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My Steelbook experience


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Promoting a game is really no different than making a game. You try to anticipate what the customer will do, but there's only so much you can do to outguess the many different ways many different people can look at the same thing. In CM we've often found someone reporting a bug or problem and we look at it and say "huh... never thought someone would do that" or "never thought someone would have a problem with that". AFTER someone raises the issue it's often times completely obvious. But not necessarily before.

For example, not once did any customer ask us before we shipped "hey, is this box really 100% steel"? If someone had we would have said "no" and explained the details in text. At which point the customer would have likely said "oh, thanks! Well, based on the name of the product, and what the video looked to show, I thought it was going to be 100% steel". This is where we would have said to ourselves "ahhhhh... I see your point. Well, we should clarify that".

Unfortunately, we got the feedback that we needed better clarification after the fact. And now it's obvious the clarification was needed (for some at least) before the fact. Life's a rather imperfect experience for everybody. Just ask iPhone4 users :)

Steve

Good response.

Lets face it the game's the thing. Most companies today put the manual in a file you can pull up - NOT ON PAPER. I kinda like having it in the game box though and previously opined yeah, black on white would be better but I'm 73 with several right eye surgeries and I can read it.

Steel - come on did you really expect steel !! I like it.

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The whole Box/Book thing probably just stems from us being used to getting our software in boxes (or cases) not books. BFC's one referencing to it as a Steel Box is not what led us astray, it was just them falling in the same trap we did.

Bingo! I was probably the one saying SteelBox because, hey, I was busy trying to make the game and not doing the PR stuff ;) As Elmar said, in my mind the thing is a box, not a book, so I know I got the name mixed up. I probably even posted that here more than once. Looks like the official notifications were correct.

Well, at least nobody has found a Sherman mislabeled "Peabody" :)

Steve

(steps back and waits for someone to chuckle instead of scratch head at the last comment)

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Bingo! I was probably the one saying SteelBox because, hey, I was busy trying to make the game and not doing the PR stuff ;) As Elmar said, in my mind the thing is a box, not a book, so I know I got the name mixed up. I probably even posted that here more than once. Looks like the official notifications were correct.

Well, at least nobody has found a Sherman mislabeled "Peabody" :)

Steve

(steps back and waits for someone to chuckle instead of scratch head at the last comment)

How could they not know Mr. Peabody...oh right not everyone is old.

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Firstly the game is fantastic.

I believe that the manual could be better. (BW easier to read on throne) I think an example of a good manual is Ubisofts - cliffs of dover (special ed). Hardcover 145 x 210 spiral bound BW. You can open this at a page and leave it open, spiral is less chance of it falling apart. Also contains a couple of blank 'note' pages.(handy)

I would be happy to pay good money for a full colour or BW spiral bound manual for this game.

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Bingo! I was probably the one saying SteelBox because, hey, I was busy trying to make the game and not doing the PR stuff ;) As Elmar said, in my mind the thing is a box, not a book, so I know I got the name mixed up. I probably even posted that here more than once. Looks like the official notifications were correct.

Well, at least nobody has found a Sherman mislabeled "Peabody" :)

Steve

(steps back and waits for someone to chuckle instead of scratch head at the last comment)

So are you saying BFC is now selling a Way Back Machine? Can I preorder? :D

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And not everyone is American here!

Mr. Peabody is a fictional dog who appeared in the late 1950s and early 1960s television animated series Rocky and His Friends and The Bullwinkle Show produced by Jay Ward, collectively referred to as Rocky and Bullwinkle. Peabody appeared in the Peabody's Improbable History segments created by Ted Key, and was voiced by Bill Scott.

[edit] Background

Mister Peabody always appears in these segments accompanied by "his boy" Sherman (in a twist on the hackneyed concept of "a boy and his dog"). Peabody is a genius who adopted Sherman for company. Sherman is a naïve but fairly bright, inquisitive, earnest and energetic lad who's always one step behind getting his friend's dreadful puns. In appearance, Peabody is a small white dog with floppy ears. Sherman is always in need of having his hair combed. He wears a white tee-shirt and dark shorts. Each character wears a pair of oversized horn-rimmed glasses.

