Why Port To PC? Shareware Still alive!

An anonymous reader writes "Here is an interesting interview with Tom Anthony, describing why Ambrosia Software are porting their Mac games to the PC market. Do you think their games can really sell after being ported? I thought shareware was dead, but all their games are still using shareware as well."

Shareware is FAR from dead!

[linuxbaby (124641)]

Shareware DEAD? WHAT?!? Some of us are using it more and more.

I know after years of not having any money, and using shareware for free, I LOVE that I can afford to pay people who make shareware, and support independent software.

Recent shareware fees paid:

• 10 licenses of the Opera [opera.com] web browser
• A ton of Chank's fonts [chank.com]
• Limewire [limewire.com]
• UltraEdit [ultraedit.com]

Plus PayPal tip-jars to the great Quanta [sourceforge.net], MusicBrainz [musicbrainz.org], and even websites like Ryze [ryze.com].

Whenever I need a program/tool, the first places I look are TinyApps [tinyapps.org] (very small software for Windows), and Tucows [tucows.com].

I sure HOPE it's not just me that's out there doing what I can to support the independent shareware programmers!

Re:Shareware is FAR from dead!

[Xformer (595973)]

Agreed, despite the best efforts of software crackers to try and kill it.

Re:Shareware is FAR from dead!

[sfe_software (220870)]

Agreed, despite the best efforts of software crackers to try and kill it.

I'm a shareware author myself, and I gave up on crackers years ago. You come to a point where you realize, no matter what you do, you'll get cracked one way or another. You also come to the realisation that crackers are *never* going to pay for software.

Getting too crazy with registration schemes just makes it harder for the paying customers, and only marginally more difficult for crackers; once someone cracks it, none of that matters any more, yet you're still inconveniencing the paying customers.

So I try to encourage others to stick to simple registration schemes (no "phoning home" or hardware locking) and worry about satisfying their paying customers.

And shareware is not dead. As long as you're not the "I will never pay for software" type, Shareware offers less expensive choices to commercial offerings, with the ability to fully try it out before making a decision. Many times a shareware app will cost 20x less than a similar commercial product, while offering 90% of the features, (usually) faster/more personal support, faster response to feature requests, etc.

Obviously I'm baised, but the last couple months (except for the last 4 days -- very slow right now) have shown me that the Shareware model still works, and quite well.

Re:Shareware is FAR from dead!

[hthiefshorty (597657)]

I got a copy of UltraEdit32 for a class with the intention of using it for the 45 day trial period and then grabbing something else for the trial period. In less than a week I bought the full version. Quality software is quality software.

Re:Shareware is FAR from dead!

[Anonymous Coward]

well there are people who just like to be productive and there are people who like the look on people's faces when they enter obscure editor commands.

Re:Shareware is FAR from dead!

[pnot (96038)]

M-x write-the-program-for-me

Great! I'm taking the rest of the day off, see you suckers later ;-).

Re:Shareware is FAR from dead!

[Blaine Hilton (626259)]

I feel the same way. I think more and more shareware is becoming bigger. In the last year or two it seems like devlopers have taken two routes with shareware. Some try to "lock" down their products and tie registeration keys into the actual hardware used, while on the other hand some people don't worry about it and charge a modest amount for thier work. These are the people that I believe are seeing a payoff for their hardwork.

Definately...

[sheldon (2322)]

Most software that I buy today is really in effect Shareware, as I first obtain the trial copy to see what it does. If it does what I need done, I then go out and purchase it.

There are two programs which I have found absolutely invaluable over the years, and paid the Shareware fees.

One is Ultraedit, as mentioned.
The other is filesync [fileware.co.uk]

Shareware is far from dead.

Re:Shareware is FAR from dead!

[IIRCAFAIKIANAL (572786)]

Shareware ain't dead but if it does die, it will probably be due to overzealous copy protection schemes.

I use a shareware application called Crosstrainer and I really enjoy using it - however, the copy protection they use generates a unique key based on something in my profile, so I can't even run it under multiple users in Windows 2000 and I have to email them whenever I reinstall as well. I have had to save a crack for their software just in case they ever go out of business too.

