test content
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc

How To Reduce Your Subscriber Base

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
I just wanted to give Cryptic a BIG THUMBS UP for coming up with the best solution yet to reduce server load. SHORTEN THE GRACE PERIOD!

Yes, thanks to you, many, many people cannot play the game today. I am not one of them, but my good friend is. He cannot play the game today because you, Cryptic, the most ignorant and greedy people I've seen today, could not see fit to increase the grace period.

Lets recap...

You shut down the servers multiple times during "Head Start".
You shut down the servers repeatedly, multiple times a day, AFTER release.
Most everyone, if not everyone, cannot obtain their unique uniforms.
Most everyone cannot put these uniforms on their BOffs.
There are STILL a plethora of bugs in the game.
Server lag is near unbearable where unequiping an item on the character or ship takes nearly a minute.
Missions are still bugged, such as the Lieutenant level 6 mission "Salvaged Relationships".
...I could go on and on...

But, for those that cannot login because the grace period is over and the shipping companies are days and weeks delayed, they cannot play your broken game. Do you not think it would be more respectable to increase the grace period in light of your many failures? Instead you want your hands on the money early?

I don't know what else to say to you people. I really don't. :mad:
Post edited by baddmoonrizin on
«1345

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    A ton of players payed over 300 - 400 bucks upfront on Lifetime subs and multiple retail boxes.

    This post has been edited to remove content which violates the Cryptic Studios Forum Usage Guidelines ~Dionaea
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    But you can't stop HULKAMANIA!
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Am I the only one sick of people crying because someones hard work isnt coming up the expectations of someone who clearly, is demanding perfection?

    Relax dude, how many mmos run as smooth as you "want" during launch?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I hope to weather to storm and issues with any newly released MMO and see less people by the time you have to pay a sub to play. That way there is less lag. Lets all remember most mmos if popular have bad issues at the beginning. Even WoW was almost unplayable at release.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    head-starters can't play today?

    didn't solve anything, still getting insane rubber-banding in sector space.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Rzar wrote:
    I hope to weather to storm and issues with any newly released MMO and see less people by the time you have to pay a sub to play. That way there is less lag. Lets all remember most mmos if popular have bad issues at the beginning. Even WoW was almost unplayable at release.

    At least those people got compensated with two to three weeks of extra free time.

    Cryptic never does that and has never done so before. They just take your money and run away.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Yes, Cryptic are the greedy and ignorant ones for not giving your friend free play time. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    YunoLegacy wrote:
    Yes, Cryptic are the greedy and ignorant ones for not giving your friend free play time. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

    On the up side we will be dealing with a lot less freebiee Trolls who are just on here to stir up trouble and bash the game.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Move on, buy the game already. If you're really planning on purchasing the game then this would not be a problem right? I bought it on a whim and I'm glad I did. Not because I'm immune to "betawhine-itis" but because its a neat game.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Jeronas wrote:
    At least those people got compensated with two to three weeks of extra free time.

    Cryptic never does that and has never done so before. They just take your money and run away.


    Except in Champions Online when people got their subscription time extended almost an extra month. I think I got 16 extra days.
    My account was supposed to expire on Jan 12th. I was given extended play until the 28th.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    shoziku wrote: »
    Move on, buy the game already. If you're really planning on purchasing the game then this would not be a problem right? I bought it on a whim and I'm glad I did. Not because I'm immune to "betawhine-itis" but because its a neat game.

    If you had of read the posts, you would realise the problem is people not having receiving their copies of the game yet, with their retail key, I was in Open beta, Head start, and now apparently, because my game has still not arrived, I can no longer play Star Trek Online.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Razski wrote: »
    Am I the only one sick of people crying because someones hard work isnt coming up the expectations of someone who clearly, is demanding perfection?

    Relax dude, how many mmos run as smooth as you "want" during launch?

    /faceplam.

