Surviving Mars (merged threads)

[Pete Dero]

So I guess I will continue to live dangerously until the authorities clearly determine it is illegal and shut them down:)

They are based in Hong Kong and (I guess) sell everything to the rest of the world.  So even it they are illegal I don't think this is an issue to Hong Kong.

The fact that they sell 'buyer protection' at around 10% of the game price to protect you against all problems (on their site : Worry free keys If you've got KBP we'll solve all your key-related issues) might give you a warning.
In their defense Kinguin claims that they doesn't sell games but are just a platform that connects sellers with buyers.

https://www.polygon.com/2015/2/9/8006693/the-truth-behind-those-mysteriously-cheap-gray-market-game-codes
https://lockesjourney.wordpress.com/2016/03/17/the-hard-truth-about-g2a-kinguin-and-grey-market-keys/

It's impossible/impractical for grey markets to check where each and every item comes from, which is partially why sites like G2A offer money-back guarantees/warranties on purchases. For a couple extra dollars you can get a G2A Shield on each purchase you make, which serves as a warranty in case your game is revoked. Should the worst happen, G2A will either provide you with another key or give you your money back.

What's another $2 when you're saving $10 or $20? In the case of the Far Cry 4 keys, G2A even went out of their way to confirm and refund purchases that didn't include their warranty.

There are stolen keys sitting on G2A and Kinguin right now, but not nearly as many as naysayers would have you believe. The fact of the matter is that these companies are not the shady thieves guilds other people and companies have lead you to believe. They aren't purposefully selling stolen keys, it's just a hazard of doing business. That's not an opinion, it's supported fact backed by the system itself.

[JudgeDredd]

Can you blame the software company, when their price is being dragged down in a 'shady' manner?

It's not the buyers fault they aren't protecting their product properly (or can't)

I just think - given the age we live in - that it's not the consumers fault if they buy a shady product. At the end of the day, I didn't steal it. Nor did the price make me think I was stealing it. It was a discounted price for a game. You can go all over the web and find those. And as I said...type in a computer game - and Kinguin will be listed in the first page of your Google search - and likely the top part.

I can buy Battlefield V from Argos (a reputable brick and mortar store in the UK) for £34.99 - but at Game it costs £42.99. Am I expected to question Argos' ethics in this transaction? That's just ludicrous.

Anyways good to see you playing IL2 Box a lot lately!  O0

That's not me - that's the prospective son-in-law. I haven't touched it since the debacle, though I have bought other modules (as I said I would) and will be buying Kuban and the new one (when it's available on Steam)

[JudgeDredd]

Well - I've survived 20 sols.

I survived a dust storm of 2 sols. A meteor strike which looked devastating but thankfully was mostly in another sector. A cold snap for almost 4 sols.

The cold snap almost broke me.I had literally just built a dome and put living quarters, med centre and a hydro farm or something and ordered my citizens. Energy was tight - only a few surplus but I had 4 storage racks, all full with 200 energy.

Then I got the message the cold snap was coming. I was ok. I thought I had enough. But man - those cold snaps are really bad. I switched off everything I could to keep the water turning over (no water source so I only had the ones that strip moisture from the air) and to keep the air flowing to the dome. Heating in the dome failed so I had to spend more than half my stored machine parts  on fixing it.

It looks like I might just survive my Founder Stage which is assessed in 6 sols. This basically determines whether you've provided somewhere safe for citizens and you can't get anymore until that is defined.

I'll tell you what games like this and Cities:Skylines has taught me...I cannot design anywhere nice for people to live  :))

[MikeGER]

JD, you can chose the start location free on the planet. you don't have to go to those named ones to find a spot with minimal disaster probabilities. Maybe dust storm is the easiest one if you have windmills and a water source and a stock pile.  a location with water to a pump out is a must. IIRC later in game there were ground heaters.

I got the new DLC yesterday and plan to revisit the tranquil and nice to watch Surviving Mars in the holidays
there were a lot of patches that had changed things since my last game too.   

[JudgeDredd]

I did choose my location. But I didn't pay too much attention to it - and perhaps should've paid it a bit more.

It's a beautiful game - much like Cities:Skylines - I can just sit and watch things unfold. I like the added survival mode in this.