Petition for a download demo

[Solver]

He can't, he already signed his contract .

[Nikolai]

What contract?

[AeonOfTime]

Even if some Firaxian installed the demo on my PC in my sleep, and made the civ icon the only clickable one I wouldn't click it. I need the real thing - when I start playing, I want to play till the end with the complete featureset.

A demo is just a demo after all, and it doesn't suit Civ.

[eris]

Yes, I want a demo. I am already pre-addicted to Civ4. I would be ashamed of my gullible stance on this issue, but I would have to stop drooling in aniticipation first.

No, it would not be of any real advantage to Firaxis to issue a demo unless they were convinced that the 3-D graphics were so good they would pull in non-Civ players. I don't think even Firaxis thinks the graphics are that good.

So, the marketing will follow the path of relying on us pre-addicts and some word of mouth, etc. Personally, given the addictive nature of the game, I think Firaxis marketeers should look into the strategies of makers of tobacco, alcohol, and other such similarly addictive products. There has got to be something there they could take advantage of. [Civ billboards along the sides of NASCAR race tracks, anyone?]

[Aro]

Originally posted by AeonOfTime
Even if some Firaxian installed the demo on my PC in my sleep, and made the civ icon the only clickable one I wouldn't click it.
...........................................

You can't be more resolute than this.

[yin26]

Grandpa Troll: HELLO! Great to hear from you again. Yes, I've been making people mad, as usual (with a few wonderful supporters), but overall I'm taking it easy from here on in.

Adm.Naismith: You're right. A great demo *after*release (perhaps close to the time of the expansion pack) for those not sure about the game could be a good strategy.

And sensible people know that around the New Year Yin will be posting pics of himself eating the Civ4 flavour cardboard pizza.

I've already gathered some recipe ideas! Thanks Poly!

[Boris Godunov]

I've found some demos very useful for assessing the quality of a game. But there's a danger in them. They are meant to be seductive, and they often leave an impression that isn't altogether accurate. I've played demos that were good and so much more was promised in the game. But upon getting the full game, I was disappointed in that there really wasn't all that much more.

I see no harm in a Civ4 demo, provided making it doesn't divert any significant resources from the completion of the full product. It would be nice to have it as a free "placeholder" until I get the full copy. But yeah, demo or not, I'm probably buying the game anyway.

[Trifna]

Isn't this petition a bit like asking Civ5 the day after Civ4 is out?

[Addled Platypus]

Originally posted by Trifna
Isn't this petition a bit like asking Civ5 the day after Civ4 is out?

Hey, just trying to stir the pot

[Dale]

Originally posted by yin26
Adm.Naismith: You're right. A great demo *after*release (perhaps close to the time of the expansion pack) for those not sure about the game could be a good strategy.

I agree with you on this point. Those that will buy the game no matter what, will get it the first weeks it's out. So a demo is useless to them.

Wait till after release to make the demo, and production on the real deal is full-steam till release (not delaying those that will waste $100 on it regardless if it's a pile of steaming dog-**** or not). For those that are "lurking" in the shadows who would wait 6 months till the price dropped or for reviews (or in the case of SimGolf two months till the "classic" version came out for $20), a demo would be useful. Personally if there's a demo at least I'll be able to see if they fixed worker-diarrhea.

Dale

[Adm.Naismith]

Civ IV is 66% for new players

Originally posted by eris
No, it would not be of any real advantage to Firaxis to issue a demo unless they were convinced that the 3-D graphics were so good they would pull in non-Civ players. I don't think even Firaxis thinks the graphics are that good.

Same old fancentric idea: we are a part (1/3?) of the buyers of the game, but only a part, I'm afraid. No good for our ego, but reality hits our dream as a rule...

May I humbly suggest you read again one of the game preview, where a Firaxis member is interviewed?
Just consider Gamespot preview:

The idea of making Civ a lot more user-friendly is certainly one of the goals behind Civ IV, as well. "There's a certain level of detail that will always be in a Civilization game, but we want single-player to be something that's easier to jump into for people that aren't familiar with the way Civilization works," Caudill explained. Moreover, the game is getting a new user interface that's a bit unlike previous Civ games, though it's one of the last pieces of the game to be put in place, so we didn't get a chance to see it. "With Civ IV, we are acknowledging the fact that a lot of people have played real-time strategy games, and so a lot of the stuff that we've done to the interface acknowledges that," Briggs said.

Seems that a lot of new gamers must be baited to buy a different game. May be a demo can help, can't it?

[Datajack Franit]

oh this thread