Add this please/ In Game Clock/ Refund Policy

[Fishie]

This is a needed feature, make a in game clock on all steam games that will tell you how long you have till you can't refund.

A 2 hour mark timer, it stupid how some developers make a game so time consuming and game time goes faster than real time so there no way to find how much time you have till you can't refund without this option.

This option will help thousands of consumers as they will know when they can't refund so they know if they don't like the game so far before that timer hits 2 they can immediately close it and refund it.

Some people may not like the clock but have the clock disappear after 2 hours.

Make the clock say above it how long till you can't refund then a time under it counting down.

Give people a update for steam and even post it saying what clock does and send all consumers a email about it.

Or since this option isn't added yet and if they can't refund the game they may take other means of getting it refunded by filing disputes which results in restrictions but let's face it we rather have a refund we don't care about some silly restriction if it means we got our money back for a game that we do not like.


So I think the clock feature should be implemented as if you take a timer and try to time it, it never ends in your favor as the game has more time than what your timer says so how we supposed to know when we can't refund a game due to hours played, we need a clock feature.

Thanks for reading.

[FFL2and3rocks]

You can already use shift+tab to open the Steam overlay and view your total playtime.

[Fishie]

Originally posted by FFL2and3rocks:

You can already use shift+tab to open the Steam overlay and view your total playtime.

Which takes time out of playing the game they should make it where it shows 24/7 then disappears once time is up.

[Yzal]

As long as it can be disabled.

[Yasahi]

So an always on overlay for all games? I wonder how that would work with games running in fullscreen.

Definitely need a way to disable it. Also, I think your reasoning is pretty much just hyperbole. You can already set timers in a multitude of ways, one more won't suddenly change everything make people more responsible. They'll still go over the limit and start complaining.

[Gwarsbane]

Clock on a deck/wall
A watch on your wrist
Cell Phone
Ask someone in your house to tell you

If you are so consumed in a game that you don't even notice 2 hours go by then more then likely you are enjoying the game. 3 of the above options more then likely have alarm features.

The 2 hour refund is to find out if the game works on your system. If its not, refund it. By the time you buy a game you should already know if you like it or not because you should have looked at videos, read reviews on steam and elsewhere, asked questions in the discussion area and so on.

[feytharn]

- Refunds do cost Valve money (even if it is miniscule) through transaction fees.
- Refunds aren't meat to demo games
- Refunds (digital, like here on Steam as well as physical in any other store) are meant as a
way of customer protection. They should be somewhat exceptional, not a convenient way to
test products on the stores expense

Creating a feature that implies that refunds are the norm and more or less free time on a game is not in Valves best interest.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by Lazy Dog:

As long as it can be disabled.

Agreed, that would be quite necessary. I don't see why I should be forced to see a clock that hinders immersion just because other people can't manage their time properly.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by Wolf:

This is a needed feature, make a in game clock on all steam games that will tell you how long you have till you can't refund.

A 2 hour mark timer, it stupid how some developers make a game so time consuming and game time goes faster than real time so there no way to find how much time you have till you can't refund without this option.

If you're getting that sucked into the game that you can lose track of time, its probably worth the money you paid. You could just use a windows widget. But A timer in the Overlay that you can check to see your accumulated play time would be nice.

Originally posted by Wolf:

This option will help thousands of consumers as they will know when they can't refund so they know if they don't like the game so far before that timer hits 2 they can immediately close it and refund it.

COnsidering millions of users have no problem with determining if they like a game within the first hour...I mean who plays a game for two hours if they aren't enjoying it after one hour? I mean seriously.

On the other hand if the game is keeping you entertained, and engaged past the two hour mark.

Originally posted by Wolf:

Or since this option isn't added yet and if they can't refund the game they may take other means of getting it refunded by filing disputes which results in restrictions but let's face it we rather have a refund we don't care about some silly restriction if it means we got our money back for a game that we do not like.

And you do realize that retrictions on being able to add or use purchase, and not being allowed to use that payment method on the storefront again might have further reaching implications.

I mean there are only so many online stores for you to get banned from and your payment provider will also notice a recurring pattern and may simply refuse to process your payments.. I.e they will revoke and or file charges of fraud against you.

Originally posted by Wolf:

So I think the clock feature should be implemented as if you take a timer and try to time it, it never ends in your favor as the game has more time than what your timer says so how we supposed to know when we can't refund a game due to hours played, we need a clock feature.

Thanks for reading.