Any shareware devs out there - don't bother trying to "overprotect" your software. It will be cracked, but there are a lot of honest people out there willing to support you - don't alienate them!

Why not?

[wideBlueSkies (618979)]

If the game is interesting and worth playing, then why not port it? So you open your product to an audience that you wouldn't have had otherwise.

I've never heard of this series of games, but I guess that if it was a hit on the Mac it'd probably have some success on the x86 platform.

Is shareware really dead? I don't think so. I still buy the occasional game after downloading a demo version. It's not called shareware anymore but it feels the same to me.

If I like it, I buy it.

Re:Why not?

[Masem (1171)]

Ambrosia's made several excellent games for the Mac, and I'd definitely be interested in buying any Windows ports that they make. Their first games were generally enhanced clones of classic arcade games (Maelstorm : Astroids ; Aperion : Centipede ; Barracks : Qix, and so forth), but then they got into original designs like with Escape Velocity and Avara. Their games are nearly always of high quality, requirely nearly no updates after release (and I was part of a beta testing cycle once and I know that they do heavily beta test before release). And for $25, you get games that are overly additive, certainly a reasonable exchange.

More so, I'm finding that there's not a lot of shareware authors interested in the Windows market. It may be the case where the market suffers from two problems: it's so potentally large that it's hard to let people know you have a new game and secondly, there's more people on the Windows side that I would think would look for cracks and codes to avoid the registration than there are on the Mac side (mostly due to numbers again, mac users generally have some sort of loyality to those that develop good software for the platform). So having more choices for shareware games is a good thing. Sure, you can argue that a lot of good games can be found via Flash or JAva, but Flash and Java still has some limits that can't faithfully be used to make the same type of games that you can do on the native system programs.

So here's to good luck to Ambrosia for success in this venture.

Re:Why not?

[WatertonMan (550706)]

To avoid cracks all the shareware authors need do is view the standard lists of cracks available on gnutella, direct connect and kazaa. They then update the software at their download site to check for those new numbers without updating the version number. First off most people don't hack software. Lets be honest. Most don't even know how. Secondly shareware software seems updated far more frequently than most commercial software. I also think most people see shareware authors as living far closer to

If anyone can make it Ambrosia can...

[Exitthree (646294)]

I've played a lot of shareware games on the Mac, and a lot of them are good. To my understanding shareware on the PC side always had a bad connotation, like it was worthless. It will take a really good game to overcome this stigma. However, I've played almost all of Ambrosia's games and they are the best shareware has to offer. While the graphics aren't always the best, they definately succeed in the fun department. If anyone can make it porting shareware from the Mac to PC, it's Ambrosia.

Re:If anyone can make it Ambrosia can...

[WiPEOUT (20036)]

Where did you get the idea that shareware on the PC has bad connotations? Maybe in the applications category, yes, but as for games, can you say Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Doom II, Duke Nukem 3D and Quake?

Re:If anyone can make it Ambrosia can...

[sebi (152185)]

can you say Commander Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, Doom II, Duke Nukem 3D and Quake?

Sure I can. But the problem with your list is that the most recent title was released in 1995. Shareware used to be alive and kicking. The question is if it is just suffering from a little exhaustion, or laying down to die.

There is a reason that successors to those titles didn't follow the shareware model anymore. When presentation became a really big deal in computer games the binary sizes became to big to distribute them over modem. Now we have broadband and people are able and willing to download files hundreds of megabytes big (just look at the mod scene for various shooters; EV:Nova is over 100Mb as well). But sometime in the intervening years the perceived difference in quality between boxed and download-able offerings became big enough to tarnish the image of shareware games for good

Now for the Mac side of things: Just around the time that PC gaming really took off we started to get starved for games. While big games where ported the overall selection was small. So we had no choice than to take a closer look at what shareware had to offer.

