Is this somehow different from the free version?

[Spoonster]

I’m only wondering because $25 feels like a pretty hefty price tag for a game that has been available for free for over a decade now.

The game is actually pretty fun, but if I already have the free version is there any point to picking this one up?

[Fawndel Mahjunch]

Well I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one curious about this, but I have a bit of a dilemma though… if this really is the same exact game with no updates, I would want to shame them from here to Albuquerque, yet I’d still feel terrible if we’re screwing up possible sales for them. But dude, that price is ridiculous!

[Dardasaba]

It's not the same version as the free one (which is v1.3, this is v4), the whole game has been through a heavy rework, there are whole new areas, lots of new art, new bosses, new abilities, etc

[Dardasaba]

Also while I agree that it's quite a hefty price, considering the devs have spent over a decade on this version alone I think they have a fair reason to ask for it xD

[Bosuonparedo]

Wasn't this in a Humble Bundle at one point? Did people who bought that bundle get this version?

[Lugum]

The pricing is absolutely ridiculous.

[Frogatto Dev Team]

There hasn't been a free version — we're open source, but we've never been "free of cost", even for v1.3. We just don't bother putting in DRM to stop pirates. Especially in the linux scene, we have no problems with people doing DIY builds from the source code on their own machines, because — that's how we get new teammates working on the game.

There have been some pirate copies floating around, and — frankly, that's the only reason you've heard of it. It's marketing. If you want to help us out, by all means, buy a copy the proper way; if you don't ... *shrug* - then you probably weren't gonna pay either way, so it's no skin off our back.

As for the content compared to the old version that was floating around, we've added something like 20 new enemies, 3 new actbosses, and about double the number of levels, depending on how you count. Most of the existing enemies + player have had all of their animations/moves remastered, as well.

[Spoonster]

I apologize for the confusion about the game having an intended free version, it really did seem to be the case.

In any event, I am all for paying a fair price for my games. I am a sucker for good, old school pixel art games and am willing to “over pay” for them to some extent, but this still feels too high for a 13+ year old 2-D pixel game, updates or no updates.

I suppose you guys know what you are doing better than I do with the pricing, but I feel like this is going to be a case of a fun game getting skipped over by a lot of potential buyers who are turned off by the price compared to other available old school pixel platformers on Steam. Maybe I’m just projecting? 🤷‍♂️

[Andrew R]

At the very least, I would recommend a demo.

Make us see WHY the game is worth the asking price.

[Fawndel Mahjunch]

Very cool, thanks for letting us know. It might be a good idea to put a trailer up with text of these listed updates on the screen.

Originally posted by Frogatto Dev Team:

There hasn't been a free version — we're open source, but we've never been "free of cost", even for v1.3. We just don't bother putting in DRM to stop pirates. Especially in the linux scene, we have no problems with people doing DIY builds from the source code on their own machines, because — that's how we get new teammates working on the game.

There have been some pirate copies floating around, and — frankly, that's the only reason you've heard of it. It's marketing. If you want to help us out, by all means, buy a copy the proper way; if you don't ... *shrug* - then you probably weren't gonna pay either way, so it's no skin off our back.

As for the content compared to the old version that was floating around, we've added something like 20 new enemies, 3 new actbosses, and about double the number of levels, depending on how you count. Most of the existing enemies + player have had all of their animations/moves remastered, as well.

[hexaae]

Demo +1

[Frogatto Dev Team]

Originally posted by hexaae:

Demo +1

AFAIK, the only way to do demos on steam is you just buy the game and get a free refund within (I believe) 24 hours, if you decide it wasn't worth the money.

I'm unaware of any ability to do old-school style demos on the platform — it seems like the world's moved on from that. That may have changed in the last few years, but even if it has we don't have the time for that on our team, since this is a purely volunteer effort.

If need to try it out, I suggest either doing the above for the refund, or compiling the game from source, yourself. Unlike most games, our source code is accessible from github, so it's an easy way to "pirate" the game to try it out before buying.

[Jammin']

I apologize for bumping, but refunds are only applicable if you have less than 2 hours of playtime on a game.

Demos are also officially supported by Steam.
The store literally has a category for games with demos.

You're living under a rock and a half.

[Zane]

(Zane's Dad, posting on their account) Both my kids had maximum fun playing this together for 4 hours on the first night they had it available. Frogatto is worth every penny.

[Andrew R]

Then you can't be wrong! :) :) :)

[Plural]

Originally posted by vector7:

Originally posted by Bosuonparedo:

Wasn't this in a Humble Bundle at one point? Did people who bought that bundle get this version?

It was in groupees bundle, they gave desura key and drm free download (version 1.3.2). If i'm not mistaken they did promise to give steam keys for buyers on greenlight page, but i doubt they will since it took so many years.

You could also buy it through the humble widget and from looking at the discord, the scant information seems like they're considering this a different version of the game and not connected to previous purchases. Though there really wasn't a lot of information at all just one guy asking if his humble purchase got a steam key and someone else answering for the dev and then the dev giving the asker a key but not because of the humble purchase.

I saw this game and immediately went to check groupees and see if there was a key, and, alas, none, but there were a few other devs honoring steam keys that I hadn't claimed yet from as far back as 2014. The about section for frogatto has a steam greenlight badge underneath still. Maybe they'll still honor that, who knows. I was kind of surprised groupees is still an intact website. It even has a download for this game there. I assume it's the old version.