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You never know
I think it is a really good suggestion and I will bring it up with the team for upcoming games. You have my word!
Needs moar Mecron flaming everyone and telling us that he does not care if we buy his "game" or not.
I mostly torrent games but this one time i wanted to buy the game and now i'm kicking myself for buying such crap.
Well, you would still get the bad version if you torrented it. Unless Skidrow makes a patch ahead of Kerberos, they are not providing anything of a higher quality.
hence why games come out as unfinished garbage because duche bags pirate everything leaving the developer to cut corners.
Sots2 on Twitter said:
:happy: I love it when a plan comes together.
(It's probably a coincidence and the patch probably will not be out before monday, but still)
Agree completely.
Right now I'm on the fence about asking for a refund; merely to be punitive. I'm a firm believer in voting with my dollar; I would total rebuy (and probably rebuy multiple times for family/friends) when the game is fixed. Currently, I feel somewhat lied to. The game was not complete. The beta test should have been characterized as a barely functional alpha, and the current state of the game is best characterized as a very early beta. 80% of core functionality has been implemented, but significant amounts of content are missing, documentation is completely missing, and stability is low. There are some crippling bugs, like the inability to correctly select the station you are upgrading, the incorrectly functioning province creation system, and basic zooming/GUI issues (startup in windowed mode only? camera rests in the ship design screen? fuzzy text in certain tooltips? tooltips that appear behind dialogues? these are early beta bugs.) Sorry, I love you guys, but that's the truth.
Paradox/Kerberos: The only way out of this right now is true, brutal honesty. The game is not complete. It is very cool, creative, and has a lot of potential. But it is not complete. It will be panned in the reviews, and most of the steam customers will be extremely pissed.
How to fix this? Tell us where the game is going. A roadmap for patches (without dates! Just 1.1= These fixes, 1.2= Implement these features, 1.3= Do This, Do That). Furthermore, I'm certain that the fanbase is willing to help. Start calling the game what it is, a commercial beta. Setup a system where you can take feedback and proper error reports. Heck, even simple things, I'm sure a couple of us will be willing to do things like write Sotsapedia entries. As long as we know the game has a future, the community would be quite willing to write the manual, I'd guess. Why not release the manual source under GPL, CC, or some other open document-type license?
This approach worked fairly well for the Star Ruler guys at Blind Mind. They ran out of money, and knew the game could not be completed. They told the fanbase, and "sold" the incomplete version, with the stated intent of completing it. The game went gold late last month, and the "re-reviews" are pretty clear about the massive improvements that occurred.
That's the only path out. A re-launch. Re-reviews. Keeping on the level with the fanbase, and working slowly, without panic, towards a true release. You have an extraordinarily loyal fanbas, trust us to respond like adults when we are giving all the facts and a "realistic" roadmap forward. As others have said, the quick-fix, time pressure, and being creative with the truth resulted in the current situation.
Right now I'm on the fence about asking for a refund; merely to be punitive. I'm a firm believer in voting with my dollar; I would total rebuy (and probably rebuy multiple times for family/friends) when the game is fixed. Currently, I feel somewhat lied to. The game was not complete. The beta test should have been characterized as a barely functional alpha, and the current state of the game is best characterized as a very early beta. 80% of core functionality has been implemented, but significant amounts of content are missing, documentation is completely missing, and stability is low. There are some crippling bugs, like the inability to correctly select the station you are upgrading, the incorrectly functioning province creation system, and basic zooming/GUI issues (startup in windowed mode only? camera rests in the ship design screen? fuzzy text in certain tooltips? tooltips that appear behind dialogues? these are early beta bugs.) Sorry, I love you guys, but that's the truth.
Paradox/Kerberos: The only way out of this right now is true, brutal honesty. The game is not complete. It is very cool, creative, and has a lot of potential. But it is not complete. It will be panned in the reviews, and most of the steam customers will be extremely pissed.
How to fix this? Tell us where the game is going. A roadmap for patches (without dates! Just 1.1= These fixes, 1.2= Implement these features, 1.3= Do This, Do That). Furthermore, I'm certain that the fanbase is willing to help. Start calling the game what it is, a commercial beta. Setup a system where you can take feedback and proper error reports. Heck, even simple things, I'm sure a couple of us will be willing to do things like write Sotsapedia entries. As long as we know the game has a future, the community would be quite willing to write the manual, I'd guess. Why not release the manual source under GPL, CC, or some other open document-type license?
