OS X Star Wars Empire at War

Shappaeye said:

After buying the game back in March this year from Game UK, I quickly realised there was bug when trying to load save games, making the game unplayable.

I contacted Aspyr, the creators, and they told me a fix was on its way but they couldn't tell me when. I left the game alone.

I recently revisited the issue and contacted Aspyr. The following was their official reply:

ssanders, Aug 19 11:15 am (CDT):
At the current time, we do not have any definite ETA on the release date of when the update will come. If you are subscribed to our newsletter or like our FB page, you will be notified of when the update goes live. At the current time, the only thing we can suggest is reselling your version of Empire at War on Amazon or eBay, and repurchasing the supported/updated version on the Appstore.

Thank you.
Aspyr Support

So sell a duff game to some poor unsuspecting soul just so you can buy it AGAIN but from the App Store which has the fixed version which is also compatible with 10.8.

I am shocked and amazed that Aspyr consider this advice and support.

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I think what you got there was somebody not qualified to be in their employ. I'm sure that screwing the unsuspecting on purpose is not the company line.

What a winner you got there in support though. Wow.

Shappaeye said:

So sell a duff game to some poor unsuspecting soul just so you can buy it AGAIN but from the App Store which has the fixed version which is also compatible with 10.8.

I am shocked and amazed that Aspyr consider this advice and support.

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I'm sorry your having issues with your version of EaW Shappaeye, but please lets be fair here...Aspyr did not sell you that copy of EaW, Game.uk did. So our mechanisms for supporting you in this particular situation are slim.

Game.Uk was informed (as were all retailers) to place a warning on their product page informing buyers that possible issues could arise with 10.7 and 10.8. I say "possible" because the bug you are experiencing is extremely rare, and strangely has to do with a font allocation involving 10.7 or 10.8 and Microsoft Word. After reviewing the product page on Game.uk, they dont even list the system requirements, which is VERY unfortunate.

I hope that our support agent also suggested you return the game to the retailer before resorting to the suggestion of a secondary market. Will Game.uk not give you a refund?

In the meantime, I am contacting Game.uk now to give them an ear full.

Shappaeye said:

Fair? I am amazed I didn't punch the screen when I read that pearl of wisdom.

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I meant fair to ssanders for doing what he could in the situation, because you began this thread by stating you were shocked he would give you that bit of advice. But seeing as how you thank him for his honesty, I think you understand where I am coming from and I hope we are now on the same page.

My specific point is, you purchased the original 2007 copy of Empire at War from Game.uk, who was instructed to place a warning about 10.7 and 10.8 on their site (they clearly did not). They should absolutely give you a refund. I have contacted them and informed them we will pull the product if they do not place the warning on the page.

Shappaeye said:

They have a patch which helps the 10.7 and 10.8 users but it isnt on general release and not going to be for the foreseeable future.

In this case, Aspyr launched a patch but only for people who had downloaded it via the Mac App Store. Isn't that discrimination?

What is the difference between the Mac App Store version and the version that us less unfortunate types bought?

Same price, same product?

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Same price, different product. In order for us to put EaW on the MacAppStore, the game had to be completely reworked to fit within their app guidelines. In this case, it was easy for us to open that code back up and fix that particular rare issue because we had just updated that code with all the new toolsets. Another difference between the versions is that the App Store version is LAN only multiplayer.

You are absolutely right that game companies should fix issues whenever possible. In deciding when to fix something, companies have to weigh the cost of fixing with the probability that the user base will experience the issue. In this case, that is less than 1%. So our next best option is to place a warning on the product page because it will cost us many thousands of dollars to rework the original version to fix an issue that less than 1% of the audience has.

I am very sorry that Game.uk did not follow our instructions. That would have prevented this whole situation. I'm honestly shocked that they will not give you a refund.

That all said, Aspyr does everything in our power to help gamers out, period. If Game.uk will not give you a refund for EaW, shoot me a PM and I will see what I can do to sort it out.

Shappaeye said:

Tried to PM you Aspyr-Blair but for some reason it won't let me.

I have also had another response from Game UK stating that the box picture on the Game website states Intel Macs only but nothing about 10.7 or 10.8.

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I tried to PM you too...hmm...just send me an email at work mblair@aspyr.com

That's an extremely frustrating response from them because all Mac since 2006 have been Intel Macs! Ugh...I'm pulling that product page. Keep bugging them on getting your money back because they need to. Email me at work and I will take care of EaW for you.

