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Web sites

d000hg · 2002-07-09T14:05:15

This is a coupla questions about getting a website. Yes sorry this is the wrong thread I know, but there doesn''t appear to be a site about web stuff hint GD.NET staff! So anyway: 1) I need a website to post demos/screenshots of my project. So for that I just need a free site with a reasonable amount of storage space like 10s of Megs. I''d also prefer one without adverts if that''s possible. 2)The thing is, I will be selling my game online when finished, and I have no idea about what kind of site I''d need. I''ll want people to be able to download maybe 10MB for the game, and I''ll either be using billpoint, paypal or some 3rd party creditcard processing company. What I need to know about this is - what knid of things influence how much your site costs - MB downloaded, hits, money being made etc... and how much that costs for someone likely to sell maybe a few copies a day. Can anyone tell me how much they pay for their site and how much it costs and how they get payment? oh I am UK based. cheers

Games Business and Law Business

Started by d000hg July 07, 2002 06:49 AM

29 comments, last by d000hg 21 years, 12 months ago

Michalson

1,657

July 08, 2002 07:05 AM

quote: Original post by LordKronos
First: You have to register with them to download a file. Potential customers hate giving out more info then they need to. If downloading a demo is more complex then "Click here to download" a lot of people wont even bother.

I don''t remember ever having to register

quote: Original post by LordKronos
Second: Unless you pay for the premium service, you have to "wait in line" to download. While this seems like a good idea (you can wait orderly, rather than fighting to get that open connection) its a real pain. Worst off is that their statistics are entirely off. I have never had an accurate wait time (never even semi-accurate). As an example, I tried downloading America''s Army this weekend. I found a server that said I had a 14 minute wait, so I got in line and found 2100 people in front of me. To make a long store short, 45 minutes later I had 1600 people in front of me, and my wait was now down to just 10 minutes.

Thats for an insanely popular download (I highly doubt you have 2100 people a day downloading your game, much less per hour). I download stuff from fileplanet (like quake 3 maps) all the time with no wait. The only stuff you have to wait for with them is the hyped commercial stuff thats just been released.

coldacid

755

July 08, 2002 07:27 AM

Here''s what you do. You get yourself something like a RaQ 4 server (or other cheap barebones Linux box designed for hosting), and find a co-lo company who will wire it up and give you bandwidth (perhaps 25GB/month). The hardware (and software on it) is yours, and all you pay for is rent and used bandwidth. It''s still advisable to get the demo out on as many game file sites and FTPs as you can, to cut down on bandwidth that you have to pay for.

The plus side to this is that you have all the support for PHP, Perl, Python, SQL, whatever, and all the space you need. The downside is the initial investment in the machine (last I heard the RaQ 4 costs just under $2k USD). You can always throw together your own system of course, powered even by just a 486 (they can still flood a T1 pretty nicely, regardless of how ancient they are).

Chris ''coldacid'' Charabaruk <ccharabaruk@meldstar.com> <http://www.meldstar.com/ccharabaruk/>
Meldstar Studios <http://www.meldstar.com/> - Creation, cubed.

This message double ROT-13 encrypted for additional security.

Chris 'coldacid' Charabaruk – Programmer, game designer, writer | twitter

LordKronos

122

July 08, 2002 07:27 AM

quote: Original post by Michalson
I don''t remember ever having to register

Try downloading something now? This used to be true like a year ago, but lately it always wants me to log in.

quote: Thats for an insanely popular download (I highly doubt you have 2100 people a day downloading your game, much less per hour).

But the servers dont put you in a queue for each game. They put you in a queue with everyone else trying to download from the server. Whether I''m downloading America''s Army or Minesweeper, I get placed in the same queue, correct?

And besides, that was just my worst case example. I''ve downloaded many other things from them and never had accurate wait times (I take that back...one time I downloaded something and it said there was no wait, which was true).

Ron FrazierKronos Softwarewww.kronos-software.comMiko & Molly - Taking Puzzle Games to A Whole New Dimension

Michalson

1,657

July 08, 2002 07:35 AM

quote: Original post by LordKronos
Try downloading something now? This used to be true like a year ago, but lately it always wants me to log in.

