well the steam DRM can be bypassed by the use of a crack. like I said before a crack is just an extra step that doesn’t represent any setbacks for anyone trying to surpass the license of use.
you say this:
“Just because piracy exists doesn’t mean we should have to make it easier for people to steal our products.”
and I can say this:
“Just because there are pirates out there doesn’t mean we have to treat everyone like one.”
it’s two sides of the argument and I don’t think one is greatly more valid than the other one.
I don’t assume all refundees are always good users. with the current system eventually the unlawful users will go away from the refund system and just do the regular pirate route. you might never even know a pirate stole and used your assets in a game because you won’t be playing every game out there. but they will still be pirates and they will still be there, you just won’t be aware of it.
do realize I’m only playing the devil’s advocate . I’m not saying that an open refund system is just better, it’s just that the drawbacks are different.
but once again, I can’t stress enough that the problem with the marketplace is that no amount of pictures, videos and technical descriptions will accurately tell you if the asset it suited for your project. in the case of art, not until you see and evaluate for yourself. assets might be good and dandy it’s important to see if the polygons and texel density is suited for this or that camera angle, if the materials are not relying on overly complex calculations, etc. in the case of blueprints and code, if the algorithms are efficient or if there’s major architectural differences that would make the integration troublesome.
not being able to try anything before buying it, but also not being able to get a refund, is the real problem for me.
anyway I didn’t realize the marketplace had a more open refund system before, and I can understand if they went for the current more closed system. but even then it’s clear that the marketplace has issues.
and about the marketplace barely breaking even, I can understand it based on the amount of work that goes into making a marketplace item. moreso with all the changes the engine has gone through and still goes through (every major release means making sure the stuff still works. expecting something to work from 5-6 releases ago is usually a stretch).
even more with how unclear it is about the time you’re meant to support your items. as a creator if you want to keep selling you become a slave of sorts, you can never really close and just move on.
this are the reasons I always stayed away from making marketplace stuff. if it works for you and you’re actually making some money, honestly man you deserve a cookie 