The Political Machine 2008 has arrived!

If you have any problems, please post here. Please include your OS and video card info as well.  The debug.err file located in My Documents\My Games\PolMachine2008 has a print out from dxdiag listing your system information, so you can copy and paste the information from that.

Here are things to try:

#1 Update your video drivers. The Political Machine WILL crash if your video drivers are old. Not might. Will. It absolutely relies on pixel shader 2. This was done so that we could provide good graphics even on older video cards but it does rely on updated video drivers to do it.

#2 XP Users experiencing problems should install and run SmartException, an app that will find the actual address of any crashes you experience. That data can then be sent to the developers to GREATLY assist them in fixing your bug.

#3 When you post a crash or graphical oddity, please include the system specs listed in the top of your 'my games/polmachine2008/debug.err' file. Feel free to post the last three lines in the file as well...pertinent data may be displayed that will help us in our bug-hunting efforts

 

Update: The game needs a card that natively supports Pixel Shader 2.0, namely:
NVidia FX series and higher
ATI Radeon 9500 and higher
Intel cards: http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-014257.htm

If you do not have a supported card, you can probably find one for as little as $24.99.

If you just want a refund and you bought your copy from a retail store, please read this thread:

https://forums.politicalmachine.com/316509

Update:

Particularly if you don't have a lot of RAM, you should check to make sure that you have enough virtual memory allocated for windows.

To increase the amount of Virtual Memory available to Windows:
 
1) Right click on the My Computer icon and chose properties
2) Click on the advanced tab
3) Under performance, click on the Settings button.
4) Click on the advanced tab
5) Click on the change button
6) Change the initial size to the recommended size and then increase the maximum size.
 
As a note, you should make sure that you have enough hard drive space left for the maximum virtual memory size or you'll start having problems whenever Windows has to allocate more virtual memory. You can get the size of the virtual memory in gigs by dividing the number by 1024.

 

 

Just learning about The Political Machine? Take this guided tour through the game with tips and tricks to get the most out of it.

https://forums.politicalmachine.com/315289

 

 

By Brad Wardell, Designer, AI developer, Political Junkie.

 

In a nutshell

The Political Machine 2008 is a PC strategy game in which players run for President. Players choose the scenario they want to play in (USA 2008, USA 1860, “Europa”, and Drengi), choose a candidate (or make one) and then do what needs to be done to rack up the electoral votes on election day.

The game includes a campaign mode in which players go up against increasingly more difficult computer controlled opponents as well as Internet multiplayer in which players can play others online.

The 4 scenarios that the sand box mode (quick play) includes are:

1)      Campaign 2008. The United States as of 2008.

2)      The US Civil War. A what-if of the 1860 election if the US operated on a 2-party system.

3)      Europa.  Europe as seen by a typical American high school student (humor).

4)      Drengi. Run for leader of the Drengin Empire (the evil aliens from Galactic Civilizations).

We recommend playing the quick play with one of the 4 scenarios for review purposes as it is the most common way people will be playing the game.

The data for Campaign 2008 is based on real-world information such as census data, exit polling information, and a variety of other sources that when combined, give us a pretty clear picture of what the current issues are and the position of different politicians.

Players must use their limited resources to build campaign headquarters, give speeches, travel the country, take out advertisements, hire political operatives, win endorsements, raise money, and more.

The Political Machine is most definitely a strategy game, not a simulation. We have tried to make it reasonably realistic for the Campaign 2008 and the US Civil War scenarios, while the other two scenarios are there for fun.

Players can face off against either computer-controlled opponents, or humans over the Internet via the included matchmaking service. Best of all, the Political Machine 2008 retails for only $19.95, less than half the price of a typical new PC game.

 

 

Playing the Political Machine

 

When starting The Political Machine, make sure you check for updates.  Stardock will be updating the game polling data throughout the election cycle. As the campaign progresses, different issues will take on new default importances. 

Figure 1: The intro screen

Once you start a game, you are asked to pick a scenario:

With the scenario you can pick how long the game lasts. We don’t recommend going over 41 weeks unless you are a real die hard. Even a political junkie such as myself finds the epic settings to be quite grueling. 

