Can I get my 50 bucks back?

from Elemental Forums

I swear, if there was a game that I bought that I SHOULD have pirated, it was this one.  After four days of playing, I feel utterly cheated out of my hard-earned $50.  Wait, let me rephrase...after four days of starting a game, having nothing work the way it seems like it should, and having to digest a horribly shallow, uninteresting 4X+Magic system made even worse by a UI that was done in crayon by Kindergarteners, I feel downright taken advantage of.

 

Granted, I bought this game on faith.  Faith in Stardock, whose games I've enjoyed the heck out of (up to this point, obviously), faith in what seemed to be a 'spiritual successor" to Master of Magic, especially with all the related hype.  Right now, I feel like the ugly girl at the prom who gave it up and then got dumped on Monday.  If you're going to dump this turd on your fans, then the least you could have done was sell the game for $20 as a budget title, because frankly, I've played budget titles that blow this outta the water.  And let's not be facetious and say that you actually thought this game was worth $50, because it wasn't...that's why the patches were made and are continuing to come.

 

Stardock, consider my $50 paid for Elemental as a $10 payment for Elemental itself (since I did play the game for a few days), and $40 as a "tip" for Sins of the Solar Empire, and Galactic Civilizations 1 & 2...I've played all three of those games for a ridiculous amount of hours, so giving you more money for those doesn't hurt.  That's the way I have to see it, in order to get over my horrible case of buyer's remorse.

 

My parting thought...I should have pirated this game instead of choosing to be a "patron of the arts".  What a stupid mindset that was.

elemental
25,830 views 14 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Contact [email protected] for a partial refund.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Well hey, "Can I have my $50 back?" was a rhetorical question.  I didn't expect there to actually be a refund available.  Thanks for the info, I just really needed to get my "strongly worded email" out there.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting robitusinz, reply 2
Well hey, "Can I have my $50 back?" was a rhetorical question.  I didn't expect there to actually be a refund available.  Thanks for the info, I just really needed to get my "strongly worded email" out there.

If I were you though, I'd hang on to it. There has been big, big drama connected to the release of this game, but things are playing out to our advantage. You are in the role of a beta tester, which you didn't ask for, but in the end we may have something very special here. SD has taken very unusual steps to correct the situation, but it will require patience on the part of customers for now.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

with this attitude, I truly hope you don't get you $50 back.

 


I swear, if there was a game that I bought that I SHOULD have pirated, it was this one.  After four days of playing, I feel utterly cheated out of my hard-earned $50.  Wait, let me rephrase...after four days of starting a game, having nothing work the way it seems like it should, and having to digest a horribly shallow, uninteresting 4X+Magic system made even worse by a UI that was done in crayon by Kindergarteners, I feel downright taken advantage of.

 

Granted, I bought this game on faith.  Faith in Stardock, whose games I've enjoyed the heck out of (up to this point, obviously), faith in what seemed to be a 'spiritual successor" to Master of Magic, especially with all the related hype.  Right now, I feel like the ugly girl at the prom who gave it up and then got dumped on Monday.  If you're going to dump this turd on your fans, then the least you could have done was sell the game for $20 as a budget title, because frankly, I've played budget titles that blow this outta the water.  And let's not be facetious and say that you actually thought this game was worth $50, because it wasn't...that's why the patches were made and are continuing to come.

 

Stardock, consider my $50 paid for Elemental as a $10 payment for Elemental itself (since I did play the game for a few days), and $40 as a "tip" for Sins of the Solar Empire, and Galactic Civilizations 1 & 2...I've played all three of those games for a ridiculous amount of hours, so giving you more money for those doesn't hurt.  That's the way I have to see it, in order to get over my horrible case of buyer's remorse.

 

My parting thought...I should have pirated this game instead of choosing to be a "patron of the arts".  What a stupid mindset that was.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, like Heavenfall said, you can get a partial refund (around 75% IIRC). There is a major patch that's suppose to come out as a public beta this thursday so if you want, you can wait a little and see what's comming.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Goldmos, reply 5
Well, like Heavenfall said, you can get a partial refund (around 75% IIRC). There is a major patch that's suppose to come out as a public beta this thursday so if you want, you can wait a little and see what's comming.

 

Don't bother, someone like the OP will never be satisfied.  I've seen this type before.

