Am I alone in this....?

daylight01

I think this is all a bit strange,The pre-order is announced but it wont have the game client(that will have to be downloaded) but it does come with a CD of 60 mins of pirate music.Dont get me wrong I am all for the whole pirate scene but cant we just please ourself if we want a pirate music CD and we get the game client in the box.I am pretty sure once I have played that CD 4 times will D/L the game client it will be heading for the bin(altough I reackon the wife would have smashed it after the 1st 10 mins).Also with no release date for the game we could end up buying the pre-order and have it a couple of months before we can actually play(or am I misiing something,plz correct me if I am).

Strange days we live in if the above is all correct.

Is the same as going to pick up your new car,Them saying "it`s not ready yet but here is some driving music CD to listen too"

they show up with your car later that day and say"we will send the keys so you can drive it soon"

kovah

Originally posted by daylight01


I think this is all a bit strange,The pre-order is announced but it wont have the game client(that will have to be downloaded) but it does come with a CD of 60 mins of pirate music.Dont get me wrong I am all for the whole pirate scene but cant we just please ourself if we want a pirate music CD and we get the game client in the box.I am pretty sure once I have played that CD 4 times will D/L the game client it will be heading for the bin.Also with no release date for the game we could end up buying the pre-order and have it a couple of months before we can actually play(or am I misiing something,plz correct me if I am).
Strange days we live in if the above is all correct.
Is the same as going to pick up your new car,Them saying "it`s not ready yet but here is some driving music CD to listen too"
they show up with your car and say"we will send the keys so you can drive it soon"

It's an online game.  Putting the client on the cd, while kinda nice, doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  After 1 week it will be outdated as they will be releasing updates/patches that will have to be downloaded anyway.  Yes, having the core client on the CD could save you a little bit of time when we are talking about your first time playing but really, were talking what, an hour or two tops?  I feel ya man but I don't think it's that big of a deal.

Pirate music?  Well, I could do without that myself.  Prolly wouldn't ever play it tbh.

Your questions about the pre-order are silly though, that applies to ANY pre-order for ANY game.  The general rule with pre-orders is... DON'T.  (imo)

Daveman424

As long as they allow you to download the client a few days before the Pre-Boarding Party actually begins, there shouldn't be any issues. Just so long as all preorder people get to start at the same time.

 

And never forget the free parrot!

Bodysnatcher

I am extremely pumped for this game. With that being said I think if you pre-order a game with no real release date then you are setting yourself up.  No one gets my money without a product. Whether thats downloading of the site or buying a box. With no product  no cash from me. I understand this is something a lot of games do but just because they all do it doesn't make it right.  There is no reason for a game to do this without a hard ship date, if they have a ship date then forgive me my pessimism.

Daveman424

Originally posted by Bodysnatcher


I am extremely pumped for this game. With that being said I think if you pre-order a game with no real release date then you are setting yourself up.  No one gets my money without a product. Whether thats downloading of the site or buying a box. With no product  no cash from me. I understand this is something a lot of games do but just because they all do it doesn't make it right.  There is no reason for a game to do this without a hard ship date, if they have a ship date then forgive me my pessimism.

I agree. Besides developers getting a bit greedy and wanting their money early, retailers are even worse. Places like EB Games/Gamestop try and push preorders for games that don't even have a release date yet (a la PotBS). Their goal, of course, is to keep you coming back, which makes sense economically, but it's ridiculous, because consumers are paying money for something that doesn't physically exist yet. Plus, there are those cases where you preorder something, and there aren't enough when they release (i.e. Wii, Xbox 360, PS3), so your preorder didn't help anyway. I wanted to get a Wii really badly, but I held back preordering, since I knew supply wasn't going to offset demand. And within a week of coming home from school, I found an EB Games that had a Wii in stock. It's not a big deal to buy on launch day. Unless you want that free parrot, of course. And those 15 extra days.

Silax

The devs have said expect them to announce a launch date next week.

Also, although the CD might not be interesting to you, there is the "boarding party" that you get with the Pre-order, allowing you to play up to 15 days in advance of the launch of the game.  There is a level 20 cap but it will carry over when the launch happens, so you won't have to remake your character.

I imagine that feature alone will make alot of people willing to put money down for the pre-order if they are excited about the game in the first place.  Then again, if you are not the person who likes pre-orders, why bother talking about them?

