Defrauded by Gamersgate!

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So, I read the praises here, went to the site, saw the games and alluring prices. Registered and ordered a game. Paid via Paypal, which reported that the operation was complete, apples and carrots. What next? They are supposed to make the game available in "My Games" so I can download it, right? NONE! NOTHING! NÎST! ~:pissed:

I check if the page loaded properly, force reload and wait. NOTHING! I wait about half an hour, check to see if something went amiss with Paypal, but everything is perfect. I send them an email and wait another half an hour. Nothing but a damn automatic reply and no improvements.

Finally I opened a dispute in Paypal demanding a refund. No response for about eight hours yet. I'm afraid this thing won't resolve so quickly. I get bloody angry when I smell scam. The last time something close to this happened (not online, in a flea market purchase) we ended up storming the crook's shop with friends and got back my money with the threat of brute force, to which we were definitely going to resort. ~:pissed:

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Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre

I send them an email and wait another half an hour. Nothing but a damn automatic reply and no improvements.

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Takes more than a half-an-hour in any on-line issue from experience. The usual time is 24 hours.

It's after 6PM, and Saturday night. There won't be anyone in the office to reply to your email. Personally I wouldn't expect a reply until Monday.

First suggestion would be to try again now. Their server appears to have had a bit of a hiccough this evening - I'm redownloading one of my games from them and the rate went from 600kbs to 3kbs and stayed there until a few minutes ago. It's now back to a steady 600kbs so the hitch appears to have passed.

Hmm. Other suggestions. Possibly a problem with cookies or your browser? I'd log out of gamersgate and then log back in, if you haven't already tried it. If you have more than one browser installed on your PC then try using the other. I can confirm that Firefox has no issues with the site.

When you open the 'my games' page via the left hand menu do you get a list of 3 options in the top middle section of the new page? You should have these options: purchased games, wishlist, and how to download and install games. Make sure you're in purchased games instead of one of the others. (yes, I know chances are slim that you're in a different one but I'm throwing out every idea I can come up with)

Did you get a confirmation email after the purchase? You should have. I always get that within seconds of my order, and my game appears in my account immediately.

Which game did you buy, if you don't mind me asking?

I'm surprised to about this; I've brought 14 games from them without any problems at all. I'm sure it will all sort out.

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Beskar,

Never more than a couple minutes in my vast experience with Amazon, Alibris, eBay, PayPal, NoteWorthy Software, TaleWorlds... :no:

Her Frogship,

I did all of them but I didn't receive any confirmation. Usually working through PayPal their confirmation is all I need. Btw, when I sent their support the email it was about noontime and opening the dispute at Paypal was at most an hour later than that. Right now I'm checking again, removing cookies and all... Nothing. It's just than stıpid Volvo something and none else.

The trouble seems to be that my order is listed "pending" although PayPal reported it transacted and my bank clearly displays the provision.

As for the Saturday thing... There must be merits of shopping online as opposed to picking up items at malls, even some of which work on Saturdays and Sundays if not 7/24. No, I don't buy it. If they accept orders (are open) then they have to seat somebody on that bloody desk. :no:
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Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre

The trouble seems to be that my order is listed "pending" although PayPal reported it transacted and my bank clearly displays the provision.

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Sounds like a problem with their server rather than they purposefully defrauded you. Either wait to get your refund from Paypal or continue with seeking help from their support. Though i have to agree with Beskar, email support systems normally take a full day to get back to you.(or have in my online ventures) It would be much easier if they had a contact #, i'm surprised they don't.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

Hmm. Other suggestions. Possibly a problem with cookies or your browser? I'd log out of gamersgate and then log back in, if you haven't already tried it. If you have more than one browser installed on your PC then try using the other. I can confirm that Firefox has no issues with the site.

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Noscript and adblock both play absolute havoc with transaction processes. I would highly recommend disabling any program of their ilk before attempting to purchase something online.

Wish I'd had responses that quickly from amazon! I always end up waiting over a day, and once had to email then four times in as many days before I got a response. Fastest response I've had from any internet shop is within a couple of hours; that was stardock.

I always use my credit card so I don't know how a Paypal transaction normally goes on gamergate.

I took a quick glance through the gamersgate help forum on paradox's boards and found a customer with the same issue; he doesn't come back to say if this was fixed or not. Someone else in reply to him said they'd had the same problem and it was caused by paypal having the wrong address linked to their card. That could be one thing for you to check? Saw another reply on the matter in a different topic; they said that they had two accounts and hadn't realised, and that the game was in their second account. I guess there's no fear that's your problem.

