Universe Sandbox 2 alpha 12 Being pirated

[BlackMane]

Universe sandbox 2 being pirated. Mods/admins PM me for the link to shut it down.

[DaniheltheMage]

Ah, damn it not again...

[BlackMane]

Yeah I know... Awful.

[blotz]

it's not that hard to find the link
also you can just pm dan dixon right away

[Dan Dixon]

It was a torrent, so really not much we could do.

That said... not every pirated copy is a lost sale.

There are lots of people in different parts of the world who earn ~100$ per month do you seriously expect them to spend the 1/3 of their salary on a game? For them the choice is between pirated copy and no copy, so you can't really count it as they took the "bread" away from Dan.

And that. I'd rather people pirate the game than not play it if they're only making $100 a month.

If you can afford to buy Universe Sandbox ², that would be appreciated and will help fund development for the foreseeable future.

[Estwald]

But do people who CAN pay for the game, always pay? Maybe some people can easily afford it, but they are too cheap and selfish. I'm an alpha tester but I'm thinking about paying for the game once I get a paypal set up, just to help with development. Also because I've been too busy recently to find bugs. Because if no one buys the game, the developers won't get any wages and we won't get updates

[gabriel.dac]

But do people who CAN pay for the game, always pay? Maybe some people can easily afford it, but they are too cheap and selfish. I'm an alpha tester but I'm thinking about paying for the game once I get a paypal set up, just to help with development. Also because I've been too busy recently to find bugs. Because if no one buys the game, the developers won't get any wages and we won't get updates

Even with piracy, I don't think the amount of people who paid for the game would change

[Dan Dixon]

But do people who CAN pay for the game, always pay?

No, but as a developer, there's little we can do about that. We're going to focus on making the best simulator we can and if history is any predictor, expect that enough people will buy to make development sustainable.

[Haxor1337]

umm Dan, not to be rude or anything, are supporting the pirating of your game like Notch?(Notch is a Minecraft Developer)

[Gordon Freeman]

It depends on the type of piracy

[Dan Dixon]

... are [you] supporting the pirating of your game like Notch?

I wouldn't say I'm supporting it, but I understand and am empathetic to some of the reasons it happens...

Notch's comments:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-03-03-minecraft-man-piracy-is-not-a-theft

And to be fair... he's also selling more copies than we are.

[spa_sapping]

Everybody hates piracy, and even most pirates feel bad about it,

but not everyone can just spend 24$ on the go

I can say US2 needs a Demo already.

[smjjames]

I agree a demo would be great, but you don't usually do a demo while still in alpha because of features that are still getting added and bugs.

[Greenleaf]

I agree a demo would be great, but you don't usually do a demo while still in alpha because of features that are still getting added and bugs.

Exactly, and that is also why the pirates will constantly have to play catch-up. Alpha 12 may be pirated, but then alpha 13 comes out and then 14 etc. In a sense, that is the best way to annoy pirate users - make them use older inferior versions. If their pirated copy gave them a taste for the product, and there is a new update which is not immediately available to them, then they might even go and purchase a legit copy of the product, which they might otherwise not even have tried/known.


Taking that into account as well as the fact that a pirated copy does not equate a lost sale, then perhaps the problem is not that severe.


...so in summary... thanks for reporting the cases of piracy to us, but you don't really have to bother. We neither can nor will act upon it anyway.

[crashman1390]

And the link is

Don't post links please, this will attract people on the forum to possibly pirate the software, thus eliminating sales. (if I sound like I'm micro-moderating please notify and I will edit)

[Thunder Ice]

I agree a demo would be great, but you don't usually do a demo while still in alpha because of features that are still getting added and bugs.

Exactly, and that is also why the pirates will constantly have to play catch-up. Alpha 12 may be pirated, but then alpha 13 comes out and then 14 etc. In a sense, that is the best way to annoy pirate users - make them use older inferior versions. If their pirated copy gave them a taste for the product, and there is a new update which is not immediately available to them, then they might even go and purchase a legit copy of the product, which they might otherwise not even have tried/known.


Taking that into account as well as the fact that a pirated copy does not equate a lost sale, then perhaps the problem is not that severe.


...so in summary... thanks for reporting the cases of piracy to us, but you don't really have to bother. We neither can nor will act upon it anyway.

As soon as a new version comes out, someone's just going to torrent that anyway.

I really wish I had the money to buy this game, but I don't. I feel terrible about wanting to pirate the game.

[Greenleaf]

As soon as a new version comes out, someone's just going to torrent that anyway.
I really wish I had the money to buy this game, but I don't. I feel terrible about wanting to pirate the game.

