How can we pre-load Civ V, but not be able to play the Demo?

[migkillertwo]

Or, while we are on the subject, why is the release date over a week removed from the date on which we can pre-load Civ V onto our systems? The release build has already been built and distributed, so why are we waiting another week?

 

[bjbrains]

Or, while we are on the subject, why is the release date over a week removed from the date on which we can pre-load Civ V onto our systems? The release build has already been built and distributed, so why are we waiting another week?

1: The preload build isn't the full release mode, there will almost certainly be a "day-zero" patch along with the decryption.
2; The demo has to be coded and made separately from the game, making and testing builds after stripping out assets, recoding the unnecessary bits, etc. The reason the demo was delayed was so that they could finish up on the final build.

 

[For Nall]

The preload is not the entire game. Just gets a good bunch it loaded in so you dont have to wait long to download it.

 

[bernlin2000]

1: The preload build isn't the full release mode, there will almost certainly be a "day-zero" patch along with the decryption.
2; The demo has to be coded and made separately from the game, making and testing builds after stripping out assets, recoding the unnecessary bits, etc. The reason the demo was delayed was so that they could finish up on the final build.

Nah, better answer: the demo isn't a priority for Firaxis, compared to the game's release. Preloading is a bit silly though, since it makes the release date pretty irrelevant (the game is obviously ready to play now). If they need a day-zero patch for serious bugs, we're in for an uncomfortable release-date gaming experience Only a week away now, but it's still a bit annoying they couldn't release a demo before the release date, like they said they would for weeks.

 

[demidyad]

We can preload but not play because the physical copies need to get to retailers.

 

[krunsh]

Preloading is a bit silly though, since it makes the release date pretty irrelevant

No, no it's not silly. In fact it's one of the thing I love about steam.

 

[Scramble]

How does it make the release date irrelevant? You can't play the game till the date, you cant buy it at the store till the date... It is essentially the same thing as if a store would deliver you the boxed copy of the game at midnight on the dot...

 

[krunsh]

How does it make the release date irrelevant? You can't play the game till the date, you cant buy it at the store till the date... It is essentially the same thing as if a store would deliver you the boxed copy of the game at midnight on the dot...

Yeah, and by the way. It seems like the Unlock time on steam would be around 13h east time

 

[superwar]

The purpose of preloading is to soften up bandwidth required for people to download the game. Imagine everyone downloading the game at the same time when the game is unlocked. The server might very well crash and no one gets to play for couple more days.

Thus, whether or not the game needs final patching is irrelevant. The preload version could be the final build without any patching. You don't get to play it now because if they unlock it today, then everyone would start downloading the game right away (including people who purchased physical copies but still want to play the game earlier). It would overload the server and thus defeats the purpose of preloading.

 

[cheesemijit]

May be a silly question but if we preload something do we still need to install it?

 

[Yosomono]

May be a silly question but if we preload something do we still need to install it?

For all intents and purposes it is "installed".
On release day there will likely be a small patch to apply when Steam starts up, during which time it will all be unencrypted. Then you can play.

 

[lietkynes]

Preloading is a bit silly though, since it makes the release date pretty irrelevant (the game is obviously ready to play now).

The game is not "obviously ready", you can't know that. They will probably still fix and change some minor things until the last minute, and there will probably be a patch to download when release day comes and the game is unlocked.

If you look at the 2kdemo, it's pretty clear that while the main game is ready, there are still small graphic changes in progress and small bugs that need fixing.

 

[cembandit]

Don't get hopes up for a midnight release with steam, they always release in the afternoon, least for me in Iowa.

 

[Tennyson]

We can preload but not play because the physical copies need to get to retailers.

Ding ding ding.

 

[migkillertwo]

Ding ding ding.

So it's supposed to make money somehow for the retailers? I'd like to know how.

anyway, some said that it's not really ready to play because there might be a 0-day patch.

If firaxis feels the need to patch the game right on 0-day to make it actually ready to play, then the launch date is not going to be very enjoyable.

 

[craig123]

Nah, better answer: the demo isn't a priority for Firaxis, compared to the game's release.

True.

Preloading is a bit silly though, since it makes the release date pretty irrelevant

Preloading stops everyone trying to download the game at the same time. The release date is still relevant because (i) that's when retail versions are sold, (ii) that's when the day-zero patch will be ready.

(the game is obviously ready to play now).

You don't know that. Now that the game has gone gold, Firaxis and the beta testers will be checking for any missed bugs. Even if the game was ready to play now, what do you expect them to do? Retail stores probably haven't even received the boxed versions of the game yet. Do you think they can just tell Steam to unlock the game now?

If they need a day-zero patch for serious bugs, we're in for an uncomfortable release-date gaming experience

Why do you assume that? Equally, you could argue that since a day-zero patch will fix any missed bugs, the release-date gaming experience will be excellent. That's one of the benefits of Steam: if any last-minute bugs are found, they can be patched before you start playing the game. I'm not for a second claiming that civ5 will be perfect at release - I'm sure there will be several patches over the coming weeks and months (not least because 100,000s of gamers will inevitably find things that beta testers missed).

I remember when I bought civ4, it kept crashing. Eventually I found out that there was a patch available to fix the problem (yeah, I was a bit slow). But I'm sure that a large percentage of people who bought civ4 did not realise that a patch was available (if they even knew what a patch was at all) and just got fed up playing the game. Now with auto-patching in Steam, those problems will no longer be an issue.

Only a week away now, but it's still a bit annoying they couldn't release a demo before the release date, like they said they would for weeks.

You're right, it is annoying - it would have been nice to have a demo now. But, like you said above, getting the game released on time is the main priority. Clearly they decided it was best to wait for the game to go gold and then make the demo.

 

[Gnollen]

I don't understand how some think that demos can be magically created for minimal resources. Software development does take limited resources. Like any business they are subject to budgets and schedules. Demos are not release versions and pulling out game assets to make a demo version isn't necessarily easy.

Now obviously there are marketing reasons for having them on the same day, but it's more of an industry standard to release the demo after the game launch.

A better question to ask would have been would you want the demo earlier at the risk of the game coming out a month later? It's a legitimate question, and one that's a bit more realistic.

 

[caglejsc]

If firaxis feels the need to patch the game right on 0-day to make it actually ready to play, then the launch date is not going to be very enjoyable.

Or just maybe the patch is to unlock the encrypted files to actually make the game playable. I think your missing the point.

 

[demidyad]

So it's supposed to make money somehow for the retailers? I'd like to know how.

Well, it makes money for the retailers because if people who bought online were able to play the second the game went gold, while people who bought in stores had to wait weeks for the game to go to press and be physically delivered around the world, retail sales would plummet and the retail industry would basically die.

Which is going to happen eventually anyway, but for now publishers would lose too many sales if bricks-and-mortar stores closed down. Publishers and retailers have a mutually beneficial business relationship, so each tries to keep the other happy.

 

[IdleEnergy]

How come we can preload Civilization 5 but we can't play Fallout Las Vegas?

That's pretty much what you're asking. Think about it.