Steam only Release for AC

[Michael Hornbuckle]

Stefano Casillo ‏@KunosStefano

5h​

@oooRickyBobby @Aristotelis @Markus72k at the moment the plans are to have a steam only release.

Not the news a handful wanted to hear but there it is.

 

[Samuel Fuller]

They clearly say that it's there plan 'at the moment' if sales go well and when it has been updated a few times I would expect a special edition boxed copy to be released. Until then this debate is pointless people who have issues with stream (very valid ones. I have read the other thread) mag chose to still go for it or may not that is there decision and that is fine. Personally I swim by it on stream and if there is a boxed version at some point I would probably find it hard not to buy it. All I will say is I hope as many people as possible get the chance to play.so we can have many great races for years to come.

Now stop arguing and start acting like the great community this is.

 

[zombieshark6666]

Just wondering, is it some kind of April's Fools' Day in Italy today? You never know.

 

[Dominik Schollmayer]

They clearly say that it's there plan 'at the moment' if sales go well and when it has been updated a few times I would expect a special edition boxed copy to be released. Until then this debate is pointless people who have issues with stream (very valid ones. I have read the other thread) mag chose to still go for it or may not that is there decision and that is fine.

Agreed, if AC is going to be anything close to a succress it's going to get a boxed copy, The exposure the game recieves from being in a store and the ability to buy the game is pretty important, even NKPro got published at some point.
But that doesnt mean that you suddenly wont need to activate the thing over steam anymore to be able to use some if not all of the online features (maybe you wont be able to play at all), so that doesnt really help the guys who dislike steam..

 

[Shadow Explorer]

If the boxed copy requires steam, what is the point? to waste plastic and paper?
anyways I'm more dissapointed with the reaction of some of the members here than the actual news.

Defending a publisher instead of fellow gamers,really? what's in it for you?are you steam or kunos shareholders suddenly? How can an alternative way to get the game harm you if you like steam?

Regarding the news themselves it's not like I wasn't expecting them to hit.
since After the last missed released window, AC is about being a money converter
than from fans to fans simulator.

Of course now I'm 100% sure that I will not bother with it personally.so at least this time the news are actually useful.

 

[Chronus]

Agreed, if AC is going to be anything close to a succress it's going to get a boxed copy, The exposure the game recieves from being in a store and the ability to buy the game is pretty important, even NKPro got published at some point.

That was partly what I was hinting at in a thread at NG.

Lets see if that ends up being important or not.

But that doesnt mean that you suddenly wont need to activate the thing over steam anymore to be able to use some if not all of the online features (maybe you wont be able to play at all), so that doesnt really help the guys who dislike steam..

Shadow Explorer is right (you also acknowledge this), having a boxed version with activation through steam is as good as having steam installed and AC through steam.

Any non-steam version should not require activation through that service/platform.

Defending a publisher instead of fellow gamers,really? what's in it for you?are you steam or kunos shareholders suddenly? How can an alternative way to get the game harm you if you like steam?
.

Right there the problem: most of these types are not simracers but simply gamers. Easy access to games is all there is to it for these types, they can hardly understand why anyone would see it differently.

On the other hand, more and more people understand this community (simracers) is no longer what it used to be (not that long ago, a community set around little more than a handful of good titles, a few developers and modders).

 

[GamerMuscle]

Having the game as steam only and all versions of the game bieng steam only has massive advantages

1) full steam integration
2) utilize steam DRM and not your own (reduces dev time an management time)
3) All users playing same version of the game
4) can fully utilise steam work shop
5) can fully utilise other features of steam
6) can market to and distribute DLC content to users better allowing for larger sales
7) Can take advantage of steam sales better
8) Massive product exposure
9) automatic software updates and distribution of patches
10) centralized steam support forum and support community.

AC being on steam and maybe steam only + using all the features of steam, will allow it to stay relevant to a mass market allowing the product to make enough money to justify continued development.

Boxed copies of games when compared to steam sales are negligible. In some market places and territories you can have reasonable sales from boxed copies but on the grand scheme of things if you hit steam properly having boxed copies is not worth the hassle. ( DRM,publisher,licences) also once you have steam you might as well also use that as the DRM for the boxed copies anyway.

 

[Shadow Explorer]

Thanks for letting me know how good steam is,but no thanks, I prefer to own what I pay for.

 

[zombieshark6666]

I don't need a box, as long as I can run the game on my computer without an overseer. nKP, FVA, GSC, rF and countless indie games do it well. It would have been nice to see another modern game on GOG to boost the platform a little.

It's funny, I voted on Greenlight because I wanted people to have the option to play it on Steam if they need all these features, and now I'd be stuck with it if I bought the game. Life is funnay like that.

 

[GamerMuscle]

Thanks for letting me know how good steam is,but no thanks, I prefer to own what I pay for.

