First Downloadable Game But Not Impressed

[Engioc 10]

Bought mine from gamersgate, no problems at all. I don't really like downloading games either and prefer boxed games so I get a dvd, manual etc. Still I had no problems with this one so I guess it just depends on which store you choose.

[sick1 13]

So you pirate games, but you can't figure out how to install this? Good work admitting you are a thief.

Edited September 20, 2010 by Sick1

[ProfTournesol 956]

So you pirate games, but you can't figure out how to install this? Good work admitting you are a thief.

Where did you see this :confused:

[infiltrator_2k 29]

So you pirate games, but you can't figure out how to install this? Good work admitting you are a thief.

Lol! I was wondering how it would be before someone bite Let's just say every game I play or have played for more than 5 minutes I've gone out & bought & legally own. I don't condone or pirate games as it financially deprives game developers of the resources needed to make great games.

Back to the install business:

I never actually monitored the download, so when I returned to my PC and saw just the desktop i.e. no prompts/open programs I thought the download failed. I trawled through ArmA's folders and sub-folders but found nothing but the DLF folder with several small files in. I ignorantly thought the installation had sophistically been done on the fly somehow over an encrypted connection and the connection had been lost whilst installing - little did I know it was basically a conventional downloadable file assisted with a script.

I think the person(s) who compiled spocket.exe have an air of arrogance about them - they must have, as it's evident that they believe we shouldn't have a say to where they download the software to on our PCs. Even Operation Arrowhead prompts you and asks where you would like to install it - it doesn't for one moment assume you want Combined Ops or a standalone version of their game. Let's face it, to be asked where we'd like to have files downloaded on our PCs is courteous and common sense! When coders of software start cutting us out of control of our own PCs you know there's going to be trouble!

I'm seriously wondering if the person(s) who coded sproket.exe wrote viruses in their earlier years, as the only executable files I've ever had to search out on a PC's HD have always been viruses or malware :confused: If it's just lazziness on behalf of the coders then I sack them on the spot!

[mosh 0]

Lol! I was wondering how it would be before someone bite Let's just say every game I play or have played for more than 5 minutes I've gone out & bought & legally own. I don't condone or pirate games as it financially deprives game developers of the resources needed to make great games.

So you pirate games... bye.

[PuFu 4591]

would you cut the pirate game thing already?

The guy is moaning about sproket installation system. He should have looked over some instructions prior to making this post, yes, but he has some reason behind it not beeing user friendly though...

[whisper 0]

1 missing instruction, and the whole thing is to put to trash? lol

Man you must be quite sad with everyday products, from making your own IKEA cabinet to ... well, I can't count the number of instances of innacurate manuals :D

I'll categorize this as a pure current behavior of "I want everything, now, for free and/or zero effort. Because I'm THAT much important!11".

[infiltrator_2k 29]

would you cut the pirate game thing already?

The guy is moaning about sproket installation system. He should have looked over some instructions prior to making this post, yes, but he has some reason behind it not beeing user friendly though...

THERE ARE NO INSTRUCTIONS! :butbut:

1 missing instruction, and the whole thing is to put to trash? lol

Man you must be quite sad with everyday products, from making your own IKEA cabinet to ... well, I can't count the number of instances of innacurate manuals :D

I'll categorize this as a pure current behavior of "I want everything, now, for free and/or zero effort. Because I'm THAT much important!11".

I often wonder if some people actually read the threads before posting replies :rolleyes:

[killaalf 0]

THERE ARE NO INSTRUCTIONS! :butbut:

Strange, I was given the option to either use the sprocket system or download the file directly - plopped the link into my download manager, downloaded it to where I wanted it to go, installed from there. Quite simple, really.

[SWAT_BigBear 0]

Folders? what folders? I have thousands of folders on my PC - My Documents is exactly what it says on the tin, they're my documents, with files I have that are important & confidential to me, I never wanted the install to put itself in "my documents" so the last place I'd ever look is "my document"

Windows defaults to "My Documents" when no path is pointed on downloads.

You may want to create your own "My Important Documents" folder.:rolleyes:

Edited September 20, 2010 by SWAT_BigBear

[whisper 0]

THERE ARE NO INSTRUCTIONS! :butbut:

I often wonder if some people actually read the threads before posting replies :rolleyes:

Reading what? That you were sceptic from the get go and only searched for an argument to put the thing to trash? That's exactly what you wrote in OP, tyvm.

As far as instruction goes, this is what is written on the download page

Thank you for using our services. On this page, you can download it with our downloader file (recommended) or in case of problems, you can download installation of the game through browser

Your download manager that will take care of the download for you:

Stating explicitely that the utility is a downloader, not an installer.

And for having compared both, the direct link download is like 10x slower than going through the Sprocket downloader.

