Sphynx
Commodore
Hear me out, and feel free to reject my idea wholesale. I realize that the internet is not a democracy, but rather a dictatorship. So, I know I can't vote. But, I can make request and hope that the powers that be feel benevolent towards me.
I enjoyed your joke demo back on April 1 (those Kilrathi voices were over the top!), and I've been thinking about how I can't wait for this mod to come out. However, my desire for a real demo doesn't seem like sufficient reason for releasing one. I'm sure you have your reasons for not releasing a demo yet. However, I got to thinking, and I realized that there were other good reasons for a demo release than to satiate my desire for a fusion of WC and FS.
First of all, it would provide a much wider base for finding bugs and being able to discover which system specs run the mod well. Some people may need to save up to upgrade their machines in order to run the mod, and it would be a great courtesy to let them know beforehand that such an upgrade would be advisable.
Second, it would also help to generate fan feedback for fine tuning the actual product before its release. Nothing is more dissapointing than waiting for a game to come out, and then when you finally get it, it's fun is greatly diminished due to a multitude of bugs (this is what happened with my experience with X2: The Threat). Thus, it seems a demo release for the purpose of wider testing would be helpful for the quality of the real release.
Furthermore, a real demo might be a nice bone to throw to all of the people who have sent in voice files. So, what would be the odds of you guys having a softening of heart and releasing the first 2-3 missions, or even pick 2-3 of the completed missions at random and throw them in the demo, to satiate the hungry masses and provide fodder for useful feedback? We can all debate whether or not this is a good idea. However, I think it would serve both practical and asthetic purposes. I know you want to build up the excitement for this project. Honestly, having a demo on my machine that I could play over and over in my spare time would accomplish just that. Think it over.
Sincerely,
Sphynx
I enjoyed your joke demo back on April 1 (those Kilrathi voices were over the top!), and I've been thinking about how I can't wait for this mod to come out. However, my desire for a real demo doesn't seem like sufficient reason for releasing one. I'm sure you have your reasons for not releasing a demo yet. However, I got to thinking, and I realized that there were other good reasons for a demo release than to satiate my desire for a fusion of WC and FS.
First of all, it would provide a much wider base for finding bugs and being able to discover which system specs run the mod well. Some people may need to save up to upgrade their machines in order to run the mod, and it would be a great courtesy to let them know beforehand that such an upgrade would be advisable.
Second, it would also help to generate fan feedback for fine tuning the actual product before its release. Nothing is more dissapointing than waiting for a game to come out, and then when you finally get it, it's fun is greatly diminished due to a multitude of bugs (this is what happened with my experience with X2: The Threat). Thus, it seems a demo release for the purpose of wider testing would be helpful for the quality of the real release.
Furthermore, a real demo might be a nice bone to throw to all of the people who have sent in voice files. So, what would be the odds of you guys having a softening of heart and releasing the first 2-3 missions, or even pick 2-3 of the completed missions at random and throw them in the demo, to satiate the hungry masses and provide fodder for useful feedback? We can all debate whether or not this is a good idea. However, I think it would serve both practical and asthetic purposes. I know you want to build up the excitement for this project. Honestly, having a demo on my machine that I could play over and over in my spare time would accomplish just that. Think it over.
Sincerely,
Sphynx