Okay, I Need A Sanity Check Here

[Brad Adrian]

I came across a demo for a Pocket PC game today that kind of threw me for a loop, and I need to know if I'm off base...<br /><br />The game seemed interesting, with some slick graphics and sounds, so I installed the rather large demo. When I played it for the first time, the opening screen said somethig like, "This game will expire after 60 minutes." Cool, I figured. After an hour's worth of play I can easily decide if I want to buy the full version.<br /><br />I played the game for about 5 minutes, then exited it and had dinner. About 90 minutes later, I thought I'd play the game some more, but when I tapped on its icon, the opening screen simply said, "Expired." Then, the game automatically closed.<br /><br />So, the demo was set up to be playable for only 60 minutes from the time it was first played, whether you were playing it or even had your Pocket PC turned on during that time! I was so disappointed by that strange limitation that I vowed to never buy a game from that developer.<br /><br />But now I'm wondering...Am I overreacting?

[entropy1980]

I think you are over-reacting.....I would send an email to the developer letting them know the issue first and explain yourself, then after given the oportunity to rectify it they still say no-way well than go ahead and boycott... :twak:
my $.02

[ECOslin]

Yep, email them and tell the people what a cool game it was, all five minutes of it.

Edward

[Warlordzsinj]

Ripping your memory card out, launching it out of the window, snapping your PDA over your head and flushing it down the bog. Now that's overeacting.

Tell the deleveloper, they can do what they want, but by limiting the game to an hour 'on or off' is bonkers!


I'm not even going to bother to find out what game it was.........I'm so annoyed ;)

[snowlion]

I'm not even going to bother to find out what game it was.........I'm so annoyed ;)

not that's an over-reaction!

60 minutes seems kinda short...but then again someone should be able to make up their mind on a game within that period and also it's his prerogative - 60 min...30 min or 30 days.

what i do think he needs to do is put in a clearer message.

[dshirley]

I'd say that his policy shows a remarkable lack of customer awareness, so I can understand your reaction.

However, for software developers, the mechanics of shareware licencing is incredibly difficult to judge, so tell him... He may be very grateful for the feedback.

Personally, I would never buy anything I can't test for a minimum of 30 days. Even for games, I need to see how well it fits in with my use of the device, and you just can't do that in one sitting.

DS

[madbart]

I can usually tell within 5 minutes of using a game if i want to purhcase it or not.

With a 30 day full trial period i will flog the game to death to the point of being sick of it and have no need to buy it. In the event that you can only go a couple levels into the game i will purchase if i like it enough.

[Timothy Rapson]

I am having another problem. I tried a paint program that had a 30 day deal. I didn't like it and didn't buy it. Now it has been updated and I would like to try it again. Nope. I would probably need to do a hard reset to get rid of whatever file the trial version used to stop me. So I am not buying it.

Even worse, the company released Mobile Word, a new program that does graphics and uses the paint program to edit them in place. I can't even try the new Word program because it is still looking at my old trial installation and keeping me out.

On the other hand I have another trial program that is too buggy to be worth what the developer asks, but just fun enough to use. The only limit on the demo is that it will only open a one file at a time. I found that there are other way to open files and I now have over a hundred files open with all the other features working (the ones that aren't too buggy anyway). I will pay for it if they ever get it working dependably.

[quidproquo]

Hey...why not try resetting your clock/date back to the exact time when you installed it?

Wouldn't that give you another 60 minutes? :wink:

Or is my lack of programming really starting to shine?

[theone3]

Hey...why not try resetting your clock/date back to the exact time when you installed it?

Wouldn't that give you another 60 minutes? :wink:

Or is my lack of programming really starting to shine?shh... that would be illegal.. just like setting both your clocks forward to 2007 ;)

oh.. and one completely off topic thing.. what was the game? :twisted:

[dshirley]

oh.. and one completely off topic thing.. what was the game?

That's not at all off-topic... I think we all want to know!!! :twisted:

[Paul Martin]

I would probably need to do a hard reset to get rid of whatever file the trial version used to stop me. So I am not buying it.

Have you tried using a registry editor to just delete the key the program installed? That might do the trick.

[surur]

I am having another problem. I tried a paint program that had a 30 day deal. I didn't like it and didn't buy it. Now it has been updated and I would like to try it again. Nope. I would probably need to do a hard reset to get rid of whatever file the trial version used to stop me. So I am not buying it.



