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Rewarding Deadbeat Players
soofismack
Member Posts: 28 Arc User
Why is Cryptic rewarding players that don't play???
My Wife & I both have 6 toons each that we have done all the storyline & grind to get them to level 60. I am retired and we play way more then we should, 14 -16 hrs per day in the constant grind to keep our toons at the best they can be.
We read up and watch all the dps videos we can so we can play by all the rules in a pve, "a lot of players should try that sometime". We are also lifetime members who care about the integrity of this game as it carries an iconic name that should not be cheapened in any way. We grew up watching TOS back in the 60s and have seen everything Star Trek since. We also pump a lot of cash into this game to keep up with all the latest shinies.
We run a 500 toon fleet that has many active members in it, "you know like in people who like to play", which brings us to this dilemma. Recently we had several members come back into the game that hadn't played for six months and longer. They were all happy about all the nice FREE stuff Cryptic handed out to them to get them to come back and play. Some members were at lower levels because they didn't play long enough to level their toon " you know because they didn't care that much about STO to start with to stay in the game" but that is ok. Then Cryptic comes to their rescue with an XP boost that takes them to level 60 no matter what level they were. There were other new shinies also all in a effort to get them back into a game that they cared nothing about. They made their toons level 60s and signed off not to be seen or heard from til the next giveaway! There were also many fleeties on at that time that were diligently working to level their toons that didn't get anything to help them. Sux to be them!
Yes, you gave us some free stuff but nothing that begins to repay us for the grind we all had to go through to complete level 50 through 60. It just sux for all of us that actually did the gameplay to get to level 60 to see the non-players be rewarded.
Please Cryptic, STOP rewarding players for not playing! It is the same as slapping the ones who do play everyday and put up with the day to day grind, lag & disconnects. We know the game is not perfect but we love it anyway. If you want to reward the players who are here everyday, that's fine, after all, we are the ones who keep this thing going and paying your paycheck but leave the deadbeats where they are... they are no help to any part of this game! IMO.
Thank You for your time....LLAP
My Wife & I both have 6 toons each that we have done all the storyline & grind to get them to level 60. I am retired and we play way more then we should, 14 -16 hrs per day in the constant grind to keep our toons at the best they can be.
We read up and watch all the dps videos we can so we can play by all the rules in a pve, "a lot of players should try that sometime". We are also lifetime members who care about the integrity of this game as it carries an iconic name that should not be cheapened in any way. We grew up watching TOS back in the 60s and have seen everything Star Trek since. We also pump a lot of cash into this game to keep up with all the latest shinies.
We run a 500 toon fleet that has many active members in it, "you know like in people who like to play", which brings us to this dilemma. Recently we had several members come back into the game that hadn't played for six months and longer. They were all happy about all the nice FREE stuff Cryptic handed out to them to get them to come back and play. Some members were at lower levels because they didn't play long enough to level their toon " you know because they didn't care that much about STO to start with to stay in the game" but that is ok. Then Cryptic comes to their rescue with an XP boost that takes them to level 60 no matter what level they were. There were other new shinies also all in a effort to get them back into a game that they cared nothing about. They made their toons level 60s and signed off not to be seen or heard from til the next giveaway! There were also many fleeties on at that time that were diligently working to level their toons that didn't get anything to help them. Sux to be them!
Yes, you gave us some free stuff but nothing that begins to repay us for the grind we all had to go through to complete level 50 through 60. It just sux for all of us that actually did the gameplay to get to level 60 to see the non-players be rewarded.
Please Cryptic, STOP rewarding players for not playing! It is the same as slapping the ones who do play everyday and put up with the day to day grind, lag & disconnects. We know the game is not perfect but we love it anyway. If you want to reward the players who are here everyday, that's fine, after all, we are the ones who keep this thing going and paying your paycheck but leave the deadbeats where they are... they are no help to any part of this game! IMO.
Thank You for your time....LLAP
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Comments
Yes, I know it may sound like crazy or twisted logic to some, but that is the closest thing to a real explanation you are going to get.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
I'm with you on the objections. Keep on the bright side though. Retired and playing STO 14 - 16 hours AND having a wife to do the same with you? Brother, you are blessed indeed; wayyyy more than the folks who got a free T6.
