Please don`t pre-order.

[Teproc]

Just pred-ordered because of the GMG deal, and also because it looks like the map variety in the base game is a little underwhelming. I love having a huge variety of maps available to me, so the Exoplanets pack really does make a difference in my case.

 

[PhilBowles]

Just pred-ordered because of the GMG deal, and also because it looks like the map variety in the base game is a little underwhelming. I love having a huge variety of maps available to me, so the Exoplanets pack really does make a difference in my case.

What am I missing about the 'GMG deal'? I just looked up the site (not recognising the acronym) and it seems to be the same $49.99 shown on Steam as the game's standard retail price - no indication that there's a discount.

 

[Lord Shadow]

What am I missing about the 'GMG deal'? I just looked up the site (not recognising the acronym) and it seems to be the same $49.99 shown on Steam as the game's standard retail price - no indication that there's a discount.

The discount is only apparent if you enter a certain voucher code during the purchase process.

Said code was posted in another thread: GMG250-FFSELE-CTED00

 

[PhilBowles]

The discount is only apparent if you enter a certain voucher code during the purchase process.

Said code was posted in another thread: GMG250-FFSELE-CTED00

Ah, thanks.

Best,
Phil

 

[Double A]

Which is erroneous. If you can get the game cheaper than at launch, certainly go for it - but then that same consideration applies to getting the game at any point post-launch before it's first on sale; whether you pre-order it or get it two days after release makes no difference, and usually games offer a small discount for pre-orders which makes them cheaper than they would be for some months afterwards (Rome 2 did this, for example).

As for waiting until it's patched up, again this applies to day of release and later, but beyond that it makes the false (and frankly bizarre) assumption that somehow, if you preorder the game, you won't benefit from the same patches as everyone else. Anyone who preordered Rome 2, for example, is playing the same game today for no greater financial outlay than someone who bought it yesterday, since the game's base price now is no lower than it was at release.

Of course, if the game is bugged at release the player may be put off trying it again post-patches, but that's their choice and again has nothing to do with preordering.

And yet I'm still going to save like $35 by waiting, and my delicate eyes won't be beset by the harsh realities of an earlier build.

 

[rastak]

And yet I'm still going to save like $35 by waiting, and my delicate eyes won't be beset by the harsh realities of an earlier build.

Save the whole enchilada by not buying it at all! I mean if money is the main issue you could probably save loads by not buying any games regardless of their state. Not trolling, merely saying that saving a couple of coins seems all important here. I know I wish I'd quit buying $5 games on steam sales I will never play.

 

[Double A]

Save the whole enchilada by not buying it at all! I mean if money is the main issue you could probably save loads by not buying any games regardless of their state. Not trolling, merely saying that saving a couple of coins seems all important here. I know I wish I'd quit buying $5 games on steam sales I will never play.

I've finally managed to cut back on excessive steam binging, but I still want to play most of the 250+ games I own but haven't really touched.

 

[rastak]

I've finally managed to cut back on excessive steam binging, but I still want to play most of the 250+ games I own but haven't really touched.

I'm thinking of giving up on that pipe dream. I have 173 and I really wish I could get motivated to play a bunch of them. That won't be an issue with BE.

 

[PhilBowles]

And yet I'm still going to save like $35 by waiting, and my delicate eyes won't be beset by the harsh realities of an earlier build.

If you wait a year or two, perhaps, but you're not going to get a better deal than the pre-order 25% much before then. And people sufficiently uninterested in the game at the release price to wait a year to buy it aren't going to be pre-ordering it anyway, so the point is irrelevant. You can get any game cheap by waiting, and as I mentioned it's not going to be any cheaper or any more recent a build a month after release than as a pre-order.

There's nothing there that argues against pre-orders as opposed to arguing against buying new games in general. Buy on release day, you get to enjoy all the same bugs at a higher price and without even the mediocre freebies offered on pre-orders. Which of course argues in favour of pre-ordering if you're interested in getting the game at any point before it's likely to be included in a sale.

 

[Double A]

I'm thinking of giving up on that pipe dream. I have 173 and I really wish I could get motivated to play a bunch of them.

Fighting spirit.

If you wait a year or two, perhaps, but you're not going to get a better deal than the pre-order 25% much before then. And people sufficiently uninterested in the game at the release price to wait a year to buy it aren't going to be pre-ordering it anyway, so the point is irrelevant. You can get any game cheap by waiting, and as I mentioned it's not going to be any cheaper or any more recent a build a month after release than as a pre-order.

There's nothing there that argues against pre-orders as opposed to arguing against buying new games in general. Buy on release day, you get to enjoy all the same bugs at a higher price and without even the mediocre freebies offered on pre-orders. Which of course argues in favour of pre-ordering if you're interested in getting the game at any point before it's likely to be included in a sale.

I just feel compelled to point out that another, cheaper option exists at essentially all times.

 

[Barathor]

Beyond Earth has been on the Steam's Top Sellers List since it became available for pre-order, and right now, it's #1. Sorry, OP.

 

[wgene]

To be fair to Firaxis most of the games at launch are playable despite the bugs. However with RTW2 it was broken from launch and unplayable and it was unplayable for some time. CA knew the game was broken because they had a technical team working 24/7 for two weeks. The game was still in Alpha at launch and wasn't worth the asking price. Then we have the misleading and false marketing of the game.

The game is up to its 14th patch and it still isn't fixed.

Also Firaxis listen to the gamers and generally fix problems or add features to the game via a patch or expansion. However CA don't listen to there gamers which will be there downfall on the next game realse.