This approach worked fairly well for the Star Ruler guys at Blind Mind. They ran out of money, and knew the game could not be completed. They told the fanbase, and "sold" the incomplete version, with the stated intent of completing it. The game went gold late last month, and the "re-reviews" are pretty clear about the massive improvements that occurred.
That's the only path out. A re-launch. Re-reviews. Keeping on the level with the fanbase, and working slowly, without panic, towards a true release. You have an extraordinarily loyal fanbas, trust us to respond like adults when we are giving all the facts and a "realistic" roadmap forward. As others have said, the quick-fix, time pressure, and being creative with the truth resulted in the current situation.
This is actually quite funny if we compare the business models.
1. Release unfinished game after promising a full retail version and then use the customer money to patch it to acceptable state, like was done with this game.
2. Tell people to pay for beta and give a promise to release the full game. Good examples are Minecraft and Mount & Blade.
As you see in both approaches it is the same thing: customers pay for an unfinished product and thus funding the company to finish it. However in the first approach you have angry customers wanting their money back, in the second approach customers are loving supporting fans.
What should Kerberox and Paradox done in this case? Postpone the entire game until it is finished, but give the pre-order customers a "privilege" to an early "beta" access (which is the current released game). That psychological approach would make us feel privileged for "exclusive access", that we wouldn't even complain about the lack of features, but instead give feedback on many problems. Everyone is happy, developers get funding. It's a win-win situation.
Damn, I should apply for the marketing department at Paradox...
That probably is the best idea for the future of the franchise that I have read about here altogether. Do as he says, and do it quickly!
Agree completely.
Right now I'm on the fence about asking for a refund; merely to be punitive. I'm a firm believer in voting with my dollar; I would total rebuy (and probably rebuy multiple times for family/friends) when the game is fixed. Currently, I feel somewhat lied to. The game was not complete. The beta test should have been characterized as a barely functional alpha, and the current state of the game is best characterized as a very early beta. 80% of core functionality has been implemented, but significant amounts of content are missing, documentation is completely missing, and stability is low. There are some crippling bugs, like the inability to correctly select the station you are upgrading, the incorrectly functioning province creation system, and basic zooming/GUI issues (startup in windowed mode only? camera rests in the ship design screen? fuzzy text in certain tooltips? tooltips that appear behind dialogues? these are early beta bugs.) Sorry, I love you guys, but that's the truth.
Paradox/Kerberos: The only way out of this right now is true, brutal honesty. The game is not complete. It is very cool, creative, and has a lot of potential. But it is not complete. It will be panned in the reviews, and most of the steam customers will be extremely pissed.
How to fix this? Tell us where the game is going. A roadmap for patches (without dates! Just 1.1= These fixes, 1.2= Implement these features, 1.3= Do This, Do That). Furthermore, I'm certain that the fanbase is willing to help. Start calling the game what it is, a commercial beta. Setup a system where you can take feedback and proper error reports. Heck, even simple things, I'm sure a couple of us will be willing to do things like write Sotsapedia entries. As long as we know the game has a future, the community would be quite willing to write the manual, I'd guess. Why not release the manual source under GPL, CC, or some other open document-type license?
This approach worked fairly well for the Star Ruler guys at Blind Mind. They ran out of money, and knew the game could not be completed. They told the fanbase, and "sold" the incomplete version, with the stated intent of completing it. The game went gold late last month, and the "re-reviews" are pretty clear about the massive improvements that occurred.
That's the only path out. A re-launch. Re-reviews. Keeping on the level with the fanbase, and working slowly, without panic, towards a true release. You have an extraordinarily loyal fanbas, trust us to respond like adults when we are giving all the facts and a "realistic" roadmap forward. As others have said, the quick-fix, time pressure, and being creative with the truth resulted in the current situation.
If you decide to ask for a refund, we absolutely respect your decision.
But we hope that you stay with us and give us a chance to update and improve the game.