Maybe shareware will make a comeback on the PC side. People are complaining about a lack of innovation in games anyway (and as far as I know most PC shareware games are 'yet another puzzle game' anyway). Big publishers are reluctant to take risks with new ideas. Broadband is getting really popular. Maybe these factors combined will keep the scene alive long enough until the medics arrive.

The mac comunity is different

[RalphBNumbers (655475)]

I'm skeptical as to how well this will work. The mac community is different, chiefly in that there is some sense of community. A certain desire to support companies that develop for the platform.
I know there are a decent number of people who actually bought ambrosia games despite already having the pirated codes to use them.

The Wintel world is a much bigger place, so you're fishing from a bigger pond, but I don't think the fish will be so generous about going after the bait on the hook when there're plenty of other ways to get a worm without having a big barbed spike driven thru your cheek in the form of money. ...wow, that metaphor came out badly.

Re:The mac comunity is different

[DaemonGem (557674)]

I was a member of an Escape Velocity Classic/Override mailing list at one point, and when the announcement came that Escape Velocity Nova was coming out for Windows came, we had a big discussion about the morality of this decision. I was the only Windows user there (you can find instructions for an emulator here [geocities.com]). Anyway, the consensus among the Mac users was that this was a bad idea. Their argument was that if Ambrosia started to make games for Windows, then they would realize that they were making much more money there, and decide to stick with Windows, and eventually give up on the Mac community. As I said, I am a PC user, and I am naturally biased in favor of porting to Windows. However, I do think that the Mac community needs to have some game creator that it can call its own. I suppose it all depends on how you feel about the issue.
-Dae

Cultural differences go a long way

[RLiegh (247921)]

towards companies like this afloat.
In the Unix/Linux world, we're used to quality freeware (gcc,kde,gimp) and we look first for a product that is free, and are reluctent to look into shareware. (generally speaking; I know that all you reading this have ordered from and sponsor shareware developers ;))

In the mac and windows worlds, however, there's still a large, thriving market to be had from shareware.

So, in the end, no; this news doesn't surprise me.

Re:Cultural differences go a long way

[_Sprocket_ (42527)]

This raises a question that I've been pondering recently.

Awhile ago I was looking for a simple pop3 email checker for my wife's Windows machine. Within the unix / Linux world, there are dozens of very good Open Source apps that do this in various ways. I was surprised at the low number of free (as in no-cost, much less Open Source) apps of this type for Windows. I was shocked that authors of some of these simple apps were requesting fees as high as $20.

Now before I continue with this thought, I'd like to clarify the point in advance. I'm not saying these authors shouldn't be allowed to charge whatever they want for their work. Its their work. Its their price. They're welcome to it.

Having said that, in an environment that is much more immersed in Open Source culture - it seems that many more simple applications (and even not-so-simple applications) are available for free. In the rather large sample of apps that I reviewed, I found that the quality between pay-for-play and their Free Linux counterparts were comparable. So if quality isn't the issue, what is?

Culture.

It dawns on me that Linux (and to varying degrees, unix) comes from a gift culture. There is already so much great, free software available. Especially the tools needed to build more software. Paying back that community seems only natural.

Furthermore, within the Windows culture - even the very tools one needs to develop requires some degree of monetary investment. Not to mention all the other cool little apps one might like to use on one's own desktop. No wonder fees are charged for even the most trivial pieces of software. One has to recoup one's investment. Much less make a profit.

Small percentage of larger market still good

[ewanrg (446949)]

Even though there isn't as much familiarity with the company in the PC market, they can have a much smaller market penetration and still do as well or better. Remember that the Mac market is still only about 1/10th the size of the WinTel market.

I'd say they'll do even better than the usual shareware company since they'll have a lot of word-of-mouth already going for them.

What?

[gspr (602968)]

*Checks calendar* - nope, not April 1st.
*Reads thread a third time* - nope, doesn't make sense.
*Runs it through several freetranslation.com translations with various languages* - nope no sense still.
*Reaches the conclusion this thread just doesn't make sense!*
What the Bush does shareware have to do with this?

Porting to Linux as well.

