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Halo Wars: Definitive Edition |OT| The Best Marketing This Game Will Get

zeox

Member
Christ, so we're gonna have to set up private matches? Total disappointment if true.

EDIT: Wait, there's a FAQ that mentions searching for games..... I'm confused.

the 'searching for games' part is you hitting a button and getting a list of lobbies people have set up with the rules they want. it works, I guess, but I'd rather have proper matchmaking.
 
So if I pre-order Halo 2 from Xbox Live today do I get charged today or on day of release? I'd rather not drop £70 on it the week before xmas but I'm getting a Halo Wars itch!
 
Pity its not sold seperated, would totally pay 20 for this now. Just not got the funds for the full price atm.

You can pre order the digital edition now and you will not be charged until the release of HW2 on February

So if I pre-order Halo 2 from Xbox Live today do I get charged today or on day of release? I'd rather not drop £70 on it the week before xmas but I'm getting a Halo Wars itch!

My email said 10 days before the launch of HW2
 

mcfrank

Member
So if I pre-order Halo 2 from Xbox Live today do I get charged today or on day of release? I'd rather not drop £70 on it the week before xmas but I'm getting a Halo Wars itch!

Yeah, you get charged right away, but dont get your code for Halo Wars 1 for potentially 7-10 days! Amazing job Microsoft, really fantastic.
 

Hawk269

Member
I agree with you, believe me. I just didn't know it was treated as an early access entry. I preordered back in June. I want my code just as bad. Im hoping by 10am PT we should get some out.

No one knew it was being given the Early Access Treatment until today. Why am I getting Master Chief Collection vibes all of a sudden? Dan Ayoub, the guy at 343i was the guy in charge of the MCC and it was a disaster at launch and took countless of updates to get to a basic decent level...guess who is leading the charge for Halo Wars 2 and the DE version???? Same person Dan Ayoub. I am starting to get a sick feeling in my stomach.

Is it not odd that on the day the DE version is to come out all of a sudden it is an Early Access Title? As if last week they discovered something is not right, but they committed to the 20th date. I imagine it went like this:

Dan Ayoub: Hey guys, Halo Wars DE is not going to be ready by the 20th, I know I made an ass out of myself at the game awards show committing to that date, but the game is kind of jacked up. But I have a solution. Lets tell everyone it is an early access game and then the consumers cant bitch about glitches or shit that is not working because it is early access.

Frankie: Dan, that is why we put you in charge of this, you fucked up MCC for everyone and while you probably learned some lessons from it, we knew you would find a way to cover our assess if you fucked up Halo Wars as well, good job.

Dan Ayoub: Thanks Frankie. You know, let's delay sending out codes for our broken game as well...I mean I did say codes will be 7-10 days and it is Christmas and I want to go home. I will send the codes out after Xmas when everyone goes back to work and we are covered since it will be in the 7-10 day period, so no one can bitch about it.

Frankie: Dan, you are amazing. You found a way to cover our ass no matter what, maybe we should put you in charge of Halo 6!!!

Dan Ayoub: I would love to do that. I can fuck that up too and cover our asses all at the same time. That means I would be responsible in a certain way of fucking up every Halo game with the exception of Reach and ODST. Hey Frankie ask Phil to give us the go ahead of re-masters of ODST and Reach and tell him I want to be in charge!!! If anything, I want to have the legacy as the man that fucked up an entire series of games, but still cover our asses and still have a job! I mean, if they kept me after what I did to MCC, I can take down an entire franchise without any worry.

Frankie: High Five Dan!!!

sigh...
 

PaulLFC

Member
Wow. Pre-ordered 2 days ago so could end up waiting "weeks"? Absolute bullshit - if the code doesn't arrive by Friday which is when I assume everything will wind down for Christmas I'll just request a refund. This system is nonsensical, just let everyone who's preordered your game play at the same time.
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
Yeah, you get charged right away, but dont get your code for Halo Wars 1 for potentially 7-10 days! Amazing job Microsoft, really fantastic.
If you use Microsoft Account Wallet it charges instantly. If you use parts or full payment via CC or such its not supposed to take any money ~10 days before release.

No one knew it was being given the Early Access Treatment until today. Why am I getting Master Chief Collection vibes all of a sudden? Dan Ayoub, the guy at 343i was the guy in charge of the MCC and it was a disaster at launch and took countless of updates to get to a basic decent level...guess who is leading the charge for Halo Wars 2 and the DE version???? Same person Dan Ayoub. I am starting to get a sick feeling in my stomach.
Store page lists it as the complete product. 0 mention of any early access shit.