The difficulty level determines how intelligent the computer players will behave. Be careful in selecting this if you are new to the game as the computer players can be quite challenging.

Figure 2: Select an existing candidate or create a new one.

Existing candidates have set statistics.  When we designed the game, we tried to let the game’s underlying mathematical models do the work but when creating the default candidates, we did have to make some judgment calls on real-world candidate specifications.

Creating your own candidate

If you choose to create your own candidate, you have total control over everything about them.

Figure 3: Create your own candidate

By default, all of your stances come from what political party you choose. You can override the party position by taking a formal stance on an issue.

Figure 4: Did we mention that everything about the candidate can be changed?

Into the game

Once you are in the game, you see a map of the scenario’s country that you are running for President of.

Each state is worth a certain amount of electoral votes. To win the state, you need to gain awareness in those states and get the voters in that state to prefer you over your opponent.

Figure 5: The game begins

Players start out in the home states of their candidates.  The resources candidates have are:

·         Money. Players need money for virtually everything. Players can gain money either by fund raising in a particular state (the wealthier states provide more money) or from building campaign HQ’s which generate money based on what level they are.

·         Stamina. This determines how much your candidate can actually do in a given turn. Every action from traveling to giving a speech uses stamina.

·         Clout. Clout is generated from outreach centers which you build.  Clout is then used to win endorsements which are critical to victory.

·         Political Capital (PC). Political Capital is generated from consulting offices as well as giving speeches. PC is needed to attract key political consultants into your campaign.

 

Early strategy

There are countless ways to play the game, my suggestion would be to decide early on which states you absolutely need to win and begin building campaign HQs, outreach centers and consulting offices in those states. That’s because your structures generate awareness in those states which is one key thing you will need.

I recommend building campaign HQs early on because they generate money and you will need a lot of money later on.

At the top of the map, there is a combo box which lets you view the map in different ways. Poltical Strategy lets you toggle states between blue (Democrat) and red (Republican) so you can figure out which states you really need to win.

Not all states are equally easy (or hard) to win for your party. Some states are just naturally liberal or conservative.  For instance, a Republican is going to have a hard time winning New York but a much easier time winning Texas and vice versa.

Endorsements

Figure 6: Endorsement screen

Winning endorsements is crucial. They require a certain amount of clout to win and some are more expensive to win than others based on your political party. Each scenario has different endorsements.  You must win many of these to have a chance.

Going on Television

Every so often, a popular cable news show will appear that you can visit. These include “hard hitter”, “the colvert report”, “the o’malley scenario”,  and “barry king live”.  They appear in the game as TV cameras.

Figure 7: Appearing on TV

Each show has its own unique set of questions with multiple choice answers. Based on the answers, the player’s overall rating with voters is affected.

Political operatives

Political operatives are special units that the player can buy using their political capital (received from consulting offices).  These operatives have a wide variety of powers but get increasingly expensive each time you hire one.

 

 

Figure 8: Players can zoom in to any part of the map.

Figure 9: Battle ground states tend to get a lot of operatives and ads in them.

 

 

Basic Game Mechanics

In each state your candidate has taken a position on the topics of the day such as health care, the economy, the environment, etc.  Within each state, democrats, republicans, and independents (who change depending on the scenario) have taken a position on these issues as well. 

In each state, the percentage of the population that considers themselves a democrat, republican, or independent is different.  So some states are easier to win than others depending on your political party. 

The game essentially takes your position and compares it to the positions of voters in that state and provides a score.  It then multiplies that score by your awareness (how much people are aware of you in a given state).  Then the engine compares that to your opponent’s score and awareness, and generates the number of votes.

Voters also care a lot about things like charisma, comeliness, credibility, and experience.  These traits are equally important and are valued by voters in a state at the same level as the default value of the most important issue.

Players win by taking out ads which affect the score of players on a given issue, hiring operatives who can affect the score in a given state, or by giving speeches which naturally alters your position on a given issue nationally.

Players can also go onto television shows like the ColdCut Report, the O’Malley Scenario, and other cable TV shows where they are asked questions on various issues which will greatly affect their score.

