Interesting...
Might have to reDL Phillip for a bit of nostalgia.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Impulse and Gamestop
Once upon a time there was a digital distribution platform called Impulse, used just like Steam to sell and access games and other software, primarily that which was produce by Stardock. I used it for my Stardock related purchases, and was generally pleased with it as it caused me less hassle than Steam did, back in the day.
Then along came big, evil Gamestop in 2011 who decided that in order to compete in the modern games industry, they also needed a digital distribution platform given the increased profit margin when the physical copy of the game is taken out of the equation.
I had ceased using Impulse in about 2010 when I began to prefer Steam, given their amazingly awesome holiday sales.
Well, earlier this year I had a bit of nostalgia kick in and thought, rather than purchasing a copy of a game again on Steam, I should log back into Impulse to regain access to my games. I did not fully understand the ordeal that would ensue.
I search for the app, find out that it's owned by Gamestop now. Ok, no big deal. Download it, and try to log in.
Problem 1: Gamestop has managed to take what was once a fantastic download manager and make it slow, buggy, and unintuitive. It's amazing. If the US government designed a digital distribution platform, I imagine it would be something like this.
Problem 2: They're forcing me to merge my Impulse Account with my Gamestop Account.
Great. Fantastic. I don't have a Gamestop Account. Ok, fine, I'll create an account for the sole purpose of account merging. Accounts created, merged. It was a bit confusing, but with a little Googling it was done relatively pain free.
What is this? It kept my old email address associated with my Impulse account. I don't use that email address anymore. No problem, I'll just hop into account settings and change it, right?
Wrong.
Problem 3: Unlike every other reasonable login system used by every other digital everything on the face of the Earth, you can't change your password. The password you have is set.
Ok, fine. I'll contact customer service. The solution?
Create a separate account entirely, and we'll transfer your games between accounts.
Ok... fine. Fresh account created. Email them again. Games transferred. I'm starting to wonder if I really wanted to play those several year old games just for nostalgia, but I finally get in, enjoy them. Happiness ensues.
But of course, the saga continues.
Get my desktop back from the shop, download app on this computer, attempt to log in. I'm prompted to merge my PC Downloads account and my Gamestop Account. Ok... I didn't even realize they were separate. Go to the merger screen, type in email address password.
PC Downloads account can't verify.
Go to password reset page thinking, "Well, I might not even have an account here. If it send me a password reset, surely I do, and the question is moot." Sure enough, I do have an account, and my password is reset. So, I mosey back to account merger, enter information and.... same error.
After resetting both accounts passwords several times, I give up, and ask for help from the customer service. Again.
After being talked down to like an idiot and being told to complete all the steps I had already completed (before giving me the change to say so), he checks out my account.
Last Straw: Apparently there was an error in the merger that he can't resolve, and the only solution is to create a new account.
No thank you, Gamestop. You're now more trouble than you are worth. I can just wait for my Stardock games to go on sale at Steam, and save myself the trouble.
If you're going to try and compete with Steam, you actually need to be competitive. I won't cry when you file bankruptcy and shut down. Know how many account issues I've had with Steam in sixish years? Not a single one. Someone, somewhere (probably on the corporate level) needs a reality check.
Then along came big, evil Gamestop in 2011 who decided that in order to compete in the modern games industry, they also needed a digital distribution platform given the increased profit margin when the physical copy of the game is taken out of the equation.
I had ceased using Impulse in about 2010 when I began to prefer Steam, given their amazingly awesome holiday sales.
Well, earlier this year I had a bit of nostalgia kick in and thought, rather than purchasing a copy of a game again on Steam, I should log back into Impulse to regain access to my games. I did not fully understand the ordeal that would ensue.
I search for the app, find out that it's owned by Gamestop now. Ok, no big deal. Download it, and try to log in.
Problem 1: Gamestop has managed to take what was once a fantastic download manager and make it slow, buggy, and unintuitive. It's amazing. If the US government designed a digital distribution platform, I imagine it would be something like this.
Problem 2: They're forcing me to merge my Impulse Account with my Gamestop Account.
Great. Fantastic. I don't have a Gamestop Account. Ok, fine, I'll create an account for the sole purpose of account merging. Accounts created, merged. It was a bit confusing, but with a little Googling it was done relatively pain free.
What is this? It kept my old email address associated with my Impulse account. I don't use that email address anymore. No problem, I'll just hop into account settings and change it, right?
Wrong.
Problem 3: Unlike every other reasonable login system used by every other digital everything on the face of the Earth, you can't change your password. The password you have is set.
Ok, fine. I'll contact customer service. The solution?
Create a separate account entirely, and we'll transfer your games between accounts.
Ok... fine. Fresh account created. Email them again. Games transferred. I'm starting to wonder if I really wanted to play those several year old games just for nostalgia, but I finally get in, enjoy them. Happiness ensues.
But of course, the saga continues.
Get my desktop back from the shop, download app on this computer, attempt to log in. I'm prompted to merge my PC Downloads account and my Gamestop Account. Ok... I didn't even realize they were separate. Go to the merger screen, type in email address password.
PC Downloads account can't verify.
Go to password reset page thinking, "Well, I might not even have an account here. If it send me a password reset, surely I do, and the question is moot." Sure enough, I do have an account, and my password is reset. So, I mosey back to account merger, enter information and.... same error.
After resetting both accounts passwords several times, I give up, and ask for help from the customer service. Again.
After being talked down to like an idiot and being told to complete all the steps I had already completed (before giving me the change to say so), he checks out my account.
Last Straw: Apparently there was an error in the merger that he can't resolve, and the only solution is to create a new account.
No thank you, Gamestop. You're now more trouble than you are worth. I can just wait for my Stardock games to go on sale at Steam, and save myself the trouble.
If you're going to try and compete with Steam, you actually need to be competitive. I won't cry when you file bankruptcy and shut down. Know how many account issues I've had with Steam in sixish years? Not a single one. Someone, somewhere (probably on the corporate level) needs a reality check.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Too Many Cavalry...
I do believe a stronger hoplite phalanx would have fared better.
But it's still good to see that the AI is getting some buffs.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Dear Game Developers...
... unless playing a specifically stealth oriented game, no one likes stealth missions. Similarly, no one like escort quests. And please, for the love of all things good, please do not combine the two.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)