FML how hard can it be...

e: Current storepage for both DE and Ulti. Maybe I'm blind but there's no mention of EA outside that new updated FAQ all of the sudden...
8Ccnd0c.png


sad_master_chief-8046.jpg
 

mcfrank

Member
No one knew it was being given the Early Access Treatment until today. Why am I getting Master Chief Collection vibes all of a sudden? Dan Ayoub, the guy at 343i was the guy in charge of the MCC and it was a disaster at launch and took countless of updates to get to a basic decent level...guess who is leading the charge for Halo Wars 2 and the DE version???? Same person Dan Ayoub. I am starting to get a sick feeling in my stomach.

Is it not odd that on the day the DE version is to come out all of a sudden it is an Early Access Title? As if last week they discovered something is not right, but they committed to the 20th date. I imagine it went like this:

Dan Ayoub: Hey guys, Halo Wars DE is not going to be ready by the 20th, I know we committed and I made an ass out of myself at the game awards show committing to that date, but the game is kind of jacked up. But I have a solution. Lets tell everyone it is early access game and then the consumers cant bitch about glitches or shit that is not working because it is early access.

Frankie: Dan that is why we put you in charge of this, you fucked up MCC for everyone and while you probably learned some lessons from it, we knew you would find a way to cover our assess if you fucked up Halo Wars as well, good job.

Dan Ayoub: Thanks Frankie. You know, let's delay sending out codes for our broken game as well...I mean I did say codes will be 7-10 days and it is Christmas and I want to go home. I will send the codes out after Xmas when everyone goes back to work and we are covered since it will be in the 7-10 day period, so no one can bitch about it.

Frankie: Dan, you are amazing. You found a way to cover our ass no matter what, maybe we should put you in charge of Halo 6!!!

Dan Ayoub: I would love to do that. I can fuck that up too and cover our asses all at the same time. That means I would be responsible in a certain way of fucking up every Halo game with the exception of Reach and ODST. Hey Frankie ask Phil to give us the go ahead of re-masters of ODST and Reach and tell him I want to be in charge!!!

sigh....

I do not understand how they can keep pulling this shit. I have not preordered Halo Wars 2 yet as I was waiting to see when Halo wars 1 would be available and I did not fully trust them after MCC. Now, I am glad I didn't, though my nephew will be very disappointed he cannot play tonight. So fucking stupid.
 
I believe I preordered a day or two after the initial announcement of the codes coming on Dec 20th so around Dec 2nd or 3rd so hopefully mine should show up today (crosses fingers).
 

StUnNeR H2K

Member
If I don't have my code by the end of today then I'm going to cancel the pre-order. Will wait for reviews on the Definitive Edition from those who were special enough to get it on the day it was supposed to be available. Then decide if I'm going to buy the Ultimate Edition closer to release or not. You can't announce "those who pre-order will have early access Dec. 20" then later announce its going to roll out to everyone over a 7-10 day period potentially?
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
23 hours ago is the first post I can find about early access being rolled out (Did they edit the FAQ after posting it??), with the following post 20 hours later on Waypoint.

Everything up to that point, and still do, on the Store and site itself, list the game as releasing on 20th for those who pre-ordered (bla bla up to 7-10 days) making it out to be the full product.


Correct me if I'm wrong on the time table but this is incredibly frustrating :3
 

Hawk269

Member
If I don't have my code by the end of today then I'm going to cancel the pre-order. Will wait for reviews on the Definitive Edition from those who were special enough to get it on the day it was supposed to be available. Then decide if I'm going to buy the Ultimate Edition closer to release or not. You can't announce "those who pre-order will have early access Dec. 20" then later announce its going to roll out to everyone over a 7-10 day period potentially?

To be fair, the 7-10 day thing has been mentioned for a while, you probably missed it. The Early Access thing was never mentioned and it is still not mentioned on the game official page. When you placed the digital pre-order it said clearly that codes will be sent 7-10days starting on the 20th.

In some games, staggered codes being sent out are because they don't want to over whelm the servers, but this is a niche title, so I can't imagine they have millions of pre-orders. This is just starting to smell a little fishy to me, especially the "cover our ass" early access status for the game that is being told to us on the day the DE version is to be out.
 

PaulLFC

Member
If I don't have my code by the end of today then I'm going to cancel the pre-order. Will wait for reviews on the Definitive Edition from those who were special enough to get it on the day it was supposed to be available. Then decide if I'm going to buy the Ultimate Edition closer to release or not. You can't announce "those who pre-order will have early access Dec. 20" then later announce its going to roll out to everyone over a 7-10 day period potentially?
Yep, same here. If the code isn't here today I'll cancel, there's no good reason for them not to give everyone who's preordered the game access at the same time, and the fact they aren't doing so is quite frankly ridiculous.
 

