Ok, there're reasons Beamdog doesn't give ETAs usually. I gave you one last week and turns out we couldn't make it.
We ran into additional issues and believe we won't be able to fix it till July. Sorry, all.
There was something that prevented new builds from happening, then this something was fixed. We are working on the issue but couldn't make it till yesterday.
Jesus Christ Beamdog, so whats happening about refunds or providing an APK download that we can use?
The anti piracy argument is crap, the games are provided DRM free on GOG without concern for it.
Why not try and earn a tiny bit of goodwill from your customers by giving them access to the game they've paid for, your certainly not going to earn any more money from them with this shambolic display.
beamdog is incompetent.
The only thing they can do is to say 'we are working' or 'maybe'. I do not believe game will be restored until July. The version will be 2.5 even if it is restored. We'll have to wait again for the 2.6 patch. Considering beamdog's ability, I think recovery and 2.6 patches are likely to be later than BG3 release. hahaha. I wonder how long this incompetent company will last.
@JuliusBorisov : Will there be a compensation for this delay of 1/4 of a year? What about an Android code for "Neverwinter Nights: EE"? I already own all Beamdog games on Steam and NWN:EE is the only game that I still need on Android.
Is not beamdog fault. Games such as NWN2 got removed from steam, but those who payed for the game din't lost the access from their games. Only newer buyers can't buy. the decision from Google is awful. I will never purchase anything from google store. The idea of purchasing something that can be arbitrary taken away is silly
To be fair, it's only Android, right? On PC, Mac, or iPhone/iPad, all is well?
I do not know, I bought this game only on Android.
Beamdog had enough time to implement the fixes, and so far, he feeds us with lies that work to solve problem. I buy a lot of games on Google and i have never had such problems - always the developer (even smaller) quickly introduced correction. And here we have only continuous lies and incompetence.
In all fairness Julius has been pretty vague about deadlines and eta’s. Accusing him of lying is unfair at the present.
Just to add. Its present in the app store as well for iOS users.
Btw. Beamdog had an epic opportunity for abandoning the game, when 64 bit was required in the iOS store. But they didnt abandon their games then, and made the costly transition to 64 bit.
Beamdog had another opportunity for not giving us SoD for iOS, it was in the Android stores already. I had to wait a long time for SoD for iOS. The rest played the game to bits, and I do nothing but lurk around here for some 2 years (it felt like ages to me at least).
But funny thing happened. Beamdog stood by their promise and made the app for iOS. So I have waited patiently for something, and I have yet to see Beamdog give up on a promise. They have said, that they will bring the games back, and so they will.
I can fully understand you’re tired of waiting. Been there and done that. But Beamdog will bring the games back and they are not liars and cheats. Saying that is simple not true.
Beamdog sells a game on Steam. No one ever loses access to their Beamdog game from Steam.
Beamdog sells a game on GoG. No one ever loses access to their Beamdog game from GoG.
Beamdog sells a game on Google Play. It mysteriously vanishes from Google Play.
As upset as people are, it should be pretty clear that this is, in fact, Google's doing. The only platform from which Beamdog content was ever removed is under Google's exclusive control.
It's not mysteriously vanished, Google changed its t&C's in line with GDPR, which has been around for quite a while.
IWD and BG2 did not comply with the new t&C's, so were pulled.
Beamdog have taken an unforgivably long time to resolve the issue, apparently now not till July, that's what? Going on 4 months with no end in sight? utter utter shambles.
The beamdog mobile testers will come along and claim its not a GDPR issue soon which has happened previously. They'll blame Google. Sing how great Beamdog are. I generally think beamdog are making forum accounts praising beamdog I wouldn't be surprised how they've begged for positives reviews before and played the blame game.
Getting mobile testers to do what? Beamdog has asked me nothing, I dont provide them anything and I get nothing in return.
(well I did get a stupid badge on this site, but thats it and its nothing to me).
I paid for my games like everybody else and hasnt received any merchandise (the way it should be).
All I want is for people to be polite and reasonable. Nothing more. And yes I think that many are unreasonable. But thats just me.