As soon as the patch is out on Monday,
the developers will have a much better overview of the schedule of updates to come during November.
We will of course keep you updated regarding all patches and improvements!
And we will definitely take your suggestions into account and discuss what we can do for the game, they are appreciated.
First and foremost, some of us have pre-ordered from the likes of Steam and D2D who state in bold red ink that no refunds will be made for this game. This is typical for digital only orders apparently, and possibly illegal in some states. While I personally would like a refund I am willing to wait and see if the game gets fixed. I loved the first game, I love the genre in general.
Secondly, you really must be friggin deluded to think that your fans and the consumer in general will sit back and accept the fact that this game is not ready for release, and that a 4 day late "patch" which will certainly only address a few bugs and not all of the missing promised content is acceptable behavior from any company trying to sell a product. Its like me buying a new car missing tires and a steering wheel. Sure the motor turns over, and it can move if I pop the clutch, but its only going to move a little in one direction before it explodes.
I'm sure you and everyone concerned (I use that term lightly) are working hard to fix this, and address all of the responses being made. I hope that there is a plan, and that one day this game will work as intended. Posting ameliorating comments like this, that border on condescension are not helping your cause much here.
While some of the more politic requests for an update are nice, I think that someone, maybe your President or whomever is in charge, should address this debacle, and give a specific and complete list of what is missing, and when it will be fixed. An accurate and updated accounting of where YOU stand and when and how you plan to fix it.
The CEO, who's probably the closest thin Paradox has to a 'president' did exactly that. Although he can't give a full list of changes, because Paradox, as the publisher, is not the one who handles that.
Paradox, this is a direct question with 2 possible answers. Will Sword of the Stars II have all advertised features working one week from today? Those features are :Features
◦Lead one of six playable factions, including a completely new one, as you strive for galactic dominance.
◦Unravel highly detailed star systems featuring planetary orbits, moons, asteroid belts, and different space terrain.
◦Experience the new graphics engine.
◦Choose between entirely new vessels, or build your own with new levels of ship detail, including specific sub-systems, allowing for new fleet strategies and tactics.
◦Explore an advanced technology system as the game begins in the Fusion era and moves beyond the Anti-matter era.
◦Randomizing options in technology removes the unavoidable “optimal path” making the game more replayable
◦Command your empire by exploring new solar systems, improving diplomatic relations or destroying a race
◦Engage in fierce multiplayer battles with up to 8 players.
Copied from Gamersgate, where you are STILL selling this product with no disclaimer, although the score is steadily dropping. Currently I can't do any of these conveniently or to their full avertised potential. If this will not be the case then you will have to refund my purchase, as steam does not do that.
◦Lead one of six playable factions, including a completely new one, as you strive for galactic dominance.
◦Unravel highly detailed star systems featuring planetary orbits, moons, asteroid belts, and different space terrain.
◦Experience the new graphics engine.
◦Choose between entirely new vessels, or build your own with new levels of ship detail, including specific sub-systems, allowing for new fleet strategies and tactics.
◦Explore an advanced technology system as the game begins in the Fusion era and moves beyond the Anti-matter era.
◦Randomizing options in technology removes the unavoidable “optimal path” making the game more replayable
◦Command your empire by exploring new solar systems, improving diplomatic relations or destroying a race
◦Engage in fierce multiplayer battles with up to 8 players.
Copied from Gamersgate, where you are STILL selling this product with no disclaimer, although the score is steadily dropping. Currently I can't do any of these conveniently or to their full avertised potential. If this will not be the case then you will have to refund my purchase, as steam does not do that.
Technically you can do all that, even if it isn't particularly easy, unless you're one of the unfortunate people who can't get into the game at all, so I don't think it's the best benchmark. Latest news we have from Kerberos is there will be a patch on Monday and then they'll plan where to go for the next patch. By next week the game should be better, but in what exact ways we do not know yet.
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Fixed that for you. (Wow, I'm glad to be able to say that where it's actually a genuine fix.)
Actually, yes he can. It is HIS job. The buck stops with him. How he deals with that internally is his problem. However ultimately he must face his customer base. How he chooses to do that ultimately will determine his character and that of the company he runs.
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