Figure 10: Use the view combo box at the top to control the map views

Availability

The Political Machine 2008 is available at most retail outlets starting the week of June 17, 2008. It is also available directly from www.politicalmachine.com.

It will also be the first game to support Stardock’s new digital distribution platform, Impulse, as well as support the new Common Multiplayer Platform which is being used for future Ironclad, Stardock, and Gas Powered Games titles.

Figure 11: Impulse

Third party titles from most major publishers will be available on Impulse either on launch or shortly after launch.

Tired of “budget” games feeling like “budget” games?

The PC game industry has kind of drifted into two very different directions.  You have the big name releases that are typically $40 to $60 and then what are called “budget” titles or “casual games” which often feel like they were made by “some guy” and are sold in a jewel case by fish screen savers at the store.

It doesn’t have to be that way.  How about bringing AAA quality to a title that’s only $20?  The Political Machine isn’t just a really fun and timely PC strategy game. Its production values match anything one would expect at $40. 

·         Built in multiplayer match making.

·         A fun and sophisticated character creator

·         High quality graphics that can smartly scale based on the hardware so that people with older computers can play it as well as people with top of the line systems.

·         And just a high degree of polish.

Plus it has Stardock’s traditional policy of free updates after release with new features.

 

A word about the 2004 edition

In 2004, Stardock released the Political Machine 2004 which received generally favorable reviews. However, while reviewers felt that while the 2004 edition was addictive, the consensus was that there wasn’t enough replayability due to having only one scenario to play and limited game options.

For the 2008 edition, we’ve made a lot of changes:

1)      Multiple Scenarios. Before there was only the U.S. campaign; now there’s three others with two additional coming after release.

2)      More types of operatives to hire, which gives players more tools to play with.

3)      Custom candidates. Players can literally design their own candidates now. They don’t have to use the pre-built candidates, but can control how they look and their positions at the start of the game.

4)      More start-up options such as length of a game.

5)      The polish level of the 2008 edition is much higher, with improved multiplayer, better graphics, a true 3D engine, issue descriptions, etc.

Questions, Suggestions, and Help

 

Visit www.politicalmachine.com for updates, news, and more.

Specifications

• The Political Machine 2008
•  Developed and published by Stardock Entertainment
• $19.95
• Requires: Windows XP or Windows Vista
• Video card with DirectX 9c capability with at least 64MB of memory (128MB recommended).
• www.politicalmachine.com
• Available at most retailers.

   

When designing your own character, there is a button in the bottom right that you can use to take a snapshot.

Use the arrow keys to move the box around (keyboard arrows that is) and the two buttons on the control panel there to size it.

The saved file is then kept in documents\my games\polmachine2008\snapshots

For those of you who pre-ordered, the batch job for sending out emails was quicker than the batch job for activating said serials. So some users received a "account expired" message. We're about to send out a second email job to let people know that the activation has completed. We apologize for any inconvenience.

PLYMOUTH, MI – June 17, 2008 – Today Stardock (www.stardock.com) released The Political Machine 2008, the highly anticipated follow-up to its 2004 smash hit. The Political Machine 2008 is a PC game that puts players in control of the 2008 presidential campaign. Play as the campaign manager for a host of candidates including Barack Obama, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, historical candidates or design one from scratch. The game is available at major U.S. retail outlets as well as directly from www.politicalmachine.com for $19.95. It requires Wndows XP or Windows Vista to play.

Players choose their campaign battlegrounds and are off on the campaign trail to face a host of challenges including fundraising, talk show appearances, hiring spin doctors and winning endorsements. The game is won on Election Day by the player who gets the necessary electoral votes to become President.

Real-world scenarios are mixed in with fantastical scenarios. Players can choose the U.S. 2008 election, U.S. 1860 election or play in fun and humorous fantasy campaigns including one that takes place on an alien world and one that takes place in "Europa". Players can also choose what TV shows to be a guest on and will face tough questions from the hosts of shows like Colvert Report and the O'Malley Factor.

"Political junkies will appreciate many of the political consultants and strategies employed in the game such as the use of smear merchants, spin doctors, intimidators, cheer leaders, movie stars, etc.," continued Wardell. "Strategy gamers will appreciate the balanced game mechanics that allow players to research new campaign tactics that even novice political observers can see from the current election."

