Yarlen Yarlen

TotalGaming Phase 2 Prelaunch Has Begun!

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TotalGaming Phase 2 Prelaunch Has Begun!

from Stardock Forums
<P>We've begun preparations for the launch of the next phase of TotalGaming.net (what we've been referring to as Phase 2). </P> <P><STRONG>Why Phase 2?</STRONG></P> <P>Phase 1 worked on a fairly straight forward premise: For $X users could get all the games added to it for one year. At the end of the year, the user had to re-subscribe to keep getting new games.&nbsp; The problem was that game developers didn't want to share royalties with games they didn't think people wanted.&nbsp; If ALL the games were available, then the royalties had to be split amongst ALL games.&nbsp; While this wasn't an issue as long as the games were primarily Stardock titles, it made it hard to start getting higher profile or newer content.</P> <P>That's where Phase 2 comes in.&nbsp; Gamers can purchase games individually or they'll be able to purchase a TotalGaming.net membership which will provide 10 tokens.&nbsp; Different games will cost differing amounts (A $19.95 game would cost 2 tokens, a $39.95 game would cost 4 tokens, a $9.95 game would cost 1 token and so forth).&nbsp; Gamers then can pick and choose which games they want.&nbsp; </P> <P>The end result is a much larger variety to choose from than what would have previously been possible under the phase 1 system.&nbsp; Members will also be given early peeks at some of the games under development such as <STRONG><A href="http://www.societygame.com/">Society</A>.</STRONG></P> <P><STRONG>What it means for existing TotalGaming.net users:</STRONG></P> <P>The ones who benefit from the new system the most is of course the existing TotalGaming.net subscribers.&nbsp;&nbsp;Not only will they get the 9 existing games on TotalGaming.net but they will also get <A href="https://www.galciv2.com"><STRONG>Galactic Civilizations II</STRONG>&nbsp;</A>no matter when it is released -- so no need to re-subscribe.&nbsp; On top of that, TG.net users will get 10 tokens to use on existing games.&nbsp; Most of the new games will cost between 1 and 3 tokens so this effectively means an additional 4 to 6 new games.</P> <P><STRONG>Launch Date:&nbsp; </STRONG>Around June 21st we hope to begin migrating existing players to the new system. A week after that we hope to a general launch. Stay tuned!</P>
12,241 views 76 replies
Reply #26 from Stardock Forums Top
Thanks for the update, yarlen.
Reply #27 from Stardock Forums Top
Is the demo available through sdc?
Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #28 from Stardock Forums Top

Is the demo available through sdc?

If you click on the Download button in SDC for a game you haven't bought, it'll take you to its game page on the TG site. You can download the demo from there (if one's available) by clicking on the Get Demo button.

Reply #29 from Stardock Forums Top

Thanks for the update, yarlen.

No problem.

As a followup, this is taking far longer than anticipated, so it'll be awhile before all the new games are up (some may have to wait until tomorrow morning).

Reply #30 from Stardock Forums Top
Hmm, my SDC is crashing when it tries to do the net updates, I just downloaded an update for it a hour or two ago.
Reply #31 from Stardock Forums Top
Mike, I had the same thing... a 'Need to close this program' error that shutdown the SDC application... I did a reinstall however (It wouldn't let me uninstall the existing installation so I just wrote straight overtop of it with the original SDC install file) and once it had updated again everything worked like a charm and I can see all the new games which have been added so far.
Reply #33 from Stardock Forums Top
I'm not sure if I'm too happy with this. I really liked the thought I could subscribe to a gaming service, providing me with a decent number of games. Why should I use TotalGaming.net and not just purchase one of the shelf? With Totalgaming, I don't get a nice box, a paper manual. In the end, I most likely will start paying the same amount as purchasing an off-the-shelf game. At least, that are my fears.
Reply #35 from Stardock Forums Top
Thanks to Yarlen, Kim in sales and oh dear I forgot her ? name in the chat room for GalCiv but they were able to get me back up and running
most of it was a big misunderstanding on my part Sorry to one and all
Reply #36 from Stardock Forums Top

If you have SDC problems with it crashing, reinstalling it will fix the problem. We're testing a new build that should fix the problem also.

mjanecki53 - No problem.   I cleared your duplicate posts too.

Klaus1250 - You're getting a substantial discount by using TotalGaming.net (and games that provide a nice paper manual are a rare occurance now). For instance, if you were to preorder GalCiv II standalone, you'd have to pay $44.95 + tax and shipping. By preordering it via TotalGaming, you only pay $34.95, no tax (cause it was paid for by your membership), and no shipping fees outside your download time.  The same holds true for the other games available on the service and we're able to provide more titles since the developers get a better deal too. Plus you never have to worry about losing a CD, losing a manual, copy protection issues, getting the latest patches or other hassles because Stardock Central handles all that for you.

