I went with the UPS shipping option, so just a corrugated brown box with some of that brown packing paper. The starless box was shrink wrapped and arrived undamaged.
I think Tom said they shipped the first 400 copies and they'll be sending the next wave soon. I ordered mine around early February. Hope you get yours soon.
Nice! I was supposed to be getting mine today’s and was home, eagerly anticipating it. However, USPS was too lazy to take an elevator upstairs to deliver it, so I’ll be picking it up from the post office tomorrow. Yay.
I just unboxed my copy and I have to say that I’m really impressed with the presentation. I wasn’t expecting the box to be as big as it is and the artbook is a lot more premium than I thought it was going to be. Overall, I’m very pleased with this limited edition and it was actually my first purchase from JAST. I’ll definitely support any future Empress titles.
@dogma : Sorry you had to go through all that, although I think that is more the USPS's fault than our staff's (we don't work at the post office after all). If you have suggestions for better couriers to use please let us know (I believe UPS is available and Fed Ex or DHL can be done by special request although most people don't like paying an extra 20 dollars for domestic shipping).
Good news and bad news for everyone else:
Good news: I've tested the 1.1 build of starless. The zooming issue has been fixed. All missing dicks, strange cumshots and missed mosaics have also been fixed.
Bad news: The sprite placement issue is still 70% present. Worse yet, because the developer is busy with a release and we wont be able to get ver 1.2 until he is done with his current project (earliest availability is June 22nd).
Really sorry guys I was really hoping this build would have been good (and we could have had the patches out this week) but it's just been shitty luck.
Hope you guys are enjoying the SE boxes (they're finally shipping). It looks like the people at Empress are in general approval (I'll get more details on their thoughts if people are interested) I'm hoping that we can do more of their games. (And hopefully have fewer issues in the future of course)
I guess fixing the graphical glitches wasn't as simple as compressing the new visual assets to the same resolution as the old visual assets.
@dogma: I'm confused what you're complaining about. It took 7 days or less for your shipment to reach you. That's... normal? You would've had to pay more for shipping if J-List hadn't used USPS. Remember, J-List doesn't command the bargaining power that Amazon does; they can't provide super-cheap super-fast shipping like major shippers can. It's not J-List's fault that USPS sat on your package for 3 days.
My gripe with J-List is that their ordering system is terrible, and orders, even preorders, get messed up or delayed for extended periods. I vowed a few years ago never to buy from J-List again, but I relented when they started offering digital downloads alongside the physical package. I don't mind a lengthy delay if I can least get the game digitally the moment it's released. The box is mostly for display / lending to others, so getting it in a timely manner isn't necessary.
It actually isnt a resolution problem (if you try the gallery you'll notice that everything is normal there). <- but we've fixed that bug. The position bug might have to do with the script file, we're not quite sure, we sent the developer some more information so if we're lucky we can get a quick fix, but like I said he's finalizing a different project right now and we've been told the 22nd is the tentative date that he'll finish.
The problem with the jlist ordering system is that on our end it's a little over complicated (things that should be automated are not because we simply never had a system to do that sort of distribution in the past) We're working to fix that soon. Digital distribution along side the packages help imo but of course true efficiency is best (which is what we're striving for). Considering the awesome lineup we have coming, hopefully we'll have some improvements cooked into our site soon.
Will we get 1.1 patch earlier than sprite placement fix in 1.2 patch? Also, if patch is applied to uncen version, will it still be uncen or revert to regular version?
I deleted my post. Sorry about the rant but I guess my complain was that the game was released in May 12th and just now we are getting it. But I guess it doesn't matter anymore as I got mine already. Also I meant to type that the USPS is a horrible options for any domestic related deliveries. I don't think there was another option for me to choose but if there was, I may have overlooked it.
@Tim: "...It looks like the people at Empress are in general approval (I'll get more details on their thoughts if people are interested)..."
Please do. I wanted to know what they think of the Western gobbling away their products, albeit just few years ago they had strict policy of selling their merchandise in Japan only. I think Illusion and few others still have that logo "Japan sale only" at the intro. of their games.
@sanahtlig: I guess my frustration was that taking a month for a simple parcel to distribute locally (in the United States) is ridiculous and should not have happened. If this was planned appropriately before distribution, no delay would have been made. But I am not blaming Jast for it, as I have mentioned on my previous e-mail. I am just stating that this could have been handled very smoothly with little plannings!
"@sanahtlig: I guess my frustration was that taking a month for a simple parcel to distribute locally (in the United States) is ridiculous and should not have happened. If this was planned appropriately before distribution, no delay would have been made. But I am not blaming Jast for it, as I have mentioned on my previous e-mail. I am just stating that this could have been handled very smoothly with little plannings!"
The boxes weren't printed. They had the option to delay the entire release a month, or release the digital version first and ship the retail boxes later. They decided to go with the latter, but in either case *you would not have gotten your package any sooner*.
Still awaiting my hard copy. It's shipping still in LA!
@Tim Thanks for the update. Closed GAME is coming out this month for Empress and they announced the master version is complete. I expect they are finalizing the current project before re work on the sprites for Starless can be done.
@Tim It looks like the people at Empress are in general approval (I'll get more details on their thoughts if people are interested) I'm hoping that we can do more of their games. (And hopefully have fewer issues in the future of course)
Yes some thoughts would be nice from team Empress on how well Starless is being received and any future plans. They also have DEN, Hazuki and a few other members of the team people could know more about. I would be very interested in any of this.
Any new regarding the plans of future Empress titles will get my utmost attention if you couldn't already tell. XD
@ Tim: Thanks for keeping us in the loop on the patches and everything.
Really glad to hear that Empress is happy with sales so far (was a little worried to be honest) and any feedback of theirs you could share with us would be great.
Looking at patches, what ETA would you put on the script fix patch?
Also do you know if JAST has already shipped some copies to Rightstuf and if not when do you expect that to happen?
