A simple thank you

[Arryn]

Despite the fact you're just being snide and sarcastic, which is not only unlike you, but bebeath you, I'm actually going to bother replying to each point.

Gandalf Parker said:
Arryn you are such an expert on everything.

Envious?

Gandalf Parker said:
But while you are at it, why dont they make Dom2 into an XBox game? Thats going well.

Wrong demographic. Other than that, why not? Dom 2 isn't resource-intensive so it should actually work on that hardware. (No need to answer, my reply is a rhetorical comeback to your sarcasm.)

Gandalf Parker said:
Or maybe they can release a Dom1 Version for PDA's or Cell Phones?

Nah. Screen's too small.

Gandalf Parker said:
I know. They should put full page ads in every gaming magazine.

No need. The free press from CG and CGW is more than enough.

Gandalf Parker said:
And they can send free CD's of Dom1 (which did hook alot of people) in the snail mail to everyone in America. AOL made it work.

AOL can afford to do that since they charge more for service than almost every other ISP in the US, and with economies of scale, their incremental costs are neglible compared to mom & pop ISPs, which would be the ISP equivalent of indie game publishers. If IW was as big as Bioware they might well be able to afford to stuff free CDs in the gaming magazines. But if IW was that big, they'd also be able to afford a UI programmer ...

Gandalf Parker said:
Microsoft is able to handle huge impacts of suddenly announcing the release of something long awaited. All they do is maintain servers all over the country load-balanced.

Given the unit counts for something like Dom 2, comparisons to Microsoft or EA or Sony are pointless. Go back to valid comparisons like Stardock or Spiderweb.

Gandalf Parker said:
Of course there are people who make things work. And for each one there are dozens who crash and burn making the effort to jump in fast.

The point of doing research is twofold, first to see what those who succeeded did right so you can emulate them, and second to see what those who failed did wrong so you can avoid those mistakes. You do not do research to justify fear of failure. And it's fear of failure that you're using as a stick to beat back questions of what's preventing the emulation of success.

Gandalf Parker said:
What you are really asking is why doesnt Shrapnel jump in and gamble the big bucks (or big crash) like a few others are doing.

No, Gandalf. That's not what I asked. I didn't ask why they aren't doing X (which Richard has already answered several times). I asked what's preventing them from doing X. A subtle, but important difference. I was trying to understand whether Shrapnel's not doing something is due to lack of resources, internal politics (or some other reason that they might not wish to divulge), since the reasons being given do not make sense to me when I scratch beneath the surface of them.

Richard made general statements and I cited specific examples to the contrary. That's elementary debate and logic. He made claims and all I'm doing is asking if he can back his claims up. I realize that he's not obligated to "prove" anything, but if he's going to bother to try to do so, then his "proof" should be able to withstand objective scrutiny.

[Gandalf Parker]

Arryn said:
Despite the fact you're just being snide and sarcastic, which is not only unlike you, but bebeath you, I'm actually going to bother replying to each point.

yes lately I am quite unlike me on the forums.

Richard made general statements and I cited specific examples to the contrary. That's elementary debate and logic. He made claims and all I'm doing is asking if he can back his claims up. I realize that he's not obligated to "prove" anything, but if he's going to bother to try to do so, then his "proof" should be able to withstand objective scrutiny.

But you are comparing to people like StarDock. Unless stardock releases their software, or sells it as a package, and makes it clear what it takes to do what they are doing, then you are asking why they cant create what stardock created?

Im not knocking Brad for the accomplishment of StarDock but it was (and still is) a pretty big risk on his part to create a system for managing software downloads, credit cards, and serial IDs. Have you used it? Personally I find it abit obnoxious and would not want to have a Version of such software loaded on my system for every company that I want to buy products from. Yes its a working package but I think I would wait for a generic security tested package to become available the way shopping cart and forum software has.

If they were going to drop what they were doing and write a web package Id rather see a generic PbEM site since Ive not been able to find one I think that might even be marketable.

[Arryn]

Gandalf Parker said:
Im not knocking Brad for the accomplishment of StarDock but it was (and still is) a pretty big risk on his part to create a system for managing software downloads, credit cards, and serial IDs. Have you used it?

Yes, I have and continue to do so. BTW, other companies do downloads (for business apps), but I didn't mention them because they are Windows-only downloads that require IE6, and they aren't games.

Gandalf Parker said:
Personally I find it abit obnoxious and would not want to have a Version of such software loaded on my system for every company that I want to buy products from.

IIRC, you aren't forced to.

Gandalf Parker said:
Yes its a working package but I think I would wait for a generic security tested package to become available the way shopping cart and forum software has.

That'll be a long wait ...

[Gandalf Parker]

Arryn said:

That'll be a long wait ...

Really? It shouldnt be. No longer than it took for the other packages to appear. Shorter if any.

[Arryn]

Gandalf Parker said:
Really? It shouldnt be. No longer than it took for the other packages to appear. Shorter if any.

I disagree for the simple reason that there is far less demand for electronic media distribution systems than for general-purpose shopping carts (which are used mainly for snail-mail shipments). It's mainly only needed for the software industry, whose products are already in electronic format, while shopping carts are used for all sorts of products and services sold via the Web. More importantly, though, the big companies that want to make their software available for download already have systems in place. And that includes big game companies like EA and Sony, since you can download full working betas of their games in this fashion. That leaves just the "small fry" game companies (small in comparison to EA, Sony, Symantec, etc.) to have to either develop their own systems, license someone else's, pay someone else to do it for them, or wait for your eventual GPL system.

[Zen]

Now I'm anxiously awaiting Arryn to jump out of a cake and say "Hello, I'm Derek Smart!"

[Arryn]

Zen said:
Now I'm anxiously awaiting Arryn to jump out of a cake and say "Hello, I'm Derek Smart!"

Dammit, Zen, you didn't need to go so far out of your way to be so obnoxiously and gratuitously insulting as to compare me to that unrepentant, egomaniacal, lying blowhard. And just when you were beginning to have me fooled into thinking you'd gone all soft and sweet. I should've known better. hmmph!