My aim for stepping in, is that this forum is a sort of sanctuary and a place of joy for many people. I can live fine without it, but many consider this a second or third home. I respect and venerate that, seeing the many happy people on this site who cheerish coming here.
The internet has many places where strife and spite lives and breedes. They are out there, for those who want that. But its not here.
And I would hate to see this place turning into to a less friendly place, so I will champion reason and friendliness, and I will say again: Beamdog is not the crooked company you are making them.
The update will come and while at this forum feel free to parttake in the many excellent and insightful threads - be polite, friendly amd follow site rules.
Getting mobile testers to do what? Beamdog has asked me nothing, I dont provide them anything and I get nothing in return.
(well I did get a stupid badge on this site, but thats it and its nothing to me).
I paid for my games like everybody else and hasnt received any merchandise (the way it should be).
All I want is for people to be polite and reasonable. Nothing more. And yes I think that many are unreasonable. But thats just me.
My aim for stepping in, is that this forum is a sort of sanctuary and a place of joy for many people. I can live fine without it, but many consider this a second or third home. I respect and venerate that, seeing the many happy people on this site who cheerish coming here.
The internet has many places where strife and spite lives and breedes. They are out there, for those who want that. But its not here.
And I would hate to see this place turning into to a less friendly place, so I will champion reason and friendliness, and I will say again: Beamdog is not the crooked company you are making them.
The update will come and while at this forum feel free to parttake in the many excellent and insightful threads - be polite, friendly amd follow site rules.
The requirement for people to be reasonable about this went out the door months ago. We're looking at a 4 month delay if what Julius says is true, that is worth some dissatisfaction and anger.
The issue is a GDPR issue that requires a UI update, not a switch from 32-64 bit, something that should be fairly simple to do is short time
Beamdog should offer refunds according to the Google t&C's, we're outside the window for Google to do so, so the responsibility falls to them.
They have said they're unwilling to do so, and lied when they said people could obtain refunds through Google, this is not the case, unless you purchased the game within the last two months.
They said anyone unhappy with the wait could get their refund from Google
They could provide an APK for purchases to download, but wont, citing piracy concerns, which doesn't make sense as they release the game DRM free on GOG without concern for piracy.
They could offer out a free copy of one of their other games by way of compensation, but havent.
They gave us vague drips off information until last week, when they gave us an incorrect ETA, they've been maddenly vague about the whole thing .
How do we go from Friday "everything's fine, game goes to Google for verification on Monday" to one week later "lol, no July now"
Liars and cheats may be a strong sentiment, but they have lied, demonstrably (re refunds) and they have no intention of refunding money to people who paid them (through the Google store) for a product, that they have failed to maintain.
Anger and dissatisfaction with the company is absolutely warranted.
Okay Beamdog, I've tried to see this from both sides. But you're beginning to look incompetent at this point. It was my belief that the biggest bit of the delay was that the ui changes were being implemented into the next update(2.6). But the UI change (not)being released is still 2.5? And you've cocked that up. I'm not going all "liars and thieves" on you, more keystone cops. I'm sure you're doing your best, which is the sad part.
Again, it's not possible for Beamdog to issue refunds because Beamdog doesn't have the customer data; it doesn't know who actually bought the game on Google Play. If an email or a post on this forum was sufficient to get a refund, I could bilk the company out of thousands of dollars just by using alts to submit hundreds of refund requests--which is precisely no company issues refunds without receipts. Thing is, Beamdog can't verify receipts when Google alone holds those records.
If you buy a Coke at Walmart, Coca-Cola can't issue the refund--only Walmart can, because only Walmart can verify your receipt. Coca-Cola doesn't have the purchase records.
Even if Beamdog can somehow cast "detect lies" in all world with infinite range and no concentration required to know who is eligible to refund, there are a lot of reasons to make this refund policy into an "accounting nightmare". For example, imagine two buyers
One from Russia, payed in Russian ruble using an payment method that is common in Russia but uncommon on "west" and the vlaue of ruble changed a lot since his purchase
Another from Argentina in a similar situation and he put credits into his store with an physical gift card.
