No change and release management at Beamdog?
fkirenicus
Member Posts: 331
Got this mail from support today:
"Unfortunately, only Steam has the option of reverting to the previous version. You would of had to not update the game to stay at 1.3 on the clients. As a note we are working on fixes based on the feedback that has been given.
We could give you the Steam Keys, however as you said you would not want them/use them.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance."
So, basically, what Beamdog support is saying that they do not keep backup of their own files and programs, and that the only way if one has problems with Beamdog's products after 2.0 is to contact someone else.
Which begs the question: is there no change and release management at Beamdog?
"Unfortunately, only Steam has the option of reverting to the previous version. You would of had to not update the game to stay at 1.3 on the clients. As a note we are working on fixes based on the feedback that has been given.
We could give you the Steam Keys, however as you said you would not want them/use them.
Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance."
So, basically, what Beamdog support is saying that they do not keep backup of their own files and programs, and that the only way if one has problems with Beamdog's products after 2.0 is to contact someone else.
Which begs the question: is there no change and release management at Beamdog?
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Comments
As to why the patches aren't available, that's a question that's always been met with silence when I've asked. Maybe it's a question of infrastructure (file distribution costs money and requires work), maybe it's for ease of troubleshooting (everyone's on the same version) or... I dunno. Whatever the case is, it would be nice to know. And if it's the first reason, surely there are plenty of third party file distribution sites that could hold the patches.
Setting it up is something that's on our list for the long-term, but right now the only means of selecting to install 1.3 is with Steam, because that's the only platform where we currently have the ability to set up alternate branches.
Hopefully that illuminates things a bit better.
* (purely conjecture on my part.)
Unfortunately one has to shout to be heard sometimes, when sweet-talking doesn't help.
You got a direct response from the devs explaining how to go about resolving your issue. You got your issue resolved. You continue to try and publicly shame them. Guess what? It just makes you look like a jerk.
This is like someone trying to return a t-shirt that they don't like. So they scream and yell at the register. Get their shirt returned. And then stay at the register yelling about how bad the shirt is in an attempt to influence future customers. But rather than making the company look bad, it only makes you look like a troll.
So yeah, glad that you got your problem fixed. And if that's your only issue, then try to do the graceful thing and fade away without more whining.
2. No, it's more like someone buying a t-shirt they like, but then they suddenly realise that someone in the store has swapped the t-shirt that that they liked with another one, and when they complain about it to the shop the response given from the shop is to go to the shop next door.
3. I won't start a flame war with you.
Sorry mac, but things don't work that way here where I live.
Going back to the T-shirt analogy (and let's give some names to these places, it's getting cumbersome): If you bought the shirt directly from Kyle's Jean Shirts, and then the shirt gets destroyed in a grease fire and you go back to Kyle's Jeans to get a replacement, but they no longer keep that version of the shirt in stock, so they give you a voucher to pick up a new shirt from Jeans For Fun, and you refuse to go to Jeans For Fun even though you wouldn't be spending your own money there and it would give you exactly what you want...
Then you might be a--Whoop, sorry, wrong formula. What I mean to say is, it's not Kyle's Jeans's responsibility to give you something that they just plain don't have the means to give you.And if you then go out and steal your replacement shirt from Swashbuckling Jeans, and then you go to Kyle's Jeans and tell them that you stole your shirt instead of using the free voucher they gave you...Well, yeah, you're probably going to go to jail.
What were we talking about? My shirt's a mess.
Except that in this case it actually was Kyle's Jeans themselves that started the grease fire, and they could have warned me about it, but chose not to. If they don't have the means to give me what I actually am owed, maybe they shouldn't have started the grease fire or at least warned me about it?
I don't know how I can put this clearer: I've never HAD a Steam account, I've never WANTED a Steam account and why I should be forced by you to get one in order to get return value for the money I've paid for YOUR product is beyond me. Let's just say you wouldn't get away with that kind of a workaround (it's not a solution!) so easily were you based in my country, and be done.
Also, I remind you that I have paid for BGEE, BG2EE and IWDEE (and all extra material I know of, except SoD for obvious reasons (can't play that on 1.3, can I?) on both Windows and Android. So I haven't stolen anything, I suggest you don't throw around accusations that simply aren't true.
All this ranting from me and everyone else who didn't like the 2.0 version you pushed out about a week ago could have been avoided had you just told people in the client that this update wasn't an ordinary one. Now, I hope you are making progress and soon can release a 2.0 version that is stable, can be used across platforms (that's VERY important to me) and has an improved UI compared to the one right now.
And when that time comes I do suggest that you state clearly in the client/patcher what to expect, or at least direct users to the forums if you have any important messages for us.
https://www.beamdog.com/about/EULA
Let's continue with T-shirt analogies! You bought a license to use a shirt from Kyle's Jeans, not the shirt itself. I somewhat doubt any consumer protection laws will grant you a remedy based on your purchase of a shirt license. Especially when the user agreement, that you accepted when you put the shirt on, states that the shirt might not be usable as a shirt.
I'm no lawyer, but maybe @bengoshi could enlighten us.
That being said, I hope future updates get you back in the happy column. Please hang in there, it'll be worth it.
But yes, consumer rights here do affect software also. Not necessarily the fit-for-purpose part, but the fit-for-use most certainly. Just as a side note, the EULA says nothing about "Steam" or any other subcontractor. Which is quite interesting, actually.
And yes, I'll hang in here, waiting for a version that has the same level of quality and excellence 1.3. has. They've done it before; I know Beamdog can do it again.