I've been a long-time lurker here, especially recently, wanting to see whats happening with Polywater Yar. My CS support guy has been an absolute idiot and it looks like that's the case for a lot of people here. I've been looking for the actual fix here on the forums, because this is where the fix was shared for Mirror Picard and for the broken shuttles/Chaotica/Arachnia, rather than ingame mail or email or something sensible like that.
I've been looking through every staff comment, every announcement, every word DB has said about this big problem, but I can only find two comments:
I get the disappointment regarding this issue, I do.
So does the team. The change for Polywater Yar was not an easy decision to make but it had to happen when it did. And yes the timing of it all was unfortunate, we realize that.
This is not a situation we want either ourselves or our players to be in again, it has surfaced points of failure in the Design and QA processes regarding crew, and steps are being taken to address them.
Likewise for other issues like what happened for the Skirmish Events.
Of course actions do speak louder than words and I hope that improvements in the coming weeks will do just that.
Now for those of you with tickets regarding Polywater Yar, if you are not satisfied with the solution offered to you, please follow the proper procedure and request an escalation. Thank you!
On a separate note: we hear what you're saying about a number of the recent issues. There are a lot of voices giving us feedback. We're working on fixing bugs (Skirmishes, PvP rewards) and are endeavoring to improve QA processes for crew to make sure we don't have to adjust characters after they're released (Polywater Yar). It's impossible to say problems will never happen again, but we're trying to improve on our end.
For what it's worth, I'm sorry about the recent issues and our sparse communications regarding them.
THAT'S IT? That's all the help that can be given? The CS guys say nothing can be done and won't escalate, and the forum staff don't even try to help and just point us back to the CS guys?
Shan, may I ask, was that your final word on the matter? You are satisfied that the situation has been resolved correctly?
Or did I miss some actual help and support that was kindly and helpfully posted somewhere? Link/quote would be most appreciated - thanks in advance!
I was dissatisfied with the response I got from CS. I asked for my purchases to be refunded and was denied, and like others, was only offered Dil for the packs that had Yar. No resources back that I used to level her. Nothing for the other packs I wouldn’t have bought without Yar being a possibility. I sent about 15 emails back and forth with CS over a week with no response.
So I initiated a refund request via Apple.
I was refunded and posted about my experience here. That account was then promptly banned.
So I lost access to hundreds of dollars of purchased content and can no longer log into my main account. I’ve totally quit playing over this experience and just happened to stop back today to see if any of this was resolved for others (lolol)
I know this is is going to sound like sour grapes because I was banned for refunding via Apple on another account, but DB very clearly doesn’t care about users and is trying to maximize cash flow.
Whatever you do, never admit to getting a refund from Apple or google here. They have no way of knowing unless you admit to it. Hard lesson to learn.
But at least I have more free time to start getting through my backlog of Nintendo Switch games.
Sorry, I clicked "awesome" under your comment, but I don't think what's happened to you is awesome at all. Its disgusting.
You (and by you I mean the company and not necessarily you as an individual) seem to fail to realize the problems with Apparently-Bait-And-Switch Yar...
If you had provided a reasonable change to her stats or had offered a rational or reasonable compensation..
In order to make the change happen the literal second the sale was over, DB had to have made the choice to change her during the event.
Now I’m in a massive fight for the new Sato card. I love the character and so fight for the card. However, I am now doing it at a disadvantage...
The response to my customer service appeal amounted to: This is a “regular game balances” and that nothing can be done. It closes with “Thank you for understanding.”
David
Couple of points i find of concern:
1) DB failing to realize problems with Apparently Bait & Switch Yar
2) DB failing to offer any goodwill proof this is not what it appears
3) DB defending significantly nerfing buff stats the moment the premiere event & pack sales end
4) DB running another event weeks later with another 5* having buff stats (this time Sato & base stats) but nothing to assure if i go after her i won't get a nerfed card the moment her event & pack sales end
5) DB definition of normal rebalancing is to do the above 1-4
Now how do i trust any power creep stats to be of any value the moment their premiere pack sale ends?
I purchased extra shuttle boosts, finished rank #50, got two event packs (no Yar) and DB told me I’m entitled to NOTHING. All I asked for was for them to exchange my (now) unwanted Yar for my
Shuttle boosts.... needless to say I didn’t purchase the 4000Dil offer with 30 x premium packs recently and my spending will be for a monthly card henceforth.
