When Can I play?

I just pledged ninety bucks only to find out I cant actually play the game. When can I play and for how long before it gets shut down again?

I literally had my guild on vent going through the process of getting them pledged while I was downloading the game. When I couldnt actually play I told them all never mind dont waste their time or money and they went back to playing minecraft.

 

Welcome mburnette
Now only 3 days until Release 9!
https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=35475

 

Ok I spent 90 dollars to play 4 days a month?

Anyone know how I can get a refund?

This is a bit of a misrepresentation.

 

mburnette we are not playing a game right now. We are testing a game. Its in Pre alpha. As far as a refund there isn't one. You can sell your account though.

 

So you test it without playing? How does that happen?

 

It is as with many games limited testing windows at this early point in development.
As said above it is pre-alpha so they still have only limited focused testing times.

I am sure that will change as we move through the development process.

I would say if you signed on for $90 without doing just a little research it might be best if you sell your account on the forums here.
Though I do hope that you will stick around and be a part of the development process.

Good luck!

 

No, it's not.... The game is currently in pre alpha phase , with monthly test windows , when the game moves on to the next stage more play time will be available... I think I may have read somewhere by the end of the year the servers should be up most of the time with out many character wipes. You can always come back when the game has launched

 

Sorry you are disappointed Mburnette. We are the lucky ones right now, getting to shape the way this game will go. More towards the end of the year is when they say the game will stay open for longer periods. You wouldn't want to play this game ongoing right now, well why since you will be missing so many of the wonderful features that are not yet in-game. Combat and PVP just barely got in tho it is a consensual game play just to iterate. This happens in all games getting developed. Pre alpha (which we are in), alpha, etc to beta when all features are in. You are in a game being developed, not a finished game by any means. Most games don't show you the game this early, Lord British aka Richard Garriott is doing something different, developing the game we want to play with our feed back. Welcome and I hope you will stay, or if you do not wish to you can try to sell your account on the marketplace when you click on 'forums' go down to that choice. ***cheers to you***

 

You can play whenever you want and as much as you want when the game is released. Until then you're limited to the testing windows like everyone else. The refund policy is pledges aren't refundable.

 

Just me, but I would have at least read a bit before I dumped $90 into something. Or anything.

 

It's going to be hard to sell your pledge for what you paid, given that it doesn't include any Founder benefits. Anyone can pay $90 directly to Portalarium and get the same package right now, hassle-free. And, as others have mentioned, pledges aren't refundable. That money is already being used for development purposes (payroll, equipment, rent, etc.).

If you're REALLY that aggravated with the game, I'll make you an offer: I'll pay you $40 for your $90 pledge. You won't get all of your money back, but you'll get some of your money back, and I will forward your pledge to another player who will use and appreciate it (probably with some of my own money thrown in for good measure). It's not a bad deal if you're that serious about your buyer's remorse.

Think it over, and if you want to accept my offer, contact me on the forums via a private message. We can then contact Lord Andernaut, the resident pledge-broker for the community, and finalize things. Then you'll have some of your money back, and I can help support another player's participation in the game.

 

You didnt read the 'this is still pre alpha testing?

 

To be fair, where do those of you saying 'read the web site' see a blatantly clear statement of the current status of the game? Can you provide a link to that for the opening poster?

I looked back through the site and, while there are clues to the game status, I didn't see a clear indicator of status in one place where we can always look and see. Do those of us here just take it for granted, or am I missing something on the site too?

The closest thing I see on the main page is in the Alienware add which states "Not only do you get full access to Alpha, Beta, and the final game, but you have full access to every monthly Pre-Alpha Release, starting now!"

Otherwise, the big headline on the main page states "Release 8 was a big success!"

 

If you're going to quote, at least quote the whole thing
"Release 8 was a big Success!
Now only 3 days until Release 9!"

 

Furthermore, if you log out you will see the page that new visitors see. It clearly states that the game is open for a short window each month and links to the current release notes.

 

Come check it out this week, starting Thursday 10:30 am Cst. Then give us some feed back what you liked and did not like.

 

They're doing an extended weekend for each prealpha release to make sure everyone is signing in at once. If they have it open for testing all month they can't stress their networking infrastructure as hard as they need to at this point. With everyone's attention focused on one weekend, you can be sure to see lots of other players in game. Otherwise right now it might be a bit ghost townish, depending on when people happen to be logging in.

Once more content is in that takes longer to go through, and once the networking infrastructure has been mostly refined, they'll probably open up the release periods to be longer.

When the game is actually launched it will be up 24/7.

 

I'm not clear why you would want a refund?

You were interested in playing the game, and enough interested to pay $90 for it. The full game isn't done. When it is, your $90 will let you play it as much as you could ever want. In the mean time, you can try out each alpha each month, and follow the development (which I've found to be quite educational an enjoyable).

Suppose you got your $90 back. In the long run, would be be any less interested in the game? When the full game was out, would you come back and pay the $90 then? If so, and you aren't interested in trying out the alpha releases, then the only thing you'd really gain would be whatever interest you would accrue on that $90 sitting in your bank.

 

I also pledged $90 and am perfectly happy with my rewards. At what level do you start getting these "Founder benefits"

 

I thought Founder benefits started at like $70?