opinions SC4 Launcher - Deluxe Version - Opinions?

[Logic_Bomb 86]

Hey Guys,

 

I've just been thinking about the Idea of making a more Deluxe version of my SC4 Launcher, A paid version. The full features of this version are yet to be determined, although, I plan to keep the layout simplistic and will definitely keep the original version not only updated but also free of charge.

 

Some of the ideas I have been thinking about are the following (Non of these are definite and are simply ideas):

• Control over which Mods are loaded when Simcity 4 is launched.
• A more comprehensive Auto-save feature, allowing the user to give more advanced save parameters (such as only saving when AFK).
• A feature that would create a 'simple' online environment in which a region can be played online with friends. This would be similar to the Dropbox solution, but would be more simplistic. It would integrate a Friends list into the Launcher and allow the user to Create a new region on the fly and invite their friends to play with them. Each City in the region would be 'Locked' once in use.
• A dedicated bug reporting site/system allowing quick & direct communication between me & users relating to specific bugs & fixes.
• The ability to Download & Install SC4 Mods, Patches & Fixes from the Launcher. (Although, this would need to be investigated further with the co-operation of the developers of each included Mod). The download and install process would be as simple as possible.
• Many more suggested features...

I would very much appreciate opinions on this subject, such as;

Do you think a paid version would be fair?

What features would you like to see in the paid version? (Doesn't have to be listed above).

What price would be fair for a paid version? 

 

I don't wish to appear greedy, but I am currently unemployed (doing temporary work when it is available), the Job Market in the UK is currently tough and although I love updating the Launcher and contributing to the community, I have to spend a lot of my free time searching for a Job or doing temporary work. Because of this, I don't have much time left for updating the Launcher, and this is precisely the reason behind the Donate Button in the Free Launcher (obviously this would be removed if a deluxe version was released and a huge thanks for those who have donated! Hugely appreciated!).

 

I can't wait to hear any opinions/feedback!

 

Regards,

 

Logic_

[Gringamuyloca 47]

I would start with reading the EULA. I'm pretty sure you are not allowed to charge for anything related to the game. Donations could be a work around,

[Logic_Bomb 86]

I would start with reading the EULA. I'm pretty sure you are not allowed to charge for anything related to the game. Donations could be a work around,

 

From what I could determine, the Terms of Use state that I must give the Administrator of the site a "World-wide, Royalty free" License, but that's only relating to content uploaded to the site, I would probably be hosting the content on a separate site, as the content would need to be hosted behind a Payment gateway, the Terms of Use also state:

 

 

8. Third-party services

Goods and services of third parties may be advertised and/or may be made available on or through this web site. Representations made regarding products and services provided by third parties will be governed by the policies and representations made by these third parties. The site editor will not in any manner be liable for or responsible for any of your dealings or interaction with third parties.

 

So as far as I can see, I could keep the free version here, whilst also offering a link to the upgrade site.

I'll look into that further though, thanks for the heads up!

 

Regards,

 

Logic_

[docj101 99]

lol, pay for something that I can do for free with command line arguments... cmon now.

[Logic_Bomb 86]

lol, pay for something that I can do for free with command line arguments... cmon now.

I'm sorry, I don't wish to be hostile, but could you re-read the original post? There are a fair few ideas in which are not possible through the command-line, obviously the simple version will be kept free. 

 

Regards,

 

Logic_

[docj101 99]

lol, pay for something that I can do for free with command line arguments... cmon now.

I'm sorry, I don't wish to be hostile, but could you re-read the original post? There are a fair few ideas in which are not possible through the command-line, obviously the simple version will be kept free. 

 

Regards,

 

Logic_

no, I read it.  the other ideas don't seem like things I would care about, that's all.  so since the only features I would use are available from the command line... my answer was, lol.

 

sorry if that came off as rude.  you did request feedback on the idea.  if I was to water it down and  tell you it sounds great, I would be disingenuous.  your ideas might be helpful to new users of the game, but they are few and far between.

[Logic_Bomb 86]

 

lol, pay for something that I can do for free with command line arguments... cmon now.

I'm sorry, I don't wish to be hostile, but could you re-read the original post? There are a fair few ideas in which are not possible through the command-line, obviously the simple version will be kept free. 

 

Regards,

 

Logic_

no, I read it.  the other ideas don't seem like things I would care about, that's all.  so since the only features I would use are available from the command line... my answer was, lol.

Well, if that's the case, then the comment was arbitrary - I was asking for opinions based on a paid version, if the features don't sound like features you would like and there are no features you could recommend, then you could just vote 'no' in the poll and state that the free version suites you just fine. There was no reason to seemingly disregard my original post and make it out to seem that I am trying to make users pay for something they can do for free. I most certainly am not, and as such I am quite offended.

