JR throwing in the towel ?

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

Hi,

After months of no one from SES actually showing up on their own forum
I just got a nice

"This website is temporarily unavailable, please try again later. "
when visiting their website at

http://www.stormeaglestudios.com/

Refugees are trickling in at the GameSquad forum and they have
confirmed that the Stormpowered authentication server is down as well.

Either somebody forgot to pay the provider bill or join me in the wait
for the no-DRM patch to appear, just like they "promised" :)

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Vincenzo Beretta]

> Refugees are trickling in at the GameSquad forum and
> they have confirmed that the Stormpowered authentication
> server is down as well.

I love the smell of heads exploding across the internet. It smells... of
victory.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

"Anybody who is scared off by the DRM of these games doesn't deserve
them anyway" - Jim Cobb

You can't get to the SES forum now obviously but the last couple of
weeks have seen a remarkable change in the attitude of the biggest
kiss-ass supporter of them : Saddletank, the forum fanboy/moderator.

From supreme confidence :

"Not sure what good it will do posting on the GS forum anymore, I
think most "human" posters have quit there."

Over slight panic:

"Something is definitely not right at SES because a few months back
their support was excellent, really very good and very prompt.

I just don't know what has happened since. My guess is they are all
busy working on a new game but that does not excuse the mess that
support has become for Jutland.

I'm sorry I just don't know what the answer is and those who do know
stopped posting on this forum a good while ago... again, why? No idea.
Its very frustrating."

To full-blown desperation :

"SES, please post again on your forums and tell us why you have been
so quiet and what you've been doing! Even the promised changelog
updates ceased! Why?"

-

It's early days yet, and it may all be just a technical glitch, but
the DRM-excrement may have finally hit the reality-fan.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Giftzwerg]

In article <j6kakt$4op$1...@dont-email.me>, rec...@hotmail.com says...

What's the German word for how I'm feeling right now?

*Schadenfreude*?

--
Giftzwerg
***
"The irritating thing about the weather reporting is that it is all
hysteria, all the time."
- Roger Kimball

[Frank E]

On Thu, 6 Oct 2011 12:37:40 -0400, Giftzwerg
<giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>In article <j6kakt$4op$1...@dont-email.me>, rec...@hotmail.com says...
>
>> > Refugees are trickling in at the GameSquad forum and
>> > they have confirmed that the Stormpowered authentication
>> > server is down as well.
>>
>> I love the smell of heads exploding across the internet. It smells... of
>> victory.
>
>What's the German word for how I'm feeling right now?
>
>*Schadenfreude*?

That would certainly fit. <g>

Rgds, Frank

[nobody]

Given their "customer service" and their attitude that the customer is a
nuisance
this was inevitable. Yes, we'll wait and see if the DRM free patch comes
out......
I'm not holding my breath.



<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:c2095dd5-a8fd-478d...@dd6g2000vbb.googlegroups.com...

[Mike Kreuzer]

They're just busy working on the promised DRM free version. Oh dear.

Regards,
Mike Kreuzer
www.mikekreuzer.com

[topher]

On Oct 6, 4:11 pm, Mike Kreuzer <m...@FIRSTNAMEkreuzer.com> wrote:

> Frank E <fakeaddr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > On Thu, 6 Oct 2011 12:37:40 -0400, Giftzwerg

> > <giftzwerg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > >In article <j6kakt$4o...@dont-email.me>, reck...@hotmail.com says...

>
> > >> > Refugees are trickling in at the GameSquad forum and
> > >> > they have confirmed that the Stormpowered authentication
> > >> > server is down as well.
>
> > >> I love the smell of heads exploding across the internet. It
> > > > smells... of
> > >> victory.
>
> > >What's the German word for how I'm feeling right now?  
>
> > >*Schadenfreude*?
>
> > That would certainly fit. <g>
>
> > Rgds, Frank
>
> They're just busy working on the promised DRM free version. Oh dear.
>
> Regards,
> Mike Kreuzerwww.mikekreuzer.com

Actually, this is the roll out of the DRM free version. Have fun
everyone!

[KG_Jag]

On Oct 6, 8:05 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com" <eddyster...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

I found this:

http://stormeaglestudios.com/phpbb3/index.php?sid=83ee42dfc1955898ad7c9996a62592bb

As I post the link, the last SES forum post was one by the former GS
mod made more than two days ago.

[Giftzwerg]

In article <385658947339620749.945914mike-
FIRSTNAMEk...@news.tpg.com.au>, mi...@FIRSTNAMEkreuzer.com says...

> > >What's the German word for how I'm feeling right now?
> > >
> > >*Schadenfreude*?
> >
> > That would certainly fit. <g>

> They're just busy working on the promised DRM free version. Oh dear.

Beavering away 24/7, I imagine, their promises being paramount ... all
other concerns secondary.

[Giftzwerg]

In article <41a77b0e-93ea-4354-b4d8-
2d5ef6...@z8g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>, pdq...@gmail.com says...

> Actually, this is the roll out of the DRM free version. Have fun
> everyone!

Yah. I eagerly await the URL.

[Giftzwerg]

In article <vdljq.196$qM...@newsfe07.iad>, nob...@nowhere.net says...

> Given their "customer service" and their attitude that the customer is a
> nuisance
> this was inevitable. Yes, we'll wait and see if the DRM free patch comes
> out......
> I'm not holding my breath.

Wise move. Mrs. G. tells me that the current conventional wisdom among
first-responders is not to worry about anything except chest-
compressions.

So your airway is your own problem.

[topher]

Dear Lord! Check out the link now http://www.stormeaglestudios.com/ .
This was their way of rolling out the distribution of Strategy First
titles! No communication to the fanbase. Take the site down for 2 days
and then Voila! Sam the Eagle staring you in the face. Talk about
amateur hour!

[Vincenzo Beretta]

> Dear Lord! Check out the link now http://www.stormeaglestudios.com/ .

I like the "sober and minimalist" approach :o)

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 7 okt, 02:34, topher <pdqp...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Oct 6, 5:46 pm, Giftzwerg <giftzwerg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > In article <vdljq.196$qM...@newsfe07.iad>, nob...@nowhere.net says...
>
> > > Given their "customer service"  and their attitude that the customer is a
> > > nuisance
> > > this was inevitable.  Yes, we'll wait and see if the DRM free patch comes
> > > out......
> > > I'm not holding my breath.
>
> > Wise move.  Mrs. G. tells me that the current conventional wisdom among
> > first-responders is not to worry about anything except chest-
> > compressions.
>
> > So your airway is your own problem.  
>
>

> Dear Lord! Check out the link nowhttp://www.stormeaglestudios.com/.
> This was their way of rolling out the distribution of Strategy First
> titles! No communication to the fanbase. Take the site down for 2 days
> and then Voila! Sam the Eagle staring you in the face. Talk about
> amateur hour!

More like supreme arrogance.

I just love how JR thinks he's competing with Steam

http://stormpowered.stormeaglestudios.com/Common_Images/SP_Sell_Sheets/StormPowered_vs_Steam_1.jpg

Here's the reality : his site was down for 2-3 days and except for JR
fans nobody in the rather tight wargame community even noticed it.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Bloodstar]

I guess that puppy Eddy is scared about Matrix Games and like Nostradamus
"predicts" that someone has "throwed in the towel"...

His complete stupidity is beyond compare:

10.6.2011
StormPowered.com
Charlottesville, Virginia

Greetings Gamers!

Storm Eagle Studios presents STORMPOWERED PHASE 2 Sneak Preview!

As a member of a select group of StormPowered.com and SES customers, we
wanted to share with you a sneak preview of
STORMPOWERED PHASE 2! Our Official Launch Date is Friday, Oct. 7, 2011, but
we thought you might want to get at the
great CELEBRATION SPECIALS! We are proud to announce that STORMPOWERED now
offers over 100 High Quality
PC games from the very best PC game developers on the planet!

[Bloodstar]

Eddy is just dirty, rotten, scoundrel and nothing more. And wants monopoly
of Matrix Games and not competition. So he is on their paying check, he sold
his soul for few bucks... How pitiful.

