Update #89: Backer Rewards

[TheisEjsing]

Great update. The books are looking way cool! Can't wait to fail this semester reading fiction!

[C2B]

Yeah, not a fan of that reason.

 

Same effect and better PR would have been to say "We want to give you the best version possible/work as close to release as possible on it"

 

Or just leave the *We're doing it for YOU* out of it due to bad history.

 

Mainly "We're doing it for YOU* in terms of DRM/Piracy immediatly lets one recall all the ****ty DRM of the past, because that was also mostly used when selling the concept of DRM to customers.  It's best avoided.

 

Thats just a tip of course.

Edited February 12, 2015 by C2B

[Sedrefilos]

The issue isn't really that people are going to pirate it. We know some people will. It is inevitable. Most of those people probably weren't going to buy the game anyways.

 

The real problem is two-fold:

1. Pirates getting to play the game before our backers. Not only is it a bad thing for all of the people that backed us and waited patiently, but Obsidian would get hurt by a loss in early sales.
2. People playing a game that isn't final and having that get spread around the internet.

We have been talking about this for a while with Paradox trying to come up with a good solution, but our DRM-free requirement ends up limiting what we can do. Hopefully, this will be a good compromise for the backers so that, if people want their cool physical rewards, they won't have to wait on those.

I don't care if a "pirate" plays the game before me. I only care that the game is as good as I expect it to be and the satisfaction of the revival of non AAA blockbuster rpgs (though this game would have been a AAA back in the early 00's; but budgets have moved forward I guess ).

[AlekzanderZ]

I don't mind getting the disc later. I really don't. I would even say it's completely irrelevant to me. I mean it. believe me.

[Waswat]

I'm having issues reading a gothic-styled font. All the letters seem to blend together and form an almost incohesive text which makes reading it a chore for me. Does anyone have a plain text version of the pre-almanac?

Edited February 12, 2015 by Waswat

[AndreaColombo]

Is there any chance you guys can do a limited printed run of the Almanac? This would be very cool in a physical book form like the guide book. I'd happily pay extra for it.

 

+1

[Mymla]

Why would you use a disc to install anything after you finished your Windows installation?

[Elerond]

Why would you use a disc to install anything after you finished your Windows installation?

 

Everybody don't have good internet connection or even possibility to access one.

[samm]

The surrounding lore in the form of the Almanac and the Guidebook are exceptional! I just finished reading the pictures attached to the original posting with much delight Looking forward to the game and its world even more now. Great job on these items!

 

Regarding the physical copy - I really don't mind a later shipment, as it will save Obsidian some cost, which is why I voted for the second option. I do not mind getting two parcels however, so I don't begrudge the majority vote.

 

There is one thing I object to in the original post, and that is how DRM seems to be perceived as a problem solver on the developers' side, in that it prevents an unfinished game from leaking early. While in truth, the backer beta already represents the game in an unfinished state, and yes, it is available "for demo purposes" despite Steam. I was secretly hoping that only publishers would promote DRM, however it seems that devs themselves have been washed into thinking in their terms (even if the promotion in the original post only happens unconsciously!).

[samm]

I'm having issues reading a gothic-styled font. All the letters seem to blend together and form an almost incohesive text which makes reading it a chore for me. Does anyone have a plain text version of the pre-almanac?

From my own experience, I recommend you read a few pages or even a book in the - at first - harder to read font. The brain adapts quite quickly and from then on, you'll have no problem reading that

[Messier-31]

The Book and the Almanac - how many pages?

[AndreaColombo]

Book is 121 pages according to Amazon.

[JFSOCC]

I love the Vailain lore. Definitely going to play a Vailian.

[monosco]

If there is going to be a delay on the physical cd, I'd like to see physical backers receive 2 digital copies.

 

I personally pledged at a level that would enable me and a friend to both play the game at launch, and now it sounds like one of us will have to wait a significant amount of time or we'll have to buy an additional copy.

