He's a pirate. He does not have a legal copy of the game and is complaining because he cant get the pirated beta copy to work correctly and he thinks stardock owes him something. He is just trying to stir up trouble and rip off anyone he can by putting up the "boo hoo" sob story. Ignore him and he will disappear to another site to complain about something else.

lol First thing I thought when I started reading this thread was "schalista" or however you spell his name.

It actually doesn't say anywhere that you wanted to talk to anyone. You just pasted the email you got from MeliBee and then flamed Stardock. If you were interested in talking, you first would've needed to ask a question for them to answer, which pretty obviously wasn't your intention.

All I know is that if I actually wanted to return this game (you can pry it from my cold dead hands)...requiring all that stuff would limit the vast majority of LEGIT buyers.  I can understand his frustration.  I have so many damned games I never keep the boxes, let alone receipts for any amount of time.   If Stardock wants their "return" policy to hold any weight with gamers they should accept retail disc only...couldn't they block that disc's activation code from online play...then it would be no different from all the other pirates.  I doubt many people would go to the trouble to buy, play, return, then continuing to play.  I mean who would go to the trouble when they could just download pirated version for free to begin with.

The OP's post was rather charming as well, don't you think? It goes both ways, after all.

I think the support policy of allowing returns of software is amazing in and of itself.  Who cares if they want you to pay the shipping?  What company even allows you to return the game, much less return the game AND pays your shipping?  Oh, AND has a DRM-free product, so you can buy it, copy it, and return it if you were so devious...  Granted, they may detach the key from your impulse account so you can't play online, but still it's a pretty amazing policy and there are absolutely no grounds for complaint from anyone sensible...

What exactly do you think they're going to do with a used box?  If it were of value to them, or could introduce a possibility for scamming I could understand...otherwise its just a reason for them to refuse a return.

I know you didn't ask, but I had to comment. Demigod is an online multiplayer game. The internet combined with anonymity allows certain personality traits to become dominant. A small community can curb behaviors and personalities. But as a community grows, just like civilizations, they take on personas of their own. Now, assuming Frogboy is chief of the community, certain descisions are made.

Obviously the initial post was a simple complaint with no real direction or goal. It was a cry for attention, nothing more. If the forum were heavily moderated, it should have been locked and the customer service reps should have been responsible for dealing with it. Since the forums are not heavily policed, the community has to choices. Ignore a poster who has made multiple troll topics or have some fun.

It's easy to take the high road. "This is not how we should act." But then, there needs to be set law and order for such ideals to be upheld and they need to be weighed against different values. A small example: does one defend the troll who appears to not be an asset to the company, or the rabid legions of bullies who promote and defend the game. Ideally, both, but if a stronger "police" force becomes involved, it comes down to choosing a side, one way or another.

Or, one could sit back, and let the community form. Which, it has been. The community has continually put announcements out about the known game problems. They've even had people that have formed methods to get around these problems. This user does not seem to be trying to solve the problem. Merely venting or pawing for attention.

Personally, I say let the community members have some fun as long as they're not being horrendous or breaking any laws.

Working for a retail company and studying a business, you have to weigh the value versus cost. Returning the game, the company is losing $40 and likely a customer already. On top of that, they're to lose an additional $3 shipping and $10 for the boxing. Now they must rebox (at additional cost.) Now that $13 additional dollars is not a problem when it's one person. Now factor in thousands. Now add my original commentary, what if the game box was stolen? When if the game was bought over a year ago? Are you saying that if you stole the game and don't like it, you should get your money back? Are you saying after playing the game for a whole year, now that you're done, you should get your money back?

That's the reason for those policies. Some places will break it to be nice every now and again but logically speaking, it's a practical and reasonable business decision.

While "good riddance" sorts of comments are in poor taste and are better left out if that's all someone's got to say, people complaining of being lambasted need to take some responsibility for their own tone as well. You can't claim innocence when you've provoked others to begin with (by whatever means... for some, that includes insulting us). You can't demand civility from others without practicing it yourself.

In any case, the return policy is the same as it's been and is the same if not more genrous than most. Is it really so much to ask that someone return the entire product (and a record of what they paid for it) to get a refund? Without a receipt, someone could easily have bought the game on sale or by store reward points, etc, and they'd actually be turning a profit at our expense through the return process if we just automatically issue a check for MSRP.

Ok, I rest my case on receipt, that definately makes sense.  Box, I don't think so, but disc and receipt should be required.

Nothing to do with design team. It's marketing. They now have a CD that is wortheless. So they wasted money manufactering the product, packing it, shipping it out to retailers, only to give money back, pay for shipping and for what boils down to them having a worthless disc. At least with full packaging, it has the possibility of being resold as used.

I choose the theft and time route. Stardock employee goes with sale route. There he listens.