Actually @Treyolen I want them to have a collectors edition physical copy for which people would have to pay a premium for and perhaps even take pre-orders for before committing money to the production so there would be no risk of not making a profit.
@Kitteh_On_A_Cloud Nostalgic is not a perjorative term, it is merely an adjective that describes a state of being...there is no "making fun of" component. Its like someone suggesting someone is ignorant....too many people forget that everyone is ignorant because no one is omniscient...its not an insult its a state of being....Im very ignorant of advanced bio-chemistry....and on many business matters.... it is just what is.
We here are all to some degree nostalgic but it is true that the Optical media is....on its last legs, nothing at all wrong with USB media and they can STILL make the packaging appealing and as pretty as a jewel Case.
@Majoca,its not for ditching you or something. Its just USB works faster, its reliable. And it seems SSD is coming in a heartbeat !! we have to adjust.. If you stick to cd/dvd/bluray - Media´s, its not good. Its like stick to your C 64 / Amiga, because it never had its issues...
Well im in for USB .. But also se the retro aspect in cd´s
I am quite content to settle for a download as soon as possible. Provided that it arrives late November that will do. I am sure that if there is then a demonstrable commercial market for selling BG1 EE via some other medium the development team will look into it.
I don't really believe there'll be a physical release of the game, that's why I'll make my own. Just check my post on one of the previous pages where I show the USB drive I will use
I get where your coming from with USB but its just a matter of opinion and experience, you say nothing has went wrong with your USB's but I haven't had a problem with Cds or DVDs, where as you have and I have had friends who have had issues with USB's corrupting or damaged and cannot access their data and sometimes with human error, formatted their usb/Hardrive by accident with hundreds of GB's to TB's of Data, the one thing I dislike about Hardrive and USB is putting everything in one basket, and then you have to back it up which then you spend more money and time and again as I mentioned things aren't built to Last these days, so you have to replace Harddrives. Cloud however is a better idea, but companies that provide it often require money for its upkeep :S its annoying cycle when I would rather spend my money on other things :P.
@Majoca I was talking about usb thumb drive not USB HDD's two different technologies. But yeah any media can get corrupted via human error USB thumb drives can be write protected (at least some can) but yes you don't want to rely on any one item that provides a single point of failure..which is why I back stuff up to a RAID array where I can lose a drive and not miss a beat. Optical Media is the EASIEST to corrupt however since all it takes is a scratch in the wrong place. USB Thumb Drives can take a considerable physical licking with no ill effects.....but zap it with a big enough electrical charge and its toast....so :-) pick your poison
I think they should set up a deluxe super dooper edition where they just show up at my house with a complete computer of awesomeness set up in a swat command vehicle that they set me in with a couple minions to fetch snacks and turn the pages of my game journal while I watch the game unfold in front of me - whooooweeeeee butter my buns and call me a bisquit y'all can sign me up today!
Of course I can understand that might not be ready to roll on Nov 30 so meanwhile I'll just take my digital copy and start rolling up a character or two to get ready... ;-)
@Wanderon, I think you are onto something big, here. I think the Ultra level order should be available... for only $1.2 M USD, the game is shipped in a soundproof portable storage cube on a trailer fully outfitted with massage armchair, surround sound system, sattelite dish, server, top of the line tower system with three top videocards in SLI outputting to a 90" widescreen hi-def tv, air conditioning, sub-zero cooling solution, robotic soda can dispenser and auto-refill chip dispenser, and a 12-month personal services contract for a man/womanservant.
Darn it. I really, really need to win that mega-millions jackpot. Or at least finally break down and actually purchase a lottery ticket.
USB distribution may end up as the preferred method at some point, but not yet. There is a reason that no one else seems to be doing it. My guess is that reason involves cost. But I think Beamdog would be wise to not try and break new ground in the distribution arena. They have plenty of work to keep themselves busy getting the game ready to ship. Then I think they should focus on adding content. Let the big boys work out the details on the new tech and then just follow them down the established road.
The reason is almost certainly cost. It costs pennies to mass produce a game on a DVD. It costs a dollar to do the same with a USB stick.
It doesn't seem like a ton, but it ends up driving revenues down very quickly. On the other hand, with a USB stick you could make the packaging significantly smaller, which might reduce the production cost for the box itself.
I put my USB stick through the washing machine a couple of times (I forget it in my pocket. lol) and I just wait for it to dry, plug it in and it still works perfectly with all my data intact:)
I think they should set up a deluxe super dooper edition where they just show up at my house with a complete computer of awesomeness set up in a swat command vehicle that they set me in with a couple minions to fetch snacks and turn the pages of my game journal while I watch the game unfold in front of me - whooooweeeeee butter my buns and call me a bisquit y'all can sign me up today!
Of course I can understand that might not be ready to roll on Nov 30 so meanwhile I'll just take my digital copy and start rolling up a character or two to get ready... ;-)
USB distribution may end up as the preferred method at some point, but not yet. There is a reason that no one else seems to be doing it. My guess is that reason involves cost. But I think Beamdog would be wise to not try and break new ground in the distribution arena. They have plenty of work to keep themselves busy getting the game ready to ship. Then I think they should focus on adding content. Let the big boys work out the details on the new tech and then just follow them down the established road.
Somewhere up above I posted the unit cost for USB sticks, compared to DVD's in bulk DVD's cost about half the price.....on the other hand...Im willing to pay an extra buck or two price differential
Maybe I'm just not informed about manufacturing technologies. But how do you get the data on to the USB sticks? I know CD/DVD fabrication takes in to account creating discs with data. Does this industry exist for USB drives? I don't know of any other distributions being done on USB sticks, so who does this industry serve? I think the costs involve more than just raw materials.