Bodysnatcher

The whole point here is until they release a date they stick to (June 07 anyone?) whats the point? I am not against getting the game once it is actually finished or at least being shipped for release. Once again I WILL BUY this game but i will not buy a pre-order a year before the game comes out.  What is that? It will not take a year?  Well then tell me when.  Once we see a hard ship date then I hope FLS accepts my apologize but until then I will be busy selling products that for all intents and purposes doesn't exist.

daylight01

Originally posted by Silax


The devs have said expect them to announce a launch date next week.
Also, although the CD might not be interesting to you, there is the "boarding party" that you get with the Pre-order, allowing you to play up to 15 days in advance of the launch of the game.  There is a level 20 cap but it will carry over when the launch happens, so you won't have to remake your character.
I imagine that feature alone will make alot of people willing to put money down for the pre-order if they are excited about the game in the first place.  Then again, if you are not the person who likes pre-orders, why bother talking about them?

I think you missed the point of my post,This has nothing to do with if you are for or against pre-order releases,The point I was making is you are buying something to to go home then d/l the game client that you wont be able to play.I have bought pre-orders in the past and maybe will again,Lotr I did buy if I remember right came out on the friday and was meant to open on the saturday but they openned the server`s late on the friday night,So you could play the day the pre-order was released or very close to it,Though FLS hasnt announced open beta or a release date yet but you can get the pre-order on the 23rd I just find it all a bit strange like someone else said your are paying for something that for all purposes doesnt exsist yet or cant`t be used yet,Plz see the new car line for more details

mad_webbie

I agree to Bodysnatcher and to anyone who think it's silly to just nod and bow to FLS pre-order schemes. Yeah, I know it doesn't matter if there's a cd containing the game inside the box or not but with no hard release date yet, I think that's a lot of bs.

Dremac

I've never understood why gaming companies put soundtracks of their game as special features for any reason let alone as a pre-order gimmick. 

Really, all I want is a release date.  I don't know why anyone would be foolish enough to buy a pre-order without a solid release dates.                 

seldin

well how many games really release anywhere near the the release dates they give, especially mmo's. They ca ngive ya arelease date but would probably change.  plus i believe they do the preorders as well to see what kind of demand there is for the game so they can alot for enough servers to run the game.  Seems to me if ya plan on playing anyone what diference would it make to preorder? just my opinion though.

Scriar

Whats strange about it a preorder is just a placeholder so you can guaranty yourself a copy of a game on release day rather than have to wait for the second third or forth batches depending on popularity of the game to be sent.

RickSaada

Realistically, buying the preorder doesn't get FLS any money before we ship.  What with the various accounting delays and payment schedules between retailers & publishers it takes a while for money to filter down to the game studio.  The real reason why pre-orders are a big deal is that it gives both retailers and us a gauge of interest. 

Retailers use presale information to figure out how many copies of the real game to order.  The more presales the more sell in to the retail channel you can get.  And ironically that often becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.  If you get a large sell in and the store personnel are pumped about your game and think it will be a hit, they push it more and it has a chance to become one.  If  you only manage to sell in a few boxes, even if they all sell out it takes a long time to get stores to reorder.  This can artificially cap your initial population, which no game wants to do.  One of the big advantages of our signing with Sony is that they are far more able to convince Best Buy, EB Games, etc to carry large numbers of boxes than any independant could ever be.

In our case, we get a clue of how much hardware we need to have ready to go on day one.  Nobody wants to be massively overbought and pay the lease on empty machines.  Plus it leads to the autoassault problem of distributing your customer base so thinly that they're all empty.  Nor do you want to be swamped as WoW was and have angry customers who bought your game and can't play.   Presales are the best gauge we have (imprecise though they are) as to where we need to be. 

As for the included chotchkys, that's just a bonus for people who are willing to show their commitment to the game (and faith in us) up front.  The music CD is the in-game music, and much of it is quite lovely.  I've been playing it in my car and the composers did a great job with piratey feel and with writing themes for the different nations.  And really, who doesn't want a parrot?

Rick Saada - FLS Dev & EPFBM

P.S.  You will have a firm release date before the Presale boxes hit the shelves, so you'll know how long the wait will be.

Bodysnatcher

See this is what I meant. He has said a release date will be announced BEFORE the pre-orders are available. Thanks for the clarity.

Score one for FLS.

BROKGUITAR

The problem I see is people are so eager to play the game the try a demise its launch. Just wait like everyone else! Everyone talking about launch and the game before it comes out is positive and negative. It let's people know of the game that haven't heard but the people who know already know get pessimistic. Just wait like us all!