    Why do you people continue to compare this as better or worse than other mmo's. Hold them accountable for THEIR products.. By your line of thinking because the majority of other mmo's botched their launchs, its ok if Cryptic does too. It's poor quality on ALL their parts. Telling people who have a sense of value and want a quality product for their money to "relax" is about one sided as a human can be. He paid money, and does not feel the product, nor its support warrant the cost paid. If that's not a reason to be upset, I don't know what is. I bet if you paid to go to the movie and the film broke 3 seconds into the show, you would want a credit or your money back, but by your perspective, I'll just tell you to relax and wait however long you need to to see your movie. Even if you have to sit there for 12 hours.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Jeronas wrote:
    At least those people got compensated with two to three weeks of extra free time.

    Cryptic never does that and has never done so before. They just take your money and run away.

    2-3 weeks?!? Maybe over a couple of years, the most they did was a day here and there at the beginning.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    mackerz wrote: »
    If you had of read the posts, you would realise the problem is people not having receiving their copies of the game yet, with their retail key, I was in Open beta, Head start, and now apparently, because my game has still not arrived, I can no longer play Star Trek Online.

    So it sounds like your retail choice was not able to get the game to you in a decent amount of time. If that is the case, then it should be the them who you should bring up your dissatisfaction with.

    Cryptic already gave a decent grace period for entering, long enough to allow you to switch retail vendors and still receive a product. To continue to place the burden upon them instead of your avenue for purchase isn't sensible.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Vrayel wrote:
    I just wanted to give Cryptic a BIG THUMBS UP for coming up with the best solution yet to reduce server load. SHORTEN THE GRACE PERIOD!

    Yes, thanks to you, many, many people cannot play the game today. I am not one of them, but my good friend is. He cannot play the game today because you, Cryptic, the most ignorant and greedy people I've seen today, could not see fit to increase the grace period.

    Lets recap...

    You shut down the servers multiple times during "Head Start".
    You shut down the servers repeatedly, multiple times a day, AFTER release.
    Most everyone, if not everyone, cannot obtain their unique uniforms.
    Most everyone cannot put these uniforms on their BOffs.
    There are STILL a plethora of bugs in the game.
    Server lag is near unbearable where unequiping an item on the character or ship takes nearly a minute.
    Missions are still bugged, such as the Lieutenant level 6 mission "Salvaged Relationships".
    ...I could go on and on...

    But, for those that cannot login because the grace period is over and the shipping companies are days and weeks delayed, they cannot play your broken game. Do you not think it would be more respectable to increase the grace period in light of your many failures? Instead you want your hands on the money early?

    I don't know what else to say to you people. I really don't. :mad:

    Server downtime happens. On a new games release it can happen on a daily basis, after the first month this settles down. After which it is normally a routine set day and time once a week. Of course major patches and expansions start this cycle over again.

    If you plan to play a online mmorpg you need to take a relaxed attitude towards then, they will happen and the durations stated are wags (Wild Arsed Guesses) the real duration of the downtime will be slightly more or slightly less on average (usual time difference plus or minus is half an hour).

    so simply put downtime happens live with it.

    Gadareth
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Rzar wrote:
    I hope to weather to storm and issues with any newly released MMO and see less people by the time you have to pay a sub to play. That way there is less lag. Lets all remember most mmos if popular have bad issues at the beginning. Even WoW was almost unplayable at release.

    I have the very same hopes. After the first 30 days are up, many of the whinners will be gone and the rest of us who are enjoying the game will have less clutter.

    I have played close to 20 MMOs, and STO is no different than any of them in its first week since launch.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Possibly a MMO launch is an unbelievably complex undertaking that has more variables than can be reasonably accounted for.

    Servers down in headstart? The alternative would be to continue to offer a more broken product. Headstart cost you nothing but the intention to buy the game. My $5.00 was applied to the purchase price.

    Servers down after start? See above. Many headstart participants predicted that very outcome. Is reasonableness a gene that you family does not possess? Do you live in a world where your every whim is gratified?

    Unique uniforms? Vendor problem. (Also, see stickie thread at the top of this page.)

    Can't put non-existent uniforms on Boffs? I see what you did there.

    Bugs? Plays fine for me. I just avoid the potholes under repair.

    Server lag? I have never experienced this, but I have a good connection and a decent computer. One of the biggest variables MMOs have to deal with is the wide variety of machines that "gamers" and their friends expect to still be capable of playing new games because they did just fine with Everquest. I have never experienced the example you provided of slow equip times.

    Missions bugged? This verges on the inane. Delay gratification much?

