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Forums > Home› Support› C-Store, ZEN, and Promotions

C-store math on character slots

aloishammeraloishammer Member Posts: 3,294 Arc User
edited December 2012 in C-Store, ZEN, and Promotions
Okay, so I started playing not too incredibly long ago F2P. After getting my one Fed and one Klink character going, I pick up the Collector's Edition, set up another character, now that makes 3.

So recently I get an itch, and use the "Buy 2 character slots" deal. Well...except that I only got one slot. And a nice one-liner from Support explaining that I'd already used one of my slots because the "extra" one from being Gold had been taken away. (You know, the one with the character I was playing today...strangest thing, seems to me if there's a character on it and I'm not locked out of using that character, I've already got that slot. Dopey me.)

I don't care what fly-by-night logic you use, that's pure bait and switch ripoff.

The offer I paid for didn't say "Buy two more slots, unless you 'pre-used' one of them."

It didn't say "Buy two slots, or maybe just one, depending."

It clearly spelled out a price, and said that for that price you get two slots- except I didn't.

With Support already having given me the brush-off, I guess this is really nothing more than a warning to others- be careful, what it says you're buying and what they actually give you for your cash might not be the same thing.

For my part...at least I found out what sort of company I was dealing with before I sank any significant money into it, and won't be making any further such errors.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • doogie74doogie74 Member Posts: 103 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    As a silver player you only have 2 character slots, even though while gold you had three character slots when you went to a silver account one of those characters should have been locked out. So you had 2 character slots when you went free to play and once you purchased the 2 character slots you now have 4 slots.

    http://sto.perfectworld.com/about/freetoplay/features-matrix

    So, you did get 2 extra slots.
  • grouchyotakugrouchyotaku Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    doogie74 wrote: »
    As a silver player you only have 2 character slots, even though while gold you had three character slots when you went to a silver account one of those characters should have been locked out. So you had 2 character slots when you went free to play and once you purchased the 2 character slots you now have 4 slots.
    Actually, characters are never 'locked out' (too many data base and upset user issues deciding which character will bet locked...) Empty Mixed Slots, as well as the EC account limit ('Gold' can have up to 10 Billion ECs for a character's Bank balance, 'Silver' is limited to 10 Million Ecs...) are considered fair game when transitioning from 'Gold' to 'Silver'....
  • aloishammeraloishammer Member Posts: 3,294 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    doogie74 wrote: »
    So, you did get 2 extra slots.

    No, what I got was the high hard one. Not a problem though...I just learned not to spend any more money with this fly-by-night outfit.

    Until I can create another character, I did not get 2 extra slots. I got 1.
  • sovereignmansovereignman Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    Yeah that's lame dude. I did exactly what you did.

    I had a Fed/KDF from silver. Got another KDF from collectors. Then bought 2 more slots for another Fed/KDF.

    Although I did make all this while I was still gold for that month though.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMm_VoKkuco - Needs more female relief ops ensign.
  • doogie74doogie74 Member Posts: 103 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    aloishammer wrote: »
    No, what I got was the high hard one
    Until I can create another character, I did not get 2 extra slots. I got 1.

    No if you did not not buy the third character slot; you lost the ability to make a third character had you deleted that third character. They let you continue to have access to a character that your being a silver would not have been able to make but because you were gold when you made it you did not lose it.

    Subscribe again and gain access to that 5th slot and unsubscribe again.
  • aloishammeraloishammer Member Posts: 3,294 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    doogie74 wrote: »
    Subscribe again and gain access to that 5th slot and unsubscribe again.

    What, so they can stick it to me again? Fool me once, shame on you...they won't be fooling me twice.
    aloishammer wrote: »
    The offer I paid for didn't say "Buy two more slots, unless you 'pre-used' one of them."

    It didn't say "Buy two slots, or maybe just one, depending."

    It clearly spelled out a price, and said that for that price you get two slots- except I didn't.
  • doogie74doogie74 Member Posts: 103 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    aloishammer wrote: »
    What, so they can stick it to me again? Fool me once, shame on you...they won't be fooling me twice.

    They have not stuck anything to you; you are the one who has not read up on things and understand what is happening.

    From C-store:
    Players can purchase sets of two (2) additional character slots for their account.

    Read what I linked from the matrix.

    As silver you only had 2 character slots but because you were gold and made the third character while you were gold you still had the third character. Cryptic did not close out your third character but allowed you to use it while you were a silver character.

    Why aren't you thanking them for letting you use the third slot while you were silver and being a silver player you are only allowed 2 character slots unless you buy extra.

    Guess what, you purchased extra and they added 2 character slots to your account. The problem you are finding is you are counting the one they let you keep even though they did not take it from you. When you purchased the extra slots you purchased that slot they were letting you borrow.