Theorry

Member
I do wish the Internet as a whole wasn't quite so US focused.

It's not a huge deal I suppose, but I'd been looking forward to playing today. 'Afternoon PST' doesn't really equate to 'Play the game on the 20th' here in the UK.

All depends on where the dev is located really. If its a EU dev is most of the time more friendly for EU players etc. Also with patches etc.
 

Tecnniqe

Banned
Am I going crazy or was
Early Access & Known Issues
Halo Wars: Definitive Edition is being released as an Early Access game beginning December 20, 2016. While the game is a complete experience, we are considering this initial availability “Early Access”, as there are some tweaks and improvements that will be made to the game as we support Halo Wars: Definitive Edition over the coming months.
Being an Early Access title means that we need to acknowledge a handful of issues that we are looking at improving in the near future:
On PC, the first time you run the game, there can be a delay of approximately a minute before the game launches. On subsequent launches, the game will launch normally.
We are looking to improve the multiplayer game flow and messaging in the future. This means you move to the most appropriate screens as you step through the process of starting/joining a multiplayer match.
In multiplayer, you need to click the Search button at the bottom of the screen when searching for a match, click the Ready button when you have joined a match and are ready to start the game, and click the Publish button when creating a new multiplayer match. Clicking these buttons will allow you to proceed with the game.
In some cases, voice chat defaults to “all”, even if you’re on opposing teams. In a 1v1 game situation you may want to mute your microphone to avoid inadvertently giving strategic insights to your opponent. On team games, depending on the platform, you may want to use Party Chat instead. This obviously isn’t ideal and is something the team will address going forward.
If your computer hardware is lower end, please go to the Options menu and turn down the game settings to optimally enjoy the game.
stealth edited into their FAQ at the bottom?

I swear to god that wasn't there when I updated the FAQ after making the OT.


I'm so confused...

As long as story and coop works.. I guess...
 

Hawk269

Member
23 hours ago is the first post I can find about early access being rolled out (Did they edit the FAQ after posting it??), with the following post 20 hours later on Waypoint.

Everything up to that point, and still do, on the Store and site itself, list the game as releasing on 20th for those who pre-ordered (bla bla up to 7-10 days) making it out to be the full product.


Correct me if I'm wrong on the time table but this is incredibly frustrating :3

I did some checking and you are correct. No mention of early access status for the game until today.

A few things:

1) I can understand the 7-10 day thing because they did mention this when your pre-ordered the game. When I first read it, I thought it mean you will get your code 7-10 days after your pre-ordered, not up 7-10days starting on the 20th.

2) What is NOT right is that we have to wait for our codes and now are being told that the game we are getting is "Early Access" version of the game. When I pre-ordered it did not say this, it said it was "Halo Wars Definitive Edition". Dan was on stage at the game awards show saying if your pre-order the UE version, Starting on 12/20 you will get HW:DE. No time did he or anyone at 343 say it was "Early Access" version of the game.

3) How jacked up is the game going to be? It is bad enough we have to wait for our codes, but that part at least was mentioned. This is a RTS and a DE of a game that has been out for over 7 years or so. Having a broken RTS is not going to be fun.

Yeah, I know it is just games...but this kind of shit is what MS needs to stop doing. Can 343 not make a re-make/definitive edition of a game and it not be fucked up? It seems like everything 343i touches in regards to a remake (MCC/Halo Wars) is fucked up somehow and causes consumer frustration.
 

StUnNeR H2K

Member
To be fair, the 7-10 day thing has been mentioned for a while, you probably missed it. The Early Access thing was never mentioned and it is still not mentioned on the game official page. When you placed the digital pre-order it said clearly that codes will be sent 7-10days starting on the 20th.

In some games, staggered codes being sent out are because they don't want to over whelm the servers, but this is a niche title, so I can't imagine they have millions of pre-orders. This is just starting to smell a little fishy to me, especially the "cover our ass" early access status for the game that is being told to us on the day the DE version is to be out.

They obviously haven't been clear with anything. As the thread title mentions, this poor game hasn't received any love at all in advertisement and the Definitive Edition has been super hush about details.

I agree with the staggering codes, as I doubt they have millions of pre-orders on Halo Wars 2 for the Ultimate Edition. When they made the original announcement of the date for the Definitive Edition, which was what I was waiting for to pre-order, they made no mention of the 7-10 days in the announcement or rolling out to others in a priority fashion.