But the servers dont put you in a queue for each game. They put you in a queue with everyone else trying to download from the server. Whether I''m downloading America''s Army or Minesweeper, I get placed in the same queue, correct?

And besides, that was just my worst case example. I''ve downloaded many other things from them and never had accurate wait times (I take that back...one time I downloaded something and it said there was no wait, which was true).

I don''t think so, considering I was downloading from fileplanet yesterday, to the tune of about 125MB worth of Quake 3 maps (average file size: 5.5MB). Not once for those 20+ files did I have to wait in line, not once did I have to login (though maybe I have a year old cookie, since until Saturday I hadn''t downloaded from fileplanet in at least 6 months). The speed was as fast as my side could provide (~55KB/s)

BTW, I think the wait times are accurate, since you are not taking into account different connection speeds. Therefore it could take 20 minutes for 5 56k users to go through the line, and only 1 minute for the next 5 users (all on cable) to go through.

siaspete

208

July 08, 2002 08:02 AM

We are talking about the same FilePlanet? I have to register and wait.

Helpful links:
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way | Google can help with your question | Search MSDN for help with standard C or Windows functions

Saurus Games, home of the Independent Game Engine

FenixDown

122

July 08, 2002 08:03 AM

I went there just to see if you have to register, and, well, you do.

quote:

Log in to FilePlanet!
-With GameSpy ID-

Not Logged in?
Click here now!
Need to register?
Click here now!

Before downloading this file, you''ll need to log in with GameSpy ID. It''s like a big ol'' ticket to ride on our whole network.

Don''t worry, getting a GameSpy ID account is free and easy. And once you log in the first time, you can opt to not have to log in again until you log out or change computers.

LordKronos

122

July 08, 2002 08:04 AM

Just to test it, I just tried downloading something now from a machine I have never been to File Planet on. It required me to sign in or register before downloading. I closed the browser and went back again and this time it didnt, so you probably have a cookie.

As for saying that the wait time is probably accurate but not accounting for connection speed, the net result is that it is not accurate. A large site like File Planet should have consistent enough traffic that they can estimate within reason how long the wait is. In my past experience, their estimate has never been within reason. I tried downloading something now, and its was pretty reasonable. It said 6 minutes, I waited 8. Not bad, but it is a dead part of the day, and there were only 60 people waiting in line. Try it in another 12 hours from now and it''s likely to be quite a different story.

But wait times aside, lets just completely forget about that, the fact remains that you have to log in to get a file. As a primary download mechanism from you site, that is going to turn away a lot more potential customers than anyone would probably like. I would highly recommend against it.

Ron FrazierKronos Softwarewww.kronos-software.comMiko & Molly - Taking Puzzle Games to A Whole New Dimension

FenixDown

122

July 08, 2002 12:30 PM

Does anyone know of other sites like Getafile.com though? I tried looking around google and couldn''t find anything

Surely there must be something cheaper than 3 bucks per 1 GB.

Kwizatz

1,394

July 08, 2002 12:54 PM

If you are looking for paid Hosting I highly recomend www.nethat.com, its cheap quality hosting. 5000mb data transfer, 1000mb Storage space, 20 email acounts, plus WebControPanel, WebMail, Perl, PHP, mySQL, ASP, FrontPage, SSL, SSI for $14.95 a month.

I am running a site with them (not the one on my signature).

LordKronos

122

July 08, 2002 01:12 PM

Thats no cheaper than $3 a GB, though.

Heres one: http://www.swhu.com/main.php
But I will make no claims on their behalf as I''ve never used them or known anyone that has. I just found them in a search. They claim 15GB for $12/month, or 60GB got $30/month

Ron Frazier
Kronos Software
www.kronos-software.com
Miko & Molly - Coming July 2002

Ron FrazierKronos Softwarewww.kronos-software.comMiko & Molly - Taking Puzzle Games to A Whole New Dimension

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