All you ever own with a boxed copy is a right to access the software and depending on state / country the right to sell that licence + plastic case and a DVD.

With steam you lose the ability to sell your licence but at the same time games are typically cheaper (especially if you wait for sales) and you easily make up whatever cash value you lose from all the features found with steam.

Without steam you lose a huge amount of functionality that makes the game far better than it would ever likely be as a stand alone title , without steam the chances of the game being half dead in multi-player like NKP is also far more likely.

Sure DRM free software is attractive and ideal but when you look at the amount of content that typically gets made for these sorts of game , and the focus on multi player you end up with a far better product when its fully integrated with the steam platform.

You just have to treat steam as a game service and games on that as part of the service , the only issues I have known people to have with steam is when they have used hacks , or if they made a payment with a card that then got declined or they did a charge back. Prity much every other steam issue can be resolved by A) make sure your pc works and B) reinstalling steam.

 

[Jorge Alves]

Let's the flaming from guys going (or already gone) mad begin.

People who dont like Steam are usually adult persons like me that know how to behave in forums so dont expect much flame from us

I cant say i will not buy the Steam version but for sure i will not pre-order and will wait for a half-price key in those online shops that sell the steam keys ...

 

[Shadow Explorer]

@ Gamer Muscle, I can't see games as services, maybe you are younger and you can afford to look at them like that. I just can't.

For me they are art pieces, even though I believe that most games are not art, mainly because if you treat something as a product,in the end it is a product.

I want to keep them and play them anytime and in any circumstance ,given the fact i have a capable machine to run then.

In titles that boost mod-ability as a feature, this is one reason more to want that freedom,
Because we are expecting to put our work in there.
and I want the right to access my work ingame, anytime I wish, without limitations.
The game creators benefit from that situation with free content boosting sales as well.

And to think about it, what kunos did for the community so far with AC?
They Released a sort of payware demo of itand answered some questions... and thats all.

Everything else are screenshots. there is no insight in the tools,nothing.
They could release the tools so everyone could start to understand how things work.given the fact it is a new platform
they have chosen not to.

Once they smelled more money,they turned their backs at enthusiasts to cater to a wider audience using steam.

As you can understand, is not a good idea to release a game that has requested almost 4 years of development in the mid of Summer

Because obviously the small sim community that will appreciate it the most and add content doesn't matter compared to the big audience of GT\forza fans you can get later.

Just look how ISI and Reiza handle similar things.
I still dislike their activation schemes,but I can appreciate everything else they have done right.


What hits me is that all those companies are technically indies, so they are not forced to do that (like a studio working for activision for example)
They have chosen to take that path themselves.


Guys you can still like AC and buy it from steam with all it's DLC, but always question those decisions
In the end they affect all of us, even if you don't have a problem yourselves
think about all the others that are affected.

 

[Jorge Alves]

It's funny, I voted on Greenlight because I wanted people to have the option to play it on Steam if they need all these features, and now I'd be stuck with it if I bought the game. Life is funnay like that.

Same here

 

[Mapu]

steam is cozy - just a click, game shows up in gallery, one more click and you can play - no questions asked about the drawbacks

and no, most of the games on steams are not cheaper at the release

 

[Kenny Paton]

Right there the problem: most of these types are not simracers but simply gamers. Easy access to games is all there is to it for these types, they can hardly understand why anyone would see it differently.

On the other hand, more and more people understand this community (simracers) is no longer what it used to be (not that long ago, a community set around little more than a handful of good titles, a few developers and modders).

Surely there's room for all in the community, people will be at the level and buy the games they want to. Yes they have an impact on the community and no one would deny the dilution of resources, but would we be getting the range of titles if there wasn't a large potential buying public.
Denigrating those who aren't as committed or talented as yourself is unworthy of you.

 

[Mapu]

As sad as it sounds, but I could go without some people in this place. I have a strange feeling that their attitude will show elsewhere too.

 

[Simon Kaminski]

As sad as it sounds, but I could go without some people in this place. I have a strange feeling that their attitude will show elsewhere too.

So you are basically saying that guys who support Kunos + Steam have a bad attitude and they are bad people because they like it? Wow, I really have no idea what to say. I have no words.

 

[Dinca Andrei]

As someone said,maybe latter there will be a DVD release with the game that dont need steam to be instaled to work,but in the same time uses the same servers....sounds dumb when i dont know the mechanics....could someone who know can explain if its possible.

 

[Terry Evers]

Look at GTR2 where you can join the same servers with iether a boxed or Steam version.

 

[Sebastian Wolff]

TBH I don`t care what 0.1 % (or whatever)of Steam users had problems with it. I am gonna get it install it, and KNOW everything will just work fine (as it always did). `Nuff said.

 

[Dominik Schollmayer]

So you are basically saying that guys who support Kunos + Steam have a bad attitude and they are bad people because they like it? Wow, I really have no idea what to say. I have no words.

No, I think he means general attitude...