    I am through feeding you.
  • thoroonthoroon Member Posts: 409 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    Sorry Mr. "be thankful", but there is something wrong then:
    My GF did nearly the same.
    Startet F2P, bought a Digital Deluxe for cheap and used the key for a month sub, third slot etc.

    She played 2 toons on the account, never touched the third slot.
    During sale she bought 2 additional slots, just for case.
    Now she has 5 Slots (still only 2 toons), although you point out it should only be four.

    So either they did it wrong on my GF's account or OPs ... where is the mistake?
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • aloishammeraloishammer Member Posts: 3,294 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    doogie74 wrote: »
    They have not stuck anything to you; you are the one who has not read up on things and understand what is happening.

    Actually I did read up on what I purchased- it was alleged to be "two character slots," but I only got one above what I already had access to.

    Good for you, Pollyanna, if you think I should be grateful this fly-by-night outfit "graciously" let me use something I hadn't paid for, but quite simply, the math fails. I had 3 active, accessible character slots, paid for what was supposed to be two more, and now have 4.

    "Thank you, sir, may I have another?" :rolleyes:

    Go to any mathematician and tell them 3 + 2 = 4 and see what kind of response you get.

    So you go on smiling at whatever they want to do to you, that's your prerogative. Just like not letting these clowns get another penny from me is mine.
  • tjexcimer500tjexcimer500 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    As a science officer I can help you
    2 + 2 = 4
    Silver + 2 purchased slots = 4 total slots

    3 + 2 = 5
    Gold + 2 purchased slots = 5 total slots

    Are you currently paying for Gold or are you a Silver member?

    If you're a silver member, as you've indicated, then you have 4 slots and there was no injustice done to your account.

    "I had 3 active, accessible character slots..." HAD being the correct word - you HAD 3 because you WERE GOLD, since you are SILVER you now have 2 and 2+2=4.


    Thanks to the OP for bringing this concern up - I went back and checked my account and slot purchases just to be certain everything was in order. Thanks to all those who posted and figured it out the cause for this "problem".

    "I believe that I could see ... five lights." -Picard.
    There are Four Lights... say no to ARC
    Fleet: 1st Order of Role-Players' Guild - gaming together since 2004
  • aloishammeraloishammer Member Posts: 3,294 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    tjexcimer500 wrote: »
    "I had 3 active, accessible character slots..." HAD being the correct word - you HAD 3 because you WERE GOLD, since you are SILVER you now have 2 and 2+2=4.

    I "had" 3 because I was Gold.

    Then when I "dropped" to Silver, I only had...uh...3.

    3 slots, 3 characters, no loss of access. I had 3 as Gold, I had 3 as Silver. Since I am now Silver, before this ill-advised purchase I only had...oh yeah, 3!

    Then I bought a mislabeled item which claimed to be 2 more, but it used some creative math: 3+ 2 = 4.


    EDIT: Now, if folks are comfortable with this variable definition of "2 additional slots" dependent on previous status and/or purchases, more power to them. But be aware, the math might not work like...well...real mathematics.

    I'm not comfortable with it- when I walk into McDonald's and order 2 hamburgers, I expect to get 2 hamburgers...not get charged for 2, and receive 1 plus the explanation "Oh, you ate the first one yesterday with your off-the-menu meal combo."
  • lianthelialianthelia Member Posts: 7,887 Arc User
    edited July 2012
    Its simple, you paid for the extra slot which you got for free when you downgraded.

    Silver members get two slots...gold members get three, you downgraded your membership yet you still got to keep a perk...if anything you probably should have been forced to delete one...which would send you to these forums for a different reason to complain.

    System reads you as a silver member which has access to two characters...two + two = four. So the system used logic instead of just adding two

    I'm sorry you feel entitled to a perk of subscribing when you no longer are subscribed and aren't getting it.
    Can't have a honest conversation because of a white knight with power
  • blackmarch0blackmarch0 Member Posts: 32 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    I'm mostly in agreement with the OP here - This is definitely an issue that PWE needs to address;

    There is absolutely no info on the FAQ, the point list, the z-store, or on the character selection screen, that gives any information to the effect that having a 3rd character in a silver account will use up one of your purchased character slots.

    Or a good explanation how character slot mechanics work on one of those locations(the average joe is going to be thinking 3+2=5, and not thinking PWE mechanics)

    I'm wondering if this is deliberate to sucker folks.

