User Information - Will

News Comments > Sunday Legal Briefs

The Half Elf wrote on Nov 26, 2012, 01:36: Let me modify what I was trying to ask. A way to see how many player of newly released games or in some sort of comparison to the Steam Top 10. Aside from steamworks games (already explained by the reply under this one), there used to be websites that tracked the multiplayer numbers from master servers. Dunno if any of those are still around. As well, GfWL tracks player numbers for games that use it. And there's individual game trackers. I imagine that one could find out CoD player numbers, or BF3 player numbers, etc. There's no global stat tracker of number of players playing all games if thats what you are looking for.

15.

Re: More Big Picture Details

Nov 26, 2012, 00:28

HorrorScope wrote on Nov 25, 2012, 20:15: If I could really understand how the bars really = 6, yes that could turn me into a full-fledged believer. What are the chances of that number happening like that and how it ties to commerce? I mean that is one in impossible imo. Here's what the inventor of the UPC says about it: http://bellsouthpwp.net/l/a/laurergj/UPC/666quest.html Whether or not that that has anything to do with anything biblical, who knows. I disagree with the whole mandatory RFID tracking thing on principle, not because it may or may not have anything to do with any 666 number.

58.

Re: Steam Autumn Sale Day Four

Nov 25, 2012, 20:29

PHJF wrote on Nov 25, 2012, 17:25: I don't think federal law applies to debit cards (yet). http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre04.shtm Looks like it depends on how soon its reported. So report it ASAP. One could be liable for $50, $500, or all of it, if its not reported within certain time periods.

92.

Re: Op Ed

Nov 25, 2012, 20:27

BTW, if anyone feels like the IRS isn't taking enough money from them in taxes, they accept donations.

News Comments > Steam Top 10

27.

Re: Steam Top 10

Nov 25, 2012, 20:21

The Half Elf wrote on Nov 25, 2012, 17:46: What we really need is a top 10 games being played on Steam list. I have a feeling all the keys bought at GMG would change up that list a bit. The data was posted in reply, but here's the link: http://store.steampowered.com/stats/ Anytime you want to know what games are being played by how many on steam (which if its a steamworks game is ALL copies of that game), how many total ppl are online with steam at that moment (6 million peak today), the content server stats, or hardware survey, just click that link

News Comments > Steam Top 10

21.

Re: Steam Top 10

Nov 25, 2012, 17:23

And yet, even with all the great sales... PC copies of Call of Doody: Brown Plops Too, thats not even on sale, makes more money on steam than all the rest.

56.

Re: Steam Autumn Sale Day Four

Nov 25, 2012, 17:07

Prez wrote on Nov 25, 2012, 11:01: I have a separate debit card with its own separate bank account for online purchases. I never keep more than 200-300 bucks in it at any given time, which pretty much limits the damage from it getting compromised. Admittedly I still use a debit card (entirely separate account) for real world brick and mortar purchases, but I really don't feel like I am taking much of a chance. Shit happens, sure. Which is why I have a money market account I can write checks with in the event of a crisis. I like the credit card idea but I got into a whole lot of trouble with credit cards back in my youth and it took me 15 years to bail myself out of it, so I am forever wary of using one. I own one but I only ever use it once a year to go on our annual road trip up north. Sounds like you are doing the smart thing and planning for the unexpected. Keeping separate accounts, and being able to use the moneymarket cheks even if both accounts get compromised. Although, using a debit card at B&M stores isn't entirely safe either, as seen by how those ppl hacked the swipe readers at Barns & Nobles (presumably a hardware hack, which means the employees must have been blind). Wowbagger_TIP wrote on Nov 25, 2012, 12:08: Most CCs offer some sort of fraud protection anyway. As a side note, CCs MUST offer protection under federal law. I believe the maximum amount you can be responsible for under federal law is something like $50 or $75. But the vast majority of cards I've seen also even cover that (they can afford it, since Visa takes 3%-5% to the merchants on every purchase, and on fraud usually does a chargeback anyway to the merchant so they don't have to pay). I believe debit cards are similar, but its much harder to get banks to pay you back, since they are out the money. Plus there could be overdraft fees which banks hate to refund and bills bouncing, etc.

51.

