Elemental all-purpose thread

Alstein · 2010-09-09T18:58:59.000Z

Rock8man:

Agreed 100%. I never understand why some people get so hung up on whether or not the computer opponent is cheating. What matters is how challenged it makes me feel, and that I enjoy the fight.

I find cheating hurts the enjoyability of the game for me. Then again, I try to avoid exploits on my end also.

Sarkus · 2010-09-09T19:02:21.000Z

Dan_Theman:

So hate Brad for selling you a bill of goods if you think that’s what he did (but hate yourself just as much if not more for buying it sight-unseen). Hate Brad for his political views. Hate Brad for sneering at your wife’s review of his book. Hate Brad for running over your dog. But the refund policy? C’mon. It’s a heck of a lot more liberal than those examples I listed above.

Heh. Brad being “liberal” - I like it ;)

The problem is that Stardock says they will give you your money back, and then it turns out there are conditions and exceptions that they don’t tell you. The Gamers Bill of Rights doesn’t list conditions or exceptions after all. Brad specifically said on Troy’s podcast yesterday that they will give people their money back for Elemental, and yet neither he or his PR rep mentioned the part about only 75% or only store credit if you bought it over 90 days ago or only if you agree to work with their tech support for a game that he has said publically is broken.

So I don’t feel like people who want their full money back with no hassle should just be happy with whatever Stardock offers. Just like I don’t feel like people who’ve been waiting nearly three weeks for their special edition packages to arrive (yeah, Stardock locked that thread) should be happy with the response they’ve gotten.

Either there is a disconnect between what Brad is saying publically and what his CS folks are being told to do with refund requests, or he is not being entirely honest.

Dan_Theman · 2010-09-09T19:02:24.000Z

Alstein:

I find cheating hurts the enjoyability of the game for me. Then again, I try to avoid exploits on my end also.

Yeah, I’m in the same boat. I have an extra appreciation for non-cheating AI’s, as for some reason it helps make the game a little more immersive for me. Maybe one less thing to suspend disbelief on?

John_Reynolds · 2010-09-09T19:15:20.000Z

Sarkus:

So I don’t feel like people who want their full money back with no hassle should just be happy with whatever Stardock offers. Just like I don’t feel like people who’ve been waiting nearly three weeks for their special edition packages to arrive (yeah, Stardock locked that thread) should be happy with the response they’ve gotten.

Either there is a disconnect between what Brad is saying publically and what his CS folks are being told to do with refund requests, or he is not being entirely honest.

The lack of info is what really frustrates a customer. I’d pre-ordered the CE of NWN2 from Gogamer back in 2006 and got a cancellation email the day before its release. No reason why, nothing. So I contacted customer support asking for info, but never heard back. Drove two miles to a local Wal-mart the next day and bought a copy. Haven’t given Gogamer one penny since.

Mazuo · 2010-09-09T19:37:18.000Z

They’ve replied to me before mentioning the 90-day window which I don’t really get. If you’re promising refunds, but disallowing refunds during beta, how is anyone who supports you through pre-order ever going to get an actual refund?

I don’t really care to have my $70 just sitting on the Impulse store waiting for me to buy something I’d rather get cheaper through Steam.

Jason_McCullough · 2010-09-09T19:55:58.000Z

Sparky2003:

So for the CRIME of supporting $camdock they fucked you for Twelve Dollars Fifty Cents? Unbelievable, I’ve been mugged for less.

This thread is going to a whole 'nother level, people.

Adam_Altmann · 2010-09-09T20:26:47.000Z

Jason McCullough:

This thread is going to a whole 'nother level, people.

Personally, I find the $camdock part to be the least interesting aspect of the post. First, I like how he knew my intent wasn’t to buy a game so I could play it, but to support a business. It’s nice to have one’s altruism recognized by others. Second, I enjoy the declaration that my purchase was in fact, a CRIME. Lastly, and particularly awesome, is that the caps theme is continued with the dollar amount becoming a proper noun, and the crime theme is continued with the mugging anecdote. Overall, a solid piece of writing.

DaleKent · 2010-09-09T20:28:48.000Z

Mazuo:

They’ve replied to me before mentioning the 90-day window which I don’t really get. If you’re promising refunds, but disallowing refunds during beta, how is anyone who supports you through pre-order ever going to get an actual refund?