Keep pushing on that. I got all my shuttle boosts back and kept yar.
Yeah I got my DIL refunded but to say they were reluctant to do so would be a huge understatement. Thankfully they finally acquiesced
I purchased extra shuttle boosts, finished rank #50, got two event packs (no Yar) and DB told me I’m entitled to NOTHING. All I asked for was for them to exchange my (now) unwanted Yar for my
Shuttle boosts.... needless to say I didn’t purchase the 4000Dil offer with 30 x premium packs recently and my spending will be for a monthly card henceforth.
Keep pushing on that. I got all my shuttle boosts back and kept yar.
Yeah I got my DIL refunded but to say they were reluctant to do so would be a huge understatement. Thankfully they finally acquiesced
I hope that was a refund, and not a reversal?
A reversal would leave me in a worse position than I am currently in. But they don't seem to understand? (I'm guessing that they do understand, but just don't care.... wow, I didn't expect to be making such negative comments about the situation at this time. Indeed, I didn't expect to still be talking about this in September!)
@Shan , what do we do if we get escalated to someone who doesn't seem to know how Timelines works, doesn't seem to understand the dishonesty of offering a pack where one of the prizes is impossible to win, doesn't seem to be familiar with Disruptor Beam's previous solutions to similar problems, and doesn't even seem to have a good command of English? Do we just keep asking to escalate until we get someone who isn't wasting our time?
Could you just tell us the name of who we should be talking to in order to get an acceptable solution?
(Or even better - could you just sort it out, please?)
I purchased extra shuttle boosts, finished rank #50, got two event packs (no Yar) and DB told me I’m entitled to NOTHING. All I asked for was for them to exchange my (now) unwanted Yar for my
Shuttle boosts.... needless to say I didn’t purchase the 4000Dil offer with 30 x premium packs recently and my spending will be for a monthly card henceforth.
Keep pushing on that. I got all my shuttle boosts back and kept yar.
Yeah I got my DIL refunded but to say they were reluctant to do so would be a huge understatement. Thankfully they finally acquiesced
I hope that was a refund, and not a reversal?
A reversal would leave me in a worse position than I am currently in. But they don't seem to understand? (I'm guessing that they do understand, but just don't care.... wow, I didn't expect to be making such negative comments about the situation at this time. Indeed, I didn't expect to still be talking about this in September!)
Well, I didn’t get any of the many shuttle boosts I used to finish 50th... and I only received my reluctant refund after arguing over six emails with someone who continuously misunderstood and seems to forget what I’d said
I take it from Shan's silence that he's not satisfied with his own response to this fiasco, and would like us to keep working to get a solution. I have some ideas. Obviously contact with Disruptor Beam is a complete joke - do they not speak English!? Lawyering up is obviously not a solution either because it's too much money to spend on this issue and there's no guarantee of a win anyway. I think theres a middle ground, but I wanna give Shan a final 24 hours before we take it away from Disruptor Beams hands.
Obviously contact with Disruptor Beam is a complete joke - do they not speak English!?
I don't know if you're being literal, but the chap to whom my ticket was escalated couldn't go two sentences without a mistake. Except, funnily enough, for one large paragraph - which didn't actually answer my questions or help at all! Clearly a copy-paste.
It's shocking to wait three weeks hoping to get a response from someone who isn't passively rude and clearly not bothering to read the ticket, only to end up with someone who is rude and cannot read the ticket because of their poor grasp of English!
Between the Event and this ticket, I've got nothing to show for hours of my time. I think I'm heading into the Sunk Cost Fallacy, but I just don't want to give up yet..! But I would rate the support I've received as less than zero - my time wasted, my blood pressure raised by their rudeness, and zero acceptable compensation offered (not even one chroniton!). And with an online game like Timelines, it doesn't seem sensible to continue to play if there isn't any support.
I take it from Shan's silence that he's not satisfied with his own response to this fiasco, and would like us to keep working to get a solution. I have some ideas. Obviously contact with Disruptor Beam is a complete joke - do they not speak English!? Lawyering up is obviously not a solution either because it's too much money to spend on this issue and there's no guarantee of a win anyway. I think theres a middle ground, but I wanna give Shan a final 24 hours before we take it away from Disruptor Beams hands.
I think Shan’s hands may be tied in what she can actually say or do to help.