The voices of Peabody and Sherman were provided by Bill Scott and Walter Tetley, respectively.

Bill Scott's vocal inspiration was the carefully modulated, precisely clipped speaking pattern of Clifton Webb, especially in his Mr. Belvedere characterization. This is further indicated by Mr. Peabody's bowtie, an article of clothing always worn by Belvedere in the three films Webb starred in.

Each episode of "Peabody's Improbable History" begins with the dog's greeting, "Peabody, here." The premise each week was to introduce Sherman to real history. For that purpose, Peabody has constructed the WABAC (pronounced "wayback") machine. The WABAC is a take-off on early computer acronyms such as UNIVAC and ENIAC. The WABAC is a time machine used by Peabody and Sherman to travel back in time and witness various historical events.

Peabody always narrates key background events as he and Sherman whiz back in time. This not only moved the story along, it saved a great deal of work for the animator and a lot of money for the sponsor. Upon arrival at any place on the globe, Peabody's technological genius is able to tune in on any language and convert it to English, thus saving the expense and distraction of inserting subtitles at the bottom of the screen.

The episode "Show Opening" outlines Peabody's life including his adoption of Sherman. Peabody realizes that boys need running room and so invents the WABAC as a birthday gift for Sherman. He and Sherman then go back in time to see a Roman speaking in Latin; Peabody then adds a translator circuit to the machine so that everyone seems to speak English and see the Roman again finding out he is a used chariot salesman. Their next trip is to see Ben Franklin flying his kite but find out they cannot interact with the past so Peabody makes some more adjustments turning the WABAC from time machine into a "should have been machine".

This results in the past they visit being total cockeyed. For example, Paul Revere is unable to make his famous ride through Boston because his horse is actually a statue. In another trip Robin Hood has suffered a head injury causing him to behave the opposite of normal--shooting arrows at peasants and wanting to steal from the poor so as to give to the rich. Anachronisms also abound such as in a visit with Nero where he plays on a violin (unknown in the West until the 9th century) and Vasco Nunez de Balboa knowing about Lake Erie. Employing various strategies, Peabody, assisted by Sherman, always finds a way to fix the problems though not always in a manner true to the historical record.

At the end of each episode, Peabody and Sherman discuss the event they just witnessed, with Peabody always offering a bad pun related to the occurrence or the people just encountered. The construction of the short but convoluted episodes leading to a terrible pun have been compared to that of a shaggy dog story or specifically a type of story called a feghoot.

The tortured construction of a particularly bad pun was Mr Peabody's signature ending. For example, when the Battle of Little Big Horn is completed, Peabody directs Sherman's attention to a hot dog vendor and his pushcart at Little Big Horn, taking care to mention that this was really "Custer's Last Stand". At the end of an episode about the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Peabody asks Sherman if he was familiar with the heroic rooster who foiled the plans of and apprehended British loyalists. When Sherman replies that he's never heard of such a thing, Peabody casually answers, "What, Sherman? You've never heard of chicken cacciatore?" -- enunciated as "Chicken, catch a Tory". Sherman's inevitable response at such puns is rolling his eyes in disgust, often accompanied by the catchphrase: "Oh, Mister Peabody!!"

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Well, ironies delivered by post today. The Steelbook/box arrived without a scratch, mint condition: shipped May 24, delivered June 6 to Sydney Australia. A quick look at the controversial print job on the book (it wasn't as bad as I expected –*I've seen much worse), but I prefer the pdf version anyway. So the Steelbook is going straight into the bookshelf, and staying there to no doubt acquire enormous collectable value.

Unfortunately, in the same delivery was another parcel, a 1:72 diecast Tiger Tank model bought on eBay from that reputable source, Bulgaria. The shoebox packaging wasn't quite up to the Bulgaria-Australia route, and was 'somewhat crushed'. Inside, the plastic outer box around the model was smashed in several pieces. But the Tiger tank? Mint condition still. It may no longer be "Mint in Box" but thanks to that excellent plastic armour the Tiger is ready for action.

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Firstly the game is fantastic.