Reply #37 from Stardock Forums Top
Klaus1250 - You're getting a substantial discount by using TotalGaming.net

You buy token at the price of 1 token for 7$, and you use them at the exchange rate of 10$ for 1 token. So you got a 30% discount.
Reply #38 from Stardock Forums Top
Hi everyone - We're putting up a new version of Stardock Central that should fix any crashes you've been experiencing with the program. We're also updating our full installer for SDC to match the latest code.
Reply #39 from Stardock Forums Top
I think that ability was lost in the latest SDC, but we're planning to add it back. Ideally I'd like for people to be able to check on that via the TG website also. In the interim, if you want to know, please feel free to email me (bclair@stardock.com) and I can look it up for you.
Reply #40 from Stardock Forums Top
Is there a way to look up when your subscription expires within SC? If there is, I can't find it.
Reply #41 from Stardock Forums Top
My main issue with this right now is I want to outright buy The Political Machine for download and I can't. I am on the list of those waiting to be signed up for phase two but enough other games have my tokens. Thus, I want to buy something as I wait to use them.
Reply #42 from Stardock Forums Top

Hi Vexrm,

This was an unrelated error on our end.   You can now purchase The Political Machine standalone via the Stardock Store for download.

Thank you for mentioning this. We probably wouldn't have realized it otherwise.

Reply #43 from Stardock Forums Top
Hi there,

Just wondering for those of us that had more than 2 years of TGN subscription left to run, will that result in any additional tokens? (Mine was due to expire in 2008)

Cheers

Brian
Reply #44 from Stardock Forums Top

Hi Brian,

Sorry, no. The transition path for all of the prior members is the same.

Reply #45 from Stardock Forums Top
I am a little confused. I can definitely see advantages for returning TGN members, such as my self but I really can not see any reason for some one new to join. I am probably missing something can anyone help?
Reply #46 from Stardock Forums Top
Hi, Yarlen,

This is my 1st post here. In fact, I rarely post anywhere. But I have to say having read the posts here that my concerns about the new system seem to have been misplaced.

I wasn't sure if resubscribing was going to be worth it. I was concerned as to what kinds or quantity of quality games would be made available. Now, with what's on offer to existing customers, I have to say a big "Thanks". It's rare to find such attention payed to CS in the tech industry. You guys set a great example!
Reply #47 from Stardock Forums Top

Hi mjanecki53 - Perhaps you could elaborate on your concerns?  I think I laid out pretty clearly the advantages of TotalGaming in my previous post.   A new user gets great games at a big discount (30%), never has to deal with DRM incompatibility issues, never has to worry about losing their games or not being able to access them, gets customer support from us, will be getting a broader selection of titles than ever before and more. If a new user wants a box, printed manual and a CD w/some copy protection scheme, then TotalGaming wasn't going to provide them with that before either.

Growlands - Thank you!

Reply #48 from Stardock Forums Top
Existing TotalGaming.net customers will get the existing 10 or so games on there.

I'm an existing customer who resubscribed in May, iirc.

All games that I haven't downloaded take me to the buy page when I click on download. What am I missing?
Reply #49 from Stardock Forums Top
Yarlen
Your points are well taken and I am not sure that my concerns are going to make sense but here it goes. My concerns are based on the assumption that a new TGN subscriber will get 10 tokens and no games and they would have 2 years to spend their tokens to get any games at all. When I pay money I like to have something tangible to show for it. The old TGN had that because I could immediately download registered full games. The new TGN for new comers (after June 2005)appears to just give credit back. With which I have to shop again (I hate shopping)to get anything tangible.
Also Say I as a new TGN member did not like any of the current games or am saving my tokens for a fantastic game there is a good possibility that I could lose my money by 1. my 2 years running out or 2 Stardock going out of business
Reply #50 from Stardock Forums Top
Hi mjanecki53,

That's an interesting point of view.   When you become a TG member, you do get something to show for it (i.e, Tokens). If you want to think of it in investment terms, you're paying $70 to get $100+ worth of value in return. Now, if you're a person who's new to TotalGaming, odds are you're not going to become a member unless we offer something you want (makes no sense otherwise).

That means a new customer will 99% of the time immediately buy something with their Tokens. They then have 730 days (2-years), during which we'll be adding new games the entire time, to find more titles they'd like to buy. We think it's extremely unlikely that a customer won't find anything else in that period of time that they'll want to buy. After all, you don't gain interest by hoarding Tokens.

You mentioned that you don't like to shop. That's why we've made the purchase process as simple as possible, and we're continuing work to streamline it even more. If you buy a game through SDC, the application does just about everything for you. All you have to do is select what you want and make a few mouse clicks, SDC will do the rest.

As for your last concern, I think I addressed it a bit above (a new TG member wouldn't join unless they already had something in mind to buy). We've made it very clear on our website (and will do so in our marketing) on how the system works. If there is a fantastic game coming out in the future, you'll be able to pre-order it with your Tokens ahead of time.