http://consumerist.com/2009/11/stardock-ceo-takes-responsibility-for-broken-game.html#comments
Comments seem to be mostly positive- but I think someone from Stardock should come on there and explain things, just don't say that you're "taking it seriously" unless you're not being serious.
Oh no. Not here too... stop, evil threads, stop!
Let me sum up the situation for you since I'm unfortunately far too familiar with it than is healthy for my mental well-being.
(TLDR version: Customer was issued a refund before contacting Consumerist, Stardock has since fixed the problem.)
1. The developers of Warlords put in tricky code to make all random numbers result in 0 if the copy protection was removed from the game.
2. Enlight, the current publisher of Warlords, removed said DRM and made the game available to Impulse, GamersGate, Direct2Drive, etc. They did this not knowing about the anti-pirate code.
3. Situation gets brought up where the game isn't working correctly. Stardock customer support is contacted, they don't quite understand the issue and think it's OS related, as Vista isn't supported. They issue a refund.
4. Stardock contacts Enlight, who assures them everything is working correctly. They have the most current, up to date version. Stardock QA confirms that the game loads, plays, etc but not quite grasping the subtle problem if the RNG always returning 0. It's written off as an OS issue as I mentioned, but a refund is issued to the wanker PRIOR to his contacting the Consumerist. That part is important.
5. Consumerist runs the story without contacting Enlight, Stardock, or anyone for comment.
6. Hellthread ensues. I will not link it, it's on another forum, but for your sanity it's best to be avoided. Let me just summarize by saying that Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock, was made aware of the situation and after some initial confusion as to what the problem was, verified that the RNG was in fact broken.
7. Stardock received permission from Enlight to package a community-made fix to the issue which also includes new content additions, and is now what is distributed on Impulse. GamersGate, D2D users, etc still need to be wary as I don't think those retailers have fixed the problem.
The Consumerist thread seems pretty well-reasoned. I just think Brad or someone from Stardock should post on there and let people know their side of it. It will be appreciated and respected, especially since you're not getting nuked.
I don't think Stardock will ever be in the running for the Golden Poo on there.
That said, a semi-written rule on that site is "don't blame the victim" so people tend to not blame the victim even if the victim is to blame. That said, rule is revoked if victim is complete idiot.
That said, new content additions? I may pick that game up someday (my PC game purchasing is backlogged for a bit though)
Mmmm, let me see if I can find the details for you.... here we go:
- New Ogre playable faction- New Goblin playable faction- New Dragon playable faction- 24 new Hero avatars- Ships added for each race- New terrain mini pack- Four new Campaign locations on the world map- New Event conditions- New Hero classes: Tyrant, Horde Master, Dwarf Master, Wizard- New Magic Spheres: Time Magic, Goblin Magic, Light Magic, Dwarf Magic - Lots of new skills for new items- Three new Lair types- 236 new Hero Portraits
Btw. on a slightly related note: the download version of Supreme Commander and Forged Alliance from GamersGate has a modified executable. With this executable you won't be able to install any patches (not even via GPGnet, even though you have a valid key at your hands).
The consumerist used to be a great site. Now they have a censorship overlord named Roz who filters only new members and not oldies and keeps the opinion pages titled in one direction half the time, and they dont' check out their stories nearly enough for my tastes.
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