The Political Machine is both a single- and multiplayer game - players can either compete against the computer or against others online on www.politicalmachine.com. The website also provides an ideologically neutral location for users to discuss the current election.

# # #

For more information about The Political Machine or to obtain high-res images, please contact Stephanie Tinsley Schopp at [email protected].

About Stardock

Stardock is one of the world’s leading developers and publishers of PC games and desktop software. Its PC games include Sins of a Solar Empire, the highest rated and best selling PC strategy game of 2008 as well as the critically acclaimed Galactic Civilizations series. Its desktop software includes Object Desktop, WindowBlinds, and a host of other programs for customizing the Windows experience.

Not to be outdone by the release of Impulse, Stardock also released The Political Machine 2008, a PC strategy game that lets players run for President!

With the Impulse launch this week along with The Political Machine 2008 release, it's been a busy week. But for our next magical trick, we're also releasing the first significant update to Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor.  You can get a preview of some of the changes here.

You will need to use Impulse to get it. Go here to get Impulse.

PLYMOUTH, MI – June 17, 2008 – With the backing of industry powerhouse games and software developers and publishers, Stardock today announced the launch of its next-generation digital distribution platform, Impulse (www.impulsedriven.com). Impulse is a cohesive, integrated virtual platform for consumers and developers that is designed to simplify buying, supporting, and developing PC games and applications for Windows XP and Vista.

"Impulse is a platform first, a store second," said Brad Wardell, president and CEO of Stardock Corp. "Our primary objective with Impulse is to address the issues users have with their Windows experience today. That includes being able to boot up a new PC, install Impulse, and then be able to press a button and have it install all of your software and games with one click."

To this end, Stardock has been working with major PC game publishers and software developers to bring as many titles onto Impulse over the next several months. For developers and publishers, Impulse supports localized currencies, custom pricing models for affiliates, exclusive store items on a per-partner basis, publisher controlled availability, and more. For consumers, Impulse is expected to have the largest selection of digitally-available software on the market within its first year of operation. Currently Impulse features more than 100 games and software applications.

Stardock is currently working with premier game and software companies including Epic Games, THQ, AVG, iolo, Gas Powered Games, Hothead Games, Ironclad Games, Meridian4 and many others.

"Impulse is, by far, the most advanced digital distribution platform we've seen, and we're extremely excited to take advantage of the features of Impulse Reactor," said Chris Taylor, CEO of Gas Powered Games. "It's easy to use, has awesome capabilities for developers, and it doesn't tie consumers to a single digital distribution platform."

Continued Wardell, "Impulse is designed to help consumers get the full use of their PC. For example, a user who has purchased multiple programs over the years is left hunting for CDs and registration numbers when setting up a new machine, and their data may be scattered across multiple USB drives and other computers. If the user has games, it can be needlessly complex to find and set up multiplayer games and keep up to date on drivers."

Impulse addresses these issues; once a user purchases a program, it is automatically associated with their Impulse account. Users can update or re-download a given program when they set up a new machine or as needed. In addition, Impulse allows users to associate programs with their Impulse accounts even if those programs weren't purchased through Impulse. For example, a user who purchases a game from their local retailer or a different digital distribution service would be able to associate their purchase with Impulse if the program's publisher takes advantage of the free option. Additionally, Impulse supports refunds for users who have technical issues with a game or application.

"Digital distribution empowers independent developers like Hothead and is exactly what the game industry needs today," said Vlad Ceraldi, president of Hothead Games. "Impulse will offer more choices to gamers and developers alike--we are truly excited about the games we will bring to Impulse, starting with our first game series, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness."

Impulse will also provide a virtual platform called Impulse Reactor, a set of server-side features for developers that will work even if the user doesn't have the Impulse client installed. Impulse Reactor will include support for virtual drives for saved game data, multiplayer matchmaking, game rankings, NAT negotiation for multiplayer games, friends lists, and support forums.