[topher]

On Oct 7, 2:26 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com" <eddyster...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> On 7 okt, 02:34, topher <pdqp...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Oct 6, 5:46 pm, Giftzwerg <giftzwerg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > In article <vdljq.196$qM...@newsfe07.iad>, nob...@nowhere.net says...
>
> > > > Given their "customer service"  and their attitude that the customer is a
> > > > nuisance
> > > > this was inevitable.  Yes, we'll wait and see if the DRM free patch comes
> > > > out......
> > > > I'm not holding my breath.
>
> > > Wise move.  Mrs. G. tells me that the current conventional wisdom among
> > > first-responders is not to worry about anything except chest-
> > > compressions.
>
> > > So your airway is your own problem.  
>
> > Dear Lord! Check out the link nowhttp://www.stormeaglestudios.com/.
> > This was their way of rolling out the distribution of Strategy First
> > titles! No communication to the fanbase. Take the site down for 2 days
> > and then Voila! Sam the Eagle staring you in the face. Talk about
> > amateur hour!
>
> More like supreme arrogance.
>
> I just love how JR thinks he's competing with Steam
>

> http://stormpowered.stormeaglestudios.com/Common_Images/SP_Sell_Sheet...

>
> Here's the reality : his site was down for 2-3 days and except for JR
> fans nobody in the rather tight wargame community even noticed it.
>
> Greetz,
>
> Eddy Sterckx

Steam Store Front:
http://store.steampowered.com/

StormPowered Storefront:
http://stormpowered.stormeaglestudios.com/store/index.asp

Honestly, which one looks more professional and trustworthy?

[Bloodstar]

Steam Store Front:
http://store.steampowered.com/

StormPowered Storefront:
http://stormpowered.stormeaglestudios.com/store/index.asp

Honestly, which one looks more professional and trustworthy?

Of course you are right, but Eddy's firts shortsighted post was about SES
going out of business soon, ahem right before they launched this.

I would not give him weather forecasting job...

[KG_Jag]

On Oct 7, 8:20 am, "Bloodstar" <george.washing...@microsoft.com>
wrote:

Mario--we get it: you hate Matrix.

However, tell us if there is a dedicated wargaming gaming house whose
sales [rental] model is the equal to or worse than that of SES. If so
explain who and why.

With regard to their Strom/Sh*t Powered game delivery system, I see
nothing that will pull me away from GamersGate, GOG, Direct2Drive and
others. Tropoco 4 costs more chained to S Power than it costs at
regular price at GamersGate. Renting Jutland for "only" $43.95 is a
real bargain.

In his comparison with Steam, JR forget to put "great customer service
and relations" in his comparison.

[Giftzwerg]

In article <f90c09ee-c926-47d3-b20c-90707c16f637
@f6g2000vbm.googlegroups.com>, pdq...@gmail.com says...

> Steam Store Front:
> http://store.steampowered.com/
>
> StormPowered Storefront:
> http://stormpowered.stormeaglestudios.com/store/index.asp
>
> Honestly, which one looks more professional and trustworthy?

Well played, sir.

--
Giftzwerg
***
"For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an
insanely great honor. I will miss Steve [Jobs] immensely."
- Bill Gates

[Giftzwerg]

In article <j6n5cc$kif$1...@sunce.iskon.hr>,
george.w...@microsoft.com says...

> Of course you are right, but Eddy's firts shortsighted post was about SES
> going out of business soon, ahem right before they launched this.
>
> I would not give him weather forecasting job...

Where you been, anyhow?

[Bloodstar]

Mario--we get it: you hate Matrix.

---Hate is very strong word. I don't hate them, I am pretty indefferent to
them. A little joke here would not harm they. They are not destined to be
chased by mafia or something? To end with broken arms and legs? No. God
forbids. But I am not glorifying them like most of you do.

However, tell us if there is a dedicated wargaming gaming house whose
sales [rental] model is the equal to or worse than that of SES. If so
explain who and why.

--That is not me to decide but market, as you are all capitalist evangelist
you must know that.

With regard to their Strom/Sh*t Powered game delivery system, I see
nothing that will pull me away from GamersGate, GOG, Direct2Drive and
others. Tropoco 4 costs more chained to S Power than it costs at
regular price at GamersGate. Renting Jutland for "only" $43.95 is a
real bargain.

In his comparison with Steam, JR forget to put "great customer service
and relations" in his comparison.

--- Again, I am not big supporter of Storm whatever Studios... You, me, pal
this or that will decide on their own which game will buy at what place. So
again, market decision.

Why this bother you so much? I don't see any problem here.

Except maybe that Matrix has shit their pants... As I say Matrix Games have
their own lousy business approach... I see that they will put out some
expansion for PG2 clone, ok at least at 4.99 not 35$ or something...

Matrix Games does not offer splendid service as well. And they would go SES
model, or Gamersgate model anyday but they know that they would have to use
DRM then and shit in their own mouth to say literally. Now they shit in the
mouth of their customers with not releasing a demo so each time you buy
Matrix games you can get cat in a bag.

Is constructive criticism a hate? I don't think so... But you like more
sycophant, lackey behaviour of Eddy Sterckx.

[Bloodstar]

> Where you been, anyhow?


Hmmm... don't understand quite correctly. Is this some word game? :)

I have been around, here and there :) Not much wargaming lately - but will
get back to that in the winter.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On Oct 7, 10:13 pm, Giftzwerg <giftzwerg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> In article <j6n5cc$ki...@sunce.iskon.hr>,
> george.washing...@microsoft.com says...

>
> > Of course you are right, but Eddy's firts shortsighted post was about SES
> > going out of business soon, ahem right before they launched this.
>
> > I would not give him weather forecasting job...
>
> Where you been, anyhow?

Under a rock

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Giftzwerg]

In article <j6nv6p$hhs$1...@sunce.iskon.hr>,
george.w...@microsoft.com says...

Well, not on the computer, unless you're hiding piles of PC wargames
that you obstinantly refuse to tell use about.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

> Steam Store Front:http://store.steampowered.com/
>
> StormPowered Storefront:http://stormpowered.stormeaglestudios.com/store/index.asp
>
> Honestly, which one looks more professional and trustworthy?

Neither.

They both pretend you can buy software there, while actually you're
only renting.

But at least Steam has stuff at rental prices.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Bloodstar]

> Well, not on the computer, unless you're hiding piles of PC wargames
> that you obstinantly refuse to tell use about.

:)

We had a very sunny Summer so I didn't played anything at all. I think that
with cold and rain, discussin here about wargames, new or old will get to a
new level (if...). Wargamers are dinosaurs but long lasting... :)

Will be catching up later with new releases I am still not tired of games...

[topher]

On Oct 7, 6:47 pm, "eddyster...@hotmail.com" <eddyster...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

Okay. Which one do you think is more likely to be around 1, 2 or 5
years from now when you need to connect to the activation server?

[Mike Kreuzer]

It'll be a short catch-up, there haven't been any.

Good to see you haven't shuffled off, been too much of that lately.

Regards,
Mike Kreuzer
www.mikekreuzer.com

[KG_Jag]

On Oct 7, 3:38 pm, "Bloodstar" <george.washing...@microsoft.com>
wrote:

> However, tell us if there is a dedicated wargaming gaming house whose
> sales [rental] model is the equal to or worse than that of SES.  If so
> explain who and why.
>
> --That is not me to decide but market, as you are all capitalist evangelist
> you must know that.
>

We all know that you (as well as any one of us) don't dictate the
market. Just wanted to get your point of view/personal determinations
and reasons for them. I hope you will respond, but of course that's
up to you.

[Bloodstar]

> It'll be a short catch-up, there haven't been any.
>
> Good to see you haven't shuffled off, been too much of that lately.

:)
Thanks...

I am still alive and kickin' :). Never give up the fight :)

[Bloodstar]

We all know that you (as well as any one of us) don't dictate the
market. Just wanted to get your point of view/personal determinations
and reasons for them. I hope you will respond, but of course that's
up to you.

---

They pretty much doesn't have big chances (SES), but hey I just support
their work, and private entrepeneurship :)
I like that approach of being publisher and also selling some games from
other developers and publishers - that's certanly extra bucks in these hard
times :)
Agaisnt gigant like Steam ahem - I doubt that they can compete with them but
maybe to find some niche, maybe...

I am certanly doesn't support agressive DRM. For instance even free
antivirus called AVAST (which is very good!) can be installed on mutliple
PC's with one key code.
My licence is valid till March 2012. then as I've been explained you just
send email to get new code.

[Miowarra Tomokatu (aka Tomo)]

On Sat, 8 Oct 2011 00:38:46 +0200, "Bloodstar" <george.w...@microsoft.com> wrote:

>Matrix Games does not offer splendid service as well.

That's not MY experience.
.
.
---------------------------------------------------------------
See all, 'ear all, say nowt.
Eat all, sup all, pay nowt.
An' if tha does owt for nowt, do it for thysen.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

> Okay. Which one do you think is more likely to be around 1, 2 or 5
> years from now when you need to connect to the activation server?

