Looks like Entrechment's release dates are not to be taken seriously. It was slated to be released last November, moved to January 1st, then moved forward to February 11th, then moved back to February 4th (as slated by the IGN review), then forward to February 11th, and now it is moved two weeks forward to February 25th.
I just hope that Ironclad would come up with the final retail version on the 25th. There are still a lot of things to improve in Entrenchment, including mini-dumps and the like. It would be great if they added the option to create moons which actually revolve around some planets to make the game more realistic, and that the player be given the ability to make moon defenses or bases. Crystal and metal asteroids are not "moons" in the exact sense of the word.
I'm sure if you want to cancel your order due to the delay that they will give you a refund. Feel free to call them and try.
I've already emailed stardock support and await a reply. If that fails, I'll be submitting a claim via PayPal using the category for goods not as described.
I don't think Paypal will sympathise with you, to be honest.
And nor should they.
I don't like being screwed - as far as I can see I paid for a defective product that isn't worth ten bucks. I could care less about the business of the developer or the business of making games - I am not a fanboy just a consumer. I only have so many game dollars to spend and won't be so quick to spend them with these guys - I have been looking forward to Demigod but considering the way they've managed this game I am not so sure that is a good investment either.
Ah drama drama drama, the braying of farmyard animals continues.
You are not being ripped off. You were told repeatedly that the purchase would be a beta development mode, and that the Jan 1 release date was not intended as a real date, simply a placeholder to fill a required field. The community has been informed well in advance of these things and yet you keep crying. Therefore you really have no ground for crying about being ripped off, no matter what you think you know about the issue. I see that you don't care, nor do you understand how this business works, this is why crying like yours means little. Go play another game and wait for the fuul release. If not that, then maybe you should pipe down and help playtest the game and help make it a better product.
Maybe it's exactly this kind of patronizing tone that puts me off reading what the "well informed community" for which you appear to be the elected speaker has to say.
You're spot on, because the only thing that had SOME meaning was our credit card number. But don't worry, we got that part.
Maybe you should pipe down and do that instead of posting, since you don't seem to be able to handle a thread topic that is not to your liking.
For someone with such a vast industry experience (software AND hardware / development divisions of a COUPLE of large corporations) you come accross a bit juvenile, don't you think?
Either way, I certainly believe you that you have experience feeding poop to mushrooms.
So again, thanks again for your input.
i say again follow the Money... Every time StardockIronclad wins an award and lowers its price... but to its most loyal customers natta.
Meanwhile they can't even qc. the code or tell if folks use trainers or play as teams on-line.
If i wanted to play against BlueGene with programing/scripting and be insulted.... whlie on my centino 2GHZ 1mb laptop...
As noted by others, January 1 was set as a placeholder date at the time of the delay (the store does not presently support a "TBA" option). This was openly noted as such then and subsequently to anyone who commented or inquired about the date on the Sins forums. Unfortunately, due to the server failures we experienced over the holiday we were unable to push the date further forward until after it had already automatically popped up "for sale" for a short while on Jan 1. We do apologize for any confusion or inconvenince this may have caused.
If you mistakenly purchased it during the time it was incorrectly showing as live on Impulse and do not wish to preorder/beta Entrenchment, please inquire with sales@stardock.com about a refund. Outside of that window, however, it was clearly marked as a pre-order item, and the standard refund policy applies.
I ordered on 1-1, not even aware that the exp. was available on that day. I was under the impression it was a mid to late January release. But I did it anyway as I really wanted Starbases. I can't believe Starbases were left out and took THIS long to be introduced. A damn space game with space ships and planets and orbits and orbital defences but no starbases? Absurd, really.
While I don't like the idea of paying for expansion packs, I do it anyway since in almost all cases the first exp pack really rounds out the game..I can but won't name a few AAA titles that are like night and day with their exp pack add-ons. (*cough* Supreme Commander). I like paying for beta-branded exp packs even less! So Stardock loses geek-points for making a pay-beta download but keeps earning geek points by keeping Sins alive.
It's the only game in its genre and that has to count for something.
As I have said in the past, this is a sweet release for me to actually say what I was thinking to myself when being paid for this kind of stuff.
I'm handling this just fine. You are the one that seems threatened that I actually know a little about this topic.
I play the beta from time to time and have sent in a few minidump files to help. It is actually kinda fun to try to "break" a project under development to make it stronger in the final release.
If you don't like the way this project has been handled, get your refund for the expansion and go play something else, your drama is doing little more than making me smile inside.
Better yet, keep it up. Your misplaced angst, it feeds me.
If Entrenchment sells well, Stardock really should A: thank their lucky stars, because everyone know how well-received delays are for games that are pre-ordered, and B: make the second (and possibly third) installment of these micro-expansions free. This delay (or delays, I can only confirm one) is inexcusable. We payed for a product to be shipped to us on an agreed upon date, etched in the magical plastic of credit cards...and the powerful companies who make them. However, if Entrenchment sells well, noone will remember this post, because they'll be busy luring enemy fleets into engagements with starbases.
And if it shipped "on time" and was shitty you'd want free games too.