Ive got exactly the same problem with a program with a Very steep learning Curve called fitali tried it hated it, and now want to try it again. No go, So I guess no sale either.

Surur

[Jason Dunn]

Myself, I prefer programs/games that time out after "x" number of loads. That way I'm really trying it "x" times vs. installing a 30 day demo and remembering to try it once on day 29. :lol:

[Jerry Raia]

I would probably need to do a hard reset to get rid of whatever file the trial version used to stop me. So I am not buying it.

Have you tried using a registry editor to just delete the key the program installed? That might do the trick.

Thats a good idea but how can you find it? They sometimes have names that you dont recognize. That kinda bugs me that they can leave stuff on your machine you cant find and get rid of.

[midili]

It is in the best interest of the Community to see software succeed on the PPC platform, and I think that requires the Community providing feedback to developers that make interesting/entertaining/valuable software but cripple it with ridiculous (in my opinion) evaluation limitations.

Let me know what the software is and I'd be happy to send a (nice) e-mail to the developer.

Jeff

[Jeff Rutledge]

Am I overreacting?

I don't think so. One hour?!?!? That's ridiculous. I can see the point made earlier that 30 days is too long to try a game, so maybe 5-7 days would be acceptable? Even 3? Not 60 minutes though...

I think Jason's got the right idea though. You can start X number of New Games before you're locked out.

As far as this game, if you just want to give that small a preview, just post a Video of the game being played. Don't waste my time downloading and installing something for an hour.

[Fitch]

Really, it just shows the developers lazyness and his/her interest in only making a quick buck. If the game wasn't made with love, it's not worth playing... or is that food... anyway, I'd be annoyed too.

[mcsouth]

I can understand the developer not wanting to "give" away the results of his efforts, but I think that he maybe didn't realize the implications of having a 60 minute 'continuous' demo. If nothing else, it would be nice if this was mentioned in a readme file, or as part of the opening splash screen. Even so, I will frequently load demoes to try them out, and the first time I open them is just to look around and get a sense of how they work - the real 'demo' activity often happens later. Therefore, I agree with Jason's suggestion - a demo that times out after 5-7 uses would be more practical, especially if the splash screen notified you how many tries you had left each time you opened the app.

I would hope that most PPC users are honest enough to pay for an app they truly like, rather than try to 'crack' it, or otherwise avoid paying the developer for his efforts. A reasonable demo period, then, is simply a good selling opportunity to these honest folks.......

[vagelis]

The more I read about all this and the more I think about this, I feel that the developer is nuts :|

This shows no respect to a potential buyer's time at all.
The whole point of a mobile device is that it is used on the go, between breaks from other activities. And more than that, a game is meant to relax, and exhilarate the user, not give him/her the extra stress of a 60 minute bomb :cry:

Yes this is a free choice & market economy, so lets vote with our hard-earned cash and support developers who support users.

I am off my soapbox now :(

[Prevost]

now I'm wondering...Am I overreacting?Well, I browse the Net with Netscape... :mrgreen:

[xoiph]

We still don't know what the game was :lol:

[Warwick]

Nah dont be too hard on the developer, writing games (Especialy good games) is the hardest programming of all. I think he spent most of his time writing the game and then at the last minute remembered he needed to protect his asset.

The demo was prolly the last bit he designed and put all his creativity into the game instead of how to give you all a demo of it. I agree with the email him/her idea. I am sure they will change the demo style and come up with something better.

You dont want to know what the game is untill the demo version is fixed up and this guy doesnt deserve the bad press of it yet.

Remeber to support the programmers, they are mostly learning as they go and usualy it isnt about money, its about getting a reward for your creativity, and being able to afford something to test that creativity on, IE getting a new PPC.

My Apps havent payed for my 3870 yet and now I need to get a 2003 device to update all my apps and test on. Think about this the next time you pirate an app, if we dont support the programmer they will move to other platforms like that sweet Palm in tablet PC style from sony as soon as it comes out, how sweet was that.

There is no I in Pocket PC Community. (well ok there is one but....)

[Cypher]

Yes, you're over-reacting, but I can't argue too strongly. Games are intended for leisure and thus, should be written with the idea that you'll pause the play while doing something more important. Demos should keep that in mind as well.

