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....I did not expect that it would suck up my entire weekend when I did! My wife is now threatening to leave me.  (kidding!)

Congrats on the release! I think it was a wise decision to wait until you came back before releasing on Steam and I'm glad my input in that regard seemed to help.

Well, well, well....ain't this thread a nice "how-do-you-do"?

Look, I'm one of the people who won't buy it until it's on Steam. I don't want to deal with some half-assed distribution platform for Rimworld while the vast majority of the users (those who purchased prior to the "maybe no Steam keys" announcement and those who purchase once this is released on Steam) are on a different platform. I've had some pretty negative experiences with smaller distribution platforms - Desura,  ViaTech, Direct2Drive and others - and I'm unwilling to go through that again. Everything from some of those platforms going out of business to having to fight to get a key years after I made the first purchase to bugs...no thanks. Plus, I want to be able to use features like Steam workshop. So when it's on Steam or Ty will guarantee me a Steam key when it is released on Steam I'll buy it. Until then I won't.

With that said, it was my response to Ty's post when he announced his vacation that ultimately drove him to re-think and delay the Steam release. Yep, I helped cause the delay in the Steam release. I knew that a long vacation would cause major PR issues even on a more controlled and limited site like this. Exhibit 1 is this thread. Exhibit 2 are the threads linked from this one. Imagine if he had released this on Steam and then vanished? They'd be burning him in effigy on the Steam forums! I'm glad Ty followed that advice. I think he'll be far better off for it. I don't begrudge the vacation either.

So I'm looking forward to Ty's return, the next patch, the Steam release and my inevitable purchase of the game - all in the first half of 2016.

Ty, with the recent refund policy enacted by Steam, does that make you more or less hesitant to put the game on Steam?

I could see it both ways. On the negative side, you have to deal with refunds. Or more appropriately, you don't get the expected income from sales due to refunds. On the positive side, you have fewer trolls or unhappy customers mucking up the forums and therefore it's easier to compile useful game play feedback from those who will stick with the game. You would know that someone who has the game is likely to want to stick with it.

Of course, it may not mean much of anything and may not influence your opinion about when to put Rimworld on Steam either way. But considering Rimworld is not on Steam and thus you have an outsider's view on this issue, I was curious about your opinion.

Why does this question keep coming up over and over?

I don't see anyone whining except you and no one disagrees that it's Ty's decision. But feel free to keep flailing away at points no one else is making. Also, given the length that some games have been in EA on Steam without being "pressured" to be released by Valve, there again is an example of you just inventing a problem that doesn't exist.

I don't see any problem posting encouragement to get the game on Steam since many of us prefer that platform AND would not prefer to have a one-off implementation where 90+% of the user base is on one platform while there's a handful who can't get Steam keys. If the examples of KSP and PA are relevant - and I challenge you to show why they wouldn't be - then there is no reason why Rimworld would be adversely impacted by being on it and may very well benefit from it.

Guys guys... the game is going to be on Steam. It's mostly just a matter of making it ready for it's big debut at this point. I don't want to push it in front of the big Steam audience and to big YouTubers and such until it's good enough.

Are you not aware of the really big streamers that already play it and love it?

IMO if you're waiting till it's "good enough" for Steam, you're already there. It's already far better than a lot of crap that gets greenlit and released in early access. It's playable. It's stable. It's crazy fun and addictive.

I know this comment is 2 months old, but holy heck I can't agree with it more. There's no doubt Rimworld is ready. When guys like Quill18 are playing the ever livin' heck out of the game and loving it, you have the features, fun, balance and stability to release on Steam to be wildly successful.

Of course it's your game Ty and you can do what you want, but look at Prison Architect and Kerbal Space Program for inspiration. Those games were very similar in their delivery state to Rimworld - fun and feature rich - even though they were nowhere close to wanting to be ready for launch. They're held up as the models for having a good EA release and have been wildly successful even beyond the dreams of their developers. Rimworld is there ALREADY and will take its rightful place alongside PA and KSP as Early Access Kings whenever you decide to put it on Steam. So if you're worried about it being good enough, it is.   

Still waiting on Steam keys...as I have since about 2 weeks after the announcement. But once either they can be promised again or it's on Steam, Ty's getting my money.

With a game such as Rimworld, that has no multiplayer, no Hack detection, and is coded in a very open language, steam and non-steam updates are largely in sync because steam doesn't drastically alter how the game runs. Its mainly those 3 above things that do that, which in turn cause a nightmare for the syncing of the two. Thus, getting it via steam or not effectively will be the same thing because even if  *shudder* Ludeon goes bust, I'm sure there will still be cough *alternative* download links that will last long after the twinkle in our eye is gone. Therefore, there really is no reason to NOT buy it now, even though you aren't getting the steam key, because you can always just manually add it into steam anyways, which is what I have done.

ccheuer, I think your response is reasonable, but glosses over some of the difficulties that non-Steam players may have.