The question seems academic. After almost a week all the "Strategy
First" forums *combined* now have the grand total of 1 (one) user
post.

http://stormeaglestudios.com/phpbb3/

Business must be booming.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[KG_Jag]

On Oct 11, 5:19 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"

> Eddy Sterckx- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

The SES discussion is really blazing too!

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 12 okt, 10:22, KG_Jag <wburb...@netscape.net> wrote:
>
> The SES discussion is really blazing too

For those who didn't get the sarcasm : not a single post since the
last weekend in all the other forums too. I guess it must have finally
dawned on even the most sycophantic SES fanboy that JR et al don't
give a rotten peso about them. Shutting them down for days without
even so much as a warning, and since they're back up not even a single
post by a SES staff member to explain what went on. Even the meekest
sheep of the bunch must have realized by now that they rank somewhere
below the crud on JR's shoes.

It's quite obvious too from the feature list that all of Norm Koger's
development time has gone into this almost desperate attempt to set-up
a software distribution platform to rival Steam. You can almost hear
them thinking "if we build it, they will come" - without taking into
account that those who went there got force-fed rotten hot-dogs, were
continually insulted by the staff and are now probably ashamed they
ever went there in the first place and certainly are not going to
promote it on other gaming venues.

I'm taking notes for a book I might write one day when retired - it's
not often one sees a dodo-shaped lead balloon that thinks it's a
viable business.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[topher]

On Oct 12, 5:04 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"

Considering how shoddy the site is and how it was setup in the dark of
the night without any heads up, I wonder if there was a contractual
obligation with Strategy First to have something, anything up and
running.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 12 okt, 14:52, topher <pdqp...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Considering how shoddy the site is and how it was setup in the dark of
> the night without any heads up, I wonder if there was a contractual
> obligation with Strategy First to have something, anything up and
> running.

I wonder what the rest of the contract might be. I can't imagine
Strategy First paying to have all their games retro-fitted with the
SES DRM "solution" so it must be JR paying for that. Sure, he's a
millionaire but the initial cost for doing that must be huge and who's
he going to sell to ? His site went down for days and nobody in the
regular wargame forums even noticed it. Is his target audience really
the most dimwitted portion of what remains of his long-suffering
customers ? All three of them ?

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[topher]

On Oct 12, 9:21 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"

Yeah I guess it's more likely that JR threw something up in a
desperate attempt to recover some of his losses.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 12 okt, 17:35, topher <pdqp...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> <eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > On 12 okt, 14:52, topher <pdqp...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Considering how shoddy the site is and how it was setup in the dark of
> > > the night without any heads up, I wonder if there was a contractual
> > > obligation with Strategy First to have something, anything up and
> > > running.
>
> > I wonder what the rest of the contract might be. I can't imagine
> > Strategy First paying to have all their games retro-fitted with the
> > SES DRM "solution" so it must be JR paying for that. Sure, he's a
> > millionaire but the initial cost for doing that must be huge and who's
> > he going to sell to ? His site went down for days and nobody in the
> > regular wargame forums even noticed it. Is his target audience really
> > the most dimwitted portion of what remains of his long-suffering
> > customers ? All three of them ?
>

> Yeah I guess it's more likely that JR threw something up in a
> desperate attempt to recover some of his losses.

A week later now and I decided to check the SES forums again and the
place looks simply deserted - as if every single poster there
simultaneously decided that enough was enough and got out. Simply
amazing. Think I'll send JR a cheerfull X-Mas card this year - he's
going to need it.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[KG_Jag]

On Oct 19, 9:07 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"

Make sure that you pack it full of DRM so only he can read it--and at
that only at those times and dates of which you approve.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

> Make sure that you pack it full of DRM so only he can read it--and at
> that only at those times and dates of which you approve.

In a weird way I almost feel sorry for him - it's never a good feeling
when you see a wargame company end up in the dumpster - everybody
loses in the end.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[KG_Jag]

On Oct 24, 2:11 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"

But what if JR's business model had been a success? I suggest that it
could/would be far worse for wargamers than the current outcome [as
always subject to change with time].

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 25 okt, 08:28, KG_Jag <wburb...@netscape.net> wrote:

> But what if JR's business model had been a success?  I suggest that it
> could/would be far worse for wargamers than the current outcome [as
> always subject to change with time].

Correct - and maybe it's a good thing the SES death rattle is taking
such a long time as it's a good warning to other publishers of what
happens to your business when you treat your customers like something
you scrape of your shoes.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 11 okt, 14:19, "eddyster...@hotmail.com" <eddyster...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

Update : now a grand total of 0 (zero) user posts. And I'm not talking
new posts here. The 1 post that was there simply disappeared. Did he
get banned already ? For doing what ? Not posting more ?

I really enjoy my weekly trip to this white elephant business
venture.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Giftzwerg]

In article <e736b6cb-3d82-4e0d-b8f7-8a116f9fb0f4
@i19g2000yqf.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com says...

> > Business must be booming.
>
> Update : now a grand total of 0 (zero) user posts. And I'm not talking
> new posts here. The 1 post that was there simply disappeared. Did he
> get banned already ? For doing what ? Not posting more ?
>
> I really enjoy my weekly trip to this white elephant business
> venture.

What I find most fascinating is ... why re-invent the wheel? Why not
just market the products through Steam? Well-respected, solid service
that users already have significant confidence in. Long ago, I
retracted my original qualms about Steam and now am I cheerful
participant. I wouldn't hesitate - and don't hesitate - to purchase
products through Steam.

DRM is always evil ... but Steam is the least objectionable service out
there.

--
Giftzwerg
***
"[Vice President Biden] talks like the sort of guy who sits right next
to you on the bus even though there are plenty of empty seats - just so
he can explain how squirrels aren't mammals."
- Jonah Goldberg

[Giftzwerg]

In article <828973149341664477.19...@news.aioe.org>,
ade...@inbox.com says...

> How about going Good Old Games instead of Steam? Good Old Games is
> supposedly free of DRM.

I've patronized GOG since they showed up, and have bought all kinds of
games from them.

My only quibble with your post is that I'd replace "instead of Steam"
with "in addition to Steam," since they don't directly compete with
respect to products.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 28 okt, 22:33, Giftzwerg <giftzwerg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> In article <e736b6cb-3d82-4e0d-b8f7-8a116f9fb0f4

> @i19g2000yqf.googlegroups.com>, eddyster...@hotmail.com says...

>
> > > Business must be booming.
>
> > Update : now a grand total of 0 (zero) user posts. And I'm not talking
> > new posts here. The 1 post that was there simply disappeared. Did he
> > get banned already ? For doing what ? Not posting more ?
>
> > I really enjoy my weekly trip to this white elephant business
> > venture.
>
> What I find most fascinating is ... why re-invent the wheel?  Why not
> just market the products through Steam?  Well-respected, solid service
> that users already have significant confidence in.  Long ago, I
> retracted my original qualms about Steam and now am I cheerful
> participant.  I wouldn't hesitate - and don't hesitate - to purchase
> products through Steam.
>
> DRM is always evil ... but Steam is the least objectionable service out
> there.

Well, for starters JR's motivation is not to release a game or two,
his motivation is to become the top dog in publishing once again.

That's why all their efforts currently are centered around creating a
distribution system to rival and eclipse Steam.

And he's willing to spend a lot of money to get there - in his mind
he's *really* competing with Steam, totally ignoring that his two-bit
outfit has got 2 dozen customers left.

From last week's newsletter :

"*STORM EAGLE NOW HIRING!
We are now looking to add new team members to our staff! If you have
previous experience in the following positions, and
would like to join an exciting Video Game team, please forward your
resume to jo...@stormeaglestudios.com
We need: C++ Programmers, Javascript Programmers, Sales Reps, Web
Marketing, and Game Producers."

-

He should get professional help alright, but not from IT guys ...

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Frank E]

On Sun, 30 Oct 2011 10:47:55 +0000 (UTC), <ade...@inbox.com> wrote:

>x-no-archive: yes

>
>How about going Good Old Games instead of Steam? Good Old Games is
>supposedly free of DRM.
>

GOG is great for old games that the sell, not much new stuff though. I
have picked up a couple of games from them just because it was easier
to spend $5 than try to dig up the old disks. They also do a pretty
good job of setting up their games so they run under the new versions
of windows.

