Arc FAQs -Updated 1.22.14

Where is my panda luv b:cry

synchroze wrote: »

The only information I can provide at this moment is what we have answered within the FAQ. There isn't much more I can disclose unless there's a new update. I wish I could provide you guys with more answers but that's what I have.

bluestuffzzz you need to cool off and stop assuming I'm ignoring your questions. I'm currently filling in as an interim CM for PWI while I also cater to the needs of other PWE games. I'm also one of the CM's that has zero tolerance to forum rule violations. If you could kindly ease off and wait for a response that would be greatly appreciated. I am also not Frankie so please don't assume that I am.

Thanks.

I'm just curious, because it's been several months since we began asking this question...

How freaking hard can it be to find the answer?

I mean, what kind of failure do you have to be as a company to take this long to answer a simple question?

Looks like it's time for me to start making phone calls and getting some stamps.

Whatever you do, don't be like this dude. I mean seriously. Temp or not, this has been a topic long enough that someone knows what the hell is going on.

with arc alredy out there how come the answers to these questions arent known? I know ur interim here but in ur other games there have been complainers. how is it that noone knows this info yet u still release arc?

chill mista
we asked him wat he knows and we got wat we rly wanted. a simple he doesnt know. tho y in hell any1 releases any type of software like this onto players and doesnt give out alot of info idk.
so chill out for a min. maybe hell know something tommorrow or maybe geno or DoD(idek if they still work here) will come and clear up some of it.
so calm down before u get banned
Also rozey,
where do we give feedback on ARC? i believe we have alot of feedback for the devs

just to clear up somethings about the OP of this thread
1 He said hed TRY to get the answers for us. and atm he doesnt know.
2 Hes actually trying to get us some answers and hopefully hell succeed.
3 Give him a break. Hes not V4l and we know that.
New CM(even if temp/interim) New ballgame. give him some time and maybe he might get us something.

^+1
we need a better system to get our concerns/suggestions to those who CAN do something. i know the CM can do it but then it becomes an if they feel like it situation. which if i remember correctly is wat happened with frankie. getting our concerns/complaints/suggestions to those who CAN do something is wat made spoons and v4l such great CMs in the eyes of the player base

synchroze wrote: »

The only information I can provide at this moment is what we have answered within the FAQ. There isn't much more I can disclose unless there's a new update. I wish I could provide you guys with more answers but that's what I have.

bluestuffzzz you need to cool off and stop assuming I'm ignoring your questions. I'm currently filling in as an interim CM for PWI while I also cater to the needs of other PWE games. I'm also one of the CM's that has zero tolerance to forum rule violations. If you could kindly ease off and wait for a response that would be greatly appreciated. I am also not Frankie so please don't assume that I am.

Thanks.

I like how I received an "infraction" for making that statement to you. As if saying you're like a CM from the same company and same game, is a real rule breaker. In order to state that is against the rules, you would have had to assumed it was an insult. Since the original context of the statement won't correlate that, you are assuming that I meant Frankie was a poor community manager, and was comparing you to him. But you are wrong to assume such things, because when people assume things that can't be verified at all. Frankie was great.

Anyways, let's move on to bigger and more grandiose things.

First, I don't think that it's fair to blame you - you are new, and taking over a large role. You are involved in other communities not related to PWI, and I realize that. I can't fault you for as you state, trying your best. I mean, that's all we ask.

Second, can't you understand why people are so upset? Would you, synchroze, want to install two Steam-clients to play a new game? Or how about, Origin from EA? It's un-needed, and because you are very busy - these comments and threads are either going unnoticed or someone is dropping the ball.

Again, I want to reiterate that this isn't an attack on you. You seem quick on the ball to call the shots, and I'm fine with that. So, again - why are these threads and comments not getting responded to. I can compile a list of 30+ threads now that haven't gotten a response in the Tech support department from any PWE staff.

And once more, this isn't an attack on you, as you thought prior (which is why I'm in trouble?). It's a plee from the people who pay you're company, which in return gives you guys the ability to give us these amazing games.

If you, synchroze, would take the time to read these valid complains, you would see that there are questions and concerns about Arc. That's what this thread was created for, by yourself. I don't understand why for days it has been neglected (even if you are very busy). It's a serious problem, synchroze. If Arc becomes mandatory, many players will quit. We are trying to stop your company from making a huge mistake, and for the game that we love - to keep living.

So again, please take this into consideration. If you feel the need to now ban me from the forums, do it. Because I won't stop trying to make these posts in an attempt to get answers. Again, not a personal attack on you.

Edit: I'm also in agreement with the other posters in this thread. Why make this thread and sticky it, if you have no further information? It's a FAQ for people who want answers, yet you stated you don't have anymore other than the original FAQ. Seems pointless to me, but I dunno - am I wrong.

Speaking of that, if I'm wrong (which is why I'm in trouble?), then who and what is right? Should we just install Arc and let players quit?

And really, that's what all of these people are posting here for; to stop the mandatory Arc client from taking over. I know I don't want to install it on my machine, and the resulting answers that we were given are so minimal. Also, a good 95% of the questions, concerns, and comments haven't been answered since Arc was released a month+ ago.

synchroze wrote: »

The only information I can provide at this moment is what we have answered within the FAQ. There isn't much more I can disclose unless there's a new update. I wish I could provide you guys with more answers but that's what I have.

bluestuffzzz you need to cool off and stop assuming I'm ignoring your questions. I'm currently filling in as an interim CM for PWI while I also cater to the needs of other PWE games. I'm also one of the CM's that has zero tolerance to forum rule violations. If you could kindly ease off and wait for a response that would be greatly appreciated. I am also not Frankie so please don't assume that I am.

Thanks.

Thank you Mr.CM
Now that we know you don't know, im sure many people will get off your back.

