Steam Release

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elDiablo
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Postby elDiablo » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:00 pm

fez wrote:also the time HL2 was released :P


HL2 was 8am GMT.

THANKS ERIK! \o/

There you have it people.
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madkat
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Postby madkat » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:08 pm

Pfft! You should stick to 0:00 UTC! (Which just happens to be GMT, but that's just lucky coincidence :wink: )

What this does mean, though, is that a game made by a UK company is being released in the final hour of the "release date" by UK time. It would have been more accurate to say it would be released on 15th Dec!
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Postby fez » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:13 pm

elDiablo wrote:
fez wrote:also the time HL2 was released :P


HL2 was 8am GMT.

THANKS ERIK! \o/

There you have it people.


oh dear indeed it was, my bad! I didnt get it until 8pm coz i was at work that was it! :x
The Darwinian Messiah
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Postby cdbeckman » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:30 pm

Steam led a friend and me to find Darwinia, and I hope it brings many more customers like us. This kind of game deserves an audience and a massive success. Since I am currently in a small development group on a homegrown game, Introversion is an inspiring company and I'd really hate to see them go under.

I feel a little saddened that I bought it on Steam. While this will allow me to use it to play multiplayer against my friend whenever that is added, but I have an OS X laptop, and I'd love to have the OS X version for the run. I also run linux and will probably find a time in the future when I'll wish I would have bought a copy for that operating system as well. I wish companies would allow you to buy it once and have it on any OS you own that they support... it would make things a lot simpler. I understand it's all a lot more complicated than that, however, particularly because of steam.

As for the release on steam... Come on, crank that release valve *bad-ah ching* ;)
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Postby xander » Wed Dec 14, 2005 8:49 pm

cdbeckman wrote:I feel a little saddened that I bought it on Steam. While this will allow me to use it to play multiplayer against my friend whenever that is added, but I have an OS X laptop, and I'd love to have the OS X version for the run. I also run linux and will probably find a time in the future when I'll wish I would have bought a copy for that operating system as well. I wish companies would allow you to buy it once and have it on any OS you own that they support... it would make things a lot simpler. I understand it's all a lot more complicated than that, however, particularly because of steam.

First off, welcome to the boards. Let my introduce myself. I am xander, the resident whiney Mac bitch. If it affects the Mac, and it ain't good, I will guarentee that I will be whining about it. You can take that to the bank.

As to running on Windows vs Linux vs Mac OS X: the Linux and Windows versions are about the same. They use the same data files, but a different executable. The boxed version of the game is the Windows version. Linux users can then download an executable from IV and use the data files from the Windows CD. So, if you have a Linux box, I would imagine that it would be possible to get the data files from Steam (it would be unfortunate if you could not, as modding is so dependant upon being able to play with those files), and grab the Linux executable so that you could play under Linux. However, I know next to nothing about Steam, and I may be way off base on that one -- does anyone know if you can get the data files out of Steam?

As to the Mac OS, if you have bought the Windows and Linux version from IV, you will not be able to play on an OS X box -- the Mac version is being published by Ambrosia Software (ASW). This version of the game uses the first two levels as a demo, and can only be bought from ASW (as a download, not a boxed CD). So, if you wanted to play on a Mac box and a Windows or Linux box, you would still have to buy two versions.

Also, I would like to note that the experience on the Mac is probably not quite up to the experience on Windows. Some of the more intensive levels seem to bring nearly every Mac to its knees. While my laptop is no beast, it is has a 1 Ghz G4 with a Gig of RAM -- most things don't bring it to its knees, yet there are certain levels in Darwinia where I am lucky to get better than 10 frames per second. Also, the Windows and Linux versions are up to 1.41 (I think). The Mac version is still hanging out at 1.2, and does not look like it will be patched very soon -- the Steam launch took priority for the last couple of months, and I would not be suprised if <the next next game> and Steam support take priority for the next couple of months. So, despite my Mac zealotry, if you have two boxes of more or less equivelent power -- one Mac, one Windows -- I would go for the Windows version.