I found a few others but none had anything worth reporting back here. I didn't go past the second page of the forum so if you haven't already I'd suggest looking through the forum to see if there's anything else relevant. You could start your own topic if you like, I've never seen anyone go unaided when they have done so. Paradox usually then picks the issue up via PM or email. That's why there are so few 'resolved' type posts on the forum.

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Originally Posted by Monk

Noscript and adblock both play absolute havoc with transaction processes. I would highly recommend disabling any program of their ilk before attempting to purchase something online.

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It might sound insane but I absolutely concur.

:yes:

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Noscript is disabled, I don't like it. Adblock's reigns are tight in my hand. Nevertheless, it forwarded to and fro Paypal without hassles. As for other things; I have a single account, I don't have any idea how you directly pay with your card: two of the other systems listed failed to process my order and I finally used Paypal. (It's my part of stupidity not to use it as first choice, since it's never failed me for years now.)

Also, there's a misunderstanding on my side in this thread: I didn't mean contact emails but the purchase processes themselves returning in a few minutes. Apologies.

Thanks for all suggestions. :bow:
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You're a bit nuts. ( ~;) )

Opening a dispute on PayPal an hour after the incident?

I'd give the shop at least 24 hours on workdays to mail me back, any sooner and I'd be pleasantly surprised. You can open a dispute on PayPal a few days later if they really seem unwilling to resolve the issue.
What you did now is that they might solve the issue and then take your game away again because PayPal removed the money or whatever and you will have to juggle around between two companies. :dizzy2:
Sounds like more work to me than just being a bit patient, patience is a virtue after all.
That your bank has gotten the PayPal translation within an hour sounds weird to me as well, for me it's usually next day or the day after that. :inquisitive:

I mean, you turks need to chill, doood, and I thought you were more relaxed than us. :sweatdrop:

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Paypal disputes don't work like that mein Herr...

Posted at their forum...
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:gah2:

Browsing the support board helped nothing but getting me more concerned. One particular guy with identical PayPal problem didn't get any response from support for over a week and the last post (from 20 days ago) was his, talking about demanding refund.

I'm not that patient. However small the amount (£14.95 for EU Rome Gold) my money is hardly earned. :no: September 5 is my deadline, which is when I can escalate my dispute into a claim at Paypal. I hope it resolves before getting into that. ~:(
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Give them until late Monday to reply to your email, then start your own topic on their forums.

If you want to try again elsewhere, the EU: Rome bundle can be had from Impulse or Steam for £14.99. I can't personally recommend Steam as my sole experience with it was dire beyond words. Impulse has worked fine for me for several purchases, and I contacted Stardock once and had a reply within a couple of hours on a weekday. There is a CD based version of the gold pack; might be worth asking about it at your local games shop.

You say you couldn't pay by credit card when you tried? That might be an important detail in unravelling what went wrong. It should pop up a little Paynova mini overlay inside your actual browser window. You then enter your details and click pay. My card has an added security feature on it so at that point I get a separate overlay to confirm passwords and such. Once that's done I drop back in at the order confirmed page. The game's immediately in my account page, and there's a confirmation email waiting in my inbox within a minute of placing the order. If that process couldn't launch then it's likely that something in your browser's security suite got involved and blocked the process, which would then have implications for the later transaction. If you got all of that and the site just didn't like your card then we're no wiser.

Results?

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Nothing. I'm waiting until Sep 5, at which time I can (and will) escalate the dispute to a claim.

DON'T SHOP AT GAMERSGATE!
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Originally Posted by Husar

I mean, you turks need to chill, doood, and I thought you were more relaxed than us. :sweatdrop:

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Turks are pretty gruff guys, respectable but gruff.:yes:

I recall getting scamed once.....thought it was my own fault and re-payed it..:furious3:

What can I say? I am Canadian.....we don't like to hold things against people:shrug:

Just because I trust Mouzaf I wont till he gets sorted out orrrrrrrrrrrr something happens.

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Originally Posted by White_eyes:D

What can I say? I am Canadian.....we don't like to hold things against people:shrug:

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Sometimes I really wish this wasn't true. We're one of the only nations in the world who got their independence by asking politely. :laugh4: Can be a pain when you have a legitimate problem though.

I've bought quite a few games off of Gamersgate, and I haven't had any problems. Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I'm not going to stop using it because of someone else's bad experience. Hope this gets sorted out.

I strongly advise you to send a PM to one (Or several of the following people): Johan, King, Susanna and Frederik. Send them telling what happened and saying that noone is answering your question in their forum, and ask for pointers/help. One of them will probably put you in the right direction or get someone onto your problem on the double.

