Eschalon: Book I on Greenhouse (Penny Arcade Announcement)

[BasiliskWrangler]

Direct Link: http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/08/04/ ... reenhouse/

Greetings to all Penny Arcade readers who find their way to The Pub!

[Dragonlady]

That was amusing! Didn't know you were so scary Basilisk!

[BasiliskWrangler]

I don't know- I don't have any sales figures from them yet. [fingers crossed] We really need these sales to be strong.

[Canfu]

Well, it got ME to buy the game... Always on the lookout for fun RPGs like this! And from what I've played so far, looking forward to Book 2!

[zarvok]

Well, it got ME to buy the game... Always on the lookout for fun RPGs like this! And from what I've played so far, looking forward to Book 2!

Seconded. Great fun so far, and I doubt if I ever would have found it without the Penny Arcade announcement.

[arisian]

I'll just add that I, too, discovered the game through the PA post, and have since purchased it (and been playing it ever since). Just for your reference, the fact that it runs under Linux did a lot to encourage me check it out.

[Pixelante]

It brought me in, and it's exactly the kind of game I've been pining after for a long time. I'm really sick of games with lush, gorgeous, realistic graphics--and very little depth of play. I like the aesthetic of classic games. Eschalon looks a lot like Jagged Alliance 2, and I absolutely love that game.

Anyone else going to PAX later this month?

[WolfRune]

I hadn't heard of this game until the Penny Arcade announcement, and I take their recommendations seriously - their taste in games is usually pretty damn good.

I bought through them, and I'm really looking forward to getting Book 2 - the fact that my key is good on all 3 platforms, and that the game is available on Linux, is exactly the kind of awesome forward-thinking development that a lot of gamers will really appreciate. Kudos for all your hard work on Book 1, good luck on Books 2 and 3. Keep it up, and you will build a loyal fan base

[AstralWanderer]

I purchased Eschalon from Playgreenhouse and there is good news and bad news.

The good: They are not anal like Plimus in requiring a valid phone number to process an order. If you wish to keep your number private, you can specify an "obvious fake" and the order will still go through.

The bad: Their version of Eschalon requires online activation. This is a deal breaker for me for two reasons.

Firstly, online activation means I won't be able to install/play Eschalon if Playgreenhouse shut down or if their server suffers an extended outage - if I buy a game, I do so in the expectation of being able to fire it up 10+ years later (like I'm doing with Sierra/Relic's 3D RTS Homeworld currently). However this will almost certainly not happen with Playgreenhouse's version of Eschalon - I presume the original Eschalon doesn't require online activation but please confirm this BasiliskWrangler.

A well-written article about the pitfalls of online activation can be found here.

The second problem with online activation is a more subtle one - the company can change the rules and impose extra conditions on that activation. This could include extra fees (Stardock being one example), the installation of (otherwise unwanted) extra software or even a requirement to run adware. The likelihood of a company being truly abusive is low when they're releasing new products (and can't risk bad publicity), but if they stop then they have nothing to lose by "monetising" their existing customer base.

I certainly would not have purchased from Playgreenhouse had they actually made it clear in their product description that it required online activation so I have contacted them to ask for a refund.

[The Noid]

I also found the game through Greenhouse. And I love it
Thanks for making a Linux version, wouldn't have been able to play it otherwise.

[AstralWanderer]

Well Playgreenhouse have sent a refund (after a reminder) though (thanks to currency conversion) a little less than the original cost.

However I would still like to know if the original Eschalon requires online activation also, or whether this is a "special feature" added by Playgreenhouse (who have yet to mention it in their product description). Could anyone confirm or deny this?

[BasiliskWrangler]

Well Playgreenhouse have sent a refund (after a reminder) though (thanks to currency conversion) a little less than the original cost.

However I would still like to know if the original Eschalon requires online activation also, or whether this is a "special feature" added by Playgreenhouse (who have yet to mention it in their product description). Could anyone confirm or deny this?

If you buy the game from us, there is no online activation required.

[AstralWanderer]

If you buy the game from us, there is no online activation required.

Thanks for that confirmation. It's a pity that Playgreenhouse have to mess things up with added DRM - and Plimus have to mess things up by blocking orders they don't like.