Yes, the information of where the download goes is missing (which I wrote, if you too cared to read), that doesn't mean the downloader should be not used, quite the contrary

[infiltrator_2k 29]

I can't be bothered with this antagonistic crap. Sprocket's downloader sucks & it needs to be worked on - end of!

[rundll.exe 12]

Yes, the information of where the download goes is missing (which I wrote, if you too cared to read), that doesn't mean the downloader should be not used, quite the contrary

Thats the whole point of the thread (wich infiltrator makes hard to understand, while its this simple)

The downloader works fine upon the point that it finishes downloading: It closes itself and leaves you clueless what to do next! You cant deny that this is quite a serious design flaw.

I can imagine that people tried downloading it over and over :rolleyes: just to find out it was just hidden in their documents folder. A simple choice of download folder would suffice.

[infiltrator_2k 29]

Thats the whole point of the thread (wich infiltrator makes hard to understand, while its this simple)

The downloader works fine upon the point that it finishes downloading: It closes itself and leaves you clueless what to do next! You cant deny that this is quite a serious design flaw.

I can imagine that people tried downloading it over and over :rolleyes: just to find out it was just hidden in their documents folder. A simple choice of download folder would suffice.

There will always be a small few who are more intersted in flaming than debating issues and/or adding constructive critism. It's like they've just been ass raped on ArmA & they delve straight on to the forum to vent their anger & fustration on poor opinionated people like me :D Sorry, but you've got to laugh it off :p It's not being pedantic about the issue, it's all about princible.

The flaw in the downloader is indeed a serious one - TBH, the fact it stuck that 300+MB file in My Documents without my knowledge bloody infuriated me :mad: IMHO, it's like ordering something from a shop, waiting for it to arrive, & when it does arrive instead of the delivery man knocking he simply lets himself into your property & places a bulky package on your study table along side your confidential stuff & then leaves without saying a word.

However, there is of course the positive side of things - Sprocket's website for example, it's overall nicely layed out & easy to navigate. (with exception to the troubleshooting part that's list at the very bottom of FAQ) I like the fact that you do get an executable installation file that you can back up appose to a live stream what installs on the fly, and the fact you can access & download the file 24/7 from your Sprocket account is also a bonus. The payment method is also troublefree & processed very quickly.

[Zipper5 74]

Odd, the setup.exe was launched automatically for me once it was all downloaded. :confused:

[-)rStrangelove 0]

Good god.

If something is downloaded to my system and nothing happens afterwards i normally go straight to my explorer to find out what landed where. Also, a quick ctrl&alt&del to startup process explorer to see if there's a installer active or not etc etc.

Don't you guys feel responsible for your system? You just click 'download' and shut off your brains?

Maybe it's because i'm 38 by now but one thing i've learned is that its best to never expect anything to be done for you automaticly, even if promised. Once you do, you sit there and wait and wait and wait .....

and one day you'll be 38. haha :D

[76 0]

)rStrangelove;1754198']Good god.

If something is downloaded to my system and nothing happens afterwards i normally go straight to my explorer to find out what landed where. Also' date=' a quick ctrl&alt&del to startup process explorer to see if there's a installer active or not etc etc.

Don't you guys feel responsible for your system? You just click 'download' and shut off your brains?

Maybe it's because i'm 38 by now but one thing i've learned is that its best to never expect anything to be done for you automaticly, even if promised. Once you do, you sit there and wait and wait and wait .....

and one day you'll be 38. haha :D[/quote']

Why think when you can watch TV.

[whisper 0]

There will always be a small few who are more intersted in flaming than debating issues and/or adding constructive critism. It's like they've just been ass raped on ArmA & they delve straight on to the forum to vent their anger & fustration on poor opinionated people like me :D Sorry, but you've got to laugh it off :p It's not being pedantic about the issue, it's all about princible.

The flaw in the downloader is indeed a serious one - TBH, the fact it stuck that 300+MB file in My Documents without my knowledge bloody infuriated me :mad: IMHO, it's like ordering something from a shop, waiting for it to arrive, & when it does arrive instead of the delivery man knocking he simply lets himself into your property & places a bulky package on your study table along side your confidential stuff & then leaves without saying a word.

However, there is of course the positive side of things - Sprocket's website for example, it's overall nicely layed out & easy to navigate. (with exception to the troubleshooting part that's list at the very bottom of FAQ) I like the fact that you do get an executable installation file that you can back up appose to a live stream what installs on the fly, and the fact you can access & download the file 24/7 from your Sprocket account is also a bonus. The payment method is also troublefree & processed very quickly.

There are ways to present things.

Funnily enough, when you are replied to in the same manner you made you first posts, you suddenly can be bothered anymore.

How hard is it to simply state that the service is lacking instruction on where files are downloaded and probably a configurable download folder?

