[jowe01]

Shouldn't the Gold edition fix these shortcomings ? They are serious drawbacks,not minor details. I realize that this would mean investing some more time into the code, but hey, we are paying a good part of the price for a completely new game for the Gold edition. I realize that in order to support Aaron's/Shrapnel's good work, some people would buy SE4 Gold even if it only consisted of SE4 1.0 with a new sticker on the "manual". However, I think that in order to be a success, there has to be some real value-added. After an initial wave of "freak-purchases", you can only sell more if people feel that they receive something in return for their money. IMHO, you cannot hide from the customer base as a whole that so far the "Gold Edition" offers one of the least "bang for your buck" of all add-ons which I have ever seen from any gaming company (basically only the TCP/IP support is worth mentioning).

Now hammer me, but I would actually recommend to anyone to withhold your pre-orders until it becomes clear that the AI really gets beefed up in SE4 Gold. Not that Aaron/Shrapnell would not merit making some more money for the good support which they have offered so far. On the game which I have bought in November 2000 they have offered very good value for money. However, what I have seen in terms of new features in SE4 Gold simply is not worth another 35 $ plus expedition fees.

Please, please, Malfaldor, do yourself a favor and start seriously tackling all the bad AI shortcomings. If not, just offer a 10 $ download, that would be fair.

[ 10 December 2001: Message edited by: jowe01 ]