Curse

Exoudeous · Apr 22, 2006, 02:59 AM // 02:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pompeyfan

Actually you can at least partially blame Anet - for releasing the game on a Friday as here in the UK there's no guaranteed delivery for a Saturday unless you pay an extortionate amount for courior delivery IF it's offered and not everywhere does especially for low cost items like games, so unless it is shipped early it's unlikely to arrive till the Monday. Furthermore not everyone has the option to go and buy the game in a shop on the day of release - here for example, it would cost me £8 and at least 5 hours to travel to the nearest store and back if I was able, which I'm not due to illness/disability.

those are all special conditions though. you do realize that this is a world wide game, and that very few of those things apply to everyone.

the only thing I have seen so far thats reasonable to blame on anet is ce being delayd.

Some things are unfair yes, but you can hardly blame anyone for them. All this extra stuff is a luxury, you dont need it, and if you want it badly enough, then pay more to get it sooner, its that simple.

The vast majority of people will be getting it on time, its a small amount that wont be. Yea Im sorry you and the topic creator wont be getting it on time, but the whole point of this event is that it was preorder. and since online places arnt giving you the preorder pack ahead of time, thats a matter you have with the store, not anet, because this pre order pack has been out for over a month now, and thats enough time to get it.

this is your issue with where you bought the game, not anet.

Sientir · Apr 22, 2006, 03:10 AM // 03:10

I too feel the original poster's fears, as I do not know if Amazon will get the game to me on or before the 28th. :/

Pompeyfan · Apr 22, 2006, 03:11 AM // 03:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exoudeous

those are all special conditions though. you do realize that this is a world wide game, and that very few of those things apply to everyone.

the only thing I have seen so far thats reasonable to blame on anet is ce being delayd.

Some things are unfair yes, but you can hardly blame anyone for them. All this extra stuff is a luxury, you dont need it, and if you want it badly enough, then pay more to get it sooner, its that simple.

The vast majority of people will be getting it on time, its a small amount that wont be. Yea Im sorry you and the topic creator wont be getting it on time, but the whole point of this event is that it was preorder. and since online places arnt giving you the preorder pack ahead of time, thats a matter you have with the store, not anet, because this pre order pack has been out for over a month now, and thats enough time to get it.

this is your issue with where you bought the game, not anet.

I've got the pre-order key, but if the game isn't at the retailler erarly enough to be shipped before release day I'll be locked out over the weekend - yes I know it's a world-wide game but I'm sure the UK isn't the only country where Saturday isn't counted as a normal business day for deliveries so commonsense would obviously be to A) ensure that retaillers have stock in plenty of time for a guaranteed delivery on release day or B) release the game earlier in the week so there's a business day after release for possible deliveries or C) allow the pre-order key to work untill the next business day ie Monday - all these options are down to ANET and no-one else.

Exoudeous · Apr 22, 2006, 03:17 AM // 03:17

but the whole early start is a bonus. if there was no pre order, you still wouldnt play till when the game shiped to you. so your lucky you will actually get to play at all at launch.

normal orpg dont do this, you cant play till you have the game cd.

Corn Flakes · Apr 22, 2006, 04:45 AM // 04:45

Lets see. I'm in the same position as the poster of this topic. I ordered from EbGames, and it's already gonna be shipped. However, you do realize for most, if not all, people who got the preorder will have to go back to the store and exchange the preorder for the original game? People paid $50 for these preorders. That means I own every single right to the game. It's simply not that they will hold on to a copy for me. If I pay for it, I expect to get it with no problems. Besides, does it have to be a week? Extend it two days, maybe even just one day. If I pay $50, I expect to have access to the game. Why they decided to screw everyone by making them go through the hassel of getting the actual copy is beyond me. If these preorder keys would give full access, it would save time, energy, and frustration. There are plenty of people here upset with this. In the end, ANet would still get the same profit, and the customers get a fair deal.

jackie · Apr 22, 2006, 05:10 AM // 05:10

We've prepared for that my fiancé and I have to wait till 2nd of May to get the actual game box. 1st of May is holiday and all. We have Pre-Order keys and can play in the headstart but I doubt the actual game will be shipped to us and arrives on 28th if it comes to the retailer on 27th. That would require superhuman strenghts from post office (and extra 1000 euro tip) ^_^

But there's always a chance.

JoDiamonds · Apr 22, 2006, 07:05 AM // 07:05

Again, I'm going to address what I see as relevant points to the original topic. Other people's mileage may vary.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exoudeous

You don’t seem to get that you have not "bought" the game yet, you have preordered. You do not own the game till release.

You aren't getting the point I was making. All of these technical details about the exact time of ownership are irrelevant to whether or not people who are purchasing the game should get to play or not.

If nearly all of the people who have the pre-order are people who will also own the full game (regardless of technical details), why wouldn't Arena-Net let them keep playing for the couple of days in between Saturday and when their copy of the game arrives? It's essentially just punishing the many people in this position. The only drawback is that people who decided to get the pre-order but who will never buy the game will get a couple of days free. My presumption is that very few people will have bought the pre-order who will not be buying the game, and it's easily worth it to reward your loyal customers and also incidentally reward a few people who paid money for the pre-order, rather than essentially punish your loyal customers and people who paid for the pre-order.