Re: Steam Autumn Sale Day Four

Nov 25, 2012, 10:31

PHJF wrote on Nov 25, 2012, 08:41: Yeaaahhh I understand this isn't the most awesome of evidence, but I personally had my debit compromised after using GMG and so did an acquaintance of mine. Maybe there's a reason like all banks have that site blacklisted. Its more likely a coincidence. Its not all banks, just ones that are sensitive to overseas purchases. I've never had a problem with them for instance. There's been some big breaches with credit and debit cards recently, like the one where someone modified the card swipers in 63 B&N stores to steal the info. I'm not sure WTF the employees were doing letting someone do that to 63 stores. Plus, another tactic is people putting devices onto ATM machines to pick up the numbers and pins. I personally recommend using a credit card instead of a debit card. Too many potential issues if a debit card gets compromised.

36.

Re: Op Ed

Nov 25, 2012, 07:59

NewMaxx wrote on Nov 25, 2012, 04:43: Dev wrote on Nov 25, 2012, 04:13: So was my post just too long to respond to? lol I think you made some good points, but your initial assertion of jealousy seems misplaced. I do agree, however, that the overall arguments presented in the blog are outdated or incorrect. An example I could give is Mount & Blade, which I followed from the very start, and seeing this talented couple do it on the side with great community feedback was inspiring. Yet it wasn't until they got publisher backing and released a full version, on places like Steam, that it became profitable enough to be a full-blown occupation, which in turn enabled much faster response and rapid improvements. It's naive to think that funding isn't a huge factor or that developers can be "single-minded" and ignore their community. So to re-iterate what I stated in my post below and on the blog, I feel that he's leaning towards the "open" aspect more than the "investment" aspect, when the reality is that the modern gaming industry for the PC is an ugly hybrid that's still very much working itself out. Yet I feel anybody who falls to the wayside in either direction will ultimately get left behind. Community-driven is the future and to ignore disparate funding would be like Wikipedia demanding a specific donation amount, or the government charging everybody the same tax. The whole point of open is that people can be involved to a level of their choosing, and more importantly for transparency regardless of investment. Thanks for the response. The jealousy thing is my opinion, I admit it could be wrong. You have a great point about Mount & Blade. And there's many other examples where a good community can help with constructive feedback.

48.

Re: Steam Autumn Sale Day Four

Nov 25, 2012, 07:53

BTW, I mentioned the MS sale way earlier in this thread. And the last thread. And the fact that its OOS on games like skyrim and diablo 3 jimnms wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 23:49: Sepharo wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 22:20: Snuggle Truck eh? 4 friends already own this game: Prez Devistater Kitkoan jimnms motherofgod.jpg It was in a Humble Android bundle. It's pretty fun on a tablet, and they actually give you the original Smuggle Truck version as well as the cutesy Snuggle Truck. I haven't played it on PC, but I assume it plays a bit like Trials 2. Yep, I got it in that bundle too I believe. I seriously doubt I would have bought that on its own.

34.

Re: Op Ed

Nov 25, 2012, 04:13

So was my post just too long to respond to? lol

24.

Re: Steam Autumn Sale Day Four

Nov 24, 2012, 19:47

theyarecomingforyou wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 19:20: Anyway, I'm glad that the new King's Bounty went on sale. I'm a huge fan of the series but I couldn't justify the UK price when it's basically a rehash of the previous games. I was happy to grab it at 50% off and I've already sunk 5hrs into it. It's more of the same but that's good for me. Be aware that it has more issues and bugs than any previous one (I think because a different dev house did it). They ARE patching it, but most of the patch fixes require a restart of the game to work. If you are the type to play it through only once, then I'd suggest waiting until its patched up a bit more. If you plan to play through it a number of times, go for it, no need to wait. I don't think there's any current show stoppers after the current patches (I know that unpatched there was at least one crash bug that wouldn't let you even complete one of the fights with a certain bad guy in it). I'm enjoying it as is, and I enjoyed the previous games too. theyarecomingforyou wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 19:21: Yosemite Sam wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 19:09: $5 eh, hmmm. I could wait till it's $2.50... ah what the hell I'll splurge EDIT: any of the three DLC packs worth getting, seeing as they are all %75 off ATM. Only 'The Missing Link' - the rest are junk. The Missing link is a MUST get dlc btw. It adds significant improvements to the game engine over the entire game, not just the DLC. xXBatmanXx wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 19:36: Blew my wad buying 2 phones today.......game purchasing season is over. Which ones? Those $50 prepaid androids at walmart that caused riots?

