Defrauded by Gamersgate!

[Mouzafphaerre]

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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!
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[CountArach]

Gah! That sucks!

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

[Beskar]

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.

[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.
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[Mouzafphaerre]

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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[johnhughthom]

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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.
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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.

[Monk]

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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!

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

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.*



*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.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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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!

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.

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?

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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[Husar]

Should have used Steam...

[pevergreen]

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.

[frogbeastegg]

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

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.

[Beskar]

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.

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.

[frogbeastegg]

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

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.

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

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.

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

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. ~

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.

[Beskar]

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Ties into the first, I never had this problem.

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.

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.

[Xiahou]

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.

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.

Should have used SteamImpulse...

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.

[Mouzafphaerre]

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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.

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. 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.
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[Mouzafphaerre]

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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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[Mouzafphaerre]

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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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[Mailman653]

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

[Tratorix]

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

[Mouzafphaerre]

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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[frogbeastegg]

Glad to hear the game works.

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