Originally Posted by Tyhan
Originally Posted by Tranjspd
You logic is flawed. I understand the desire to do this, and some companies allow this through demos, but you are still breaking the law, and still pirating. It would be awesome if all devs had demos, or try before buy, but it's a lot of work to build a demo, and not all devs have the resources to do so. Just like you can't go to Best Buy and grab a TV, bring it home without paying for it and then decide you like it or don't, you can't do this with games without breaking the law. It's flat out stealing. It does hurt devs. While you may feel like it is justified, it isn't.


Stores tend to accept returns. Sure, it'll probably help if you make sure the store you're buying it from has a good return policy beforehand. If you can return it then you essentially do get to take it home and try it out in a sense.

For games this is not quite the same. PC games with DRM usually do so via a CD-key. If it's a CD-key that's verified online then you cannot return the game. If it's through steam then you cannot return the game (except through special exceptions). You can't make a demo of a TV for people to take home, but you can make a demo of a game. Game demos should be the standard and every game should have one. If the devs don't have time then all they have to do is find a way to cut off content past x and ship that. It's better than no demo.


It's not that simple to make a demo. Many people assume game development is a linear a-z process. Don't make Z and you can make a demo right? Not quite. Demo's require a massive amount of effort especially for a large RPG like this. First comes the design problem: How do I take a player driven slice of the game that encompasses all of the different player types, player progression, and enough story to hook them? Next comes all of the engineering and QA support that is required to ship a full project. Demos need their own branch of code with their own bug databases and their own testing. You make a core engine fix in the main game, you need to then try and merge that code into the demo branch. Easy for one fix, but insane for the run up to shipping a game and the thousands of fixes that go into that. Usually you need a large amount of special gating code and level work so that you aren't just giving the whole game away as well. There are also narrative issues and quest issues galore that you have to conquer, and it costs a ton of time and therefore a ton of money. Studios can't afford to throw money and time away like that. If you aren't sure about a game, wait. Read reviews. Ask friends.

Don't steal. Piracy is stealing. The damage from piracy to studios is real. It is getting harder and harder to make large PC games that are worth playing. Keep pirating games and watch as you assist the industry into becoming a free to play turd fest of coin collecting and bubble bursting. Pirate games and watch the single player content get smaller and smaller. You cannot justify theft.