Topic: Descent is on Steam!

[TechPro]

Eh, not a big deal (IMO).

Anyway, here is the procedure to upgrade your Steam installed Descent to use D1X-Rebirth (copied from this page):

• Step 1: Downloading the Source Port
  Download the DXX-Rebirth source port for windows from
  http://www.dxx-rebirth.com/download/dxx/d1x-rebirth_v0.58.1-win.zip.
  
  
• Step 2: Rename Executable File
  Unpack the source port files to your desktop and rename the file "d1x-rebirth.exe" to "launch descent.bat".
  
  
• Step 3: Copy Source Port to Game Directory
  Once the executable is renamed, simply copy the contentos of the source port folder to your steamapps/common/Descent folder, and overwrite any files that it asks you to.

You're now ready to enjoy Descent with all the modern conveniences you would expect!

Extra!  Once you've done this, you don't actually have to run Steam in order to run your Descent!  Just make a shortcut to the "launch descent.bat" file and use that to start your Descent!

[PyroJockey]

So $6.99 for Descent 1 then $9.99 for Descent 2 (compared to $9.99 for both from gog.com)... interplay's greed strikes again.

Yes, those diabolical fiends at Interplay are just rolling in the profits.

[tueidj]

Yes, those diabolical fiends at Interplay are just rolling in the profits.

Considering that they virtually employ no staff/have no ongoing development costs and have jacked up all their prices on gog.com from $6.99 to $9.99, and are now reselling the exact same software as two separate products on a different retail platform, yes pretty much all their income would be direct profit.
The only "new" game they somehow managed to license and publish in recent years was "Death and the Fly" which was not only an abysmal game, but also waaay overpriced at $20. The developer of the game actually spoke out about how poorly interplay handled it, saying he would never have charged that much for it and doing so effectively killed what little chance of success the game had.

[Scyphi]

So it sounds like Interplay really hasn't learned from past mistakes.  So what else is new?

Personally, though, releasing Descent on Steam is a good move on their part, so I'm not going to question it, and the price is reasonable to me, and I daresay Interplay probably needs the funding wherever they can get it.

[-<WillyP>-]

Interplay needs to die a horrible but speedy death. Then their assets, including the rights to the Descent franchise, can be sold off at auction to the highest bidder, who undoubtedly would release the D3 source code to the Descent community immediately, and also make an awesome Descent 4.

Or not.

[Scyphi]

That is assuming Interplay even has the source code to D3. As I believe I suggested before, D3 is where the franchise rights gets VERY complicated on who owns exactly what. It's entirely possible that Interplay does not own enough rights to D3 to possess or release the D3 source code in any shape or form, and I suspect this is true, because hasn't anyone else noticed that on Interplay's site they promote the dickens out of D1 and D2, but almost NOTHING about D3? Like they don't have the permission to?

But yeah, Interplay might just be better off dying off, and judging from the sound of a lot of the business choices they've been making lately, this might be sooner than they think.

Unfortunately, my fear with that is that it'll send Descent into another "dark ages" of obscurity again. 

Actually, on second thought, maybe another company needs to come along and buy up Interplay. That would put the rights to Descent in THAT company's control, and maybe they'll be smart enough to exploit the potential there (it's what I'd do if I owned a video game company...which will probably never happen, but it's the thought that counts, right?). But that's all still high hopes.

[Kaiaatzl]

Yeah, Interplay thinks it's still the nineties, and they think they're still big...
Delusional is what they are.

Hopefully, when they do go under for good Sol Contingency will play some role in making sure people don't forget about Descent.

[PyroJockey]

Considering that they virtually employ no staff/have no ongoing development costs and have jacked up all their prices on gog.com from $6.99 to $9.99, and are now reselling the exact same software as two separate products on a different retail platform, yes pretty much all their income would be direct profit.

In 1994 I tried the shareware version of Descent and loved it, so I bought the retail version for $39.95 plus $4.50 for shipping. That's $44.45 in 1995 dollars and it was worth every penny. That would be over $68 today, so how do you figure they are jacking up the price? $10 today would be equal to about $6.50 in 1995, so they reduced the price by about %90. Is this game really worth less that $10 to you?. If so, don't buy it. That's how supply and demand works. As for making a profit, that's what a company is supposed to do. It's not evil. As for them raising the price from $6.99 to $9.99, probably due to the AHCA.

BTW, I still have the original box and 3.5" floppies. 

[tueidj]

So something that was brand new 20 years ago is still worth the same amount today? Great, gonna go sell my car (that I bought 5 years ago for $8,000) for its original value of $29,990... adjusted for inflation of course, so I'll probably get over $40k for it!

This is a situation where the seller is just slapping whatever price they feel like on their product and people are refusing to pay it - that's not how supply and demand works at all. Just go look at the many forum threads on Steam where people are recommending buying from GoG instead of being ripped off by paying 70% more for the exact same products.

