Did i just waste my money????

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by JU_88

Its not what I wish for, I'm merely saying it is inevitable.
As for Digtial download being the end of Indie gaming, excuse me but say WHAT!!??
If anything the complete opposite is true, with Digital distribution we have seen an EXPLOSION of experimental indie games for the PC, because digital distribution costs the developer nothing! Cutting and distributing thousands, or even millions, of discs on the other hand... Now that's a monopoly - he with the most $$$ gets his umpteenth sequel of his triple A franchise not just a space on the shelf, but taking up the whole shelf or maybe more!

I beg your pardon Your point is well taken. I misinterpreted your comments about digital distribution as directed to the Steam distribution model specifically. My error entirely. Yes, the general acceptance of digital distribution does lower the cost of entry for an indie publisher. (Not that new, though. I've been playing a game that existed only in digital format from 1991 till the franchise died in 2010. Every year, an updated version was released. The game evolved enormously in 19 years, ending when the solitary dev chose to retire. The game probably had thousands of players world-wide. It would never have existed without digital distribution.)

Steam has a TON of indie games, that I doubt would ever have seen the light of day if it wasn't for digital distribution, either because the independent publisher couldn't bear the costs, or because it was simply refused by the high street & online retailers on the basis of being a too risky a product.

Steam might be 'picky' I don't know, but they sure can afford to be a lot less picky than those physically stocking optical media, since if it doesn't sell well, they lose nothing.

Perhaps, but in a market increasingly dominated by a few Steam look-alikes, each with its own base locked into its unique ecosystem, the ability of an indie to attract notice and to win customers diminishes. That's part of the Service Bureau business model.

The point of the Service Bureau model is to lock customers into their ecosystem and make using anyone else's product, whether another service bureau or an indie, expensive and unpleasant. Already, there are games that are only available through Steam-like services.

And whether they can afford to be picky or not, a corollary of the model is that it is the service bureau, not the customer, who determines which goods and services are to be offered. When coupled with the cost to leave an ecosystem, that is not a recipe for robust competition. And I would prefer to make that decision myself, not leave it to some profit-driven middleman.

Also as far I am aware, Steam doesn't determine the DRM - if any, that's down to the Games publisher/developer. DRM can be and often is enforced on DVD games anyway.

Here I definitely disagree. If what you say were true, then the same DRM that causes many players grief when modding SH345 would exist on the version downloaded from Amazon and other sites. Fact is, it does not. Just take a look at the forums here at SubSim. A sizable majority of postings asking for help installing or modding SH345 turn out to be from Steam customers. If the publishers were enforcing the DRM, you would expect that other sellers of the download games would have the same issues.

My concern about the service bureau is that it is good for the publisher and good for the middleman, while offering illusory "benefits" and hidden costs to the end user. YMMV

Cloud is another story though.....
I'm more concerned about what 3d printing is going to do to manufacturing though, China better put their thinking hats on! because when that baby takes off, we could see a lot of factories shutting their doors for good!

Amazon has already announced a 3D-printing service. You supply the descriptor file. They whack out your part and send to you. Rapid prototyping is not just a software tactic any more.

As for shutting factories, it's certainly going to impact a lot of modeling, prototyping, and custom fab shops. The mass producers, not so much, at least in the near term. It's still easier to use a 3D printer to make a die or mold, then use high-volume molding or stamping equipment for the production run. But onezie-twozie replacement parts will be popped out as needed. No need for inventory.

[Mister Six]

You guys should learn to shop around more

Got my digital copy of SH5 here, for the princely sum of £0.83p

http://www.g2play.net/category/2703/...tic-uplay-key/

uplay key, digital download, mods up and plays just fine

[revanche]

Originally Posted by kimuraijn

Dont Give up hope .. Its a really great game when you can mod it !! ..

I have been watching some SH5 let's plays on YouTube and it looks GREAT, so i definitely need to try it with mods.

I just cannot believe there isn't a proper digital version available in Canada....

[revanche]

Originally Posted by JU_88

Go to Ebay, you can pick up a copy of SH5 and a replacement DVD rom drive for less than $20 I bet. If you were in the UK, Id actually offer to send you both for cost of shipping only

A very kind offer good sir.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by revanche

A very kind offer good sir.

Such is the quality of those in this fine community...welcome

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by Mister Six

You guys should learn to shop around more

Got my digital copy of SH5 here, for the princely sum of £0.83p

http://www.g2play.net/category/2703/...tic-uplay-key/

uplay key, digital download, mods up and plays just fine

For those of us who are unfamiliar, could you please explain what a "U-play Key" is and how it can be used to obtain a downloaded install package that will install a moddable SH5? According to the site you linked to, a "U-play Key" is all you are purchasing for your 0.83 GBP. There seems to be more to this story, and I'm sure others would appreciate more information.