This seems like new ground with lots of potential pitfalls. I don't think a company that bet the farm on this release should introduce any more risk than they absolutely need. I would love an ultra premium edition with a truly limited edition run. At that price point it could make sense to include both forms of media in the box. But at any competitive price point I think they should stick with the tried and true method that has been working for decades. No one ever got fired for buying IBM. I doubt anyone ever got fired for shipping on optical media.
@Arsene_Lupin: That would be kind of vulgar considering the combination of a sword shape for the stick in combination with the lines you post. Anyway, I don't think I'd ever buy a game on a silly USB stick. Just not my cup of tea.
@Kitteh_On_A_Cloud I hadn't read it that way at first. But now I can't stop laughing. And I'm at work where it isn't entirely appropriate to explain why I'm laughing!
Maybe I'm just not informed about manufacturing technologies. But how do you get the data on to the USB sticks? I know CD/DVD fabrication takes in to account creating discs with data. Does this industry exist for USB drives? I don't know of any other distributions being done on USB sticks, so who does this industry serve? I think the costs involve more than just raw materials.
This seems like new ground with lots of potential pitfalls. I don't think a company that bet the farm on this release should introduce any more risk than they absolutely need. I would love an ultra premium edition with a truly limited edition run. At that price point it could make sense to include both forms of media in the box. But at any competitive price point I think they should stick with the tried and true method that has been working for decades. No one ever got fired for buying IBM. I doubt anyone ever got fired for shipping on optical media.
There are TONS of outfits that distribute material on USB sticks, got to any Tech conference or trade show you can get dozens of them, mass writing to USB sticks is pretty much the same process as mass producing DVD's....you have a master and you have hardware to copy said master.... In the case of the USB drive the hardware is more compact and more efficient at cloning the master...and faster too. Seriously I realize most people here are not professionals in the IT industry but believe me USB media is NOT in anyway a risky or "new" risk. Its been around for years, the tools have been invented and are in wide spread use today. Just because thegaming industry doesnt use them doesnt mean it isnt out there.
Just a guess but I suspect there is a reason the gaming industry has not used USB technology to release games at this point but don't have any idea why not altho cost seems the most likely reason whether it is for the technology itself or involved in the cost of changeover to any new system.
@Immagikman Thanks for the information on USB data replication. I didn't know that tech was so mature. But I still agree with @Wanderon, there has to be a reason the game industry hasn't embraced this in light of the push for ultrabooks without optical drives. I'm not saying it isn't a good idea or even the best idea. I just think Beamdog would be better served following instead of leading in this case.
Just a guess but I suspect there is a reason the gaming industry has not used USB technology to release games at this point but don't have any idea why not altho cost seems the most likely reason whether it is for the technology itself or involved in the cost of changeover to any new system.
RIA/Copy Protection and cost per unit are the major factors, though the cost per unit is coming down. each USB unit is about twice the cost of a DVD when bought in bulk.
Comments
@Kitteh_On_A_Cloud Nostalgic is not a perjorative term, it is merely an adjective that describes a state of being...there is no "making fun of" component. Its like someone suggesting someone is ignorant....too many people forget that everyone is ignorant because no one is omniscient...its not an insult its a state of being....Im very ignorant of advanced bio-chemistry....and on many business matters.... it is just what is.
We here are all to some degree nostalgic but it is true that the Optical media is....on its last legs, nothing at all wrong with USB media and they can STILL make the packaging appealing and as pretty as a jewel Case.
Its like stick to your C 64 / Amiga, because it never had its issues...
Well im in for USB .. But also se the retro aspect in cd´s
Here, found it
I get where your coming from with USB but its just a matter of opinion and experience, you say nothing has went wrong with your USB's but I haven't had a problem with Cds or DVDs, where as you have and I have had friends who have had issues with USB's corrupting or damaged and cannot access their data and sometimes with human error, formatted their usb/Hardrive by accident with hundreds of GB's to TB's of Data, the one thing I dislike about Hardrive and USB is putting everything in one basket, and then you have to back it up which then you spend more money and time and again as I mentioned things aren't built to Last these days, so you have to replace Harddrives. Cloud however is a better idea, but companies that provide it often require money for its upkeep :S its annoying cycle when I would rather spend my money on other things :P.
(This is assuming, of course, that it also came with its own video card...)
Of course I can understand that might not be ready to roll on Nov 30 so meanwhile I'll just take my digital copy and start rolling up a character or two to get ready... ;-)
Darn it. I really, really need to win that mega-millions jackpot. Or at least finally break down and actually purchase a lottery ticket.
It doesn't seem like a ton, but it ends up driving revenues down very quickly. On the other hand, with a USB stick you could make the packaging significantly smaller, which might reduce the production cost for the box itself.
This seems like new ground with lots of potential pitfalls. I don't think a company that bet the farm on this release should introduce any more risk than they absolutely need. I would love an ultra premium edition with a truly limited edition run. At that price point it could make sense to include both forms of media in the box. But at any competitive price point I think they should stick with the tried and true method that has been working for decades. No one ever got fired for buying IBM. I doubt anyone ever got fired for shipping on optical media.
Every time you insert it: Suck it, Uther!
Every time you remove it: Suck it, Merlin!
Or, if you would prefer to count in seconds, like I do since I have nothing better to do, that would be ~4240000 seconds. Start counting