You are free to complain about anything*, and everything, at any time (and people do), but having spent money on a product in the past, doesn't GRANT you the right to complain about some other product in the future.
true enough. But no one is talking about "some other product". we're talking about the SAME product, this game.
so whether you spend the money a year ago or yesterday, we're still talking about the same product here. not "some other product in the future"
A ship is a product. A costume is a product. All of the money you spend goes toward the continuing existence of STO, but the money you spend each time grants you access to a thing. That thing IS the product you're purchasing.
Buying Ship X does not grant you the right to complain about Costume Y.
Again, you are free to complain about whatever. But the products you buy WITHIN STO, are independent.
You are free to complain about anything*, and everything, at any time (and people do), but having spent money on a product in the past, doesn't GRANT you the right to complain about some other product in the future.
true enough. But no one is talking about "some other product". we're talking about the SAME product, this game.
so whether you spend the money a year ago or yesterday, we're still talking about the same product here. not "some other product in the future"
A ship is a product. A costume is a product. All of the money you spend goes toward the continuing existence of STO, but the money you spend each time grants you access to a thing. That thing IS the product you're purchasing.
Buying Ship X does not grant you the right to complain about Costume Y.
Again, you are free to complain about whatever. But the products you buy WITHIN STO, are independent.
Costume that cost over 5$ should entitled people to complain about everything
You are free to complain about anything*, and everything, at any time (and people do), but having spent money on a product in the past, doesn't GRANT you the right to complain about some other product in the future.
true enough. But no one is talking about "some other product". we're talking about the SAME product, this game.
so whether you spend the money a year ago or yesterday, we're still talking about the same product here. not "some other product in the future"
A ship is a product. A costume is a product. All of the money you spend goes toward the continuing existence of STO, but the money you spend each time grants you access to a thing. That thing IS the product you're purchasing.
Buying Ship X does not grant you the right to complain about Costume Y.
Again, you are free to complain about whatever. But the products you buy WITHIN STO, are independent.
A ship is a product, a costume is a product, both of which are content in the game which add up to it's whole.
The money i spend goes to the continuing existence of STO, to "include" the maintenance of the game itself.
Buying Ship X does indeed absolutely grant me the right to complain about Costume Y "if" through a lack of maintenance said Costume Y doesn't function properly while playing the game.
These independent products you speak of all add up to the game as a whole product, saying they are independent of one another, is saying night is light and day is dark.
It would probably be advisable that PWE Corporate consider having a discussion with their contractual lawyer(s), his/her/their ability to exercise forsight in matters of arguing or safegaurding against claims of entitlement could use some work.
Actually, if you were to read the TOS... they already did that. The TOS basically says they can do whatever they want with our money and aren't obligated to do anything specific.
Actually, if you were to read the TOS... they already did that. The TOS basically says they can do whatever they want with our money and aren't obligated to do anything specific.
Eh, this is a slippery slope for an argument.
Anyone can write a manifesto- but that doesn't make it's contents factual or concrete.
TOS's can be and are legally challenged all the time. Just take a look at antitrust settlements with Microsoft and other companies.
Not weighing in on the "debate" going on here, just offering a bit of advice.
(TOS's are not a "catch all" for legal protections- rather simply an attempt to convey information to a consumer which may not be initially understood.)
Post edited by sylveriarelden on
It's not you- it's me. I just need my space.
Being critical doesn't take skill. Being constructively critical- which is providing alternative solutions or suggestions to a demonstrated problem, however, does.
We are free to complain about anything we wish about this game.
The devs are also free to read those complaints, or not. They are free to address said complaints, or not. They also likely prioritize complaints/bugs and fix what is game-breaking first. In fact, some complaints which they probably consider minor may not be addressed at all.
But as I say in my sig. you are not entitled to be a jerk when you complain just because you spend money on this game. If you have complaints, at least phrase them logically or respectfully, as I've seen some do. Those will likely get attention before the capslock-stuck, dev-bashing ones I see too many of.
Now a LTS and loving it.
Just because you spend money on this game, it does not entitle you to be a jerk if things don't go your way.
