So, how do I get a refund?

[Silent]

I mean, I bought the game back in it's alpha, with the expectations that on release it would have the feature set that was promised to be added over its development. Fast forward 6 years of nothing and I am handed a steam key to the game, which has little to none of the promised features I was expecting, and half of the game I fell in love with in alpha stripped out.

This beta is barebones and bland compared to the alpha side by side.

TL;DR: I want my money back, I don't want to wait another 6 years to see if the game gets better or worse.

[Serath]

You don't.

[Commander Amaro]

I'd say you got your money's worth.

[MagiMetal]

You don't get your money back, you didn't buy a game, you supported an idea. That's called a business loss.

[(AOH)ᵀᴸᴰ»Soupa]

This'll be locked probably. You can't.

[it's a gabe]

I get the sentiment but truth is, you invested in the game SIX YEARS ago. That's a risk when investing in anything that's not a fully developed product. You should know the risks. I'm afraid a refund six years after the fact is something few people can get behind, because it's ludicrous.

[Zeddy]

Why didn't you ask for a refund a month ago when it didn't seem like you would get any game at all for your money?

[Serath]

Originally posted by Zeddy:

Why didn't you ask for a refund a month ago when it didn't seem like you would get any game at all for your money?

Game wasn't developed over a month. It was developed over six years.

[Shamanalah]

Legally speaking, you backed an alpha title that had a road map. They didn't deliver on it but an alpha is subject to core mechanic changes.

Much like in 7 Days to Die A6 (or 7 I forgot) they removed the arrow for zombies in the map (you could see green arrow for zombie non aggro and red arrow for aggroed one and where they were facing).

The core mechanic of the game kept changing for years. That's alpha type games, core mechanics are subject to changes.

(I share your feeling of how little they did in the span of time they have, I just think they were doing something else and not actively working on the game vs now where they should)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_release_life_cycle#Alpha

[MagiMetal]

Originally posted by Serath:

Originally posted by Zeddy:

Why didn't you ask for a refund a month ago when it didn't seem like you would get any game at all for your money?

Game wasn't developed over a month. It was developed over six years.

I think they are making a statement that the person is now, after it's finally "released", asking for a refund, and not any time over the last six years.

[Xilo The Odd]

Originally posted by MagiMetal:

You don't get your money back, you didn't buy a game, you supported an idea. That's called a business loss.

yeah but its not the same as an investment... i hate when people use this analogy as it is inaccurate.

all the same, steam is pretty anal about product key refunds. its 20$ you spent 6 years ago. thats keep the game and see if it goes someplace in the future.

who knows? maybe my idea of being able to play CW from beyond the grave WILL get implemented somehow xD

[MagiMetal]

Originally posted by Xilo The Odd:

Originally posted by MagiMetal:

You don't get your money back, you didn't buy a game, you supported an idea. That's called a business loss.

yeah but its not the same as an investment... i hate when people use this analogy as it is inaccurate.

all the same, steam is pretty anal about product key refunds. its 20$ you spent 6 years ago. thats keep the game and see if it goes someplace in the future.

who knows? maybe my idea of being able to play CW from beyond the grave WILL get implemented somehow xD

You nit picked the word "business" but other than that I wasn't implying it was an investment. It was a bad decision, but not a purchase.

[Xilo The Odd]

Originally posted by MagiMetal:

Originally posted by Xilo The Odd:

yeah but its not the same as an investment... i hate when people use this analogy as it is inaccurate.

all the same, steam is pretty anal about product key refunds. its 20$ you spent 6 years ago. thats keep the game and see if it goes someplace in the future.

who knows? maybe my idea of being able to play CW from beyond the grave WILL get implemented somehow xD

You nit picked the word "business" but other than that I wasn't implying it was an investment. It was a bad decision, but not a purchase.

yeah pre-ordering in general is bad practice these days. i wish 6 years ago me knew that lesson. but oh well. im sure a lot of people's 6 year ago them were young and hopeful like i was for a dev with a great concept goin.

[MagiMetal]

Originally posted by Xilo The Odd:

Originally posted by MagiMetal:

You nit picked the word "business" but other than that I wasn't implying it was an investment. It was a bad decision, but not a purchase.

yeah pre-ordering in general is bad practice these days. i wish 6 years ago me knew that lesson. but oh well. im sure a lot of people's 6 year ago them were young and hopeful like i was for a dev with a great concept goin.

Hindsight! :D

[it's a gabe]

But paying for alpha is an investment. What you all think Kickstarter is for? To serve as a pre-order? No. If you put money on projects in development, that's an investment. Plain and simple.

[Silent]

To be fair, after 6 years of the developer ghosting us with only the occasional tweet of progress and content being added, I clung to false hope that he didn't just blatantly took our money and ran off with it. I was hopeful that this solo developer was just on the long grind to make it happen.

Suffice to say I am disappointed and have waited enough. I want my money back.

And no, buying the alpha game directly from the developer's own site was not an "investment" that I lost. I was a customer purchasing a promising product with the expectation that it would one day be completed. In my eyes it is far from the product we (alpha buyers) were expecting.