13.

Re: Steam Autumn Sale Day Four

Nov 24, 2012, 18:39

RDR GotY with all the DLC is at $15 from walmart (can order online and pickup at store with no shipping charge) and amazon right now. Also there's a massive MS sale on for $10 for a ton of games, both console and PC. I gave links and info in the previous sale thread. It also sounds like the B&M ms stores have the same pricing, so if something is out online, it might be in their store. If you are lucky enough to live close to one that is. The MS site says you live in a "town" if you aren't close to one when checking locations (pretty sure that 500k+ population isn't a town). $10 games included diablo 3, and skyrim (last I checked they were out of stock online though) as well as dozens of others.

Re: Steam Autumn Sale Day Four

Nov 24, 2012, 18:36

Wowbagger_TIP wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 18:34: I was just trying to pick up Dishonored at GMG, but it won't let me buy it. No buy button on the game's page, and the buy button that was on the front page just led to a 404 error. Now the game doesn't seem to show up at all, even when searching for it. As mentioned in the previous sale thread on blues, they announced that they ran out of keys, and were tryign to get more. More than likely they will put it back up then. Or they are just getting hit way too much for their poor servers Prez wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 17:45: In case anyone doesn't have SPAZ, I'd highly recommend it, even if you don't normally like space games. It is a bit rough around the edges being a low budget indie but it is ridiculously addictive and fun nonetheless. I hope to see a sequel with more depth soon from these guys. I agree

15.

Re: Op Ed

Nov 24, 2012, 18:19

Cliffski, First you are upset about some supposed $10 barrier for indie games, now you are upset about kickstarter. I'm starting to detect a hint of jealousy. Look, go ahead and kickstart a game if you want in on it. If its worth more than $10 I'll back it. So far though, since that $10 statement, I haven't seen much new stuff from positech that interested me at above a $10 price point. Now to address your points. First, it doesn't help much to use a photoshopped pledge screenshot from KS if you are trying to make a point about it. Second, the majority of this kinda thing is cosmetic. Who cares? Kickstarter aside, some AAA level games run contests to get someone's face in a game as an NPC or whatever. I haven't seen complaints about that. If someone has the money, why would it matter if they named a planet or got their face in it. Third, yes some of it is pay 2 win. Such as star citizen. I'm not a fan of it in star citizen either. I really hope chris roberts can overcome the obvious strings from the private funding (thats significantly more than the crowdsourced) thats pushing it towards MMO and P2W features. But there's stuff on the internet thats pay 2 win as well, it shouldn't be a surprise that it ends up kickstarter too. Backers are free to pass on such projects if they don't wish to back them. The pricing is entirely up to the kickstarter. Some of the thousand dollar+ packages are because it takes significantly more resources to make. For instance, designing someone's face into the game as an NPC. Its hardly fair to compare that to $10 DLC packages. If they priced lunch with devs pledge level at something like $100, they'd get so many responses they'd be having lunch with fans for the next 100 years. They could just offer 5 spots at $100, but then its going to be the 5 fastest clickers, which is hardly fair either. Since they need to reduce the demand on a package like that, it only makes logical sense to increase the price. And of course it makes business sense. The goal of a KS is to get money to start a project. If they don't offer higher tiers, they are leaving money on the table. If no one wants those higher tiers (as I've seen happen before) then no harm done. Fourth, yes, its selling a dream. Thats the entire point of kickstarter. Backers are also supposed to use their heads and not give tons of money they can't afford to lose to projects that aren't likely to deliver. Thats part of why KS has the model of not funding anything that doesn't hit its goal, to filter out crap projects. Its not KS's fault if some people don't bother to do that, just like its not the governments fault if someone dumps all savings into a stock they got a spam email about, then lost it. Its simple common sense, if a person cant afford to lose the money, they shouldn't be putting it into a KS project. Similar to venture capital funding. Its high risk. But just because its risky, should the option to fund a KS or VC be prevented to those who CAN afford to risk it? Fifth, you say kickstarter could make devs lazy. Yeah maybe. But here's the thing, many of these projects (wasteland 2 for instance) have been dreams of developers for DECADES. They've been repeatedly going to publishers and getting turned down. Why the FRACK would they screw up their own lifelong dream like that? Also, the kickstarter should be just the first chunk of "pre-sales". If they make it successfully they are looking at possibly far more income. So there's monetary reasons not to be lazy. Sixth, The devs always have the ultimate say over fan input. It would be silly to design a game entirely by committee. However, it wouldn't hurt to take feedback into account when making decisions either. Since these fans are what's making the game possible, its probably a good idea to pay at least some attention. And it can't be worse than a publisher dictating all sorts of weird inclusions just because they want a marketing point. Like games with tacked on multiplayer or whatever just so they can say they have it have often had focus taken away from single player. At least with fan input, a dev can say no. With publisher input, they don't have that option. So its actually better this way (unless the dev really is lazy and isn't self disciplined enough to finish projects on his own). Seventh, The game does NOT have to be fixed. I've backed KS projects that changed from what they promised. The best ones offered refunds or additional options to make up for it. Just recently a game (I think it was shadowrun) said they weren't going to be able to include the social option of adding friends characters to a party. They changed from what they promised on KS. They explained how they've made a schedule and budgeted out from the KS time from the team on each feature, and ended up needing to cut something, so that was cut. And who knows, if the game is a success after its released, maybe they can add it back in. Eighth, If you dislike KS and crowdsourcing so much, no one is forcing you to back projects, or start projects. There's also non game projects that deliver physical tangible items if one prefers that. For instance the various arduino ones, or the blink (1), or many many more. I'm personally excited to see what the affordable and easy to use sous vide device will do to for home cooking. This comment was edited on Nov 24, 2012, 18:30.

