Distant Guns... Docking soon

Sonarman · 06-16-06, 08:02 AM

Looks like the ship is about to dock at Storm Eagle Studios.

Here's a post from Norm Koger lead developer on Distant Guns at the strategy zone online forums:

"Soon? I think so.
Well, I can tell you what I've been doing...

In the last two weeks or so, I have only spent about 5 hours on the game itself. Little things, mostly. I fixed a bug in the logic that returns from battles to the campaign game, rewrote the shadow code when it became apparent that breaking up the ship models into smaller sub assemblies to support damage geometry also broke up the original shadow logic, did a minor speed optimization today...

Most of my time recently has been spent in helping set up the merchant side of the business and making sure that copy protection is as friendly as possible. I spent about a day's worth of effort troubleshooting a bug on one tester's machine that actually doesn't affect the release version of the game (long story, having to do a side effect of changes to the game that only affect folks with installations older than December of last year - I wanted to be sure I understood the issue to make sure it couldn't pop up again in the future)

The game itself is basically finished. The holdup right now is actually on the credit card processing / sales server end, and those issues are being cleared as quickly as possible.
__________________
But now in my dreams,
besides the sounds one always hears at sea,
I hear the mutter of distant guns,
which call and call to me...

Imtarfa, 1917 "

Hellcat · 06-17-06, 07:59 PM

Still very interested in how this one turns out, all the fuss over the copy protection has overshawdowed what the game can do/will do. I for one can live with the online activation scheme, it's just the hassle of re-verification that I'm concerned over if say I format my hard drive. :hmm:

Sonarman · 06-18-06, 03:45 AM

Yes, that's becoming a fact of life these days unfortunately. I have Windows of course and Macromedia Studio on my PC. which both feature activation technology.

bill clarke · 06-24-06, 08:12 PM

what is "online activation" ?, and how do you purchase this produuct ? do you pay for it with a credit card then download the game direct to your'e computor ?
I really want to get this game, but want it to be hassle free.

Sonarman · 06-25-06, 11:56 AM

Hi Bill
Yes, usually you purchase the game by credit card and download it to your computer enter the supplied serial number. The program then "phones home" to the server which in turn activates your copy of the game. It's an anti-piracy technique to stop multiple installs of the game.

I've got a feeling we will see a lot more of this method of purchase now. It is slightly disadvantageous to the customer, but it will mean we see a lot more niche titles like "Distant Guns" which traditional software publishers would probably see as "too niche" and uncommercial.

Small developers will now get all of the profit making it worth their while. In the traditional publishing model they would probably only get about 5% of the retail price by the time the publisher, distributor and retailer had had their cut.

Sonarman · 07-07-06, 07:24 AM

The latest posts over at the Distant Guns forum at SZO indicate that the game is now in final testing and should be only days away!!

em2nought · 07-08-06, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonarman

It is slightly disadvantageous to the customer

The disadvantage is that if said online activation server doesn't exist five years down the road you are now stuck with a coaster, and can't play what might have become your favorite game of all time.

Sonarman · 07-10-06, 01:58 AM

To quote Jim Rose:

"If we go out of business, we release the code to remove the copy protection, as stated eailer by Norm...
__________________
Jim Rose
Kapellmeister
Storm Eagle Studios "

em2nought · 07-10-06, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonarman

To quote Jim Rose:

"If we go out of business, we release the code to remove the copy protection, as stated eailer by Norm...
__________________
Jim Rose
Kapellmeister
Storm Eagle Studios "

So the Kapellmeister is going to put that in the EULA?

06-16-06, 08:02 AM	#1
Sonarman The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ayr,Scotland,UK Posts: 1,384 Downloads: 79 Uploads: 0	Distant Guns... Docking soon Looks like the ship is about to dock at Storm Eagle Studios. Here's a post from Norm Koger lead developer on Distant Guns at the strategy zone online forums: "Soon? I think so. Well, I can tell you what I've been doing... In the last two weeks or so, I have only spent about 5 hours on the game itself. Little things, mostly. I fixed a bug in the logic that returns from battles to the campaign game, rewrote the shadow code when it became apparent that breaking up the ship models into smaller sub assemblies to support damage geometry also broke up the original shadow logic, did a minor speed optimization today... Most of my time recently has been spent in helping set up the merchant side of the business and making sure that copy protection is as friendly as possible. I spent about a day's worth of effort troubleshooting a bug on one tester's machine that actually doesn't affect the release version of the game (long story, having to do a side effect of changes to the game that only affect folks with installations older than December of last year - I wanted to be sure I understood the issue to make sure it couldn't pop up again in the future) The game itself is basically finished. The holdup right now is actually on the credit card processing / sales server end, and those issues are being cleared as quickly as possible. __________________ But now in my dreams, besides the sounds one always hears at sea, I hear the mutter of distant guns, which call and call to me... Imtarfa, 1917 "

06-17-06, 07:59 PM	#2
Hellcat Ensign Join Date: May 2004 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 224 Downloads: 7 Uploads: 0	Still very interested in how this one turns out, all the fuss over the copy protection has overshawdowed what the game can do/will do. I for one can live with the online activation scheme, it's just the hassle of re-verification that I'm concerned over if say I format my hard drive. :hmm: __________________ "readiness is only accomplished when the need for it is over"

06-18-06, 03:45 AM	#3
Sonarman The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ayr,Scotland,UK Posts: 1,384 Downloads: 79 Uploads: 0	Yes, that's becoming a fact of life these days unfortunately. I have Windows of course and Macromedia Studio on my PC. which both feature activation technology.

06-24-06, 08:12 PM	#4
bill clarke Captain Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wagga Wagga, NSW Australia Posts: 519 Downloads: 40 Uploads: 0	what is "online activation" ?, and how do you purchase this produuct ? do you pay for it with a credit card then download the game direct to your'e computor ? I really want to get this game, but want it to be hassle free.

06-25-06, 11:56 AM	#5
Sonarman The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ayr,Scotland,UK Posts: 1,384 Downloads: 79 Uploads: 0	Hi Bill Yes, usually you purchase the game by credit card and download it to your computer enter the supplied serial number. The program then "phones home" to the server which in turn activates your copy of the game. It's an anti-piracy technique to stop multiple installs of the game. I've got a feeling we will see a lot more of this method of purchase now. It is slightly disadvantageous to the customer, but it will mean we see a lot more niche titles like "Distant Guns" which traditional software publishers would probably see as "too niche" and uncommercial. Small developers will now get all of the profit making it worth their while. In the traditional publishing model they would probably only get about 5% of the retail price by the time the publisher, distributor and retailer had had their cut.

07-07-06, 07:24 AM	#6
Sonarman The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ayr,Scotland,UK Posts: 1,384 Downloads: 79 Uploads: 0	The latest posts over at the Distant Guns forum at SZO indicate that the game is now in final testing and should be only days away!!

07-10-06, 01:58 AM	#8
Sonarman The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Ayr,Scotland,UK Posts: 1,384 Downloads: 79 Uploads: 0	To quote Jim Rose: "If we go out of business, we release the code to remove the copy protection, as stated eailer by Norm... __________________ Jim Rose Kapellmeister Storm Eagle Studios "