I believe that the manual could be better. (BW easier to read on throne) I think an example of a good manual is Ubisofts - cliffs of dover (special ed). Hardcover 145 x 210 spiral bound BW. You can open this at a page and leave it open, spiral is less chance of it falling apart. Also contains a couple of blank 'note' pages.(handy)

I would be happy to pay good money for a full colour or BW spiral bound manual for this game.

Refer to this thread for a solution: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=98112

From this ...

originalpdf.jpg

To this ...

modifiedpdf.jpg

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I got my Steelboox in Adelaide, Australia today.

Perfectly happy with it. If there hadn't been any "hey this is plastic" in the forum, I wouldn't have even thought about it: I got what I expected: a box that looks and feels steel.

If yours was damaged in transit, I can understand unhappiness, but if you got the undamaged thing, I can't see that anyone has anything to complain about...

GaJ

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I made my compaints in another thread, but this response is really galling.

Well, let's address the issues and not the rant. Rants aren't really worth addressing :D

1. If the box arrived busted up, contact sales@battlefront.com. So far there's been 3 reported busted that I know of. ]Percentage wise it doesn't even register. The extra cost for sending out "Amazon" style would have to be borne by the 99.9% of our customers who got a perfect condition box. So, if we do this again we'll be using padded envelopes again.

That reads like you are saying that people who got broken boxes don't matter.

2. The thing is called a "Steelbox". It's not our name for it, it's the name of the product. We posted a video of it, but I guess we should have described it in detail too. We didn't think that was necessary. For some it appears it was. Having never worked with this product before I think we should be forgiven for not anticipating every possible source of complaint. Obviously it's in nobody's best interests, least of all ours, to have there be disappointment.

First, it certainly is your name for it. It's on your website and you continually point to this in excusing the fact that it is mostly plastic. Still, the second part is what is insulting. This is nothing more than passive-aggressive pissiness on your part. If you worked for me I'd fire you for insulting my customers.

Anyway, you should certainly have anticipated problems when deciding to promote an exceptional game to incredibly loyal fans by supplying them with cheap crap.

3. We've printed dozens of different manuals over the years. The quality of the manual, in terms of the binding, paper, and cover are quite good. The general lightness of the printing itself could have been darker. In fact, it looked darker on the proofs, so we didn't expect it would come out this way. So agreed, it could have been a little better.

You are doing better here, but this is just a proclamation of innocence. "It wasn't us, it was the printer - we had nothing to do with it!"

4. The size of the manual is a problem for a game like CM. The manual, even with this font size, could have been another 50 pages easy. Probably another 100. But then we get into biding problems with a manual that thick. Increase the font size would explode the manual's overall page count and that would drive up the cost way beyond what it this manual cost. So much we don't think it would be viable to print because of low customer acceptance of the price.

As a general comment about printed manuals... we're trying hard to continue offering printed manuals to the early customers who want them. But it's becoming a bigger and bigger problem with each passing year. There's already very little wiggle room for making this a commercially viable option for us in this world of every escalating costs and ever decreasing customer interest in paying for them. We're willing to stick to it as long as possible, however, since we know that theoretically the interest in printed manuals exists. When theory and reality diverge a bit more than we'll be going download only for good.

I honestly think the manual could have been a lot better. For size issues, there are many pages of nothing that could have been left out. The installation hand-holding is ok, given activation issues, but anyone 8 years old is going to be able to figure out what quick battle, saved game, and exit means in the menu. Why do you need credits in the manual? Why do you need software license declarations? You could cut down the table of contents by 50% without losing anything; most pages have 2-3 entries as it is - it is redundant (the manual ought to explain the game, not the manual itself). You have 26 pages devoted to the tutorial missions yet you say you want to provide manuals for fans - this doesn't follow; I didn't even play the tutorial, myself. The weapons info would be better accessed in an excel file, IMO.

I get it, though, really. It is mainly about cost. In that case, sell a good one separately, or jack the price. Or quit making them. Just don't offer one that is sub-par and then disown it.

That is the overall tone of your post. That you are put-upon to even hear criticism of your marketing decisions, let alone have to answer them. Never once did you take any sort of responsibility. Either it is the customer's fault or the printer or, I guess, the high wages paper mill employees and miners get, damn their safety demands...