[danmanmayer]

it is annoying yest but not terrible. I mean with so many people only using the demo for ever or just getting bored or stealing the software it seems kinda like it makes sense to get tougher and tougher with installs. I will still be annoyed though.

[Pony99CA]

I can understand the developer not wanting to "give" away the results of his efforts, but I think that he maybe didn't realize the implications of having a 60 minute 'continuous' demo. If nothing else, it would be nice if this was mentioned in a readme file, or as part of the opening splash screen. Even so, I will frequently load demoes to try them out, and the first time I open them is just to look around and get a sense of how they work - the real 'demo' activity often happens later. Therefore, I agree with Jason's suggestion - a demo that times out after 5-7 uses would be more practical, especially if the splash screen notified you how many tries you had left each time you opened the app.

I think Brad is over-reacting, but his basic point is reasonable. An hour is way too short to evaluate software, maybe even a game.

However, the problem with counting loads is that nothing prevents you from just keeping the program running in the background, playing the game all you like. The only time you'd have to reload is if you needed to shut the game down because it took over the screen, you needed to soft reset or the Pocket PC OS closed the application to make room for something else.

I think a few days should be enough time to decide whether you want to buy the game. For games that have levels, only allowing people to play the first few levels is also a reasonable way to assure someone will pay for a game.

I would hope that most PPC users are honest enough to pay for an app they truly like, rather than try to 'crack' it [...].
I'm sure "most" are, but I wouldn't assume Pocket PC users are any more or less honest than the general population.

Steve

[Pony99CA]

Really, it just shows the developers lazyness and his/her interest in only making a quick buck.
That's just a foolish comment. As Warwick said, it may just indicate that the developer didn't realize the implications of that time-limit decision. To call a programmer, who probably spent many days or months creating a game, "lazy" is over-reacting.

Steve

[JF in Detroit]

Yep, way too big of a reaction. But way fun string to read. :D

[ctmagnus]

'k, I finally came up with my response:

Sanity check on aisle three!

:mrgreen:

[Kati Compton]

I can see how it would be very frustrating, but I agree with the other posters who suggest contacting the developer before boycotting their products.

[Jeff Rutledge]

However, the problem with counting loads is that nothing prevents you from just keeping the program running in the background, playing the game all you like.

Yeah, I thought about that too, but if you had it limit the number of times you could start a new game, that would take care of that. Of course, that's assuming it's a game that doesn't go on and on 8) .

[Newsboy]

Good thing you don't have an Audiovox Maestro. Your battery would only last 50 minutes anyway. :D

[Janak Parekh]

I can see how it would be very frustrating, but I agree with the other posters who suggest contacting the developer before boycotting their products.
That's why Brad hasn't named the game yet. He's contacting them to see what their feedback is.

--janak

[Rob Alexander]

I can see how it would be very frustrating, but I agree with the other posters who suggest contacting the developer before boycotting their products.

Yeah, I agree with this. I've had the situation that someone else mentioned about trying something once, then being locked out of a later version, but have had good luck with contacting the developer and explaining that I wanted to to try it again. I do think an hour from installation is extreme, but perhaps the developer just needs some feedback before he's crucified as a money-grubbing pariah.

To the person who wants to try Fitaly again, just go into the online forum and explain the situation. They've always been extremely responsive and I'd bet they'll make it possible.

[Brad Adrian]

I deliberately did not name the developer, because my original intention was to do short post on the game. However, I soon realized that I wanted people to focus on the game itself and didn't want to start a flame war against this developer. And, in all fairness, this company is not based in a part of the world typically known for Pocket PC software development, so I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.

I had an e-mail all written to the them, stating how I think there are more acceptable ways to manage licenses, but I also wanted to get a quick idea from you readers about whether sending it is a good idea. I mean, unsolicited criticism, no matter how well-intentioned, doesn't always go over well.

So, based upon what I'm hearing, I've sent the message to the developer, and we'll see where it goes from there.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Thinkingmandavid]

Once you get a message back from the developer, how about posting on here for us to read and get our own impressions as well.
Did you put you were a contributing editor to PPCthoughts? I say that because that might have an influence on how he responds and how seriously he takes you. Hopefully, he/she, will take the time to notice the importance it is to read these boards concerning their work.