    Personally i'd rather have my 3rd character locked with a nice note saying i either need to upgrade to gold, or purchase a character slot to unlock it rather than having no info on that having that first 2 character slot purchase be nerfed to accomodate your third character which is somehow in useable limbo.

    either way, does anyone know if once you've been suckered into this, that if at a later date you decide to go gold again, you'll automatically get a 5th slot, or are you going to have to shell out another wad of cash for 2 more?.
  • rustychatrustychat Member Posts: 91 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    I kept the third slot open and available ever since STO went free to play, even though I never had any characters on it until recently, so I was under the impression that you got to keep that third character slot. Another one of those nice little 'thanks for subscribing' gesture sort of things. The kind of thing that while small, if noticed it makes a nice little impact on the buyer.

    But hearing that we apparently don't actually have the third, despite it being right there in front of us and freely available to use, is the exact opposite. I've been planning on expanding my character slots soon too, since I wouldn't mind having one of each profession on each side. While it'd cost me the same in the end as I'd still need to buy the +4 character slots, until I see how this gets resolved, I think I'll hold off.

    If I buy an additional inventory slots upgrade, do I get nothing because I already have 72 slots? Do I have to buy 3 of them just to get my inventory expanded by a whole 6 spots? Will buying a pair of bridge officer slot upgrades, do I also get nothing there, because I already have the extra slots that I got from level when it was still pay to play or was subscribed? Do I need to pay 3000+ zen in Retrain tokens before I get just one? I should certainly hope not.

    The fact is that we have that third slot. It's there, and it's available to use. For all I know, I simply got to keep it because I was playing long before STO went free to play. There's no indication that it's not something that we get to keep if we were originally gold or been playing pre-F2P. But there's no indication that's why, or that it is in some way not counted as slots you have when buying more slots. If/when I buy +4 character slots, I expect to see 7 character slots, not 6. But if we're going to get how many we bought - 1 just because of something completely unindicated, then I think I'll stick with just 3 characters.
  • thecosmic1thecosmic1 Member Posts: 9,365 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    The issue here is that the game now requires you to have 1 Fed and 1 KDF. In the past you could use all your Slots just for Fed. It's not that you're losing your 3rd Slot. It's that the game now requires a Silver player to use 1 for the KDF. Part of the restriction of not paying for the game is that your slots are no longer yours to use as you wish.
    STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
  • rustychatrustychat Member Posts: 91 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    From the matrix, Gold members are also required to have a KDF if they want to use all three of their slots. 1 Fed, 1 KDF, 1 to do with as you please. So either way, the restriction is there.

    For myself, I had 2 Feds already from pre-F2P. The third slot it told me was my free one, to do with as I pleased. Since I was introducing a friend to the game, I started a new Fed to level up along side him, so now I have 3 Feds. This has also only been in the past week or so that I started the new 3rd character, and later we both bought gold prior for the rank up perks. The system appears to consider slot 1 as Fed, slot 2 as KDF, and any slots after that as either.

    Not that it really has much impact on whether or not the third slot exists. It clearly does to us, and the system appears to agree as well, letting us have full access to that third slot. Up until the point that we try to expand those slots it would seem.
  • kobayashlmarukobayashlmaru Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    lianthelia wrote: »
    Its simple, you paid for the extra slot which you got for free when you downgraded.

    Silver members get two slots...gold members get three, you downgraded your membership yet you still got to keep a perk...if anything you probably should have been forced to delete one...which would send you to these forums for a different reason to complain.

    System reads you as a silver member which has access to two characters...two + two = four. So the system used logic instead of just adding two

    I'm sorry you feel entitled to a perk of subscribing when you no longer are subscribed and aren't getting it.

    When he downgraded, was he notified that this was going to happen? It?s funny that Cryptic chooses this as their point of contention but are perfectly willing to let you keep all the gold benefits you have for your character. The inconsistency leads me to believe this was a bug that Cryptic is trying to conveniently use to their advantage.

    Is there a footnote stating this fact when he made is purchase? If not, this is absolutely misleading especially to those who played prior to F2P and weren't aware of the slot reduction.
    Kobayashi Maru
    Join Date: Sept 2008

    "Holographic tissue paper for the holographic runny nose. Don't give them to patients." - The Doctor
  • blindsaviour666blindsaviour666 Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    Hm I got up to 16 characters while I was still paying a sub, I'm F2P since it launched and now I have 15 characters + one free slot so obviously I haven't lost anything.... Yet LOL has this happened to anyone else?
    I was thinking of buying more slots but it won't happen if cryptic decided to go about it this way.

    OP, did you make a foundry character by chance? The lost character slot might be there if you created a character in it...
    Out of the darkness
    On the road where the dead years run
    Cold as moonlight
    Terrible as the sun
  • dareaudareau Member Posts: 2,390 Arc User
    edited August 2012
    To clarify the situation:

    Per the features matrix/experience:
    As a Gold, you are given 1 Fed, 1 KDF, 1 "universal".
    As a Silver, you are given/allotted 1 Fed, 1 KDF.

