Sacred Gold On Linux Has Gone Gold [Archive]

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phoronix

03-06-2009, 11:10 AM

Phoronix: Sacred Gold On Linux Has Gone Gold

It took longer than expected, but Linux Game Publishing is now prepared to ship Sacred Gold. The description of this game is below.In his fortress of Shaddar-Nur, the necromancer Shaddar, a pariah of the Band of Mages from Mystdale Castle, plans his triumphant return to the world of Ancaria...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=NzEyMQ

GreatWalrus

03-06-2009, 12:25 PM

This looks like quite an interesting and well developed game. $38 (£27) is a hell of a deal too.

qhartman

03-06-2009, 12:27 PM

Just a side note, Jets N Guns is done, I got it for Linux last week. Really, really fun SHMUP.

Odin

03-06-2009, 12:36 PM

This looks like quite an interesting and well developed game. $38 (£27) is a hell of a deal too.
Yes it's interesting. :)
No, it's not well developed (netcode sucks). ;)
$38 for such an old game is really hell. :p

R3MF

03-06-2009, 12:37 PM

why would i buy this when the Good Old Games version comes:
> with no DRM
> at a price of $9.99

don't get me wrong, i love that they have done this, but where is the value?

fabioamd87

03-06-2009, 01:41 PM

Really good, not the game, but the coming of Linux version of games.

Svartalf

03-06-2009, 02:02 PM

$38 for such an old game is really hell. :p

Considering that it's a NEW game on Linux... :p ;)

fabioamd87

03-06-2009, 02:03 PM

Anyway Financing LGP is not a bad idea.

Svartalf

03-06-2009, 02:06 PM

don't get me wrong, i love that they have done this, but where is the value?

The GoG version is a WINDOWS version and you're buying it as such.

Each time you do something along those lines you send a message to the studios and publishers that you actually WANT to buy WINDOWS titles.

Seriously.

I'm not going to twist people's arms to go and buy it (partly because I've a relationship with LGP (Indicated by the tag on my handle here...)) but in the same breath, I'd be disinclined to give the wrong message just because "it's cheaper".

One of the things everyone has to realize is that as long as you keep equating what is a new title on Linux with "an old title", which might be the case on Windows, you're going to be waiting a LONG time for Linux specific titles unless they're indie stuff like Caster.

Aradreth

03-06-2009, 02:16 PM

unless they're indie stuff like Caster.
Indie games is where it's at anyway, a lot of mainstream games are boring. Just the same old brown coloured shooters with a mediocre story line that cost ~£30 for 10-15 hours of so called fun.

Odin

03-06-2009, 02:21 PM

Don't get me wrong, publishing games for Linux is an important step for the spreading of this operating system, but if I buy ~4 of that games I can already afford a copy of windows (from the financial point of view! no ideology or disposition included :P).

Svartalf

03-06-2009, 04:10 PM

psycho_driver

03-06-2009, 05:46 PM

I'm buying it. Will be the first linux game I've purchased since the Loki days.

me262

03-06-2009, 08:38 PM

Sure, you can afford a copy of Windows... But...would you WANT the narfy thing? ;)
Lol. NARF!

Might I dare say that since you're paying a metric ton for Windows, and Linux is free*.

Given the cost of these OS systems, I'd say the cost of the game is worth it. You're getting someone that'll actually support the game, work on future systems (to a point), and you'll be sending a statement that will make companies say "HEY! Linux is getting a great game base going! Let's develop for it!"

* Free as in you don't need to pay to use it. A few compaies (Fedora/Mandriva) charge you for troubleshooting or for service support. You do find those great systems that break the mold though.

Odin

03-07-2009, 10:25 AM

I said "from the financial point of view! no ideology or disposition included :P", please keep that in mind. ;)

If for example Empire: Total War would be ported, I wouldn't hesitate and buy it.

deanjo

03-07-2009, 10:33 AM

Dragonlord

03-07-2009, 11:50 AM

* Free as in you don't need to pay to use it. A few compaies (Fedora/Mandriva) charge you for troubleshooting or for service support. You do find those great systems that break the mold though.
NO!

Free software is about free as in freedom not as free beer. It is fine ( and encouraged by the GPL ) to charge for services around free software and support and maintenance is a service.

RobbieAB

03-07-2009, 12:47 PM

I take it that Sacred Gold is shipping with DRM?

Can anyone explain the logic of that when it:
A) Annoys linus users?
B) Is available without DRM on Windows anyway?