    Grace period over? For a friend? /picard facepalm
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    shoziku wrote: »
    Move on, buy the game already. If you're really planning on purchasing the game then this would not be a problem right? I bought it on a whim and I'm glad I did. Not because I'm immune to "betawhine-itis" but because its a neat game.

    You missed the point because all you wanted to do was to slam the OP. My friend DID buy the game. He got stiffed by GameStop and he's not receiving the retail copy for anothe few days. My beef, in case you missed it, is that Cryptic couldn't see fit to increase the grace period by only a week or so until ALL those that did purchase it got their retail key. Especially, in light of the numerous problems this game has had since launch. That's the point I'm trying to make here. So, read the OP next time and get the point first before you spout.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Rzar wrote:
    I hope to weather to storm and issues with any newly released MMO and see less people by the time you have to pay a sub to play. That way there is less lag. Lets all remember most mmos if popular have bad issues at the beginning. Even WoW was almost unplayable at release.

    Actually WoW was perfectly playable at release aside from the stuck looting animation bug. Server downtime was minimal but mind you they have extensive testing over there which is usually heads above the rest as they tend not to rush stuff out so fast. As for endgame well We sat in Molten Core waiting to run the zone before it was even finished. Sure the zone was open but you couldn't do anything inside. After a few guilds showed up and no end game content was ready they went into full swing to get that stuff polished up and had it working in a week.

    Star Wars Galaxies is a better comparison as far as server side issues and billing issues etc go and SOE was a much larger company at the time. Plus they had region based servers and not this single instanced network setup. Load was easier to manage back in those days.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    c[_] care cup is empty....
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Jeronas wrote:
    A ton of sheep payed over 300 - 400 bucks upfront on Lifetime subs and multiple retail boxes.

    Cryptic got your money already. That's all they care about. :p

    This.

    You're all just stacks of cash with googly eyes to them.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    i see the fanbois moved in fast, i wonder if its customer support logged in on there playing chars.
    op has a point tho. for some reason supplyers can't get the pre orders out fast enough. and it's a common trend, not just one company. this leads me to believe wether they like it or not, the supplier is somehow involded.

    and in fairness, in headstart and now in retail we have had loads of downtime, rubbish lag and it should be fixed and some kind of compensation should be given out. in good faith people have paid to play this game and the issue with downtime and lag and bugs and being logged out and waiting in a queue for a hour, has pervented that.

    now i believe its there turn to show good faith
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Harvest wrote:
    /faceplam.

    Why do you people continue to compare this as better or worse than other mmo's. Hold them accountable for THEIR products.. By your line of thinking because the majority of other mmo's botched their launchs, its ok if Cryptic does too. It's poor quality on ALL their parts. Telling people who have a sense of value and want a quality product for their money to "relax" is about one sided as a human can be. He paid money, and does not feel the product, nor its support warrant the cost paid. If that's not a reason to be upset, I don't know what is. I bet if you paid to go to the movie and the film broke 3 seconds into the show, you would want a credit or your money back, but by your perspective, I'll just tell you to relax and wait however long you need to to see your movie. Even if you have to sit there for 12 hours.

    The same procedure as last release?...

    The same procedure as EVERY release.

    get over it, its a mmo and its the same crying as every mmo release. i can´t read it anymore.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Vrayel wrote:
    I just wanted to give Cryptic a BIG THUMBS UP for coming up with the best solution yet to reduce server load. SHORTEN THE GRACE PERIOD!

    Yes, thanks to you, many, many people cannot play the game today. I am not one of them, but my good friend is. He cannot play the game today because you, Cryptic, the most ignorant and greedy people I've seen today, could not see fit to increase the grace period.

    Lets recap...

    You shut down the servers multiple times during "Head Start".
    You shut down the servers repeatedly, multiple times a day, AFTER release.
    Most everyone, if not everyone, cannot obtain their unique uniforms.
    Most everyone cannot put these uniforms on their BOffs.
    There are STILL a plethora of bugs in the game.
    Server lag is near unbearable where unequiping an item on the character or ship takes nearly a minute.
    Missions are still bugged, such as the Lieutenant level 6 mission "Salvaged Relationships".
    ...I could go on and on...

