It's really only a choice between 2 & 3. If you put it to a vote it's going to be 3 as the majority of people use steam so they'll go with the one that best suits themselves and development. However if you are trying to (which i assume you are otherwise why the post ) make sure everyone is included in the beta period as much as possible, number 2 is the way to go as it's more inclusive to those who don't or can't use steam. However given the nature of Betas a balance will have to be struck of frequency of updates for the non steam version so that you guys can actually get on and make the game. Incompatibility is just something i think you're going to have to accept is going to happen and I honestly wouldn't give it a great deal of thought, people are going to still be able to play the game but not necessarily across platform (essentially what is it). I think people will have to accept this as something they wont be able to do with option 2, which is fair. Personally the fairest is going to be milestones for the non steam version. This will allow people who don't use steam to take part in a fair amount of the bug hunts and the play testing so they are not left out. This also lets you guys get more frequent updates from the steam players. Everyone gets to take part and it should allow you guys to keep on progressing at a fair pace without much lost in development. It's only going to be milestones or even once a week or every two weeks etc. The steam user will get the daily updates. Thats my two cents anyway. I'm happy to use steam or not use steam, it's no big deal, but looking at it objectively if you want to keep it as inclusive as you seem to want to do, option 2 is the way to go. You just need to get the right balance for how often you're going to update the non steam version and you should just accept there won't be cross play for alot of the beta. It's only the beta so i wouldn't get bogged down in cross play too much.
Thanks for the Information's Molly, i don't mind Steam at all, in the Past i hated it, pretty much like the most i think? But they have a nice update System, that can solve many Problems for Dev's and Player's. And now i use that other Steam too, also that for some Indie Games its called "Desura". There is an other System too, thats made for frequently updating Software, its Called TortoiseSVN i used that in the past for Garrys Mod Addons and GWX (other 3D Clonk) its different... but somehow worth the try (maybe...).
Why not just release the DRM-Free from the start, and wait til full release to put it on steam? Yeah sure there will be some whining 'Oh gods, sterbunds nut on teh steam D8> what in gabes name are we to derr?!?' but in the end the DRM-Free download would be available to everyone. It would take a little more effort on our half to make sure the game is up to date, but the end result is availability to everyone. Even if you can use steam, there is not a single person here that can only use steam.(if there is you should fix it, cause thats not posed to work like that)
There was a thread on this, don't remember what happened to it.. 1 & 2 sound like they keep with the spirit of your intended drm-free stance. So I would lean more towards those. 3 sounds so late to the party it would almost be punishing to those who can't use stream one way or another. Two seems to be the right middle ground with that in mind. A compromise so those without steam aren't left in the cold, and yet testing can go at its own pace.
What's so bad about steam? It's like, pretty much the biggest thing to use to get games online. Origin is all EA games, (Personally I despise EA.) and there aren't that many other things to use.. So? What's the issue?
Honestly, I say go for the third option. I'm personally not too crazy about (or familiar with) Steam, but I'm more than willing to put up with it in the initial stages if it means more attention is given to the final game. I, for one, care more about the final product than a temporary inconvenience.
Sorry DRM-free people, but I'd go with 3. But hey, the faster they can fix all the pesky little buggies, the quicker you guys can play a clean game !
I think number 3. The biggest problem with 2 or 1 is a lot of people will just copy and/or crack the DRM-free game and put it on the internet for everybody to get for free. The safest option is 3 by far (In my option)
Option 3 sounds like the best solution. The DRM free people can get over not having the most up to date version of the game 24/7, after all you can still launch the game in steam offline mode, this isn't origin where they are punishing the people who bought the game because of dirt-bags who pirate games.
Here's a few polls/topics to help with the decision making: http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/regarding-steam-poll.32390/ http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/drm-free-or-steam-early-access.31819/
I'd recommend going with option 3. That way, you guys can spend more time on actual game development, and less time trying to release updates on both platforms.
well, some computers can't run steam (a big piece for running Vista or Mac). that's the issue. anyway, 2 is more like what you plan to do, but 3 is less taxing and most people want the stable version. in that matter, some steam haters would go with 1 or 2, that being said, 2 is the way to go.
I'm most likely going to prefer playing a DRM free copy, but there is nothing preventing me from copying files over between the two versions later on, and I am perfectly fine with playing on Steam during the Beta. Anyone who hates Steam more than they love Starbound doesn't deserve to play during the Progenitor stage! (Disclaimer: my computer is garbage and I hate running steam, but that's a poor excuse to bog down the Beta process IMO)