Basically, I've played Sacred Gold at a friends house on windows, interesting game, but not sure I'll stick it that long. As such, it's not a "guaranteed" game I will come back to time and again, so the DRM is pretty much a put off for me.

deanjo

03-07-2009, 09:07 PM

RealNC

03-07-2009, 10:13 PM

The rest of the world is playing Sacred 2 though.

ivanovic

03-08-2009, 08:48 AM

Adarion

03-08-2009, 10:17 AM

OMG. So it's finally coming to Linux on x86. Well, though that's nice it's also very late.
My NDA doesn't forbid me (I hope) to tell that I was one of the closed Betatesters in Germany for Sacred. So on one hand I appreciate that it's going to have a native port for Linux finally but on the other hand I've seen enough of that game in all the time of intensive betatesting. :)
Since it took off some remains from LMK which was intended to be kind of a Realms of Arkania (DSA/TDE The Dark Eye German Fantasy P&P RPG) like release I was happy to see the remains of LMK brought to life finally after LMK had such an unfortunate death.
But it was way too action like for me as a roleplayer, way too much hack and slay a la Diablo. Anyway. A lot of people liked it and I still had my share of fun too even though it wasn't perfectly my taste.

But the general problem I see is that firms like LGP or Loki (r.i.p.) do a lot of portation work but always with titles that are years old. Y'know the W32 version of these games is 3-4 years old and available on "Grabbeltisch" (cheapo table with mixed stuff thrown in in the supermarkets "each items 10E") for about 10E / 12-15 US$. So all those people being short on money (e.g. most pupils, students, but probably main group of gamers?) who have a dual boot system or are using WINE or Cedega will probably have problems spending full price for a native port when they either already played the game on W32 or have the mentioned solutions and can use the W32-chapo-re-release for 10 E.
I wish that portation release would be in similar time like the "official" W32 releases by the main company. (see many independent games or most id soft stuff, releasing W32, MacOS, Linux versions at about same time)

And a Digital Restriction management would be really, really awful. I guess Linux/free OS users are even more susceptible and sensitive to DRM than the average Windows gamer. And most of them I hear complaining about DRM keeping them from playing their PAID and fully licensed games.
So DRM is a big no-go and no-buy for me and I really rarely make exceptions.

Svartalf

03-08-2009, 10:23 AM

Hmm, I bought the Windows version ages ago when there was no Gold edition yet. Spent many hours with the game. And I would seriously consider buying it (again), if they made a version for the Pandora. That is it would have to be "adjusted" to have it run on ARM and some special things regarding controls and display resolution would have to be done, too. Beside this I *think* it *might* just be powerful enough for this game, though it is probably a borderline case...

Lemme see what I can do for that request. Right now, Michael's sitting on the fence on things and while I am doing a few projects for LGP (unofficial, in my spare time...) for the Pandora along with doing at least Caster and (eventually...) Europa Universalis 2, it's not a final decision to get things like Sacred over onto it (if it'll even fit... ;)).

I need to get the things on my plate a little more done before I go to him with a request like that. I'm sure if it looks remotely compelling to him (and I'm thinking it might once I get a few things over onto Pandora for him...), he'd allow me to either do the work or to mentor one of the other consultants in doing the work.

RobbieAB

03-08-2009, 11:02 AM

Have fun reading.

http://www.phoronix.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10992

I already did.

DRM is on the game, it's not a sufficiently sure fire "Hit" for me that I'm going to make an exception for it. (There are two games which are: Civ, and HoI)

Kjella

03-08-2009, 05:31 PM

At least one of the big reason for Linux DRM is one of the reasons Linux gaming will never, ever take off this way. Yes, of course people feel entitled to play the game they've bought for Windows on Linux. I also feel entitled to play AACs bought from the iTunes music store on Linux. Honestly, people never feel they should have to pay twice for the "same thing", and as much as LGP would like to consider them two different things they aren't in people's minds.

"How many people want feature X?" then divide development cost by X has never worked well for any features, not so when it's "Linux support" either. You consider how much you can increase your total sales, and if it's greater than the development cost you do it but keep selling it as the same product. If I bought Microsoft Excel I couldn't pick what spreadsheet functions I need, you buy the package. Compared to the cost of developing the features that means you make a lot of money on some people and less on others.