It's unlikely that there will be problems with patches for different versions, but it is possible. If 90+% of the player base is on one platform, those who are not will not be given the same attention. It's a natural outcome.

While I appreciate Ty's excellent response regarding mods, Steam Workshop Integration is not ruled out. If you're stuck with a non-Steam version and he decides that Steam Workshop is the way to go - and it's a great tool - then those with non-Steam versions could be very well left out in the cold for mods.

The biggest risk is if Ty & Co. close up shop after release. Those with Steam versions will be able to download their game presumably forever. I have been on the unfortunate receiving end of smaller game developers going bust or outsourcing their licensing to other entities and not being able to reactivate a program on a new machine (Via-Tech, anyone?). There are certain games I like to play from a decade ago (Startopia, Baldur's Gate) and I don't want to have to repurchase them because I can no longer get a legal download. *Alternate* (ahem) download sites are not a good solution.

They're not major risks. Probably none of this will happen and everything will be fine. But having been burned on some of these types of issues before, I prefer to not proceed outside of the "normal" purchasing pattern that most customers will experience - i.e., Steam keys.

Of course, the question is "why are you interested now"? After all, I've been following this game for some time. You can thank Prison Architect. I played PA some months ago and it didn't particularly engage me. Recently I've been playing it again and found it quite enjoyable. I pretty much experienced everything it has to offer in about 30 hours though and was looking for something to continue that kind of experience - something with more depth. Hence my renewed interest.

I understand what Ty is saying but this prevented me from buying the game this weekend. I want to buy and support RimWorld because it looks wonderful.

But if I purchase now, I am not guaranteed a Steam key. Everyone who purchased before November 4th is. At some point in the future - for example, 6 months from now if/when the game is Greenlighted or released Early Access on Steam - everyone will get one then too. So there could be a very minor subset of players who are the only ones who don't have Steam keys. If that subset is small enough - and it is likely to be quite small - there could be major long-term hassles. Patches may not be tested on the non-Steam versions or come out later if the vast majority of the players are using the Steam version. Mods, especially if the game eventually uses Steam Workshop - may not be possible to even get on the non-Steam version. There may be other complications like dealing with activation keys in the long-term. It's not a good situation.

I understand Ty's hands are tied, but this opens up a host of potential issues for buyers. It's no longer about forking over the money for a product you may or may not like in alpha with no demo but now it's questionable whether such a buyer will be able to receive long-term support, mods and keys because that buyer will be out in left field.

When Steam keys can be guaranteed again, I'm looking forward to buying it.

Gal, I sincerely thank you for your in-depth insights.  Posters like you are invaluable to building general goodwill on forums.

We like many of the same games.  Dawn of Discovery (Anno 1404) is an excellent game.  Anno 2070 was ok, but I also felt the same things regarding the green/industrial split.  Industrial was easier, but clearly worse than green.  Plus the underwater building thing got old - too difficult to check the map to see what was going on.  I love Terraria but then again I've played it enough to know how to get over the resource hump that you alluded to.  Gnomoria's interface is poor, but it's still quite fun to me.  And I'm old enough to have played the original TTD, so I've never needed to go back and play OTTD. 

It sounds like what you're saying is that the base game is there - or almost there - but it's missing the whip cream and the cherry on top to make it a truly tasty sundae.

Thanks for the well-reasoned and comprehensive answer Galileus.  I don't really have any trusted reviewers - I like the "WTF is..." series, but RimWorld hasn't been done yet.  I appreciate your advice to wait - that's probably the most prudent thing to do.  I don't need it "NOW", but of course I don't need it at all.  It's a matter of want. 

I'm assuming that you have the game - do you find it fun and why or why not?

I've been looking at RimWorld for about a month now, reading the forums and looking at a couple of Let's Play videos found online.  Everything looks promising.  I know it's still in alpha, but it looks pretty comprehensive for an alpha game.  I know the graphics are being redone, but they're ok.  But the one question I haven't seen answered yet is perhaps the most important - is the game fun?  Is it enjoyable?

I understand that's a loaded question because the same things aren't fun for everyone.  I like city-building games and games that allow the user to be creative.  I didn't hate, but didn't particularly like, Prison Architect.  I thought it was ok - I like building things and figuring out now to make an area grow and expand.  I didn't like some of the annoying mechanics (trying to get everyone fed or giving inmates access to rec rooms was tedious), I found the subject matter a little bothersome and the sounds (the constant clanking of the bars) drove me up a wall.

So while I expect RimWorld to get better, how is it now?  Is it fun?  Are there enough features to give the game long-term legs?  Can you recommend it at this stage?

Thanks for the info!