 

[sherbz]

Talking about Civ releases in general:

Civ 5 was fairly poor at release IMO. It was worse than most of the other titles. People think warfare is still a bit dodgy and the AI cant play it. I can remember back to the honor - horseman rush. Which was basically totally broken and had me beating deity right off the bat, which surely shouldnt have been happening. I think one of the main problems was that 1UPT was a totally and radically new system. Hence the game and AI were always going to be on slightly dodgy ground. I think with strategy titles, you have to wait when new systems are introduced until they get refined and improved over time. IMO the best advance civ 5 made was in G+K when they timesed hitpoints by something like 100%. In vanilla everything was too flimsy. But anyway, now at BNW, civ 5 is a proper strategy title and worthy of the name. It just took a while to get there.

Civ IV experienced similar problems to 5. Vanilla civ 4 was very buggy, very slow, and also players suffered from having a radically new system to learn (city spam to begin with was non viable until the advent of the specialist and cottage based economies). Again, a couple of expansion packs later and civ 4 is arguably the best in the series (it is IMO).

As for BE, i would be disappointed if it is really buggy and unplayable. This is because it is essentially built on top of the Civ 5 engine. In the 2 examples above, the developers had invented new systems of playing, so im willing to be a lot less harsh in how the vanilla versions were initially released. This isnt so in BE because the core game mechanics like 1UPT, culture etc are essentially the same. I might expect some alien rebalancing though, which will probably be done in an expansion pack.

Firaxis are quite good at listening to their fan base. Certainly better than most other developers. They are also keen on opening up their games to modders which i like.

I would never pre order a game that has anything to do with EA. And although i never actually pre ordered it, i can see exactly why people who pre ordered Rome 2 feel like they have had their fingers burned and are unceratin about doing so again. I think in the case of BE though, people should be alright in trusting Firaxis because essentially it is quite a safe title as its built on top of civ 5.

 

[PhilBowles]

To be fair to Firaxis most of the games at launch are playable despite the bugs. However with RTW2 it was broken from launch and unplayable and it was unplayable for some time. CA knew the game was broken because they had a technical team working 24/7 for two weeks. The game was still in Alpha at launch and wasn't worth the asking price. Then we have the misleading and false marketing of the game.

The game is up to its 14th patch and it still isn't fixed.

There are two issues with Rome 2. The first is that it was broken at release. The second is that it's not a terribly good game. Yes, the first has been fixed 14 patches in (and for some time previously). No, the latter hasn't and won't be. Not every problem with a game can be blamed on its bugs, and not every game is going to be good.

Rome 2 can be a cautionary tale about buying a game at or before release, but it's not typical. I wasn't put off buying games shortly after release by my experience with Master of Orion 3 any more than I was prompted to always buy games at release by my positive experience with the original UFO. Similarly, I made a bad call pre-ordering R2 but it doesn't follow that Beyond Earth will be a disappointment.

 

[Sid]

For the first time in thirteen years, I will pass on a Civ game until some sanity comes to the pricing. I blame 2K and this money-grabbing tactic ($107NZ now):
http://nzgamer.com/news/8067/civilization-beyond-earth-gets-an-80-steam-price-hike.html

 

[PhilBowles]

For the first time in thirteen years, I will pass on a Civ game until some sanity comes to the pricing. I blame 2K and this money-grabbing tactic ($107NZ now):
http://nzgamer.com/news/8067/civilization-beyond-earth-gets-an-80-steam-price-hike.html

Ouch. The standard retail price in the US was enough to give me pause - I did pre-order in the end, but only because the Green Man discount brought it close to an acceptable price. I think it will actually be the first Civ game I've bought at release (expansions excluded) since at least Civ III, possibly Civ II.

 

[Lord Shadow]

For the first time in thirteen years, I will pass on a Civ game until some sanity comes to the pricing. I blame 2K and this money-grabbing tactic ($107NZ now):
http://nzgamer.com/news/8067/civilization-beyond-earth-gets-an-80-steam-price-hike.html

Try OzGameShop or Green Man Gaming (look around for the 25% discount voucher code too) to circumvent that.

The mad price hike is unlikely to be 2K's fault, but rather a form of protection for greedy retail stores. I've heard it's a common business practice at least in Australia.

 

[wgene]

Try OzGameShop or Green Man Gaming (look around for the 25% discount voucher code too) to circumvent that.

The mad price hike is unlikely to be 2K's fault, but rather a form of protection for greedy retail stores. I've heard it's a common business practice at least in Australia.

I disagree it is 2K who are jacking up the prices in ANZ. 2K stopped Amazon downloads for ANZ because of the low price. I also believe that 2K spoke to GMG.

If you use VPN and use a Australian server you will see a different price for ANZ at GMG and Steam.

 

[wgene]

For the first time in thirteen years, I will pass on a Civ game until some sanity comes to the pricing. I blame 2K and this money-grabbing tactic ($107NZ now):
http://nzgamer.com/news/8067/civilization-beyond-earth-gets-an-80-steam-price-hike.html

Try this Nuuvem $46.00AU Sigh it is region locked.
http://www.nuuvem.com.br/

 

[Sid]

Thanks for the suggestions. However, I will pass unless I get a financial windfall. Steam has me stitched up due to dual Mac/PC play (I tend to play on the BootCamp side of my Mac). I think it's a combination of 2K and Steam marketing departments. As much as I want to try this new version of SMAC/X, this gouging is ridiculous.