I'm pretty sure Stardock has no say as to when/if Steam puts their games on sale.

EDIT: After doing a little research I am still not sure, but it appears that Steam sort of proposes sales and developers can choose to opt in or not. That being said, I'm not totally sure how selling their game at a discount translates to not caring about their customers.

I'm pretty sure you can always expect the current price of a Stardock game to be the highest price. GalCiv III was first available at $100, then $40 and now with the sale $25. It seems to me that the higher price is supposed to encourage the most ardent, enthusiastic fans to buy in and keep the more casual, less invested ones out, at least early in the process while they are still making heavy changes to the gameplay.

Quoting BuckGodot,

reply 4

The complaint that arises when games go on sale has never and will never make sense to me beyond a small amount of an intellectual level.  Everything (even the uber strict priceguided Apple products) will go on sale at some point in its life cycle.  Often times it happens during development cycle.

The only questions that should be pertinent are:  

Was the game worth the price when I bought it?

and

Did I get enough enjoyment from the game during the time I had it?

If the answer to those two questions are "YES", then, frankly, it doesn't matter if someone else got it cheaper (or more expensive for that matter) at a later point.  It truly doesn't.  It really only matters if the goal is to "win" at the game of paying the least amount possible, ever.  But even then, the question of enjoyment from the last eight months (or whatever) comes in to play.

Did the game give you enjoyment?  If so, then it shouldn't matter if others can buy it cheaper later on.  Because while they may get it cheaper now they didn't get the months of enjoyment that you had the opportunity to have.  Cost/benefit equation in a nutshell.

Now if you didn't get any enjoyment (or not enough) during the development cycle, then fair does.  But, then the adage of, "You paid yer monies, you took yer chances" comes into play.  Buying a Early Release and not using the access that the Early Release gives one seems a little self-defeating.  Or at the least, one should realize that games are going to be cheaper at various points, and one should wait until one feels comfortable jumping in.

Then again, as more than one person has found to their detriment, trying to "time the market" can be a risky bet.

So, really, it again comes down to "Was the price I paid worth it".  If so, I truly don't care if someone else gets it cheaper, beyond some sort of academic concern.  I got what I paid for.  That should be enough.

^^^ This person gets it. I paid $100.00 for Alpha and the access to it. I have not and still do not regret it at all. I am actually very happy that the game is on sale (and) at the price it is. More visibility, more sales. More sales means Paul gets to stay employed longer and keep his promise to me (the founder) of developing DLC, expacs and content for me to enjoy. 

Seriously as I posted elsewhere the nerd rage on a game going on sale after you paid full price is enjoyment all in itself. I sell plants via my company I administer to and when one sale ends and anther begins I have no end of calls clamoring to get that old sale price still (or) honor the new sale when they bought last week. 

Ahh that's a kick in the teeth I just bought the game on Sunday. 

Let's think about some of the changes in game development, because that is really at the center of what I am talking about.

Prior to GalCiv III, Stardock would offer a pre-order discount and give some bonus or early access to those who were early adopters. There was a benefit to the purchaser more than just the enjoyment of the game. At no point prior to release was the game available at a lower price. That is the way Stardock operated.

With GalCiv III, and Steam early access. this is no longer true. Now Stardock has disencentivized me from purchasing a game. The benefit is not there for me. The game is available to others who have early access and got a cheaper price. My benefits for pre-ordering are gone.

Additionally, it is at the very least misleading to market the last chance to get a product at a discount prior to release and then provide larger discounts prior to release. That is my biggest issue and it is valid.

I understand sales. Elemental was cheaper months after release than what I paid for it. I don't care. I got a discount and benefit of 2 expansions for pre-ordering. I would not have a complaint if a product goes on sale or clearance after release. This is not a complaint about a game going on sale, but really an issue I have with the marketing of what discounts would be available prior to release.

Look at this timeline:

1. Stardock heavily markets to its fan base that pre-order discounts are available through a specific time (in this case March 2, 2014). There are posts describing a deadline for the pre-order discount and stating "Last chance"

2. The game is available for Steam through Early Access program.

3. GalCiv III is 50% off on two different occasions. Thus contradicting the deadline for pre-ordering at a discount.

4. GalCiv III will be released at a date TBD

5. The game will go on sale. At such time my complaint is not valid and the points about all games go on sale are valid.

Steam early access has changed how game software is developed. Obviously Stardock no longer thinks it needs to provide the benefits that made it worthwhile for me to pre-order the game. I don't feel the need to "support" Stardock without a benefit to me. That's called charity and I choose to help those who are less fortunate, not software developers.