Also unique to Impulse is its distribution model. Companies and individuals will be able to distribute their own branded version of Impulse starting in mid-August, and every time a user creates an account with an affiliated distributor, that distributor will receive a percentage of the gross revenue of any future purchases.

Amongst the first distributors of Impulse will be AMD, which will be distributing Impulse as part of their Ruby ROM content disk that accompanies their graphics cards as well as from the AMD Game! website.

Darren McPhee, senior marketing manager for gaming at AMD said, "We are excited about the potential of Impulse to help enhance the user experience of our customers. With the continuing advances in PC technology, we see Impulse as a terrific way to help bring these advances to our user base."

Impulse can be used by developers, publishers, and even retailers. "Digital distribution shouldn’t be seen as a threat to our retail partners, rather as an opportunity," said Wardell.

By passing Microsoft's stringent testing procedures, Impulse has been Certified for Windows Vista. Applications that receive this recognition have been independently tested to assure the highest levels of compatibility, functionality and reliability and must meet both Microsoft's own security guidelines and the privacy standards set for by the Anti-Spyware coalition.

"Microsoft is pleased that Stardock has earned the Certified for Windows Vista software logo for their Impulse application," said Jeff Price, senior director in Windows Client Product Management at Microsoft Corp. "This highlights Stardock's commitment to providing its customers with higher quality applications that deliver a more secure, reliable and compatible experience with Windows Vista."

"We are excited to be working with Stardock on the launch of Impulse. We believe that through Impulse, the iolo brand, and System Mechanic in particular, will be introduced into a promising new market. Through Impulse, consumers will be able to benefit from having access to a variety of software applications, games and drivers through a single platform," said Tim Weinzirl, business development manager, iolo technology.

Stardock will be releasing Impulse in three phases. Today marks the initial launch of the Impulse client, with the immediate availability of titles from multiple PC game publishers and software developers. Phase two, scheduled for mid-August, will include Impulse Reactor and the beta of MyImpulse, a utility that will allow developers to automatically submit their games or software to Impulse under a streamlined, uniform royalty agreement for moderation. Phase three will be launched in early 2009 and will greatly automate the ability for developers to publish their games and software on Impulse as well as include virtual drive management tools.

To learn more about Impulse visit www.impulsedriven.com. Impulse is also included on the retail version of Stardock’s new PC strategy game, The Political Machine 2008.

About Stardock

Stardock is one of the world's leading developers and publishers of PC games and desktop software. Its PC games include Sins of a Solar Empire, the highest rated and best selling PC strategy game of 2008 as well as the critically acclaimed Galactic Civilizations series. Its desktop software includes Object Desktop, WindowBlinds, and a host of other programs for customizing the Windows experience.

Stardock Launches Impulse: The PC's Next-Generation Distribution Platform

PLYMOUTH, MI – June 17, 2008 – With the backing of industry powerhouse games and software developers and publishers, Stardock today announced the launch of its next-generation digital distribution platform, Impulse (www.impulsedriven.com). Impulse is a cohesive, integrated virtual platform for consumers and developers that is designed to simplify buying, supporting, and developing PC games and applications for Windows XP and Vista.

"Impulse is a platform first, a store second," said Brad Wardell, president and CEO of Stardock Corp. "Our primary objective with Impulse is to address the issues users have with their Windows experience today. That includes being able to boot up a new PC, install Impulse, and then be able to press a button and have it install all of your software and games with one click."

To this end, Stardock has been working with major PC game publishers and software developers to bring as many titles onto Impulse over the next several months. For developers and publishers, Impulse supports localized currencies, custom pricing models for affiliates, exclusive store items on a per-partner basis, publisher controlled availability, and more. For consumers, Impulse is expected to have the largest selection of digitally-available software on the market within its first year of operation. Currently Impulse features more than 100 games and software applications.

Stardock is currently working with premier game and software companies including Epic Games, THQ, AVG, iolo, Gas Powered Games, Hothead Games, Ironclad Games, Meridian4 and many others.

"Impulse is, by far, the most advanced digital distribution platform we've seen, and we're extremely excited to take advantage of the features of Impulse Reactor," said Chris Taylor, CEO of Gas Powered Games. "It's easy to use, has awesome capabilities for developers, and it doesn't tie consumers to a single digital distribution platform."

