Long story short - purchased Grandia II upon release during the 25% discount period. Chose GoG over Steam because, well, I prefer GoG over Steam :)

Game is a non-stop crash fest. And while gamepad support is advertised, it ONLY supports the Xbox 360 gamepad. Doesn't even have proper xInput support, so no Logitech F310/710 (without modified drivers), no GameStream, etc. Xbox One gamepad didn't even work properly so they patched in a workaround for that gamepad specifically. Basically, it's like Arkham Knight, but for a more niche audience.

So I requested a refund due to these confirmed (by multiple sources, even the developer) bugs. As expected, GoG responds (almost a week later on first response, and no response since) that they want to troubleshoot. I'm fine with this. If they can fix my problem (unlikely), I'll be happy. Here's the problem. This was their troubleshooting.

"Uninstall and reinstall the game. If problems persist, contact the developer and nVidia." Wow...

As for a refund, they said that if a refund would be approved, it would be a gift card only for GoG, and it would eventually expire.

I've read the FAQ and saw the provisions about troubleshooting. Can anyone point me to the provisions about it being a gift card instead of an actual refund? At this point, I have zero faith in the developer to fix the game given the degree of borked that it is. I'm of the mindset that if I can't get a good resolution, I'll just issue a charge back via CC and quit using GoG. But if I overlooked the gift card provision, that's my mistake. So please, point it out if I missed it.

Maybe they consider it to not be game breaking - so you can complete the game basically. I think there have been other times where they have, in that case, offered refunds as credit as goodwill instead. Although I would have thought they would have said this to you if this was the case.

Might have missed something though, someone else might have a better idea.

I guess "we" (meaning GoG and me) have a different definition of "game breaking." Gamepad not working in a console-style game advertised as having gamepad support is pretty game breaking to me. Also, inconsistent crashes in a JRPG (manual saves) is also annoying and game breaking.

The gamepad part of it, you might be on weak ground as the game theoretically can be played with keyboard and mouse. And the game requirements are keyboard and mouse on the game card.

I'd emphasize the frequent crashes. Document how frequently.
Then, do as they say. Uninstall it, reinstall it. Make sure your drivers are updated then maybe try a rolled-back driver, see if that helps.
Then contact them back if the crashes are still so frequent, telling them how you've followed their advice...

The big thing is for you to display how you have followed their advice, try something else if they have other ideas, and if they can't help you, bang them over the head with their terms of service.

I'll second RWarehall on the gamepad complaint. As for troubleshooting; I've had a much better experience with a previous title (strike suit zero before director's cut) in which the support rep went through quite a few options to try and fix it. They refunded me in a day or two without hassle, because unlike your story, I couldn't play the game for a few minutes without it completely crashing. This wasn't a once off thing, it happened every single time with nothing to fix it.

Eventually, I took a chance and bought the director's cut; and it works perfectly fine. Something was wrong with the shadows so the game just had no shadows now in the new cut.

I'm sorry I can't help any further...

Doesn't this make Steam's 2 hours playing grace period or 2 weeks after purchase refund warranty appealing, TC?

For the gamepad part:
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/x360ce_an_xbox360_controller_emulator

2 hours for a Japanese rpg? You'd hardly get any productive game time in during 2 hours. XD

I'm referring to his constant crashes problem, and testing the game in general (xinput/dinput support). Steam offers absolute refund ability in that regard, without asking you a single question.

It's enough time to learn that your controller doesn't work and for the game to crash a few times.

Good for Steam, you didn't notice the face at the end of my statement so I guess you misread my intention to joke.

Yeah you're right. Sometimes it's hard to read people's intention over text on internet. Haha.

Just wanted to add some closure to this.

First, I was mistaken. In my anger, I misread the first email. They were willing to give me store credit upfront, OR, a proper refund if troubleshooting didn't resolve the issue. However, the troubleshooting advice in that email was still less than stellar.

Since this thread, GoG has reached out to me and offered other advice. I agreed to wait for the next patch, which also didn't fix my numerous issues. GoG offered a refund. The game is no longer in my library, and the refund has hit my CC today.

So while I am grateful for the final resolution, I didn't like the path to get there. Up through today I've generally bought my games on GoG > Steam when simultaneously available, even if it means a slightly higher price (and foreign transaction fee) on GoG. Going forward, that won't be the case given Steam's new refund process. This is the first time I've EVER refunded a digital purchase, but there's something to be said about peace of mind.

You need to understand that the first step for customer support is always to cover the basics (re-install, update drivers) first.

It might seem trivial to you specifically as an experienced user but in general these steps often solve problems. And if nothing else, at least a clean re-install levels the playing field by undoing any amount of tinkering you might have done on your own (e.g. .ini-tweaks, fan patches) that might interfere with further, more in-depth troubleshooting attempts.

Yes, it's slow and often painfully trivial but this kind of tech support is essentially backseat driving and thus going through every single mind-numbing step together is the way to make success most likely.