Himalaya Studios

Public Forums => General Forum => Topic started by: GameDevBrit on June 28, 2006, 05:06:35 PM

Title: Al Emmo Demo RELEASED at Adventure Gamers!
Post by: GameDevBrit on June 28, 2006, 05:06:35 PM
Hey guys!

Be the first to try out the Al Emmo demo over at www.adventuregamers.com (http://www.adventuregamers.com)!

The shopping cart is now available for pre-ordering at: https://shop.himalayaforums.com (https://shop.himalayaforums.com)

...AND the official Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine website will be launched at midnight Anozira time!!

Be sure to keep an eye out on:

http://www.alemmo.com (http://www.alemmo.com)

Exciting times :D
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Post by: trudysgarden on June 28, 2006, 05:47:01 PM
Congrats on the demo AG.  I sent all my spies over there to try it out.

happy trails,

Carolyn

ETA:  I just tried to pre order AE and the registration won't take my info.  Will try again later.
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Post by: GameDevBrit on June 28, 2006, 06:35:15 PM
Thanks, Carolyn!

Where are you located, by the way?  For international customers, they have to go through a special ordering process.  There is a link for international customers on the ordering page.

GoDaddy's shopping cart doesn't allow people to input foreign countries.  If that is a problem....the link I mentioned above would be the solution.

If that is not the problem, I'm interested in knowing what else the issue might be.  If you can explain what's happening, I'd appreciate it, so we can look into it.

Thanks!
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Post by: trudysgarden on June 28, 2006, 09:48:21 PM
I'm in Central NY.  I did get through but I had to do it as an unregistered guest.  Do you guys have a release date yet?

happy trails,

Carolyn
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Post by: MusicallyInspired on June 28, 2006, 10:07:29 PM
Woohoo!!! *downloads*
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Post by: Legolas813 on June 28, 2006, 10:30:01 PM
I was all excited to preorder the game until I saw the shipping.  $12 for the cheapest shipping method?!?  I only live in Florida.  There is something really wrong with your distributor if they are charging that much.  No thanks.   :angry:
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Post by: Disco on June 29, 2006, 01:06:59 AM
Wow! ;)).  I will have to wait a little while longer. I know Himalaya put crazy amounts of work into this project and I'd love to do my bit to recompense, but I simply cannot justify that at this moment in time.

Ooh, I'll have the demo in a few hours, coolness!
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Post by: Zandar on June 29, 2006, 01:20:53 AM
I am enjoying the demo very much and wanted to buy the game and soundtrack bundle but the shipping costs are outrageous. I do fear that many potential customers will be lost when they see the shipping costs. 29.99 is an excellent price but when you add the extra $12, it makes the total price rise into the $40 range. This is definitely one of those times where I would have loved a download option to avoid the high shipping costs.

There is simply no huge distinction in price between media mail and priority mail shipping costs but just a few cents. There should have been some type of shipping option of at least no more than $6 for the game alone. I will have to pass on this excellent game for now.
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Post by: Disco on June 29, 2006, 01:45:46 AM
Apparently it's only $10 for any international order since those orders are hand packed. If all orders were packed this way it might be ~$6 for domestic shipping, but I can see how that would be hectic for a small group to handle. Still a good idea for an indie startup.
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Post by: NightShift on June 29, 2006, 02:12:34 AM
Is the high shipping price compensating for the first 100 pre-orders?  With the extra stuff?
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Post by: GameDevBrit on June 29, 2006, 02:35:36 AM
The collector's items were actually made at our own expense, and are being given away for free.  The shipping and handling charge is high due to our fulfillment house and the options that they provide.  We are looking into additional options for distributing the game--perhaps a download, which would cut down on shipping costs, in the distant future.  But, this would of course exclude people from getting the beautifully designed coverart by Eriq Chang, goodies, potential prizes, etc which are all part of the fun of purchasing and owning an adventure game.

If you get a bundled package, that cuts down on shipping, in a way.  I will keep you updated on any new developments regarding shipping though.
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Post by: navynuke04 on June 29, 2006, 08:17:43 AM
As Brit said, we have run into a couple unexpected bumps in the road. Heh... this is our first time running an online store, so we're learning as we go.

We are looking into things though. More news coming soon!
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Post by: Sartori on June 29, 2006, 08:35:52 AM
I also cannot believe shipping. It's unbelievable.
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Post by: Lordrasson on June 30, 2006, 01:06:21 AM
maybe you clicked the wrong thing I am getting shipping for 7.95? that is not to bad about adverage for ordering stuff online I think
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Post by: navynuke04 on June 30, 2006, 06:38:13 AM
We've recalculated the shipping costs and made adjustments. People who paid more will have money refunded to them. I am going to try to go through all those orders later today.
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Post by: Tom Lewandowski on June 30, 2006, 11:17:13 AM
I also didn't see anything about Shipping/Handling costs.  People are asking me how much shipping will be, and I don't know what to tell them?  What is S/H on the Soundtrack CD (no game)?
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Post by: Angelus3K on June 30, 2006, 11:25:01 AM
Shipping to the US is now only $7.95 and shipping outside the US is $14.95  ;)

EDIT: Not too sure about shipping for the soundtrack CD by itself but I would assume its the same. Maybe you can save $ by ordering the game and soundtrack at the same time and getting them shipped together? (Or just go for the LE which includes the soundtrack!!)
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Post by: navynuke04 on June 30, 2006, 11:58:52 AM
International orders are charged a flat rate of $14.95.

Domestic orders are charged $6.95 + $1.00 for each item. This means that if you order just one copy of the soundtrack, shipping will be $7.95. If you order two copies, it will be $8.95, etc.
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Post by: Zandar on June 30, 2006, 12:05:26 PM
Thanks for making these changes by including the soundtrack with the collectors edition as well as lowering shipping prices.
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Post by: GameDevBrit on June 30, 2006, 08:33:40 PM
You're welcome! We're glad we could make this possible :)
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Post by: navynuke04 on July 01, 2006, 11:24:10 AM
Quote from: "navynuke04"People who paid more will have money refunded to them. I am going to try to go through all those orders later today.
Just to let you guys know... PayPal is giving us some issues, so we can't process refunds right away. As soon as we get things cleared up with them, I'll start processing the refunds.
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Post by: fov on July 02, 2006, 12:51:58 PM
Hi NavyNuke,

Will everyone who paid the higher shipping get a refund, or only people who selected parcel post (the "cheap" method)?

I opted for priority because it was only 10 cents more than parcel post.  I'd be happy to switch to a slower shipping method if it means I'll get a few dollars back.

Thank you guys for being so proactive about this!  Great customer service so far.  :)
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Post by: navynuke04 on July 02, 2006, 07:03:51 PM
We will be fulfilling all the orders ourselves in-house. Because of our limited man power, we plan on keeping things as simple as possible. I believe the plan is to only ship via parcel post. The thought behind this was that you already are already willing to wait several weeks for the game, so a couple extra days shouldn't hurt.

Anyone who placed a domestic (within the USA) before shipping charges were changed will be getting a refund. I've got them all calculated, and was going to start refunding when I discovered the issue with PayPal. Britney is working on getting things straightened out, and as soon as she does, I'll get the money back to everyone.
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Post by: GameDevBrit on July 02, 2006, 10:46:06 PM
Hopefully the PayPal issue will be resolved soon.  They've taken $1.95 out of our checking account, and we need to confirm the 4 digit extended use code they applied to our bank statement.  Once I can access that, the problem will be solved.  Unfortunately, it's against the law to give this number over the phone, and because of this, I have to wait to receive the statement via post.

It seems "waiting for the mail" is an issue in more ways than one :)