World in Flames (Matrixgames) looking for beta testers (multiplayer)

[Grim.Reaper]

but youve downloaded the digital copy and played the tutorials yeah?

I know - I tried explaining to him but he's taking this "gift" thing way too seriously!

Yeah,  since it is a gift from my kids the guilt factor is tripled:). I have been tempted though.....

[jomni]

Judge should avoid looking at this thread for his own good.

[Grim.Reaper]

Take a look at post 76 from Erik...very interesting read.   Looks like more bugs than imagined.  Those who did not buy might have made a wise choice.  Part of me wishes there were refund options.

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3495246&mpage=3

[jomni]

Buggy net play. No PBEM, no Ai.
Looks like it's all solitaire. :(
But I actually enjoyed the solitaire experience so far. Which is quite surprising.

[undercovergeek]

have i missed the 'we know youre all upset about been forced to buy physical, were having an emergency meeting and we'll get right back to you' conclusion?

[Grim.Reaper]

have i missed the 'we know youre all upset about been forced to buy physical, were having an emergency meeting and we'll get right back to you' conclusion?

Erik stated a little while ago he had a death in the family and information was still pending...no ETA at this point that I am aware.

[BanzaiCat]

The gist I got from his post was that the game was good, for everyone to quit whining, but we're really gosh-darn sorry you're upset that it's not working the way you want it to.

[Ubercat]

I'm patient. I've been waiting for a good PC port of this game for 16 years and I can wait till it's fixed. I'm happy that Steve is *probably* finally getting paid for all his hard work. The man went unpaid for 9 years to make this happen; 12 hours+ a day. If every penny that the game has brought in were going in Steve's pocket, I'll bet it still wouldn't be enough for what 9 years of a good programmers work is worth.

The man is a saint as far as I'm concerned.

[JudgeDredd]

Everyone - and I mean everyone - knows that buying a game out the trap door is going to have bugs. The number and depth of those bugs varies dramatically. Some are game stoppers, others are wee annoyances.

Having said that - the price of this product - in total - and the number of bugs present and with no AI and no working way to play against each other is simply staggering. Lest we forget - this product, for me to purchase, was £130 iirc...and what would I get for that money? A game with a lot of bugs and worse, some game stoppers. On top of that - the only way I'd be able to play this is on my own.

That is not a great place to be. It's just as well they sold those physical manuals so that the people that bought it feel they have something to get on with.

Having said that - what's more staggering is the purchasers will to defend the stance. Some of the comments on that thread defy belief that they were written by anyone outside the "establishment".

Still...be that as it may - it's still a product that still calls to me from time to time. But there's NO CHANCE I'm buying it in that state - and given the AI is later next year, I won't be buying it next year because I have absolutely no faith a decent "relatively" bug free AI will be released.

This - again - is not a dig at the developer and they shouldn't really be directed at the developer. It's the beta testers and the publishers that should take the hit. Yeah sure - beta testers weren't involved in the release date and they likely reported things that were not going to be fixed for release. But still...netplay screwed? I mean - it was limited with only two players anyway - now that's been reduced to 1!

[undercovergeek]

The gist I got from his post was that the game was good, for everyone to quit whining, but we're really gosh-darn sorry you're upset that it's not working the way you want it to.

Aww man come on...... there's a massive difference between working the way you want it to and you know...... working

[JudgeDredd]

I'm patient. I've been waiting for a good PC port of this game for 16 years and I can wait till it's fixed. I'm happy that Steve is *probably* finally getting paid for all his hard work. The man went unpaid for 9 years to make this happen; 12 hours+ a day. If every penny that the game has brought in were going in Steve's pocket, I'll bet it still wouldn't be enough for what 9 years of a good programmers work is worth.

The man is a saint as far as I'm concerned.

I don't really understand that sentiment.

I applaud his effort and tenaciousness but at the risk of sounding apathetic - so what? He's doing something he wants to do. Not everyone is that lucky.

I have absolutely no idea how many hours the guy worked on this and absolutely no interest either. And if that is the case, wouldn't it be fair to expect the thing to work as designed?

I totally understand why fans of the boardgame like yourself might be more forgiving - but that certainly shouldn't need to be the case. The product was forced out with known issues and at great expense.

[Grim.Reaper]

My biggest concern with the state of things isn't the fact there are bugs since every game has them to some degree, it's just the continued bill of goods we kept getting sold that we are buying some superior 'premium' product based on the large costs and the company saying we are.  What exactly are we getting more of with these 'premium' titles?  They seem to have the same amount of bugs (if not more) as other games and the same support.   In fact I think the support by the company has been less.  When other games are released like distant worlds, it seems like Erik and the company are constantly posting and answering questions in that forum.   For wif, I don't think they have posted much of anything.   I do think the developer has at least been active, but it comes across as a one man show for a 'premium' product.

So again, besides the fact this was a huge board game conversion and has been in development for 10 years, why is this a 'premium' game again?  Doesn't feel like it to me at this point based on feedback in the forums, since I can't play myself until Xmas.

[JudgeDredd]

Don't worry GR - it'll all be fixed by the time you get yer mitts on it  :P

[Grim.Reaper]

Don't worry GR - it'll all be fixed by the time you get yer mitts on it  :P

Maybe if my wife gives it to me 'next' christmas:)  it seems like this game is minimally months away from being where it probably should.   I am not a person that often asks for refunds, I usually just accept things as is, but in cases like this, makes me really wish games had a better refund policy, especially when you can't try it first and you play large prices.  Just another lesson learned not to buy these games right away, which I have to get better at doing.

[JudgeDredd]

I honestly think if you were to request a refund Matrix would consider it. They have admitted themselves the issues are worse than they imagined.

I would've thought a voucher for those that bought would be the least they could do - instead of excuses about "scale of development" or how long it took to make!