Edited September 21, 2010 by whisper

[-)rStrangelove 0]

Why think when you can watch TV.

Hardly have the time anymore, so i gave up on it. (watching, not thinking) ;)

[infiltrator_2k 29]

)rStrangelove;1754198']Good god.

If something is downloaded to my system and nothing happens afterwards i normally go straight to my explorer to find out what landed where. Also' date=' a quick ctrl&alt&del to startup process explorer to see if there's a installer active or not etc etc.

Don't you guys feel responsible for your system? You just click 'download' and shut off your brains?

Maybe it's because i'm 38 by now but one thing i've learned is that its best to never expect anything to be done for you automaticly, even if promised. Once you do, you sit there and wait and wait and wait .....

and one day you'll be 38. haha :D[/quote']

Yeah, I hear what you're saying, although I never actually monitored the download & I just thought the connection failed & the downloader closed. I did actually trawl through ArmA's folders although I obviously never found the download as it was in the 'My Documents' directory :rolleyes: I wasn't too bothered about it though as it was from a trusted source, otherwise I'd be doing some serious investigating... TBH, I was just really disappointed about the flaw in the downloader because I had high expectations as downloading games is definitely going to be the future. I'm just glad you're able to download a solid installation file appose to a steaming install.

I've been messing with PCs for a few years now & consider myself to be IT literate. Although I guess I'm getting complacent. My PC & network is very secure. It's fully patched/encypted/protected & I know exactly what's running in the background. I've dealt with some really nasty viruses in the past, eradicating ones that usually force people to format the hardrive. I particulary remember one nasty rootkit that was a right nightmare remove, using several methods of stealthy startup & recreating/renaming its process everytime you killed it. Best of all, it utilitised the 'system restore' service to back itself up :omg:

As for one day being 38, I wish... I was 40 last month

[rundll.exe 12]

)rStrangelove;1754198']Good god.

If something is downloaded to my system and nothing happens afterwards i normally go straight to my explorer to find out what landed where. Also' date=' a quick ctrl&alt&del to startup process explorer to see if there's a installer active or not etc etc.

Don't you guys feel responsible for your system? You just click 'download' and shut off your brains?

[/quote']

You're also missing the point, much like the most people here...

Its not that we are too lazy/stupid/irresponsible etc enough, (I found the file with windows search in a few minutes.) it's just that its the most user-unfriendly thing the downloader can do. It should simply ask where to store the files, before actually downloading the thing. A nice bonus would then be to launch it on user request when finished downloading.

But talking about it doens't resolve it, so a mail to IDEA would be best indeed.

________

edit: I agree that the OP and topic title = fail

Edited September 21, 2010 by rundll.exe

[infiltrator_2k 29]

You're also missing the point, much like the most people here...

Its not that we are too lazy/stupid/irresponsible etc enough, (I found the file with windows search in a few minutes.) it's just that its the most user-unfriendly thing the downloader can do. It should simply ask where to store the files, before actually downloading the thing. A nice bonus would then be to launch it on user request when finished downloading.

But talking about it doens't resolve it, so a mail to IDEA would be best indeed.

________

edit: I agree that the OP and topic title = fail

It's a competitive market out there, and if IDEA don't sort it out there will always be a rival company waiting in the shadows who'll capitalise on IDEA's failings by providing a better service.

[cream-t 10]

)rStrangelove;1754230']Hardly have the time anymore' date=' so i gave up on it. (watching, not thinking) ;)[/quote']

Exactly. Most people dont have the time these days. I found the file but was annoyed I had to waste time and effort doing so for such basic lack of coding/design. Its not the 90s anymore.

ARMA is time consuming enough!

[-)rStrangelove 0]

You're also missing the point, much like the most people here...

Its not that we are too lazy/stupid/irresponsible etc enough, (I found the file with windows search in a few minutes.) it's just that its the most user-unfriendly thing the downloader can do. It should simply ask where to store the files, before actually downloading the thing. A nice bonus would then be to launch it on user request when finished downloading.

Hmmm. Actually my experience was a lot more chaotic.

- downloader didnt autostart after download

- running the activation caused a dll problem for me (had to download & reg it to run)

- figure out that activation and installation key both were the same lol

... and i still was happy when i had the british units onscreen in all their glory. Maybe i'm a lot more stress resistent, dunno.

I didnt even complain, i came back to these forums and posted the problems/solutions/tips so others wouldnt have to deal with them.

Complaining ppl are never interested in solving their problems it seems.

[infiltrator_2k 29]

You've touched upon an interest aspect of ArmA: 'time'. I work on average 12/13 hours a day & I have 3 young daughters 2, 4 & 6 so time is a luxury. In fact I bought both OA & BAF last week & I've not even had time to play them yet :o