On steam, there are some payment methods that are only eligible to receive refunds in therms of "steam wallet credits", how beamdog will refund people who purchased using Physical Gift Cards? The "refunder" cast "greater teleport" and the beamdog casts "greater teleport" to give the money back?
This stores tends to have "regional pricing" and considering inflation, taxes, and other metrics. The point of putting an product in a store instead of selling directly to costumers in the first place is to not have to deal with it this questions. This is why create an "store" is not something easy.
Is not beamdog that took away something that you paid. When Neverwinter Nights Diamond(non EE edition) got removed from GoG, i still can download my old copy any time that i want. I payed for EE on steam to use some steam features like easily downloable modules and for Linux support without wine, but i can any time that i want, download an game that was removed from gog. IMO we should complain with google, not with beamdog.
Google knows who purchased, when purchased, how much payed and how payed and can offer refunds.
Even if Beamdog can somehow cast "detect lies" in all world with infinite range and no concentration required to know who is eligible to refund, there are a lot of reasons to make this refund policy into an "accounting nightmare". For example, imagine two buyers
One from Russia, payed in Russian ruble using an payment method that is common in Russia but uncommon on "west" and the vlaue of ruble changed a lot since his purchase
Another from Argentina in a similar situation and he put credits into his store with an physical gift card.
On steam, there are some payment methods that are only eligible to receive refunds in therms of "steam wallet credits", how beamdog will refund people who purchased using Physical Gift Cards? The "refunder" cast "greater teleport" and the beamdog casts "greater teleport" to give the money back?
This stores tends to have "regional pricing" and considering inflation, taxes, and other metrics. The point of putting an product in a store instead of selling directly to costumers in the first place is to not have to deal with it this questions. This is why create an "store" is not something easy.
Is not beamdog that took away something that you paid. When Neverwinter Nights Diamond(non EE edition) got removed from GoG, i still can download my old copy any time that i want. I payed for EE on steam to use some steam features like easily downloable modules and for Linux support without wine, but i can any time that i want, download an game that was removed from gog. IMO we should complain with google, not with beamdog.
Google knows who purchased, when purchased, how much payed and how payed and can offer refunds.
And googles terms and conditions, that beamdog signed up to, say that past a 2 month point it's beamdog on the hook for refunds.
When the same thing happened to shadow run, hare brained schemes some how managed to arrange refunds, all they required was a copy of your receipt.
Now Realistically I don't expect a company incapable of implementing a UI change within 4 months to be able to match this, but that doesn't mean that Beamdog shouldn't be held to account.
So why don't beamdog offer an alternative download? I've yet to see a reasonable explanation.
@wallaceprime: I'm afraid an alternative download option would also require Beamdog to have verified receipts in order to prevent people from exploiting the process. It's the same problem with issuing a refund without verification of purchase: it would let some people get the game without paying for it if they submitted a false claim, and that's not fair to either Beamdog or the customers who did pay for the game.
I suppose it's less exploitable than the refund option, though.
@wallaceprime: I'm afraid an alternative download option would also require Beamdog to have verified receipts in order to prevent people from exploiting the process. It's the same problem with issuing a refund without verification of purchase: it would let some people get the game without paying for it if they submitted a false claim, and that's not fair to either Beamdog or the customers who did pay for the game.
I suppose it's less exploitable than the refund option, though.
Do you imagine Beamdog are going to lose more money from people theoretically exploiting a free download offered to customers on the play store, than they are now as their reputation nosedives off a cliff and 1* ratings abound on their games.
I can easily provide a google play receipt for my purchase, thats apparantly not good enough for beamdog.
That's the whole thing--Beamdog doesn't benefit from this scenario at all. Some folks (not you, I think, but a few others) act like it's some sinister scheme to "take our money and keep the game," but players' losing access to the game doesn't benefit Beamdog in any way. This is a technical error that requires a LOT of coding work, and the thing is, Beamdog is a small company with a small staff. Coming up with a new patch just to adjust to Google's demands is putting a lot of extra work on their plate, and even the tiniest speedbump could set back the effort for weeks, perhaps even months.