Sometimes, you just can't win. I hope Ironclad isn't reading this post. I'd imagine it would sicken them and might make them wonder why they do it at all.
not like im made of money or anything......
but its just $10
if it was like $30 or more, id agree,
but for less than lunch, im happy,
hell im from Australia i had to pay AUD$15, im not complaining, i just want it to work, these 15 min system crashes are killing me
Get real folks! The longer the game takes the more polished / complete / fun it will be. I am having fun with it RIGHT NOW. I already got my $10 worth in several hours of playing with it. I am sure it is the same for the posters here. Just enjoy and wait for the final release. Realize that even after that is released there will be more tweaking. This is how it works with practically any software.
Engirush1
agree u still get to play the beta relax and enjoy what u have so far.
I love this game. I purchased the Entrenchment upgrade as soon as it was available. I even scheduled the day off from work (foolishly) the day it was initially scheduled to be released. Sure, I was disappointed that it didn't get released on time but hey it happens, so what. I look it at this way, someone is working on improving and adding content to a great game and that it will hopefully make it an even better game. That's a win win situation, in my opinion. SINS as it stood was one of the best games of it's type out there, now they are making it better! Hell, sign me up, I'll wait. Give me a BETA, sure sign me up for that too. I'll have fun and even more fun when it is finished.
Yes, I'm sold on this game...I'd almost say, "Here, take my wallet and give it back to me when you are done..." Except that I did that once with EA on Earth and Beyond and look where they left me? Literally, out in the cold with nothing to show for hundreds of dollars spent over the course of two years of game play on 7 accounts. So I wont complain about paying $10 and getting a Beta; which is OK as long as I get the final version in a reasonable time, say within 6 months.
Release dates are at best an educated guess, at least from my experience, and pushing the date back is understandable but let's be realistic here, anymore than a few months tells us one of four things:
1) Some serious issues exist that may or may not ever be solved
2) Someone in Marketing didn't listen very well when the projected completion date was set
3) Someone in Programming thinks miracles do happen with code
4) Some combination or variation of the above mixed in some creative accounting just to complicate things a bit more
I'm sure there are more reasons but heck these four are enough. Right now, we are looking a short delay and we're talking $10 which in the larger scheme of things is nothing. Play the Beta, Don't worry, Be happy...Hey, that might make a good song! No, wait, Bobby McFerrin already did that...nevermind. (sigh...)
People have the right to complain. Conversely, If some of us feel that they are whining, demanding undeserved freebies and/or lamenting the loss of TEN WHOLE DOLLARS...the rest of us who don't feel that way (those of us who don't feel entitled to free stuff, can afford ten bucks and/or just don't feel like kicking and screaming because the world is an imperfect place) have the right to ridicule them and tell them to cram it. Ahhh, freedom!
If they had 20 topics in the forums saying "1ST JANUARY IS JUST A PLACEHOLDER DATE" it wouldn't matter, what matters is what the Store UI itself and the confirmation mails are saying.
Sir, you fail at life. Even if it wasn't a "placeholder date" (imo this is just an excuse - more likely, with imuplse being so new they just forgot to update it), games get delayed all the time.
There are two alternatives: delay games when they're not ready, or release them as they are and patch them so that they actually work as intended. Instead Stardock is allowing you to play the game as it is currently available as a freebie, just to be nice. In other words, you are being given the choice of playing the beta or waiting for the real thing, while other companies force you to beta test the supposedly "release-quality" game for them so they can finish developing it more easily.
"Free copy"? "Lose my 10 dollars"? "Lose a customer"? Stardock doesn't need or want troublemaking 14 year olds as customers OR their mom's money, so by all means go away and never come back.
(but you won't, you'll just realize what a tit you're being and buy the game anyway, enjoy the heck out of it, and pretend nothing happened)
Hmm... if Entrenchment is delayed I want a pony... or a cookie... ohh hell I'll just settle for playing the beta version.
Considering it's a Beta it's actually pretty good, although I'm in the "do something about mines" camp but hey. Seriously though if you've actually paid for Entrenchment then you're playing the beta version, you get to comment and help tweak the final product so it's better and yet you feel jipped by them pushing the release date back?
At least this is an honest to god beta version and not a shoddy thing pushed out with a release day patch. And when the second expansion appears I'll be pre-ordering that too (and hopefully enjoying the beta testing of it...).
Can't wait for the second micro, but on to the topic. I can't believe what some people are saying on here. It's just rediculous. I've had my share of mini dumps, but I just shrugged it off and started a new game. No biggy.
Some people makes me wonder if its the first time their buying a computer game online or have been following it during it course of development...anyone remember Duke Nukem Forever? Hate to see what they would do to a Blizzard game.
Cheers,Spylord
I love what they are doing. For me I think because it is a small digital download only expansion the only way to go is release it as a beta so they can really work with the community to make it the best they can. This way it is going to be extremely balanced, bug proof and hopefuly have more content because of the community working with them. I think this way is great and should be a model to follow. The way I see it is I am getting mroe for my money.
I bought both Sins and Entrenchment knowing it was a pre-order. I just thought it was kind of cool that I could download the beta and play it before release. I'm just playing regular sins now because I want to learn the ins and out of the basic game before I play the expansion. If I had been playing sins for a year, like many here, then I would be playing the beta too.
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