I'll just say "Live long" since you've already prospered.
Rayzee
excellentawesome#4589
torgaddon101
raeat
And, whether you personally spend money on the game or not - if you're part of the game, and if you're part of the content for all players, you're also part of the content for paying players. And we all know that games without content don't really entice players to play or pay.
In the end, whatever you do, even if you're just a single guy, you are contributing a little bit to the game's financial well-being.
There is nothing mysterious, weird about MMOs trying to get lapsed players back into the game, there is nothing twisted or crazy about the logic of getting lapsed players back into the game. Targeting lapsed players is in fact a very obvious goal, because if someone actually played STO for a while, that means he has or at least had a known interest in STO. He's not like all the other gamers and people out there (whose e-mail address Cryptic doesn't have either), for whom you don't know if they even have an interest in a game like STO.
But after seeing a large number of my fleet walk away from the game, anything that could help bring them back would be welcomed. And I'm sorry to be blunt OP, but you made the decision to invest so much into STO, no one put a phaser to your head and made you do it. If it means that much to you, then may I suggest that instead of starting yet another thread on the subject that will likely get closed shortly, you instead direct your attention to customer services or some official from PWE.
Sure, I'd like to get the extra free ship too. But I understand how marketing works. Stores like Amazon offer $5-20 coupons to lure back inactive shoppers and PW offers a ship.
Some comparisons make sense, some don't IMO. This week, we got some free items just for logging in. They did not require any real time investment to get, just log in and claim. The event ships required significant time investment, so they are different, IMO. If you want to make a comparison that makes sense, then it would be the items we got this week, not the ships that people weeks to get.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
If it upsets you the thought of them claiming these, just remember that the ones who have zero interest in playing won't get the reward because they won't claim one. Also, keep in mind, this kind of thing is probably good for service members, peace corps members, people who lead busy lives.
Do I think it could have been handled better? Eh. I usually have a few ideas on improving things. I don't think it's a bad idea though and I'd rather Cryptic be actively trying to keep the game busy than give up and solely doubledown on the people who are here. They did just toss us a bunch of nice stuff.
Plus look at the ones who do play. We had access to a lot of cool new ships and stuff. Where they missed out on all of this.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
It's like mirror universe frequent flyer mileage. Since you've only flown with us that one time we'll reward you with two free trips cause we're so generous. Those of you who've flown with us more than once will get some stale peanuts and you'll like em.
Officially Nerfed In Early 2410
When those deadbeats leave again after a week, and the metrics go back to where they were next month, they'll have some explaining to do to their bosses. Then again, they'll probably bump those metrics back up again late September by releasing Season 11, and from there the next bump will be for the Winter event.
1. All 3 characters created are Romulans 2 KDF and 1 Fed so the Andromeda although a fine ship is not useable with these characters.
2. This account was created as a farming account for contraband. However now as a Mac user and if anyone knows of a way or if i'm wrong please share and correct me, you cannot load 2 versions of the game on the Mac client unlike Windows. However as the game runs fine on the Mac client i have no intention of installing windows bootcamp. Or having to shutdown and reload every time i want to use this acc to farm on the Mac.
I do agree the ship itself should not have been offered as part of the incentive, the instant lvl gain to 60 probably plus the spec points do come with those levels. It is a slap in the face to all of us who felt the grind getting pre-Delta lvl 50 toons to 60. Lvl 54-60 is the biggest grind when levelling, so bypassing that is a good incentive for those players to play again so they don't get burnt out going 54-60.
Also don't forget we have had 7 new FE episodes all of which have rewarded a free spec point. Yes we had to play the mission once to get it but its 7, 6 if these players start playing the current FE now, we got that they will not.
I'm not a Mac user, but you shouldn't have to load 2 copies of the game to use 2 accounts. When you run the launcher, it asks for your account name/email and password. You should just be able to change that information to that of your alt account and swap between accounts with only one install.
At least that's how it works on Windows, can't you just change the log in information in the launcher?