Coding is sticky even for large gaming companies who can shuffle around hundreds of employees at will. Tackling the project with a small team (particularly one that already has other assignments) is even more time-consuming. It's no wonder it's taken so long.
If they weren't tied up with stuff that they cannot discuss (and I'm 99% certain that there are actual NDAs involved) then people would be less vocal.
All of this kerfuffle reminds me of the vitriol that Beamdog was facing during the Atari Bankruptcy. (And for those of you who joined here after the Atari Bankruptcy: this vitriol you're spewing here is peanuts compared to the sheer, raw hate they were getting back then...)
If they weren't tied up with stuff that they cannot discuss (and I'm 99% certain that there are actual NDAs involved) then people would be less vocal.
All of this kerfuffle reminds me of the vitriol that Beamdog was facing during the Atari Bankruptcy. (And for those of you who joined here after the Atari Bankruptcy: this vitriol you're spewing here is peanuts compared to the sheer, raw hate they were getting back then...)
So what you're saying is that Beamdog should get a pass because it was worse in the past?
Where do you draw the line on bad customer service then? How many of your paid games need to disappear before beamdog get taken to task?
Its no point blaming google, their Terms and Conditions are clear, If Beamdog had kept up on GDPR this wouldn't be a thing.
The only occasion this has happened to me before was when ShadowRun was pulled from PLay, I gave my receipt to HBS and they refunded me the game, no fuss, no muss.
I don't understand why Beamdog cannot do the same.
Because Shadowrun didn't return to the store. Our games will.
Because we have contracts with WotC and providing an APK will be a licensing violation.
"If Beamdog had kept up on GDPR" - other games are on Google Play, although they have none of what was required. BG:EE stayed there, SoD stayed there. There was no difference between the in-game content in those games and BGII:EE & IWD:EE. The key here is that it's not that simple as users think. That said, this doesn't take away our blame, and we're working to fix the situation.
That's the whole thing--Beamdog doesn't benefit from this scenario at all. Some folks (not you, I think, but a few others) act like it's some sinister scheme to "take our money and keep the game," but players' losing access to the game doesn't benefit Beamdog in any way. This is a technical error that requires a LOT of coding work, and the thing is, Beamdog is a small company with a small staff. Coming up with a new patch just to adjust to Google's demands is putting a lot of extra work on their plate, and even the tiniest speedbump could set back the effort for weeks, perhaps even months.
Coding is sticky even for large gaming companies who can shuffle around hundreds of employees at will. Tackling the project with a small team (particularly one that already has other assignments) is even more time-consuming. It's no wonder it's taken so long.
You are correct, I don't think this is a conspiracy to rip us off.
Personally I think they are stringing us along because they don't intend to do the work required to return it to play and are just focusing on their console releases, the ripping us off is just a side effect of that.
I disagree with the assumption that the issue requires a lot of coding work (again if its as described), I can think of two or three ways to mod it in to the game
Its taking 4 months + to allegedly sort it out and the communication from Beamdog has been lackluster to say the least.
I cant see trusting Beamdog again with any future purchases.
Because Shadowrun didn't return to the store. Our games will.
Because we have contracts with WotC and providing an APK will be a licensing violation.
"If Beamdog had kept up on GDPR" - other games are on Google Play, although they have none of what was required. BG:EE stayed there, SoD stayed there. There was no difference between the in-game content in those games and BGII:EE & IWD:EE. The key here is that it's not that simple as users think. That said, this doesn't take away our blame, and we're working to fix the situation.
Fair enough Julius, but thats not what you said earlier,
It should remember your payment, of course.
Temporary links to downloadable files are not an option, as that would mean piracy.
I, and everyone else at Beamdog, understand your frustrations. We're frustrated as well.
Why not say your license with WOTC prevented it?
Are you saying if you own other Beamdog games on play, you should download and archive them, because they are likely to be removed as they fall foul of the same issues.
