I think option three isn't a bad idea, I use steam and intend on participating in the progenitor portion so the steam update support will be great!
Hello Guys! i think the Option 3 will be the best option for a start! I think its more important some more focus on the game Bug fixing and developing, and have a faster and easier plataform to provide us the updates. And a little later release a DRM-Free version when the beta is more stable! Thank you Pelisoli
i love steam and I try to avoid games that aren't using steam since ~2004... i can live with non-steam version of starbound for the beta but the game isn't complete without steam for me .... i don't mind games that aren't in my game library.
You can always add non-steam games to your steam library by clicking on the "Games" tab in steam, and then at the bottom of the opened tab there will be an option to "Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library..."
I have no problem with either method, though I think Number 3 is the most practical for purposes of development. Speaking as an obscure indie dev myself.
Option #3 seems to be the best one. If they release the game on steam as a Early Access, they'll get some extra attention and extra source of feedback. Some people won't come here to the forums and register, but if they are already on Steam, players can use Steam community to give feedback without extra steps. And by not focusing so much in releasing multiple versions, they can focus more on polishing the game itself. Steam provides tools for developers to push more updates faster that the Humble store it seems they'd use to release the DRM-free version, and of course faster than any server they may set in their site. In any case, people don't have to choose between Steam and the DRM-free version, they get both when they pay though the humble store, and to download it they have to be online anyways, and once installed Steam can be ran in offline mode. It's just an extra step for everyone's convenience.
We are a good fan-base. Until shit hits the fan, then it's like Blizzards userbase all over again. I will be as much an entitled brat as it takes to make this game awesome in view of my emotional demands. WHINE WHINE WHINE
Go for option 3 -- what works best for you guys. I'm pretty sure the majority of us have steam, and those who currently don't are most likely in a position where they can quickly download it. If there IS a good number of people (perhaps 5-10% who don't have the means to get steam for whatever reason), option 2 would be ok. Just update the DRM-free version of Starbound every ~5 updates (more or less depending on the size and the significance of the update, and the time between the release of recent previous updates).
With an ongoing project like Starbound, I fully understand the need for an easy way to put out hotfixes, patches, updates etc quickly and easily, however, Mojang manages to do this with Minecraft without the use of services like Steam, and has from day one. Theirs isn't a perfect system but I don't see why you couldn't just have the Steam and DRM free version and release the identical updates for both at the same time. It would mean establishing a homebrew delivery system for these updates, but you'd really only have to do it once, and then you're set. You could even use these forums as a platform for that kind of filesharing. It would mean a diversion of resources over the short term, but then at least you'd have an avenue for publishing content on your own terms, not Valve's or any other third party. Just food for thought, I'll be following and playing Starbound regardless of your final decision.
As so many have said before me... Steam is a good compromise for the start. The DRM-free version can wait until patches become more stable. I don't see how that's unreasonable?
Option 3 makes the most sense for you guys, no reason for you to make yourselves extra work maintaining 2 distributions of the game until its necessary. Save your focus for bug squashing!