I have come to the conclusion that I have a memory like Etch-A-Sketch. I shake my head and forget everything.
some people are saying that you cannot complain about
AOY because it is free. this is false and here is why.
anyone who has ever spent any money on this game is
funding its contents. anyone who ever bought a ship or
opened a lock box funded the content that was made after
they spend that money. that includes AOY>
so anyone who has ever spend money on thsi game has a
right to complain about anything in the game because their
money was used to make the things in teh game.
personally i love AOY, but i hate people who try to silence other people.
even if you have never spent any money on sto you are still entitled to complain if you believe you complaint is justified.
if you happened to be passing a fast food restaurant and they were giving away free burgers and although you had never ate food there before you thought you would give them a try and ended up with food poisoning you would be justified in making a complaint.
if you happened to see a mobile outlet giving away free mobile phones and although you had never shopped there before you got one and it exploded in your face you would be justified in making a complaint.
there is no prerequisite to making a complaint whether you have spent money or not on sto.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
Actually, if you were to read the TOS... they already did that. The TOS basically says they can do whatever they want with our money and aren't obligated to do anything specific.
Lol yet another poster who assumes i dont already know this, or what i am talking about.
These tos contracts days are numbered trust me, im just a peasant, however at some point whenever that is some company will step on the wrong toes, the laws will get passed or changed, and the drunken stupor days will end.
The vast majority of eula/tos agreements while when first adopted were meant to protect companies from frivolous lawsuits, have degraded into nothing more than legal sanction to avoid practicing bussiness integrity of any kind.
I am a horseshoer by trade, if i operated like gaming companies do, told my customers their money entitled them to nothing, i would be dead broke.
Pixels, internet properties?, hogwash, when you pay for something you get something, if you dont, your getting nothing but lip service.
This long way around the barn jargon might work on 13yr old entry level gamers, im 54.
I am a horseshoer by trade, if i operated like gaming companies do, told my customers their money entitled them to nothing, i would be dead broke.
Pixels, internet properties?, hogwash, when you pay for something you get something, if you dont, your getting nothing but lip service.
Hogwash! Your entire argument is one huge straw man. The ToS doesn't say you get nothing for your money. It just doesn't say you're entitled to specific game content. Basically, you get access to the game, and certain paid services (when you actually pay), but they wisely left the content up to themselves. They don't guarantee 'X amount of Klink missions a year', or any dipsh*t like that. They just make a game, update it regularly, and leave it up to you to decide whether you want paid access to certain services/goods. Nothing more.
You're 54? Hmmm, you're acting more like a 14 yr old, imo.
BTW, I'm 56. And I'm fine with most of the content. I don't have lag/rubberbanding issues to speak of. Just once in awhile. In my experience, most of the time, the lag/rubberbanding is on my end, because an exit/restart will generally fix it. A lot of the content bugs that I've been reading about have not happened to me, but that doesn't mean I don't believe they exist. I do. And Cryptic is looking into them and fixing them as soon as they find a fix for them.
Still, you are getting something for your money. You get zen since the game content is all free. How you spend that zen is up to you. Whether you buy it or not is up to you. If you buy something and it doesn't work as advertised, then you send in a ticket. You don't come to the forums and write walls o'capslock text about it. Not that I'm saying you specifically have done that. But others have.
That is the fastest way to not get something done, IMO.
Now a LTS and loving it.
Just because you spend money on this game, it does not entitle you to be a jerk if things don't go your way.
I have come to the conclusion that I have a memory like Etch-A-Sketch. I shake my head and forget everything.
You're 54? Hmmm, you're acting more like a 14 yr old, imo.
BTW, I'm 56. And I'm fine with most of the content. I don't have lag/rubberbanding issues to speak of. Just once in awhile. In my experience, most of the time, the lag/rubberbanding is on my end, because an exit/restart will generally fix it. A lot of the content bugs that I've been reading about have not happened to me, but that doesn't mean I don't believe they exist. I do. And Cryptic is looking into them and fixing them as soon as they find a fix for them.
Still, you are getting something for your money. You get zen since the game content is all free. How you spend that zen is up to you. Whether you buy it or not is up to you. If you buy something and it doesn't work as advertised, then you send in a ticket. You don't come to the forums and write walls o'capslock text about it. Not that I'm saying you specifically have done that. But others have.
That is the fastest way to not get something done, IMO.
I dont expect to get anything done in STO, neither should you.
I counter with: I spent $130 on AoY. And have nothing but good things to say about it!
Same and agreed 100%.
Funny that you mention that.....
There's a certain psychology that deals with people who spends VAST amounts of money on a thing feeling like they HAVE to get their money's worth,essentially, to justify the cost of their spending. Often these people are somewhat addictively filled with a false sense happiness that disappears when the next price-tag items comes along they have to have.