Is the issue just incorporating the privacy policy into the UI or is there something greater here?
Can I assume that if/when the games do not return to play, Beamdog will offer refunds then?
If they weren't tied up with stuff that they cannot discuss (and I'm 99% certain that there are actual NDAs involved) then people would be less vocal.
All of this kerfuffle reminds me of the vitriol that Beamdog was facing during the Atari Bankruptcy. (And for those of you who joined here after the Atari Bankruptcy: this vitriol you're spewing here is peanuts compared to the sheer, raw hate they were getting back then...)
You had to mention Atari. Their forum, especially general chat, was a madhouse. Nobody cared about the moderators, or warnings, or bans. Get banned, create alt account, talk trash about the mod who banned you until you get banned again, repeat. Ah yes, good times.
You guys have my money and my game going on 4 months now. Google tells me they cannot remedy the issue and it's up to you. The time this has taken is unacceptable.
Wait wait. Is this why you guys dropped the price to 2.50 before I bought It? So you could steal a minuscule amount of money hoping nobody would say anything?
Folks, let's try to keep some perspective here. Yes, this is a communications fiasco. Julius has attempted to keep everyone up to date, but it has been too little, too late. However, I will cut him some slack, as it seems the team is fairly small. The 4 month delay is a bit harder to swallow, and I think that points to this issue not being made a priority, and that's a bit harder to overlook.
However, at the end of the day, it's a video game. Most of us have blown more at Starbucks. Assuming you paid full price, it only takes a couple of drinks to exceed the cost of either game. No, that doesn't make it right, but come on - let's knock it off with the thievery comments. Also, Beamdog isn't benefiting in any way from this, so I tend to believe this is a Google thing. No dev willingly takes two of their more popular games offline for giggles or to "get one over" on players. To suggest such is stupid beyond measure.
I get the anger issue, but there isn't any point in going off the deep end over it.
Thank you. Especially since it's 3 months (the situation happened on March 21) when we can't sell 2 working games, which is in no way benefiting from the economic standpoint, and continue to get negative reviews to all other games.
i have registered to record the final reply from google , after a week of fruitless argument via chat and email
please stop telling people to ask google for refunds, they will not give any.
I have my original poof of purchase receipt, but no one cares, no one want to own the issue and provide either a working apk or a refund
and to save others more hassle, I wasted half a day getting the apk and obb fiiles from an old device where it was still installed, carefully replicated them on my new device, and the resored app just goes off looking for a non-existing download server, forever, until force-closed.
from googleplay-support@google.com
"We regret the delay in our response.
In regard to your issue, I had consulted our specialist and I was updated that a refund is not possible from our end as it is not under our refund policies you could the order number as a reference and you could place your request to the developer.
I would like to inform you that the developer is the one who needs to look into these matters as Google is just a mediator and it is the app developer's responsibility to provide support and refunds for their products. At Google we value our customers and thrive to provide the best service. Usually the refund request for an app or in-app purchase, is the app developer's responsibility to support their app including refunds.
I appreciate your patience and understanding.
Thanks!
Craig D
The Google Support Team"
Despite the appalling grammar, I get that the message is - go away and don't ask again.
I wrote back to Google saying I will never buy from play store again, if that is their final stance. it goes without saying that that applies also to Beamdog
I will not knowingly spend with companies who give zero customer support and zero refunds
I initially brought up the comparisons to the Atari bankruptcy because back then everybody and their Gorion was outright demanding answers and nobody from Beamdog could legally give them (Violating a gag order or NDA - especially a Bankruptcy-related one - can lead to literal jail time in some jurisdictions if the violation is severe enough). Evasive non-answers about stuff nobody's allowed to talk about in the face of a potential partial boycott is nothing that this company hasn't faced before.
So what you're saying is that Beamdog should get a pass because it was worse in the past?
Of course not - rather, the anger and hatred that they're getting for some but not all of their products getting removed from one storefront is not even close to the anger and hatred they were getting when they had no viable revenue stream for almost a year (BGEE was in dire need of the pending patch that they couldn't push and they couldn't release BG2EE because Bankruptcy is a bitch for all involved, not just the debtor).