Can you prove this , because a second is a second and Valve occupies the same relatavistic reference point as you or I.

eDIT:
This feature already exists in the Overlay. There's a clock that pretty much shows the time spent in the current session and across all sessions. So just a SHift+Tab away

[no154370]

there is one more way to play the game

1) do not play the game in Fullscreen at all.

you can play the game in window mode and still be able to see the time in the bottom right corner of your desktop.

[Start_Running]

I suppose they could alter the overlayt to display a a clock showing your total time spent.like they do with FPS.

[Haruspex]

When you cook a frozen pizza, it's very clearly printed on the package to leave it in the oven for about 20 minutes. There are plenty of ways to track this; a kitchen timer. Just watching a clock or a wrist watch. Set a timer on your microwave. Tell Alexa or Siri to do it.

If many Steam discussion boards users are to be believed, in spite of this there are people who burned their pizza anyway. This is understandable. We've all done it. Forget to set the timer, or maybe you didn't hear it when it went off. Instead of accepting responsibility that mistakes happen and moving on, people get upset. They insist that they didn't see where it said to leave the pizza in the oven for 20 minutes, or that they don't own a kitchen timer, or that it's unreasonable to have to take the pizza out after only 20 minutes. Surely it's the pizza company who is to blame! Yes! The pizza company should implement a built-in timer into every frozen pizza they sell that automatically shuts the oven off using EMP.

Sorry for the sarcastic analogy, but this is a frequent complaint. How hard is it really to track 2 hours? Nevermind that the refund policy isn't there for you to demo games. If you've bought a game, the intention should be that you intend to keep it. The refund policy is just a nice safety net in the event that it doesn't work or that the game isn't at all what you expected. In that case, 30 minutes, tops, to figure out the game isn't for you and request a refund. Not you played for 10 hours and the game is kind of boring by chapter 14 so now you want a refund.

Let's consider such a timer were implemented. How is it displayed? In the corner of the screen like an FPS counter? Some potential threads:

"My refund was denied. I only played for six hours. What do you mean there's a timer!? How can anyone be expected to see such a tiny thing!"

Or if the timer is bigger:

"I bought this game and it's fun except for this gigantic stupid timer in the corner of my screen. It ruined my experience so I requested a refund."

Maybe the timer is optional and disabled by default:

"I was denied a refund. I only played for 37 hours, which really isn't that much. Timer? There's no timer, stupid. I have to turn it on in the settings? Well, I'm just going to ignore that and continue to blame Valve for my own incompetence."

As you can see, for Valve, there's no winning. There's no solution that will satisfy these people. If they do not implement any kind of timer of failsafe to prevent people from going over the 2 hours, as it is now, then the responsibility falls on the end user.

The responsibility is on the end user, and that's exactly how it should be.

It's not the frozen pizza manufacturer's responsibility to make sure you keep track of those 20 minutes, and it's not Valve's responsibility to make sure you keep track of those two hours.

[Nx Machina]

I set a countdown timer on my mobile as it is my responsibility to track time.

Secondly in answer to:

Originally posted by Wolf:

Or since this option isn't added yet and if they can't refund the game they may take other means of getting it refunded by filing disputes which results in restrictions but let's face it we rather have a refund we don't care about some silly restriction if it means we got our money back for a game that we do not like.

Account lock will result from a chargeback.

[UrbanMech]

The correct answer is to check if the game runs. If it runs, you are okay. If it doesn't work on your system then you refund it. It shouldn't take more than an hour to figure out whether or not the game performs on your system.

If this is not what you are doing then you are abusing the system and it should be obvious that adding a feature to support abuse is not going to happen.

[Washell]

Originally posted by Wolf:

getting it refunded by filing disputes which results in restrictions but let's face it we rather have a refund we don't care about some silly restriction if it means we got our money back for a game that we do not like.

Funnily enough once you actually are restricted, they're not all that silly anymore. Even when you got your money back.

[Crystal Sharrd]

If the game needs to be refunded, you'll likely know by the time the two hours is up.

Originally posted by feytharn:

- Refunds do cost Valve money (even if it is miniscule) through transaction fees.
- Refunds aren't meat to demo games
- Refunds (digital, like here on Steam as well as physical in any other store) are meant as a
way of customer protection. They should be somewhat exceptional, not a convenient way to
test products on the stores expense

Creating a feature that implies that refunds are the norm and more or less free time on a game is not in Valves best interest.

I read somewhere that Valve places the burden of refunds on the developers.