Well, it will be a nice thing to come back from work and have the game waiting for download. Only around 15 hours more for me...

I don't think I'll ever pre order a game again. I have had pre order several times come out after the store received it. You know what I really like is having to go to the store to pick up the game and then Your pre order comes in 3 days later. I hope it comes out soon because I could be heading offshore tomorrow and then I'll have to wait 2 months before playing it...

What is the difference between a pre-order and beta tester? I pre-ordered a year ago. I didn't really beta test, just loaded it up occasionally to see how it was coming along. The game is currently not listed as installed due to the last update, although it is listed on Impulse under my games. Do you pre-order guys not even have a listing for the game under Impulse?

And Lokju, the real beta testers probably do deserve to play it early since a lot of them put in a lot of time with the game.

If I can take the game for a spin tonight, great, if I have to wait until Tuesday, oh well.

I believe the way they explained it is if you were already billed then you're a beta tester.

Thanks for working yer backsides off Frogboy et al. 

Especially on a Sunday.

When you ordered it. If you had access to the beta then you're a beta tester, if you pre-ordered too late to get into the beta then you'll be in the pre-order group.

Rule of thumb Kyro gave was basically if you've already been charged for it you're a beta tester, if you haven't yet been charged you're a pre-order.

I decided to cook an elaborate dinner to kill some time and noticed that I was pacing back and forth waiting for water to boil. My nerves are shot!

I do appreciate you guys putting in all this time on a Sunday to get the game out.

Yep: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeI5ke0BENw

http://www.xkcd.com/684/

I'm have refreshed Impulse a billion times today, just like everyone else. I get it. However, These guys have been working crunch time for NOT just today but likely since the end of Beta 4 trying to make a shelf date that they had reserved many many moons ago. So here we are at 7pm Stardock local time on a Sunday night the weekend before release and folks are getting upset that they can't have their preorder for the 4 hours (or 12, or 36 hours, the number here isn't the relevant part) early like they were promised. I think a deep breath is in order.

I personally, am FAR more interested in the game being stable and polished WHEN released, be that Monday, Tuesday, etc. I have alot of faith in Brad Wardell and his team's commitment to their products and I am hoping that Stardock doesn't get burned by a shelfdate push. While it may be TRUE that if the game is buggy Stardock is the kind of company that will fix it (really fix it), I believe Stardock is becoming more and more visible in the mainstream PC gaming market and a very poor release ("Gold") version will get crushed in reviews and hurt their reputation. Gamers are a stunningly impatient lot, and even if it's fixed next week, I think the moment of victory will have passed. Take a look at StarCraft 2's sales numbers. Clearly, release is an important time for sales.

I had already resigned myself to a winter release date when the Gone Gold news came out, since I play on a x64 OS with an ATI card and in the 150 Beta Games I have played thus far, I have only reached the victory screen once without a crash to desktop. I told myself, with quiet certainty, to be patient. They have these bugs listed on the BETA feedback forum. They'll nail down the memory leaks and typos and quirky bits. I AM certain they will be ironed out eventually. I just hope the Gold version is stable and doesn't cost the company sales from mixed review PR.

Do you think the shelfdate window could have rushed the end of development process? I, for one, hope not. I'm on Stardock's team at the end of the day, and I'm a big fan of winning. Market Share. Gaming Production Philosophy championing. Stardock is full of win, and I hope this release serves to further that trend.

Forgive me for coming late to the party, but how am I to know when it is available?  I am a beta tester. Do i need to keep checking the forums, will there be an email, or do i just keep looking on impulse for an 8/22 update?

None. Hence the delay.

We had the gold version (from several days ago) and we were working towards the day 0 version which was supposed to go Monday morning.

In any event, whenever the game comes out and you're happy with it enough to release it is fine by me. Thank you so much for your hard work, Frogboy and everyone at Stardock! Today must be really stressful for you.

---I almost mistyped that to say 'Toady' from habit. Only now realizing that one of you is a frog, and the other a toad...