[cant_get_a_good_nick (172131)]

The Redhat 7.3 Linux "servers" at my job each have a copy of Maelstrom on them. Sweeeeet!!!

I miss Chiral.

Shareware...

[}InFuZeD{ (52430)]

Is that the stuff I download off KaZaA? =p

I remember

[NickisGod.com (453769)]

I remember one of Ambrosia SW's selling points used to be that they made shareware for the Mac only. This, believe it or not, was one of the ways they poured on loyalty from the Mac community. I think it's great that they're still in business and branching out.

If you've never played one of the three Escape Velocities, you're in for a treat.

BTW, isn't there an Escape Velocity linux clone, or is that of Maelstrom I'm think of?

Porting

[ensignyu (417022)]

In my experience, Mac shareware is on average much much better than Windows shareware. Especially shareware games. I've played a few games that were ported from the Mac to Windows, and rarely are they as good as the Mac version, possibly (probably) due to a poor job of porting.

So I figure, if you're going to port to another platform, do it right.

The naggers gave shareware a bad name

[QuantumG (50515)]

There was a time where shareware was a simple way to support independant closed-source software. Unfortunately the popup boxes, countdown timers and trial period expiration warning ruined it for everyone. All of a sudden it was as if someone who you had never met was demanding that you give them money. Of course, proprietory software has always been like this but the naggers of shareware really put the jack boot in your face (some shareware even held your data hostage until you paid the fee or tried to delete itself!)

These days I refuse to support shareware unless there is no alternate free software solution. Why? Because I value source code as much as I value the freedom to share.

Re:The naggers gave shareware a bad name

[Billly Gates (198444)]

I think Linux and the rise of Gnu is what really changed shareware more then nagware.

A developer who writes software as a hobby 10 years ago would likely release his project as shareware. Today that developer would be tempted to release it as gpl and out it on sourceforge so others can improve on it.

I have only 1 shareware app. AceHTML. I have it because its free for non commerical use and the rest of the software I use on Windows2000 is gnu or Freeware. I use gvim, active perl, mingwin, python, FreeRIP,

Re:The naggers gave shareware a bad name

[Xthlc (20317)]

There was a time where shareware was a simple way to support independant closed-source software. Unfortunately the popup boxes, countdown timers and trial period expiration warning ruined it for everyone. All of a sudden it was as if someone who you had never met was demanding that you give them money.

Well, you're using a product, that they want to sell to you, for free. It's more like you're wandering through a store eating candy bars off the shelves, and while the owner is nice enough about it, he'd rather you settle your account after you scarf down twenty Milky Ways.

Naggers are a good idea for shareware, since otherwise not enough people would pay for it to allow the author to continue. Although a GOOD nagger is creative, and makes the user step back and evaluate just how valuable the software really is to them.

Escape Velocity had the best nagger EVER. A middling-powerful ship called "Captain Hector" would buzz you every couple of systems and radio in "Don't Forget To Register!".

If you "forgot" for 30 days or more, Captain Hector would get nasty. And it would turn out that Captain Hector is not just a piddling little Argosy, but an Argosy with buffed-up shields, proton torpedoes, heavy laser turrets, and a very bad attitude.

I just got a 12" powerbook, and registered my copy of EV: Nova. Because the storyline is getting interesting, my pilot is cool, and I could hear the quartz oscillating while Captain Hector gleefully polished his Gauss cannon . . .

Re:The naggers gave shareware a bad name

[SnatMandu (15204)]

So true. EV's are the most creative nags I've ever seen. I've registered EV multiple times, once, years ago, for myself, and again for my little brother who I know would dig the game.

I'm always torn when I hear people badmouth shareware. It's a tired observation, but those of us who give away code need to understand that it just doesn't work for some people. Shareware is pleasant commericial practice. A little prodding is often necessary to get someone perfectly capable and willing to support the developer to actually get off their ass and pull out the plastic.

I remember meeting the Ambrosia guys at a MacWorld conference a few years back. They were swell.

