Catacombs release dates [Official]

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IainC

English WAR Community Manager
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As there has been a lot of speculation, debate and misinformation spread on this topic I'll repost here the salient points. I have made all these points before in other threads but this will hopefully make it easier for people to find this information. I will no longer respond to threads regarding Catacombs release as there is nothing more to say that I haven't already said several times. I don't feel that anything useful is achieved by repeating the same information in a multitude of different threads - in some cases multiple times in the same thread.

Here is the situation. I won't name the company involved but will instead refer to them with the pseudonym 'Mega'.
We told the distributor we wanted to release the expansion on March 25. For technical and business reasons the patch has to go live this week. Somewhere along the line 'Mega' weighed in and said that they weren't prepared to add another title to their March list and they'd only touch the game if it was released in April. As our distributors do a lot of trade with 'Mega', they agreed so as not to upset a very large customer and told all the other retailers that the release date was now April 15th for a simultaneous launch of the expansion and the complete box. After a lot of 'phoning people we came to the following compromise which keeps us, 'Mega' and the distributors happy. 'Mega' is prepared to release on the 1st April so officially the UK retail release date is then. However we are sending stocks to all UK retailers this week (at the same time as for other European retailers). We know that most of them will sell stock as soon as they recieve it rather than wait for release dates so we know that UK players won't be at a disadvantage. 'Mega' 'wins' it's fight to move the release to April, UK players can get the game for patch day and our distributors don't have to deal with losing 'Mega' as a client.

This is why any site you go to will have a release date of the 1st April or later. However shipment of stock happened today, so as soon as retailers recieve their boxes they will be sending it out. As far as we are concerned the release date is still the 24th March. There has been a considerable amount of effort put in place to ensure that UK players have the opportunity to buy the game at the same time as gamers on the continent and we are confident that this will be the case.

**EDIT** See the news for more details.
 

Javai

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Many thanks for the clarification and your continued efforts to keep the community informed. Obviously these issues are out of your control but as it seems there will not be any high street retailers stocking the game before the 1st April in effect UK players can hope for Tuesday at best given the delays in postage from play.com who are based in Jersey combined with the holiday weekend.
 

Job

The Carl Pilkington of Freddyshouse
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May I suggest making any future expansions avaliable as downloads with key purchase on the homepage.

This would give the companies involved the injection of competition they obviously require. :p

The realisation that a sizeable chunk of the playerbase could buy it for themselves may change attitudes down at a few head offices.

Mythic have put a lot of effort into this expansion and the players appreciate it, I just find it annoying that a 3rd party company are tainting the whole thing to serve their own interests.
 

haarewin

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Job said:
May I suggest making any future expansions avaliable as downloads with key purchase on the homepage.

This would give the companies involved the injection of competition they obviously require. :p

The realisation that a sizeable chunk of the playerbase could buy it for themselves may change attitudes down at a few head offices.

Mythic have put a lot of effort into this expansion and the players appreciate it, I just find it annoying that a 3rd party company are tainting the whole thing to serve their own interests.

they have said a thousand times they cant.
the licensing agreement or whatever prevents them from allowing downloading and selling keys online. which is unfortunate ;<
 

Honza

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Mate, your idea is not bad, but...

1. Imagine the load of the server... European DAoC has about 20000 active players... Let's say these 20000 players each starts downloading 2 Gigabytes of new expansion... simple maths gives you little over 39 Terrabytes peak in short time... Only few machines and networks are able to carry such a load, not mentioning GoA very prolly pay for bandwidth and this would cause crater in budget... So this would lead to players downloading very slow or through PtP network like WoW :puke:

2. Many of players also have limited bandwidth/total data volume per month so they might not be able to download it.

3. Having keys sent over internet would lead to security risk that someone could catch up your key being sent from GoA servers... While vice versa it quite safe because possible hacker very prolly can't catch your address fast enough to get the key. OTOH if the key was auto gained internaly from GoA billing service to GoA login server (or wherever the keys are stored) you would not need the keys at all.

4. There are also licensing problems... You may have license to get monthly payments from players playing your server but you don't have to have european distribution license for end-users...

