i've been trying to buy this sim for more than a week but the maintenance message just keeps moving forward every time i visit. what's going on?

Well, we're in the middle of a server migration, and apparently if we solve one issue, a new one pops up. It was supposed to be a painless switch, and turned out to be anything but. I can but apologize for the inconvenience, but we can only wait for the IT guys to finish the job.

any way i can just send some money to a paypal address and have the dongle shipped to me in the meantime?

No, but the webmaster signaled that we'll go back to normalcy today.

the eSim Games store is open again.

http://www.esimgames.com/purchase.htm

purchased! it will be nice to get back into the gunner's seat. i used to play the original sb, back when it was still non accelerated. i think that was before 9/11...!

is there any chance i could get a demo license so i can play until the dongle arrives?

Wasn't 3.0 supposed to be up when the store came back online or did I misunderstand something?

Sethos88 - you must have misunderstood something.

there has been no word about the release date of 3.0, since Ssnake told us that it would not be released on July 4th, which is the only date I have seen mentioned.


VF9_Longbow - for a demo license read this post, which refers you to the front page at www.steelbeasts.com

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3532014/SB_Pro_PE_FREE_Demo_Available#Post3532014

under the heading "Welcome to Steelbeasts.com" you will find info on obtaining a a demo license by emailing one of three people: "For a FREE trial demo, contact Sean or Gibson or dta delta."

on that page, click on one of the 3 names to send them an email.

New update price.
Also a cheaper way to try SB.
Okay, here's the deal.

Ssnakes post on SB forum.

The upgrade for version 3.0 will be on sale for $40.-; the upgrade may be applied to any previous Steel Beasts Pro PE license on a CodeMeter stick.

The base price of version 3.0 will therefore be $115.-

In addition to these CodeMeter stick based licenses we will also offer time-limited licenses WITHOUT the need for a CM stick. They will be bound to the computer on which they are installed, and we will not support a transfer of the license to another computer.
We'll offer
a one-month license for $10.-
a four-month license for $25.-
a one year license for $40.-

The advantage of these licenses lies in the fact that there is no steep price for those who just want to give it a try, and that you can't lose our CodeMeter stick - something that has been a bit of trouble for some of you.

I'm not taking chances and make a server migration plus shop update right at the moment when we release a new version. I want my ducks all in row well before that. So that's why we're working on it right now when it is least disruptive. In a way this is preparation for the release, but it isn't "the" release.

Speaking of it, we have worked on all the show stopper bugs, and it seems like we're good here. We will soon build a "release candidate". At the same time however we will start working on the new particle system (well, the particle system as such already exists, just no suitable artwork for it). We will see how much progress we can make with it and if major issues show up. If not, we'll continue to get this implemented before release. If it turns out that there are unforeseen issues that are likely to cost a lot of time to get fixed we may decide to release the release candidate that I mentioned above. I think this offers the best compromise between avoiding massive delays and retaining the chance for a more rounded overall new look.