I originally pirated this...

[antibodee]

I've been playing this game since launch.  I fell in love with it.  I was broke though.  I've been playing a pirated copy since then. 

TBH, I don't mind pirating most games.  A lot of developers tend to release crappy half finished games fully, yet alone early access.  This game, however, bothered me a lot that I didn't pay for it.  This developer has put his heart and soul into this game, and it shows.  I love rimworld, and I love what this game has become, and I purchased a legit copy for me and a couple friends now that I had the money.

I encourage any other pirates out there to do the same.  The dev here is different than most.  He really deserves to not be a target of piracy.

[ReZpawner]

He still doesn't enjoy hearing about it though.

[antibodee]

I can imagine, but still.  The point is I'm remorseful, and he deserves to be compensated.  As I came around and compensated him.

[AngleWyrm]

A better term might be Shareware Advertising, market share and capturing the interest through use of a large audience are some things that are quite valuable to sales and distribution. Products such as WinZip and Notepad++ have attained legendary status as the go-to apps in their field through just such a mechanism.

[KillTyrant]

Might belong in the off-topic section. That said. I typically like to try before I buy. Ive been burned on early assess games(Towns) that I had high hopes for but never seem to hit the mark or stop halfway through dev and the makers pocket whatever money made and leave. However, games like Rimworld where the dev is quite accessible and has been constantly updating over the course of developement is a good sign of something worth putting an investment in. Im glad you decided to purchase a legit copy so tynan and others can be compensated for their hard work. 

[Shurp]

What ever happened to shareware?  I thought it was a great idea.  I remember when Doom came out.  First episode was free, had to pay for the second two -- and after being so impressed by the first I was quite willing to pay for two more.

Why did this model never take off?  It'd be easy to implement in Rimworld.  Just put a limit on how high up the tech tree you can climb in the free version.  Forbid constructing the machining table or high-tech research bench in the free version.  Hmmm, and prohibit loading mods.

[XenGrimm]

Shareware never took off because of people trying to take advantage for a quick buck.


See "Shovelware" or "The Current Early Access turdpile of half-assed games" (AKA Shovelware v2)

[Stormfox]

Shareware never took off because of people trying to take advantage for a quick buck.


See "Shovelware" or "The Current Early Access turdpile of half-assed games" (AKA Shovelware v2)

Back when shareware was a thing, shovelware was kinda rare. Early access (or any kind of crowd-funding really) is kinda a good concept - it's just that there are people that intentionally abuse the system and even more people that massively underestimate the workload of the stuff they actually want to do. I have become pretty jaded, myself, but I am very glad to finally see an age where indie studios have a chance to bloom.

[RemingtonRyder]

RimWorld piracy is one of the reasons why I'm now a bit hesitant to upload mods to my own site. I know that there's going to be someone out there pirating the game and then installing mods which have direct downloads.

On the other hand, there are people with the DRM-free version of the game and prefer that version, so yeah, I guess I'll have to keep doing what I'm doing.

[AngleWyrm]

What ever happened to shareware?  I thought it was a great idea.

PaintShopPro comes to mind. It was a great app that was eventually sold to a company which chose a different business model. Anyone using the new PaintShopPro? Which business model spawned the most use?

That act can also be interpreted as buying out the competition, so that the success of the product becomes irrelevant. I wonder if loss of sales in the one product produced an equal or greater gain of sales in another product.

[Dashthechinchilla]

Shareware isn't dead, it has just evolved. For example, in the mobile market there are plenty of games you can get for free with more expansive paid versions. The internet also allows dlc and pay 2 play models which have pretty much replaced freeware and shareware.

[ReZpawner]

I don't want to be a dick here, but:

6. No piracy: No discussions of game piracy, and especially no posting of pirate links or material.

[theapolaustic1]

I pirated the game originally back in A4 when there wasn't enough content to justify a purchase. Since then, I've bought it, my girlfriend bought it, three of my friends have bought it and at least one of them has had three of her friends buy it. (and yes, a few of these people pirated it to try it out before buying it themselves)

This isn't the first game that I can tell this sort of story about (I pirated FTL and have since bought 12 copies of it over the years). I don't give a shit about anti-piracy arguments because those arguments are directed at children who don't have money and wouldn't buy video games anyway.

The opposite of piracy is not "sale". The opposite of piracy is "playing a different game instead".

edit:

What ever happened to shareware?  I thought it was a great idea.
...
Why did this model never take off?

Main reason: Game devs aren't marketers. So AAA studios hate pirates because their games typically aren't worth asking price, and indie studios hate pirates because they heard they're supposed to hate pirates. Doesn't take much marketing know-how to understand WOM is the most cost-effective and lust-worthy marketing on the planet (there's a reason it's all about "viral marketing" these days... instead of paying people to advertise for you, pay one person to advertise in a way where the people who see the advertisement do the rest of the advertising for free).

Hell, it has taken off. That's what Let's Plays are. You think most LPers on youtube buy their own games? Sometimes they do, yeah, but if a dev shoots them a free title and says "I'm a fan and I'd like it if you'd try this out and consider a video on it"... They're seeking some powerful WOM marketing.

[AngleWyrm]

AAA studios hate pirates because their games typically aren't worth asking price, and indie studios hate pirates because they heard they're supposed to hate pirates.

That little bit of confusion can be sorted if we replace the word 'pirates' with competition.

Less competition means less of a race to produce quality, less effort, less expense...The final position of a monopoly market can be seen in the expression It's not meant to be good, it's meant to be bought.

Which of course fails to meet the needs the product was originally intended to satisfy, and so alternatives develop.

[O Negative]

I'm not a fan of piracy in any context. People try to justify it by saying "Oh, but what if it turns out to be shit?" or even just "But what if I don't like it?" Literally the only people I've ever talked to (in person) who's agreed with this sentiment is other pirates.

Right, well, if a product turns out to be something entirely different than what it claimed to be, then you should ask for a refund or claim false advertising. If a product isn't complete, you should understand that you're taking a risk when you buy it. That's the situation with any early access game.

Right? You can't just be like: "Im gonna hitch a ride on this cruise ship. BUT, if I don't like the ride or the sights or the food or the ship stops for some reason, I'm not gonna pay for the ticket. I'll pay for the ticket when we get back from the cruise, and I've enjoyed myself... Maybe..."

Like, no. Stop it. It's super disrespectful to the person/people who are offering the product/service.

Some products are "free" because they're able to make money through advertising revenue or optional micro transactions. That's their business model. That's not Ludeon Studios' business model...

You can try to justify piracy, but you're always going to fail in the end... At least, you will in my eyes