Demigod weekend update

By Frogboy on July 18, 2009 1:00:02 AM from

Greetings!

So, what’s been happening in the world of Demigod this past week?

Gas Powered Games has been working on the demo version of Demigod. There’s been a number of iterations to nail it down to be as small as possible a download while at the same time enough of a demo to give players a good idea of what the game is like.

Meanwhile, we’ve all been working hard on some issues that I know only bug a minority of the community but bug me a great deal as being something so blatant that I made it a very high priority: The stats.

The concede option introduced in v1.1 apparently did some bad things with the stats. This week, they’ve gone back and forth every day on fixing this. Yes, I know everyone has their own wish list of what they’d like to see next but the stats were something that really bugged me.

As of today, they have a new build they think they’re happy with. We will not be resetting favor points but we might reset the win/loss stuff because frankly, it’s fubarred IMO. I know a lot of you don’t care about that kind of thing but frankly, the stats not being robust is an embarrassment and not tolerable. It’s a classic case of too many chefs in the kitchen.

The demo is, by far, the biggest thing being worked on. We all agree it should have gone out sooner but life is what it is and we don’t always get what we want.

Once the demo goes out (next week I hope but no promises as every time I try to predict something it ends up blowing up) we can get back to addressing fundamentals.

The #1 thing on my list are getting more demigods out there. Everyone who reads these forums knows my position. Lots of new demigods, often. The issue there is that Demigods are, well, expensive to make but as far as I’m concerned, 2 free ones were promised.

The question beyond that is more murky. My opinion is that I’d like to see additional demigods released for like $9 for 2. BUT at the same time, I’d like to see an SDK kit so that modders can make demigods too that they can give away or what have you. There are some complexities since the demigods make use of Granny so we need a way for people to import and export these without having to buy a Granny license. I’ll keep you updated on how that part goes.

But Stardock (where I work – the North American publisher) and Gas Powered Games (the developer of Demigod) agree that modding is going to be crucial to Demigod’s long-term future. So it’s only then a question of how much modding and how soon really.

There are plenty of other things that need to be looked at sooner rather than later. I’d like to see path finding improved, AI improved, and other item tweaks. My understanding is that the pathfinding is done in LUA (as opposed to say A-star in C++).

Now, that said, if anyone here has a mod or a change to the game they think is good, post it in the forums. I have found GPG to be very open about integrating things into the game that make the game better.

So that’s where we’re at as the weekend starts.

Cheers!

+912 Karma | 81 Replies

I can't understand how you can put so much effort into a demo than into the actual game. Everyone that wanted to try out the game without having to buy it already pirated it.

Maybe you will have some more super cool ideas in the future like paying for new demigods... oh wait...

DG demo will have MP - frog boy already stated this. The people I game with arn't on a lan basis they're on an internet basis so I wouldn't be giving my account details and they wouldn't be coming to my house

I'd agree the demo should have been released months ago - but with a dwindling population it really needs one in it's stable regardless of other aspects they do. Frogboy intimated that its likely demo players won't be able to play with current players which is a shame as it would have added to our server pops as well as making it easier to show others the game.

Tals

Dont you think thats like throwing oil on the fire instead of wood? (just made that up It will burn mabey a bit brighter for a moment but these new players will still have the same complaints the current population has.

I mean you are trying to get more people instead of improving the current population, or the game the current population is playing.

And thats the choise they seem to be making, let there personal work on the demo, slowing down improvements. I like DG allot and i find it very well thought out, but current gamers are used to very stable well organized games, and all the small anoying little things that miss in Dg make it a game you might stop playing for a better organized game.

So my point is not so much that a demo is pointless, but with limited staff id focus my energy making the game better, since this will have the effect of attracting new people as well.

More demigods would be great. But you know what would be better? A game that actually works- all the time. Not 90%, not 50%, not 99%, but 100%. Games shouldn't crash on start or even before. Desync errors shouldn't pop up. You should be able to load demigod and play a game, whether online or not- from start to finish. You should know without a doubt that this will happen and not have to wonder whether or not your game will crash.
Sure, I'd love new demigods as much as the next guy, and I think that a demo is a great idea. But why? You put a demo out so more people can BUY game that doesn't work? Make more Demigods so people can PAY for them on a game they can't even play a percentage of the time?

Hmmm... Is it just me, or does it seem like the priorities of the people behind this game are to make more money? That is of course, to be expected- its a business. But would you buy a car with an engine that won't run 20% of the time and still continue to buy rims, a stereo system, and a new paint job for it? I hope not. I also hope that no one who plays this game will pay for anything else until they can PLAY what they PAYED for the first time. Not to mention only a shitty person would make a demo for a broken game to sell more copies. That's like hooking your best friend up with a fat chick by showing him pictures of when she was 6 years younger and still a cheerleader.

Quoting Talsworthy,

reply 23

I totally disagree. You all maybe happy to illegally pirate a game and call it a demo but I and I suspect the majority of people are not. I have friends who want to try this game but are waiting on that demo to decide.

I agree. The game needs a demo. In fact, almost every PC game should have a demo, regardless of when it's released. Besides the legality question, I'm rather picky about what I download from the internet and certainly don't bother with pirate torrents. Regardless of what may or may not be coming down the pipeline for this game, it needs an official demo.

TiME! Bludy well said dude...

Froggy you listning? I hope so.

Gies we have to stand for the same thing. We can't all want a differant thing. In my opinion paying evan more

for thing game is unacceptable! I saved a long time to get this game and now look what it's like... It's totally incomplete!

If you wanna farm more goldies from us people........... Go sell insurance! I will not pay for new demigods!

The reason... I paid my ass off for this game and it's incomplete. You rushed this game and now the DG team is paying for it!

People pay to play WOW but they dont pay for each new patch! Where I live lotsa people "loved" DG and now that they heard the news..."Pay evan more at a store near you..." They think it's a trashy game now... This game is awesome and now the DG team is messing up!

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Demigod weekend update