I understand that many people (maybe even most) will say that their enjoyment of the game is enough. I don't fall into this camp. I understand your position and I hope you might be able to see mine.

We both definitely agree about not buying something early again. 

Think of it this way:

If I would have purchased the game on Steam through Early Access and the game went on sale later, even during early access, I would have no complaint.

However those are not the facts.

I purchased the game because Stardock told me my last chance to pre-order a game (i.e. purchase the game before release) at a discount was March 2, 2014. My last chance to purchase the game was not March 2, 2014. The email was incorrect. This is my issue.

My issue isn't the sale. It's telling me that my last opportunity to buy the game at a discount prior to release was nearly one year ago.

This is pretty offensive to the fans. There should be a rebate. Standard business practice.

BuckGodot nailed it succinctly. 

The value is what you place on it.

Stardock is under no restriction to (not) 'give away' the game if they wanted to. Hell put it on sale and get more Betas in!

All of us Alphas had the privilege to play and see the game WAY before anyone did. This alone for me was well worth the 99.99 price tag. I also get the game throughout Beta and I get Gold release. Then if there are other DLC or Expacs I get those as well. 

Granted I paid way more than all of you except other Alphas. If you bought the game at 45.00 and are mad about not getting it at the lower price I think you will have more disappointments in life further ahead. This is really not a big deal ...at all......

I make an analogy to being upset at having to sit through a bad movie, getting up leaving 1/2 way through, THEN coming back next day and asking for your money back. Its silly. 

I also wonder if the length of the alpha/beta might be in play here.  As far as I know (and I don't follow SD products nearly enough to really say), they've never had a paid early access that has lasted as long as this one.  Sorcerer King, for instance, will be, what, six months?  Eight?  They didn't even take orders for it until it launched into beta, IIRC.

So perhaps part of the problem (if one really looks at it as a problem) is the fact that this will be in early access for well over a year, and available for purchase for something like a year and a half.

That long of a time frame is just asking for troubles when it comes to (allegedly promising) not having a sale.  Hell, and now I'm just speculating here, maybe they didn't think they would have any discount sales at all during that now 14 month window (March 14 - May 15), but circumstances changed along the way.  Instead of presuming malice (or should I say Malevolence ), if any one is, it simply could just be bad planning or lack of foresight on the part of SD.

Now being the 'victim' of bad planning isn't fun. And one can certainly factor it in to future purchasing decisions.  But, still, I wouldn't presume bad faith on the part of SD here.

===

Mind, that's taking the complaints in this thread as read.  I don't share them, I will remind.

===

EDIT:  Turkwise brings up a great point about the difference between "pre-ordering" and "purchasing". It might be a fine distinction to some, especially when it comes to early access, but it still is a disticntion.  That's why I mentioned the exact wording of emails.  Now perhaps SD could make things clearer in the future (if only to stave off these kind of complaints).  But, then again, it is not many companies who will say in an email as a game approaches the end of the pre-ordering stage "Hey this is the last chance to pre-order something at this price.  But  don't worry, if you don't like our current price it'll be on sale in about four months when it has been available for purchase for a while."

I was curious about exactly what was said that had you upset, so I found the post:

This was and is completely accurate.  Purchasing GalCiv 3 now is not exactly the same as purchasing the Founders Edition when it was available, although at this point there is no difference between regular buyers and Founders, other than the forum badge, because, as the FAQ states, the founder program has concluded.

I'm sorry, I'm a little unclear here.  Has Stardock announced that that the price of GC III has been reduced permanently?  If not then when this sale is over it will be back to the same price it was before.

NOTE:  I hardly consider myself one of their "most delusional and fanatical" fans, and I'm not pissed off.  So I tend to think you might not be speaking for everyone here.

Yeah, you try that. I'm sure you'd get real far with it.

PS:  You know this went on sale in December for a week or two, right?

The "Future Expansions and DLC Included in $100 Price" is what got me hooked, like Larsenex. I would be pretty pissed off if the post-Founders offers/Steam sales also included those pre-paid but I'm basically 100% sure that the pre-purchase of improvements offer is off the table. Does anyone have evidence to the contrary?