..and bam, proving everyone's point: nothing up front about licensing terms. This is acceptable for established triple-As and people already doing business. It isn't for indies who need to know what they're getting into before they start evaluating the platform, who don't want to have to already be at a business negotiating table before they've even started working on their game.
you can download the entire sdk including game code from crydev.net. You can spend all the time in the world evaluating the engine and get in touch when you feel comfortable doing the next step and discussing what else you need.
i don't really see the problem and its not (afaik) any different from e.g. unreal's terms.
Or people can just ignore it and concern themselves with engines with transparent licensing terms.
If I want to know Unity or UDKs licensing terms, they're right there, in full, on the website. I'm not at the behest of anyone, nor do I need to negotiate anything - and that's the point you seem to be missing entirely. When I want to start developing, there's no need to contact anyone. You fill in a form, pay your money, and you're ready to go.
With Crytek, there won't be an evaluation of the engine, because there is no information. That very page says 'contact Crytek' to continue and obtain licensing terms, but then fails to even provide the details of whom to contact - failure at the very first step.
The attitude towards indie developers is clear right from here - if you can't even get a hold of the licensing terms, or contact details to obtain said licensing terms from their own licensing page, that says a great deal about what your experience is going to be like from then-on.
CryEngine has a lot of potential in the indie games space, but until they start actually catering to indie developers and making business easily accessible, it's never going to be widely adopted.
Replies
you can download the entire sdk including game code from crydev.net. You can spend all the time in the world evaluating the engine and get in touch when you feel comfortable doing the next step and discussing what else you need.
i don't really see the problem and its not (afaik) any different from e.g. unreal's terms.
If I want to know Unity or UDKs licensing terms, they're right there, in full, on the website. I'm not at the behest of anyone, nor do I need to negotiate anything - and that's the point you seem to be missing entirely. When I want to start developing, there's no need to contact anyone. You fill in a form, pay your money, and you're ready to go.
With Crytek, there won't be an evaluation of the engine, because there is no information. That very page says 'contact Crytek' to continue and obtain licensing terms, but then fails to even provide the details of whom to contact - failure at the very first step.
The attitude towards indie developers is clear right from here - if you can't even get a hold of the licensing terms, or contact details to obtain said licensing terms from their own licensing page, that says a great deal about what your experience is going to be like from then-on.
CryEngine has a lot of potential in the indie games space, but until they start actually catering to indie developers and making business easily accessible, it's never going to be widely adopted.