Celebrate Game Update 1.2: Legacy

[FrankieCook]

No, they can't.

 

But I agree with you on that I don't get why people are complaining as much as they are. The sentiment of this gift was to apologize and reach out to those players who had reached the end-game, finding it lacking, and "rewarding" those who had stayed anyway, because they believed in the game's future.

 

 

And just exactly how do you know that is the case here? Bioware havent commented on why they have done this, so how can you know?

[UltimateKrucible]

As one of the 'unvalued', I say we wait and see what happens next - BW are on it!

 

 

Stephen Reid ‏ @Rockjaw - 'We're discussing internally and we hear the feedback.'

[CorellianWannabe]

She's a he.

 

And you sound more like an entitled crybaby trying to draw lines in the sand with the players instead of taking your concerns direct to BioWare. Send them an angry letter, write a sad poem about it in your journal, and move on.

 

You're ungrateful. You want more than what you got. It's clear in your "haves vs the have nots" mentality.

 

"I want the gift too! How come I didn't get free stuff!"

 

"But we gave you a pet for being a loyal customer."

 

"I don't want this free stuff, I want that free stuff!"

 

I'm ungrateful for being told Bioware doesn't appreciate my support and loyalty because I didn't work the treadmill to 50 and only then roll an alt like a good little hamster?

 

By your logic why not give the pet to the 50s- in-game gift for in-game achievement. Give the free play time to those with subscriptions since Dec- out-of-game gift for out-of game achievement.

 

Let me guess-the pvper's who were 'butthurt' (bad term but seems to apply regardless) about ranked warzones not being ready don't care about pets, so that won't mollify them.

[KyaniteD]

Excuse me while I interject a (simplified) fact into this nonsense.

 

SELECT account_name FROM character_stats WHERE (seconds_played1 + seconds_played2 + seconds_played3 + seconds_played4 + seconds_played5 + seconds_played6 + seconds_played7 + seconds_played8) > 864000

 

And you've got the account name of every player with more than 10 days /played on a server.

 

Now I've simplified that a GREAT deal for ease of understanding, and you'd probably need a few lookup tables, some pretty nasty JOIN statements, and some post-query processing and report display formatting, but this is not at all difficult for a db admin.

 

Technically, apart from a few changes, it isn't going to be that difficult of a query beyond the one they're already using to just find 50s.

 

I know that it's technically possible to get certain parameters. I guess I should have added they cannot review them for any personal details like how many jobs, how many kids, what percentage of available freetime was dedicated to SWTOR etc.

My points stand that a) people would still complain and whine. People with two accounts and three credit cards having 10 level 50s on 12 servers. No amount of complexity to assess eligibility is going to change that people will complain. Because people want to complain b) it's a bribe.

 

The only problem I see in the mail is the phrasing, which from a (non)receiver's pov is unfortunate and from the sender's pov is meant to make it sound... optimistic.

 

 

You know what my first thought was when I read that email? That I was about to dedicate my weekend to finding out how to get the tauntaun pet and now everyone gets one for free and with zero effort. I wish they had given free time to everyone and the pet to the level 50s. But that wouldn't have been an incentive for them to stay.

[Kubernetic]

They're not doing it to retain subscribers. They're doing it to pad the numbers for the shareholders report. They know the ship is sinking, and instead of actually trying to fix it, they're telling the passengers everything is fine, just to remain in their cabins, while the captain and crew run for the lifeboats.

 

Doubtful.

 

First off, analysts aren't going to fall for this, and would ask for more details as to how many of those subscriptions were the free subs given out. They don't just sit on the phone and listen and absorb. Once the analyst presentation is over, then the analysts start asking questions.

 

Second, EA's 4th Quarter ended March 31st, 2012. By the time the end of the 1st Quarter of the new year rolls around on June 30th, 2012, this 30 days will have evaporated, and they will have already gone through yet another billing cycle for almost all of the recipients of the Free 30.

[Parkooth]

if you have 7 that is lvl 40 why didnt you focus on one of them and get them to 50 to begin with you should have known they would of given some kind of promotion since 1.2 was going to take this long so also it is your fault for playing that many at the same time and only have them at lvl 40 only

 

You really don't have a clue do you?

 

There have been numerous bugs in this game that we have all lived through. How could anyone know that Bioware would decide they would only compensate those who had rushed through to level 50 and not those who have savoured the time and effort BW have put into the game?

[Insane-Juggalo]

BW keep the free month i would spend the 15 bucks just not to see so many ppl cry so much over this

 

Honestly it's really not about that. It's more like everyone feels a little mad at the choice of words by BW. I don't really give a **** about the free month, but to justify that a person who took a single toon to lvl 50 is more valuable than someone who has many lvl 30's 20's etc is just stupid.

 

Keep your free month BW, but don't insult us with your words, because now we have a split in player groups. ON one side you have your Loyal Consumer base and the rest .... eh. not so much.

 

One side gloats the other side complains. Maybe a simple apology and incentive for your mistake will correct this.

[CorellianWannabe]

Yea you are right its the 12th. I still dont see a problem. I think the free month is to make up for the rated warzone issue anyway. So that rly doesnt effect lowbies at all.