We don't want what the Feds have. We want the equivalent. We want fairer treatment. Concern, desire, greed to some extent, and passionate belief that the enough people would buy KDF items to make it worth Cryptic's while.
Did I say I expect to get anything done? No, I leave that task to others, who seem to think they can order the devs around like factory workers.
I'm too busy enjoying the game most of the time to worry about asking for anything. Not that I want anything specific enough to ask for it. Make a wish list, sure, but that's about it.
Now a LTS and loving it.
Just because you spend money on this game, it does not entitle you to be a jerk if things don't go your way.
I have come to the conclusion that I have a memory like Etch-A-Sketch. I shake my head and forget everything.
We don't want what the Feds have. We want the equivalent. We want fairer treatment. Concern, desire, greed to some extent, and passionate belief that the enough people would buy KDF items to make it worth Cryptic's while.
I counter with: I spent $130 on AoY. And have nothing but good things to say about it!
Same and agreed 100%.
Funny that you mention that.....
There's a certain psychology that deals with people who spends VAST amounts of money on a thing feeling like they HAVE to get their money's worth,essentially, to justify the cost of their spending. Often these people are somewhat addictively filled with a false sense happiness that disappears when the next price-tag items comes along they have to have.
Lol lawyers, now phsycologists, a whole other can of worms.
I wouldn't be one of these people, dont know any either.
Nor do i know how you define vast, by my definition ive spent enough to have my say.
You are free to complain about anything*, and everything, at any time (and people do), but having spent money on a product in the past, doesn't GRANT you the right to complain about some other product in the future.
true enough. But no one is talking about "some other product". we're talking about the SAME product, this game.
so whether you spend the money a year ago or yesterday, we're still talking about the same product here. not "some other product in the future"
A ship is a product. A costume is a product. All of the money you spend goes toward the continuing existence of STO, but the money you spend each time grants you access to a thing. That thing IS the product you're purchasing.
Buying Ship X does not grant you the right to complain about Costume Y.
Again, you are free to complain about whatever. But the products you buy WITHIN STO, are independent.
guess you've never heard of a "lifetime subscription"? because that is a not a "ship" or a "costume" or any little individual purchase. the "product" you are buying is premium access to the game as a whole. and not just now, but as long as the game lasts. oh, and guess what? that purchase is never "finished or "completed""; it is an ongoing transaction since you keep getting a stipend every month until the game finally closes.
so someone who buys a lifetime subscription defintely does have the RIGHT to express their opinions about the product, whether it was bought last year or today.
some people are saying that you cannot complain about
AOY because it is free.
Strawman. No one is saying that you can't complain. They are saying many of the complaints are unfounded. They are saying a lot of the complaints are entitlement.
You are free to complain about anything*, and everything, at any time (and people do), but having spent money on a product in the past, doesn't GRANT you the right to complain about some other product in the future.
true enough. But no one is talking about "some other product". we're talking about the SAME product, this game.
so whether you spend the money a year ago or yesterday, we're still talking about the same product here. not "some other product in the future"
A ship is a product. A costume is a product. All of the money you spend goes toward the continuing existence of STO, but the money you spend each time grants you access to a thing. That thing IS the product you're purchasing.
Buying Ship X does not grant you the right to complain about Costume Y.
Again, you are free to complain about whatever. But the products you buy WITHIN STO, are independent.
guess you've never heard of a "lifetime subscription"? because that is a not a "ship" or a "costume" or any little individual purchase. the "product" you are buying is premium access to the game as a whole. and not just now, but as long as the game lasts. oh, and guess what? that purchase is never "finished or "completed""; it is an ongoing transaction since you keep getting a stipend every month until the game finally closes.
so someone who buys a lifetime subscription defintely does have the RIGHT to express their opinions about the product, whether it was bought last year or today.
Oh man, people are going to eat you alive over this one, and i cant help you.
The stip you get is a hardcore monthly deduction from the 199 or 300 dollar LTS you bought.
If your not buying 2000 zen per month, 2k because 1000 is the lowest buy you cant actually say your spending money on the game unless you buy ships etc.
The 500 zen stip is cryptic actually slowly paying back your LTS, and its no arguement at all unless your offsetting it to use as a complaint platform.
I used to have a negative view of in game purchases. I thought it was stupid to pay for pixels, but then I thought about it a little more and realized that when I buy a video game I am essentially paying for pixels. I see STO as a hobby and many hobbies do cost money. So I don't mind tossing some money at the game every once in a while to get access to things that will make the experience more fun and to keep the game alive.