[Teh poke man]

Wow, such pessimism, guess no one here reads the Rebirth forums 

Descent was put on steam thanks to the efforts of Interplay co-founder Rebecca Heineman. She put got the gog versions up temporarily (for funding and/or testing the market) while her company (Olde Skuul) works on updating them with better graphics, SteamWorks suite, and proper multiplayer. When complete, this will be an "update" for those who already own them on Steam. She plans to get all 3 Descents up then move on to the Freespace games. Source is what she told Blarget and me personally through chat. This all sounds too good to be true, and it may as well be. She was the freakin' co-founder of Interplay, and she worked on the development of D1+2, so she's got that going for her. She also sounded very honest and open about everything in chat, so I choose to believe. But there is something you can do to help...

Show your support! Stop boycotting and start buying!

[Scyphi]

...which, last I checked, not that long ago either, really wasn't THAT many, at least not for D1. Seemed to me that more people were spending their time pointing everybody to Rebirth so to cope with the dated graphics than to GOG, but then again I didn't read EVERY post that had EVER been posted about the game at the time, so...

What this is REALLY about, actually, is that people are just cheapskates by nature, and always looking for the cheapest price they can possibly get through whatever means possible, and some are just more adamant they do that than others. Why do you think piracy is such a big problem? So many people are much more willing to break the law and get it for cheap or less than have to pay actual price for it. Same sort of thing applies here, just, thankfully, all legal.

But hey, tueidj, if you don't want the game that badly, no one said you had to buy it.

And actually this all does apply to the principles of supply and demand, from all points. What determines a price for a product depends entirely on the supply and the demand of it. Since its an online product, the supply part gets a bit complicated, but the demand is very much there (just look at the Steam forums ), enough that a little price jacking is probably understandable on Interplay's part (and I daresay they probably need it). Jack the price up too high though, and people won't buy it. Leave it too low, though, and you aren't going to make a profit out of it.

What Interplay has done here is leave it rather low so to appeal to would-be buyers (I would estimate the game is actually worth more closer 10 to 20 dollars today), but high enough they can actually get a profit out of it, and actually make it worth their while to sell at all.

And people DO seem to be buying it. And another bonus, Steam is going to seem more credible and better known to the average person than GOG. That's just simple fact right there. AND, with the Steam version, you can play both games in their original state straight out of the box on modern systems, something I know for a fact you canNOT do with the GOG versions (thus FORCING you to rely on things like Rebirth, whether you actually want it or not, if you can find it, which many of these returning players DON'T).

And, another thought that I had, isn't Interplay the one who's licensing both Steam AND GOG to sell these games? So if Interplay was to go under (again) what do you think will happen to that licensing? Most likely, the games will no longer to be available to buy through those venues, and THEN where will the fanbase be at? So, since we already KNOW Interplay's struggling, and even though we know it's pretty much their own fault for it, can you really blame them for charging the game at a little higher price, a price that really ISN'T all that much higher in the long run? If Interplay really WAS jacking up the price out of pure greed, they'd be charging the 10-20 bucks the games more likely worth than a couple bucks higher than GOG like they actually are.

K, in light of Teh Poke Man's post that was made while I was writing all of that, forget all of that and just look at that post there, because that is really, really, great news. That just seriously made my day, no joke. 

They're actually going to try and get D3 on there as well? Ha! And here I was thinking it wasn't going to happen! Well, it might not still, but there's hope. And when it comes to the Descent franchise, any speck of hope is like manna from heaven!

So I'm gonna look at this as a gift horse, and I'm NOT going to look it in the mouth, thank you very much. 

Question: any word on them trying to get the expansion packs out as well? Y'know, like the Vertigo Series and Mercenary? Namely Mercenary? (sorry Vertigo fans, but Merc's more important to me, TBH.  )

Well, whatever, you've already got my support. Got D1 already, and I wasn't going to get D2 too for reasons I won't go into detail right now, but in light of this new information, that changes right now. 

Maybe I'm being too optimistic right now, but frankly, I don't care at the moment. 

Word of advice to Ms. Heineman, though; now you've got it on Steam, do you REALLY need to keep the GOG versions up? That right there would eliminate most of the split in sales. 

[Teh poke man]

Question: any word on them trying to get the expansion packs out as well? Y'know, like the Vertigo Series and Mercenary?

Mercinary is included in the gog version, and the BP relatively important to multiplayer, so I figure that's a given. I was wondering about Vertigo myself, I assumed it was to be included with the update but I'll check with her.

Word of advice to Ms. Heineman, though; now you've got it on Steam, do you REALLY need to keep the GOG versions up? That right there would eliminate most of the split in sales. 

Sadly she doesn't have actual control of the game on Steam. From what I gathered she persuaded the guys at Interplay to put it up, who are the ones behind the gog copy-paste. That said, what would you suggest until the update is done? Every time we mention Rebirth she goes on about "licenses," so apparently that's not an option.

[PyroJockey]

But there is something you can do to help...

Show your support! Stop boycotting and start buying!

I'm already on board. As I said previously...

Sure I already own multiple legitimate copies of Descent (original DOS 3.5 floppy, Definitive Collection CD, Good Old Games download), but what the hell, I threw another $3.49 in the kitty for the Steam (DOSBox) version just to show there are still people who see value in it. Gifted one to my son too. After-all, you can never have too much Descent.

[tueidj]

Yeah right. Interplay also said they were going to release Descent for the wii with updated graphics, internet based multiplayer and extra levels... four years ago.

[Kaiaatzl]

I'll buy the steam versions if/when the update comes.  If it does that's really good news.