Where do you draw the line on bad customer service then? How many of your paid games need to disappear before beamdog get taken to task?
There's a simple phrase that seems to have been forgotten in this day and age. "Vote with your wallet." I get that you're out twenty or forty USD. I get that you're peeved because you paid for something and now you don't have it any more (damn you, Software-As-A-Service infrastructure).
If you're that upset, just stop doing business with them.
will the "developer" now please do as google say, instead of referring us back to google
I am through with waiting for the April- May- June_July fix. I want my money back please
"Thank you for replying.
In regard to your email, we can only provide refund for scenarios that are within our refund policies, there isn't a possibility to refund anything that isn't within the policies.
Concerns regarding refund in such scenarios where it is not possible for us to provide a refund you need to contact the developer as they need to look into such matters. As the app developer is the person who has complete control over the app, the decision to refund needs to be addressed by them.
Comments
Jesus Christ Beamdog, so whats happening about refunds or providing an APK download that we can use?
The anti piracy argument is crap, the games are provided DRM free on GOG without concern for it.
Why not try and earn a tiny bit of goodwill from your customers by giving them access to the game they've paid for, your certainly not going to earn any more money from them with this shambolic display.
The only thing they can do is to say 'we are working' or 'maybe'. I do not believe game will be restored until July. The version will be 2.5 even if it is restored. We'll have to wait again for the 2.6 patch. Considering beamdog's ability, I think recovery and 2.6 patches are likely to be later than BG3 release. hahaha. I wonder how long this incompetent company will last.
In all fairness Julius has been pretty vague about deadlines and eta’s. Accusing him of lying is unfair at the present.
Just to add. Its present in the app store as well for iOS users.
Btw. Beamdog had an epic opportunity for abandoning the game, when 64 bit was required in the iOS store. But they didnt abandon their games then, and made the costly transition to 64 bit.
Beamdog had another opportunity for not giving us SoD for iOS, it was in the Android stores already. I had to wait a long time for SoD for iOS. The rest played the game to bits, and I do nothing but lurk around here for some 2 years (it felt like ages to me at least).
But funny thing happened. Beamdog stood by their promise and made the app for iOS. So I have waited patiently for something, and I have yet to see Beamdog give up on a promise. They have said, that they will bring the games back, and so they will.
I can fully understand you’re tired of waiting. Been there and done that. But Beamdog will bring the games back and they are not liars and cheats. Saying that is simple not true.
The beamdog mobile testers will come along and claim its not a GDPR issue soon which has happened previously. They'll blame Google. Sing how great Beamdog are. I generally think beamdog are making forum accounts praising beamdog I wouldn't be surprised how they've begged for positives reviews before and played the blame game.
(well I did get a stupid badge on this site, but thats it and its nothing to me).
I paid for my games like everybody else and hasnt received any merchandise (the way it should be).
All I want is for people to be polite and reasonable. Nothing more. And yes I think that many are unreasonable. But thats just me.
My aim for stepping in, is that this forum is a sort of sanctuary and a place of joy for many people. I can live fine without it, but many consider this a second or third home. I respect and venerate that, seeing the many happy people on this site who cheerish coming here.
The internet has many places where strife and spite lives and breedes. They are out there, for those who want that. But its not here.
And I would hate to see this place turning into to a less friendly place, so I will champion reason and friendliness, and I will say again: Beamdog is not the crooked company you are making them.
The update will come and while at this forum feel free to parttake in the many excellent and insightful threads - be polite, friendly amd follow site rules.
The requirement for people to be reasonable about this went out the door months ago. We're looking at a 4 month delay if what Julius says is true, that is worth some dissatisfaction and anger.
The issue is a GDPR issue that requires a UI update, not a switch from 32-64 bit, something that should be fairly simple to do is short time
Beamdog should offer refunds according to the Google t&C's, we're outside the window for Google to do so, so the responsibility falls to them.
They have said they're unwilling to do so, and lied when they said people could obtain refunds through Google, this is not the case, unless you purchased the game within the last two months.