It feels like DB are playing hard ball on the issue and have gone into a lock down mode where they’re being very careful not to concede they made a huge mistake. This is reminiscent of DB historically, even though we’ve had reassurances before that they’ll be better at communication and holding up their hands when there’s been a problem.
I believe they are still trying to hide behind the stats change being just ‘balancing’, which I totally disagree with. The changes were announced right when she stopped being available to buy (intentionally or not). There could have been warning much earlier on but they chose to wait until everyone had spent what they wanted to spend. Also, a balance should be a minor tweak, not something that makes that crew totally useless in that stat. I get that there were complaints she was overpowered and she may have been a tiny bit, but there were counter measures and a simple fix may have been to release new crew with a suitable defense on the following event. The changes to Polywater Yar’s stats were at best too extreme and at worse totally unnecessary.
@R2-EQ I suggest you follow the normal process for submitting a ticket and having it escalated.
I’ve been through the process and was only offered back perhaps 10-20% of what I used to obtain Yar, once you factor everything in, which I declined. A goodwill gesture on top of this to say sorry just seems out of the question, for individual tickets or all players.
I get that there were complaints she was overpowered and she may have been a tiny bit, but there were counter measures and a simple fix may have been to release new crew with a suitable defense on the following event. The changes to Polywater Yar’s stats were at best too extreme and at worse totally unnecessary.
Sorry I chopped the name, it's 7am and the kid hasn't alert yet.
They did that..
The next event they released a 2 second evade. Could have just Tinker with him to to make him a good enough counter if he wasn't out of the box.
I hold this entire situation in complete contempt. This makes me feel as if I hold no value at all as a 2&1/2 year "vip 13" customer.
@R2-EQ I suggest you follow the normal process for submitting a ticket and having it escalated.
I’ve been through the process and was only offered back perhaps 10-20% of what I used to obtain Yar, once you factor everything in, which I declined.
It's a shame that's not the experience for everybody. I've been through the normal process for submitting a ticket and having it escalated (literally copy/pasted Shan's message about what to say to get an escalation: "I would like this escalated to the Team Leader.", and it still got ignored the first time and took 11 days to get a response), and it's been a colossal waste of time. I've been offered literally nothing that would in any way improve my situation. So far it's been like a stupid onion, where peeling back another layer just reveals more idiocy.
I think you might be right about DB playing hard ball and just denying everything, though, which is a real shame. I posted a lot of comments about having patience and trusting DB to do the right thing, and waiting for Shan to get this sorted properly, and I've been made to feel (and presumably look) stupid for having faith that this will be sorted.
I even had so much confidence that Shan would get this sorted on her return that I bought a monthly card last week. Fantastic. More money going into the pockets of the two support staff I had who sit around taking pay checks for a job that is beyond their ability to perform.
After escalation I've been offered the dilithium pack for my portal purchases as long as they can take everything back from my account. No return of boosts (to ensure 'consistency'!) and certainly no gesture of Good Will. They also asked for any further feedback to which I replied the following:
"My further suggestion would be that you start telling people the truth and treating everyone equally and fairly. Maybe then I wouldn't have had to reply so many times to ever more frustrating responses which I know are untrue simply to come to a final answer from yourself which still does not either satisfy me or restore any trust in your company.
This has been a huge failure on your part and I genuinely struggle to understand what you think you've gained by it.
Ziggy"
Come join our fleet! We're a great social group that helps each other. You play the way you want to, participate as much as you want and if you want to be competitive, you can be! Check out our fleet ad:
When DB first noticed that they had to adjust the card, either since a typo occurred in the ship skill or an adjustment was neeeded for competitive balance, their first thought should have been “how do we fix this without losing paying customers.” Instead it seems like that is an afterthought, or not even a thought at all.
The first step would have been to change a few items to up some of her base stats to offset the ship ability change.
After that you need to offer people alternatives to the card. I’m sure they could have given a citation to people for for their yar’s but that is probably a little too generous.
Instead you could have given people who got yar from event rewards a chance to swap for an event gold from say the prior 8 events and the people who paid cash or dil for her a choice of say 30000 honor or 3000 dil per star. Add in a few chrons for a fully equipped yar being returned and you probably have don’t have any angry players.
It should have taken 15 minutes to come up with a plan like that and probably another half hour to notify their service reps. Instead they chose to do nothing, have to deal with a loss of player trust, and the added cost of having to have multiple interactions with each customer in the complaint process because there wasn’t a fair standard compensation plan for reps to follow.