Of course you can complain all you want, it's a free country after all where most of us live. But less generally, you can complain about products that don't fulfill your expectations. It is limited by two things, though, namely: what was advertised and what can reasonably expected from a product of this kind (within the general kind of product or the knowledge of the company).
So when Cryptic says "we will give you this costume for $$ and it will have 6 color settings" but has only 5 that'd be "not as advertised" and reason for a complaint. If a company says "we will give you access to 10 extra episodes for $$" and you get 10 episodes alright but they are not comparable in content to what usually constitutes an episode, you'd be right to complain.
Things you cannot complain about (again, not in the technical sense, you can feel unhappy about it and voice that opinion but are not entitled to anything else) are generally bugs existing, because they do. Of course there is a limit on that but in a program of this scale there always will be bugs. You cannot complain, as with movies, books or similar, that you are unhappy about the content, storytelling or similar, because stuff like that happens. You cannot complain that something you paid for was too expensive, because you knew the price before you bought it. You can complain if a product you got actually causes damage to you or your property (as in the "Free Burger" example above, not applicable here though, unless the STO client corrupts your hard drive or similar).
If you want to make a complaint, though, as has been said, you are not entitled to be a jerk. Make a reasonable statement, not a rant, do not insult or attack others, explain what is wrong and why you think it is wrong (very important if you want something like lower prices - all customers want lower prices, but what reason would the company have to follow suit?), don't explain to businesses how they should be run, normally they have a certain plan and a certain strategy which you may not adopt if you were to run it but which is probably not going to change, especially not if you don't know half of it. Try to understand what something is before you complain about it (this one goes out to all those using the word "metrics" as being evil, when in reality it is "how well is our product selling" - doing something only to "improve metrics" is basically "advertising so our product will sell better", which is what businesses do).
So what do we have with STO: We have the basic free experience. You may like it or not. If you do, great, if not, easy, just quit it. While it is true (as mentioned by others) that people tend to defend products they invested in ("only" time here, but it works just the same) and also that they try to continue because they already invested (time or money), both are not rational behaviors.
Then we have the in game purchases: you get access to certain in game stuff. You know what you'll get before, e.g. the possibility to fly a certain ship. Again, the experience from flying it can not be a reason for complaints because there is no objective measurement of "enjoyment".
Then there's the life time sub and gold subbing. Again, you have a list of what you'll get, and "having a word in future content" is not among it.
Also remember that you're not "paying for pixels" but for a service. So it is not a physical product. When you go to a screening at the cinema, you don't expect something physical to take away, but a (hopefully good) experience. Similarily here. We "buy a ship" as we "buy a ticket to Armageddon Reloaded".
Of course, real life is more greyish than this black and white "take it or leave it" approach above. You may not want to dish out $30 for a ship but would give them $20. You may not really like the game but would do so if only the skill mechanic changed. You may like the game but would like it more if the doffs on your bridge wore your uniform instead of starfleet/KDF/Rom standard. These are all things a company likes to know, and so telling them is a welcome thing. But don't assume that your point is automatically viable for them, and don't assume that it is a truth, because, yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion man. In the end the company decides what they'll do and you're not entitled to anything apart from bugs preventing your experience being removed or the money for that particular experience being refunded.
My mother was an epohh and my father smelled of tulaberries
For the people who are arguing you can't complain about something you didn't pay money for, you didn't pay to read people's complaints about AoY, so how can you be complaining about those complaints?
For the people who are arguing you can't complain about something you didn't pay money for, you didn't pay to read people's complaints about AoY, so how can you be complaining about those complaints?
I thought those people paid for their internet service provider?
I am a horseshoer by trade, if i operated like gaming companies do, told my customers their money entitled them to nothing, i would be dead broke.
Pixels, internet properties?, hogwash, when you pay for something you get something, if you dont, your getting nothing but lip service.
This long way around the barn jargon might work on 13yr old entry level gamers, im 54.
That's not what's being said though.
You're a horseshoer. If someone buys horseshoes from you, their money gets them their horseshoes. It doesn't give them stock in your company, or ownership of your business. It doesn't give them all future horseshoes. You may take their money and spend it on a new forge, or a sign for the shop. Do your customers get to complain about your new sign? Or that your forge is ugly? You may take their money, and go on vacation. Do your customers get to complain about which cruise ship you go on? If I buy a horseshoe of type X from you, do I get to complain about Horseshoe Y? If you later release horseshoe Z, do I get to complain about that, despite never having bought it?