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting charon2112, reply 4
with this attitude, I truly hope you don't get you $50 back.
With all honestly, I must agree.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

It's hard to fault a guy for telling the truth.  Whether he says it in a nice way or a mean way, what he said is true unfortunately.

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Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

On the one hand, I can understand his disappointment with the product in his hand. On the other hand, he's pirate scum that feels entitled to free games that he personally considers "bad".

I should have pirated this game instead of choosing to be a "patron of the arts".

The idiocy is overwhelming. Probably best to politely show him the door.

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting charon2112, reply 6
Don't bother, someone like the OP will never be satisfied.  I've seen this type before.

 

I'm sorry, perhaps you missed the part where I stated that I was a longtime Stardock customer, have purchased at least 3 of their games prior to this debacle, and even made a reference to seeing myself as a "patron of the arts".  Let's be frank here, as someone with enough internet knowledge to even GET to these forum boards, I could have just as easily plucked this game out of a pirate stream.  However, instead, I chose to purchase this game at a price tag of $50, because Stardock has had a great track record, and the "spiritual successor to Master of Magic" hype.

 

How exactly am I supposed to feel after finding out that I paid $50 for a downright broken game?  I've been on plenty of beta tests in my lifetime, so what should my attitude be towards paying $50 to be in another one?  What exactly is my "type"?  A longtime gamer who's been through hundreds of video games, and feels outright betrayed by paying $50 for something that would have been as critically-panned back in 1998?

 

No, I'm definitely not a blind "fanboy", but I HAVE been a supporter of Stardock's since Galactic Civilizations.  I feel well within rights to complain when they fail me, since I've paid my money and earned that right.  I'm not some random troll or pirate coming here with an agenda.  I feel very negatively about this game compared to the $50 I paid for it, and I want to make sure that any future buyers can read my experience on this board.  I don't need to go on a lengthy review of everything that is wrong with this game, for those kinds of specifics, there are plenty of other forum posts on here.  I'm simply a Stardock fan and customer who feels burned by this purchase.

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Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

He's not lying, I happen to like the game, but I see his point.  I use to argue against his type, but the more and more I have played the game, the more I find every aspect of it poor in quality. 

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Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Heavenfall, reply 9
On the one hand, I can understand his disappointment with the product in his hand. On the other hand, he's pirate scum that feels entitled to free games that he personally considers "bad".


I should have pirated this game instead of choosing to be a "patron of the arts".
The idiocy is overwhelming. Probably best to politely show him the door.

 

Pirate scum?  Really?

 

I feel no entitlement whatsoever, and in fact, have a strong opinion AGAINST that very attitude.  However, it behooves a game's developer to produce something of quality that is worthy of my currency.  $50 didn't suddenly appear in my pocket.  I worked for it, and then decided to purchase a game with it.  The fact is, this product is not WORTH $50.  I don't feel that I should be entitled to free games...however, I do feel that I should be entitled to getting my money's worth.

 

Did I get my money's worth?  I, along with many video game critics and reviewers, don't think so.  I didn't even have an intention of a refund with my original post.  I wrote it as a warning to future buyers.

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

Once again I have to ask: didn't the OP read any of the reviews?  He might have missed Frogboy's recommendation to, at this point, wait for the demo, that I can understand--but if he is savvy enough to pirate games then he is savvy enough to look on Metacritic, at which point he shouldn't have been surprised too much by what he got.  While his general premise might have some merit, if he explained it better, his specific complaints are matters of taste.

Reply #14 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting charon2112, reply 6

Quoting Goldmos, reply 5Well, like Heavenfall said, you can get a partial refund (around 75% IIRC). There is a major patch that's suppose to come out as a public beta this thursday so if you want, you can wait a little and see what's comming.
 

Don't bother, someone like the OP will never be satisfied.  I've seen this type before.

I think you are too hard on him. He did say he payed, played and loved all other SD games.

 

Well the current version of Elemental is really not worth that much. If I didn't buy it knowing how it was and because I am willing to wait until they make it better I would be as pissed as him and writing these kind of stuff on the forums. And my pirating history is much worse then his (although I didn't spend much time playing previous SD games).

That is why now that I can afford games I like to buy games that are not hits "out of the box" to support smaller teams or just to repent for my past "crimes".