They said anyone unhappy with the wait could get their refund from Google
They could provide an APK for purchases to download, but wont, citing piracy concerns, which doesn't make sense as they release the game DRM free on GOG without concern for piracy.
They could offer out a free copy of one of their other games by way of compensation, but havent.
They gave us vague drips off information until last week, when they gave us an incorrect ETA, they've been maddenly vague about the whole thing .
How do we go from Friday "everything's fine, game goes to Google for verification on Monday" to one week later "lol, no July now"
Liars and cheats may be a strong sentiment, but they have lied, demonstrably (re refunds) and they have no intention of refunding money to people who paid them (through the Google store) for a product, that they have failed to maintain.
Anger and dissatisfaction with the company is absolutely warranted.
If you buy a Coke at Walmart, Coca-Cola can't issue the refund--only Walmart can, because only Walmart can verify your receipt. Coca-Cola doesn't have the purchase records.
One from Russia, payed in Russian ruble using an payment method that is common in Russia but uncommon on "west" and the vlaue of ruble changed a lot since his purchase
Another from Argentina in a similar situation and he put credits into his store with an physical gift card.
On steam, there are some payment methods that are only eligible to receive refunds in therms of "steam wallet credits", how beamdog will refund people who purchased using Physical Gift Cards? The "refunder" cast "greater teleport" and the beamdog casts "greater teleport" to give the money back?
This stores tends to have "regional pricing" and considering inflation, taxes, and other metrics. The point of putting an product in a store instead of selling directly to costumers in the first place is to not have to deal with it this questions. This is why create an "store" is not something easy.
Is not beamdog that took away something that you paid. When Neverwinter Nights Diamond(non EE edition) got removed from GoG, i still can download my old copy any time that i want. I payed for EE on steam to use some steam features like easily downloable modules and for Linux support without wine, but i can any time that i want, download an game that was removed from gog. IMO we should complain with google, not with beamdog.
Google knows who purchased, when purchased, how much payed and how payed and can offer refunds.
And googles terms and conditions, that beamdog signed up to, say that past a 2 month point it's beamdog on the hook for refunds.
When the same thing happened to shadow run, hare brained schemes some how managed to arrange refunds, all they required was a copy of your receipt.
Now Realistically I don't expect a company incapable of implementing a UI change within 4 months to be able to match this, but that doesn't mean that Beamdog shouldn't be held to account.
So why don't beamdog offer an alternative download? I've yet to see a reasonable explanation.
I suppose it's less exploitable than the refund option, though.
Do you imagine Beamdog are going to lose more money from people theoretically exploiting a free download offered to customers on the play store, than they are now as their reputation nosedives off a cliff and 1* ratings abound on their games.
I can easily provide a google play receipt for my purchase, thats apparantly not good enough for beamdog.
Coding is sticky even for large gaming companies who can shuffle around hundreds of employees at will. Tackling the project with a small team (particularly one that already has other assignments) is even more time-consuming. It's no wonder it's taken so long.
All of this kerfuffle reminds me of the vitriol that Beamdog was facing during the Atari Bankruptcy. (And for those of you who joined here after the Atari Bankruptcy: this vitriol you're spewing here is peanuts compared to the sheer, raw hate they were getting back then...)
So what you're saying is that Beamdog should get a pass because it was worse in the past?
Where do you draw the line on bad customer service then? How many of your paid games need to disappear before beamdog get taken to task?
Its no point blaming google, their Terms and Conditions are clear, If Beamdog had kept up on GDPR this wouldn't be a thing.
The only occasion this has happened to me before was when ShadowRun was pulled from PLay, I gave my receipt to HBS and they refunded me the game, no fuss, no muss.
I don't understand why Beamdog cannot do the same.
Because we have contracts with WotC and providing an APK will be a licensing violation.
"If Beamdog had kept up on GDPR" - other games are on Google Play, although they have none of what was required. BG:EE stayed there, SoD stayed there. There was no difference between the in-game content in those games and BGII:EE & IWD:EE. The key here is that it's not that simple as users think. That said, this doesn't take away our blame, and we're working to fix the situation.