The answer to all of the above is essentially, yes. Again, they are FREE to complain, about ANY of that. But buying a horseshoe from you doesn't grant them that right.
And if/when they do complain about all of those things, are you going to take them seriously? Are you going to value them as a customer? Are you going to seek their advice in further horseshoe designs?
You are free to complain about anything*, and everything, at any time (and people do), but having spent money on a product in the past, doesn't GRANT you the right to complain about some other product in the future.
true enough. But no one is talking about "some other product". we're talking about the SAME product, this game.
so whether you spend the money a year ago or yesterday, we're still talking about the same product here. not "some other product in the future"
A ship is a product. A costume is a product. All of the money you spend goes toward the continuing existence of STO, but the money you spend each time grants you access to a thing. That thing IS the product you're purchasing.
Buying Ship X does not grant you the right to complain about Costume Y.
Again, you are free to complain about whatever. But the products you buy WITHIN STO, are independent.
guess you've never heard of a "lifetime subscription"? because that is a not a "ship" or a "costume" or any little individual purchase. the "product" you are buying is premium access to the game as a whole. and not just now, but as long as the game lasts. oh, and guess what? that purchase is never "finished or "completed""; it is an ongoing transaction since you keep getting a stipend every month until the game finally closes.
so someone who buys a lifetime subscription defintely does have the RIGHT to express their opinions about the product, whether it was bought last year or today.
Again, Again, Again . . . EVERYONE is free to express their opinions on the game, whether they have spent $40,000 on stuff in the game, or $0 on stuff in the game. I'm not saying you can't complain, I'm saying that the purchase of ANYTHING is irrelevant. We are a free to play game. People are free to complain, just as they are free to play.
And a Lifetime Subscription IS the product you purchased. In it's case (or in the case of a regular subscription), it grants you access to a bunch of other stuff. But the Subscription is the purchase.
Comments
A ship is a product. A costume is a product. All of the money you spend goes toward the continuing existence of STO, but the money you spend each time grants you access to a thing. That thing IS the product you're purchasing.
Buying Ship X does not grant you the right to complain about Costume Y.
Again, you are free to complain about whatever. But the products you buy WITHIN STO, are independent.
Costume that cost over 5$ should entitled people to complain about everything
A ship is a product, a costume is a product, both of which are content in the game which add up to it's whole.
The money i spend goes to the continuing existence of STO, to "include" the maintenance of the game itself.
Buying Ship X does indeed absolutely grant me the right to complain about Costume Y "if" through a lack of maintenance said Costume Y doesn't function properly while playing the game.
These independent products you speak of all add up to the game as a whole product, saying they are independent of one another, is saying night is light and day is dark.
It would probably be advisable that PWE Corporate consider having a discussion with their contractual lawyer(s), his/her/their ability to exercise forsight in matters of arguing or safegaurding against claims of entitlement could use some work.
My character Tsin'xing
Eh, this is a slippery slope for an argument.
Anyone can write a manifesto- but that doesn't make it's contents factual or concrete.
TOS's can be and are legally challenged all the time. Just take a look at antitrust settlements with Microsoft and other companies.
Not weighing in on the "debate" going on here, just offering a bit of advice.
(TOS's are not a "catch all" for legal protections- rather simply an attempt to convey information to a consumer which may not be initially understood.)
Being critical doesn't take skill. Being constructively critical- which is providing alternative solutions or suggestions to a demonstrated problem, however, does.
The devs are also free to read those complaints, or not. They are free to address said complaints, or not. They also likely prioritize complaints/bugs and fix what is game-breaking first. In fact, some complaints which they probably consider minor may not be addressed at all.
But as I say in my sig. you are not entitled to be a jerk when you complain just because you spend money on this game. If you have complaints, at least phrase them logically or respectfully, as I've seen some do. Those will likely get attention before the capslock-stuck, dev-bashing ones I see too many of.
even if you have never spent any money on sto you are still entitled to complain if you believe you complaint is justified.
if you happened to be passing a fast food restaurant and they were giving away free burgers and although you had never ate food there before you thought you would give them a try and ended up with food poisoning you would be justified in making a complaint.
if you happened to see a mobile outlet giving away free mobile phones and although you had never shopped there before you got one and it exploded in your face you would be justified in making a complaint.
there is no prerequisite to making a complaint whether you have spent money or not on sto.
