Question about ordering GalCiv II

Galactic Civilizations II [CD] (BETA and Final) is what you want.

You'll be able to download the betas using Stardock Central and will get the final version on CD when it's released next year.

Sharwan galwan fu masloot Yarlen - ding shafuq balawi stardoq sanduqqa tar, ghazamin kalawizoon ta'q ta'q veesa.

> start universal translator
> babble fishing...
> babbling...
> gurgling...

"do fling furry earthling dung Yarlen. I shall acquire stardock product snarky in end of quarter yeimer past-future unit exchange in forthnight."

Sharwan galwan fu masloot Yarlen - ding shafuq balawi stardoq sanduqqa tar, ghazamin kalawizoon ta'q ta'q veesa. > start universal translator > babble fishing... > babbling... > gurgling... "do fling furry earthling dung Yarlen. I shall acquire stardock product snarky in end of quarter yeimer past-future unit exchange in forthnight."

Damn foreigners with their funny talk!

I pre-ordered the game as instructed above. I don't see where I should go to download the Beta in Stardock Central. No version Beta or otherwise of GalCiv II is listed in the games download section.

Have you checked the "show pre-release versions" box at the bottom of the games page?

I pre-ordered the game as well--on Friday. The email I got said that my credit card hadn't yet been charged and that I would receive an email once something was available. I'm assuming there isn't any linkage between the sales process and the website.

In other words, sometime next week, someone from StarDock will have to go see that I've provided all my payment information and such so that they can then do some stuff to make it possible to download the game from some site.

Sure, when I bought the game on Friday, it would have been cool to start playing the beta right then. But I'd rather StarDock kept working on cool stuff like their WindowsBlinds product and GalCiv II than fully automating this website.

Sure, when I bought the game on Friday, it would have been cool to start playing the beta right then. But I'd rather StarDock kept working on cool stuff like their WindowsBlinds product and GalCiv II than fully automating this website.

I agree, however it would have been nice if they designated an employee each weekend to check on orders and forum inquiries. I was really pumped up to start testing some of the features and the interface.

As it happens, pre-ordering was ended late last week (just found out), so it sounds as though those here missed the window for Beta 3.    We won't be charging pre-orders again until at least Beta 4 in November. Sorry gang.

You're saying we have to wait almost two months, salivating while watching others in the forum get playtime in with the Beta? Where was the window expiration date for Beta 3 posted on the pre-order page?

I hope Stardock will make this right for those of us that ordered this weekend and allow us to download Beta 3A and then add text to the pre-order page stating when the next Beta is available so that others aren't piping mad when they pre-order and find out they don't get to download anything.

It will likely be longer than two months.

I've heard that Beta 4 won't be open to the public. Instead, only those folks already Beta testing will get access to that one.

Did you notice how Yarlen said they wouldn't charge pre-orders again until -> AT LEAST <- Beta 4 in November?

I think he's hedging his bet and avoiding letting you know that what you really signed up for was to Pre-Order only the final product when it is released.

Allow me to investigate this further (the appropriate person has left for the day). I'll get back to everyone on Tuesday.

I have confirmed that Beta 4 is due out in late October currently, not in November as I had thought.

Hi all,

I have confirmed that Beta 3 is now closed. If you made a pre-order after it was closed, you will need to wait until Beta 4 next month. Beta 4 will be worth the wait as it will have actual gameplay dynamics, all the ships, textures for them, etc.

Posted by Frogboy on August 22, 2005:

(title: Beta 3 Nears....)

Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords beta 3 is nearly ready to go out to beta testers. We are tentatively planning on releasing it a week from this Tuesday (Aug 30). Shortly after that time, users who have pre-ordered GalCiv II but have not previously had access to betas will be enabled to download the beta. But after September 1, new pre-orders will return to having to wait until beta 4 (late October).

So in reality, they extended the deadline several days past what they originally wanted to do.

I don't understand why there should be deadlines for the Betas. If you pre-order you should get whatever Beta is available at that point, period.

Its obvious we're dealing with programmers here and not salespeople or customer relations experts. I am actually somewhat bitter at this experience and considering asking to be taken off the pre-order list. If a customer wants to give you their money in order to have immediate access to a glitchy Beta that they can play over and over in 5 second increments, why is that of any concern to Stardock? Hell, even if they submit bug reports that have already been patched all you have to do is quietly delete the e-mails on your end.

What can end up costing potential customers and therefore revenue is NOT throwing the ragged hounds a bone when they come to pre-order, especially if they see a bunch of other dogs in the kennel participating and having fun doing so. I have to tell you, when I found out that there was no Beta waiting for me after I placed my order, I immediately went searching online sources (Strategy Informer, Gamespot...etc.) looking for other alternatives; ... and really, the Beta restictions from a PR perspective are inane. It doesn't serve any purpose at all to even risk alienating a potential customer, even if only 1 in 20 people would be miffed at waiting 1 month or more until the next Beta release.

Hell, even if they submit bug reports that have already been patched all you have to do is quietly delete the e-mails on your end.

Thats a very good reason to have a cut off. If 50 people sign up to the beta this week and start reporting everything they find without checking to see if its already been reported (and alot do) it eats up developer time sifting through redundant emails.

I do think that Stardock need to sort out the cut off deadline and information given at the point of ordering, there is alot of confusion floating around that never seems to go away.

*sigh* Well... Gal Civ 2 looks really cool. But I'm in need of some sort of computer entertainment RIGHT NOW and not some number of indeterminate months in the future. I just sent Stardock the following email:

---
Please cancel this transaction. When I placed the order, the website said I would be able to download the game immediately. Since that does not appear to be the case, I view Stardock in breach of contract. If Stardock later decides to bill my credit card, I will dispute the charge.
---

You should check out GC1 with the AP expansion pack.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I'll purchase AP just as soon as SD restores my confidence in their company by checking the AP page for typos.

Odd, the above post is blank...

If you emailed sales@stardock.com or support@stardock.com we'll remove you from the pre-order list.

You're just seeing things.

I am now.

I'm more than a little disappionted in this too. After I read how fun the Beta was even in it's current state, I decided to go ahead and preorder. After I did, I found out the beta was closed.

I'm not even going to consider cancelling, though. I think Gav Civ II will be a great game, and Stardock is one of the best developers out there (along with Paradox). I just wish that, at the very least, that the fact that the beta was closed was plastered boldly on the front page.

I don't completely understand why the beta needed to be closed; after all, players in it have already paid.

I don't completely understand why the beta needed to be closed; after all, players in it have already paid.

By 'closed' it means that new pre-orders can't download the current beta, those who pre-ordered before the deadline can play as much as they like. As I understand it, the reason for closing a beta round is to avoid late comers spamming stardocks in boxes with already reported bugs. Someone has to sit down and sort through it all when they could have spent the time coding. Even if its just an hour a day, it adds up to 5 hours of wasted time a week, add it up and someone lost several days of work time.

That makes perfect sense.

Late October can't come soon enough.

I see other users are having the same difficulty with the lack of disclosure about the absence of a downloadable Beta until the end of October...

I'm probably playing right into Stardock's hands, and the closed Beta 3 perhaps aims to achieve this, but I ordered GalCiv I the beginning of last week so that I can get a feel for the product, and I'm pretty excited! I've been playing the game every night since the time I ordered it.

I would recommend some of the more impatient types like myself try the old version while waiting for Beta 4.