I think whatever we do or say they have took up this decision that ARC will be mandatory for us to play any titles of PWE/Cryptic Games. With this they are merching ahead & i don't think we can stop them or we're able to stop them. Also if they can update ARC make it really good program for us(players) then why not "Welcome" ARC i don't see any issue with that. b:victory

MistaBwanden - Sanctuary wrote: »

synchroze wrote: »

Clearly hasn't read the forum rules of conduct. Refer to my first post or I'll have to take action.

Well, I'm glad I've got your attention then. Take a good look at this whole thread then feel free to take action if you wish.

You have stated that if we have questions, to ask in this thread and you'll give us an answer.

Now read the rest of the thread. Read how many questions have been asked. I'll give you some examples.
SylenThunder - Sanctuary
Desdi - Sanctuary
Another post by Sylen, which has been ignored.

These are only three links of these seven pages, where you have stated that you are not ignoring players.

So after days of no response from you on these questions, of the frustration that these people have had, THIS IS WHAT ANYONE GETS? If you were unable to answer any questions, why suggest that you'll answer anything anyone asks?

If you've been paying attention, it's quite obvious that I agree with Mista here.

Usually I'm one of the first to explode because I have almost no patience for this kind of ignorance from someone.

I've been perfectly civil in my quest to find an answer from anyone associated with the company on this issue.

And what's your response? Ignorance

Is that acceptable? No, it is not.

It's really sad that calling you to count for your lack of action is grounds for insulting the players and threatening us, just because of your ignorance Synchroze.

I can understand that you're a bit overwhelmed because you are providing a wide range of support for many titles. I can appreciate the difficulty in doing your job because I know how PWE likes to under-staff. That is still no excuse for completely ignoring this question.

I had hoped that V4liance, or one of the several other GM's that I PM'ed might have responded to my active thread on the topic, but that hasn't happened.

Then here you come, starting a thread, offering answers, and not giving them. Again, it's not a hard question. Hell, there isn't any damn company secret behind it that could possibly require this complete lack of information. (Aside from the fact that PWE has completely screwed the pooch on this one and doesn't want to own up to it.) (Gee, that sounds a lot like CORE.)

Other questions like "When are we going to get an alternative download back?", or "Why is ARC being FORCED on us?", might be a little bit harder to answer. I can understand that. Upper management is playing the politics game to figure out how to fix yet another FUBAR job. The first of these last two shouldn't be hard. I mean really, we've already done the research, and we apparently know more about the issue than you do.
Which is pretty freaking sad.

I'm going to give you till the end of today to come up with an appropriate answer. Over the weekend I will be working on compiling the information necessary to launch a full-on campaign larger than my last one, directed solely at the PWE entity.
It's not against you Synchroze, you're just the target in this thread for saying you'll provide answers and then not backing up your own words. PWE has had more than enough time to answer our simple questions, and we're tired of being ignored.

off topic
DAMN Sylen. when u want something u rly go big on it.
@synchroze
i know that alot of ppl are confused/angry about ARC. is there a way u can ask PWE to put our old downloads back up until ARC officially goes live? Since ARC is a work in progress it should be optional ATM wether or not to use it. This will take a bit of the player base off ur back, and while we will still have those questions, it wont be as much of a problem as it is right now. We (meaning the player base, i hope i speak for every1) dont want to feel as if this is being forced upon us, which atm it currently is. bringing back the old downloads till ARC is completely done will take a bit of that away. or at least, hopefully, make it the next CMs problem.

Krisnda wrote: »

For anyone interested as to "why", An anonymous source told me to google: Parallel Networks LLC

All i see is a patent troll suing a bunch of successful companies. would be unfortunate if you are doing this as a response to patent litigation instead of fighting for your customers. may be costly but according to pwrd.com you guys are making plenty of profit. even if its down from the last quarters.

Hopefully they arent a partner or major shareholder cause honestly you guys are going down the tubes if thats the case. But i hoesntly think its the former. that they are bullying you. if so would be nice to verify cause nothing like a social media campign against patent troll companies. ijs.

whatever the case hope it gets solved cause yea

b:surrender

Edit* thanks for updating the link. Now that i see you were suedand super lame. Shoulda teamed up with some of those other companies and dealt them one. sigh. hopefully an appeal was filed. makes me want to send in a story to techdirt or slashdot. ugh.

synchroze wrote: »

...
Ok so the answer to this isn't as easy as I thought it would be. But based on the FAQ here is the response to this:

How does Arc facilitate game downloads?

To ensure that all our players are able to download our games, regardless of network restrictions or bandwidth limitations, Arc uses secure HTTP downloads and to obtain the game files directly from our servers. Arc currently does not utilize any Peer to Peer technology or download any files for games you have not explicitly chosen to install.

Which makes it even more confusing as to why the torrent method was abandoned. Even with that the old Direct Download method (not Pando, the old one before that) should still be available. Which is why forcing an un-tested beta program that is still in development down our throats is so damn frustrating.

But basically, as long as I provide the direct link that Arc uses to download the client, that works for those who don't want to use ARC, and I'm not infringing on the whole client download security bit.

Still though, you get the same integrity with the torrent method and it allows for cloud sharing. Not to mention that it's a hugely better option for those with a slow connection than a direct download. (Although Arc does appear to have the pause feature for the direct download option.)

When all is said and done though, this again leaves us no more informed than we were before. Looks like it's time to start some paperwork. Again, this isn't an attack at you Synchroze, it's basically at your bosses for doing such a ****ty job. I can see how the Parallel suit has caused them to cease with Pando, but it still leaves no excuse for the discontinuation of the secure direct download. Torrents are always a "cloudy" area because of the pirates misuse of the network, but it's still a valid method.