    You do not lose access to anything you may have earned as a Gold, however, in this case, Cryptic does actually yank the character slot.

    So, as a gold, you have your 3 character slots, filled with 3 characters.
    Downgrading to silver, you don't lose access to any of your 3 characters, but you only have 2 character slots.

    2 silver slots + 2 bought slots from store = 4 slots. 3 existing characters + 1 new character = 4 characters. Perfect match.

    This happened to me. Later, caught stories of ex-golds deleting a character then finding out they could not replace it. Therefore, confirmation that the only things (so far) that you actually lose in the downgrade from gold to silver is EC cap and free character slot...
    Detecting big-time "anti-old-school" bias here. NX? Lobi. TOS/TMP Connie? Super-promotion-box. (aka the two hardest ways to get ships) Excelsior & all 3 TNG "big hero" ships? C-Store. Please Equalize...

    To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
  • chitowngrizz420chitowngrizz420 Member Posts: 266 Arc User
    edited November 2012
    TRIBBLE i fell for the rip off also :(

    i was f2p made my 2 toons and then was gold for 2 months which gave me a 3rd slot then i purchased 2 new character slots giving me 5 toons then my gold ran out. i just purchased 2 more new character slots which should have given me a total of 7 slots and of course i only received 1 new slot for a total of 6 not 7.

    i wish i would of seen these post and known that i was going to be ripped off because i never would of done it.

    CRYPTIC AND PERFECT WORLD YOU SUCK!
    I WAS CONSIDERING GOING GOLD AGAIN OR EVEN LIFETIME AND NOW BECAUSE I WAS RIPPED OFF I WILL NEVER SPEND ANOTHER DIME ON THIS GAME EVER AGAIN.
    IN FACT I SHOULD THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME SAVE SOME MONEY BECAUSE OF THIS TRIBBLE.
    I WILL BE SPREADING THE WORD TO MY FLEET ABOUT THIS ROBBERY, WHICH HAS OVER 1200 MEMBERS IN 3 FLEETS.
    I CANT LET THEM FALL PRAY TO THIS LOOP HOLE THIEVERY ON YOUR PART!
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  • chitowngrizz420chitowngrizz420 Member Posts: 266 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    Question: Does anyone know if I go gold again does the that character slot that would have been there if i stayed gold reappear? or is it gone for good?
    lololol_zpszeo2byvx.jpg
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  • dareaudareau Member Posts: 2,390 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    chitowngrizz420 wrote: »
    Question: Does anyone know if I go gold again does the that character slot that would have been there if i stayed gold reappear? or is it gone for good?

    I currently have 7 active characters:

    S'Leth and Koloth are in my "silver" slots...

    Julin is in my "subscriber free, but took slot 1 of first upgrade" slot. Shara took the second of those 2 slots.

    Annlova and Ardrian came from my second 2 slot purchase

    And Shinflik (not in my sig, a toon that I started to wing with my son who I just started on F2P) exists because I'm "gold" from the 3mo/$30 plan - so I'd say that the gold slot comes back if/when you resub...
    Detecting big-time "anti-old-school" bias here. NX? Lobi. TOS/TMP Connie? Super-promotion-box. (aka the two hardest ways to get ships) Excelsior & all 3 TNG "big hero" ships? C-Store. Please Equalize...

    To rob a line: [quote: Mariemaia Kushrenada] Forum Posting is much like an endless waltz. The three beats of war, peace and revolution continue on forever. However, opinions will change upon the reading of my post.[/quote]
  • grouchyotakugrouchyotaku Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    chitowngrizz420 wrote: »
    Question: Does anyone know if I go gold again does the that character slot that would have been there if i stayed gold reappear? or is it gone for good?
    The third 'mixed' character slot is a property of being a 'Gold' account. When you become 'Gold' again, the slot will come back...
  • logicalspocklogicalspock Member Posts: 836 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    The user is understandably confused and PWE should offer to refund the purchase. Unfortunately, they will not do that, because their attitude is that once they have your money they never give it back.

    That being said, PWE is not trying to "rip you off". The system they have for downgrading from Gold to Silver is just confusing if you do not understand it.
  • chitowngrizz420chitowngrizz420 Member Posts: 266 Arc User
    edited December 2012
    I went gold again and the missing character slot i payed for returned for me to use.
    The best thing to stop this confusion would be to eliminate the odd number of character slots. If you go gold instead of adding just 1 new slot for 3 total, give players 2 for a total of 4 character slots for gold. Then gold players that use all 4 character slots and go back to silver won't lose any newly purchased slots. This just makes total sense it would be nice to see it changed.
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