There is always a way around these things, you just need to be inventive.
Instead of selling a Pre-order for a game that is a long way from being released, why not sell a physical or digital token that people can own, which just so happens to also grant access to Legendary/Epic Fan/Normal Edition of Grim Dawn, such as a Signed Post Card or a “Premium Website Membership.”
As long as you can provide a physical or digital service you can claim that people are buying that, and not a pre-order for a game that is more than 20 days from release.
I doubt that Paypal or authorize.net would fall for a dummy item. A physical postcard requires a lettershop and might not be delivered. And a digital token is quite close to what we’ve been ranting about.
Another concern with that idea is that it comes across as sort of “scammy”.
The language would have to be something like “You are purchasing the rights to download a screenshot of the game, not the game itself. The actual game is not included in this purchase but will be available free for anyone who purchases the Grim Dawn screenshot.”
That sounds rather suspicious to me personally and I think it is likely some people would misunderstand the intention and feel like we were trying to pull something over on them.
So far as PayPal is concerned, I think they would almost certainly take objection to it. I think they would also perceive it as misleading.
In my mind, going down that path would call into question the legitimacy of everything we’re trying to do and seems best avoided. We thought about stuff like this but decided they were bad ideas.
I think the solution is to just talk to PayPal again after our money clears with 6 months of no charge-backs and see if they’d be willing to reinstate our account on some basis. Either that or we just wait until 20 days prior to the alpha, at which point there should no longer be a problem.
This is why going the route of a website subscription would seem like a better option.
IGN does it, access to beta’s and “free” game licenses, surely the same formula can be adapted to serve Grim Dawn.
Buy a Lifetime Fan, Epic or Legendary subscription to the Grim Dawn Website and receive exclusive screenshots, updates, perhaps the ability to add a custom forum title as well as access to the Grim Dawn Alpha/Beta and access to the full game on release.
Ok, so looking back at all that, while it seems far less scammy it does seem like a lot of work time and zots just to get around paypal being lame and probably not worth the effort.
@ Kluga, I dont know how the Australian banking system works but you might try looking into a pre-paid credit card, those things are great for on line shopping, and you can always put more money on it as you need it.
So i am thinking about getting the second step up of the preorder. But when is the estimated time of the game’s release? I know someone will say if i pay now, it will be sooner, but i’m just curious because i’m on a tighter gaming budget than normal. :undecided:
Ok, that’s sooner than I expected. I just hope they beat D3, or they will have some stiff competition. So i could assume beta would be out near the end of the year?
Hah, well, I don’t think the game will be out any earlier if you pre-order. If you’re on a tight budget you can always wait until we’re closer to the alpha / beta. Naturally it is more useful to have the contribution early in development but I expect a lot of people are on tight budgets these days and would be uneasy about contributing so far in advance. Totally understandable.
That said, our timeline is kind of unpredictable currently based on our mode of ultra-indie operation where several people are working other jobs during the day (the ones where they actually make money lol). Hopefully we’ll start the Alpha early next year and maybe release by mid-year. It all depends on what happens between now and then.
I’m not too worried about D3 since, based on everything I’ve heard, it sounds like 2012 is the earliest we can expect it. If Blizzard surprises us with an early release, well, lets just say I’ll have mixed feelings about that… :undecided:
They mentioned awhile back around jan that they have the fund to complete the game, this extra support is for “extra” content that they can add on top. I’m guessing more music tracks, voice overs, an extra contractor or two to help speed things up?
I preordered a legendary key to support you and your game (january) but I changed my email account and the old one is no longer available (and it is locked). I’ll have problems when the game will be ready and released for downloads? Thanks and keep going, we all want to play this game asap!