Eschalon: Book II Forum Activity

Basilisk Games’ Thomas Riegsecker has opened up discussion on the official Eschalon: Book II forum for whether or not customers would be receptive to a new distribution method for the sequel.

So with Book II we are looking to distribute the game a bit differently than we did with Book I. As you know, Book I has a separate demo and full version of the game. So you play the demo and if you like it, you buy the full version which comes via a download link from Plimus or BMT Micro. This has worked well, but it has some downsides.

With Book II we are thinking about handling distribution they way others (such as the fine folks @ Spiderweb Software, for example) do it by having one version of the game that has a limited play area, and you would use a key code to unlock the “full version”.

The benefits to this alternate method of distribution are:
– No need to maintain separate demo and full versions. This is a huge time saver!
– No need to issue patches (a big pain for Linux, Macs, and 3rd party versions). When we release a new version of the game, it would be the entire game. You can remove the old version, download and install the new- your existing key will unlock this latest install as long as your .cfg file is still present. If not, just use the key in the original email to unlock it again.
– No need for us to manually reissue download links like we do now when people want to reinstall Book I. People can download the latest full version on their own. This would save us a ton of time as well!
– We can still use Plimus and BMT Micro to issue keys. That means you don’t have to wait 24-48 hours for a key from us. Order the game and almost instantly receive your key.

Since this will be different for people already comfortable with the way we distributed Book I, are there any comments or questions?

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Using a key is not about copy protection or preventing piracy. Remember, Book I is not protected at all- we will not use an invasive DRM on our games. The registration system simply gives customers a “receipt” that grants them permission to download and access the full game. You can still be a wanker and share your serial number with other people, just like you can take the files for Book I and upload them to a file sharing site. Nothing will stop you from pirating our games except our death from lack of sales.

This whole “registration key idea” is about giving customers easier access to what they purchase from us. Right now, if you want version 1.05, you have to ask us to send you a new download link. Also patches are very dangerous (if not impossible, on Linux) to release because it can break existing games. So, using a key to unlock the full version (which you can always download the latest from us) seems to be the best solution, so far.

We’re still open to other ideas, though!