Like Gifty, I've also sold out to Steam. It's got two negatives worth
mentioning. A lot of games won't run if lose your internet. All that
I've tried will run if you know ahead of time that you're going to be
offline and you switch to offline mode while you still have an
internet connection. The other problem with Steam, and this is a
biggie for me, is that your game connection is dependent on Valve. If
they ban your account for some reason, you're fucked.

Still, it's damn convenient for someone like me whose CD connection is
an unorganized mess. Happiness is never having to hunt for a CD again.
<g>

Rgds, Frank

[Giftzwerg]

In article <c972d859-9d80-4ebe-a17b-
a48952...@l12g2000vby.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com
says...

> > What I find most fascinating is ... why re-invent the wheel? ï¿œWhy not
> > just market the products through Steam? ï¿œWell-respected, solid service
> > that users already have significant confidence in. ï¿œLong ago, I

> > retracted my original qualms about Steam and now am I cheerful

> > participant. ï¿œI wouldn't hesitate - and don't hesitate - to purchase

> > products through Steam.
> >
> > DRM is always evil ... but Steam is the least objectionable service out
> > there.
>
> Well, for starters JR's motivation is not to release a game or two,
> his motivation is to become the top dog in publishing once again.

OK, but my motivation is to become a famous celebrity, world-renowned
for banging every Hollywood hottie in the pages of Variety. That seems
somewhat more possible than "StormPowered" overtaking Steam anytime
soon.

> That's why all their efforts currently are centered around creating a
> distribution system to rival and eclipse Steam.

But we all note the crucial differences between Steam and StormPowered:

Steam:

1) Create product - HALF-LIFE X - that everyone desperately wants.

2) Offer online distribution method / DRM that works great for this
product.

3) Attract additional publishers to your proven online distribution
system.

StormPowered:

1) Create products - DG / JUTLAND - that virtually no one wants.

2) Infect the products with DRM so awful that even fans run away.

3) Try to build on this shitpile of FAIL into a Steam-style success.

<tilt>

> And he's willing to spend a lot of money to get there - in his mind
> he's *really* competing with Steam, totally ignoring that his two-bit
> outfit has got 2 dozen customers left.

Eddy ... stop it ... you're making me feel sorry for him.

Well, not for long. It took 11 seconds of reflecting on the attempted
thrashing this asshat kept dealing out to his "customers" to disabuse me
of any sympathy for JR.

> From last week's newsletter :
>
> "*STORM EAGLE NOW HIRING!
> We are now looking to add new team members to our staff! If you have
> previous experience in the following positions, and
> would like to join an exciting Video Game team, please forward your
> resume to jo...@stormeaglestudios.com
> We need: C++ Programmers, Javascript Programmers, Sales Reps, Web
> Marketing, and Game Producers."
>
> -
>
> He should get professional help alright, but not from IT guys ...

We need my wife and her vast experience in dealing with mental health
issues - including delusions of grandeur - to explain this pathetic
attempt ... which, of course, is *a priori* doomed. Unfortunately, Mrs.
G. is sprawled on the living room couch, having worked late at the
hospital.

Oh, well, I guess JR will have to wait for his session.

[Giftzwerg]

In article <rIGuTtGj8clvt1...@4ax.com>,
fakea...@hotmail.com says...

> Like Gifty, I've also sold out to Steam. It's got two negatives worth
> mentioning. A lot of games won't run if lose your internet. All that
> I've tried will run if you know ahead of time that you're going to be
> offline and you switch to offline mode while you still have an
> internet connection. The other problem with Steam, and this is a
> biggie for me, is that your game connection is dependent on Valve. If
> they ban your account for some reason, you're fucked.
>
> Still, it's damn convenient for someone like me whose CD connection is
> an unorganized mess. Happiness is never having to hunt for a CD again.

To be fair, though, a serial-only DRM as in MatrixGames offers exactly
the same convenience - and without having to worry about some service at
some URL continuing to function.

[Frank E]

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:42:15 -0400, Giftzwerg
<giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>In article <c972d859-9d80-4ebe-a17b-
>a48952...@l12g2000vby.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com
>says...
>

>> > What I find most fascinating is ... why re-invent the wheel?  Why not
>> > just market the products through Steam?  Well-respected, solid service
>> > that users already have significant confidence in.  Long ago, I

>> > retracted my original qualms about Steam and now am I cheerful

>> > participant.  I wouldn't hesitate - and don't hesitate - to purchase

>> > products through Steam.
>> >
>> > DRM is always evil ... but Steam is the least objectionable service out
>> > there.
>>
>> Well, for starters JR's motivation is not to release a game or two,
>> his motivation is to become the top dog in publishing once again.
>
>OK, but my motivation is to become a famous celebrity, world-renowned
>for banging every Hollywood hottie in the pages of Variety. That seems
>somewhat more possible than "StormPowered" overtaking Steam anytime
>soon.
>
>> That's why all their efforts currently are centered around creating a
>> distribution system to rival and eclipse Steam.
>
>But we all note the crucial differences between Steam and StormPowered:
>
>Steam:
>
>1) Create product - HALF-LIFE X - that everyone desperately wants.
>
>2) Offer online distribution method / DRM that works great for this
>product.
>
>3) Attract additional publishers to your proven online distribution
>system.
>
>StormPowered:
>
>1) Create products - DG / JUTLAND - that virtually no one wants.
>
>2) Infect the products with DRM so awful that even fans run away.
>
>3) Try to build on this shitpile of FAIL into a Steam-style success.
>
><tilt>
>

Let me give you an even simpler reason why this won't ever work. Lets
assume that, by some miracle, JR gets a steam clone running that's
just as good as Steam with games that are even cheaper.

Would you trust your games library to him, when he can ban you and
lock you out of all your games on a whim?

Rgds, Frank

[Frank E]

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 07:50:35 -0400, Giftzwerg
<giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>In article <rIGuTtGj8clvt1...@4ax.com>,
>fakea...@hotmail.com says...
>
>> Like Gifty, I've also sold out to Steam. It's got two negatives worth
>> mentioning. A lot of games won't run if lose your internet. All that
>> I've tried will run if you know ahead of time that you're going to be
>> offline and you switch to offline mode while you still have an
>> internet connection. The other problem with Steam, and this is a
>> biggie for me, is that your game connection is dependent on Valve. If
>> they ban your account for some reason, you're fucked.
>>
>> Still, it's damn convenient for someone like me whose CD connection is
>> an unorganized mess. Happiness is never having to hunt for a CD again.
>
>To be fair, though, a serial-only DRM as in MatrixGames offers exactly
>the same convenience - and without having to worry about some service at
>some URL continuing to function.

In theory, yes. In practice, I'd have to call bullshit. Last time I
checked, about 3 or 4 months ago, only 3 of the games that I've
registered with them were available for downloading again. And lets
not forget, until recently Matrix was selling 'download insurance'
where you got to pay extra for the privilege of downloading something
for up to a year after you bought it. Matrix never has understood that
squeezing your existing customer base is no way to grow a business.
Since I don't see them changing that, I see them becoming more and
more inrrelevant over the next few years. A pity.

Rgds, Frank

[Giftzwerg]

In article <J4quTuducHCVJ1...@4ax.com>,
fakea...@hotmail.com says...

> Let me give you an even simpler reason why this won't ever work. Lets
> assume that, by some miracle, JR gets a steam clone running that's
> just as good as Steam with games that are even cheaper.
>
> Would you trust your games library to him, when he can ban you and
> lock you out of all your games on a whim?

Never mind a gamer.

As a *developer*, I'd be fucking apoplectic if JR's insane-clown system
kept one of my paying customers from playing the game he bought.

And consider this thought-experiment: Imagine if JR was somehow put in
place as the customer-service person where you work. How long - in
*seconds* - would it take for the Big Boss and the HR chief to hurl him
into the street?

[Giftzwerg]

In article <2IuuTnm7l=Rbdy6RDER...@4ax.com>,
fakea...@hotmail.com says...

> >> Still, it's damn convenient for someone like me whose CD connection is
> >> an unorganized mess. Happiness is never having to hunt for a CD again.
> >
> >To be fair, though, a serial-only DRM as in MatrixGames offers exactly
> >the same convenience - and without having to worry about some service at
> >some URL continuing to function.
>
> In theory, yes. In practice, I'd have to call bullshit. Last time I
> checked, about 3 or 4 months ago, only 3 of the games that I've
> registered with them were available for downloading again.

IT Director Giftzwerg is fixing you with his Baleful Yellow Eyes and
snarling, "and ... your backups are ... where?!?!?!"

