Hotline is Dead.

[Grifter]

For those of you that don't keep up with industry news.... Hotline Communications has layed off all it's employees... and is a hair away from bankruptcy.  The picture painted at Hotline's web site is not good... but then read company founder Adam Hinkley's comments at his site.  

I'll let you be the judge if Hotline 2.0 will ever make it out.. or if it will be any better.  As for me, Hotline has seemed to be less reliable over the years, not more.

Now, I've followed a link in the reading, and found a new beta program Haxial's web site.  If this takes off, it looks to be what hotline should have been.  Cool custom interface, very quick and smooth (and it's still beta... just think what it will be when ready).  Looks good, nice fast transfers between two of my computers.  Runs on windows, OS 9 and OS X.  I'm running the OS X version, and I like it.

[jn.blackhand]

old news buddy. .

however, hotline isn't dead until the user base leaves.

[Ace]

GRIFT, I bet you use hotline legitimately, but for most everyone else here, BUY YOUR FUCKING GAMES... this is a pre-emptive fuck you, i know you are going to whine about this, dont argue otherwise

[Grifter]

Yes blackie, that news is about two weeks old, but my in pile is huge, so I just got around to reading it.

Ace, yep, 100% agree with you.  I'm an old BBSer (for those of you too young to know what that is.... it was how people communicated before Hotline, Game Ranger and the World Wide Web).  The way half the people out there only chat on GR... they should love Hotline.  

As for pirated software... again, couldn't agree with you more.  My computers are almost clean (ok, I only paid for one copy of most of the software, but use it on more then one computer).  But, admitting my fault, I say that it's very important for people to buy their Mac software.  Everyone complains that there isn't enough software out there for Macs... well, if people buy it, instead of D/L'ing it from Hotline servers.. they will make more.  It's Economics.  I have been known to D/L a copy of programs, to try them out.  But if I keep them, I always pay.  I even send in my shareware fees (which I think is more important then paying for published software... these guys do great work, and don't charge a small fortune for it!)

Ok, off my soapbox, for now.

[jn.blackhand]

I agree with you guys on paying for software, within reason of course. I don't think I should have to pay for certain titles, mainly because the publisher screwed me and a whole bunch of people over.

Example: Quake 3 Team Arena.

Other than that, I agree with you guys. There's a reason Half-Life is not on the mac and it's not because a port was too hard to make...

[SilentbutDeadly]

as long as i can get porn off of hotline, its not dead  

[jn.loudnotes]

Shame on you!



...you should be paying for your porn...

[Ace]

there is nothing wrong with free porn (hey, a man away at college has got to keep honest somehow)

[Matt]

ugh i just got a bad mental picture of ace sitting in his college dorm looking at porn off of hotline

[Grifter]

Was he naked, with a big bowl of jello?  Just wondering if he is really trying to live out the script from "Real Genius" while he's at school.

[jn.blackhand]

www.morttakesitfrombehind.com

[+-KoS-+ Captain Z]

There's a reason Half-Life is not on the mac and it's not because a port was too hard to make...

Actually, Sierra Software stated that Half-Life for Mac was canceled because the profits expected is considerably less than for the PC.

The Hotline community will live on. As long as the trackers, servers and clients are free, there will always be a Hotline going. I have meet a lot of good people out there, and it isn't just for piracy/porn (although most of it is), it's about community.

And yes, I did use Hotline for more than the community (I find it outragous to pay $300 for an upgrad for Photoshop, $800 for QuarkXpress) In fact, I used to run a server. It is too bad that it is gone... damn HD failures...

[Grifter]

Capt Z...
The "not enough profit" is exactly why we argue that everyone must pay for mac games.  Every game that is really purchased is more porfit.... is more reason for them to publish more mac games.  I don't see any mac games that are priced outragously.  And I'm amazed at how many people have offered to send me UT so I can play Tac Ops.  It's a $20 game at CompUSA.... pay for it.

As for the Hotline community... I was a big fan of that.  Back in the early days of Hotline, it reminded me of the BBS's I used to visit (and even sysop on).  Then it became a banner clicking, not free at all, non-community.  It became the slums.  You may find a nice place here and there.... but you have to wade through waist deep shit to get there.

One of the things I really liked in my readings of KDX was he was going to make active measures to keep bots out, and keep the banner clikers out.  If he does, it'll be a community I want to be a part of again (and am running a beta of the new server right now).

[+-KoS-+ Captain Z]

I completely agree that we shuld pay for our games. Sierra didn't see a profit potential because of the percentage of Mac users vs. PC users. They were expecting to ship only 10000 units the first month for Mac vs. 65000 units per month on PC. Being they couldn't get away with charging $100 per copy, there was less chance of making as much as the PC side, and not enough to cover the costs of developing the Mac version.

The early days of Hotline were the golden days of it. It was when Hotline Communications took over the programming of it, is when it got to the way you see todday. Prior to the transfer to HL Communications, meaning HL v1.2.3 or earlier, and you recall, had no banners, and was a simple program. When the banners popped up in later versions, server admins abused the idea behind it to make money for thier own gains.

There are at least some good free servers still out there, as well as the No2Banners tracker. You just need to know where to look.

[Grifter]

Couldn't agree with you more Capt Z.  That's one of the reasons I'm on the KDX bandwagon right now... seeing that the creator of Hotline is behind it as well.  Can't wait to see what the final verson looks like.