Might want to research people on the internet before saying things.
https://www.mobygames.com/person/304131/dan-amrich/

You are now just making yourself look like an idiot in an attempt to prove yerself right - rather than say "oh, I was an idiot!".

Are you for real?

Then there's even more reason for him to be conscientious in reponding.

I'm not attempting anything. Go read my response on the thread and you'll see EXACTLY what I posted here.

I am the customer asking a simple question. He chose to answer that question in a way that was QUESTIONABLE at best. You may not interpret it that way... but I did... and my wife -- who doesn't care one iota about video games -- read it the same way. So while many here argue "that's not what he meant," it's clear that some read it differently.

If he didn't like my reasonable but definitive response, sobeit. I am not trying to sell him on purchasing my game.

And if my response is so annoying to him (which I highly doubt), he can always reach out.

(Actually, he could also go to some of the dev Q & A livestreams where they answered some of MY QUESTIONS! Yes, I wasn't pretending to be a fan)

This conversation has been ridiculous. I'm done. It happened. It sucked. Might not have been what he meant? But certainly could have been (and was) interpreted as snide. I aired my disappointment and am moving on.

More power to them in release.

Oh FFS!

I'm not living for your approval Eric... and your back-handed compliment is noted.

I am not making a value judgement on the maker of the game in question. I am questioning the way they responded, which is akin to questioning a person's behavior... not the person's worth. I feel they responded flippantly and snidely. You feel differently. Sobeit.

If I am contacted, the matter is discussed, and I feel an apology is warranted, I will... but... as of this moment I se no reason to do so.

You disagree. Noted.

But then why is it that you prompted anyone present to give their opinion on the matter by posting on a public forum, if you were just going to be insufferable and obstinate when others didn't agree with you? If you don't live for the approval of others, why do you take to some obscure forums? Just to graciously inform others that someone mildly inconvenienced you, and for this they no longer deserve our custom or consideration? Wouldn't it be simpler to keep your mouth closed; or having vented your frustration, not respond to goading comments such as this?

Though you are correct about one thing at least, people should be more careful and not so ready to throw away their money for incomplete products, empty promises, or preorder bonuses.

I post just like I'd write a product review. The end.

Careful there. In an online discussion it is very easy to misinterpret how someone wanted to communicate to you, did they really want to ridicule you or something else.

For instance, some might find my messages vulgar and obnoxious, but in reality I love you all, and I would marry you all if it was legal. But it isn't, so F you all! ;^P

Also, since we are talking about (game) programmers, many, if not all, of them may have autistic tendencies, which may make it harder for them to correctly convey their emotions, especially in an online discussion. Programmers talking to gamers is like a cripple fight: fun to watch for awhile, but enough is enough.

What I don't get, though, is the pettiness of making this thread. Fine, you had an interaction with the man that you did not like, that happens with all of us on any single day. But instead of having your say. dealing with it as you did and leaving it there (as any rational person would do), you decided to try to blow this up an create this thread... for what reason?

What did you expect would come out of it? Apart of some kind of puplic shaming of the person you intertacted with? What is the point here?

You were expressing hope for a discount prior to release. Despite not directly asking, you received an answer and perceived it as condescending. Nothing in Mr. Amrich's reply suggests to me that it is. He offers that it might be a good idea to buy before release and accept the current price as containing an implicit discount. In a way, he does what you did - implying an answer but not directly answering - and you make it very clear that this is not how you expected an answer to look like.

Whatever can be said about this exchange, your reaction leaves little room for interpretation. It is an exaggerated shift from I will support and buy to I don't like the way it was phrased - this is what I expected an answer to look like - to ultimately declaring that Mr. Amrich has lost a sale due to his perceived unprofessional communication skills.

Sadly you have burned the bridge, even though there might have been ways to elucidate the answer you had rather expected, and nothing will change your mind. Maybe you will ask next time, before making assumptions, for instance how something was meant instead of becoming agitated when it may not be warranted.

Thanks for that link.
Confirms my first suspicion.

Damn! I didn't know using a smiley face is a sign of being a jerk. I should probably stop doing this myself. What a jerk I was. I apologise to anyone who got offended by my smileys in the past! :)

I don't know, it's entirely subjective whether it was a reasonable reaction or not. I guess it's just unfortunate that somebody had an unpleasant experience unnecessarily.

I looked at the original thread and post in question, and I don't see how the dev did anything wrong or rude or anything like that.

Agreed - this looks to be a case of someone taking offence when none was intended. There is clearly a responsibility on community managers/PR reps/company spokespeople to be professional and as non-confrontational as possible, but there is a concomitant responsibility on end-users not to take umbrage on any imagined mis-interpretation. Hmm...in this case it looks to be a plus for Digital Eclipse. Customers who fly off the handle at the slightest issue are likely to be a loss due to inflated support costs.

This isn't just an Early Access issue either. If your major concern is getting a discount, then you should be glued to the GOG Weekly and Weekend Sales thread (another shout out to Ciemnogrodzianin for maintaining this - if any poster deserves a job offer from GOG, it's him/her) - not wasting developer and forum bandwidth with threads like this.

I also have to agree with the majority here. The dev/publisher was using the ":)" emoji and not even the ";)" emoji so imo he basically wanted to show what you want - the game on sale - is already kind of the case and therefore it is a reason you could be happy. He is not laughing about you he is smiling at you. I am an older gamer myself and I usually use that emoji to calm things down and not when I am rude or want to insult someone.

However my interpretation and the interpretation of many here does not mean that there is no room for other interpretations of the written word and/or a certain emojis and the reason for them ... but this can happen in every conversation. Chances are pretty high that you and your wife simply interpreted something that the dev/publisher never wanted to express in the first place.

Of course you have to decide for yourself if you still want to buy the game or not ... but think for a moment about the possibility that the dev/publisher did NOT want to be rude and your interpretation of the text he wrote was never intended ... in that case it would be unfair to not buy the game and tell them that they lost a customer.