------

Summarized more troubles than gains imo. You won't die by not having datadisc for few more days :)
 

PinkyPink

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Well i currently work at gamestation and i was on the phone to my head office today and asked if and when it would be coming and they said to me that they would be recieving it tomorrow and sending it the same day apparently. Will wait and see if i get it 2morra or thursday then i will be letting all know where to get it from in the shops. Fingers crossed i might have it for the release or a day after. If that fails i got it pre-ordered on play.com.

Pinky.
 

GReaper

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Honza said:
Mate, your idea is not bad, but...

1. Imagine the load of the server... European DAoC has about 20000 active players... Let's say these 20000 players each starts downloading 2 Gigabytes of new expansion... simple maths gives you little over 39 Terrabytes peak in short time... Only few machines and networks are able to carry such a load, not mentioning GoA very prolly pay for bandwidth and this would cause crater in budget... So this would lead to players downloading very slow or through PtP network like WoW :puke:

Try BitTorrent then. Blizzard use a BitTorrent based patcher just fine. Those who can't use p2p could download from somewhere like fileplanet.

2. Many of players also have limited bandwidth/total data volume per month so they might not be able to download it.

Such users could go out and buy the box set then.

3. Having keys sent over internet would lead to security risk that someone could catch up your key being sent from GoA servers... While vice versa it quite safe because possible hacker very prolly can't catch your address fast enough to get the key. OTOH if the key was auto gained internaly from GoA billing service to GoA login server (or wherever the keys are stored) you would not need the keys at all.

You've just stated the possible advantage there, a one-off payment to upgrade an account wouldn't need a key.

4. There are also licensing problems... You may have license to get monthly payments from players playing your server but you don't have to have european distribution license for end-users...

Is the only issue really.
 

Bahumat

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maybe im the only 1 who noticed or teh only 1 who posted this but look what he wrote

"Here is the situation. I won't name the company involved but will instead refer to them with the pseudonym 'Mega'."

ok if you change the letters round in Mega you get Game........on the game site it also says April 1st.

*starts to play his Magnum PI music with a smug look on his face*
 

Accupuncture

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"MEGA" ;) lol

Requiel said:
This is why any site you go to will have a release date of the 1st April or later. However shipment of stock happened today, so as soon as retailers recieve their boxes they will be sending it out. As far as we are concerned the release date is still the 24th March. There has been a considerable amount of effort put in place to ensure that UK players have the opportunity to buy the game at the same time as gamers on the continent and we are confident that this will be the case.

Ok all well and good. BUT!!

What would be nice and would help everyone would be for someone to post a list of retailers that are getting a shipment of the game today/tomorrow so that we can at least have the oppertunity to get it so that we can as you say "not be at a disadvantage".

As I have found of all the retailers I have contacted everyone has told me that they either have never heard of the game and will not be stocking it or that the release date and the date they will be selling is not the date that you are telling us we will be able to play.

I understand that you have no control of when a retailer sells on what date.

I and everyone else that loves this game would love to be able to just get the game on release and play, so a list of retailers would go a long way to end the rumours and help us in the UK not feel we are not as important as our friends in the rest of Europe.
 

haarewin

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Bahumat said:
maybe im the only 1 who noticed or teh only 1 who posted this but look what he wrote

"Here is the situation. I won't name the company involved but will instead refer to them with the pseudonym 'Mega'."

ok if you change the letters round in Mega you get Game........on the game site it also says April 1st.

*starts to play his Magnum PI music with a smug look on his face*

omg i didnt notice!! ;)
 

old.Whoodoo

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Ive just spoken to a freind in Game, who are open on Friday, and have just had this weeks delivery. He said their normal "Friday" release day is going to be on Thursday due to the bank holiday. Sounds good?

Hes just checked this weeks delivery note (came in this morning), their only delivery from now till Tuesday, and no sign of Catacombes, or any form of Dark Age disks.

He asked 3 other branches, same there, worth ringing again in the morning he said, but dont hold your breath.