68.

Re: On Sale

Nov 24, 2012, 16:13

BTW, from looking at the replies, turns out that the MS store has same prices in store. So if you live anywhere there's a MS store...

67.

Re: On Sale

Nov 24, 2012, 16:10

The Half Elf wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 14:04: nin wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 12:27: xXBatmanXx wrote on Nov 24, 2012, 07:58: Green Man Gaming ‏@GreenManGaming Hi all, we've temporarily run out of Dishonored keys due to immense popularity of our deal. We're working to get more but no ETA. -Love GMG I'm hoping these sales might help towards a sequel. And good for GMG getting the traffic. GMG must be making a fortune off of Steam. All they do is pump out keys while Steam has all the downloading. BUT they also have near continual massive sales which cuts deeply into their profit. They must be making some money, but I doubt its terribly much. Selling $50-$60 presales games at $35 or so, they can't be making much. They'd probably be better off running those 20%-30% coupons once a month instead of almost every day.

52.

Re: On Sale

Nov 24, 2012, 10:14

Red dead redemption GOTY (with all DLC) for xbox/ps3 is $15 at walmart (order online with in store pickup), and amazon. I gave up on waiting for rockstar at that price. I generally don't own much or even play much console games (probably been 6-8 months since I turned on the xbox), but for that game I'll make an exception.

51.

Re: On Sale

Nov 24, 2012, 10:11

News Comments > Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Preloads

There's a BIG ms store $10 sale: link with links Note that many are sold out such as skyrim PC, diablo 3 at $10. I missed out on that Xbox 360 Games Devil May Cry HD Collection Silent Hill HD Collection Protoype 2 Fallout New Vegas Ultimate Edition Kingdoms Of Amalur Reckoning Mass Effect 3 LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes A Game of Thrones Spec Ops: The Line Silent Hill: Downpour Max Payne 3 SoulCalibur V Saints Row The Third Batman: Arkham City Rocksmith MLB 2K12/NBA 2K12 Combo Pack Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings UFC Undisputed 3 Risen 2: Dark Waters Just Dance 3 The Amazing Spider-Man Many more PC Games Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Starter Kit Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Diablo 3 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Max Payne 3 Mass Effect 3 Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Many more

40.

Re: Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Preloads

Nov 24, 2012, 07:27