MY DOWNLOAD EXPERIENCE

from Stardock Forums
Ok, after briefly scanning the messages and attempting to download the game, I feel a need to throw in my $.02.

The download application is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. IRC, News, Web sites... The actual download is an afterthought. My process went something like this:

1. Click link to new web page.
2. Enter name/credit card, etc.
3. Receive first email.
4. Click on e-mail link which opens another web page.
5. Download an EXE file. (Wait this is only 3 Megs--something's wrong here.)
6. Run the install file, which installs some weird web browser application that I've never heard of. (Stardock)
7. Nothing happened after that, so I tracked the new application down in my Start menu and ran it, praying it wasn't a virus or adware or something.
8. This loads the wierd web browser application. The first web page gives me a complicated list of instructions where I click on a web link. I believe this authorized the application. (not sure what that actually means)
9. I receive ANOTHER email. This one has an ORDER ID and a Serial Number. It instructs me to open the weird Stardock applicaiton and drill down into a tab structure and enter my serial number. I do this.
10. Next the email instructs me to navigate to a differnent tab strcture, right click on something and I should see multiple Galactic Civilization files. I try this but they're not actually there.
11. Luckily I write software for a living so I recognize the "Chat" tab as an IRC plug-in. I go there and start begging for help.
12. By this time it's 3am and it takes 10 minutes for one of the channel operators to notice me. He types something about checking into it and I don't hear anything else.
13. Another would-be gamer starts throwing suggestions out from problems he had. One of them worked--I hadn't been logged in. I didn't remember seeing a login screen but logging into the "Message" tab does the trick. Now the Galactic Civ files show up in the "Software"/Dregin.Net tab/subtab.
14. I click on all 5 files and it starts on the first and queues the next five.

Whew. 1 hr, 15 minutes and it's finally downloading. It's only coming down at 25KB/sec, about 10% of my bandwidth but I'm to tired to try it tomight anyway. It should be downloaded by this time, Friday.

Now my understanding is that I just got past the first of three major download hurdles. I still have to massage the downloads as they often time out and you have to set the options in a certain way to allow them to restart.

There's also the problem of several install files but hey--I write software and install programs for a living, I'm sure it won't take me more than a couple hours to find the right sequence and option selection to get the game to run.

Anyway, Galactic Civ, I can guarantee you are losing revenue through this ridiculous download application. I understand these guys are your publishers or something but if I were you, I'd be looking at other distribution options. I can't imagine most users being as patient.

I'm really looking forward to playing this game. It was a breath of fresh air after struggling with MOO3 for a bit. Hope it's worth it...
530 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top
I second what Matt is saying.

There is a difference in mentality here. Stardock intends to rely on SDCentral as a "home base" for all their S/W and games, past present and future.

I just want GalCiv. Standalone. I couldn't care less about your AOL-like online community, or any of your Windows skin-enhancing products. Give me a reliable, resuming, standard download server (HTTP or FTP) that I can link into using reliable S/W I already have, and I'll be satisfied.

This isn't meant as a rant. I applaud the fantastic game you've all created, and the level of ongoing support you have commited to. My only grief is with the clunky and obscure system you're focing us to use in order to download. Why reinvent the wheel?
Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top
Is this still the typical experience for downloading the game? It sure seems like a lot of trouble.
Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top
i was not in the beta, so when i bought GC, it was my first experience buying anything from them

now, i have no idea why you thought it might be some virus or whatever, the company has had it's games and software reviewed by a ton of websites, and their software usually tends to be the cream of the crop

as this was my FIRST time dealing with stardock, it took me 10 minutes, and i was downloading the game. I bought the game, downloaded SDC, entered in my info, and begun the download. Yes it takes a long time, dude, its more them 400mb with dozens of users downloading at the same time, you can buy the game in stores if you like, or have the CD shipped to you

the purpose of SDC is for people who have a Drengin.net subscription, which gives you full access to all of their games. I see nothing wrong with putting an integrated browser + chat in here, it only adds to the efficiency when trying to find info about the game/related things on the web.

