I am experiencing the issue where having a NPC near slows down the game to a crawl. I am confident that it is not my computer because have turned the graphics settings down to the lowest possible setting, and still have huge frame rate drops (this is on a gaming PC that is less than a year old by the way). Also, you will find a large number of people in the PC forum talking about this issue. So far, all of the fixes suggested by different people have done nothing to fix my issue.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm not really confident that this will be fixed any time soon. Personally, I would rather have a refund than obsess about fixing it. The thing is, I have logged 2 hours into the game so far; most of this was spent trying out different tweaks to fix the frame rate issue. So do you guys think I have a decent chance to have my money refunded? I sent in a support ticket, so hopefully I get a positive answer back.

Steam subscriber agreement says that refunds will only be given in the case of pre-orders cancelled before release, and I believe they're pretty strict about that.

I'd say you're out of luck, but good luck anyway.

Pretty much nobody refunds software unless its in an unopened box. This includes digital distribution stores.

Be prepared for disappointment, but I'll wish you luck nontheless.

I don't think so. I don't know much about PC gaming but i think once its linked with steam the disk kinda becomes "useless" i heard somewhere on a forum, a bunch of people were talking about it.

i feel your pain, the game is supposed to be a finished product but it seems we payed to beta test it for them, unfortunately, dont expect a refund, this whole situation is going to end up with everyone pointing the finger at everyone else, hopefully this issue will be resolved ASAP, till then good luck

Honestly, it's hard to say.
I've never tried to return a digital download.
They usually have a little blurb to save their asses about "non-refundable" and junk like that. Just like stores usually have a no return policy on open software.
However, based on the amount of feedback regarding bugs/crashes/poor fps, I would say you have a shot and should definitely give it a go.
Report back with word of what happens. (if this thread doesn't get locked/deleted)

Ok, I'll let you guys know what happens. Of course, if some sort of fix is found no refund will be needed.

I just heard some good news; a fix may have been found: http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1123460-potential-fix-for-npc-slowdown/. I'll be sure to try this out as soon as I get home from work.

I really think Steam has the perfect platform for refunds. Unlike retail, where they are worried people copy the games, Steam can simply refund the money and remove the game from the user's account.

I don't know why Steam doesn't allow for refunds. The ancient retail model of no-returns on software is so out-dated, because it's damn near impossible to copy or crack a game yourself. Most games have copy protection or online activation. Even games that don't require the CD to play, like StarCraft II, still require that you enter in a CD key to get a Battle.net account just to login into the game.

It's a lot easier to just download a cracked copy of a game, than it is to try to trick Steam.

What people often forget is that this type of "agreement" or any Term and Conditions you agree to are always on top of, and cannot override, any statutory rights in your country.

For example in the http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/dist_sell/index_en.htm if you purchase something online you have 7 working days in which you can change your mind (for any reason).
I cannot see any reason for Steam to be exempt, if there is none then Valve would have to honour it, regardless of what their agreement states.

have you tried re-installing it?