Great game, HORRIBLE ordering system

3 · #1 February 9th, 2006, 04:40 PM

I too recall seeing a reference to a .zip option. However, I think that only applies to certain games. That said, I agree that it would have been preferable to the ISO since the game was so small it almost wasn't worth using a CD.

Phoenix-D · #2 February 9th, 2006, 05:00 PM

You don't have to burn the .iso to use it. Get D-Tools (free); it'll let you mount the iso as a virtual drive.

StGabe · #3 February 9th, 2006, 08:57 PM

That works however it seems unrealistic to expect your average user to figure that out.

It's not a matter of being completely unusable. It's just a matter of being very non-intuitive and likely to piss of / confuse / send away a lot of potential customers. In other words, not good for getting a profit from what is otherwise a very nifty game and funding the next such game.

Gabe.

Annette · #4 February 9th, 2006, 09:26 PM

Please help me understand...you find a workaround to burning the .iso file to a CD...your computer crashes or you upgrade your system and need to reinstall the game. Then what do you expect to happen?

StGabe · #5 February 11th, 2006, 01:12 AM

Quote:

Annette said:
Please help me understand...you find a workaround to burning the .iso file to a CD...your computer crashes or you upgrade your system and need to reinstall the game. Then what do you expect to happen?

I have good number of games that I've purchased from online game distributors, it's my main source of gaming these days. Almost all of them come with unlock codes. I simply keep the code and if I ever need to reinstall I can either install from a backup I made of the game or I can download the game again and reinstall with the new unlock code.

If an unlock code is not possible I would expect it to be my responsibility to backup the program. I'd prefer it to come as an installable .exe or if that is not possible a zip. I can burn a .zip/.exe backup onto a disk just as easily as I can burn a .iso (more easily in fact, as I can burn multiple files onto one CD).

I'd never even heard of an .ISO before I came to your site and I get online games all the time. I had no warning that this was what I was going to get and happened to be lucky that my computer was already setup to use such a file.

Give me something in the easiest format possible. Let me worry about how I want to backup my files. If you are worried about liability you can either go to an "unlock" system or you can give me a text blurb telling me my options and advising me to create a backup.

Annette · #6 February 11th, 2006, 08:27 AM

Quote:

StGabe said:

If you are worried about liability you can either go to an "unlock" system or you can give me a text blurb telling me my options and advising me to create a backup.

As said in the other thread you started on this topic, StGabe, we appreciate your feedback. Please note that when viewing a product page at our online store, next to the "buy now" button is a "more info" button (and we do hope our customers will take the time to read all the information we supply prior to making a purchase from us). On the "more info" page for the downloadable version of Weird Worlds is this:

[quote]
Notes
Important: This game is delivered as an .ISO disk image file. You must have access to CD burning software that will allow you to create a CD from the image file.

This product is also available in a safe box version. Click here for physical version. [/i]

StGabe · #7 February 13th, 2006, 07:28 PM

My last word on this, I promise.

It all makes sense to YOU. I'm telling you it doesn't to ME, your customer. Obviously you think an .ISO file is intuitive. I don't -- it was a pain. And it is jarring with every other customer experience I've had with other online game sellers. You think that a disclaimer about the .ISO is there in an obviously readable format. I'm telling you that, even though I was rather concerned about what I was getting, I missed it (and if you'll read my account of how I bought the game you'll note that going from the Weird Worlds page to your catalog skips right by the "more info" button that you mention, I never had that option).

I make games for a living if it matters. And I work with professional designers to create our UI's. And I know that I often make things that make good sense to ME. But then I go and talk to other people and find out that all sorts of stuff that made sense to me doesn't to them. I can either think that they are stupid -- or I can realize that designing good interfaces requires understanding more than my own ways of doing things.