I did buy World of Goo for Linux, or rather the one license for all platforms. Despite the single-day sales record, I'm pretty sure they had a lower margin on Linux sales. But I'm also sure they made money, money they never ever would have made with a special 40$ Linux version with DRM to "cover their costs".

Maybe Sacred Gold can be profitable at 27 GBP / 38 USD, but if so I can swear that if you could sell "Sacred Gold, now available for Windows and Linux, no DRM for 9.95$" at GOG/Linux sites and create more than 4x the sales surge. Wouldn't know what was Linux and Windows sales though, which would be LGPs problem. I'd buy that but not this. Compared to the bargain bin it'd soon buy me a separate Wintendo PC for less.

Svartalf

03-08-2009, 11:24 PM

I already did.

DRM is on the game, it's not a sufficiently sure fire "Hit" for me that I'm going to make an exception for it. (There are two games which are: Civ, and HoI)

Heh... I guess you'd have passed on the Windows version if you were into that sort of thing. Anything other than the currently offered GoG download version of Sacred has DRM in it. ;)

R3MF

03-09-2009, 07:28 AM

The GoG version is a WINDOWS version and you're buying it as such.

Each time you do something along those lines you send a message to the studios and publishers that you actually WANT to buy WINDOWS titles.

Seriously.

I'm not going to twist people's arms to go and buy it (partly because I've a relationship with LGP (Indicated by the tag on my handle here...)) but in the same breath, I'd be disinclined to give the wrong message just because "it's cheaper".

One of the things everyone has to realize is that as long as you keep equating what is a new title on Linux with "an old title", which might be the case on Windows, you're going to be waiting a LONG time for Linux specific titles unless they're indie stuff like Caster.

i shouldn't have mentioned the "cheaper" part because that really distracted me from my main love affair with GoG; zero hassle, zero DRM, zero registration.

if LGP gave me that i would buy Sacred Linux right now, regardless of price and regardless of the fact i bought the GoG version.

Svartalf

03-09-2009, 08:23 AM

i shouldn't have mentioned the "cheaper" part because that really distracted me from my main love affair with GoG; zero hassle, zero DRM, zero registration.

Heh... Windows sale. Each purchase of one of GoG's copies without a Linux version (and I'm working on fixing that one too...) counts as a vote FOR Windows.

Why keep buying something that isn't intended for your platform of choice? Running with WINE isn't the answer. Really, it isn't.

if LGP gave me that i would buy Sacred Linux right now, regardless of price and regardless of the fact i bought the GoG version.

Considering that my remark indicated that they seem to be the ONLY parties that have published with no DRM (nobody else has shipped without it...), and that I wonder what they did to get signoff from Ascaron and their Windows publisher on that one...

R3MF

03-09-2009, 08:49 AM

believe me that i love to support games, and would love to do so on linux too.

i even buy games that i think are worth supporting for the concepts they introduce, regardless of whether i get around to playing them.

but i won't re-buy the same game when it keeps DRM.

i have re-bought some games from gog precisely because they provide me with a fully patched, no drm, offline archivable game at an affordable price.

SlackerTD

03-09-2009, 09:03 AM

R3MF

03-09-2009, 11:34 AM

If you want a more recent discussion on LGP's DRM (with Michael @ LGP providing answers on this), take a look at the blog posting on it (http://blog.linuxgamepublishing.com/2009/02/27/answering-the-lgp-drm-questions/).

thankyou.

the following quote has greatly eased my mind:
The first and most important issue I would like to address is that no, you do NOT require internet access to install or to play the games, you do not need a disc in your drive, and you do not need to enter in your key or password every time you play. These are all myths. You need to enter a key and password (and optionally your email address) when you install the game, and that is it. You do not need to worry about it again.

when i read the initial phoronix article i got the impression that online activation was necessary, this would appear not to be the case.

i am an archivist by nature, and one who spends a lot of time on the road without access to an internet connect, and most particularly, one who objects to a system whereby i am forced to ask 'permission' to install a game that i consider i have already legally 'bought'.

with GoG games i can keep the installer in my archive for as long as i please, and if i find myself several years later with a desire to play the game, the fact that i might live in a log-cabin in montana will not prevent me from installing the game and playing it. ultimate convenience and a privilege i will always pay for.

with LGP (as i currently understand it), i can live in that log cabin with my digital archive of Sacred and provided i have kept a copy of the install-key and password i will also be able to install and play the game. in short; acceptable convenience.