I don’t really care to have my $70 just sitting on the Impulse store waiting for me to buy something I’d rather get cheaper through Steam.

I just got email confirmation I’m getting a full refund back to my CC. I pre-ordered back in May or something, so seems the message is getting through to them about what has been offered to customers on the forums, and recently on the TMA podcast. :)

Mister_Widget · 2010-09-09T20:35:58.000Z

DaleKent:

I just got email confirmation I’m getting a full refund back to my CC. I pre-ordered back in May or something, so seems the message is getting through to them about what has been offered to customers on the forums, and recently on the TMA podcast. :)

How long did that take, and how many back-and-forths did you need to go through with them? I requested my refund a couple of days ago, and after the automated ‘we have received your e-mail’ message, I haven’t heard a peep back from them.

Dethedrus · 2010-09-09T20:40:41.000Z

Teiman:

I am programmer, not game programmer, and I am not native english speaker.

<snip>

IMHO, programmers talk from a very deep gnome cavern, full of gold mechanics.

Don’t sell yourself short!

That’s so beautifully succinct and completely spot on =D

Mazuo · 2010-09-09T20:46:49.000Z

Can take a long while Mister Widget. I’ve had 2 replies in 2 weeks here.

olaf · 2010-09-09T20:49:59.000Z

Today I got a desktop popup add from Impulse Now, the little update checker thing Elemental installed. It was for another game they distribute. I was pretty surprised by that. Having to opt out of popups does not seem to be in the spirit of a gamer’s bill of rights.

Sarkus · 2010-09-09T20:54:19.000Z

olaf:

Today I got a desktop popup add from Impulse Now, the little update checker thing Elemental installed. It was for another game they distribute. I was pretty surprised by that. Having to opt out of popups does not seem to be in the spirit of a gamer’s bill of rights.

Weird. I don’t remember opting out of anything when that deal installed itself but I’ve had no adds pop up from it.

To be honest, that they installed that at all on my toolbar annoys me. If I have to go through a check to run the game anyway, then you can just inform me then if there is an update. Seemed to work just fine for Dragon Age. I don’t need more crap installed that runs whether I’m playing your game or not.

olaf · 2010-09-09T21:06:35.000Z

I feel the same way, dont put toolbars or shit that starts itself on my computer w/o asking me. I was not asked.

If you right click the icon in the systray and go to settings you will see that it has run at start up and something called ‘Promotionals’ checked, among other things. Or mine did. On two computers…

Mazuo · 2010-09-09T21:10:51.000Z

Heh, what was best about Impulse Now when it launched was that you could actually go into its settings and uncheck loading at computer startup and it still would.

Spammed ads for a while.

Mark_Asher · 2010-09-09T21:23:27.000Z

Lizard_King:

You tell me. I made my point, clearly, and you used it for a Peewee-caliber zinger that should have been smothered in the crib. It’s like when people are surprised that others aren’t receptive to their latest spin on “FIXED”. So, no, I’m perfectly happy to have you go your way as I go mine.

I thought it was ironic that the qualities you were attributing to the posts of others actually applied more to Matt’s posts. Either you see the irony or you don’t. That’s all.

frank_austin · 2010-09-09T21:40:32.000Z

DaleKent:

I just got email confirmation I’m getting a full refund back to my CC. I pre-ordered back in May or something, so seems the message is getting through to them about what has been offered to customers on the forums, and recently on the TMA podcast. :)

God damnit. I’m e-mailing them again. I don’t care that I already used the store credit to give games away, I wanted a refund and only settled for one when they reassured me that there was no way I could get it in any other format.

One thing that they did ask me for before was ticket numbers of people who had successfully gotten refunds on orders older than 90 days. If anyone else would be so kind as to post the successful ticket #s for their refunds, it might help those of us who got store credit or a 75% refund out.

Knightsaber · 2010-09-09T21:52:14.000Z

Last week they credited me a full refund to my CC, then reversed it, which was not awesome.

I’m emailing them again today for the third time about it, if they don’t reply tomorrow, then Monday I will go dispute the charge.

I would really rather not have to go through this business.

frank_austin · 2010-09-09T22:03:19.000Z

They reversed your refund? That’s crazy!

beloved_one · 2010-09-09T22:06:59.000Z

I shot a man in Reno
just to watch him die