 

Other than that, everything looks awesome!

[Grivenger]

Honestly, I don't mind waiting for the physical disc if I'm getting an alternative digital version I get to install on launch day. The biggest reason I backed at this level was for the physical goods.

[monosco]

Honestly, I don't mind waiting for the physical disc if I'm getting an alternative digital version I get to install on launch day. The biggest reason I backed at this level was for the physical goods.

I believe all of the physical levels come with a digital copy. The issue is if, like me, you thought that would get you two copies of the game on launch day for yourself and another person.

 

I'm hoping that will be addressed.

 

With that said, I am extremely happy that it sounds like the timeline for pushing out physical goods will be far faster than it was with InXile's Wasteland 2. I still see people posting that they finally just received their copy.

[Quadrone]

Regarding physical rewards:

 

The level at which I backed had a "thank you" postcard as a reward among otherwise only digital rewards. Is this a digital reward as well?

As I have no way to enter my address anywhere, nor do I remember entering it at some point.

[Ark Evensong]

So I get that printing DRM-free pre-1.0 discs is bad.

But isn't printing DRM'ed pre-1.0 discs almost as bad? I'm assuming that's what the retail package is going to contain. (There are retail plans, right?) Fancy Steam activation/DRM or not, stuff tends to get cracked pretty soon anyway.

 

I guess you could simply not include the executable on the disc, considering Steam would replace it with 1.0+ instantly anyway. Just the art assets. Good luck getting around that, pirates. (Then look on in horror as they'll somehow manage to get the Backer Beta .exe to work with the full game assets and ruin everything anyway.)

 

EDIT:

Reading the update again, that seems to pretty much be the plan anyway. Pre-Load Faster Installation Disc. Sure. Nevermind then!

Edited February 12, 2015 by Ark Evensong

[Lephys]

The solution is clear! Very, very quickly invent QEDs -- Quantumly Entangled Discs -- which you can go ahead and ship to us. Then, when you alter the master disc, all the other discs will change accordingly, and will get the 1.0 version etched into them.

 

So simple!

 

 

Nah, really, though, for what it's worth, I don't mind waiting. As has been pointed out, anyone who's getting a disc is getting a digital copy, as well. They could just go with a GOG digital copy, if they're someone who was planning on using their disc and giving the digital copy to a friend. Then, they have an installer they can re-use if they need to, for both parties involved, and they still have a fully, legally obtained hard-disc copy to back up their extra use of the "same" digital copy, for anyone super worried about the ethics of that.

 

I agree that shipping early-version discs early is pretty much just all-around cons and not many pros. Personally, I don't mind waiting for all our stuff, but I can see why others would want their physical goods on-time (sans disc).

 

But, back to non-serious mode, how can you really replicate the IE experience when you're not having to put a disc into your tray and hunt down manually-installable patch files online?!

[Gairnulf]

If it’s leaked early, it hurts everyone, both in the short and long term. It hurts you, the backers, who have waited with immense patience for the game, and you should be the first folks to get to play it. It hurts those who play an incomplete version of the game; that hurts us as a developer, which in turn hurts us as a business, and what may become of future projects.

 

Not to mention the world of hurt in which the person who would be playing the "leaked" version is going to be  I'd say the Backer Beta only hints at what an unprepared person will be up against if attempting to play an unfinished PoE. Kids, don't try this at home:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7I-YI_fiRU

 

So I get that printing DRM-free pre-1.0 discs is bad.

But isn't printing DRM'ed pre-1.0 discs almost as bad?

