Post by leafo in Unlimited or limited download?

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leafoPinned ReplyAdmin164 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

itch.io does not offer the option to limit the number of times a file can be downloaded after a user purchases a product. This is intentional, as such DRM measures often harm end-users and are ineffective at preventing piracy.

If you, as a publisher, go out of your way to add restrictions about how users can access purchased goods, itch.io may refund transactions and limit your ability to receive payouts. As a publisher we expect you to ensure that your customers are able to access the products that they have paid for.

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redonihunter164 days ago

itch.io does not offer the option to limit the number of times a file can be downloaded

There are options that read like this. Obviously. I think op might talk about the option to sell a limited amount of a thing. Rewards or whatever. Also there is talk somewhere about limiting the keys one can give away. But even after asking for clarification, op did not really clear things up and seems to still think there is a thing that can be limited.

Pricing options on itch are confusing sometimes. And please fix already that you can increase your "payment level". So called individually prices files are a broken concept as it is now. You cannot buy something priced for 10 and later increase your level to 15 to get the bonus item at 15.

It gets worse for bundles and individual tiers and discounts. Also bundles very often do not communicate clearly, that there actually is no bundle discount whatsoever. There sometimes is, but often there is none. I picked the first bundle on sale and it says: "Each item 50% off! or buy everything for $116.85! Regularly $233.85". Half of 233.85 is 116.925, so I guess there is rounding errors with those 15 items ( 15 half cents would be the difference from .85 to .92) and since every item in that bundle is individually at 50% discount right now, there is no bundle discount. Which is not clearly communicated. The wording even implies, that there is a bonus for buying the bundle. "or buy everything for x".

Semantically I take issue with the "or". It indicates an alternative with different options/outcome. But it is the exact same thing for the buyer. Buying every item in that bundle for half price is the same as buying the whole bundle. That a single transaction is better for all parties involved is a given. But if you had a shopping basket, that would not be such a clear advantage.

Anyways, pricing options are plentyfull and the developers know just as much or as little as the gamers about them, as this thread here demonstrates. Misunderstandings should be minimized by clear non ambigous wording. Some developers do not even understand, that they can update their projects without deleting the project.

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leafoAdmin163 days ago (4 edits)

There are options that read like this.

I’m not sure what you referring to. The rewards system limits the number of buyers/owners that can happen, but an individual’s ownership never has limited access to the files that are uploaded to the page.

Based on my read of what you posted, you’re making complaints about functionality unrelated to what the original poster is talking about. It’s fine to make feature requests and complaints, but I ask that you don’t hijack other topics for your requests.

“Each item 50% off! or buy everything for $116.85! Regularly $233.85”. Half of 233.85 is 116.925, so I guess there is rounding errors with those 15 items…

When a sale bundle shows that message it means that each item is individually 50% off, and the developer also set an explicit “bundle buy price” to enable buying everything at once. The percentage and fixed amounts amounts are not calculated from one another. https://itch.io/docs/creators/sales#getting-started/sale-options

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redonihunter163 days ago

I’m not sure what you referring to.

I am referring to this very thread here, with the "obviously" you did not quote.

There are options that read like this. Obviously. I think op might talk about the option to sell a limited amount of a thing.

Also, the complaints about confusing features were not about those features as such, as I explained in the last paragraph. They were examples for a general issue that seems to occur frequently: users do not grasp what some features on this site do. (Or else, why does this thread exist in the first place?) There are many, many threads in community that show this issue at the core. Maybe it has to do with the world wide audience. Maybe it is just quirks of itch. I could give more examples, but those quirks do get troublesome if it is about payment options. I assume that for everyone not understanding a certain feature and posting about it, there are many more that have the same issue, but do not speak up.

You have more insight about the support inquiries. If people ask "stupid" questions about a feature/pricing option/etc, it means, that the site might explain it better. Like those limited downloads. And, it is speculations that those rewards were meant, since there is something limited about it. I believe there is a language/translation issue somewhere.

But however it happened, it looks to me, that op did read/understand something on itch to mean, that there is an option to have limited downloads.

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K Storm Studio164 days ago

but yes absolutely! :) I do that, it was just a question to better figure out what is best for customers :) Thanks for the advice

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redonihunter164 days ago

It was not advice. Everyone here is wondering what you even talk about. Because there is no configuration option on itch to limit downloads of a purchsed item for the buyer.

Actually I use to set "unlimited"

Where? What? How?

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K Storm Studio163 days ago

I see some of my file been downloaded few times. But that's absolutely fine! :) We want to let people having acces to our assets forever.

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redonihunter163 days ago

You do not understand. Maybe use a different translator.

You claimed to be able to limit the time frame something can be downloaded after purchase.

Do you think is better to set a product for unlimited download after purchasing or set a limited number of time they can download it?

Actually I use to set "unlimited"

Three people, including the site admin, told you, this should not be possible. So what are you talking about? Do you read a translated version of the itch user interface? What option in the project makes you think you can limit the downloads after purchase?

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K Storm Studio163 days ago

No I don't need a translator, we are a studio based in London, it was just a question, No I did not claim to be able to set limited download.

Please read, I said I don't want to limit our customers! Thanks

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redonihunter163 days ago(+2)

Ok, English is not my first language, so maybe I need a translator.

Can you please explain this:

Do you think is better to set a product for unlimited download after purchasing or set a limited number of time they can download it?

Actually I use to set "unlimited"

Where do you see an option for "unlimited" or "limited" downloads? Where do you "set" unlimited?

Because to my understanding of English, by saying "I use to set unlimited" you did in fact claim to be able to do so.

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K Storm Studio163 days ago

Ok, sorry, I do I apologize because probably I didn't properly ask the question. (It's not my first language too... I mean, now yes cause my company is in London :) )

I see someone downloaded few times some products after purchasing them. So that raised a doubt: is there a possibility to set unlimited downloads for customers like we do in our in-dev marketplace? Because in my personal opinion, it's fine for customers to let them download the product they purchased forever., to help them to have access to their products anytime even in case they accedentally lose them.

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redonihunter162 days ago

So your original post is about a hypothetical situation, is it?

On itch this question does not arise and I am wondering how you even got the impression it was possible, as you might have noticed.

The platform hosts the files and deals with access to your project after a purchase. That is what leafo was referring to. You would have to implement drm on top of the restriction that only a paying customer can access your paid content.

And your first language does not change by moving ;-) Native language is another word for it. It is a statement about the past. Not a statement about which langauge you know best or speak daily.

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K Storm Studio162 days ago

understand :) It's fine for me to give access to the content to anyone has purchased that content

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scotty42163 days ago

I'm so sorry to hijack this thread @leafo!!! I am a game design teacher hosting a jam with an emergency and my previous attempts to get this resoled soon have failed (Discord, support@itch.io, etc), My jam ended yesterday and the results are not showing. It's the last 2 days of school and I need to award the winners. Please help! https://itch.io/jam/cozy/results