Demo's

Guest2 · 25 Mar 2015 at 00:18

It was all about Amiga game zone and Amiga format

http://www.gamesetwatch.com/amigagamezone1.jpg

I guess demos are no longer made so people cannot play the game then think "this is rubbish, I'm not buying it"

grim. · 25 Mar 2015 at 00:33

70% of the reason I used to buy pc gamer was the demo discs. My god how I miss those. This wasn't supposed to be a nostalgia thread but they really are a thing of the past. I used to look forward to PC Gamer every single month, I'd play the demo's for hours on end. I guess companies figure they don't need to make demo's anymore as people will buy the game anyway and then moan about it afterwards.

I remember Half-Life having a dedicated scenario to play through which wasn't even part of the main game. People just don't go to this much effort anymore and it's a shame.

I have a stack of PC Gamer demo discs from about 1996-2006 in a cupboard somewhere at my parents house. I still have a flick through them from time to time.

snowdog · 25 Mar 2015 at 02:31

Have to go along with the times, CD's/DVD's are dead, or should be anyhow.
Demo > Pirate ship website or similar and NZB searchers.

Tho tbh, it's been at least a year since I pirated a game, just CBA with the installing ( which is even worse on ''legal'' cd/dvd games because setup is slower and you have to actually type the serial instead of copy paste.).

If game is good, buy it on steam personally, honestly, with 200 mb internet becoming available for most, why on earth bother with cruddy optical media collecting dust ?

And I'm spoilt, I'm used to buying, going for a coffee or poop, and be ready to play when I'm back with no user input.

Unattended software installers ( like games are installed by steam, but also many many pirated software and games on usenet) beats software with ****ty setups to follow that require time/attention

.

Rroff · 25 Mar 2015 at 03:12

I do miss demos, remember fondly those moments like the demos for the first couple of tombraider games, quake games, deus ex, starcraft, etc.

Used to never buy games on principle with time limited, etc. demo/trials lol after hearing one developer talking about people stealing in the context of playing the demo one moment longer than the time limit or enjoyed one bit of content more than the most basic subset the developer "allowed" you to access - it was playing the **** out of demos like starcraft that got me to buy the full game.

OldComputerGuy7 · 25 Mar 2015 at 06:39

I too miss the demos it was always a great way to see if the game matched what you wanted, i think most of my purchases had to do with how good the demos were.

I think mostly now as i don't spend as much on PC games anymore, i usually wait until a game i am not sure of gets in a sale and then get it, after many games have turned out to be rubbish i really don't feel like wasting £40 on a new game as most these days are cheap console ports with narrow FOV and other console crap.
If you cannot be bothered to tailor your game to the needs of a PC i am not going to bother paying for it or at least allow me to mod the game to make it playable.

Columbo · 25 Mar 2015 at 08:33

Just this week I played a proper demo of The Talos Principle on Steam which resulted in a purchase directly after.

agnes · 25 Mar 2015 at 08:55

Yep, echoing the above, all been chopped now in favor for you paying over the odds for 'early access'. This has stemed from streamers that get a tonne of hits playing 'the popular titles', the stuff that's not out yet etc. Sort of hipsters for gamers...

Just take that latest zombie one, H what ever it is, not even anything more than a concept for a game yet it's HUGE!

It's where all the money is in gaming right now.

Begbie · 25 Mar 2015 at 09:00

snowdog said:
Have to go along with the times, CD's/DVD's are dead, or should be anyhow.
Demo > Pirate ship website or similar and NZB searchers.

Tho tbh, it's been at least a year since I pirated a game, just CBA with the installing ( which is even worse on ''legal'' cd/dvd games because setup is slower and you have to actually type the serial instead of copy paste.).

If game is good, buy it on steam personally, honestly, with 200 mb internet becoming available for most, why on earth bother with cruddy optical media collecting dust ?

And I'm spoilt, I'm used to buying, going for a coffee or poop, and be ready to play when I'm back with no user input.

Unattended software installers ( like games are installed by steam, but also many many pirated software and games on usenet) beats software with ****ty setups to follow that require time/attention .

Demo could still be done without a CD though. I know I'd be more inclined to buy with demos, no way am I wasted £4-50 on a game that could be garbage.

Dazboots · 25 Mar 2015 at 09:09

savagesam117 said:
I remember getting the Original Xbox magazine with the demo disks. If only it was like that now!

I hate how everything has gone so digital

Agree.

neoglow · 25 Mar 2015 at 10:49

I used to love demo discs, I remember my old subscriptions to PC Gamer, PC Zone and Official PlayStation magazine back in the 90's. I'd hear it clatter through the letter box, I'd run down stairs and tear it open lol.

Back when we had dial up internet and demos would take ages to download so I used GetRight to download the demo in small segments. If I didnt, that pesky Windows pop-up would flash up saying the server had timed out, nooooooooooooooooooooooo!

snowdog · 25 Mar 2015 at 11:37

Begbie said:
Demo could still be done without a CD though. I know I'd be more inclined to buy with demos, no way am I wasted £4-50 on a game that could be garbage.

Why ? Downloading a full game and installing it is quicker than getting hands on a cd and using a setup from there ?

yet72 · 25 Mar 2015 at 11:55

Steam has a demos section with hundreds of games in it, not sure how many are new but i'm sure some new games still produce them.

kration · 26 Mar 2015 at 10:23

yet72 said:
Steam has a demos section with hundreds of games in it, not sure how many are new but i'm sure some new games still produce them.

There's also a few demo's on UPlay too (well, 5 of them). A limited number but it includes a couple that I've tried out ('Trials Fusion' and 'Child of Light').

porushinobu · 26 Mar 2015 at 13:22

RageQuit© said:
Those were the days!

I still have a pc gamer CD at home, Win 7 isnt compatible sadly

snowdog said:
Why ? Downloading a full game and installing it is quicker than getting hands on a cd and using a setup from there ?

well if downloads were used it would be a simple matter of paying for the game and downloading the rest of the game. Meaning the demo could literarly be a fraction of the game instead of a dedicated scenario

agnes · 26 Mar 2015 at 13:34

porushinobu said:
I still have a pc gamer CD at home, Win 7 isnt compatible sadly

well if downloads were used it would be a simple matter of paying for the game and downloading the rest of the game. Meaning the demo could literarly be a fraction of the game instead of a dedicated scenario

The DRM would be hell in demo's in that situation.

porushinobu · 26 Mar 2015 at 15:49

agnes said:
The DRM would be hell in demo's in that situation.

hmm i suppose im oversimplifying it, but I have never enjoyed DRM, getting games to work is painful through steam if a third party is involved. They both try to pass you to the other company when you know where the fault lies and they won't listen