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Originally Posted by Tratorix

Sometimes I really wish this wasn't true. We're one of the only nations in the world who got their independence by asking politely. :laugh4: Can be a pain when you have a legitimate problem though.

I've bought quite a few games off of Gamersgate, and I haven't had any problems. Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I'm not going to stop using it because of someone else's bad experience. Hope this gets sorted out.

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We're independant, just too lazy to become a republic thats all.

Or the official reason:

"What? If we left we couldn't win every gold medal in the Commonwealth Games!"

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Originally Posted by Jolt

I strongly advise you to send a PM to one (Or several of the following people): Johan, King, Susanna and Frederik. Send them telling what happened and saying that noone is answering your question in their forum, and ask for pointers/help. One of them will probably put you in the right direction or get someone onto your problem on the double.

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One last try before Sep 5, thanks. ~;)
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Sorry. Those users don't seem to exist at that forum.

There appears to exist one Frederik II, moderator.
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Fredrik II turned out to be the Paradox CEO. He has been very Kendal in promptly replying (more than once) and promised that the problem would be sold. For that to happen he said that he would contact the GG CEO.

Fingers crossed. (Thank you Jolt. ~:))
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Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre

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Fredrik II turned out to be the Paradox CEO. He has been very Kendal in promptly replying (more than once) and promised that the problem would be sold. For that to happen he said that he would contact the GG CEO.

Fingers crossed. (Thank you Jolt. ~:))
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I believe all of the people Jolt referred to are high up on the Paradoxian ladder. If anyone can get you results it is them. :yes:

The thread might get a happy ending after all. :2thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Mailman653

The thread might get a happy ending after all. :2thumbsup:

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We shall see yet. ~:smoking:
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Maybe its buy one get one free day for you. Some compensation ought to be in order, no? :grin:

I do love happy endings, so my fingers are crossed our Dear Mousa will be happy once more. Disney may be waiting in the wings for the movie rights. :mickey:

Yeah, Johan is the leading programmer for Paradox, King is some sort of developper as well, Susanna is in charge of the marketing department of Paradox while Frederik is the CEO.

Wow talked to the CEO that musta been cool. Only CEO I know is my friends dad and its his lawyer firm. lol

I was really tempted to start a joke topic with the username called "GamersGate" with the Subject "Defrauded by Mouzafphaerre!" with a complete parody with mentioning they tried to contact you, but their emails kept ending up in your junk mail inbox, etc.

However, even though there was humour in it, I probably would have been banned. It wasn't worth it for the lulz.

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Fredrik apparently contacted them and I received an email from the GG support informing me that they manually added my game.

This only carried the trouble to a new level. Their downloader cannot connect to download the game from the server. (Why the HELL they use a downloader and don't simply deliver the game surpasses me.) I've made it clear that the Paypal dispute should stay until I get my game down and running.

My first -and LAST- adventure with GG refuses to end. It's a soap opera! :gah2:
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Gah! That sucks!

Still, have to respect a company where the CEO will personally deal with a problem you have.

Could say "Should have used Steam", however, Lady Frog will be chasing me around with a big hammer wanting to play whack'a'mole with my head.

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Based on what I've read about steam, I would gladly keep you tight and help her Frogship in her common sense enforcement campaign. ~D
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Originally Posted by CountArach

Gah! That sucks!

Still, have to respect a company where the CEO will personally deal with a problem you have.

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That I do too. Glad to know Paradox and GG are no more the same company.
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Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre

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Based on what I've read about steam, I would gladly keep you tight and help her Frogship in her common sense enforcement campaign. ~D
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Just checked my Steam account, I have thirty three games and I've never had a problem with it.

Froggy had a problem with the one game she bought off Steam, you had a problem with the one game you bought off Gamersgate. So is one any better or worse than the other, or were you both simply unlucky?

To be fair though anything I've read about people having problems from any of the download game services seems to show a complete lack of customer care. I think you were lucky it was a Paradox game and that they were willing to deal with it themselves.

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Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre

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That I do too. Glad to know Paradox and GG are no more the same company.
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I was actually surprised when i learned that, partly through this thread.

As for the downloader, are you sure it's nothing on your end keeping it from connecting? Might seem like a minor thing but a firewall with strict settings can ruin your day!

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Originally Posted by johnhughthom

Just checked my Steam account, I have thirty three games and I've never had a problem with it.

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I have a similar situation as i have 17 games in my steam account. Though no matter how great an experience i've had with steam it is what it is, some people have had terrible experiences with it and refuse to use it.* :shrug:



*Froggy isn't the only one. Look up some posts in Parliament from around the time ETW was released. There was a huge bomb that hit of people having problems with Steam and getting the game to simply work right or download correctly. Some people still have trouble stopping the auto update process.