I agree none of it makes sense Arena was also supposed to have an overhaul - if this were the case you think they would be a little more careful on the release of arena card abilities.
Another thing I am trying to fathom:
I was looking at Captain Kurn arena abilities
Boosts accuracy by 5
Immediately deals 200% damage no trig
Charge Phases 4s 300%, 8s 400%
and now Yars....
Boosts Attack by 5
Decrease Evasion 2
Immediateley deals 100% no trig
Charge Phases 6s 200% 10s 350%
now you tell me out of the two who is more useful?
[was on Sabbatical/Hiatus] Currently a trialist at Galaxy SquadronSTAY SAFE and KBO
I’m sure they could have given a citation to people for for their yar’s but that is probably a little too generous.
I disagree. It’s really the only solution that would have satisfied everyone. And while I see how some (DB in particular) might see that as overly generous, this was a colossal mistake of DB’s own making. And making it right should sting a bit. Otherwise, there’s really no incentive for them not to make the same mistake over and over. Keep in mind, this mistake really upset a lot of players, and DB profited a great deal from it. That’s just wrong to the core. Not only that, but it shook players confidence in what DB offers for sale going forward. People are now asking for confirmation that cards won’t be nerfed going forward before they spend on them as they did with Professor Sato. That’s going to continue for the foreseeable future. That’s not a good thing for players or DB’s bottom line. That could be devastating to DB’s bottom line in the long term. As long as players can’t trust that cards they buy will remain useful, there’s really no reason for players to spend money on the game in the future. This situation isn’t just about this one card- it’s about every card they release going forward.
I’m sure they could have given a citation to people for for their yar’s but that is probably a little too generous.
I disagree. It’s really the only solution that would have satisfied everyone. And while I see how some (DB in particular) might see that as overly generous, this was a colossal mistake of DB’s own making. And making it right should sting a bit. Otherwise, there’s really no incentive for them not to make the same mistake over and over. Keep in mind, this mistake really upset a lot of players, and DB profited a great deal from it. That’s just wrong to the core. Not only that, but it shook players confidence in what DB offers for sale going forward. People are now asking for confirmation that cards won’t be nerfed going forward before they spend on them as they did with Professor Sato. That’s going to continue for the foreseeable future. That’s not a good thing for players or DB’s bottom line. That could be devastating to DB’s bottom line in the long term. As long as players can’t trust that cards they buy will remain useful, there’s really no reason for players to spend money on the game in the future. This situation isn’t just about this one card- it’s about every card they release going forward.
I agree with everything you said except a legendary citation being fair compensation for a single star of yar or really most any legendary. It might satisfy everyone who got yar, but would likely be viewed as unfair by those who didn’t. I view, and I would think others share the opinion that a citation is more valuable than a star of almost any legendary character other than a few cards like First officer Burnham.
The in game economics support this as well, most new event characters you can buy for $25-$35 per star, while usually the cheapest honor comes out to about $10 for 8-9k (10 packs for $10) or around $60 per citation.
Personally I think the priority is to repair the broken card not citation. I want to have a card I fought hard over to have some use in the game. Fixing the card fixes the problem, Issuing extra freebies on top adds to the logistical nightmare of what is a fair deal for varying circs of individual players.
[was on Sabbatical/Hiatus] Currently a trialist at Galaxy SquadronSTAY SAFE and KBO
I’m sure they could have given a citation to people for for their yar’s but that is probably a little too generous.
I disagree. It’s really the only solution that would have satisfied everyone. And while I see how some (DB in particular) might see that as overly generous, this was a colossal mistake of DB’s own making. And making it right should sting a bit. Otherwise, there’s really no incentive for them not to make the same mistake over and over. Keep in mind, this mistake really upset a lot of players, and DB profited a great deal from it. That’s just wrong to the core. Not only that, but it shook players confidence in what DB offers for sale going forward. People are now asking for confirmation that cards won’t be nerfed going forward before they spend on them as they did with Professor Sato. That’s going to continue for the foreseeable future. That’s not a good thing for players or DB’s bottom line. That could be devastating to DB’s bottom line in the long term. As long as players can’t trust that cards they buy will remain useful, there’s really no reason for players to spend money on the game in the future. This situation isn’t just about this one card- it’s about every card they release going forward.
I agree with everything you said except a legendary citation being fair compensation for a single star of yar or really most any legendary. It might satisfy everyone who got yar, but would likely be viewed as unfair by those who didn’t. I view, and I would think others share the opinion that a citation is more valuable than a star of almost any legendary character other than a few cards like First officer Burnham.
