Multiplayer Servers Suffer in Demigod’s Battle against Piracy
Posted 04/15/09 at 10:05:41 PM by Nathan Grayson
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Yeah, we know why you’re here. And frankly, we’re grateful. We’re fully aware that – if not for the fact that Stardock’s servers are currently screaming under the weight of something akin to the game’s giant stone mascot – you’d be playing Demigod right now. But you’re not. You’re here. However, being the altruists that we are, we have a solution to your problem. First though, here’s why you’re not currently using Demigod to RPG while you RTS.
“The only reason why we haven't had this happen on other games is because we've never had anything like this many users in such a short amount of time. Sins of a Solar Empire was a huge hit but its success came not from an immediate burst of users but rather sustained long term growth which allowed us to keep enhancing the infrastructure as needed with minimal issues for users,” publisher Stardock told 1UP.
But where’s the sudden swarm of players coming from? Mostly, piracy. Apparently, “100k+” warez users have been fervently competing with legitimate customers both in and outside the game.
The good news: Stardock’s working tirelessly to correct the problem, and should have things in tip-top shape within 24 hours. The bad news: that’s 24 hours of waiting. Hey, we never said it was a good solution.
In penance, Stardock is sending a few of its employees to throw down with players, should you need any advice or just a decent opponent to play against.
So, for those who’ve actually stayed atop Stardock’s coveted hill long enough to complete a full game, how is it?
Demigod is...
Submitted by habuza on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 9:01am
Badass. Refreshing. Fun. It's a game I can sit down and play for 30 minutes and accomplish something because I don't have to spend hours on it to be able to whoop someone's ass. Yes, I know it's similar to Dota. But guess what, I'm not a warcraft nut. Used to play wow, until I found out that for the most part, it's just like any other boring, moldy ass MMO.
But, if you liked Dota. Then you'll love this game. I highly reccommend it.
Come on, Stardock. Demigod
Submitted by horzo on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 7:22am
Come on, Stardock. Demigod digital download: $40. Boxed retail copy from Amazon: $35.
If you're going to push your digitial download service, how about giving us a reason to use it?
Submitted by shellpc on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 9:22am
Its only a $5 difference and the thing is there is always going to be somebody somewhere selling it cheaper.
Submitted by N25PHILLY on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 4:43am
doesn't matter who the developer is or what their policies are, assholes are still assholes
How Much
Submitted by Seana7a7 on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 3:01am
Ever wonder how much it costs for a game developer to buy DRM for their games if the game is just going to get cracked anyway it would nice if they put so much effort into making a good game you want buy and support.
Submitted by averageGrod on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 10:44pm
I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon and I am glad I'm not missing out on the online mess but the wait for the game is driving me nuts! Stardock is doing everything right here and so many people just can't figure it out. If a game is good enough to steal it is good enough to pay for. I see no problem with adding a multi-player key in the future while staying far away from all other DRM. All the servers and support they are going to have to put into solving this problem is going to cost a lot of money and if they are ever forced to include tight drm with futre games it will be the fault of the same people who give poor reviews online and claim they download games because of DRM. If you enjoy this game buy it. If you are stealing time on Stardocks servers and backstabbing consumer friendly companies who release high quality drm free games "you're a world-class jackoff" to quote Thomas Mcdonald from page 10 of the April 09 Max PC issue. Buy the issue. Read the sidebar. Support your hobby.
I'll bet that 95K of these
Submitted by Nuxes on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 8:49pm
I'll bet that 95K of these pirates are from countries where the game wasn't released. Companies seem to forget that there are gamers in countries outside of North America and Europe. What if someone from China or India wants to play this game, but it is never scheduled to be released there? That's more than 2 billion potential customers who can't purchase the game. Can you really blame them for aquiring it the only way they can?
Submitted by DOOMHAMMA on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 8:32pm
Stardock goes out of their way to produce games without DRM, and this is how gamers repay them. I supported Stardock by purchasing SoaSE full price, and I bought Entrenchment as well. I'll probably get this game too.
Submitted by BaggerX on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 11:09am
I bought SoaSE when it first came out, and pre-ordered Entrenchment as soon as it was possible (along with buying a lot of Stardock's desktop software). I just bought Demigod about half an hour ago and I'm waiting for it to finish downloading so that I can try it out. That said, I've downloaded games before as a way to try before I buy. I just happen to trust SD to do right by its customers (even if I'm wary of GPG).
That said, as someone else pointed out, many of these people are probably from places where the game isn't available yet. That's one of the real downsides of releasing games only in certain places. You can't limit it like that anymore. Also, since there's no demo, many of them probably want to try it first. The rest will probably never buy it and go back to playing DotA.
Submitted by Furie on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 7:55pm
I actually applaud GPG and Stardock to be one of the few companies out there unafraid of piracy and choosing to forgo any DRM scheme whatsoever. There's always piracy no matter what kind of protection is attached and allowing a game like this to be DRM-Less just gives it more media attention than it would have had and in the end more exposure means more paying customers.
Submitted by Kaasiim on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 7:42am
I'm in complete agreement with ya.
To be honest, I have no idea about anything regarding this game, however, I intend to find out, and if its as darn nice as the publicity so far is making it sound, then I'll go and purchase a copy just to support Stardock for going DRM free.
Its about time someone put out something worth playing without DRM, instead of yet another half-assed buggy game with tons of DRM attached. (I'm looking at you EA!)
Submitted by KaylaKaze on Wed, 04/15/2009 - 7:22pm
Whose bright idea was it to not require a CD key tied to a login account for multiplayer like EVERY OTHER MODERN GAME does, including Sins of a Solar Empire?
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