Why No More Demo/Trial Option?

[PyroMancer 0]

When I first heard about this game I thought it sounded pretty interesting. Well I don't usually follow the progress of games leading up to release anymore because of to many disappoints in the past, last minute changes, cancelization, and so on. I figure when it comes out I'll judge it based on what actually makes into to release and not the high ideals mentioned in early development.

So fast forward several months to a few days ago. I was looking at new releases and I happen to see the Cities XL had been release. Well as is often the case I checked for a Demo and sure enough there were plenty of sights that had the demo available for download including FilePlanet. So I eagerly download the demo which takes most of the day.

Once I finally have it downloaded I try to install it and run into the error mentioned in another thread about the installer freezing up. I figured it might have something to do with me surfing the web while the 1G file installed so I tried again with nothing else running. Sure enough after it looking like no progress was being made for about 5 mins it finally finishes installing.

At this point I was fairly excited to give the game a good test run. Only to find out upon starting it that I need to make an account on their website. I figure well okie no problem with that. Well the Demo sends me to a page that it appears you can't find from any link on their main site which says the Demo period ended on Sept 30. To which I was a bit pissed off as I had checked their site prior to downloading it and saw no mention of this. After having wasted all that time downloading and installing to be left with nothing.

But I had heard of the bring a friend option which I assumed was what the Demo was. So I figured I'd go to the normal registration process figuring it would give me access to their community site and forums like MOST company sites. After filling out all my info and that and getting the validation email I still kinda hope the option will let me play the demo once I have register. Well I click on the link in my Email and it then ask for a CD key which I of course don't have and mentions the bring a friend option which is no longer offered due to the influx of people.

So since I can't test the game out I'm now stuck surfing the web for info. I even check out the system requirements page which then gets me a little nervous. As most of them I'm only slightly over but the processor mentioned is 2.5 Ghz min. Well I only have a 2.2 Ghz processor. Even though I have gotten several new gfx intense games I can still play them though sometimes on low settings. 

Seeing as I couldn't register I also figured that I couldn't access their forums (Something another company does on their site. Their excuse is they don't want pirates to get "free help" with their problems). Well after checking around I've gotten even more nervous. I found out the don't have a Forum anymore on their site?!? I've heard of several people with much better setups then mine unable to get the game to run or it runs very slow even on low gfx settings. Along with reports of various bugs and simplistic gameplay. All of which make me even more wary of buying the game before trying it out.

I will admit that I do have City Life and did find it a bit decent play even though not up to SimCity standards in terms of Pure Sim. And people have discribed it at being kinda like that though more complex. So it sounds like I might actually like the game even though it isn't SC5. But the technical difficulties and potential requirements really give me pause. I don't have the money to do what one poster mentioned they did by going out and buying a new graphics card to be able to play the game. Though in my case it would probably end up being a new CPU and possible MB.

I really don't want to buy the game only to find out it doesn't run on my computer. I heard the reason they took down the Demo was to put up the Release servers. But that doesn't make much sense as they apprently intended to still have a trial game option so why not keep the same thing setup or simply have it move over to release as the trial peroid? I know of other games that do this very same thing. One even has a Trial Server where people get 2 weeks test play then their account is suspend unless they subscribe and can move to the normal servers.

And even if server usage is an issue then WHY oh WHY have it even tied to the server? I mean a single player demo is better then NO demo. Then they don't have to worry about the server at all so it's a win win. That why people like me could at least see how the game runs on our machine as well as test it out.

So until I can try the game out I'm not gonna be forking over my money to buy it.

[lucifon 0]

Theres a trial DVD to give to a friend in my LE box (not sure if thats in standard ones too), but currently Trials are closed due to a 'large influx of players' apparently. Hopefully re-open soon.

[rhenry 1]

hm. I got the LE version, too, but no trial DVD. Unless I overlooked it.

[Overkast 2]

Does MC have any plans to make an "unlocked" stand-alone free trial for this game? If they can't handle the large influx of people on the servers due to trials, then they should unlock it for trial use.

[Psycho_Teddy 25]

They ended the demo to make space on their servers for PO players and the like. It's a smart move on their part because a bunch of people downloading a demo and running on their servers for free whenever they feel like it is a bad idea if you're running an MMO. I know WoW does free trial periods, but if you take into consideration just how enormous their server base is compared to MC's, you begin to understand why they ended the demo.

There are many MMOs out there without a demo, especially the independent ones. It's been standard practice for quite some time.

I don't blame them.

[solaharius 0]

MC did a trial version as a friend gave me his trial dvd. I tried to play with it ^-^. Except connection problems with the server (wich occur around 4/5 times i want to play....), it works. That trial dvd gives you access to more features than the "demo" released in september did (for instance, you can have more than 20k people).

Psycho_Teddy is right, you can't blame them if they stopped accepting people if they already have problems with their servers. People who bought the game must be the priority.

1/ If buyers can't play the game » they get mad » they say on forums the game suck » people who was wondering if the should buy it don't buy it.

