How am I supposed to know if it would be worth buying or not if there's no demo? You just can't rely on screenshots to tell the quality of a game these days, you actually have to TRY the game (hence the term "demo")

It would be a big marketing mistake for them to not release a demo. Not releasing a demo also increases the likeliness that people will warez the game just to try it.

This comment was edited on Jan 14, 15:13.

I got bored with unreal 1 after that skarrj or whatever attacks you when all the light in the hallway start going out.

They had something good going there but then it jsut got lame.

I wonder if this will be any differet.

Regardless, I won't buy this game without a demo.

"Demos do not delay games."

Actually they do. The point in the development cycle where the game is ready enough for a demo is often the same point where you're crunching like crazy to get the thing done. At least that's my experience.

Believe it or not, a demo takes more than an afterthought. It's not as simple as making a CD with just one or two levels. You have to plan out what will be included and what will not, you have to pare the game down to that and make sure it still works, and you have to do it in such a way so that you can't just plop the content from the forthcoming release into the demo directory and end up with the full game for free.

Having to do all that in the middle of your crunch-time is at the very least a PITA. And while doing a demo before the game is done certainly won't cause months worth of delay, it will cause some amount of delay, because you're making a demo instead of making a game.

"Demos do not delay games."

You think it's just going to appear under Jay Wilbur's pillow overnight or something? Even if the demo level already exists as part of the game, creating and testing a demo designed to run out of context with the rest of the game takes man-hours. Simple.

"still fishing eh mahn?"

I missed my chance to fish while I was on vacation in Hawaii.


_____

The possible pain, suffering and sacrifice of discovery are by no means an excuse to remain ignorant.
This comment was edited on Jan 14, 14:58.

i`m with you man

still fishing eh mahn?

"I'd say it's more a reflection of their conviction that they have a kick-ass product on their hands than anything adverse."

Demos do not delay games.

Yeah, id is gonna have a lot of competition with Unreal 2. With those cute boys in their purtty purple armor with their super soakers. Yeah.

_____

The possible pain, suffering and sacrifice of discovery are by no means an excuse to remain ignorant.

" It probably doesn't have an uninstall option either. "
HAHA! Too funny.

As for the shelf time from gold time... I know a few weeks is a *long* time but I am sure companies/publishers have been trying to shorten this time for years. Supply Chain Management is serious business... minimizing distribution paths is a difficult science... if there was a way to make this shorter, I am sure they would have found it by now.

An alternative method is to do away with the publisher, set up a big FTP site (or let the Fileplanet/Shacknews whores host the game), set up a pay cart system and have people download directly from the Net.

Alas, this business model has been tried and has failed... it would be sweet though.. because Gold would equal Distribution.

We would be playing Unreal 2 right now if this were the current method of distribution. Think about it, the gamers get the game 3 weeks earlier, they pay less since there are significantly less "publisher costs" and www.gheyplanet.com and www.whoreshack.com get the downloads they want... everyone wins!

Althought the publishers wouldn't be too happy about it.

Unfortunately, the internet isn't ready for this distribution model yet... maybe in 10 more years... it has been tried numerous times before the Dot Bomb era and failed... only time will tell...

- Dr. Del
"I have been visiting Shacknews for years, and it never gave me any chicks..."

Forget marketing monkeys. Epic/Legend are too big to be told what to do by marketing folk these days. If they don't want to do a demo, then there'll be no demo.
The real reason is probably that it would delay the game by another 6 weeks or so, and since it's going to sell bucketloads either way, why bother. I'd say it's more a reflection of their conviction that they have a kick-ass product on their hands than anything adverse. All indications to date are that this will be a superb piece of action gaming. Probably the shooter of the year, even with Doom 3 on the horizon.

If I had just spent months (years?) working on a game that I and the dev team were proud of I would definitely want a pre-release demo to go out. It's a rock-solid way of showing the public, first hand, that a game is true to its own hype. Without a demo we're expected to buy the game on the strength of the hype, the reviews or blind faith in the brand.
I for one won't buy a single-player-only fps without playing a demo first. Who are monkeys that are supposed to be marketing this game?

Of course once the game is released anyone in two minds will be able to get a very comprehensive demo off edonkey or wherever. All for the sake of a lack of demo....tch...

There's no demo because the game probably sucks. It probably doesn't have an uninstall option either.

But I'll wait to try the full game anyway. I feel it has been rushed.

_____

The possible pain, suffering and sacrifice of discovery are by no means an excuse to remain ignorant.

"warez'd iso here i come!!"

ROFL

"It should be out in the 1st week of Feb?
Why so long?"

Well, they're trying to target that FPS, gore-loving,
xenophobic, Valentine's Day Massacre crowd.

-Hyatus
"da da da"

You guys complain/whine/bitch about anything don't you? Unreal 2 goes gold and most of everything is when is the demo (whine), it's unoriginal (whine), I'll warez it (stealing whine). Can only imagine what you guys would be saying if it was delayed or something.

I, for one (and maybe the only one), will be BUYING it, playing it and then passing my judgement on. It looks like it could be a winner to me. Guess we'll see. Until then, continue with your whining.....

Whoohoo, no more news about Unreal 2!

Next please.

_____

The possible pain, suffering and sacrifice of discovery are by no means an excuse to remain ignorant.

It should be out in the 1st week of Feb?
Why so long?
It shouldn't really take more than about 10 days to get the cd's pressed and into shops.

According to the FAQ on the Unreal 2 Forum, there will be no demo:


quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHEN WILL THE DEMO BE OUT???
currently...it is that there will be no demo. If there is one, it'll probably be after the release of the game, not before. Now, enough with the demo threads.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


- Dr. Del
"I have been visiting Shacknews for years, and it never gave me any chicks..."

You won't beleive it, but a game based on the unreal engine, about some guy going into hell and back killing everything in his path. and he's cool too.

gone gold.

They said it will be out "when it's done" - well, now it is !

... ehhm...or maybe, it's not? yet??

And about unreal II all I can say is "yay!! you actually made a game based on the unreal engine about a guy who goes into hell and back. and he is cool too."




edit: I am pretty tired

This comment was edited on Jan 14, 13:53.