The in game economics support this as well, most new event characters you can buy for $25-$35 per star, while usually the cheapest honor comes out to about $10 for 8-9k (10 packs for $10) or around $60 per citation.
I agree with you that a legendary citation is more valuable than a single star on most legendarys. But it’s really the only compensation that would satisfy everyone without reversing the nerf, which I don’t think should have happened in the first place. And again, compensation for mistakes this big should be painful to DB. That’s the only assurance we have as players that DB will make a good faith effort not to repeat mistakes like this in the future. Those of us that have been around long enough (like you and me) know that DB has a really bad habit of repeating mistakes, and compounding mistakes with more mistakes. At some point, for the game to survive, DB has to take ownership of their missteps, and make things right in the eyes of the players to restore some faith.
Personally I think the priority is to repair the broken card not citation. I want to have a card I fought hard over to have some use in the game. Fixing the card fixes the problem, Issuing extra freebies on top adds to the logistical nightmare of what is a fair deal for varying circs of individual players.
I get the sense that they are a little paralysed at the moment. As in, they are thinking, "We couldn't possibly change her again. Look at the uproar it caused last time!" But I think they can, and they should change her again. Not fully unnerfed, but just put her where the nerf was supposed to have put her: less OP, but still useful.
There is a chance another change could upset a minority of players. ("I've just returned my copy for a refund!") But the majority would welcome it, I think... and it would go a little way towards showing that DB does, in fact, listen to concerns.
I get the sense that they are a little paralysed at the moment. As in, they are thinking, "We couldn't possibly change her again. Look at the uproar it caused last time!" But I think they can, and they should change her again. Not fully unnerfed, but just put her where the nerf was supposed to have put her: less OP, but still useful.
There is a chance another change could upset a minority of players. ("I've just returned my copy for a refund!") But the majority would welcome it, I think... and it would go a little way towards showing that DB does, in fact, listen to concerns.
A "minority of players"? Good grief, all due respect but I think you greatly underestimate the amount of consternation this would cause. It would only exacerbate the uproar amongst a lot of players, I'm certain. (Not that DB would ever consider doing this in the first place.)
Could you please continue the petty bickering? I find it most intriguing. ~ Data, ST:TNG "Haven"
Yeah, the genie is stuffed back in the bottle on that one. The second they have a refund without the option or notice that the stats could be reversed or revised that ended any chance of a correction.
... It also means, that they can never in the future offer a character with those arena abilities again, for the same reason.
That's why the total alienation that they have and are creating makes little sense to me.
They give out 5*'s at Christmas
(Still thankful)
But to correct their own error they refuse reasonable requests.
I don't understand where they are coming from on this. They're only hurting themselves.
Not a "whale," but have spent more than I like to admit. VIP 14. 280 crew slots. 1000+ weekly dilithium on cadet missions to farm shuttle boosts and credits. 500+ dilithium weekly on voyages.
I typically rank below 800 in faction events without major weekend effort; sub 100 with. Skirmishes end around 600, but are a ridiculous time sink. 5000+ chronitons of button pushing to rank is even more ridiculous so "threshold and out" is the rule for galaxy.
Polywater Yar was much harder to get than most faction event cards, and many saved resources went into getting it. With the stats of T'Kumva and Killy, and expected stat inflation, the card didn't seem to be shockingly overpowered.
At about 3 a.m. Monday, awake again for the Sato event, and scraping the bottom of the barrel for quality shuttle boosts, I thought of Yar. I realized that I am giving this game much more effort than I'm getting.
I finished 1025th.
I'm done. Uninstalled. LLAP
And banning players and closing threads if folks seek refunds from Apple/Google when dissatisfied with CS response. I was ready to give up on the Yar fiasco and move on (while curtailing my spending) but these latest actions by DB is like rubbing salt on the wound.
I guess the shuttle AND issue worked out from DB’s point of view and they think ignoring players and banning the few who get refunds is better for their bottom line. I hope they are mistaken and we players don’t let them get away with this again.
@R2-EQ I suggest you follow the normal process for submitting a ticket and having it escalated.
I’ve been through the process and was only offered back perhaps 10-20% of what I used to obtain Yar, once you factor everything in, which I declined. A goodwill gesture on top of this to say sorry just seems out of the question, for individual tickets or all players.
