I feel like option 3 would be a lot better. Not only would it be a pain to constantly download updates from the website (as opposed to Steam updating automatically), but I feel like having it on Steam for a while could really help in other ways such as advertising and news from the game's main library page. I'm going to be having it on Steam no matter what, but it would be a lot simpler for you guys to just work off of it for the beginning stages as well. :U
I feel that the third option is probably the best, and not just because I love Steam. I personally hate when games release separate versions that don't update together, so to me option two doesn't seem very attractive. It's like the Mac and PC versions of Borderlands 2 when they were released; for a while they were different versions of the game, and it was really annoying.
DRM-Free games are games that live forever. Having one company dictating whether or not you can play YOUR games is bad. Doesn't matter if you think steam will never go away, or that they'd never take away your games. The possibility is there. EA did it already with some of its games, so there is a precedent. So now you have 3 logical reasons to why people don't like DRM. There are more, but I'll leave that for you to find out. Being an autodidact, I find, is a great way to better yourself. Having said that, option 3 is the way to go. Don't even bother with the others. Efficiency first.
I'll probably just go steam version, If i want to mod it I'll have my friend help me. He's a computer genius, wrote a code to bypass the OS restriction on a game that only played on Windows XP and Vista.
I prefer steam myself. I think that it definitely makes things easier. Nonetheless, the people who do not like steam have paid for and waited just as long as everyone else, so they do have a right to be upset if they are left out. It isn't selfish of them to want to be satisfied just like everyone else. People are calling them hippies or whatever, but they're in the same boat as everyone else and should have as much say-so in the matter as any other person here. Whether you're here to honestly help, or you're here just to play the game as soon as possible, everyone has paid the same price, which means they should be able to put their hand in. If the developers feel that just using steam is best for now, there's not much anyone can do, but if they decide to support both versions throughout the whole beta, at least there's a better of chance of finding all of the possible bugs that may exist. At the cost of slower development, I don't think that's such a bad price to pay. The point of the beta process IS to find bugs and take suggestions. In my mind, developers should take the path that increases those chances instead of worrying about how fast the beta process should be.
i would have to choose with the majority of all the people that answered and that would be 3 because it makes the most sense and it would also help the game come out faster i think imo.
What is easiest is also likely the fastest. By saying they want the third option, it indicates speed takes priority over a Steam-free version for them.
And, to be quite frank, and a little bit rude, I don't really care about how someone who self-exiled themselves from Steam will/won't receive the first round of beta testing. By choosing not to use Steam, I'm sure they've made concessions before, and they can make one now if it means that the game spends less time in beta, and the only cost is them not getting to goof around with the earliest version of the game. I can't say that though, because that's mean.
I just want the beta to be distributed already.. Although I still have no idea when they even plan on releasing it to the pre-orderers.
I have to go with option 3 cause everyone has access to Steam and can use it. As Hooven said, if someone really has a problem with Steam then they'll have to wait just a little longer.
I'm a bit old-fashioned, which means I'll take whatever is offered. If anything, do what makes the game run more smoothly, which sounds like Steam first.
Option 1. Keeping everyone on the same page is undoubtedly a good thing, and a slower release cycle would mean that the game doesn't get pulled out from under people's feet just as they're getting used to it. Also, I saw a similar strategy from YoyoGames when they discussed releasing their product with or without SoftWrap. They framed the "with SoftWrap" option as getting the update to them faster, so people chose that one (and this caused Yoyo a lot of problems down the line). Of course people are going to choose option 3, because they want instant gratification and they want it now! Any option you present as "this will get you the game faster" will always win the vote, and it will always cause problems. Edit: I can't remember if this was a windows-only game or not, but since ordering I've switched to and got very comfortable with linux. If it's windows-only, I'd like a DRM-free version to run under wine. If there's no drm-free version*, I'll have to do a lot of fighting with steam to even be able to download the game. *edit - clarity
