Twilight--No Box--False Advertising

Those that are around in this forum know that TA CD-version is only a CD in a slipcase, no retail box is available and i believe there is nothing planned for a retail box in the future.

I think you are absolutely right about the advertisement, i checked it again a minute ago, there is no hint if you buy it, that you do not get the box shown on the picture in the shop. It does say "digital download + cd" but noone who doesnt know it would assume you`ll get only a cd without a box/manual. At least stardock should include that information, otherwise it is just delusion.

Did your CD just arrive today? May 24. I've been waiting for mine and wasn't sure when they would be on their way.

I'm actually glad to see them avoid the waste of a shelf-oriented box for the discs. That oil and wood should go to durable goods or transportation.

But I agree that it was sloppy to leave a faux box shot lying around without ensuring that all paying customers were clearly informed they would receive just a disc in a sleeve.

I think it's a little more than "sloppy." I think it's genuinely deceptive. It makes me worry a bit about Stardock becoming corrupted, although they have always been so idealistic and admirable.

Everybody has a different setup. As for me, computer games have been my major hobby for more than 20 years, and I have lots of big bookshelves to hold the games I've kept (which I have rather elaborately organized). For a major game like Twilight of the Arnor, I want a BOX and a PRINTED MANUAL.

Brad Wardell, please respond here. I feel personally ripped off to a rather high degree. Send me the darn box you PROMISED ME on the screen where I placed my order.

And a printed manual too.

Well Stardock should inform a potential buyer that there is no box. That would be fair.
But I think it is better they put their money in games development than in nice and shiny boxes.

For Dark Avatar there was a downloadable cover for a cd case. I hope Stardock makes one for Twilight as well. How about it, Stardock?

It's a mockup image for the purpose of identifying the product in the listing. It was the same with DA a year ago.

There simply is no retail box. One was never made, as the game isn't going to retail, so there's nothing to give.

We've never hidden from anyone that the CD order is *just* a CD. Every person who's asked about it was plainly told exactly that, CD in a sleeve. The order pages simply say "CD". I'm sorry that you assumed it would be otherwise, and maybe it should have been more obvious, but there's really not much we can do to sate your desire for a retail box.

We will probably post a printable DVD case slip cover as we did with DA at some point, for those who want one.

kryo, I don't think that's right about DA a year ago, unless you're talking about the earliest release. I got DA in the retail Gold Edition box.

I'm not satisfied with this take-it-or-leave-it response. It isn't a "mockup image," unless you want to twist words like a crooked politician. It is a picture of a game box just like all the other GalCiv game boxes. CDs typically come in game boxes.

At a MINIMUM, you need to change your order page to say "CD (but no box)." I would probably have bought it anyway, but I wouldn't have felt ripped off when it arrived.

About four weeks ago, Sins of a Solar Empire permanently damaged my monitor, and Stardock refused to admit that the game could have anything to do with it. Now this. I still love GalCiv. I thought the DA campaign was one of the best computer games I ever played. But I'm starting to have some doubts.

DA-only orders got a CD in a sleeve, and still do.



It's an artist's rendering of what the box may look like if there was one, fake shadow, ESRB Rating Pending logo, and all. That's the definition of a box mockup if there ever was one. No such box actually exists.






LCD image persistence is neither permanent nor is it the fault of any particular software. It's going to happen on any display prone to it when you leave a static image on screen for extended periods. We went over that then, and you said yourself that it went away after leaving it off for several hours just as you were told it would.

I wrote to SD directly before about the product description back right after DA expansion. I too thought I'd be receiving a box and all just like I did with the first GalCiv2 package. I too would have ordered the game even if the game description was just "CD (no box included)".

FYI I always pre-ordered SD titles. But please in future, put the right package description with the product.

Wait, what? It permanently damaged your MONITOR? How is that physically possible? I've written programs designed to intentionally attempt to damage computer parts before, but fry the monitor? How? This, I want to know. Because I want one of those.

You:

1) claim to be an experienced PC user
2) claim that games can damage a monitor

And then say that the absence of a box in a package described as a "CD" is evidence of "corruption" of the morality of a company which is known exclusively for their dedication to customer support and production high-quality software.

*facepalm*

It should be stated more clearly, this same thing happened with DA and I'm a little surprised that in the wake of that TA wasn't marked better. I can't fathom why people care, personally, as the last thing I need is another PC box to store or toss, but there it is. Any regular SD customer, though, should really have already known TA wasn't getting a retail release, so of course there'd be no box or printed manual.