You are correct, I don't think this is a conspiracy to rip us off.
Personally I think they are stringing us along because they don't intend to do the work required to return it to play and are just focusing on their console releases, the ripping us off is just a side effect of that.
I disagree with the assumption that the issue requires a lot of coding work (again if its as described), I can think of two or three ways to mod it in to the game
Its taking 4 months + to allegedly sort it out and the communication from Beamdog has been lackluster to say the least.
I cant see trusting Beamdog again with any future purchases.
Fair enough Julius, but thats not what you said earlier,
Why not say your license with WOTC prevented it?
Are you saying if you own other Beamdog games on play, you should download and archive them, because they are likely to be removed as they fall foul of the same issues.
Is the issue just incorporating the privacy policy into the UI or is there something greater here?
Can I assume that if/when the games do not return to play, Beamdog will offer refunds then?
You had to mention Atari. Their forum, especially general chat, was a madhouse. Nobody cared about the moderators, or warnings, or bans. Get banned, create alt account, talk trash about the mod who banned you until you get banned again, repeat. Ah yes, good times.
However, at the end of the day, it's a video game. Most of us have blown more at Starbucks. Assuming you paid full price, it only takes a couple of drinks to exceed the cost of either game. No, that doesn't make it right, but come on - let's knock it off with the thievery comments. Also, Beamdog isn't benefiting in any way from this, so I tend to believe this is a Google thing. No dev willingly takes two of their more popular games offline for giggles or to "get one over" on players. To suggest such is stupid beyond measure.
I get the anger issue, but there isn't any point in going off the deep end over it.
please stop telling people to ask google for refunds, they will not give any.
I have my original poof of purchase receipt, but no one cares, no one want to own the issue and provide either a working apk or a refund
and to save others more hassle, I wasted half a day getting the apk and obb fiiles from an old device where it was still installed, carefully replicated them on my new device, and the resored app just goes off looking for a non-existing download server, forever, until force-closed.
from googleplay-support@google.com
"We regret the delay in our response.
In regard to your issue, I had consulted our specialist and I was updated that a refund is not possible from our end as it is not under our refund policies you could the order number as a reference and you could place your request to the developer.
I would like to inform you that the developer is the one who needs to look into these matters as Google is just a mediator and it is the app developer's responsibility to provide support and refunds for their products. At Google we value our customers and thrive to provide the best service. Usually the refund request for an app or in-app purchase, is the app developer's responsibility to support their app including refunds.
I appreciate your patience and understanding.
Thanks!
Craig D
The Google Support Team"
Despite the appalling grammar, I get that the message is - go away and don't ask again.
I wrote back to Google saying I will never buy from play store again, if that is their final stance. it goes without saying that that applies also to Beamdog
I will not knowingly spend with companies who give zero customer support and zero refunds
Of course not - rather, the anger and hatred that they're getting for some but not all of their products getting removed from one storefront is not even close to the anger and hatred they were getting when they had no viable revenue stream for almost a year (BGEE was in dire need of the pending patch that they couldn't push and they couldn't release BG2EE because Bankruptcy is a bitch for all involved, not just the debtor).
There's a simple phrase that seems to have been forgotten in this day and age. "Vote with your wallet." I get that you're out twenty or forty USD. I get that you're peeved because you paid for something and now you don't have it any more (damn you, Software-As-A-Service infrastructure).
If you're that upset, just stop doing business with them.
will the "developer" now please do as google say, instead of referring us back to google
I am through with waiting for the April- May- June_July fix. I want my money back please
"Thank you for replying.
In regard to your email, we can only provide refund for scenarios that are within our refund policies, there isn't a possibility to refund anything that isn't within the policies.
Concerns regarding refund in such scenarios where it is not possible for us to provide a refund you need to contact the developer as they need to look into such matters. As the app developer is the person who has complete control over the app, the decision to refund needs to be addressed by them.
I appreciate your patience and understanding.
Thanks!
Craig D
The Google Support Team
"