Hi,

I'm currently wondering what is best:

- a different exe/archive for the trial version and the full version
- same exe, unlocked by a keyfile

In favor of the different exes, there is the necessity for crackers to get the full version somehow before they can crack and release the full game.
In favor of the same exe, there is the fact that people can simply copy their version of the game to friends, even if this is the full version.. (of course, they'd preferably _not_ copy their keyfile :-])

Do you have more ideas or experience on the subject ?

Our current application will be released with a free version and a separate full/pro version. Here's the Pros/Cons list we came up with when deciding this:


Pros

- Pirating it requires finding a crack and the full version for download. With the proper anti-piracy measures server side (ie. suspend accounts that are getting 10 downloads a day of the program) the potential pirate has to find it elsewhere on the net. Finding cracks and update downloads for updates later on becomes an even bigger pain, possibly convincing former pirates to purchase the product.

- Bandwidth isn't being wasted on downloads of free trial by people that intend to crack it and won't pay for it ever.

- Trial version is potentially smaller, resulting in faster download times and savings in bandwidth costs.

- Higher perceived value (can anyone confirm or disprove this?). By downloading a separate exe there is more physical proof that your purchase bought something. People are much more stingy online with software because of the digital nature of it. A shipped package would be ideal but carries its own disadvantages.


Cons

- Buyers have to download a new .exe, this is an inconvienance for people with dialup or without readily available Internet.

- Instant gratification is less instant since there is now more work for the user.


Of course, without having tested both approaches, we can't really be sure this list is true, but it does pass the test of logic.

I'll be using trial versions and full versions much for the same reasons brought up by Lizardsoft. It just seems like waste of effort to worry so much about crackers when they're going to get at your game one way or another (if they can't crack it they use a stolen card to get a key, and when you add that key to the next version's ban list, they just do it again). Worse, when they do put up a crack and link to your website you're paying out bandwidth to help them. I'd rather just avoid that cycle entirely and focus more on the customer than the pirate. Also, the smaller download of the trial version is a very nice side effect of the separate downloads model.Originally posted by Lizardsoft
Pirating it requires finding a crack and the full version for downloadPirating it just requires finding the full version. There is no crack, it's already the full version. There's also no keygen. Some additional points:

Pros: For some users downloading another version is less troublesome than entering a registration key. Shorter development cycle. No banned registration keys to manage.Cons: Possibly higher incidence of fraudulent credit charges/refunds. The player may delete or misplace the download, which either requires an automated "owner's area" on your website or more customer service.Also, you may be able to distribute the full version as a patch on the demo version. I haven't looked into any software that does this, but I can't imagine it's that complicated to do. This does make it slightly more complicated for the user, as you have to give them the option for either full or the patch. It also doesn't really nullify the instant gratification con, but it mollifies it somewhat.

Originally posted by elund
Also, you may be able to distribute the full version as a patch on the demo version. I haven't looked into any software that does this, but I can't imagine it's that complicated to do. This does make it slightly more complicated for the user, as you have to give them the option for either full or the patch. It also doesn't really nullify the instant gratification con, but it mollifies it somewhat.

Actually ClickTeam seems to have made a very powerful patch maker (http://www.clickteam.com/English/patchmaker.php). You can even fake an installation program with it from what I can tell. However, in my opinion it's best to just have the user download and install the complete full version. Reasons for this: if a user uninstalls the game and decides to install it later, he/she will have to download the demo again and patch it. This can be quite confusing to the user. Also, this will defeat the point of separating the two versions to fight piracy. Pirates will just have to host the patch (a much smaller file) and YOU will again be hosting the bulk of the bandwidth as pirates download the demo from YOUR server so they can patch it.

One more thing: using the separate demo/full version method can also increase sales that would otherwise be lost to piracy. Let me explain. We all know that the people who browse warez sites aren't going to buy our games anyway, so we don't really care about them (other than not letting them waste our bandwidth). However, there are people who may not buy the game because they got a key from one of their friends.

Think about this -- it's pretty easy for a person to send an email to their friend saying "Hey Joe here's the key to this game I bought that you wanted to get, just download the demo at this link and enter the key." However, if you've separated the demo and full version, the user has to physically get the game to their friend. Since most games are too big to fit on a floppy, this means work for the user. Thus the user is more likely to say to their friend "Joe, the game is just $20 why don't you just buy it." At least, that's what I think would happen. :)

Elund - there's absolutely nothing stopping you from adding a key system to the full version, I've seen this done (Trillian is one example) and it goes a long way to detering piracy. Without the key system, the full version is suddenly a major piracy weakness, especially with a small download. An unprotected full version will be distributed much more just because it's very easy to do so. Having the customer type in a key isn't much of an extra pain either, and everyone is used to this these days. As an added bonus, you can make full version only downloads require a login into your site (this may inconvienence the user though, so be sensible about it).

Good point about the fradulent charges. I wonder how many people would go to all that trouble for a $10-$25 program, but it's certainly possible.

Thanks for your replies!

I'm thinking of going the "full exe + keyfile" route. The keyfile would contain the name and address of the client, and these would be displayed in the game, so as to discourage distribution.

However my game is a simple board game, and the demo version would contain even more code (and the same amount of data) than the full version, so I wouldn't win on the archive size :-p (crackers may possibly rebuild the full version based on the demo version too).