Think I'm going to refund the game next week tbh. I'll come back if they overhaul it a lot. The game was fun when it was working, but they should have probably considered a release schedule involving Early Access and all the joys of beta-testing for a "real" launch come the Fall.
As it is, they haven't learned from Andromeda's release, and the shitty reputation at launch effectively killed the game, eventually the studio, and put the series on hiatus when it was months away from putting out a polished experience.
Maybe I have the wrong idea about what it means to be "early access", but it's clear they need to manage expectations in the public for a complex situation where the developer has had to deal with an engine that wasn't designed around the type of games they normally make while certainly recognizing that the parent company does have to meet fiscal targets. As an early access title, the public/press could have been much more forgiving and more conducive towards offering constructive feedback while folks are paying for that erm... privilege, so to speak.
For the bean counters, it'd be along the lines of sales sabotaged by the # of cancelled pre-orders and refunds (+ shit reputation) vs those folks willing to plunk down some cash for "Early Access" with managed expectations (less outrage) if that makes sense. The latter just seems a lot more sustainable for a title that is meant to be longterm as opposed to scaring away folks with this botched launch into either - A) no longer bothering with the title, or B) waiting months anyway for the patched edition, but now at the usual time-lagged discounted price.
What a waste. Good luck to Bioware :V