Sure, it will be pirated, but that commonly take a little bit of time and then it has to spread, and some of the copies, which people get, are bogus and so on. Obviously with torrents this is a lot faster than it used to be. At the end of the day, there is really no way to stop it, so might as well not worry about it. Most users, who would buy it will buy it anyway, so, what is the big deal?


As to not having the money. I see that US² has a price tag similar to 7 Big Mac's in USA. I think for most, its not a matter of being able to pay, but rather about prioritizing it. Obviously this is different in countries with a local currency weaker relative to the US dollar.

[Thunder Ice]

As soon as a new version comes out, someone's just going to torrent that anyway.
I really wish I had the money to buy this game, but I don't. I feel terrible about wanting to pirate the game.

Sure, it will be pirated, but that commonly take a little bit of time and then it has to spread, and some of the copies, which people get, are bogus and so on. Obviously with torrents this is a lot faster than it used to be. At the end of the day, there is really no way to stop it, so might as well not worry about it. Most users, who would buy it will buy it anyway, so, what is the big deal?


As to not having the money. I see that US² has a price tag similar to 7 Big Mac's in USA. I think for most, its not a matter of being able to pay, but rather about prioritizing it. Obviously this is different in countries with a local currency weaker relative to the US dollar.

I mean, I DO have the money [$31 currently], but I'm planning on using it to buy 7 Days To Die. I hate making decisions. lol

If US2 has a % off week, hopefully there's a time when it becomes $6 for a week or so, to give us "poor" people a chance to buy it. lol

[Jim Jam Science Mans]

Plus, it's a fact that pirates tend to actually buy more, not less, content over the years if they have the finances to do so. A lot of these people might not buy US2, but when they hear about a new project by the same people years from now, they'll decide to buy it - or they might even buy it when it's done.

Software and media piracy is a complicated matter with a lot of different motivations. Can it harm sales? Sure. But it can also improve them over the course of years - as can a company's response to the issue.

[creeperz1211]

Not every game goes to sale without being pirated. Stuff Happens I guess. I even once downloaded a pirated torrent of Garry's Mod but I got rid of it because of bugs and saved up for the actual game, of which I now have. Pirating is not on.

[Plutonium]

Last year I bought Rome TW 2 for 60$ and it was full of bugs, poorly optimized garbage. So bad that after a year and 15 or 16 patches it still sucks. So next time I will dl a pirated copy, because they deserved it. Not all developers are honest, many will play dirty to get more $$$. The picture gets even uglier with industrial software that often cost >100K$.

I stopped buying from big brands mainly because of their attitude towards the users and overly broad/invasive EULAs. These days small indie companies are the ones who often think outside the box and make really interesting new projects, a bright example of that is US2!!

[Gordon Freeman]

I don't think it's a matter of price value, but a matter of income percentage.

[kallisti]

Late reply, but...

I think pirating is a healthy sign for any release. That means people want it, and that some are willing to spend their spare time cracking it. Also, if the creator makes the product for any other reason than money (as is clearly the case here), there's the benefit of exposing it to as many users as possible.

I am a shameless pirate myself, but when it comes to smaller, idealistic productions, well.. I pirate those too, but often end up buying not only a licence for myself, but also family and friends.

Pirating also brings other benefits, one of which I discovered just before typing this: Universe Sandbox needs Steam to run in order to work. WHAT??? I may have been living under a rock for a while, but I use my computer completely offline a lot, and the notion that something that's not a multiplayer experience needs online access goes against every fabric in my body.

Due to a small issue getting my installation file (resolved thanks to the fast and skilled people of this forum), I lost patience and pirated Alpha 12 just to have something to use in the mean time. Now I guess I'll have to keep that install. Or is there a way to run US in conjunction with Steam while offline?

Sorry for bumping old thread

EDIT: Found out that I can run Steam in Offline Mode. That's better. However, I would MUCH more prefer a standalone as the finished product. 

[Gordon Freeman]

Universe Sandbox needs Steam to run in order to work. WHAT???

I still don't understand what's the big deal here.

[Dan Dixon]

I think pirating is a healthy sign for any release. That means people want it...

Agreed.

EDIT: Found out that I can run Steam in Offline Mode. That's better. However, I would MUCH more prefer a standalone as the finished product. 

Understood. Steam is what so many of our existing customers already use and a great platform to automatically handle perpetual updates. But if you're not already a Steam user, or you're not connected to the internet all the time, it seems bulky. We're talking about options for releasing a standalone version, but don't have a timetable on that.

[creeperz1211]

Steam is a part of my computers daily grind, Like playing US2 or Garry's Mod or Half-life. Steam is a game engine I really like. 

[Rainbow]

Yes, this issue is too serious, especially in China.