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Originally Posted by Monk

As for the downloader, are you sure it's nothing on your end keeping it from connecting? Might seem like a minor thing but a firewall with strict settings can ruin your day!

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I can merely guess that it's trying to access the net through some IE backbone, which is in violation of the router's security measures. I believe a port should be opened up for it on the router, but that port number has to be known beforehand.

I told them about that possibility. They should take care of that.

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Froggy had a problem with the one game she bought off Steam, you had a problem with the one game you bought off Gamersgate. So is one any better or worse than the other, or were you both simply unlucky?

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Or you are simply lucky? I don't build up on single instances. The EU forum is crawling with posts with this or that kind of GG trouble and Steam's fame (or infamy) is also widespread on the net.

If there were only problems, then we might call it bad luck. But this is heaps of problems and absolute lack of support (without the very CEO or Paradox intervening); now, this is called insolence.
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Should have used Steam... :smash:

You're getting off easy compared to the wild goose chase EA have me on right now.

Situation: I purchased and downloaded a booster pack to battlefield 2142. Wants me to activate, sure why not. Try to login, but the login system has changed from a username to email. So i use my email, which my username is linked to. It then asks me to enter a Classic Screen Name, i have no idea wtf that is, so i put in pevergreen.

Trying to activate the game, nothing. It wants a product key. I dont have one.

Long story short, I now have two accounts tied to my email, 'pevergreen' and the one i actually need to use. Theres an option to add an old account, but its apparently already in use, so i cant add it, but i have no way of finding where it is in use!

I sent a help request off an hour ago. They deleted it 25 minutes ago. It no longer exists anywhere.
The one I created at that time has not been confirmed as entered, im thinking its gone as well.

:wall:

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Originally Posted by Mouzafphaerre

Why the HELL they use a downloader and don't simply deliver the game surpasses me.[/COLOR]

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Because then it would be easy to pirate the games on their service. The only downloadable games shop I know which doesn't do this is Good Old Games ... probably because their games are old and cheap.




My problems with steam are philosphical also. If that weren't the case then I'd have given steam another chance when LucasArts released 'The Dig' and Indy and the Fate of Atlantis' onto the service. It takes too much control out of my hands and forces too many decisions on me which I don't agree with. For one thing, I cannot stand they way it forces me to use the latest patch no matter what and to install said patch before I can play. What if I don't like the contents of that patch? What if I don't have time to patch now and just want a 5 minute game? Tough cheese, that's what.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

For one thing, I cannot stand they way it forces me to use the latest patch no matter what and to install said patch before I can play. What if I don't like the contents of that patch? What if I don't have time to patch now and just want a 5 minute game? Tough cheese, that's what.

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I don't see what the issue is here:

1) Turn off automatic patching - It doesn't get patched.
2) It automatically patches when it updates, so basically the 2nd never happens at all.
3) Many on-line games demand the latest patch for the on-line aspect to work.

So unless it is a multi player game where you have to update it to use on-line features (or they don't work), there are no problems what-so-ever.

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Originally Posted by Beskar

1) Turn off automatic patching - It doesn't get patched.

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It also refuses to launch the game unless you allow it to patch. Even tried it in offline mode; either you apply all available patches or you aren't allowed to play. All turning off auto-patching does it stop the game patching without your permission.

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2) It automatically patches when it updates, so basically the 2nd never happens at all.

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Never happens? It happens every time my steam game has updated since I don't have steam running unless I want to play the game tied to it.

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3) Many on-line games demand the latest patch for the on-line aspect to work.

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I know and understand that but the thing is I don't play MP and don't want to. My singleplayer game shouldn't be affected, it's bad practice. My other games allow SP to be played at any version and force an update if you try to launch MP.

So yes, it's a total non-issue provided I don't want to play my game. ~:shrug:

I just want to play version 1.0 of my game in singleplayer because I feel that the patches break more than they fix. That's all. I could do it with any other title in my library but not this one because steam will not permit it. I always say that I shall be most happy to be proved wrong; tellingly no one has managed to offer a solution.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

It also refuses to launch the game unless you allow it to patch. Even tried it in offline mode; either you apply all available patches or you aren't allowed to play. All turning off auto-patching does it stop the game patching without your permission.

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I never had this problem, though I only had a couple of games where I did this with, because I had mods.

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Never happens? It happens every time my steam game has updated since I don't have steam running unless I want to play the game tied to it.

