
the demo first... just because I wanted to play the game NOW and not
have to wait until it was out, or my wallet had fattened up enough to
make the purchase.

Still, I hoarded my demo disks just like I hoarded everything else.
Eventually though, the majority of the disks got trashed just because
I needed the space. These days I probably would have imaged them all
first to archive.org and then tried to give 'em away to some collector
instead of polluting the garbage stream. PC Zone was toxic ;-)

On 18/03/2023 14:49, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> Still, I hoarded my demo disks just like I hoarded everything else.
> Eventually though, the majority of the disks got trashed just because
> I needed the space. These days I probably would have imaged them all
> first to archive.org and then tried to give 'em away to some collector
> instead of polluting the garbage stream. PC Zone was toxic 😉

In theory in the UK there should be a nice copy of every edition in the
British Library as companies are legally required to lodge a copy with
them. It'd be nice if they extended that to games so they are not lost
to history.

On Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 4:34:26 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:
> On 18/03/2023 11:13, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
> > On 3/18/2023 3:41 AM, JAB wrote:
> >> On 17/03/2023 14:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> >>> On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
> >>> <rsqui...@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Starting today!
> >>>> https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
> >>>
> >>> I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
> >>> the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
> >>> idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play
> >>> a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
> >>> granted that's the way it is.
> >>>
> >>> Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
> >>> cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
> >>> you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
> >>> play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern
> >>> game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the
> >>> game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
> >>> nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
> >>>
> >>> It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
> >>> the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
> >>> money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and
> >>> resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that
> >>> relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
> >>> SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
> >>> the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get
> >>> to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
> >>> customers. It's win-win all around.
> >>>
> >>> I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
> >>> present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving
> >>> out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to
> >>> them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole
> >>> game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule
> >>> - and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
> >>> preferable.
> >>>
> >>> But those days are gone, I guess.
> >>>
> >>
> >> It could just be confirmation bias but it does feel as though more
> >> indie dev's are using demos as a marketing tool. It definitely worked
> >> with me on Road Warden as I had read the positive reviews but I was
> >> still unsure whether to click that Add to Cart button.
> >>
> >> What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
> >> magazine and have a demo disk to try.
> >>
> > Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.
> >
> Very true as I have got one but that's because I don't buy already built
> systems. Then again I can't actually remember the last time I used it
> but certainly not for a few years. Hell, even when I had to replace the
> CD player in my car wanting to still be able to play CD's really cut my
> options down.
>
> As an aside I did read that for the first time in many years the sales
> of vinyl are now bigger than that of CD's.

People who liked CDs are on to streaming/subscriptions or electronic
downloads to play on their phones or computers. The last time I
bought a CD was well more than a decade ago.

I wonder how electronic sales compare to CDs/vinyl?

- Justisaur

On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, rms
wrote:

>Starting today!
>https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
>

Somehow I was hoping this was a free bottle of tequila, and then I
remembered I was in a gaming group.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

On Sat, 18 Mar 2023 04:13:13 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Dimensional Traveler wrote:

>Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.

This is probably my last build with an optical drive. I've basically
ripped everything I have and use DaemonTools to mount it.

The only time I ever open the optical these days is to rip a CD that I
can't otherwise get in digital format. My previous build is serving
faithfully downstairs and the CD tray won't even open and nobody cares.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

On 22/03/2023 22:19, Justisaur wrote:
> On Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 4:34:26 AM UTC-7, JAB wrote:
>> On 18/03/2023 11:13, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
>>> On 3/18/2023 3:41 AM, JAB wrote:
>>>> On 17/03/2023 14:35, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>>>>> On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 22:24:37 -0600, "rms"
>>>>> <rsqui...@MOOflashMOO.net> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> Starting today!
>>>>>> https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Ubisoft always did like their time-limited demos.
>>>>>
>>>>> I remember when time-limited demos were first becoming a thing, and
>>>>> the huge uproar they caused, both on Usenet and the nascent web. The
>>>>> idea that you could be artificially limited in how long you could play
>>>>> a demo of a game was anathema to gamers. Now, it's just taken for
>>>>> granted that's the way it is.
>>>>>
>>>>> Of course, there are some differences. Back then, the 'demo' was a
>>>>> cut-down version of the full game, whereas these modern trials give
>>>>> you access to the full version. Theoretically, you could download,
>>>>> play, and finish the entire game in a weekend. Of course, given modern
>>>>> game design, where publishers put excessive amounts of grind into the
>>>>> game to promote the 'benefits' of MTX that let you bypass that
>>>>> nonsense, that's not really going to happen.
>>>>>
>>>>> It would be nice to think publishers offer these free trials out of
>>>>> the goodness of their hearts, but of course it all comes down to
>>>>> money; creating and supporting a demo version requires more cash and
>>>>> resources. A trial version - or at least, a modern trial version that
>>>>> relies on pre-existing licensing technologies - is exactly the same
>>>>> SKU as the retail, which cuts down on support costs. So you get all
>>>>> the benefits of an old-school demo, but for less money. Plus, you get
>>>>> to collect valuable user-data and game data from these potential
>>>>> customers. It's win-win all around.
>>>>>
>>>>> I miss the old demos, though. There was an art to them. They had to
>>>>> present the best of the game they were previewing while still leaving
>>>>> out enough to make you want to buy the game. There was an artistry to
>>>>> them that's missing from these trials, where they just dump the whole
>>>>> game on you. And being able to pick up and demo a game at my schedule
>>>>> - and not a time decided by some marketing schmoe - is always
>>>>> preferable.
>>>>>
>>>>> But those days are gone, I guess.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> It could just be confirmation bias but it does feel as though more
>>>> indie dev's are using demos as a marketing tool. It definitely worked
>>>> with me on Road Warden as I had read the positive reviews but I was
>>>> still unsure whether to click that Add to Cart button.
>>>>
>>>> What I do miss, well kinda, is the good old days when you'd buy a
>>>> magazine and have a demo disk to try.
>>>>
>>> Whereas now you can't even get a disc drive standard in a new computer.
>>>
>> Very true as I have got one but that's because I don't buy already built
>> systems. Then again I can't actually remember the last time I used it
>> but certainly not for a few years. Hell, even when I had to replace the
>> CD player in my car wanting to still be able to play CD's really cut my
>> options down.
>>
>> As an aside I did read that for the first time in many years the sales
>> of vinyl are now bigger than that of CD's.
>
> People who liked CDs are on to streaming/subscriptions or electronic
> downloads to play on their phones or computers. The last time I
> bought a CD was well more than a decade ago.
>
> I wonder how electronic sales compare to CDs/vinyl?
>

I believe in the UK and the US it's something like 80%+ of revenue is
digital with a large majority of that being subscription services.

Not a fan of that series so pass.

rms <rsquiresMOO@mooflashmoo.net> wrote:
> Starting today!
> https://freeweekend.ubisoft.com/anno1800/en-US

> rms

--
"My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long." --Psalm 71:8. Slammy times with heavy rain with leaks, gatherings, March madnesses, long commutes, offline, etc. :(
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
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On Mon, 27 Mar 2023 01:29:20 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:

>Not a fan of that series so pass.

I probably would be, but I never played any of this series yet. I own
some of them though.

What I am NOT a fan of is time limited demos.. so like you said,
....pass.