Re:The naggers gave shareware a bad name

[jwilcox154 (469038)]

Yes, nagware & time-bombware are two of the things that helped to ruin shareware, but, the biggest thing that ruined shareware, is the stupid crippleware, you download some application that you need, and then try to use over half of the features and you get "Can't use this feature because this is shareware, To use this feature, you must register it" even after they claim that shareware is "try before you buy".

How can you try before you buy if over half of the functions are disabled in the shareware ver

Re:The naggers gave shareware a bad name

[Technician (215283)]

The really obnoxious stuff is a real turn off. With a full work schedule (I do work for a living) the 2 week trials usualy amount to a one evening test, if that. I just don't have the time to spend getting into the various levels to evaluate software to the point of making a buying decision. Other software with a full working demo is the best way to go. I was looking for a non cussing and gore FPS. Someone recommended Nerf Arena Blast. There was a good working demo (even the networking worked). It ha

Memories...

[cyberlemoor (624985)]

How many Mac (pre-OS X) users out there don't remember playing great games like Maelstrom and Apeiron back in the day? Escape Velocity, too, was an awesome game, but I loved Ambrosia best for their classic games. Ambrosia made, in my opinion, the greatest shareware games for the Mac by far. Anyone who hasn't heard of them has missed out. Those were the days... =)

Proper shareware is pretty much dead.

[jazman (9111)]

Proper try before you buy shareware is fairly dead. Authors only seem to release crippleware these days, incorrectly calling it shareware, figuring that they won't make any money if they release full software. I don't know generally how successful this approach is, but after Slashdot my second favourite site is that one that sounds a bit like AltaVista... And I *do* buy stuff after cracking it, and trying it out properly, although this often takes longer than the ridiculously short "trial period" most crippleware authors seem to think is sufficient. Stuff that expires on a particular date, set after intallation, has often expired before I get to try it. What I don't buy is stuff I can't crack, cos I can't fully try it out.

PSP - you used to be cool, man. Being proper shareware is what got you where you are today, and now you spit in your fans' eyes.

Anyone know of a shareware site that lists crippleware as such, and not calling "X Lite" (where Lite means crippled) proper shareware when it's only a thinly veiled marketing release?

Re:Proper shareware is pretty much dead.

[istartedi (132515)]

Anyone know of a shareware site that lists crippleware as such, and not calling "X Lite" (where Lite means crippled) proper shareware when it's only a thinly veiled marketing release?

You might want to try the aptly named NoNags.com [nonags.com]. Unfortunately, it only lists Freeware, not shareware, which has the potential to exclude some good things.

I pretty much agree with you. I used to recommend PKZip, but then they started installing an "adbot". Yuck. Nagware is a cold. Adware is the flu. Spyware is anth

Ah, Escape Velocity

[TheOnlyCoolTim (264997)]

The only reason I have ever made my PC emulate a Mac.

Tim

NOOOO!

[lnoble (471291)]

I've been pissed off ever since ambrosia started doing this. They used to be one of the bragging rights I've had over my windows user friends. Just another example of a great mac only company selling out to the spawn.

I can't really blame them though, it must be bloody hard to make any real money developing only for the mac.

As far as the shareware issue goes at least since EV Nova they have been much more successful in protecting their software from piracy.

As a mac user the only benefit I see from this is that 1. they may have a chance to stay in business and 2. more people will be out there making plug-ins for the EV series.

Shareware IS dead

[Cryogenes (324121)]

I remember, nearly twenty years ago, when I had my lovely Atari ST, shareware was software that its authors shared with the general public to enjoy. We had never heard of the GPL, but the spirit was similar.

Over the years, the meaning of the word changed. First you were asked to pay something, if you liked the program, then you would only get the docs if you payed, then nags, and finally the crippleware and timebombs we see today.

Now shareware seems to mean that there is a downloadable evaluation version which can be activated online. This is a pure marketing features and says nothing about the software itself. As soon as MS can devise secure delivery over the net, Office will become shareware, too, finally reducing the notion ad absurdum.