    But, for those that cannot login because the grace period is over and the shipping companies are days and weeks delayed, they cannot play your broken game. Do you not think it would be more respectable to increase the grace period in light of your many failures? Instead you want your hands on the money early?

    I don't know what else to say to you people. I really don't. :mad:

    Digital download does not have shipping delays. Cry moar.

    I think they were overly generous by offering the grace period in the first place.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Koffeeuk wrote:
    i see the fanbois moved in fast, i wonder if its customer support logged in on there playing chars.
    op has a point tho. for some reason supplyers can't get the pre orders out fast enough. and it's a common trend, not just one company. this leads me to believe wether they like it or not, the supplier is somehow involded.

    and in fairness, in headstart and now in retail we have had loads of downtime, rubbish lag and it should be fixed and some kind of compensation should be given out. in good faith people have paid to play this game and the issue with downtime and lag and bugs and being logged out and waiting in a queue for a hour, has pervented that.

    now i believe its there turn to show good faith

    Spot on my friend.

    I have yet to see anything in good faith to reward those that hung in there. One little show of that would be to extend the grace period and NOT make them use up their free 30 days while they cannot play due to this issue with shipping. It isn't much to ask. But now, not only did those that could play, that did buy the game, that hung in there through the debacle of a Head-Start, are now prevented from playing the game. That's a nice move Cryptic. Nice one indeed.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Vrayel wrote:
    Spot on my friend.

    I have yet to see anything in good faith to reward those that hung in there. One little show of that would be to extend the grace period and NOT make them use up their free 30 days while they cannot play due to this issue with shipping. It isn't much to ask. But now, not only did those that could play, that did buy the game, that hung in there through the debacle of a Head-Start, are now prevented from playing the game. That's a nice move Cryptic. Nice one indeed.

    Shipping is nothing to do with cryptic. that is the problem of the store you bought it from. they have had a massive grace period. Theyve even said if you havent recieved your key by the end of retail, then contact the store, then contact cryptic and they will try and help you.

    If you bothered to read and search for information first, you wouldnt have to post disparaging remarks which make you look foolish.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    so you can't play for a few days, you don't actually lose out on anything. You don't lose any paid for game time. Look at this way, when you get your key they'll have improved the server stability even more and may have patched some of those bugs
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    my god. its not cryptics fault if your retailer sucks. There was enough time to ship the game. I ordered the game from a foreign country and the time was fairly enough.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    The 30 free days does not even begin counting down until you enter your retail key.

    Cryptic have stated - repeatedly - that if your retailer has buggered up on the shipping, you should calmly and rationally speak with their billing department. If you haven't done that, that's your problem and your friend's. Head start dates were set in stone right from the start.

    If "your friend's" retailer is saying they don't have enough stock to cover all preorders, and must wait for more, then that is because that retailer oversold a product. Retailers should never do that, retailers are never supposed to do that, and stock levels are negotiated expressly on the understanding that they won't do that.

    So your retailer has quite possibly just gone and conducted unethical - possibly even illegal - business practices, and you'd rather bully Cryptic into giving you free game time than have the retailers held accountable for being a bunch of crooks.

    Smooth.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    On the up side we will be dealing with a lot less freebiee Trolls who are just on here to stir up trouble and bash the game.

    Dude do you really think that the only people that 'bash' this game are freeloaders? I might draw your attention to myself who is a paid subscriber and am also fully aware of the major flaws in this game. almost 10 years of playing MMO's have given me the insight into this game and how it has a lot of flaws that need to be fixed before they charge for any extra content. The cap....the lack of mission content.....the lack of crafting....these are all core components of any mmo worth it's salt.

    I am patient but literally only because of the IP. It is my hope that Cryptic will catch on to the fact that pumping out cheap games with a subcription AND an MT based income is not going to impress this IP's fanbase. You only have to check here to see that this is their intention. It saddens me that this sort of bean counter mentality has devoured a thriving industry that has created stunning games in the past and is now pumping out poor quality games for a quick profit.

    Yes Cryptic is a business but seriously??? make a great game that will last and people will be happy to part with their cash......make a shoddy game and people will part with it for a month and move on to something else. Quality can also bring in major profit.

    *sigh* time to make my lunch
This discussion has been closed.