Also, with the SI expansion, Game would not release copies despite having them in stock because "it was not the official release date", as that was borked too, and the UK was Friday, yet they had it on Wednesday. Can your PR peeps talk to Game and ask them to allow the release when they get it, rather than "the official release date", last time Zargar spoke to someone at tehir head office and got an official mail sent out letting shops know they were allowed to.
 

Yshynsin

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Got it pre-ordered on Play.com (Jersey)

Hasn't been dispatched yet, when i checked this morning :<

Looks like we should have it Saturday or Tuesday as play.com normally do a 3-5 Day Delivery.
 

Job

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I'm not going to say a thing.
 

Levin

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Pre-ordered at Game (Gothenburg, Sweden) today in my local store. They said they will have it in Wednesday next week.
 

Accupuncture

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Here is the score direct from play.com the retailers that goa have as the main uk retailer on their website.

I called them today and spoke to a member of staff who asked their supervisor as he was unsure.

He confirmed that :-

a) The release date is 1st of April

b) Even if they get stock in today/tomorrow any day soon they will not dispatch the game to anyone before the 1st of April.

So as I have said can we have a list of retailers that are stocking the game that are going to sell on the release date (that being the date it goes live on the server) or are we as I suspect being fed a load bullshit.

Not a lot to ask tbh.

I have 3 copies ordered (not cheap) and was looking forward to playing it over the easter hols.
 

Job

The Carl Pilkington of Freddyshouse
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old.Whoodoo said:
You just did.
No, Im not going to 'sayathing'

It's a small island off the Burzanian coast, terrible problem with midges.
 

Job

The Carl Pilkington of Freddyshouse
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So it's Easter bank holiday and looks like UK players will have the joyous experience of playing an empty game, while the rest of Europe gleefully runs around catacombs.
 

Flimgoblin

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that's more down to the 5 day play.com delivery ;) but hey it's free :p

rumours were gamestation had it?
 

Malcolm

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'Mega' can shove their entire stock of it up their 'Sear'
 

Accupuncture

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I can confirm after a lengthy conversation with their head office.

They do not have the game in stock as yet.

They have a release date of the 15th as confirmed at the start of this thread and have said they cannot see them getting the game before that date.

So yet again can we have from Requiel a list of retailers that are selling the game and will have in stock for us user go out and purchase and be able to play on the date we have been told we will be able to.

Or as I suspect (i would love to be wrong) we will not be playing over the UK easter hols.

I feel we will be at a disadvantage as half my guild live outside the UK and will be able to play the addon and I will not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Ttillub

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I don't think many will be playing Catacombs during easter.
They shipped the boxes yesterday from GOA and before they are in stores all over europe and shipped to customers can take some time. In fact they should be in stores today and mailed to customers this same day if people should have them before easter. Ofc there are those lucky ones with fast deliveries and/or local stores selling boxes out.
 

York

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Ive just got back in from a trip round town (Lincoln).

GAME dont have it (no news there)
HMV dont have it, although the guy said 15th april
Gamestation dont have it (nor do they intent too so the guy said, they dont do DaoC in general, but from a previous post they seem to sell it online)
Swallowgames.co.uk dont have it (same again 15th april)

When i say dont have it, i mean they havent got it stock today nor do they expect it in tomorrow.

Its shocking that distributors can make a call like that .. but whats even more shocking is that this exact same thing happened with ToA.

I also voice my call for Requiel to give us a list of retailers that the boxes have been dispatched too.

Disappointed to say the least.
 

Serdan

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Ttillub said:
I don't think many will be playing Catacombs during easter.
They shipped the boxes yesterday from GOA and before they are in stores all over europe and shipped to customers can take some time. In fact they should be in stores today and mailed to customers this same day if people should have them before easter. Ofc there are those lucky ones with fast deliveries and/or local stores selling boxes out.


Just got e-mail from amazon.de - they have sent the Catacombs already. As I am in Germany now, I would expect to get my copy tommorow. :) But maybe delivery from France to Germany goes faster as to UK. No idea.
 

Svartmetall

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It will be sickening if the rest of Europe gets to play Catacombs before we in the UK do, all because of this cock-up.

...
 

Javai

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Guildie from Denmark picked it up in a shop today and yet we can't even get a confirmation of getting in the UK by TUESDAY.
 
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