 

Either way, Thanks for the feedback.

 

Regards,

 

Logic_

[docj101 99]

on a personal level, from my perspective, your post was asking me if i'm willing to pay for something I already do for free.

 

I see email as the ideal solution for multiplayer.  I see drag-n-drop as ideal method for selecting plugins.   I think auto-save can be helpful for some games, but in sc4 I prefer to only save at very specific times.

 

I meant no disrespect or offense.  I apologize and I appreciate your effort in helping people play the game on their new PCs, which your tool does for many.

[omnimutant 2]

If you can get someone to pay for it more power to you. However the spirit of a Modding community is typically that of a Hobbyist. Once you start charging for services it kind of changes everything goes against the spirit of the whole thing. I voted no, but if you do decide to charge I wish you the best of luck anyway.

[Logic_Bomb 86]

on a personal level, from my perspective, your post was asking me if i'm willing to pay for something I already do for free.

 

I see email as the ideal solution for multiplayer.  I see drag-n-drop as ideal method for selecting plugins.   I think auto-save can be helpful for some games, but in sc4 I prefer to only save at very specific times.

 

I meant no disrespect or offense.  I apologize and I appreciate your effort in helping people play the game on their new PCs, which your tool does for many.

I do understand, But please bear in mind that the Launcher in general is aimed at people with a less technical knowledge, so the whole thread was aimed more towards them.

E-mail is a solution, but my solution was to implement region streaming through TCP/IP, meaning that changes are instant and real-time. As for the rest, you're perfectly correct, the Launcher would just aim to simplify the processes and make them quicker and easier.

 

No problem man, thanks for the follow up post.

 

Regards,

 

Logic_

 

If you can get someone to pay for it more power to you. However the spirit of a Modding community is typically that of a Hobbyist. Once you start charging for services it kind of changes everything goes against the spirit of the whole thing. I voted no, but if you do decide to charge I wish you the best of luck anyway.

I very much appreciated that, I have been part of Modding/Open-source communities for years now, I very much enjoy creating and developing my software for the community. But with times being tough, it is getting increasingly difficult to live  whilst developing for free. The price I had in mind was going to be minimal, nothing more than 50-Pence/1-Dollar.

 

I very much doubt people would pay for the Launcher, hence why I started this thread.

 

Thank you very much for the feedback though!

 

Regards,

 

Logic_

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

There is a suite that was (is?) available to do most of that by a deceased member (Doc Rohrlach).  I am not sure it is worth all the hassle for you to spend all the time and effort on something that probably won't fly.  You should look at SC4Devotion where there are many tools available for a lot of this stuff.

 

One thing you learn when working with systems like UNIX and Linux is that things like this can often be easily accomplished with a few lines of console script which can then be packaged into a command.  With a programmable editor like sed or awk a lot of things can be done that many people think requires a programmer.  I get along fine without any additional tools, but I am an old script writer from a long ago UNIX shop.  Oh, and I write COBOL programs in any language whatever including C, C++, C#, Java and (God help me) FORTRAN. 

 

The interesting thing is that there is a lot of power available in Windows Scripting as well if one wants to take the trouble.  I am very much afraid that programming minor filters like this is a thing of the past.

[Logic_Bomb 86]

There is a suite that was (is?) available to do most of that by a deceased member (Doc Rohrlach).  I am not sure it is worth all the hassle for you to spend all the time and effort on something that probably won't fly.  You should look at SC4Devotion where there are many tools available for a lot of this stuff.

 

One thing you learn when working with systems like UNIX and Linux is that things like this can often be easily accomplished with a few lines of console script which can then be packaged into a command.  With a programmable editor like sed or awk a lot of things can be done that many people think requires a programmer.  I get along fine without any additional tools, but I am an old script writer from a long ago UNIX shop.  Oh, and I write COBOL programs in any language whatever including C, C++, C#, Java and (God help me) FORTRAN. 

 

The interesting thing is that there is a lot of power available in Windows Scripting as well if one wants to take the trouble.  I am very much afraid that programming minor filters like this is a thing of the past.

Ahhh, I didn't realize one existed... If that's the case then it's probably not worth the hassle at all... I think i'll steer away from charging for anything, at-least here anyway, as the community seems very much against it.

 

This is true, Powershell/Batch aren't quite as evolved as their Unix based equivalents though. COBOL & FORTRAN? My god man! That is Old-school! And I thought I was old-school; still programming in Pascal (Obj-Pascal/Delphi)!! I'm starting to steer towards C++ mind, much more versatile as a language.

 

Thanks for the heads up though, appreciated!

I'll ditch this idea and just work on my C++ skills some more.

 

Regards,

 

Logic_