We will see how it goes. My faith in the Halo franchise has been waning ever since Bungie stepped away. This will be just one more slap in the face, but not as bad as the Master Chief Collection was...
 
Great, so because I preordered it yesterday, I have to wait?

👍

Love the first game and I'm still excited for 2, but is it really necessary to stagger the codes being sent out? Come on.
 

Hawk269

Member
Uh...shit is looking bad....

http://news.xbox.com/2016/12/20/halo-wars-definitive-edition-early-access-available-now/

"Halo Wars: Definitive Edition is set to launch in February alongside Halo Wars 2 Ultimate Edition, but we thought it would be great to give everyone a chance to start playing now to sharpen their skills in preparation for the next game. The game you’ll get today is early access – it’s only available to people who pre-ordered the digital version of Halo Wars 2 Ultimate Edition. It also means that we’re still putting the finishing touches on the game before launch, so expect to see more improvements come online between now and February. The team worked insanely hard to bring both campaign and multiplayer online before release in February and we can’t wait to hear what you think."

Let me get this straight Dan. So you announce that the DE version is coming out on the 20th. Then on the 20th, you say, well it is an Early Access version of the game, the real version of the DE does not come out until February? WTF man. If the game is not ready, you should of been up front and said this weeks ago: "Hey the game is not ready, but it is in a playable state, and we are moving it to Early Access, so you can at least play it until it crashes, bricks your system or something else happens".

Read the rest and at least something positive:

If you don’t receive your code today, don’t worry! Codes are rolling out through the coming weeks, but anyone who pre-ordered by December 14 should receive one today, so keep an eye out.

I know a lot of people pre-ordered a while ago, so it sounds like if you did yours before 12/14, you should get your code today. I did mine a few months ago I think, but nothing yet.
 

mcfrank

Member
4SF5izB.png



It is 2016. How the fuck is this a thing. I could order a physical game on amazon and have it 45 minutes from now, but they can't get me a code for 7-10 days.
 

Mohonky

Member
4SF5izB.png



It is 2016. How the fuck is this a thing.

Seriously?

It's a digital download FFS. If my landline internet finally gets connected, I plan on purchasing this, but that's some BS.

Anyway, 21:9 support? I believe Halo Wars 2 will have it, what about Halo Wars DE?
 
I played a fair amount to Halo Wars back in the day, and I thought they were handling this in a cool way. But everything here sounds like a real shit show. Basically no chance I'd buy HW2 on release after this.
 

PaulLFC

Member
4SF5izB.png



It is 2016. How the fuck is this a thing. I could order a physical game on amazon and have it 45 minutes from now, but they can't get me a code for 7-10 days.
Absolutely absurd.

If I don't receive a code in this "first wave" or whatever they're calling it I'll just cancel. There is absolutely no need for this system and all it does is annoy customers who actually paid early to pre-order the game. Everyone should have had their codes on the 20th, there's no excuse for whatever bizarre system they've decided on.
 

m23

Member
I don't even know what to say. You wait until day of release to mention that it's an early access game.
 

Akai__

Member
An other great Halo game that will get ruined by 343i's incompetent management and lack of communication. What a surprise....
 

Hawk269

Member
I don't even know what to say. You wait until day of release to mention that it's an early access game.

I want to stay positive...but I am preparing myself that the DE is going to be a hot mess and since they waited until today to say it is early access, they can now sit behind the shield of early access when people begin to complain about bugs and performance issues. I am hoping for the best though and that the game is playable and limited issues, but this is the man that brought us the Master Chief Collection of fuck ups...confidence level is not very high.
 

Cruxist

Member
Disappointing treatment for the stealth best Halo game in the franchise. I'm glad I stuck with my physical pre-order for Halo Wars 2 now. Here's hoping that both games launch complete, but who knows at this point.
 

PaulLFC

Member
Well dont Play it until the offical Release ?! Dont get the uproar here
1. Halo Wars Definitive Edition is announced as pre-order bonus for Halo Wars 2 Ultimate, releasing today December 20th.
2. On December 20th, description of game is stealth updated to declare game is in fact "early access" (no mention of this previously) and list issues with game, not revealed when pre-orders were opened.
3. On December 20th, arbitrary date not previously revealed is set, whereby anyone who pre-ordered before December 20th but did not meet said arbitrary date, won't actually get to play the game today. No mention earlier of "Pre-order by December 14th to guarantee you get to play on day one!", no, because that would make too much sense.

You don't see how this, especially point 2, is a problem?
 
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