When I think about everything we've been through together,
maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey,
and if that journey takes a little longer,
so we can do something we all believe in,
I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with.
Lol yet another poster who assumes i dont already know this, or what i am talking about.
These tos contracts days are numbered trust me, im just a peasant, however at some point whenever that is some company will step on the wrong toes, the laws will get passed or changed, and the drunken stupor days will end.
The vast majority of eula/tos agreements while when first adopted were meant to protect companies from frivolous lawsuits, have degraded into nothing more than legal sanction to avoid practicing bussiness integrity of any kind.
I am a horseshoer by trade, if i operated like gaming companies do, told my customers their money entitled them to nothing, i would be dead broke.
Pixels, internet properties?, hogwash, when you pay for something you get something, if you dont, your getting nothing but lip service.
This long way around the barn jargon might work on 13yr old entry level gamers, im 54.
Hogwash! Your entire argument is one huge straw man. The ToS doesn't say you get nothing for your money. It just doesn't say you're entitled to specific game content. Basically, you get access to the game, and certain paid services (when you actually pay), but they wisely left the content up to themselves. They don't guarantee 'X amount of Klink missions a year', or any dipsh*t like that. They just make a game, update it regularly, and leave it up to you to decide whether you want paid access to certain services/goods. Nothing more.
BTW, I'm 56. And I'm fine with most of the content. I don't have lag/rubberbanding issues to speak of. Just once in awhile. In my experience, most of the time, the lag/rubberbanding is on my end, because an exit/restart will generally fix it. A lot of the content bugs that I've been reading about have not happened to me, but that doesn't mean I don't believe they exist. I do. And Cryptic is looking into them and fixing them as soon as they find a fix for them.
Still, you are getting something for your money. You get zen since the game content is all free. How you spend that zen is up to you. Whether you buy it or not is up to you. If you buy something and it doesn't work as advertised, then you send in a ticket. You don't come to the forums and write walls o'capslock text about it. Not that I'm saying you specifically have done that. But others have.
That is the fastest way to not get something done, IMO.
How do you sell horseshoes online? Is there an app for that?
Strawman means nothing, is a term used when one has nothing to say, never use the word, as i say it means absolutely nothing.
Also horseshoeing has nothing to do with selling horseshoes online.
Easy targets all of you, Cryptic should be proud.
So how do you run your business online?
I dont expect to get anything done in STO, neither should you.
Funny that you mention that.....
There's a certain psychology that deals with people who spends VAST amounts of money on a thing feeling like they HAVE to get their money's worth,essentially, to justify the cost of their spending. Often these people are somewhat addictively filled with a false sense happiness that disappears when the next price-tag items comes along they have to have.
I'm too busy enjoying the game most of the time to worry about asking for anything. Not that I want anything specific enough to ask for it. Make a wish list, sure, but that's about it.
Lol lawyers, now phsycologists, a whole other can of worms.
I wouldn't be one of these people, dont know any either.
Nor do i know how you define vast, by my definition ive spent enough to have my say.
I dont care what anyone thinks otherwise.
Lol google it snoggy, and no, i advertise in a state equine paper.
Lol i fully expect to see this on the news soon, right next to the professional quack definition of mental illness you mentioned above.
Ageism, thrust upon old defenseless retirees by ageists, cant wait to hear about this nonsense.
Im in the clear, i only intend to retire due to being deceased.
@tacofangs
guess you've never heard of a "lifetime subscription"? because that is a not a "ship" or a "costume" or any little individual purchase. the "product" you are buying is premium access to the game as a whole. and not just now, but as long as the game lasts. oh, and guess what? that purchase is never "finished or "completed""; it is an ongoing transaction since you keep getting a stipend every month until the game finally closes.
so someone who buys a lifetime subscription defintely does have the RIGHT to express their opinions about the product, whether it was bought last year or today.
Strawman. No one is saying that you can't complain. They are saying many of the complaints are unfounded. They are saying a lot of the complaints are entitlement.
Oh man, people are going to eat you alive over this one, and i cant help you.
The stip you get is a hardcore monthly deduction from the 199 or 300 dollar LTS you bought.
If your not buying 2000 zen per month, 2k because 1000 is the lowest buy you cant actually say your spending money on the game unless you buy ships etc.
