Final Release on DVD or CD?

[rcallicotte]

Will the final release of TG2 be available on DVD or CD?  If so, will this include a manual and extras?

[dhavalmistry]

No need for DVD...I think there will only be digital shipping of this product when it is released.....physical shipping would be meaningless (considering the size of  the setup file - ~10 MB) and not cheap

-waste of CD
-shipping cost of the CD
-Boxart

[rcallicotte]

I like owning media.  I don't need waste.  It's professional for a software company to create a CD and useful for a professional who uses the software to own a CD of a software product. 

This isn't Terragen .9 any more, in my observation.

[cyphyr]

Although the software itself if relatively small I think that on launch it might be cool if a whole bunch of supporting files were available, a gallery of images, a stack of textures including planetary maps possibly, some models (including an expanded set from Xfrog or similar)  and of course a stack of tutorials and example files. All this could very well fit on a CD would add value to the product. Also if people want to go for just the dl version then that will still be available.

Of course its up to Planetside and I do wonder sometimes if all this speculation actually helps in the long run but it is interesting nonetheless.

Richard

[Harvey Birdman]

Cyphyr's idea for support files on a CD is pretty good, but putting something like that together would turn into a major project on it's own, I'd think. Given the resources PS has I don't know if diluting their efforts like that would be a good idea.

It is, though, the best justification I can think of for PS distributing on hard media. The other down side is, of course, the cost. Printed manuals and the stuff you're describing would be pretty expensive to produce, Calico. I think you'd better plan on spending more money than the pre-purchase Deep price for something like that.

I'd think a third-party compilation CD of techniques and samples might stand more of a chance of happening. So who wants to be a hero?

[rcallicotte]

Honestly, a PDF manual to be downloaded onsite is fine. 

But, all of the software I own of any stature has a CD.  It's easy to know what I have and makes licensing much easier.  I don't need much.  A cumulation of work here on this site and overseen by Planetside for "no-porn" entries is fine enough for me.  Fill up the CD with Volker, Moodflow, njen, Lucio, Harvey Birdman, etc. - c'est possible.

Not to mention this as the User Contributions.  It would be easy to fill it up with all of the cumulation of descriptions and tutorials by Planetside here.

Anyway, a professional CD would go a long way, though it might be in Planetside's interest to understand when a company should go that direction.  A good example to follow, in my opinion, would be Luxology.

[Buzzzzz]

Oh come on you guys! We'll be lucky just to get the final release via download by the end of the year. And now you want it on CD too? LOL  

[rcallicotte]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Buzzzzz on the CD, too.   

[Buzzzzz]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Buzzzzz on the CD, too.   

Yeah Right!  LOL

[Harvey Birdman]

Give yourself some credit there, Buzzzz-meister. I doubt anyone would challenge the statement that you're one of the best artists here.   

[sjefen]

I agree

[Dark Fire]

A CD would be nice, and samples of work from these forums would be useful. However, to successfully market physical copies of TG2, won't Planetside need a proper logo/symbol for it? (The current icon is nice, but just doesn't do it justice).

I agree with the list above, with Buzzzzz added.

[rcallicotte]

DarkFire, I could have put a bunch of names on the list including yours, but wasn't making the list comprehensive.  Just an example.   

I agree that Planetside needs a unique avatar...or perhaps just an enhanced one.

[Cyber-Angel]

If Terragen wants to become a major software product it will need both boxed and download versions, when this happens Terragen will need a logo for brand identification and distribution partners will need to be found to get the boxed version into software retail outlets around the world.

Before this can happen comes the issue of Software globalization that is to say having the interface and documentation translated into other languages other than English many people offer this service including IBM and Sun maybe Planetside could open up such a project to its user base?

With physical boxed versions of the software there are the thorny issues of shipping, distribution and stock control as well as point of sale and ensuring you have bar codes on the boxes. Other things are anti-piracy and anti-copying technologies on the physical media its self.

These issues are vastly complicated by them selfs and require people with the qualifications and experience to get them done in the right way, if one day Planetside expands maybe there will be a forum for"Positions Available" then people could apply for those positions, send in their CV's and go form there just like any othe company.

Regards to you.

Cyber-Angel   

[Dark Fire]

Hehe. I wouldn't think I deserve to be on a list of artists - I just love playing with Terragen.

As usual, Cyber-Angel has thought everything through and is right, but who here feels that they are good enough to work for Planetside? Does anyone have any good ideas for the Terragen 'brand identification'?