[Mister Six]

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

For those of us who are unfamiliar, could you please explain what a "U-play Key" is and how it can be used to obtain a downloaded install package that will install a moddable SH5? According to the site you linked to, a "U-play Key" is all you are purchasing for your 0.83 GBP. There seems to be more to this story, and I'm sure others would appreciate more information.

Well, Uplay is ubisoft's Digital Distribution Platform, much like Valve's 'Steam' and EA's 'Origin'

Purchased games are tied to individual accounts on these platforms through the use of unique keys, these keys can come with boxed retail games, or through online retail sellers.

CD Key, Steam Key, Origin Key, Uplay key, it's all the same game, just on different distribution platforms.

A DVD boxed version of SH5 requires you to install uplay, as it's the publishers choice of distribution platform. You install uplay, enter your DVD key and tie the game to your uplay account, and from then on launch the game through the uplay launcher.

I already had a uplay account and launcher installed from other ubisoft games I own, so I just bought a silent hunter 5 key from an online reseller, and activated it on my uplay account.

There are literally hundreds of online retailers selling digital keys for games on Steam, Uplay and Origin. Never buy direct from the publisher, you can nearly always find it cheaper elsewhere, and the older the game, the cheaper you can get it (that goes for Steam too)

An an example, Sniper Elite 3 just came out a month ago, it's currently £39.99 GBP to purchase through Steam, the full publishers release price.

G2play will sell you a steam key for £14.87 http://www.g2play.net/category/7468/...iii-steam-key/


Six

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by Mister Six

Well, Uplay is ubisoft's Digital Distribution Platform, much like Valve's 'Steam' and EA's 'Origin'

Purchased games are tied to individual accounts on these platforms through the use of unique keys, these keys can come with boxed retail games, or through online retail sellers.

CD Key, Steam Key, Origin Key, Uplay key, it's all the same game, just on different distribution platforms.

A DVD boxed version of SH5 requires you to install uplay, as it's the publishers choice of distribution platform. You install uplay, enter your DVD key and tie the game to your uplay account, and from then on launch the game through the uplay launcher.

I already had a uplay account and launcher installed from other ubisoft games I own, so I just bought a silent hunter 5 key from an online reseller, and activated it on my uplay account.

There are literally hundreds of online retailers selling digital keys for games on Steam, Uplay and Origin. Never buy direct from the publisher, you can nearly always find it cheaper elsewhere, and the older the game, the cheaper you can get it (that goes for Steam too)

An an example, Sniper Elite 3 just came out a month ago, it's currently £39.99 GBP to purchase through Steam, the full publishers release price.

G2play will sell you a steam key for £14.87 http://www.g2play.net/category/7468/...iii-steam-key/


Six

Thanks, Mister Six. Been so long since I got SH5 that I had forgotten. But don't you still have to have a downloaded or DVD-based copy of the game install package? IIRC, U-play doesn't install the game. It's just an online DRM, yes?

[Mister Six]

Uplay downloads the install files to a cache location of your choice, then deletes after install (just like steam etc)

So if you just pause after downloading and just before installing, copy and paste the install files somewhere, you don't have to download every time you do a clean install, just copy/paste the files back to the install cache, then tell uplay to download/install again.

If you really wanted you could burn them to an install DVD, it's exactly the same files. I just have them stashed on a diff partition, and copy them into the cache every time I do a fresh install. If I lose them, or run low on HD space and delete them, it's a twenty minute download tops

Six

[revanche]

Originally Posted by Mister Six

Uplay downloads the install files to a cache location of your choice, then deletes after install (just like steam etc)

So if you just pause after downloading and just before installing, copy and paste the install files somewhere, you don't have to download every time you do a clean install, just copy/paste the files back to the install cache, then tell uplay to download/install again.

If you really wanted you could burn them to an install DVD, it's exactly the same files. I just have them stashed on a diff partition, and copy them into the cache every time I do a fresh install. If I lose them, or run low on HD space and delete them, it's a twenty minute download tops

Six

Six, thanks for tip....

As it turns out, I was searching in the wrong fricken place. Ubi does dump a lot of files in it's Game Launcher folder and that is where i searched; however, what i did not notice was that Ubi created another game folder in the base C: drive. I only feel half stupid for missing that.

Sooo. It's there! It works! And it's glorious.