Yeah, tried escalating. Complete bust. The guy I got (who is something before Zod - we're not allowed to write the names of the support staff here) didn't understand anything and just fobbed me off with a badly written message without bothering to do anything. A complete waste of time. I don't know why I bothered. Oh, wait...
Now for those of you with tickets regarding Polywater Yar, if you are not satisfied with the solution offered to you, please follow the proper procedure and request an escalation.
Right. Done that. Didn't get a solution offered to me. What's the next proper procedure, Shan?
If you have a specific question about our Terms of Service you can ask me or submit a ticket. Thank you.
If we paid cash for a Polywater Yar, and then didn't get the same Yar that we bought, obviously we are entitled to a refund, and in many jurisdictions that would be through the app host (eg Google Play). Under what conditions and/or in what jurisdictions would justifiably taking a refund and allowing DB to remove all items from that purchase then result in a game account ban?
Comments
I've been a long-time lurker here, especially recently, wanting to see whats happening with Polywater Yar. My CS support guy has been an absolute idiot and it looks like that's the case for a lot of people here. I've been looking for the actual fix here on the forums, because this is where the fix was shared for Mirror Picard and for the broken shuttles/Chaotica/Arachnia, rather than ingame mail or email or something sensible like that.
I've been looking through every staff comment, every announcement, every word DB has said about this big problem, but I can only find two comments:
THAT'S IT? That's all the help that can be given? The CS guys say nothing can be done and won't escalate, and the forum staff don't even try to help and just point us back to the CS guys?
Shan, may I ask, was that your final word on the matter? You are satisfied that the situation has been resolved correctly?
Or did I miss some actual help and support that was kindly and helpfully posted somewhere? Link/quote would be most appreciated - thanks in advance!
Sorry, I clicked "awesome" under your comment, but I don't think what's happened to you is awesome at all. Its disgusting.
Couple of points i find of concern:
1) DB failing to realize problems with Apparently Bait & Switch Yar
2) DB failing to offer any goodwill proof this is not what it appears
3) DB defending significantly nerfing buff stats the moment the premiere event & pack sales end
4) DB running another event weeks later with another 5* having buff stats (this time Sato & base stats) but nothing to assure if i go after her i won't get a nerfed card the moment her event & pack sales end
5) DB definition of normal rebalancing is to do the above 1-4
Now how do i trust any power creep stats to be of any value the moment their premiere pack sale ends?
Yeah I got my DIL refunded but to say they were reluctant to do so would be a huge understatement. Thankfully they finally acquiesced
It's impossible to erode what was scoured out of existence some time ago.
Situations and responses like this simply no longer surprise me.
I hope that was a refund, and not a reversal?
A reversal would leave me in a worse position than I am currently in. But they don't seem to understand? (I'm guessing that they do understand, but just don't care.... wow, I didn't expect to be making such negative comments about the situation at this time. Indeed, I didn't expect to still be talking about this in September!)
@Shan , what do we do if we get escalated to someone who doesn't seem to know how Timelines works, doesn't seem to understand the dishonesty of offering a pack where one of the prizes is impossible to win, doesn't seem to be familiar with Disruptor Beam's previous solutions to similar problems, and doesn't even seem to have a good command of English? Do we just keep asking to escalate until we get someone who isn't wasting our time?
Could you just tell us the name of who we should be talking to in order to get an acceptable solution?
(Or even better - could you just sort it out, please?)
I don't know if you're being literal, but the chap to whom my ticket was escalated couldn't go two sentences without a mistake. Except, funnily enough, for one large paragraph - which didn't actually answer my questions or help at all! Clearly a copy-paste.
It's shocking to wait three weeks hoping to get a response from someone who isn't passively rude and clearly not bothering to read the ticket, only to end up with someone who is rude and cannot read the ticket because of their poor grasp of English!
Between the Event and this ticket, I've got nothing to show for hours of my time. I think I'm heading into the Sunk Cost Fallacy, but I just don't want to give up yet..! But I would rate the support I've received as less than zero - my time wasted, my blood pressure raised by their rudeness, and zero acceptable compensation offered (not even one chroniton!). And with an online game like Timelines, it doesn't seem sensible to continue to play if there isn't any support.
I think Shan’s hands may be tied in what she can actually say or do to help.