It would be different if the pre-orders were completely free to everyone in unlimited quantities, but ArenaNet is making money off of them already, and I do think it can be safely presumed that nearly all pre-orders are people who are planing to purchase the game very soon (or more likely already did make those plans, whatever technicalities there may be). I don't see many people paying $5-$10 with the intention of playing a game for a few days (especially when there are 14-day / 10-hour free trials available for Prophecies).

Quote:

Also, If you don’t think people would go through the game and beat it that fast, then you are new to the internet and gameing in general. not everyone is honest.

I ignore the presumption about the internet and gaming, as it is quite a wild and erroneous presumption.

What does people being honest have to do with this? Er, there's nothing wrong, immoral, or problematic with people trying to race to the end. The only half-way reasonable fear is that people will finish the game enough to not want to buy it. Giving people up to five more days isn't going to make someone not buy the game who would have otherwise; if any, it would be a such a small number of people that no one should care, ArenaNet included.

Quote:

Also, during the first beta there where people who got through the game right away during free weekend, that’s how we got maps and armor pics so early for chapter 1.

Those players were alpha players who had played before. It is unlikely being able to reach Ascendance quickly affected their purchasing decision greatly or at all, which is the only relevant issue.

They did not play all of the PvE content, they raced to the "end" (which wasn't really the end, but jumped them up to level 20 very quickly, since that's the way Ascension worked then). Getting to the "end" and skipping most of the content isn't much of a reason to not purchase that content.

Trying to stay relevant to the topic, it seems like ArenaNet can choose to assist their loyal fans who are buying the game within the first week (and purchased a pre-order), and incidentally give a little extra to a few people who purchased the pre-order but not the game itself, or penalize all of those people, most of who bought the game (and therefore aren't really getting anything more than what they paid or are paying for -- access to the game).

JoDiamonds · Apr 22, 2006, 04:41 PM // 16:41

So, I saw the somewhat cryptic comment that Gaile made in the chat logs. It doesn't really agree with what Support told me:

Quote:

Thank you for contacting the Guild Wars Support Team.

The Guild Wars Factions Pre-order Access Key is what will give you access to the early access event. You will still be able to participate in the early access event even if you find you do not receive your retail copy as soon as it is released. Please review the FAQ entitled "How long will the Head Start event last?" at this link: http://www.guildwars.com/support/faq...ctions-faq.php for updated information regarding the extension of the Head Start.

However, you will need to receive your retail Guild Wars Factions gamebox in order to continue playing, you will then use the retail key and apply it to your existing account in order to re-gain access to the Factions game content. Unfortunately, we will be unable to extend this Head Start time any further due to shipping issues.

Please let us know if you have any further questions.

Regards,
The Guild Wars Support Team

It's possible that there was still some confusion, but given that Gaile didn't actually say that the pre-orders were extended (though she did imply it), I am not at all sure what the situation actually is.

Support doesn't actually say how long the Head Start is, just to see the page, and that they can't extend it any further. I don't know if that means that they did extend it once, or not. I'll ask.

Hopefully the FAQ page linked to by Support (quoted above) will actually be updated with more concrete information. Certainly I hope Gaile is the better informed person here.

EDIT: I added a followup to my question to support. I'll report back any answer I receive.

Quote:

Hello,

Thank you for your reply. However, I'm still slightly confused.

The Factions FAQ (that you linked to) pretty clearly states that the Head Start access, provided by the pre-order keys, lasts for 48 hours.

My apologies for bringing up unofficial announcements, however, Gaile Gray apparently implied that they would last for ten days (see chat log here: http://img167.imageshack.us/my.php?i...ril2227mk.jpg). It's unclear if this is merely talking about the character slots being lost after ten days (but not being able to access them after two days and the Head Start ends). Many people on forums seem to interpret this as meaning that the Head Start will last for ten days, so I thought I would ask you for a more exact official answer.

Without a full-game key for Factions, how long can players access Factions / Cantha content with only the the pre-order key? Is it two days, ten days, or some other length of time? Exactly what was Gaile referring to when she said ten days?

Again, thank you.

Cybah · Apr 22, 2006, 05:01 PM // 17:01

They started to ship my copy today. So I will get factions some days before I can play it...

I'm sure you will get it early too. =)

Exoudeous · Apr 22, 2006, 05:44 PM // 17:44

hmm i just looked at my acount screen and it specificly says 27-28th only.

maybe gaile only meant they would hold your progress for 10 days before wiping it without a retail key

Queen Undertaker · Apr 22, 2006, 06:21 PM // 18:21

yeah especialy now with it getting very close to 3.00 a gallon lol

4runner · Apr 22, 2006, 06:36 PM // 18:36

yep just talked to ebgames cust. support and they say " factions is shipping as we speak" you should recieve your copy before the 27th along with your key to access the headstart feature" quote unquote!

fear not felllow gamers all is well!!

Loviatar · Apr 22, 2006, 06:40 PM // 18:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4runner

yep just talked to ebgames cust. support and they say " factions is shipping as we speak" you should recieve your copy before the 27th along with your key to access the headstart feature" quote unquote!

fear not felllow gamers all is well!!

CONFIRMED

GAMESTOP HAS SHIPPED MY CE AND I SHOULD HAVE IT MONDAY TUESDAY LATEST.