Why Markus?

[Vegas Vic]

Originally Posted by RchW

Markus and Co. owe me nothing. Good people with a good product sold for a good price make a business (and personal) decision in their interest and I for one am happy for them. I'm perplexed why some people react negatively to them doing as they please with their business.

I agree wholeheartedly. Whatever the future holds, OOTP21 will last me a lifetime if need be.

[Hotwheelz]

I've been around since version 2 and Markus and company have earned the benefit of the doubt. If they say nothing will change then I believe them. They have always treated the community right.

Even if we end up seeing the end of OOTP as we know it they owe us nothing. Heck, how many games last this long with yearly releases? This is hands down one of the best gaming companies in the history of video games. If they feel this is the best move then hats off to them. Good luck. The community should stand behind them.

I know this sounds like just another fanboy giving praise for their favorite game. But we all have to realize that through everything, negative and positive, Markus and Co have always been willing to listen to the community.

[Eugene Church]

In theory, how long can someone expect OOTP21 to last?... will it last as long as the files don't become corrupted someway?... will it last as long as my computer works well?

If necessary, I would be happy with OOTP21 the rest of my life.

I'm going to back it up on two external hard drives and hope for the best.

I got the impression from earlier posts that we might not have access to OOTP21 at some point due to the new owner's policies.

I used OOTP12 for 5 or 6 years instead of updating it and it worked fine... my archives were messed up in the conversion to OOTP13... finally it did convert the next time I tried it.

[mytreds]

No one is doubting or trying to shame the dev team here. We all like this simulator to bits and are glad of its creation. What some of us doubt is the new owners of the IP and are skeptical of their vision for the simulator we’ve come to know and enjoy.

[Hotwheelz]

Originally Posted by mytreds

No one is doubting or trying to shame the dev team here. We all like this simulator to bits and are glad of its creation. What some of us doubt is the new owners of the IP and are skeptical of their vision for the simulator we’ve come to know and enjoy.

Understood. But we also have Markus saying everything will essentially stay the same. My point was just to take that at face value.

[TheMaus2]

I can't really see OOTP 21 just up and leaving someone's hard drive just because the owners changed their mind, lol

even when games get taken off the steam market they still show up in a user's library.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

In theory, how long can someone expect OOTP21 to last?... will it last as long as the files don't become corrupted someway?... will it last as long as my computer works well?

If necessary, I would be happy with OOTP21 the rest of my life.

I'm going to back it up on two external hard drives and hope for the best.

I got the impression from earlier posts that we might not have access to OOTP21 at some point due to the new owner's policies.

I used OOTP12 for 5 or 6 years instead of updating it and it worked fine... my archives were messed up in the conversion to OOTP13... finally it did convert the next time I tried it.

We are thinking alike, Eugene. While I want to believe, and I do believe that they believe, that OOTPD will be allowed to continue indefinitely with their current business arrangements and game management style, corporate decisions down the line will govern the fate of OOTPB.

So, let's recall that OOTPB must "phone home" occasionally to re-validate the license IIRC. Let's say Com2uS decides that, for an old game, it doesn't make financial sense anymore to pay FastSpring for license servicing (or FastSpring goes out of business). That means OOTPB will not start at that point, or more technically, will be in demo mode permanently.

That is why I am doing things like making sure I have the most current version of the game and its various mods (uniforms, logos, etc.) downloaded and backed up. I am printing to PDF various portions of the online manual. I also took the step, recommended by somebody in another thread, to purchase OOTPB 21 (and FHM 6) on Steam because they are likely to be around longer and keep honoring their commitments.

I'm keeping an open mind about advancing to OOTPB 22 and beyond but for two things: 1) It's great timing in one regard because I was thinking of getting off the merry-go-round at this point anyway; I really like OOTPB 21 and the Classic Skin; I have the game set up the way that I want it and I am tired of going through this process every year (for example, looking at next year's Classic Skin and not liking it); and 2) I will no longer be dealing with Markus Heinsohn et. al. Instead, I will be dealing with a cheesy-looking company that wants to charge you $2.99 every time you turn around.

Best of luck to you, Eugene. I wish you joy with OOTPB and your other entertainments.

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by mytreds

No one is doubting or trying to shame the dev team here. We all like this simulator to bits and are glad of its creation. What some of us doubt is the new owners of the IP and are skeptical of their vision for the simulator we’ve come to know and enjoy.

Exactly. See above.

Originally Posted by Hotwheelz

Understood. But we also have Markus saying everything will essentially stay the same. My point was just to take that at face value.

We do. Markus has earned our trust. It's just that he will no longer be in the driver's seat, no matter what assurances he has received up front. He no longer owns the game. And, it has been sold to a company that is not dedicated to his vision or standards of quality and which seems to live by nickeling and diming the public. It does not look like OOTPB, the way that it has been developed and managed up until now, will fit into their business model without undergoing less than desirable alterations.

Originally Posted by TheMaus2

I can't really see OOTP 21 just up and leaving someone's hard drive just because the owners changed their mind, lol

even when games get taken off the steam market they still show up in a user's library.

You are forgetting the license validation process that I mentioned above. For that reason, as a matter of fact, Steam may be your best bet long-term for being able to play OOTPB 21 into the future.

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

In theory, how long can someone expect OOTP21 to last?... will it last as long as the files don't become corrupted someway?... will it last as long as my computer works well?

If necessary, I would be happy with OOTP21 the rest of my life.

I'm going to back it up on two external hard drives and hope for the best.

I got the impression from earlier posts that we might not have access to OOTP21 at some point due to the new owner's policies.

I used OOTP12 for 5 or 6 years instead of updating it and it worked fine... my archives were messed up in the conversion to OOTP13... finally it did convert the next time I tried it.

It's more likely the licensing vendor would pull out of the business. That's what esellerate did to all of us here.

[One Post Wonder]

Well that's big news. I'm honestly not too impressed with the updates which have happened between 19 (which I'm still on), and 21, but I'll likely buy 21 on the next sale as the game will never get better than that for a crusty old school solo GM player like me. Plus now all the MP leagues will have an OOTP that they can all roll with and stay there. There will still be MP OOTP 21 leagues out there in 2040.

PT was surely the major reason this company bought the game out. I wish PT could have been separated from the main title, similar to FM having a simpler version and a hardcore version, and suggested it a year or two ago, but that's life.

Anyway, there were limits to how much more OOTP could do. What isn't in the game at this point? Fixing staff would be a major one to me, but other than that it's really minor stuff like adding real rosters for the California Penal League and determining if this fictional Cuban player in a fictional 1932 is light skinned enough to play in a fictional MLB. We're just at that point in the software life cycle and a great life cycle it has been. Other than FM I can't think of any other games which have been developed to as close as their complete maximum potential as this one. Good time to sell, TBH.

Steam should absolutely still be OK to those who are worried about losing their existing games. I own some games which were taken off Steam years ago and I can still play them fine. I resisted Steam when companies first started moving there, but I'm sure glad I adopted it now.

With the other licensing option, has the new company bought all the rights to the old games, too? Seems to me that something could be set up for you all by the outgoing OOTP team if they really wanted to do it.