Aspyr-Blair said:

I'm sorry your having issues with your version of EaW Shappaeye, but please lets be fair here...Aspyr did not sell you that copy of EaW, Game.uk did. So our mechanisms for supporting you in this particular situation are slim.

Game.Uk was informed (as were all retailers) to place a warning on their product page informing buyers that possible issues could arise with 10.7 and 10.8. I say "possible" because the bug you are experiencing is extremely rare, and strangely has to do with a font allocation involving 10.7 or 10.8 and Microsoft Word. After reviewing the product page on Game.uk, they dont even list the system requirements, which is VERY unfortunate.

I hope that our support agent also suggested you return the game to the retailer before resorting to the suggestion of a secondary market. Will Game.uk not give you a refund?

In the meantime, I am contacting Game.uk now to give them an ear full.

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That is a pretty shoddy response. Aspyr can forget about me buying any of their releases if that is the way your company feels.

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Shappaeye said:

All sorted, thanks for your help Aspyr Blair.

I have learnt a valuable lesson with buying games for the Mac, App Store first and then read the requirements (although to be fair Game UK didn't actually list any requirements apart from 'Intel Macs only'.

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I actually make a point of not buying games on the App Store. I just don't have a high enough level of trust for it. I feel much safer buying from Steam.

If it isn't on Steam - I just don't buy it these days.

Sue De Nimes said:

I actually make a point of not buying games on the App Store. I just don't have a high enough level of trust for it.

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Why not?

Sue De Nimes said:

That is a pretty shoddy response. Aspyr can forget about me buying any of their releases if that is the way your company feels.

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I'm sorry you feel that way Sue. Maybe I worded it in a manner that might have come off wrong but I actually think its a very factual response to a very shoddy situation. I can't MAKE retailers like Game.uk follow our instructions, which is what caused this situation for the OP.

If you will read the rest of the conversation however, you will find that Shappaeye was kind enough to engage me, and together we were able to come up with a great solution for him. I am in the process of having Game.uk change the product page or remove it so that others wont have this issue and he was able to get his money back from Game. I think we both totally won here through a dialogue between gamers, which is what these forums are for.

Aspyr-Blair said:

I'm sorry you feel that way Sue. Maybe I worded it in a manner that might have come off wrong but I actually think its a very factual response to a very shoddy situation. I can't MAKE retailers like Game.uk follow our instructions, which is what caused this situation for the OP.

If you will read the rest of the conversation however, you will find that Shappaeye was kind enough to engage me, and together we were able to come up with a great solution for him. I am in the process of having Game.uk change the product page or remove it so that others wont have this issue and he was able to get his money back from Game. I think we both totally won here through a dialogue between gamers, which is what these forums are for.

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The whole attitude of "we will support the game if you buy it from the App Store and give you a patch. If you buy it retail then that is between you and the retailer. We won't support it"

Identifying a bug and patching it for the App Store version - well done. Not releasing a patch for a known issue and STILL selling it retail - poor form. Not supporting a product you continue to sell - inexcusable.

You can't make Game follow your instructions. I can't make you patch software with known bugs that you continue to sell. You can't make me buy any of your releases.

Dems the breaks.



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SingularityG said:

Why not?

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I just don't trust Apple to carry on supporting multiplayer infrastructure as long as Steam. I don't trust Apple not to prevent me from transferring my purchases to new machines indefinitely. Things like that.

I was sceptical of Steam when it first launched - what was that 10 years ago? Steam have earned my trust.

I also dislike the high prices on the App store.

Shappaeye said:

One thing I know for certain, you think we have it bad? Try using a Windows computer/laptop for a month after using a Macbook or iMac. We are the lucky ones.

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I use Windows on a regular basis and have no problems. I actually prefer Windows in a lot of ways.

I was thinking of getting the game but after reeding this discussion i will care with the requirements before getting it so i don't get a similar problem.

I had this same problem with loading saved games. On upgrade to El Capitan (OS X 10.11.1) I decided to try it again. My old saved games will still not load. BUT: a new game DID save and load successfully. It was a game in its early phases, but still...the DVD version may now work. That's what I have and I refused to pay for the same game twice. Interested to hear if anyone else had this experience. But perhaps everyone has moved on to the latest games.

They never came out with a mac version of the expansion, did they?

I must appreciate a Cristal clear revert from Aspyr-Blair. This is what I call as professionalism. Great Job Aspyr-Blair.