Shareware's Cool.. but I hate Crapware

[miketang16 (585602)]

If you've ever used a program that makes you wish Visual Basic was never invented, you know what I mean. i.e. Fruity interface graphics, tiled image form backgrounds, runtime errors...etc.. etc..

Mac Shareware Better than Windows Shareware

[0x0d0a (568518)]

When I used a Mac, I was quite impressed by the quality of the shareware out there. The ratio of good software to crap -- and some of it is *very* good, without even a commercial equivalent, like USB Overdrive [usboverdrive.com] -- is much higher on the Mac than Windows. I think some of it may be Visual Basic. It's really easy for a non-programmer to sit down and roll out a complete piece of junk, and have delusions of actually making money on it.

I've found that, when it comes to both shareware and interesting binary hacks, the Mac has a much healthier community than Windows.

On the other hand, the Linux open-source community is even better...

I'm not so sure...

[MasterVidBoi (267096)]

How sure are they that this will work? The mac software market is very different from the PC software market.

While on Windows, the word most commonly associated with 'shareware' is 'crap', this is not the case on the mac. Due to the smaller marketshare, selling boxed copies of software on store shelves isn't a winning plan for anything but the largest players in the mac software biz. Because of this, a great deal of excellent software is released for mac.

Where on windows shareware has long since been given up as a dead end, the mac shareware market is alive and well, producing and supporting a large number of excellent programs. As a mac user, many of your staple programs would be shareware, not boxed commerical (this is one thing that really strikes a lot of 'switchers' as strange).

Just because they can make a good profit selling shareware on the mac doesn't mean it'll extend to windows. They'll probably do better actually selling boxes (bargin stuff, like what you'd find in the checkout line, not alongside the $50 large production games) rather than selling shareware in the windows market, simply because to windows users, a physical box implies that it's a real piece of software produced by a real company (a thought not common among mac users).

Shareware still a useful paradigm...

[Zergwyn (514693)]

Shareware is far from dead, and I doubt it ever truly will be so long as there are independent developers. A quick look at a site like Version Tracker (www.versiontracker.com) shows that there is a ton of shareware in active development. This isn't so much in games, like many people think, but with utilities. The virtual desktop software I have come to depend on is an example of very good, high quality shareware.

Shareware as a model has the advantage of being able to use viral marketing. If there is a program I really enjoy, I can tell my friends about it and give them a copy. They can do the same if they like it, ad infinitum. This, like many other free formats, cuts the cost of advertising tremendously, very important for a small developer. And depending on the market one can also make a bit of money off of the work, which seems to be harder to do with other formats. The best shareware often is a full version, but then offers additional incentives or bonuses to register.

I think that shareware, at least on the Mac platform where there are less commercial developers, has a long and distinguished history and will continue to play a part on the software scene.

A good move by Ambrosia Software . .

[Professor North (606910)]

This, in my opinion, is a good move for Ambrosia Software. Why? Exposure to say the least.

Escape Velocity is an incredible series. Several years ago I used to work solely on a Macintosh, I was amazed when I discovered Escape Velocity, mainly because I found it more enjoyable and interesting than a majority of games that were in the PC market at the time. Now, working only with PC's, I'll be watching this PC port very closely.

Shareware is OK

[FuzzyBad-Mofo (184327)]

I have no problem with shareware publishers that are up front about what features are limited about their shareware. The thing I do have a problem with, is when software authors bundle nasty surprises with their software, and then turn around and say that it's shareware.

Case in point: Omen Technology [omen.com] claims that their zmodem implementation is shareware, but has an extremely restrictive license that prohibits actually using the software unless it's used with their other products. And then it attempts to email home when it's used. How exactly is this "shareware"?

Recent Windows Shareware Game

[GMOL (122258)]

A long time asm coder, free/shareware writer John McCarthy (google "3d Vect", "OuterRidge" and "Fortified"), has just released his new game (originally it was just a screensaver demo, but now there is a playable demo) of his new game sonic speedsters [sonicspeedsters.com]. Lot of fun, I have a copy myself.

Shareware...