How stupid of me to accept at face value a marketing ploy with a name designed to deceive. That's what I am taking home from your post here, Steve.

Why don't you task someone with less invested and a normal ego to reply to your customer's complaints? Maybe say you are sorry that your product wasn't up to your customers expectations. We already know you are smarter than us because you are the one collecting the money. Try not to rub our faces in it.

Thank you for your time.

PS Awesome game.

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LeadMeister, The method that you explained is a very good tool , it solves the problem for players that are having trouble making a high contrast manual and needs its own thread, possibly a sticky.

Thanks for the feedback. I did make it a new thread last night, but no one has commented on it, so it never got bumped up again. Too bad, I think it would help a lot of folks who need an easier manual to read. :(

UPDATE: Folks are leaving comments now and it's getting bumped back up. :)

Here's the new thread link: http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=98112

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Unfortunately, in the same delivery was another parcel, a 1:72 diecast Tiger Tank model bought on eBay from that reputable source, Bulgaria. The shoebox packaging wasn't quite up to the Bulgaria-Australia route, and was 'somewhat crushed'. Inside, the plastic outer box around the model was smashed in several pieces. But the Tiger tank? Mint condition still. It may no longer be "Mint in Box" but thanks to that excellent plastic armour the Tiger is ready for action.

Make your own, like what I does. :D

hetzer16.jpg

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. . . We already know you are smarter than us because you are the one collecting the money. Try not to rub our faces in it.

Thank you for your time.

PS Awesome game.

I'm in awe. You're the master of rants. I agree with all you said but lacked the kahoonas to say it myself. Your closing remarks were brilliant - ROTFLMAO!

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In a way, that's one of the cool things about battlefront, personal responses! They can't afford some customer service goof trained to give you a canned response that ignores your problem or comment. Instead you get a from the heart, "I've just devoted my life for the last few years to this damn thing to make it the best I could with the time and technology available; besides we plan to fix a lot of this, so how can you be so unappreciative?" response. Imagine what you'd get if one wrote nintendo about a problem with some Mario brothers game? At least that's how I temper myself when I find the responses condescending!

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I'm in awe. You're the master of rants. I agree with all you said but lacked the kahoonas to say it myself. Your closing remarks were brilliant - ROTFLMAO!

Brilliant? Sounds more like a petulant 5 year old in need of a time out. It's folks like that that make me recommend to BFC to NEVER offer anything but a DL again. Much as I like the Steelbook I'd rather have just let it go than hear anymore of these pissy rants over a $5 case. For crying out loud people get a grip.

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Brilliant? Sounds more like a petulant 5 year old in need of a time out. It's folks like that that make me recommend to BFC to NEVER offer anything but a DL again. Much as I like the Steelbook I'd rather have just let it go than hear anymore of these pissy rants over a $5 case. For crying out loud people get a grip.

+1 You stoles my thoughts!!

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I also feel very behind the power curve. I really liked the quality of my steel box. It came through the APO in great shape. I proudly displayed it to my wife, who just smirked at me while watching some reality show like toddlers and tiara's. Now I'm going to go home and kick it. The manual is already on my sh*t list, since I can't read the darn thing, even with reading glasses!

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That reads like you are saying that people who got broken boxes don't matter.

You can CHOOSE to read it that way. But what you should do is read it in context. A few individuals are saying that we should have charged everybody more money so we could have sent the boxes in a safer way, assuming of course that the way we chose wasn't going to work out 100% of the time before we shipped the first box.

Or put another way... we've been on this Earth too long to expect there is a perfect way to do anything. Life is all about choices and compromises. Having a couple of people with busted boxes is something that concerns us. We've shipped some replacements already, at our cost, so OBVIOUSLY it concerns us. But to suggest that we should forget that 99% were delivered without a problem because 1% didn't is silly. We need to focus on the Big Picture here and the Big Picture is we saved our customers a lot of money by going with a solution that worked nearly perfectly.

First, it certainly is your name for it. It's on your website and you continually point to this in excusing the fact that it is mostly plastic. Still, the second part is what is insulting. This is nothing more than passive-aggressive pissiness on your part. If you worked for me I'd fire you for insulting my customers.

