The Steam Review

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Darwinia available for pre-order & pre-load; demo imminent

December 2nd, 2005 :: New products :: 4 Responses

Darwinia can now be pre-ordered through Steam for $17.95. Although the 30MB pre-load is not advertised, it too is available by right-clicking either the Darwinia icon in Steam or this link. The demo is not yet available through Steam (although it can be found on most major download sites) as the version of the game that will launch on Steam, 1.41, is still in testing. The final code will presumably be applied to pre-loaded caches when the game is released or demo goes live, whichever comes sooner. It will also be released in a traditional installer for pre-Steam purchasers.

There is also a new gameplay trailer for those who are still undecided.

Darwinia and its demo are now available.


4 Responses to this post:

  1. Tom Says:

    This isn’t relevant, but I just noticed something odd. I double-clicked Counter-Strike Source in my Steam menu, even though it was still updating (98%). It started up right away, and seemed to be working, but when I tried the new map, it hung for a long time on the loading thing, as though it was still downloading it. I gave up waiting in the end, even though it was occasionally making progress, and am just leaving it updating in the background now.

    Is it possible this is some kind of new system whereby you can play the old version of a game before it’s fully updated, but have to wait if you want to try the new stuff? It’s a nice idea, and a technical miracle if it’s true.

  2. Tom Edwards Says:

    That’s content streaming. It’s one of the core Steam features, or at least it would be if they could make their damn games work with it.

    It won’t let you play the old version while the new downloads (that’s trickle updating, which is yet another abandoned feature) but it will let you launch with only the code and menu system in place.

  3. Garry Says:

    I’ve preordered out of curiosity.. Which I think a lot of people are probably doing too.

    The trickle updating was a good idea but I don’t think any of the games had the foresight to use it properly.

    Plus I think most people would rather just download the lot rather than run the risk of stalling and pausing half way through.

  4. bigburpco Says:

    The Darwinia demo’s now out on Steam. (Demo2, the Rocket demo)