Just sayin' - "1.0" is a very relative indicator of how complete a release is. Nowadays games tend to reach what used to be called "gold" status a year or two after the "1.0" version has been released, while in the meantime fans tend to pay and pray - respectively, for "dlc content", and for speedy patches. Speaking for myself, I've just accepted that I'm getting the latest beta build of every new game I purchase at release, whenever I make that mistake. In the case of PoE, I really wanted to see this game see the light of day, so I backed it, albeit late, for as much money as I could, because I felt like donating for a good cause, more than like a customer pursuing his rational interest. Rational interest dictates to wait about a year until you see it at a discount, and buy it cheaper and in a more complete state. But I think we haven't become backers out of rational motives

 

I said after the second delay of the release that I wouldn't be surprised (or was it that I expect) if the game is delayed a third time. Issues like this physical discs delay make me remember that statement. I won't say "it seems it should have been delayed", because I still haven't played it, in order to form any impressions, so I keep my fingers crossed for the best initial release possible. Anyway, since I signed up for a digital download version, my ranting is out of place.

 

I've got to say I'm very impressed with the excerpts from both the Collector's book and Almanac. The Collector's book reads like something written by a person with actual knowledge of folklore, anthropology, and philology in general. It's a rare pleasure for me to study a fantasy setting of such quality, especially when compared to the style present in widely-proclaimed "Game of The Year" titles-which-I-will-not-mention-despite-being-past-40-hours-into-them-on-origin, which regardless of all the hype, look like they've been written by mediocre fanfic bloggers.

 

So, I'm setting myself for something really great in that aspect of the game, and as the date approaches, I'm finding myself anticipating the game with impatience to see how great it's going to tie together everything I've seen so far, and with fear that the time constraints will lead to a release that's too far from that level of completeness which I (and I guess everyone) would want to find when I start it up for the first time.

 

BTW, while on the subject about the game's style, attention to detail, and honest attitude towards its audience, I have to tell you I read in an update "on the Internet", that PoE is bound to feature "the F word" a lot and even - "Maker preserve us" - prostitutes! Forgive me the strong phrase, but - "Andraste's nickers"! How should I explain this to my mum?

[Adam Brennecke]

Regarding physical rewards:

 

The level at which I backed had a "thank you" postcard as a reward among otherwise only digital rewards. Is this a digital reward as well?

As I have no way to enter my address anywhere, nor do I remember entering it at some point.

 

There should have been a place to fill out your address in the backer portal when you were selecting all of your options (even if all you are getting is the thank you card). You have a silver badge, so I assume you did it. If you need help, contact support on the backer site to check with us about your address on file. 

[Jarmo]

Totally fine with either option.

 

Yeah, maybe someone thought to gift the extra digital copy and will now be in a bind of having paid but not getting to play.

But... that might be a hypothetical problem, did someone?

[Sonntam]

I wasn't too interested in the Collector's Book and the Almanac beofre... but after seeing the pages from Collector's Book and Almanac I knew I HAD to get both.

 

Interesting tidbits of lore, beautifully presented. Exactly what I love.

[Katarack21]

I hope y'all realize that no matter what you do, the game is going to be pirated. It will be. Probably within a week of release date.

I mean, not by me--I have no need, I gave y'all my money already. I'm just saying, regardless of which option you take and what you do or don't do, the game is going to be pirated by some. You have to accept that going in.

[danielkx]

I hope y'all realize that no matter what you do, the game is going to be pirated. It will be. Probably within a week of release date.

 

I mean, not by me--I have no need, I gave y'all my money already. I'm just saying, regardless of which option you take and what you do or don't do, the game is going to be pirated by some. You have to accept that going in.

They are not in denial of this, in fact they already said that they know the game will be pirated and that most of those people probably weren't going to buy the game anyway so it wasn't a huge concern.

 

When they mentioned that the game being pirated was bad they were referring to the fact that the version that will be leaked/pirated will not be the final 1.0 version and that people playing the non final build may spread bad press about the game based on them playing it in an unfinished state.

 

Also they want to make sure that those of us who backed the game and are waiting patiently until release day to play it don't feel as if we got the short end of the stick compared to those who will pirate the leaked version and are able to play the game earlier, so they would prefer to avoid that issue (although it wouldn't bother me if that happened, but it will bother others).