Continued Wardell, "Impulse is designed to help consumers get the full use of their PC. For example, a user who has purchased multiple programs over the years is left hunting for CDs and registration numbers when setting up a new machine, and their data may be scattered across multiple USB drives and other computers. If the user has games, it can be needlessly complex to find and set up multiplayer games and keep up to date on drivers."

Impulse addresses these issues; once a user purchases a program, it is automatically associated with their Impulse account. Users can update or re-download a given program when they set up a new machine or as needed. In addition, Impulse allows users to associate programs with their Impulse accounts even if those programs weren't purchased through Impulse. For example, a user who purchases a game from their local retailer or a different digital distribution service would be able to associate their purchase with Impulse if the program's publisher takes advantage of the free option. Additionally, Impulse supports refunds for users who have technical issues with a game or application.

"Digital distribution empowers independent developers like Hothead and is exactly what the game industry needs today," said Vlad Ceraldi, president of Hothead Games. "Impulse will offer more choices to gamers and developers alike--we are truly excited about the games we will bring to Impulse, starting with our first game series, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness."

Impulse will also provide a virtual platform called Impulse Reactor, a set of server-side features for developers that will work even if the user doesn't have the Impulse client installed. Impulse Reactor will include support for virtual drives for saved game data, multiplayer matchmaking, game rankings, NAT negotiation for multiplayer games, friends lists, and support forums.

Also unique to Impulse is its distribution model. Companies and individuals will be able to distribute their own branded version of Impulse starting in mid-August, and every time a user creates an account with an affiliated distributor, that distributor will receive a percentage of the gross revenue of any future purchases.

Amongst the first distributors of Impulse will be AMD, which will be distributing Impulse as part of their Ruby ROM content disk that accompanies their graphics cards as well as from the AMD Game! website.

Darren McPhee, senior marketing manager for gaming at AMD said, "We are excited about the potential of Impulse to help enhance the user experience of our customers. With the continuing advances in PC technology, we see Impulse as a terrific way to help bring these advances to our user base."

Impulse can be used by developers, publishers, and even retailers. "Digital distribution shouldn’t be seen as a threat to our retail partners, rather as an opportunity," said Wardell.

By passing Microsoft's stringent testing procedures, Impulse has been Certified for Windows Vista. Applications that receive this recognition have been independently tested to assure the highest levels of compatibility, functionality and reliability and must meet both Microsoft's own security guidelines and the privacy standards set for by the Anti-Spyware coalition.

"Microsoft is pleased that Stardock has earned the Certified for Windows Vista software logo for their Impulse application," said Jeff Price, senior director in Windows Client Product Management at Microsoft Corp. "This highlights Stardock's commitment to providing its customers with higher quality applications that deliver a more secure, reliable and compatible experience with Windows Vista."

"We are excited to be working with Stardock on the launch of Impulse. We believe that through Impulse, the iolo brand, and System Mechanic in particular, will be introduced into a promising new market. Through Impulse, consumers will be able to benefit from having access to a variety of software applications, games and drivers through a single platform," said Tim Weinzirl, business development manager, iolo technology.

Stardock will be releasing Impulse in three phases. Today marks the initial launch of the Impulse client, with the immediate availability of titles from multiple PC game publishers and software developers. Phase two, scheduled for mid-August, will include Impulse Reactor and the beta of MyImpulse, a utility that will allow developers to automatically submit their games or software to Impulse under a streamlined, uniform royalty agreement for moderation. Phase three will be launched in early 2009 and will greatly automate the ability for developers to publish their games and software on Impulse as well as include virtual drive management tools.

To learn more about Impulse visit www.impulsedriven.com. Impulse is also included on the retail version of Stardock’s new PC strategy game, The Political Machine 2008.

About Stardock

Stardock is one of the world's leading developers and publishers of PC games and desktop software. Its PC games include Sins of a Solar Empire, the highest rated and best selling PC strategy game of 2008 as well as the critically acclaimed Galactic Civilizations series. Its desktop software includes Object Desktop, WindowBlinds, and a host of other programs for customizing the Windows experience.