> And lets
> not forget, until recently Matrix was selling 'download insurance'
> where you got to pay extra for the privilege of downloading something
> for up to a year after you bought it. Matrix never has understood that
> squeezing your existing customer base is no way to grow a business.
> Since I don't see them changing that, I see them becoming more and
> more inrrelevant over the next few years. A pity.

So what? You download the installer, squirrel it away in the same
directory with the .txt file serial number, back it up using the same
methods any sane person uses.

Done.

End of story.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 31 okt, 12:42, Giftzwerg <giftzwerg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> But we all note the crucial differences between Steam and StormPowered:

Oh, sure, he also sees the differences - he just happens to think
StormPowered is *better* than Steam :

http://stormpowered.stormeaglestudios.com/Common_Images/SP_Sell_Sheets/StormPowered_vs_Steam_1.jpg

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Frank E]

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:21:09 -0400, Giftzwerg
<giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>In article <2IuuTnm7l=Rbdy6RDER...@4ax.com>,
>fakea...@hotmail.com says...
>
>> >> Still, it's damn convenient for someone like me whose CD connection is
>> >> an unorganized mess. Happiness is never having to hunt for a CD again.
>> >
>> >To be fair, though, a serial-only DRM as in MatrixGames offers exactly
>> >the same convenience - and without having to worry about some service at
>> >some URL continuing to function.
>>
>> In theory, yes. In practice, I'd have to call bullshit. Last time I
>> checked, about 3 or 4 months ago, only 3 of the games that I've
>> registered with them were available for downloading again.
>
>IT Director Giftzwerg is fixing you with his Baleful Yellow Eyes and
>snarling, "and ... your backups are ... where?!?!?!"

Pffft. If it's work related, I keep rolling backups on company servers
on 2 different continents. I also keep two old laptops locked in our
vault for access to older projects where you'd have trouble even
installing the development environment on a modern OS.

Problem is, I'm nowhere near that organized at home. Where my backup
CDs end up is at the whim of my cleaning lady. Wherever she decided to
put them when she cleaned my office. Digging up a CD that I copied
years ago is usually a matter of hours, not minutes.

Rgds, Frank

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 31 okt, 13:48, Frank E <fakeaddr...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Problem is, I'm nowhere near that organized at home. Where my backup
> CDs end up is at the whim of my cleaning lady. Wherever she decided to
> put them when she cleaned my office. Digging up a CD that I copied
> years ago is usually a matter of hours, not minutes.

Terabyte sized external harddisks are under $100 - I got 2 of those -
every couple of weeks everything gets backed up on one, every couple
of months I mirror one on the other. Takes me about 5 minutes to get
the overnight backup started. Never lost a byte in over 2 decades, if
I want to install a game I go to \Installation Files\Games and pick
the one I need, the text file with the serial number is right there as
well.

In my life I've wasted more time retrieving family pictures and
important documents from *other* people's crashed hard drives than I
ever spend on my backups. Afterwards those "other people" get told in
no uncertain terms that if they don't follow my backup scheme, I won't
be there to save their lower backsides next time.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Frank E]

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:05:07 -0700 (PDT), "eddys...@hotmail.com"
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>On 31 okt, 13:48, Frank E <fakeaddr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Problem is, I'm nowhere near that organized at home. Where my backup
>> CDs end up is at the whim of my cleaning lady. Wherever she decided to
>> put them when she cleaned my office. Digging up a CD that I copied
>> years ago is usually a matter of hours, not minutes.
>
>Terabyte sized external harddisks are under $100 - I got 2 of those -
>every couple of weeks everything gets backed up on one, every couple
>of months I mirror one on the other. Takes me about 5 minutes to get
>the overnight backup started. Never lost a byte in over 2 decades, if
>I want to install a game I go to \Installation Files\Games and pick
>the one I need, the text file with the serial number is right there as
>well.

I do have a big external HD, mainly used for transferring really big
files. I hadn't considered it for backing up everything but it does
make sense. Are you using some type of ultility to do those backups?
Doing rolling backups or just one huge dump of your entire HD?

Rgds, Frank

[Giftzwerg]

In article <8cc2e2be-e446-4e9e-9783-
cbe740...@ek5g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com
says...

And Carbonite. $5 a month to store 385 GB of files and photographs up
in the cloud.

Yah nevah know.

[Giftzwerg]

In article <iKKuTnO8eULYBW...@4ax.com>,
fakea...@hotmail.com says...

> >Terabyte sized external harddisks are under $100 - I got 2 of those -
> >every couple of weeks everything gets backed up on one, every couple
> >of months I mirror one on the other. Takes me about 5 minutes to get
> >the overnight backup started. Never lost a byte in over 2 decades, if
> >I want to install a game I go to \Installation Files\Games and pick
> >the one I need, the text file with the serial number is right there as
> >well.
>
> I do have a big external HD, mainly used for transferring really big
> files. I hadn't considered it for backing up everything but it does
> make sense. Are you using some type of ultility to do those backups?
> Doing rolling backups or just one huge dump of your entire HD?

Microsoft SyncToy. You already own it. Takes 10 minutes to set it up
for nightly backups. I use this with my Drobo for incremental backups
every night at o'dark-thirty.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 31 okt, 14:30, Frank E <fakeaddr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Are you using some type of ultility to do those backups?
> Doing rolling backups or just one huge dump of your entire HD?

I'm pretty organized so I only need to make backups of the following
directories which I've been using since as long as I can remember.

\pictures
\movies
\documents
\programming
\installation files
\misc - the junkyard directory

I just copy those, overwriting all older files. Things get cleaned-up
from the local harddrives but remain on the backup drive as I never
synch them. Synching leads to problems - guaranteed.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[smr]

On 10/31/2011 8:49 AM, Giftzwerg wrote:
> In article<8cc2e2be-e446-4e9e-9783-
> cbe740...@ek5g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com
> says...
>
>>> Problem is, I'm nowhere near that organized at home. Where my backup
>>> CDs end up is at the whim of my cleaning lady. Wherever she decided to
>>> put them when she cleaned my office. Digging up a CD that I copied
>>> years ago is usually a matter of hours, not minutes.
>>
>> Terabyte sized external harddisks are under $100 - I got 2 of those -
>> every couple of weeks everything gets backed up on one, every couple
>> of months I mirror one on the other. Takes me about 5 minutes to get
>> the overnight backup started. Never lost a byte in over 2 decades, if
>> I want to install a game I go to \Installation Files\Games and pick
>> the one I need, the text file with the serial number is right there as
>> well.
>>
>> In my life I've wasted more time retrieving family pictures and
>> important documents from *other* people's crashed hard drives than I
>> ever spend on my backups. Afterwards those "other people" get told in
>> no uncertain terms that if they don't follow my backup scheme, I won't
>> be there to save their lower backsides next time.
>
> And Carbonite. $5 a month to store 385 GB of files and photographs up
> in the cloud.
>
> Yah nevah know.

Committed Dropbox user myself. Every fucking device I have is tied into
it, all of my work, both for "work" and personal, gets saved there. I've
edited registry entries in Office to make it default save to those
directories.

Between that and the abundance of physical backup at home that happens
nightly, I haven't given a fuck about backups in any active sense in
years because it's going to take a Mayan calendar event to completely
lose any one given file of mine, and if that happens I'm going to have
bigger worries, methinks, than finding a Matrix installer.

--
smr

[Bostonmyk]

On Oct 31, 9:52 am, Giftzwerg <giftzwerg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> In article <iKKuTnO8eULYBW2tI7FW4MJ2R...@4ax.com>,
> fakeaddr...@hotmail.com says...

At home Synctoy and Carbonite here too. Haven't had much worry with
either.

Have just bought our third Drobo (Drobo S) at work. They've served us
well and the only problem I've had with them is some high speed write
issues which is not a problem with 90% of what anybody does with it.

MM

[Graham Thurlwell]

On the 31 Oct 2011, Frank E <fakea...@hotmail.com> wrote:

<snip>

> Would you trust your games library to him, when he can ban you and
> lock you out of all your games on a whim?

Say what you like about He Who Shall Not Be Named, but I don't recall
him trying anything like that. In fact, I'm struggling to remember if
the later releases of The Game That Shall Not Be Named had any copy
protection /at all/.

We'll now play a game of trying to guess how long have some of the
audience been on Usenet, and do they remember why the above Shall Not
Be Named. Or even who they are. Without Naming them, of course. ;-)

--
Jades' First Encounters Site - http://www.jades.org/ffe.htm
The best Frontier: First Encounters site on the Web.

nos...@jades.org /is/ a real email address!

