Nope. Lying would be if they insited they did no change at all. They only did not inform about the change they have decided to do and even explained why they had to do it and apologized for not informing the customers earlier as they did not see it as an important issue. I guess in the future they might track what they show to public and if things are changed too much, explain it before release. Might be a good practice.
However if you realize how many things change during three years of development just imagine how hard it must be to track them all just in case you have shown them already to someone who might have problem with it.
Ok, but I would still not accuse them of lying. Lying looks differently.
People like me? I bought the game after the release based on reviews, gameplays and user comments. Isn’t that the best possible way to do it? In other words let yourself being convinced by the finished product?
The problem in the industry is exactly the oposite. Massive pre-ordering of games that are not finished based on footages very early in production or even pre-rendered trailers and lots of promises on top. That kinda takes the responsibility of the developer to convince you by the finished product, which means a game of lesser quality in the end. And these pre-ordering bonuses? Even seller specific bonuses. Really? That’s like collecting Gwent cards in Witcher. You get a deck and then you go around buying pieces. No thanks… And don’t get me started about the review embargos.
So I hope you can understand my Point of View a bit. I don’t care what was promised. I care only about what was delivered. And I am happy with it as it is.
I understand you are unhappy that the product is not as you were promised it to be. Then maybe you should reconsider your pre-ordering policy and decide after the release.
After all what can you do about developer’s decisions? Yep, vote with your wallet.