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Vast majority of my games are tied to Steam, so in a way, I have a monetary stake in Steam, thanks to many deals on games.

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I know and understand that but the thing is I don't play MP and don't want to. My singleplayer game shouldn't be affected, it's bad practice. My other games allow SP to be played at any version and force an update if you try to launch MP.

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Ties into the first, I never had this problem.

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I just want to play version 1.0 of my game in singleplayer because I feel that the patches break more than they fix. That's all. I could do it with any other title in my library but not this one because steam will not permit it. I always say that I shall be most happy to be proved wrong; tellingly no one has managed to offer a solution.

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On the other hand, patches fix a lot more then they break with possibly additional content from general experience. Only exception was E:TW because CA's fault, but then again, that was nothing to do with Steam. Version 1.00 of that kept crashing and version 1.3 still keeps crashing.

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Originally Posted by Beskar

On the other hand, patches fix a lot more then they break with possibly additional content from general experience. Only exception was E:TW because CA's fault, but then again, that was nothing to do with Steam. Version 1.00 of that kept crashing and version 1.3 still keeps crashing.

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That's irrelevant. If you don't want a patch, it shouldn't be shoved down your throat. For online play, it's an obvious necessity that everyone be at the same version. For single-player, there's no call for such heavy handedness.

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Originally Posted by Husar

Should have used SteamImpulse... :smash:

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I've used GamersGate before and didn't have an issue, but I did not how primitive their billing system seemed- so I'm not at all surprised to hear that it fails some customers.

My personal choice for game purchases is buying physical media that allows for offline installs. If it has to be an online purchase, my first choice is always Impulse. :yes:

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

Because then it would be easy to pirate the games on their service. The only downloadable games shop I know which doesn't do this is Good Old Games ... probably because their games are old and cheap.

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Her Frogship,

With all due respect it does NOT prevent games from getting cя@cκ€d; it just makes the life of honest customers harder and more frustrating. Mount&Blade, for instance, was directly downloaded and when bought activated to function fully. I bought it that way, which was before their deal with Paradox. Hundreds and hundreds of software are distributed with direct download, including the most popular ones. They are compromised, which experience tells us cannot be helped, but they are sold "like cheese and bread", as we say in the Shire Turkish, as well.

Here is a flowchart based upon my experience:

1. Day 1. Mouzafphaerre likes a game and orders it. Mr. Dishonest likes the same game but does something else that shouldn't be mentioned here.
2. Later that day. Mouzafphaerre can't get what he paid for because of technical problems. Mr. Dishonest is very close to getting the game in a dishonest way.
3. Even later that day. Mouzafphaerre contacts the customer support to seek solution. Mr. Dishonest is installing the game.
4. Day 2. Mouzafphaerre hasn't received any response from support. He hasn't received what he paid for and he's pissed off. ~:pissed: Mr. Dishonest is playing the game.
5. Day 3. Mouzafphaerre is trying every other way to get support to no avail. Mr. Dishonest is playing the game and bragging about it on the interwebz.
6. Day 6. Mouzafphaerre is finally contacted but another technical problem occurs and he still cannot get his game. Mr. Dishonest is playing the game and bragging about it.
7. Day 7. Mouzafphaerre's further support enquiry is yet again left unanswered. Mr. Dishonest is playing the game and bragging about it.
8. Mouzafphaerre is informed on the virtues of malfunctioning downloaders as opposed to directly downloading the game that he paid for from the dealer's website. Mr. Dishonest is playing the game and bragging about it. He might have even started to get tired of it and be looking for another prey.

Disclaimer: This flowchart is NOT meant to advocate the advantages of the wicked ways of the Mr. Dishonest type. It simply demonstrates a generic case of satisfied uncustomer versus abused customer.

And I'm really, really dissatisfied, to put it in its lightest. :no:
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It turned out that there was nothing wrong with my router or anything else; it was their server that was BROKEN and not allowing the stupid downloader to connect. Something miraculous has happened and my games are downloading right now. Still, I won't consider this case closed until my game is up and running.
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I downloaded my games (EU Rome Gold and their free bonus Volvo the Game, which turned out to be crappy btw) and installed them. My connection with Gamersgate has ended forever.
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So the story comes to an end and the games were crappy to boot? That's unfortunate.

So ends Gamersgate-gate. Glad to hear you finally got your game after all that effort.

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Originally Posted by Mailman653

So the story comes to an end and the games were crappy to boot? That's unfortunate.

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Just Volvo, the free bonus is crappy. As for EU Rome, here.
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Glad to hear the game works.

I'll close this topic now that everything has resolved.