[Graham Thurlwell]

On the 31 Oct 2011, Giftzwerg <giftzw...@hotmail.com> wrote:

<snip>

> But we all note the crucial differences between Steam and StormPowered:

> Steam:

> 1) Create product - HALF-LIFE X - that everyone desperately wants.

Apart from me, but I was never really anything other than a selective
player of shooters, and in any case I was put off by...

> 2) Offer online distribution method / DRM that works great for this
> product.

... on two counts - being on dialup at the time it came out, and I
didn't agree with the whole DRM thing anyway. Particularly having to
ask Nanny for permission to play even if I'd paid actual cash-money
for a physical product.

> 3) Attract additional publishers to your proven online distribution
> system.

This they did get right, because the vast majority of the buying
public don't share my concerns.

> StormPowered:

> 1) Create products - DG / JUTLAND - that virtually no one wants.

Ironically, I was actually very interested in this product, as I
played and enjoyed Peter Turcan's Dreadnoughts as a kid and was
looking for a modern equivalent. So were quite a few people on this NG
until Norm let slip the details of...

> 2) Infect the products with DRM so awful that even fans run away.

... and that was even before it actually fell over. Several times.
Certainly killed my interest, and I /would/ have been interested in
the product (or had it for a present) if it hadn't been for the DRM.

> 3) Try to build on this shitpile of FAIL into a Steam-style success.

The problem being the lack of killer product sales to make it look
like a platform with a future.

For me, wargames are very much a premium-priced product and for the
money I'm on there are a lot of other alternatives. Last year, I
allocated most of my limited present money to BFTB after having played
the frankly awesome demo package several times. For me, forking out
that much money for no disc, no manual and nothing more than what I
could get warezed is a very hard sell indeed but the demo sold it to
me.

This year, I'm really struggling to think of something to spend my
�100 combined budget for my Christmas and Birthday presents. I don't
feel Christmassy in October anyway, but other than the complete set of
RCTS BR Standard Locomotives books [1] for �80 I can't think of
anything I want.

Too late for Command Ops: Finland?

Notes:-

1. http://www.rcts.org.uk/shop/publications/brvset.htm - books of
course don't require you to ask Nanny if you can read them, can be
touched, don't require a working internet connection and you can get a
partial return on your investment should you no longer want them.

[Dimensional Traveler]

On 10/31/2011 5:08 AM, Giftzwerg wrote:
> In article<J4quTuducHCVJ1...@4ax.com>,
> fakea...@hotmail.com says...
>
>> Let me give you an even simpler reason why this won't ever work. Lets
>> assume that, by some miracle, JR gets a steam clone running that's
>> just as good as Steam with games that are even cheaper.
>>
>> Would you trust your games library to him, when he can ban you and
>> lock you out of all your games on a whim?
>
> Never mind a gamer.
>
> As a *developer*, I'd be fucking apoplectic if JR's insane-clown system
> kept one of my paying customers from playing the game he bought.
>
> And consider this thought-experiment: Imagine if JR was somehow put in
> place as the customer-service person where you work. How long - in
> *seconds* - would it take for the Big Boss and the HR chief to hurl him
> into the street?
>

The scary thing is that at a few places I've been, he'd be _promoted_.

[Giftzwerg]

In article <j8mhem$qtc$2...@ftupet.ftupet.com>, m...@shawnritchie.com says...

> > And Carbonite. $5 a month to store 385 GB of files and photographs up
> > in the cloud.
> >
> > Yah nevah know.
>
> Committed Dropbox user myself. Every fucking device I have is tied into
> it, all of my work, both for "work" and personal, gets saved there. I've
> edited registry entries in Office to make it default save to those
> directories.
>
> Between that and the abundance of physical backup at home that happens
> nightly, I haven't given a fuck about backups in any active sense in
> years because it's going to take a Mayan calendar event to completely
> lose any one given file of mine, and if that happens I'm going to have
> bigger worries, methinks, than finding a Matrix installer.

The available resources - NAS or cloud-based ... or *both* - are so
common and inexpensive that I find my sympathy for people who lose their
crucial files to something like a disk calamity has disappeared
entirely.

[Frank E]

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:51:24 GMT, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org>
wrote:

>On the 31 Oct 2011, Frank E <fakea...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
><snip>
>
>> Would you trust your games library to him, when he can ban you and
>> lock you out of all your games on a whim?
>
>Say what you like about He Who Shall Not Be Named, but I don't recall
>him trying anything like that. In fact, I'm struggling to remember if
>the later releases of The Game That Shall Not Be Named had any copy
>protection /at all/.
>
>We'll now play a game of trying to guess how long have some of the
>audience been on Usenet, and do they remember why the above Shall Not
>Be Named. Or even who they are. Without Naming them, of course. ;-)

Usenet? I remember him from the old compuserve.days! <g>

Rgds, Frank

[Frank E]

On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 22:20:53 GMT, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org>
wrote:

>For me, wargames are very much a premium-priced product and for the
>money I'm on there are a lot of other alternatives. Last year, I
>allocated most of my limited present money to BFTB after having played
>the frankly awesome demo package several times. For me, forking out
>that much money for no disc, no manual and nothing more than what I
>could get warezed is a very hard sell indeed but the demo sold it to
>me.
>
>This year, I'm really struggling to think of something to spend my
>£100 combined budget for my Christmas and Birthday presents. I don't
>feel Christmassy in October anyway, but other than the complete set of
>RCTS BR Standard Locomotives books [1] for £80 I can't think of
>anything I want.

Assuming you do have high speed internet now, I'd take a serious look
at GOG.com and the Steam christmas sale when that comes around. Set
yourself a limit of $5 per game and pick up some of the 'classics' in
genres that you don't normally buy.

You won't like all of them but for $5, who cares. And you will run
across some really good games that you missed the first time around.

Rgds, Frank

[DirkG]

Just picked up Amnesia over the weekend for $5 for my daughter on the
Steam Halloween Sale. Supposed to be one of the scariest games out
there. We'll see...she's still finishing up Fallout: New Vegas. Got
Left 4 Dead 2 for $6.79, too.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 31 okt, 23:20, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
>
> Too late for Command Ops: Finland?

Right on schedule for X-Mas 2013 :)

> 1.http://www.rcts.org.uk/shop/publications/brvset.htm- books of

> course don't require you to ask Nanny if you can read them, can be
> touched, don't require a working internet connection and you can get a
> partial return on your investment should you no longer want them.

Boardgames are even better there. Example : I mentioned the game
"Panic Station" in my Spiel article over at the Wargamer. It's a sci-
fi co-op game with a traitor element and should be right up my group's
alley. Managed to get a copy, put it on the table last Friday and
again on Sunday ... and we all disliked it thouroughly. With a pc
wargame you've just wasted $50. With this game I went online, found
dozens of people who wanted to trade it for other games, picked a
trade I liked and it's going in the mail today. My loss : $10 in
stamps.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 1 nov, 12:14, Frank E <fakeaddr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:51:24 GMT, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org>
> wrote:
>

> >On the 31 Oct 2011, Frank E <fakeaddr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> ><snip>
>
> >> Would you trust your games library to him, when he can ban you and
> >> lock you out of all your games on a whim?
>
> >Say what you like about He Who Shall Not Be Named, but I don't recall
> >him trying anything like that. In fact, I'm struggling to remember if
> >the later releases of The Game That Shall Not Be Named had any copy
> >protection /at all/.
>
> >We'll now play a game of trying to guess how long have some of the
> >audience been on Usenet, and do they remember why the above Shall Not
> >Be Named. Or even who they are. Without Naming them, of course. ;-)
>
> Usenet? I remember him from the old compuserve.days! <g>

I still got his FidoMail address :)

Seriously : was he ever on CompuServe ? I was on there too, but only
got to enjoy his antics on UseNet.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 1 nov, 13:51, <adel...@inbox.com> wrote:
> x-no-archive: yes

> At five bucks, it is like an impulse buy at the App Store.  No further
> thinking needed, just download it.