Finally, I agree that things, if released for multiple platforms, should be available to all platforms with only one license. In the case of Darwinia, the reason that getting the Mac version does not entitle you to the Windows/Linux version (and vice versa) has to do largely with ASW (I think). ASW does not want to be supporting the Windows version of Darwinia without making any money off of it, and I am sure that part of the distribution deal is that IV won't release a Mac version without going through IV. As I understand it, the Modlink project has been having similar problems with regards to a Mac version because of ASW's agreement with IV.

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thanks

Postby cdbeckman » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:02 pm

thanks, xander. I might eventually wind up buying a mac copy, we'll see. For the moment, I'm happy where I'm at, particularly if I can also run it on linux. It's more of a "This is a game I could see playing on the run" than anything else, as my desktop is where I do most of my gaming.

On another steam related note, I've heard there was a controversy over the new demo, that it gives away too much. All I can say is, that demo roped me in and got my credit card, and that's the first demo I've ever played to do that. If any part of the game provides an experience that is that much fun, I'm sold.
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Postby madkat » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:21 pm

xander wrote:I would imagine that it would be possible to get the data files from Steam (it would be unfortunate if you could not, as modding is so dependant upon being able to play with those files), and grab the Linux executable so that you could play under Linux. However, I know next to nothing about Steam, and I may be way off base on that one -- does anyone know if you can get the data files out of Steam?


Yep, one main.dat and one huge sounds.dat. And a preferences.txt. The user profiles are in their subdirectories as you would expect.

xander wrote:most things don't bring it to its knees, yet there are certain levels in Darwinia where I am lucky to get better than 10 frames per second.


Hmmm.... I was getting ~30FPS on the Demo map in Windows at 1600x1200 with all the settings on full, but I have two 6600GT cards in SLi. That said, I don't know if SLi is enabled for Darwinia - I'll have to mess with that.

All things considered, I think 30FPS is fine for Darwinia. It's not a game that requires blindingly fast framerates (and frankly, going above 60FPS is pointless anyway unless your monitor *scans* at a higher frequency - all you do is tear the pages.)
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Postby Jason » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:25 pm

I would never of heard of the game if it werent for Steam. I played the demo and ten minutes later got my credit card out. I guess as far as Valve are concerned - job done. hehe they must never make buying pizza this easy or Im in big trouble...

How long until I can play it now?...pace..pace...[/quote]
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Postby cdbeckman » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:38 pm

well, assuming that's actually Erik Johnson, he kinda works for valve. So I'd guess that 3PM their time is when it'll be unlocked :)
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Postby Kunami » Wed Dec 14, 2005 9:44 pm

now my demo "encounters an error and needs to close" whenever I pull it up. If the full version does the same thing im going to be irate.
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Postby madkat » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:12 pm

Jason wrote:hehe they must never make buying pizza this easy or Im in big trouble...


In the UK you can buy pizza like that... and it's easier!! One month I did spend rather a lot on pizza, though.

With regards to SLi - I don't know if it's how Darwinia calculates framerate but I couldn't get it above 30FPS. At the same time, it didn't go below 30FPS with SLi AntiAliasing. Split-Frame didn't work very well at all (black shapes where the overlayed images should be) and I couldn't tell any difference between Alternate Frame Rendering and Alternate Frame Rendering 2.

Kunami - did you have to terminate the game improperly? Have you checked to make sure there's not another copy still running? If neither - have you tried rebooting? It could be some other problem with resource locking of some sort.
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Postby ricky26 » Wed Dec 14, 2005 11:55 pm

Nooooo! I wont be able to say I have Darwinia on steam... I bought it from HMV I think, and I'm not the kind of person to buy something twice. =(

DAMN YOU GREEN BOX! *throws darwinia box at double glazed windows*
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Postby madkat » Wed Dec 14, 2005 11:58 pm

Can't you put your product key into Steam as proof of purchase and get it bound to your Steam account?
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Postby ricky26 » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:02 am

What product key?


The damn green box? DAMN YOUR LUMINOSITY!
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Postby Cryslon » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:03 am

tick tock.... its 3:03 PM PST... past the time of the scheduled release??


i have tried starting and re-starting steam about 4 times now and it still says Pre-load complete; Unreleased........



what gives ???

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