Funny thing happened the other day. I live in Phoenix, and it was 108 deg. outside. So I fiqured I'd chew a piece of Dentyne Ice and a sheet of ice would envelope me, a minor blizzard would show up and a really hot chick would pick up on me, and I would have a great day. It always happens that way in the ad right, and we know ads don't lead us on, truth in advertizing and all that. And yet, no ice, no blizzard and even worse no hot chick. Just one fat sweaty old me with crappy gum, and yet I never thought once to complain to Dentyne. Fact is boxes are a big waste of natural resouces, trees die, chemicals get used that poison everything, 99.9% of them are thrashed within minutes of being opened and they up the price of the game. Strangely enough, I never look at the manuels until I've played the game for a few weeks anyway. Much like life, it's live and learn. Sticks in the memory better that way. Learned to drive that way too. Pops din't stick any pamphlets in my hand or give me instructional videos, just took me to the country, put me behind the wheel and said, "drive". Burgers never come out of the wrapper all pretty and stacked well, they are lopsided, sloppy and look like crap. Man, all these years I've wasted enjoying what I had, when I could have been whining and bitching about unimportant crap. Tonight I'm gonna go to a bar, get a Budweiser, drink it, and see if I can walk through a wall or breath fire or is that just more eyecandy too?

My only problem with this response, Stardock, is that when one clicks on the shipping button prior to purchasing the game with the cd, it lists a $10 shipping fee for a "boxed retail game". I believe that I only paid $5 for the CD with DA; I was naturally curious why the TA would cost me $10 for the same privilege. After checking, I figured that the extra $5 reflected the more expensive "boxed retail game". You may want to consider what your shipping panel displays.

But you can not simply expect that people guess by themselves there is no box. "Every person who asked..." - How often you ordered something did you ask beforehand if the product really looks like the picture it is shown on? I`ll bet you didnt because it is the most normal reaction in the world to just assume it does look like the picture. But actually i believe you know that - and you know that many people will react like me, just buying the download version because without a box and a manual it may be considered not worth the additional money.

I do not know how it is in the US, but in germany it would be against the law to sell something this way. If you advertise something with a completely fictional picture, you`ll have to at least point that fact out or it will be considered deception, even by law.

Yep and when you check shipping rates:
"Retail Game Boxes:
US: USPS Priority Mail - $10-$15
International: USPS First Class - $20-25

Desktop Enhancement CDs:
US: USPS Priority Mail - $5-$7
International: USPS First Class - $20-$23 "

I take Desktop Enhancement CD's mean those programs you can also order.

What Game Boxes ?

Oh, and what if i now buy Dark Avatar and The Twilight of the Arnor, digital versions only, and (much) later wanna get those cd's too or can i burn those dl'led versions to cd's and install them later from those cd's ?

Then that label will need corrected, and I apologize for the confusion. But as I said, we don't have any such box to give.

You can back the download up as you choose for later installs.

kryo, I realize that the fact that Sins permanently damaged my monitor is not related to the false advertising about the TA box, but these are the only two annoyances I've had with Stardock, and both happened within the last month.

On the Sins forum, I did say that it appeared that the image persistence waned. However, I kept playing Sins for about another 10 days, and the burn marks have become permanent. They don't go away even if the monitor is left off for two days. With the proof in my face every day, I really don't care very much about your irrational insistence that what I see is impossible.

I'm glad that a few people have chimed in here to agree that the TA advertising is not right, and I hope you'll fix it. When you're wrong, the proper course of action is promptly to admit it and fix the problem. Your responses here, however, are a classic example of the wrong way to respond.

Played my first TA game today. Fascinating game. Too bad about the above.

Oh, and loondenhur, don't give up your day job for comedy.

You're free to contact sales for a refund.

Since the beginning we've always shipped expansion packs directly without a box.  Dark Avatar, Altarian Prophecy, and Twilight.  Let me put it this way: We have never shipped a box with an expansion pack ever in 15+ years.

"I realize that the fact that Sins permanently damaged my monitor"

It is impossible for a game to damage a monitor any more than any other software. You can search the internet for a program to damage a monitor, the only thing you'll find is a stuck pixel fixer which could theoretically cause pixels to stick if left on for too long. Don't blame the game just because you're using a Dell or whatever. The ability to actually DAMAGE hardware is a virus coder's dream, and yet you don't hear of viruses capable of doing so. Your complaint seemed silly but somewhat reasonable until you brought up that ridiculous claim.

Bruce: YOU are being irrational here, your screen burn has nothing to do with any piece of software

You left your screen on too long !! dont blame anyone else.

What the hell is with all the people here, crying about not getting a box, seriously dont you have anything more important to do than complain about a cardboard box,
Jesus its just a lump of pulped paper.

I believe i would be complaining as well if i would not had known that before. The advertising is just delusive, no one can see that before he gets his game, or before he has read it here in the forums.

SD,

at least you could update your online shop and add a note that points out, there is no box.