Yup, $5 is the sweetspot today for no-brainer impulse buys.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Frank E]

On Wed, 2 Nov 2011 00:51:10 -0700 (PDT), "eddys...@hotmail.com"
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote:


>> Usenet? I remember him from the old compuserve.days! <g>
>
>I still got his FidoMail address :)
>
>Seriously : was he ever on CompuServe ? I was on there too, but only
>got to enjoy his antics on UseNet.
>

He was on the old compuserve boards back when I signed up for them,
1988, I think. ... same winning personality as later. <g>

Rgds, Frank

[Graham Thurlwell]

On the 2 Nov 2011, "eddys...@hotmail.com" <eddys...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> On 1 nov, 12:14, Frank E <fakeaddr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> On Mon, 31 Oct 2011 21:51:24 GMT, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org>
>> wrote:

<snip>

>>>We'll now play a game of trying to guess how long have some of the
>>>audience been on Usenet, and do they remember why the above Shall Not
>>>Be Named. Or even who they are. Without Naming them, of course. ;-)
>>
>> Usenet? I remember him from the old compuserve.days! <g>

> I still got his FidoMail address :)

> Seriously : was he ever on CompuServe ? I was on there too, but only
> got to enjoy his antics on UseNet.

I got a few emails from him back in the day, when I actually had the
game on pre-order before its UK 'release'. Gave up waiting for it and
ordered Privateer 2 instead - which I then spend the next few months
not being able to play due to a wierd problem with my sound driver not
working and the game not letting you install without a sound card. In
a game set in space. With subtitles in the cutscenes.

Ah happy days...

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 31 okt, 13:35, "eddyster...@hotmail.com" <eddyster...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> On 31 okt, 12:42, Giftzwerg <giftzwerg...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > But we all note the crucial differences between Steam and StormPowered:
>
> Oh, sure, he also sees the differences - he just happens to think
> StormPowered is *better* than Steam :
>

> http://stormpowered.stormeaglestudios.com/Common_Images/SP_Sell_Sheet...

uh-oh, the peasants are revolting.

... and not only the peasants, but also the sheriff

http://www.stormeaglestudios.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=410

The day your #1 fanboy, who earned the privilege of becoming the forum
moderator by licking their boots, starts to post things like :

"I have long ago given up sending tickets as it seems SES are no
longer interested in patching their games, just making money from
their Steam clone."

you know the end is near.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[HermanH]

Wow, an entire month has passed since the Kalypso games were added and
not a single message posted for the new offerings.

http://www.stormeaglestudios.com/phpbb3/viewforum.php?f=18

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

eh, actually there was one, but after a week or two it got deleted by
the SES guys. I guess zero messages looks better than just a pathetic
single post as zero might indicate that portion of the forum isn't up
and running yet.

I'm thinking about starting a betting pool as to when they'll stop
this charade and pull the plug on the whole enterprise. Not a single
post by a SES employee since July - who do they think they're
kidding ?

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Holdit]

In article <MPG.291859c55...@news-east.giganews.com>,
giftzw...@hotmail.com says...

> In article <J4quTuducHCVJ1...@4ax.com>,
> fakea...@hotmail.com says...
>
>

> And consider this thought-experiment: Imagine if JR was somehow put in
> place as the customer-service person where you work. How long - in
> *seconds* - would it take for the Big Boss and the HR chief to hurl him
> into the street?
>

We had a temporary helpdesk support guy in here for a week a few months
ago who had a Fawlty-esque habit of spending as much time arguing* with
users as helping them. At one point the helpdesk manager had him hand
her the phone so she could look after the call herself, as she could see
it was going nowhere.

At the end of the week, the agency who provided him was advised not to
send him back. Ever.

Holdit

*By arguing, I don't even mean abusive. Compared to JR he was Mary
Poppins.

--
"The army works like this: if you hang a man and he dies, then keep on hanging him until he gets used to it."
(Spike Milligan)

[Frank E]

On Wed, 9 Nov 2011 02:30:41 -0800 (PST), "eddys...@hotmail.com"
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>I'm thinking about starting a betting pool as to when they'll stop
>this charade and pull the plug on the whole enterprise. Not a single
>post by a SES employee since July - who do they think they're
>kidding ?
>

I think I've found the problem! Google hates JR and is doing
everything it can to destroy his business!

Do a search for 'stormpowered games' and this is what you get:
--> Showing results for steampowered games

... and even when I explicitly tell it to change it's search, I found
a couple of links to their announcement but I couldn't find an actual
website that sells games.

I think there's a good chance that I've spent more money on Steam in
the last month than the total sales of stormpowered games. <g>

Rgds, Frank

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 9 nov, 13:32, Frank E <fakeaddr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I think I've found the problem! Google hates JR and is doing
> everything it can to destroy his business!
>
> Do a search for 'stormpowered games' and this is what you get:
> --> Showing results for steampowered games
>
> ... and even when I explicitly tell it to change it's search, I found
> a couple of links to their announcement but I couldn't find an actual
> website that sells games.

There are two possible explanations for this

1) The GoogleBot failed its DRM check and was denied access to the
website

2) Given the thousands of IT guys Google employs what are the chances
that JR has *not* seriously pissed-off one of them ?

> I think there's a good chance that I've spent more money on Steam in
> the last month than the total sales of stormpowered games. <g>

You spend a whole dollar on Steam ??? :)

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Graham Thurlwell]

On the 2 Nov 2011, "eddys...@hotmail.com" <eddys...@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> On 31 okt, 23:20, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
>>
>> Too late for Command Ops: Finland?

> Right on schedule for X-Mas 2013 :)

Seriously? Thought it would be a little obscure for the PC market, not
that that stopped them with COTA.

My interest in the theatre is as a result of playing the Finnish
Fighter campaign on IL-2 '46 and I've been doing a little background
reading. I recently finished reading Jonathan Clements' excellent
biography of Mannerheim, and he makes the point that Mannerheim was
one of the most famous people in the world during WW2 but is largely
forgotten outside of Finland now.

>> 1.http://www.rcts.org.uk/shop/publications/brvset.htm- books of
>> course don't require you to ask Nanny if you can read them, can be
>> touched, don't require a working internet connection and you can get a
>> partial return on your investment should you no longer want them.

> Boardgames are even better there. Example : I mentioned the game
> "Panic Station" in my Spiel article over at the Wargamer. It's a sci-
> fi co-op game with a traitor element and should be right up my group's
> alley. Managed to get a copy, put it on the table last Friday and
> again on Sunday ... and we all disliked it thouroughly. With a pc
> wargame you've just wasted $50. With this game I went online, found
> dozens of people who wanted to trade it for other games, picked a
> trade I liked and it's going in the mail today. My loss : $10 in
> stamps.

Computer games can have the advantage of having a demo which you can
play before you buy, but they're surprisingly uncommon now.

Another thing I'd considered as a potential present was a Kindle,
which I had thought about last year but was then outside of my price
range. The new one's �89 and therefore could be an option /but/ it's
the same price as the books I mentioned above, plus three pints of
quality ale at The Victoria in Durham. And that's just for the device.

[Giftzwerg]

In article <BXG6TqoPF4nEbX...@4ax.com>,
fakea...@hotmail.com says...

> I think I've found the problem! Google hates JR and is doing
> everything it can to destroy his business!
>
> Do a search for 'stormpowered games' and this is what you get:
> --> Showing results for steampowered games

I also see that the stormpowered site manages to misspell "shakles." I
guess English isn't JR's first language, IE:

"It is your responsibility to insure StormPowered games are compatible
with your PC."

Would that be "ensure?"

> ... and even when I explicitly tell it to change it's search, I found
> a couple of links to their announcement but I couldn't find an actual
> website that sells games.

What I find amazing is that going to wwww.stormeaglestudios brings me to
a picture of an eagle ... with no link to anywhere else.

> I think there's a good chance that I've spent more money on Steam in
> the last month than the total sales of stormpowered games. <g>

I probably spent more at the soda machine this morning.

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 9 nov, 19:04, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
> On the 2 Nov 2011, "eddyster...@hotmail.com" <eddyster...@hotmail.com>

> wrote:
>
> > On 31 okt, 23:20, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
>
> >> Too late for Command Ops: Finland?
> > Right on schedule for X-Mas 2013 :)
>
> Seriously? Thought it would be a little obscure for the PC market, not
> that that stopped them with COTA.

It was actually a dig at what I find very ultra-regrettable : that
Panther Games only manages to put out a new game every 3 years.

I don't know the topic of the game they're working on right now -
might just as well be a modern day one they can flog to the army.

> I recently finished reading Jonathan Clements' excellent
> biography of Mannerheim, and he makes the point that Mannerheim was
> one of the most famous people in the world during WW2 but is largely
> forgotten outside of Finland now.

If you a good background on the ground operations in the Finish war
try "A Frozen Hell" by Bill Trotter - a very good read

> Computer games can have the advantage of having a demo which you can
> play before you buy, but they're surprisingly uncommon now.

Another strike against them in my book.