AgtSmith

 

Originally posted by RickSaada


Realistically, buying the preorder doesn't get FLS any money before we ship.  What with the various accounting delays and payment schedules between retailers & publishers it takes a while for money to filter down to the game studio.  The real reason why pre-orders are a big deal is that it gives both retailers and us a gauge of interest. 
Retailers use presale information to figure out how many copies of the real game to order.  The more presales the more sell in to the retail channel you can get.  And ironically that often becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.  If you get a large sell in and the store personnel are pumped about your game and think it will be a hit, they push it more and it has a chance to become one.  If  you only manage to sell in a few boxes, even if they all sell out it takes a long time to get stores to reorder.  This can artificially cap your initial population, which no game wants to do.  One of the big advantages of our signing with Sony is that they are far more able to convince Best Buy, EB Games, etc to carry large numbers of boxes than any independant could ever be.
In our case, we get a clue of how much hardware we need to have ready to go on day one.  Nobody wants to be massively overbought and pay the lease on empty machines.  Plus it leads to the autoassault problem of distributing your customer base so thinly that they're all empty.  Nor do you want to be swamped as WoW was and have angry customers who bought your game and can't play.   Presales are the best gauge we have (imprecise though they are) as to where we need to be. 
 

 

QFT.

 

Think about it - $5 or $10 for a box that had to be created, shipped, and stocked - no profit in that.  It is a tool for gauging demand as well as for promoting the game in so far as a pre-order amps up the anticipation.  With MMOs these days it also servers as a good qualifier on the early access so many games seem to have - call it a demo if you will.

 

Originally posted by RickSaada


The music CD is the in-game music, and much of it is quite lovely.  I've been playing it in my car and the composers did a great job with piratey feel and with writing themes for the different nations.

 

Me thinks Rick really needs a vacation, really.

Samuraisword

It's foolish to preorder without a concrete release date and even if the developer announces one, they delay them too often than not.

It's foolish to preorder before the NDA has been lifted, so you can hear from those who have closed beta tested.

It's foolish to preorder before having tried the game yourself, beta or free trial.

Conclusion: NEVER PREORDER.

hazmats

---

Originally posted by Samuraisword
It's foolish to preorder without a concrete release date and even if the developer announces one, they delay them too often than not.
It's foolish to preorder before the NDA has been lifted, so you can hear from those who have closed beta tested.
It's foolish to preorder before having tried the game yourself, beta or free trial.
Conclusion: NEVER PREORDER.

---

1. Rusty and other FLS have said that the release date WILL be known before the pre-order release date. Rusty has mentioned that it could be known next week (first week of October)

2. No Idea when the NDA will be lifted, but I agree. It needs to be before the pre-order, as frankly that is shady business. And if it isn't, I assume you can always cancel the pre-order? Not sure because I generally never pre-order

3. Supposedly there will be a 'restricted' open beta. We'll see.

Also: Keep in mind, you don't have the buy the pre-order on Oct. 23. Wait until you hear and know what you want to know, then go and buy it.

Channce

I wont pre order until a release date is known.  To me the only reason to buy in-store is to get a box, which I toss out anyhow, I will DL.

Gozzar

Originally posted by kovah


 
Originally posted by daylight01


I think this is all a bit strange,The pre-order is announced but it wont have the game client(that will have to be downloaded) but it does come with a CD of 60 mins of pirate music.Dont get me wrong I am all for the whole pirate scene but cant we just please ourself if we want a pirate music CD and we get the game client in the box.I am pretty sure once I have played that CD 4 times will D/L the game client it will be heading for the bin.Also with no release date for the game we could end up buying the pre-order and have it a couple of months before we can actually play(or am I misiing something,plz correct me if I am).
Strange days we live in if the above is all correct.
Is the same as going to pick up your new car,Them saying "it`s not ready yet but here is some driving music CD to listen too"
they show up with your car and say"we will send the keys so you can drive it soon"

It's an online game.  Putting the client on the cd, while kinda nice, doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  After 1 week it will be outdated as they will be releasing updates/patches that will have to be downloaded anyway.  Yes, having the core client on the CD could save you a little bit of time when we are talking about your first time playing but really, were talking what, an hour or two tops?  I feel ya man but I don't think it's that big of a deal.

 

Pirate music?  Well, I could do without that myself.  Prolly wouldn't ever play it tbh.

Your questions about the pre-order are silly though, that applies to ANY pre-order for ANY game.  The general rule with pre-orders is... DON'T.  (imo)

now thats just stupid... I want my game on a disc, so I dont have to dl.. god knows how many gigs of game.. if I get the client on disc,I only have to patch it some 100 mb at most... think before you write thank you.

Motorhead

Bring on me parrot  !!    

RickSaada

Our intent is to have frozen art, sound, and content assets before any disks are duplicated.  While we expect to have to patch code or small files on launch day, our goal is to have most of the huge pieces frozen so they don't need to be downloaded.  Nobody wants a gigabyte patch before they can play.  So people with boxed versions will be ahead of the game that way.  I'm not clear on our plans for downloadable distribution (not my area), but it will certainly be faster to spin the bits off a DVD than over the wire.

Rick Saada - FLS Dev & EPFBM

trozyxxx

Originally posted by Motorhead


Bring on me parrot  !!    

just giggled out loud thinking of monty pythons dead parrot skit

Do we get free game time for a dead parrot?