OK, most people here here buy products from companies to enhance there game making. It may be models, textures, map editors etc. The fact is we buy stuff and sometimes we get great service, other times we don't.
I have used two companies recently that fit in exactly opposite ends of the scale with regards to customer service. So, I decided to share my thoughts with you, so that you can then make an informed decision as to whether or not to buy from them.
Have a read and then maybe list your own experiences with either the same companies or add some others.
Firstly the good:
3DRT.com. I bought the Naval Pack and the Sci Fi Forces pack from them. The models are fantastic! They are low poly, so perfect for games but the best bit is the UV mapping. They utilise the texture to its full potential, using and re-using parts across the model. Even sharing the texture with several models to cut down on memory usage.
The service I got from them was fabulous. I dowloaded the models and saw a few things that I thought could be changed. So, I emailed them with a request (not really expecting a reply) but the next day I got a reply ... including a download for all the changes I requested. I asked for bump maps ... I got them. I asked for limbs adding ... I got them. In all I sent them about 30 emails and they were happy to oblige every whim. They even supplied me with updates to models that I recieved free on the cover of 3D World Magazine!
All in all an absolutely fantastic company that I whole heartedly recommend!
Now the bad:
Arteria Games. I bought five packs from them before I had seen any of the products ... a BIG mistake. There were textures missing on some objects. Others wouldn't load and the entire dungeon pack wouldn't work at all!
I emailed them and was told
"They work for me, so I can't help!".
For the dungeon pack I was told that he would work on them when he had time and they should be ready in about 2 weeks. 2 weeks passed, then I was told "I have lot's of custom work to do, I don't have time for your stuff". After that a lot of my messages were igrnored. I did eventually get a refund for the Dungeon pack but not without an enormous amount of hassle. Still no joy for the others. There are about 30 models from the other packs that don't work and I don't expect they ever will.
If you want to buy from Arteria Games then be my guest but you have been warned.
OK. That's my good and bad experiences. If you agree with them, that's great, if you have had different results then do share but let's not get carried away. Stick to the facts so that people can make informed purchases