The 500 zen stip is cryptic actually slowly paying back your LTS, and its no arguement at all unless your offsetting it to use as a complaint platform.
Facts are facts.
So when Cryptic says "we will give you this costume for $$ and it will have 6 color settings" but has only 5 that'd be "not as advertised" and reason for a complaint. If a company says "we will give you access to 10 extra episodes for $$" and you get 10 episodes alright but they are not comparable in content to what usually constitutes an episode, you'd be right to complain.
Things you cannot complain about (again, not in the technical sense, you can feel unhappy about it and voice that opinion but are not entitled to anything else) are generally bugs existing, because they do. Of course there is a limit on that but in a program of this scale there always will be bugs. You cannot complain, as with movies, books or similar, that you are unhappy about the content, storytelling or similar, because stuff like that happens. You cannot complain that something you paid for was too expensive, because you knew the price before you bought it. You can complain if a product you got actually causes damage to you or your property (as in the "Free Burger" example above, not applicable here though, unless the STO client corrupts your hard drive or similar).
If you want to make a complaint, though, as has been said, you are not entitled to be a jerk. Make a reasonable statement, not a rant, do not insult or attack others, explain what is wrong and why you think it is wrong (very important if you want something like lower prices - all customers want lower prices, but what reason would the company have to follow suit?), don't explain to businesses how they should be run, normally they have a certain plan and a certain strategy which you may not adopt if you were to run it but which is probably not going to change, especially not if you don't know half of it. Try to understand what something is before you complain about it (this one goes out to all those using the word "metrics" as being evil, when in reality it is "how well is our product selling" - doing something only to "improve metrics" is basically "advertising so our product will sell better", which is what businesses do).
So what do we have with STO: We have the basic free experience. You may like it or not. If you do, great, if not, easy, just quit it. While it is true (as mentioned by others) that people tend to defend products they invested in ("only" time here, but it works just the same) and also that they try to continue because they already invested (time or money), both are not rational behaviors.
Then we have the in game purchases: you get access to certain in game stuff. You know what you'll get before, e.g. the possibility to fly a certain ship. Again, the experience from flying it can not be a reason for complaints because there is no objective measurement of "enjoyment".
Then there's the life time sub and gold subbing. Again, you have a list of what you'll get, and "having a word in future content" is not among it.
Also remember that you're not "paying for pixels" but for a service. So it is not a physical product. When you go to a screening at the cinema, you don't expect something physical to take away, but a (hopefully good) experience. Similarily here. We "buy a ship" as we "buy a ticket to Armageddon Reloaded".
Of course, real life is more greyish than this black and white "take it or leave it" approach above. You may not want to dish out $30 for a ship but would give them $20. You may not really like the game but would do so if only the skill mechanic changed. You may like the game but would like it more if the doffs on your bridge wore your uniform instead of starfleet/KDF/Rom standard. These are all things a company likes to know, and so telling them is a welcome thing. But don't assume that your point is automatically viable for them, and don't assume that it is a truth, because, yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion man. In the end the company decides what they'll do and you're not entitled to anything apart from bugs preventing your experience being removed or the money for that particular experience being refunded.
I thought those people paid for their internet service provider?
That's not what's being said though.
You're a horseshoer. If someone buys horseshoes from you, their money gets them their horseshoes. It doesn't give them stock in your company, or ownership of your business. It doesn't give them all future horseshoes. You may take their money and spend it on a new forge, or a sign for the shop. Do your customers get to complain about your new sign? Or that your forge is ugly? You may take their money, and go on vacation. Do your customers get to complain about which cruise ship you go on? If I buy a horseshoe of type X from you, do I get to complain about Horseshoe Y? If you later release horseshoe Z, do I get to complain about that, despite never having bought it?
The answer to all of the above is essentially, yes. Again, they are FREE to complain, about ANY of that. But buying a horseshoe from you doesn't grant them that right.
And if/when they do complain about all of those things, are you going to take them seriously? Are you going to value them as a customer? Are you going to seek their advice in further horseshoe designs?
Again, Again, Again . . . EVERYONE is free to express their opinions on the game, whether they have spent $40,000 on stuff in the game, or $0 on stuff in the game. I'm not saying you can't complain, I'm saying that the purchase of ANYTHING is irrelevant. We are a free to play game. People are free to complain, just as they are free to play.
And a Lifetime Subscription IS the product you purchased. In it's case (or in the case of a regular subscription), it grants you access to a bunch of other stuff. But the Subscription is the purchase.