It feels like DB are playing hard ball on the issue and have gone into a lock down mode where they’re being very careful not to concede they made a huge mistake. This is reminiscent of DB historically, even though we’ve had reassurances before that they’ll be better at communication and holding up their hands when there’s been a problem.
I believe they are still trying to hide behind the stats change being just ‘balancing’, which I totally disagree with. The changes were announced right when she stopped being available to buy (intentionally or not). There could have been warning much earlier on but they chose to wait until everyone had spent what they wanted to spend. Also, a balance should be a minor tweak, not something that makes that crew totally useless in that stat. I get that there were complaints she was overpowered and she may have been a tiny bit, but there were counter measures and a simple fix may have been to release new crew with a suitable defense on the following event. The changes to Polywater Yar’s stats were at best too extreme and at worse totally unnecessary.
@R2-EQ I suggest you follow the normal process for submitting a ticket and having it escalated.
I’ve been through the process and was only offered back perhaps 10-20% of what I used to obtain Yar, once you factor everything in, which I declined. A goodwill gesture on top of this to say sorry just seems out of the question, for individual tickets or all players.
Sorry I chopped the name, it's 7am and the kid hasn't alert yet.
They did that..
The next event they released a 2 second evade. Could have just Tinker with him to to make him a good enough counter if he wasn't out of the box.
I hold this entire situation in complete contempt. This makes me feel as if I hold no value at all as a 2&1/2 year "vip 13" customer.
It's a shame that's not the experience for everybody. I've been through the normal process for submitting a ticket and having it escalated (literally copy/pasted Shan's message about what to say to get an escalation: "I would like this escalated to the Team Leader.", and it still got ignored the first time and took 11 days to get a response), and it's been a colossal waste of time. I've been offered literally nothing that would in any way improve my situation. So far it's been like a stupid onion, where peeling back another layer just reveals more idiocy.
I think you might be right about DB playing hard ball and just denying everything, though, which is a real shame. I posted a lot of comments about having patience and trusting DB to do the right thing, and waiting for Shan to get this sorted properly, and I've been made to feel (and presumably look) stupid for having faith that this will be sorted.
I even had so much confidence that Shan would get this sorted on her return that I bought a monthly card last week. Fantastic. More money going into the pockets of the two support staff I had who sit around taking pay checks for a job that is beyond their ability to perform.
"My further suggestion would be that you start telling people the truth and treating everyone equally and fairly. Maybe then I wouldn't have had to reply so many times to ever more frustrating responses which I know are untrue simply to come to a final answer from yourself which still does not either satisfy me or restore any trust in your company.
This has been a huge failure on your part and I genuinely struggle to understand what you think you've gained by it.
Ziggy"
https://forum.disruptorbeam.com/stt/discussion/5023/qh-the-oldest-fleet-in-timelines-l91-starbase-daily-targets-met
When DB first noticed that they had to adjust the card, either since a typo occurred in the ship skill or an adjustment was neeeded for competitive balance, their first thought should have been “how do we fix this without losing paying customers.” Instead it seems like that is an afterthought, or not even a thought at all.
The first step would have been to change a few items to up some of her base stats to offset the ship ability change.
After that you need to offer people alternatives to the card. I’m sure they could have given a citation to people for for their yar’s but that is probably a little too generous.
Instead you could have given people who got yar from event rewards a chance to swap for an event gold from say the prior 8 events and the people who paid cash or dil for her a choice of say 30000 honor or 3000 dil per star. Add in a few chrons for a fully equipped yar being returned and you probably have don’t have any angry players.
It should have taken 15 minutes to come up with a plan like that and probably another half hour to notify their service reps. Instead they chose to do nothing, have to deal with a loss of player trust, and the added cost of having to have multiple interactions with each customer in the complaint process because there wasn’t a fair standard compensation plan for reps to follow.
It just doesn’t make any sense.
Another thing I am trying to fathom:
I was looking at Captain Kurn arena abilities
Boosts accuracy by 5
Immediately deals 200% damage no trig
Charge Phases 4s 300%, 8s 400%
and now Yars....
Boosts Attack by 5
Decrease Evasion 2
Immediateley deals 100% no trig
Charge Phases 6s 200% 10s 350%
now you tell me out of the two who is more useful?