 

So why bother to bribe players that won't be logging in until ranked warzones are available? Or do you think they will grind through a few hundred warzones to get the next tier of gear to be ready whenever the ranked season does manage to start?

[EwokMilkshakes]

Yea you are right its the 12th. I still dont see a problem. I think the free month is to make up for the rated warzone issue anyway. So that rly doesnt effect lowbies at all.

If that was their intent then they should give a free month to anyone who hits 50 before they actually get their act together and introduce rated warzones.

[FrankieCook]

Honestly it's really not about that. It's more like everyone feels a little mad at the choice of words by BW. I don't really give a **** about the free month, but to justify that a person who took a single toon to lvl 50 is more valuable than someone who has many lvl 30's 20's etc is just stupid.

 

Keep your free month BW, but don't insult us with your words, because now we have a split in player groups. ON one side you have your Loyal Consumer base and the rest .... eh. not so much.

 

One side gloats the other side complains. Maybe a simple apology and incentive for your mistake will correct this.

 

Agree with this. Community is split because of a poorly thought out pr stunt. This is not good for the game at all.

[Dezzi]

I'm ungrateful for being told Bioware doesn't appreciate my support and loyalty because I didn't work the treadmill to 50 and only then roll an alt like a good little hamster?

 

By your logic why not give the pet to the 50s- in-game gift for in-game achievement. Give the free play time to those with subscriptions since Dec- out-of-game gift for out-of game achievement.

 

Let me guess-the pvper's who were 'butthurt' (bad term but seems to apply regardless) about ranked warzones not being ready don't care about pets, so that won't mollify them.

 

I'm not saying they handled this brilliantly, but I'm not going to be upset if they choose to gift something to a group of people I don't belong to; gifts shouldn't be expected--that's entitlement.

 

And they didn't tell you they don't appreciate your support. They gave you a pet like everyone else who is playing the game right now. In fact, that's a better gift because it's priceless--it's a lasting way to off once this free month hoopla dies down.

 

But you all choose to ignore the graciousness of gift-giving in principle, complaining that because one gift isn't worth as much as another, it's somehow a way of telling someone they're not as valuable as someone else.

 

It's entitlement. Period. And I absolutely hate using that word because it's so overused. Here today, we have an example of what it looks like. Maybe not you in particular, but this thread is full of it.

[Calindra]

I realize this is the underlying reason for BioWare doing such, but what really irks me about this 30-days of game time is that my cousin who canceled his sub (with 1 level 50) over a week ago, just received his e-mail this morning for his 30-free days.

 

I asked him if he plans on using the game time and he said no, he's already uninstalled SWTOR and moved on.

 

So I ask you BioWare, are those the "valued and loyal customers" you were referring to?

 

Glad to see it's paying off!

 

I'll take my 6-month recurring sub elsewhere where it is valued.

 

/sub canceled as of 04/13/2012

[jizerai]

And just exactly how do you know that is the case here? Bioware havent commented on why they have done this, so how can you know?

 

You're right. I am making assumptions. But what is more likely - that they rolled a dice and it said "Level 50" or that they made an active decision, based on some sort of merit?

 

Regardless of why they did what they did, I believe we can all safely assume that it wasn't to upset everyone else. Right? Companies seldom tend to aggravate their customers on purpose.

 

And if that is the case, my point stands - namely that going all monkey-crazy and cancelling subscriptions based on a perceived slight is overreacting to the situation.

[Ninjoo]

A loyal customer who hasn't hit 50 is happy playing an element of the game that's good. It's the people who are bored with endgame they've got to prove something to.

 

A loyal (as in long-term) customer who hasn't hit 50 is content settling for something else until there is a better reason to hit 50 just like a customer who has hit 50 and keeps at it is content settling for sub-par content. Either way the game is perceived as lacking. For BW to elevate one way of coping with this over another is wrong.

[nadokaoh]

200 pages congrats

[Dezzi]

You're right. I am making assumptions. But what is more likely - that they rolled a dice and it said "Level 50" or that they made an active decision, based on some sort of merit?

 

Regardless of why they did what they did, I believe we can all safely assume that it wasn't to upset everyone else. Right? Companies seldom tend to aggravate their customers on purpose.

 

And if that is the case, my point stands - namely that going all monkey-crazy and cancelling subscriptions based on a perceived slight is overreacting to the situation.

 

Sensibility like this will be lost on the mob.

[Calindra]

200 pages congrats

 

Yes, congrats on dividing and alienating a majority of your population.

 

Kudos!

Edited April 13, 2012 by Calindra

[hemmingjay]

I'm not saying they handled this brilliantly, but I'm not going to be upset if they choose to gift something to a group of people I don't belong to; gifts shouldn't be expected--that's entitlement.

 

And they didn't tell you they don't appreciate your support. They gave you a pet like everyone else who is playing the game right now. In fact, that's a better gift because it's priceless--it's a lasting way to off once this free month hoopla dies down.

 

But you all choose to ignore the graciousness of gift-giving in principle, complaining that because one gift isn't worth as much as another, it's somehow a way of telling someone they're not as valuable as someone else.