2/ If buyers can play and enjoy the game » they say on forums the game roxx » people who was wondering if they should buy it buyit, or look for the trial » if there is no trial and buyer say everywhere the game roxx, wonderers will finally buy it...

**We can only wait and hope for good improvements, and then buy it ***

[niloluiz 21]

The demo was ineffective to properly present the game.... they will move to the trial concept, where the game client will be distributed for FREE to anyone wishing to experiment (game client = the same content everyone here acquired in the standard/limited DVD editions - what dictates the features available to each version is the server ).

By the end of the month, two french magazines will release the copies for the trial registration. See this section of the official CXL site for more info on the trial process:

www.citiesxl.com/content/view/914/134/

[Overkast 2]

Yeah, I understand why they ended the demo with the server-based play model and buyers taking priority.

My question pertains more to that of why only distribute a trial version along with a retail purchase? Why not make the trial a free download and expand your reach? Do they really think the "for a friend" DVD is going to give them that much reach over the internet? Or are they just trying to build exclusivity at the price of a purchase?

I just don't get it. They allowed a free demo period to EVERYONE without restrictions so why make the trial version such a coveted, hard-to-get entity???

**EDIT** Thanks Nilo – that answers my question, though I still don't understand the point of distributing the trial on DVD now and waiting a month later for the download. Must be the exclusivity factor.

[niloluiz 21]

**EDIT** Thanks Nilo - that answers my question, though I still don't understand the point of distributing the trial on DVD now and waiting a month later for the download. Must be the exclusivity factor.

quote>

Probably because of server capacity. They already run into server troubles (trade problem, website problem) so to keep things under control they are restricting things for now.

Since the trial for who bought the game is only 7 days, and the bulk of interested people already bought the game (preorder/download) and just a small parcell will effectivelly subscribe for the on-line offer, by the end of the month the servers will be much less crowded than now.

[PyroMancer 0]

Originally posted by: Psycho_Teddy

There are many MMOs out there without a demo, especially the independent ones. It's been standard practice for quite some time.

quote>

Yea but there are also many that do offer trial periods, especially independent ones. They are often not main stream MMO and target niche audiances. But because they target such niche crowds they need to be able to show off what they are like to attract people into them. I can think of 2 MMORTS games off hand that have trial periods. One is "Mankind" the other is "Beyond Protocol". I know "Mankind" has been around for 10 years and still had a stead fan base last I checked which was earlier this year.

Originally posted by: solaharius

MC did a trial version as a friend gave me his trial dvd. I tried to play with it ^-^. Except connection problems with the server (wich occur around 4/5 times i want to play....), it works. That trial dvd gives you access to more features than the "demo" released in september did (for instance, you can have more than 20k people).

Psycho_Teddy is right, you can't blame them if they stopped accepting people if they already have problems with their servers. People who bought the game must be the priority.

quote>

Um yea it's nice the new trial offer was gonna be an upgrade from the original Demo but even so. I mention in my original post that if the strain on the server was an issue then they should of simply made it a SP Demo. I have also seen these in the past as they showcase the fundementals of the game in a sort of tutorial fashion before you ever login to the server to join other players.

I use to be a major MMO "addict" . At times I have trouble finding ones on the list I didn't play at some point, though there are often side niche ones that I haven't and of course Browser games don't count. I've played UO, EQ1, EQ2, AC, DOAC, AO, Horizions, WoW, EvE, StarWars, Linage, StarPeace, Mankind, and many others. I got out of the habit though a while back so haven't played most of the newer ones like Aion, Conan, and etc.

My point is I've been around a while and seen a lot of different setups and I don't think this one was planned out to well. The trial period via Bring a friend sounds like it would be a good thing but they seem to have underestimated the influx. And I also have to wonder as the size of that influx since on the main page you can actually see a list of the planets(servers) and it puts roughly 24K cities spread across 8 planets.

Since multiple cities are available to users, 5 for PO users and 2 for those who got in on Bring a friend while still offered. We have no way of knowing how many actually users there are other then it is less then that if not maybe only half. So 12K-24K users most of which are probably actual game owners getting in their free 7 days. That doesn't really seem to go well to indicate their server potential. Those are pretty small numbers for a MMO and you'd think they would of been ready to handle a much larger influx of people.

[solaharius 0]

Originally posted by: PyroMancer

Um yea it's nice the new trial offer was gonna be an upgrade from the original Demo but even so. I mention in my original post that if the strain on the server was an issue then they should of simply made it a SP Demo. I have also seen these in the past as they showcase the fundementals of the game in a sort of tutorial fashion before you ever login to the server to join other players.

quote>

The thing about a SP demo is : MC really wants to put its game on the MMO point of view, so I guess they want people to "experience" the MMO part. That's why they do the MMO Trial ; They are really convinced that they made a awesome MMO game, and that people will buy the game because of the online experience...

**I think they are mistaking about the MMO label anyway, I think it's only a bonus in the gameplay, but this is another debate/topic . and yes I agree, they should have made a SP Demo**

[JakeMD 107]

read.

Yup.