Questions About Purchasing...

Hey all! Long time UO player on the original Sonoma at release, and Councilor on Pacific.

I have a few simple questions before buying;

I see Steam is selling the game at a discount for another day or so. I really dislike Steam, I how does what I buy on Steam for $39 or whatever it is compare to what is sold on the SotA pledge pages?

What is the lowest level where I get property, and if I don't get it now, can I get it somehow later?

Z

 

I believe the 275 ancestor pledge has the first tax free lot. It is a Row lot deed.

 

You can buy the game on the site here for $45 which is the same as the $39 Steam purchase, but better in two ways.

1. You get a DRM-free client that will even work offline at launch, as well as a Steam copy. Buying on Steam only gets you a Steam version.
2. Buying on Steam means Valve takes a 30% cut off the top. Buying on this website means Portalarium gets all the money.

As for properly there are three options.

1. Buy a pledge at $275 or higher to be guaranteed a lot and house in game, tax free.
2. Buy a $45 pledge and an add-on lot deed for $85. Now you're at $130. Spend whatever you want on an add-on house or not. Houses aren't the problem. Reserving one of the finite lots are.
3. Buy a $45 pledge and take your chances buying land in game after launch with in game gold.

 

Well that makes it easy... I dislike Steam as it is and I'd be joining now to help the game, so while I know my contribution is a small part of a large pie I'd rather spend $6 more to see it all go to the game. And I think I'll take option #2 ($45+$85) for the housing.

Do we have to declare "where" we place our lot now, or can that be later on, even if we reserve it now?

Thanks to all for the great answers!

Z

 

On release there will be a land rush for people to pick their plots, with highest and earliest pledges getting a slight head start. There are also player owned towns which is another housing option that offers a chance for you to reserve a plot before the rush begins.

 

You actually get both clients, i purchased with steam then i downloaded the client from my account page and i log in through the regular client not steam.

 

Both 1 and 2 is not true as far as the Steam copy goes.

1. Buying the Steam Early Access gives you a $45 pledge level on your SotA account after you link/create one with the Steam game, meaning you can download the DRM free copy from the Account panel of the main website like everyone else.

2. Yes, Valve does take a cut of the sales, but unless SotA is charged unusually high, it is not 30%. Valve's cut typically remains confidential and is variable from game to game and publisher/dev to publisher/dev. Unless someone who would actually be in a position to know what the cut for SotA is (and that would literally be the first time I've seen that disclosed by either side), the nominal cut level is typically thought to be somewhere around 15%

Regardless yes, a Steam purchase means you don't give all of the $45 pledge to Portalarium. Regardless, everyone is supposed to have access to both, but if the OP dislikes Steam in the first place, then well the choice is fairly clear, the discount that's on there isn't that great anyway.

 

Steam takes 30% and it is will publicized everywhere.

http://www.pcgamer.com/notch-on-why-minecraft-still-isnt-on-steam/

That's on par with Apple taking 30% from iTunes sales and Google taking 30% from Play Store sales.

 

Just a heads up the game goes on sale at various times of the year and they normally do a 15% off sale so depending on your situation you may wish to wait tell the next sale rolls around.
The downside to waiting is you wouldn't be able to participate in the monthly builds nor obtain the exclusive hat that comes with each release.

 

Notch is using a common estimate, but as he has not published a game on Steam, he would not be privy to the exact rate.

See http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/FAQ.php or http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=25595 , the latter is written by someone who actually did publish a game through Steam. 30% is as good guess as any, but Valve specifically NDAs the royalties they take in their contract and there is little public knowledge of real numbers. There is no certainty that the rate is 30% however, but ultimately what matters is that by buying through Steam you are not giving all of the pledge to SotA directly.