Capt. Toleran

I noticed that if I clicked on the name of the file above the actual download button, I'm taken to a different looking download page, which then gave me 7mb speed. It failed many times before I clicked on that link. I should be playing it in 3 mins! Not sure if it was all coincidence, there could be no difference between the link and the download button. Worth a shot.

Your words -- the only point of the preorder is for materials estimates.  So why do they get to download early?  What does their download have to do with their preorder then?  Why can we not all download now, if it is indeed ready?  Even the playing field, the complaints on this issue stop.  But I'm done on this thread (I'm sure folks are happy), and for those with the personal comments, I guess I know who not to interact with here.  I find the image of all these middle age crisis men staring longingly at their "special" box copy pretty funny.  Almost like the first world version of Animism.

Your words -- the only point of the preorder is for materials estimates.  So why do they get to download early?  What does their download have to do with their preorder then?  Why can we not all download now, if it is indeed ready?  Even the playing field, the complaints on this issue stop.  But I'm done on this thread (I'm sure folks are happy), and for those with the personal comments, I guess I know who not to interact with here.  I find the image of all these middle age crisis men staring longingly at their "special" box copy pretty funny.  Almost like the first world version of Animism.

...and those of us who didn't want to waste a manual, a box, and Battlefront's time....get to wait for who knows how much longer because there's no preorder for digital.  How does this make sense again?  I'm ready to pay ahead of time, more even, but because I don't like to waste people's time and resources, I have to settle for second best?  Seems like a pretty shabby way to treat a customer who has spent upwards of $300 with Battlefront and bought multiple copies of the same game (in some cases because unlike Steam, Battlefront won't "store" your generic game file for you, that's on you.) Hope I get to download it today, or I'm not going to be very happy.  I still think this model is about 10 years behind the times.
 
I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation for why this is.   Would pure-digital preorders be more work to manage?  It seems like the opposite.  Ok, so pre-orders are to manage materials cost -- but what does that have to do with taking my money early and putting me in the "Don't need materials sent" column?
 
Time is money, and I have spent a lot of time (and my time is valuable these days) checking the site and boards for the latest vs. doing other things in my life.  I can't get a courtesy e-mail for download... because I don't want to do a preorder and throw away a box, a disc, and a manual my house doesn't need taking up space.  I don't even use the optical drive on my PC anymore -- that's 90s tech.  Everyone else is pure digital.

Wish digital downloads were pre-order as well -- I have no need for a box or hard-copy of the game (what year is this?), but would love to have the courtesy e-mail....  Why doesn't Battlefront want any pre-orders (advance cash) from those of us who value the space in our houses and don't want to litter the enviro?

I'm older and supposedly wiser now vs. the pre-CMBO days (yes, I have been here this long), but I am still fighting the urge to complain only semi-successfully in terms of how this product development cycle drags on and expectations continue to be somewhat not managed well.
 
I'm sure a lot of folks here on these boards work in software engineering or project management -- what is frustrating to some of us is that while some of the most exciting players in the game industry have switched to a scrum system (e.g. Early Access games on Steam) where they develop features as users request them, Battlefront still seems stuck in an older development model, waterfall.  This is ironic considering how Battlefront was among the leaders in revolutionizing the marketplace with CMBO disintermediating the brick and mortar stores that kept the games we wanted from us.
 
Scrum is pretty great in a lot of applications, and I like it in game development, because it lets folks get buy-in early and vote, as the customers actually excited about and buying the game, in terms of features they want, how things are working, etc.
 
Battlefront still seems to be stuck in the waterfall model, where they build the game they think we want, spend a lot of time doing it, and then launch it and patch as needed.  Admittedly in most cases this seems to have worked well (the CMSF issues being one where it didn't go as well initially), but I can't help but feel like at this point, given how niche this gaming product is and how enthused we all are about testing/playing it, that maybe it is time to switch to scrum development (early access) and let us help them build the best game.  There's a certain amount of hubris in thinking your team alone knows what is good for us, as paying customers.  Yes, it is they who are building it, and true enough, no serious competition has emerged, but it won't always be like this.  My bet is that if a company finally does beat Battlefront in terms of servicing this particular, specific niche, it is going to be a company that gives what they won't -- early access and buy-in.

I'm older and supposedly wiser now vs. the pre-CMBO days (yes, I have been here this long), but I am still fighting the urge to complain only semi-successfully in terms of how this product development cycle drags on and expectations continue to be somewhat not managed well.
 
I'm sure a lot of folks here on these boards work in software engineering or project management -- what is frustrating to some of us is that while some of the most exciting players in the game industry have switched to a scrum system (e.g. Early Access games on Steam) where they develop features as users request them, Battlefront still seems stuck in an older development model, waterfall.  This is ironic considering how Battlefront was among the leaders in revolutionizing the marketplace with CMBO disintermediating the brick and mortar stores that kept the games we wanted from us.
 
Scrum is pretty great in a lot of applications, and I like it in game development, because it lets folks get buy-in early and vote, as the customers actually excited about and buying the game, in terms of features they want, how things are working, etc.
 
Battlefront still seems to be stuck in the waterfall model, where they build the game they think we want, spend a lot of time doing it, and then launch it and patch as needed.  Admittedly in most cases this seems to have worked well (the CMSF issues being one where it didn't go as well initially), but I can't help but feel like at this point, given how niche this gaming product is and how enthused we all are about testing/playing it, that maybe it is time to switch to scrum development (early access) and let us help them build the best game.  There's a certain amount of hubris in thinking your team alone knows what is good for us, as paying customers.  Yes, it is they who are building it, and true enough, no serious competition has emerged, but it won't always be like this.  My bet is that if a company finally does beat Battlefront in terms of servicing this particular, specific niche, it is going to be a company that gives what they won't -- early access and buy-in.

I'm older and supposedly wiser now vs. the pre-CMBO days (yes, I have been here this long), but I am still fighting the urge to complain only semi-successfully in terms of how this product development cycle drags on and expectations continue to be somewhat not managed well.
 
I'm sure a lot of folks here on these boards work in software engineering or project management -- what is frustrating to some of us is that while some of the most exciting players in the game industry have switched to a scrum system (e.g. Early Access games on Steam) where they develop features as users request them, Battlefront still seems stuck in an older development model, waterfall.  This is ironic considering how Battlefront was among the leaders in revolutionizing the marketplace with CMBO disintermediating the brick and mortar stores that kept the games we wanted from us.
 
Scrum is pretty great in a lot of applications, and I like it in game development, because it lets folks get buy-in early and vote, as the customers actually excited about and buying the game, in terms of features they want, how things are working, etc.
 
Battlefront still seems to be stuck in the waterfall model, where they build the game they think we want, spend a lot of time doing it, and then launch it and patch as needed.  Admittedly in most cases this seems to have worked well (the CMSF issues being one where it didn't go as well initially), but I can't help but feel like at this point, given how niche this gaming product is and how enthused we all are about testing/playing it, that maybe it is time to switch to scrum development (early access) and let us help them build the best game.  There's a certain amount of hubris in thinking your team alone knows what is good for us, as paying customers.  Yes, it is they who are building it, and true enough, no serious competition has emerged, but it won't always be like this.  My bet is that if a company finally does beat Battlefront in terms of servicing this particular, specific niche, it is going to be a company that gives what they won't -- early access and buy-in.