I disagree. It’s really the only solution that would have satisfied everyone. And while I see how some (DB in particular) might see that as overly generous, this was a colossal mistake of DB’s own making. And making it right should sting a bit. Otherwise, there’s really no incentive for them not to make the same mistake over and over. Keep in mind, this mistake really upset a lot of players, and DB profited a great deal from it. That’s just wrong to the core. Not only that, but it shook players confidence in what DB offers for sale going forward. People are now asking for confirmation that cards won’t be nerfed going forward before they spend on them as they did with Professor Sato. That’s going to continue for the foreseeable future. That’s not a good thing for players or DB’s bottom line. That could be devastating to DB’s bottom line in the long term. As long as players can’t trust that cards they buy will remain useful, there’s really no reason for players to spend money on the game in the future. This situation isn’t just about this one card- it’s about every card they release going forward.
I agree with everything you said except a legendary citation being fair compensation for a single star of yar or really most any legendary. It might satisfy everyone who got yar, but would likely be viewed as unfair by those who didn’t. I view, and I would think others share the opinion that a citation is more valuable than a star of almost any legendary character other than a few cards like First officer Burnham.
The in game economics support this as well, most new event characters you can buy for $25-$35 per star, while usually the cheapest honor comes out to about $10 for 8-9k (10 packs for $10) or around $60 per citation.
I agree with you that a legendary citation is more valuable than a single star on most legendarys. But it’s really the only compensation that would satisfy everyone without reversing the nerf, which I don’t think should have happened in the first place. And again, compensation for mistakes this big should be painful to DB. That’s the only assurance we have as players that DB will make a good faith effort not to repeat mistakes like this in the future. Those of us that have been around long enough (like you and me) know that DB has a really bad habit of repeating mistakes, and compounding mistakes with more mistakes. At some point, for the game to survive, DB has to take ownership of their missteps, and make things right in the eyes of the players to restore some faith.
Not a great customer experience, and I hope others get their issues reasonably resolved. I can now go back to mostly lurking lol.
Congrats.
That wouldn't cut it for me but I'm glad you found a deal that worked best for you and your game
I get the sense that they are a little paralysed at the moment. As in, they are thinking, "We couldn't possibly change her again. Look at the uproar it caused last time!" But I think they can, and they should change her again. Not fully unnerfed, but just put her where the nerf was supposed to have put her: less OP, but still useful.
There is a chance another change could upset a minority of players. ("I've just returned my copy for a refund!") But the majority would welcome it, I think... and it would go a little way towards showing that DB does, in fact, listen to concerns.
A "minority of players"? Good grief, all due respect but I think you greatly underestimate the amount of consternation this would cause. It would only exacerbate the uproar amongst a lot of players, I'm certain. (Not that DB would ever consider doing this in the first place.)
Could you please continue the petty bickering? I find it most intriguing.
~ Data, ST:TNG "Haven"
... It also means, that they can never in the future offer a character with those arena abilities again, for the same reason.
That's why the total alienation that they have and are creating makes little sense to me.
They give out 5*'s at Christmas
(Still thankful)
But to correct their own error they refuse reasonable requests.
I don't understand where they are coming from on this. They're only hurting themselves.
Not a "whale," but have spent more than I like to admit. VIP 14. 280 crew slots. 1000+ weekly dilithium on cadet missions to farm shuttle boosts and credits. 500+ dilithium weekly on voyages.
I typically rank below 800 in faction events without major weekend effort; sub 100 with. Skirmishes end around 600, but are a ridiculous time sink. 5000+ chronitons of button pushing to rank is even more ridiculous so "threshold and out" is the rule for galaxy.
Polywater Yar was much harder to get than most faction event cards, and many saved resources went into getting it. With the stats of T'Kumva and Killy, and expected stat inflation, the card didn't seem to be shockingly overpowered.
At about 3 a.m. Monday, awake again for the Sato event, and scraping the bottom of the barrel for quality shuttle boosts, I thought of Yar. I realized that I am giving this game much more effort than I'm getting.
I finished 1025th.
I'm done. Uninstalled. LLAP
I guess the shuttle AND issue worked out from DB’s point of view and they think ignoring players and banning the few who get refunds is better for their bottom line. I hope they are mistaken and we players don’t let them get away with this again.
Right. Done that. Didn't get a solution offered to me. What's the next proper procedure, Shan?
If we paid cash for a Polywater Yar, and then didn't get the same Yar that we bought, obviously we are entitled to a refund, and in many jurisdictions that would be through the app host (eg Google Play). Under what conditions and/or in what jurisdictions would justifiably taking a refund and allowing DB to remove all items from that purchase then result in a game account ban?