[Ephemeriis (315124)]

My first computer was a macintosh. An old Mac SE 40. For a while there, mac were all I'd use... Now, there has never been the same range of software available for the mac as there was for PC. I used to go in to the local EB and see row after row of software for wintel machines...but little, if anything for macintosh. Inconvenient...but once I got to college it really didn't bother me anymore.

In college I had a decent internet connection, and was exposed to all the wonderful shareware out there. Ambrosia is one of the best shareward companies I have ever had the joy of dealing with. They produce both useful and useless, but all of their software is very high quality. The stuff they turn out is at least as nice as anything you'll see boxed up in a store. Escape Velocity was always one of my favorite games... For a while I was looking at getting a cheap mac or some sort of emulation program just to play EV again. I am absolutely thrilled that they're finally porting it to the PC. I can't wait to buy mine.

There are tons of very high quality shareware companies out there that turn out very nice products. I've seen a number of shareware products make the transion to retail-box products as well. There's absolutely no reason to discount a software product just because it is shareware.

yrs,
Ephemeriis

Shareware Author's Perspective

[Anonymous Coward]

As a shareware author, I can definitely say that shareware's not dead, although the term "shareware" is getting old. You can read about the history of shareware at the Association of Shareware Professionals website -
History of Shareware [asp-shareware.org]

Shareware is really just software that is marketed as 'try before you buy'. I don't refer to shareware on my website - I just refer to a free trial.

There are many Independent Software Developers working on games, utility type programs, and small niche software.

Best Anti-Piracy Tool Ever

[mdarksbane (587589)]

Does anyone else remember the revolutionary way to punish those who didn't remember to pay the registration fee? The original Escape Velocity showed a pop-up at startup if you continued playing after the first thirty days (I installed it on a system whose system clock I had forgot to set, so I think my normal tally was about 1,564 days of use). However, it didn't block you out from any parts of the game or impose a time limit. Instead, there was a unique NPC in a heavy fighter who in normal gameplay would always hail you with a "Don't forget to register" message. However, after the thirty day trial, the character, known as "Cap'n Hector" after a pet parrot in the ambrosia offices, would exact revenge on those who would steal the bird seed from her mouth. With cries of "Avast, ye scurvy software pirate," this nearly-invincible assassin would swoop down on your ship and assail you with a barrage of torpedoes and rockets. Although at later stages of the game, this was a minor annoyance, in the starting shuttle one rocket blast was instant death. It was definitely the most amusing way to prevent full illegal use that I've ever seen. (Although, to be honest, I finally defeated him with the use of a resource editor. Hector wasn't quite as threatening when she was buzzing around you in a weaponless shuttle :))

Shareware still works

[Headius (5562)]

I still have a shareware app on the market that brings in a couple registrations per week. Shareware was flooded in the late nineties with a whole load of crap, much of it written in VB. Probably 90% provided one tiny little feature, so you'd end up using 50 of them to provide the complete functionality of a better app. As a result, overall shareware registrations dropped dramatically -- there was a far smaller percentage of apps worth registering.

It's a testament to certain apps that they still survive well under a shareware model. Shareware certainly works, but only if you aren't charging too much and don't deliver a big ball of crap.

Re:What?

[Boo Robin (657702)]

They are basically giving you a 30 day period to test the game. The games will not be complete until you register the game. After 30 days, you are expected to register if you like the game or utility.

Originally, the games were open and you could complete them without registering. But as of late, Ambrosia has restricted how far you can go. You get a good taste of the game and it usually makes you want to play more. It is a great method that has worked for them. And hopefully PC users will appreciate it when EV Nova Windows is released.

Oh, and I have plenty of experience with Ambrosia. I moderate a forum of theirs. Great place to be for mac users. And soon PC users.

www.ambrosiasw.com

Re:Escape Velocity (Nova)!!

[CaptainCarrot (84625)]

They're not backporting their older EV games as they stand, but are porting them to EVN as TC plugins. So they should be playable for PC users when they become available, since plugins should work as well on a PC as they do on a Mac.