And your ranting attitude and choice of words indicates that you've got a good handle on setting a good example for your staff?

And who is being passive-aggressive here? I stated that we're imperfect and subject to making mistakes. I don't see many companies doing that.

You are doing better here, but this is just a proclamation of innocence. "It wasn't us, it was the printer - we had nothing to do with it!"

How much experience do you have with printers?

I honestly think the manual could have been a lot better.

Sure it could have been. Nothing in this world is perfect. Which, by definition, means that not everything we do is perfect. If perfection is what you expect, you will be forever disappointed with the world around you.

For size issues, there are many pages of nothing that could have been left out. The installation hand-holding is ok, given activation issues, but anyone 8 years old is going to be able to figure out what quick battle, saved game, and exit means in the menu. Why do you need credits in the manual? Why do you need software license declarations? You could cut down the table of contents by 50% without losing anything; most pages have 2-3 entries as it is - it is redundant (the manual ought to explain the game, not the manual itself). You have 26 pages devoted to the tutorial missions yet you say you want to provide manuals for fans - this doesn't follow; I didn't even play the tutorial, myself. The weapons info would be better accessed in an excel file, IMO.

Holy crow... so now you're not only a customer on a rant, but you are one who clearly has a better handle on what we need to put in a manual than people who do this for a living? Let me ask you this... how many of our customer support emails and threads have you personally had to deal with over the past 11 years? Put aside your own theories and ask yourself this simple question:

"Maybe they put it in there for a reason that I, being a customer only, don't understand?"

I personally would love to cut out "needless" things like tutorials and other "hand holding" things. But experience shows that only creates support headaches for us. Headaches that you have the luxury of not dealing with.

I get it, though, really. It is mainly about cost. In that case, sell a good one separately, or jack the price. Or quit making them. Just don't offer one that is sub-par and then disown it.

This is your opinion. We don't believe it to be sub-par, nor have we disowned it. We have instead said that nothing is perfect and we acknowledge that it didn't turn out as well as some would have liked. The alternative is we could just denny there is any reason for dissatisfaction. That's the norm for customer support, if you haven't noticed, so if you don't like honesty then we could go with BS responses instead.

That is the overall tone of your post. That you are put-upon to even hear criticism of your marketing decisions, let alone have to answer them. Never once did you take any sort of responsibility. Either it is the customer's fault or the printer or, I guess, the high wages paper mill employees and miners get, damn their safety demands...

I would submit that your tone is the one that is more appropriate for criticism. But you can view things any way you want. Paul Revere can also be seen to be warning the British if you want to go that route too. Doesn't mean it has much bearing on reality.

How stupid of me to accept at face value a marketing ploy with a name designed to deceive. That's what I am taking home from your post here, Steve.

Let me put this very clearly. If you want to bitch and complain about something, rant and lash out unproductively and without much more than emotion, that is tolerated here to a large extent. But I am warning you RIGHT THIS MINUTE... if you try to slander and libel us YOU WILL BE GONE OFF THIS FORUM THE NEXT MINUTE.

Do you understand?

Why don't you task someone with less invested and a normal ego to reply to your customer's complaints? Maybe say you are sorry that your product wasn't up to your customers expectations.

Our products are NEVER up to customer expectations. Well, at least not the unreasonable ones with obvious chips on their shoulders. So what... should we apologize before we even release a game? Hell, why don't I get started now... we apologize in advance for everything we will ever do. Nothing we do will ever be perfect, nothing will ever be up to everybody's expectations 100% of the time. We humbly grovel for your forgiveness now, before we have dared to do anything that you might take an issue with. Oh pray for our souls, for we have chosen to make games for the most perfect and reasonably minded game audience in the world and we ARE NOT WORTHY

We already know you are smarter than us because you are the one collecting the money. Try not to rub our faces in it.

We are not smarter than you are, but we certainly aren't as angry at the world as you are.

Thank you for your time.

PS Awesome game.

You appear to not really put much value in what we've done, so I won't put much value in your last statement. Because how could a bunch of incompetent, customer bashing, quality lacking people who don't give a rat's posterior about what customers receive possibly make an "awesome game"?

Steve

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