 

It's entitlement. Period. And I absolutely hate using that word because it's so overused. Here today, we have an example of what it looks like. Maybe not you in particular, but this thread is full of it.

 

Yup, I feel entitled to being respected for my loyalty as a paying customer since it's inception. If they want to value all paying customers with the pet, great! If they tell us one group of players is more loyal than those of us who pre-purchased and paid monthly then I take issue.

[GirFett]

Doubtful.

 

First off, analysts aren't going to fall for this, and would ask for more details as to how many of those subscriptions were the free subs given out. They don't just sit on the phone and listen and absorb. Once the analyst presentation is over, then the analysts start asking questions.

 

Second, EA's 4th Quarter ended March 31st, 2012. By the time the end of the 1st Quarter of the new year rolls around on June 30th, 2012, this 30 days will have evaporated, and they will have already gone through yet another billing cycle for almost all of the recipients of the Free 30.

 

Here a question for you the analysts. Why preform maintenance at the end of the week? Not just once, but twice in the same quarter. Monday Gentlemen. Monday. So pop your chaser pill with you Sunday night drinks and get to work on maintenance on Mondays. I don't care about the schism of your customer base (loyal and the rest of us). I payed for a product as did we all, and we want it to work, especially at peak times. Tell that to the analysts.

 

-Thank You

 

Bear

[Wittand]

A loyal customer who hasn't hit 50 is happy playing an element of the game that's good. It's the people who are bored with endgame they've got to prove something to.

Well angering many of those still happy playing the game so that everybody is equally disappointed by either boredoom (lvl 50s) or by the feeling of getting left out (everybody else) does seem to be the wrong thing to do doesn´t it ?

 

Anyway it is the sole fault of a level 50 if they are boreded, because they leveled too fast. Lack of endgame contend is hardly a surprise to anyone who ever played an MMO and everybody who rushed to max level should have expected to run out of content.

[FrankieCook]

You're right. I am making assumptions. But what is more likely - that they rolled a dice and it said "Level 50" or that they made an active decision, based on some sort of merit?

 

Regardless of why they did what they did, I believe we can all safely assume that it wasn't to upset everyone else. Right? Companies seldom tend to aggravate their customers on purpose.

 

And if that is the case, my point stands - namely that going all monkey-crazy and cancelling subscriptions based on a perceived slight is overreacting to the situation.

 

I dont think anyone in their right mind thinks they did this to deliberately upset a section of their customers, but that doesnt make what they did right.

 

I agree cancelling subscriptions is ott but it does show the depth of feeling here. There is no way you can reward 1 style of playing a game over another and expect people not to get bent out of shape for it.

[Insane-Juggalo]

BW is going to have a lot of problems on their hands, but just to point this out one last time.

 

BW HAS NOW CREATED A RIFT IN THE COMMUNITY AND PEOPLE ARE UPSET ABOUT WORDS CHOSEN TO EXPRESS WHAT YOU CALL LOYALTY. I AM LOYAL.... I'M STILL HERE AND NOT UNSUB-ing ANY TIME SOON SO DOES THAT STILL MEAN I AM NOT AS LOYAL WHILE PEOPLE ARE RUNNING FOR THE DOOR?

 

ALL I DEMAND IS AN APOLOGY! i think it's something we all would want.

[Repefe]

Regardless of why they did what they did, I believe we can all safely assume that it wasn't to upset everyone else. Right? Companies seldom tend to aggravate their customers on purpose.

 

And if that is the case, my point stands - namely that going all monkey-crazy and cancelling subscriptions based on a perceived slight is overreacting to the situation.

 

You pay for the game ... BW shouldn't act so cluelessly. I can understand that patches fail, but this kind of PR fail is uncalled for.

[rznkain]

Sensibility like this will be lost on the mob.

 

Your just as bad as us complaining about this is.If they wanna reward you lvl 50's for whining about nothing to do atm the do it through a ingame mean and have that available to anyone who hits 50 until they get those things in game.Giving a set group of people a free month when they have done NOTHING more to deserve it than anyone else who has and is paying the same sub amount is a boneheaded move plain and simple.

 

Since the majority of you lvl 50's say you don't care about the free month you should have no issue at all with BW pulling it and replacing it with a ingame item.

[hemmingjay]

You're right. I am making assumptions. But what is more likely - that they rolled a dice and it said "Level 50" or that they made an active decision, based on some sort of merit?

 

Regardless of why they did what they did, I believe we can all safely assume that it wasn't to upset everyone else. Right? Companies seldom tend to aggravate their customers on purpose.

 

And if that is the case, my point stands - namely that going all monkey-crazy and cancelling subscriptions based on a perceived slight is overreacting to the situation.

 

No reasonable person cancelled over just the slight(perception is reality). However, many were already tiring of supporting this imperfect game and the slight was the motivation for finally voting with their wallets. The irony is, I would have kept my sub going for years. My Rift sub is still active even though I only play once or twice a month. I keep it going because they are trying some new things and they do great community work. I keep a WoW and Eve subscription going as well because I get $15 worth of value out of it and they don't spit on me.