Made a donation to Subsim in lieu of flowers

[Reverie]

During the early nineties when I purchased a software product, the software product was mine. Granted, there may have been a necessary patch to properly run the program; what, five maybe six kilobytes worth of code correction? I placed it on disk and patched the program; it was mine.

I patched a relatively recent "X-COM" DVD release; the download was 1.6GB. 1.6GB isn't a patch! That's a damned program re-write! And my unreliable ISP charged me almost $500 for the data transmission! I hear Sprint is being one of other ISPs investigated for collusion; downgrading user data stream at their own volition regardless of Consumer Account credibility.

When you purchase a product, it is yours.

Let me be politically correct: "When you purchase a product, it should be yours."

Does anyone patronizing these Silent Hunter products ever question why these programs are only worth running after they have been Modded, Redesigned, and at times Rewritten?

The original packaging disk anchor of SH3 was the length of a spindle!?

Room for more disks?! From software provided by consumers/modders, no doubt.

The greatest problem facing users of this program isn't the lack of enhancements.

It is a lack of cohesion.

Let me be impoliticaly correct: "It is a lack of consolidation."

Too many Mods. Too many code conflicts. Too much adhering to a proprietary operating system () and associated peripheral sycophants.

SubSim features avenues announcing and displaying the endeavors of many talents who strive to extend the value of a consumer product, a product these individuals improve without recompense. I continue to enjoy SH3 which, without the efforts of Modders, should have been relegated to the dustbin long ago.

Consolidation.

Would SubSim promote a unionization of particularly successful and reliable SH3 Mods that would not cancel each other out, and otherwise fatal the program, or disable it altogether? From what I read on this forum, Mod bashing seems to be the most unsettling issue with SH3.

Consolidation is also a marketable strategy. It's been done before. I've always felt these artists should have been rewarded for their work with more than user complaints about other Modders work not being agreeable with other Mods.


Many will just say "SH5!".

Naw. Too many Mods. Too many unsolved problems. Too many questions. Too many complaints.

SH3 is still a viable, entertaining product. Will there ever be a forum entry that says "This is the only SH3 MOD you will ever need." ?
Hope so.

Please, don't sink 'em all. My Mods might not be able to handle it.
Reverie

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Reverie

During the early nineties when I purchased a software product, the software product was mine. Granted, there may have been a necessary patch to properly run the program; what, five maybe six kilobytes worth of code correction? I placed it on disk and patched the program; it was mine.

That is true, and it's a sad loss that it still doesn't work that way.

However, the question was whether the OP wasted his money. There are a great many players who believe that despite the DRM problems and "ownership" questions, SH5 is still the best of the series. Whether you or I agree or disagree, the fact remains that many people enjoy SH5 and would love to help others do so as well.

Would SubSim promote a unionization of particularly successful and reliable SH3 Mods that would not cancel each other out, and otherwise fatal the program, or disable it altogether? From what I read on this forum, Mod bashing seems to be the most unsettling issue with SH3.

Unless I misunderstand your meaning, I thought that was what the supermods were intended to do. The problem is that someone will always be making new mods, small and large, which players will like and want to incorporate. We once had a request to combine two of SH3's biggest supermods, and I had to ask the question "To who's liking?" People use the different mods because they like what they're favorite does, and combining inevitably means taking the function of one over the other, which means that anyone who prefered the other will be dissatisfied.

Many will just say "SH5!".

Naw. Too many Mods. Too many unsolved problems. Too many questions. Too many complaints.

This is my main reason for posting here. We have had problems in the past with people who prefer one game going into the other game's forums and giving all their reasons why their favorite is the best. I'm sure that wasn't your intent, at least I hope not. I just want to make sure this doesn't turn into another "us vs them" situation.

SH3 is still a viable, entertaining product. Will there ever be a forum entry that says "This is the only SH3 MOD you will ever need." ?
Hope so.

I don't believe that's possible, for the reasons I mentioned above. As soon as you have that ultimate mod someone will solve another problem, or come up with an idea no one has thought of before, and players will start piling them on again.

Me? I like it that way.

[Steeltrap]

Wow, look at all these names I've not seen for years!

Popped in to see what's what, and also got SH 3 again and am trying to mod it.

Yes, I got it through steam, LOL.

High to Steve and Jimbuna and others. Hope you've all been well.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Steeltrap

Wow, look at all these names I've not seen for years!

Popped in to see what's what, and also got SH 3 again and am trying to mod it.

Yes, I got it through steam, LOL.

High to Steve and Jimbuna and others. Hope you've all been well.

Welcome back to the community matey

[Chad44]

You can buy Silent Hunter Complete for $2.50 on Gamersgate right now. It says the DRM is Tagès, so I think it's the Uplay version if you want to mod it.