They are not trying to create an "aol" community, they have created a tool that can be used for all of their products, and can give users quick support via forums and live chat, maybe you shouldn't have been on the IRC server at 3am wondering why no one was online.

I have not heard of anyone else complain about the download experience other than it was slow (which is something out of people's control, unless u believe in magic) and some people complained their key didn't work.

The download took me about 1-2 hours, yes it was long for my cable modem, but i downloaded it the day it came out so there were easily hundreds of downloaders, there are still people buying the game, the game is on amazon.com's top 10 list. My experience was very nice, although i've sent maybe 2 emails to their support team and have no recieved a reply in the 2-3 days, but i hear they are backed-up. They came out with 2-3 patches within the last week and have upgraded the empire's system. I see they are somewhat busy.

~SDC~
Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
I feel kind of lucky... Stardock Central worked for me first time up. I've never had a problem. I admit it's a bit... encroaching... to have to use the system for all the little updates and whatnot, but so far it's worked out fine for me.
Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top
I skipped the first email, went straight to the download link and right now I am 55% through the 450mb download, with absolutely no probs so far, its been going at 120k steady so I cant complain, if you dont like stardock then dont use it, so far I have not found it necessary.
Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
"if you dont like stardock then dont use it, so far I have not found it necessary."

You will, for updates. They will only be releasing direct-download patches on a timeline comparable to patches for other games (think every month or every couple of months). Through Stardock Central, however, we've had updates to the game daily since release.

"Is this still the typical experience for downloading the game? It sure seems like a lot of trouble."

If SDC causes you too much grief, one of the e-mails you get contains a link to a direct-download EXE. So you CAN get the game with Stardock Central... but as I just said, you're going to need SDC anyways to get the most out of the phenomenal support Stardock's been providing so far.

"I have not heard of anyone else complain about the download experience other than it was slow (which is something out of people's control, unless u believe in magic)"

Two things.

First, I downloaded the 465MB EXE installer in 15 minutes at around 550kbs. Stardock Central (when I tried it before the direct download link was available) vacillated between 500 BYTES a second and 20kbps, with an average (I would guess) of around 8kbps. Doesn't that difference seem like a bit much too be something ENITRELY out of their control? I understand that speed is not something Stardock can have total control over, but a difference that vast suggests to me that there is something about SDC that is inherently slower, at least for me, than a direct download. For the record, my DL speed for the patches, thorough SDC, is on average also about 8kbps. This on the same university T1 that gave me 550kbps before...

And as for the first part of your comment, about not hearing anyone else complain, I don't think you've been listening terribly hard. :) While very few people are raising tremendous fusses, there have been a couple threads similar to this one, and I share some of the poster's concerns, if not quite so passionately.

SDC is extraneous, as far as I'm concerned. It's wonderful that it exists, but it should not be practically forced on me, the way it initially was for download purchases and the way it is being for timely patches. I paid Stardock for their game, not for the pleasure of installing additional programs on my already-cluttered hard disk. I have had no major problems with the program, but that doesn't prevent me from recognizing that the registration system is horribly complex for what should be a simple game purchase, and that the program itself is only tangently related to the product I'm actually interested in.

Until SDC give me some actual problems my criticisms of it will remain dispassionately academic, but that doesn't mean I don't think they are valid criticisms.

- Ash

~SDC~
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top
I have downloaded GalCiv from the bulk-file-link. I used Download Accelerator, so I had a good 200kB/s. This was however, not on my own computer, as I have only a slow modem. I installed SDC anyway on my own computer to run the updates. Entered my serial, and saw GalCiv. But every time I run SDC, it downloads an update of itself, after which I must enter my serial again. Also it doesn't work in combination with Seti@Home, which I run almost constantly. I agree: make it plain downloads. Fortunately, they have done this with the first patch, and I hope they continue to do it with the rest of the updates/BonusPacks.
Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top
just finished downloading all the extras, took five minutes while watching curb your enthusiasm. Excellent interface, it worked for me. :)

~SDC~