> Another thing I'd considered as a potential present was a Kindle,
> which I had thought about last year but was then outside of my price

> range. The new one's �89 and therefore could be an option /but/ it's

> the same price as the books I mentioned above, plus three pints of
> quality ale at The Victoria in Durham. And that's just for the device.

In a world where I can buy a no-name 10 inch tablet running Android
2.3 for under 100 euro on which I can surf, read my mail en look-up
stuff, the Kindle is dead. That world is here and now.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 9 nov, 20:48, Giftzwerg <giftzwerg...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> "It is your responsibility to insure StormPowered games are compatible
> with your PC."
>
> Would that be "ensure?"

Nope - you actually need to take out an insurance to ensure your game
will keep running. And do read the fine print :)

I'm actually expecting a gruff statement from JR anyday now blaming
his customers / pirates for not supporting them enough, picking up his
toys and getting out of this business.

Talonsoft getting sold send shockwaves through the wargame community -
I'm predicting practically nobody will notice the disappearance of
SturmChicken.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Graham Thurlwell]

On the 10 Nov 2011, "eddys...@hotmail.com"

<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> On 9 nov, 19:04, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
>> On the 2 Nov 2011, "eddyster...@hotmail.com" <eddyster...@hotmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 31 okt, 23:20, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
>>
>>>> Too late for Command Ops: Finland?
>>> Right on schedule for X-Mas 2013 :)
>>
>> Seriously? Thought it would be a little obscure for the PC market, not
>> that that stopped them with COTA.

> It was actually a dig at what I find very ultra-regrettable : that
> Panther Games only manages to put out a new game every 3 years.

Hmm. I suppose that they could argue that they want to make sure that
they're properly ready for release.

> I don't know the topic of the game they're working on right now -
> might just as well be a modern day one they can flog to the army.

Got to pay the bills somehow.

>> I recently finished reading Jonathan Clements' excellent
>> biography of Mannerheim, and he makes the point that Mannerheim was
>> one of the most famous people in the world during WW2 but is largely
>> forgotten outside of Finland now.

> If you a good background on the ground operations in the Finish war
> try "A Frozen Hell" by Bill Trotter - a very good read

Cheers, added it to my shortlist. Also got his The Winter War: The
Russo-Finnish War of 1939-40 (which Clements reccommended) on the
list, although I have a sneaking feeling they're the same book with
different titles. Luckily both are on Amazon's 'Look Inside' thing.

>> Computer games can have the advantage of having a demo which you can
>> play before you buy, but they're surprisingly uncommon now.

> Another strike against them in my book.

I'd been interested in the Command Ops series before BFTB but was put
off by the lack of a demo as I wasn't sure if I would actually like
the game.

In the past, particularly when I regularly bought PC mags with cover
discs, I would often play the demo of a game and buy it even when I
hadn't been aware of it before.

I had been considering Football Manager 2012 after being quite
impressed with the 2011 version while playing it round my mate's but
the new one has mandatory Steam so I'm not bothering with it now.

Slightly related to steam, the model railway industry aren't helping
me with finding something to get either. The main manufacturers are
producing bugger all that I'm interested in buying. They've recently
been falling over each other to produce every single failed diesel
prototype ever while totally ignoring anything built by the NER.

I'd get a nice locomotive kit, except I already have three in varying
stages of completion and have decided I'm not getting any more until I
manage to finish one. I haven't even started the last one I got for a
present.

Ho hum. Might end up settling for just money...

[eddys...@hotmail.com]

On 16 nov, 19:12, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
> On the 10 Nov 2011, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"

>
> <eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > On 9 nov, 19:04, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
> >> On the 2 Nov 2011, "eddyster...@hotmail.com" <eddyster...@hotmail.com>
> >> wrote:
>
> >>> On 31 okt, 23:20, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
>
> >>>> Too late for Command Ops: Finland?
> >>> Right on schedule for X-Mas 2013 :)
>
> >> Seriously? Thought it would be a little obscure for the PC market, not
> >> that that stopped them with COTA.
> > It was actually a dig at what I find very ultra-regrettable : that
> > Panther Games only manages to put out a new game every 3 years.
>
> Hmm. I suppose that they could argue that they want to make sure that
> they're properly ready for release.

Sure, and releasing a game that's fully playable out of the box is not
a bad reputation to have from a commercial pov, but I know Arjuna has
driven people bonkers with the level he takes this to :)

> > try "A Frozen Hell" by Bill Trotter - a very good read
>
> Cheers, added it to my shortlist. Also got his The Winter War: The
> Russo-Finnish War of 1939-40 (which Clements reccommended) on the
> list, although I have a sneaking feeling they're the same book with
> different titles.

Same book - the full title is :

Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939/40 (1991) ISBN
978-0-945575-22-1

> I'd been interested in the Command Ops series before BFTB but was put
> off by the lack of a demo as I wasn't sure if I would actually like
> the game.

We heard that a lot - I'm sure it actually persuaded Arjuna to reverse
his policy on demos.

> Ho hum. Might end up settling for just money...

Money, the ultimate barter good :)

What I do is to have a big wish-list up at Amazon books - whatever
people pick will be a nice surprise then. Got a big games wish-list up
at BGG as well and vouchers for the local gameshop are always welcome
too.

Some people hate vouchers as they can be seen as impersonal, but
frankly I'd rather get something I definitely like, then something
someone guessed I might possibly like and which will end up in the
attic or on eBay.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Graham Thurlwell]

On the 17 Nov 2011, "eddys...@hotmail.com"

<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote:

> On 16 nov, 19:12, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
>> On the 10 Nov 2011, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"
>>
>> <eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>> On 9 nov, 19:04, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
>>>> On the 2 Nov 2011, "eddyster...@hotmail.com" <eddyster...@hotmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>
>>>>> On 31 okt, 23:20, Graham Thurlwell <nos...@jades.org> wrote:
>>
>>>>>> Too late for Command Ops: Finland?
>>>>> Right on schedule for X-Mas 2013 :)
>>
>>>> Seriously? Thought it would be a little obscure for the PC market, not
>>>> that that stopped them with COTA.
>>> It was actually a dig at what I find very ultra-regrettable : that
>>> Panther Games only manages to put out a new game every 3 years.
>>
>> Hmm. I suppose that they could argue that they want to make sure that
>> they're properly ready for release.

> Sure, and releasing a game that's fully playable out of the box is not
> a bad reputation to have from a commercial pov, but I know Arjuna has
> driven people bonkers with the level he takes this to :)

A reputation for solid releases is a tricky thing to rebuild once
you've blown it.

I boycotted Football Manager 2007 after I returned home with the 2006
version on the day of release only to find they'd already released a
100-odd meg patch - and I was on dialup. The 2006 version remains the
last one of the series I ever bought, skipping other versions for
varying reasons.

If Elite 4 ever comes out, it needs to be right first time as a repeat
of the fiasco with the early release of Frontier: First Encounters
will most likely kill the franchise stone dead.

<snip>

>> Cheers, added it to my shortlist. Also got his The Winter War: The
>> Russo-Finnish War of 1939-40 (which Clements reccommended) on the
>> list, although I have a sneaking feeling they're the same book with
>> different titles.

> Same book - the full title is :

> Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939/40 (1991) ISBN
> 978-0-945575-22-1

Thanks for the confirmation.

>> I'd been interested in the Command Ops series before BFTB but was put
>> off by the lack of a demo as I wasn't sure if I would actually like
>> the game.

> We heard that a lot - I'm sure it actually persuaded Arjuna to reverse
> his policy on demos.

The package for BFTB was exceptionally well put together and the
videos did a great job of explaining the game. OK, there's always the
risk that the time invested in putting together a demo doesn't pay off
in increased sales but I can't have been the only one who ended up
getting the game on the stength of the demo.

>> Ho hum. Might end up settling for just money...

> Money, the ultimate barter good :)

That's a last resort though and I'd rather have some things because
I'll never remember what I spent the cash on otherwise.

The Matrix Games sale is well timed, and I will probably get one or
more things from them. Currently trying the demo of Panzer Corps with
a view to getting it ordered before the 6th of December when the
discount is cut from 50% off to 25%.

> What I do is to have a big wish-list up at Amazon books - whatever
> people pick will be a nice surprise then. Got a big games wish-list up
> at BGG as well and vouchers for the local gameshop are always welcome
> too.

My family give my brother and I a fixed budget (now 50 pounds for
birthday and 50 for Christmas) and we decided what we want. Because my
birthday's not far from Christmas I sometimes pool the budgets and get
one thing.