the next step down the convenience scale is a CDROM based game with a CD-key that will likewise allow me to play games in my log-cabin provided i have the disc and the key. again; acceptable convenience as the LGP password is balanced by the need to keep a physical disk).

where we get to unacceptable inconvenience is the current trend with new games of demanding an internet authorization before i can install and play agame. sat in my putative log-cabin i am in short shafted. this travesty is often compounded by a limited number of installs, which is a nightmare to someone who replaces his gaming hardware frequently and likes to keep old games so he can relive that magic moment in the future.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
now, i am a dedicated gamer and that does mean i buy these awful games, because i have too. but GoG and LGP release older titles which i have already had opportunity to purchase and play so they need to offer a different advantage to the gamer, GoG does it with zero-DRM and a cheap price whereas LGP would appear to be heading for limited-DRM and linux support.

that's ok with me, i see value in both those ideas, but the whole advantage to me of LGP would fall off a cliff if it only allowed me to play old windows titles with horrible restrictive DRM.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
so to sum up: if i can archive my LGP titles for when i retire to said montana log-cabin then i am a happy bunny. :)

Svartalf

03-09-2009, 12:28 PM

so to sum up: if i can archive my LGP titles for when i retire to said montana log-cabin then i am a happy bunny. :)

In short, yes. Moreover, since we all have access to the DRM and the titles we're responsible for, all the consultants who DO the porting are under the understanding that if LGP does shut it's doors we're to push out a version sans DRM on the titles that get it.

RobbieAB

03-09-2009, 03:22 PM

Heh... I guess you'd have passed on the Windows version if you were into that sort of thing. Anything other than the currently offered GoG download version of Sacred has DRM in it. ;)
Exactly. I've not got a copy, the last windows game I purchased was HoI2: Collectors edition, which incidentally was my third copy of HoI2...

I played it at a friends house, and while interesting, wasn't that special for me. I'll stick to Nethack for my monster killing urges.

Nexus6

03-12-2009, 01:35 PM

I used to be a major Angband junkie (never really took to NetHack - don't know why) and even NWN didn't really pull my RPG attentions away from Angband. However, having been in the beta and played Sacred:Gold from start to finish as a Vampiress, I will be buying the game because a) I still have more to explore, b) it's lots of fun and c) it's as addictive as anything I've played recently.

niniendowarrior

03-12-2009, 11:13 PM

Okay... I'd really like to hear of a timeline for the demo!

a7v-user

04-10-2009, 07:48 AM

Tuxgames and others are sending out Sacred Gold now.
If you select the download option as well you could have it installed today.
It installed just fine for me... but they forgot to send out a cdkey with the download option so I still have to wait another week or so before I get my CD and start to play. :(
Edit: Tuxgames now hands out a temporary cdkey for the downloaded version so now it's finally playable.

Kano

04-10-2009, 08:21 AM

@Svartalf

Is the game data the same to be able to create a patch against the Win version and use that for example with a localized variant?

a7v-user

04-10-2009, 08:37 AM

Seems to be the same but... there's a nice no-modify clause in the EULA so you'd need written consent before starting on that patch or mod. Besides, I don't see any mods for the windows version either so it's not like we're missing out on a lot of cool stuff like for Diablo2 or Arcanum.

Svartalf

04-10-2009, 11:06 AM

@Svartalf

Is the game data the same to be able to create a patch against the Win version and use that for example with a localized variant?

It should be.

whizse

04-10-2009, 05:38 PM

Okay... I'd really like to hear of a timeline for the demo!

Indeed, LGP said they were "working on the finalising of the demo (http://blog.linuxgamepublishing.com/2009/03/06/sacred-gold-is-now-well-gold/#comments)" back in march, so has it been finalised yet? :)

whizse

04-11-2009, 06:11 PM

Michael Simms wrote this on the LGP blog:

I wish I had good news. We are waiting on a third party to provide us with the required information and so the demo is completely on hold for now.

Oh well, guess I will take a chance and order the game. At the worst I have at least supported LGP :)

charon

06-09-2009, 06:05 AM

I'm about to buy the game (I even plan on ordering two copies - supporting purposes) but before I do that, i have a question about the multiplayer:

Is there a Closed-Net infrastructure (characters are stored on the game server)? Ascaron shut down their Closed-Net so only Open-Net is possible - and that is open to character manipulation, since the characters are stored locally.

I will only play this game in multiplayer since single player is too short to find "the good stuff" and to get the character to high levels...