I can but i wanted to run 2 versions of the game at the same time so i didn't have to log between accounts like you can on windows. 1 runs in the background whilst i'm playing the other. But as i'm not going to use the alt acc i'll leave it
Aye, but we are supporting their statistics for total players, and player retention.
And what really rubs the wrong way is that they COULD have given this to EVERYONE both returning and consistent, and had they it would have reward everyone who contributes to their statistics, and since it's still a free swag bag, would have been just as effective at luring people back. Instead they decided to reward some and snub others.
I agree, there was a much better way to do this: they could have given everyone that free ship and spec points for a week or weekend, and still emailed the inactive players to let them know that if they could get those items anytime they come back. Some people act like it had to be one or the other, but that is a strawman falsehood. The method I just suggested would have still accomplished the goal of bringing back anyone who actually cared enough about getting those items to come back, while not causing this silly drama.
For the record, I already owned the ship and already have half a dozen unspent spec points on several different characters, so I don't personally care about "the stuff".
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Dear Frustrated on Feranginar.
Let me give you a little clue, as I said in the other thread whining about this situation, It's not going to bring maybe more than 15 people back, all your "hard work" is secure. This isn't going to bring me or nearly anyone else who left this grind fest back. Dry your eyes, get that nose back on the grindstone and enjoy your empty social areas, you have nothing to worry about!
I did log back into the forums to see the trainwreck though, has been a little bit of a let down, but worth it I guess.
Just because someone wasn't playing this game doesn't mean they weren't furiously grinding away in another.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
As someone who already bought it, I'd actually prefer if the released the Andromeda, or perhaps another ship, free permanently... preferably one from each ship class. I'm kind of tired of seeing teammates in T5 (no U) ships when I'm in STFs. Really, having no free T6 ships outside of limited time events, and no free upgrades to T5U was just a massive mistake, and reeks of greed.
There are obviously many different variations they could have gone with, but the main point is they could have given *insert-ship-here* to everyone, and still sent the inactive players the email to let them know what they could get if they came back.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
If they gave it to everyone we'd just have "Thanks for giving me what I just bought!" threads.
"Silly Drama" happens.
A real Ferengi would see that by doing this promotion, you might get some people back, the people outraged aren't going to quit over this, and (in true Ferengi fashion) a few people might buy the ship thinking "It was good enough to give away.......".
Also if even one or two of the people who got this email decided they needed to upgrade the weapons or buy something else, it's worth all the "Shitstorm" this forum can dish out.
Usually when they are actually giving everyone something, the majority tend to shout down the few who complain about already having it. That was pretty much what happened this week to the few complaints I saw from people who already had or had just bought whatever the day's free item was. But yeah, some people always complain about something. And on a related note, some people just like to complain about other people complaining.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Granted, hearing about 10 specialization points and a free T6 ship stings (given how long it takes to earn Spec points and how expensive T6 ships are), but I honestly can't blame Cryptic or PWE in trying to get people to come back to the game and see how it's changed. Though personally, the Dev Team still needs to develop on weaknesses of STO in why players left, like long-term playability and increased socializing beyond a few minutes in a queue.
Cryptic is using the "gifts" to bring some players back. It is the same thing as ebay sending me emails offering me 1,000 free listings. It is pretty common to incite players back.
Good advice for everybody.
Don't like the email thing? Deal with it.
Don't like people complaining about the email thing? Deal with it.
It applies just as much to the latter group as to the former.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
You and I both know +1 post count.
First. When everybody or a lot are doing something, it doesn't mean they are doing the right thing or a good thing. Those qualifications are not decided by numbers.
Now about the promo itself. It is funny, because it is a promo campaign that cannot be or will not be promoted. In my book that is the wrong kind of of promotion. Where was this action announced? I did not see it. So it has to be done in secrecy. All good things has to be done in secrecy, promoting to play a computer game is one of those.
Let's say Cryptic has reasoned over the issue. The campaign will bring back old players, but it will also upset active players. A step forward and a step backward. So they took the negativity for granted. It means they are quite hungry for player numbers. I see a more or less desperate move. What does that mean? Yeah doome thread.