DB's 3 consecutive failures to value its customers and why I am not spending money until remedied
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[SSR] GTMET
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Excuse this rant but I can't take this ongoing punch in the face from a company that both I and my wife spend money on on a weekly basis. Until the following 3 issues are addressed satisfactorily, we will not be spending money on this game and I hope others join:
1) Shuttle AND bug. One of the three main shuttle events was seriously bugged. This is 99% proven. A ticket was opened and we were promised a response. Instead the shuttles seem to have been ninja fixed and requests for a confirmation have been completely ignored.
Expected Resolution: Confirm that you have identified the cause of the bug, that you have removed the bug and tested it so that shuttles are working correctly now and provide some meaningful compensation for the resources wasted by people, say a Legendary Citation, 500 Dil and 1000 chrons. I think reasonable people would be very satisfied with this
2) Polywater Yar Nerf. I was unlucky enough to miss Killy, had some bad luck and finished 1020 in the event. WIth skirmish events being a big deal, I am really hurting not having a crew with a 6s trigger. Enter Polywater Yar. Awesome!!! A crew with an early trigger that I can fight for to help me in skirmish events. I citation Ross to give me an edge, I pour in speed boosts, i wake up in the night to run shuttles, etc etc. I finally get a good skirmish crew which then gets obliterated to the point of useless 2 seconds later. When I then submit a ticket as instructed by @Shan , I am told that they are sorry for any "misinterpretation". Apparently expecting DB to not bait and switch me is a "misinterpretation."
Expected Resolution: A few options exist here. 1) just change her ship abilities to be in line with Killy so she she is balanced, but actually a useful crew in skirmishes 2) Allow us to replace Yar with an alternate 5* crew that is actually useful. Again, most people would be OK with these options, as she was perhaps too strong for the game
3) Skirmish Events. Well the 2nd of the 3 event types was also bugged. In addition, there is a ton of confusion about how these are supposed to work, what things really mean, etc. On top of that the intended play mode is not only the most blatant pay to win of any event type, it is also impossible to do given the interface.
Expected Resolution: I think there are several steps that need to be taken to calm and satisfy the crowds:
i) Clearly explain the actual mechanics of how this thing works. What actually changes if I match the trait with a bonus crew? Is it VP, is it ship healing, is it the rewards drop table? All of the above, some of the above?
ii) Assuming that it impacts the drop table, ensure that for the first 4 ship battles, each of the super rare event crew can claim the big bonus on at least 3 of the 4. I think I would be OK with only the Legendary crew allowing you to get the 2000 VP in the 5th battle (anyone really going for 1st place is probably spending and grinding anyway). Ensure that combined:
a) The two super rare event crew will provide big bonuses on each of the first 4 battles
b) The Legendary + either of the super rares will provide big bonus on all 5 battles
iii) Fix the damn interface so that the big bonus crew shows first, the small bonus crew shows next and the rest of the crew shows up below. Provide a way for us to see who is big bonus and who is small bonus, and allow a search string field to be able to track things.
I don't think the above are unreasonable and demonstrate what any company with decent customer service who has screwed up as badly as DB has would be doing
1) Shuttle AND bug. One of the three main shuttle events was seriously bugged. This is 99% proven. A ticket was opened and we were promised a response. Instead the shuttles seem to have been ninja fixed and requests for a confirmation have been completely ignored.
Expected Resolution: Confirm that you have identified the cause of the bug, that you have removed the bug and tested it so that shuttles are working correctly now and provide some meaningful compensation for the resources wasted by people, say a Legendary Citation, 500 Dil and 1000 chrons. I think reasonable people would be very satisfied with this
2) Polywater Yar Nerf. I was unlucky enough to miss Killy, had some bad luck and finished 1020 in the event. WIth skirmish events being a big deal, I am really hurting not having a crew with a 6s trigger. Enter Polywater Yar. Awesome!!! A crew with an early trigger that I can fight for to help me in skirmish events. I citation Ross to give me an edge, I pour in speed boosts, i wake up in the night to run shuttles, etc etc. I finally get a good skirmish crew which then gets obliterated to the point of useless 2 seconds later. When I then submit a ticket as instructed by @Shan , I am told that they are sorry for any "misinterpretation". Apparently expecting DB to not bait and switch me is a "misinterpretation."
Expected Resolution: A few options exist here. 1) just change her ship abilities to be in line with Killy so she she is balanced, but actually a useful crew in skirmishes 2) Allow us to replace Yar with an alternate 5* crew that is actually useful. Again, most people would be OK with these options, as she was perhaps too strong for the game
3) Skirmish Events. Well the 2nd of the 3 event types was also bugged. In addition, there is a ton of confusion about how these are supposed to work, what things really mean, etc. On top of that the intended play mode is not only the most blatant pay to win of any event type, it is also impossible to do given the interface.
Expected Resolution: I think there are several steps that need to be taken to calm and satisfy the crowds:
i) Clearly explain the actual mechanics of how this thing works. What actually changes if I match the trait with a bonus crew? Is it VP, is it ship healing, is it the rewards drop table? All of the above, some of the above?
ii) Assuming that it impacts the drop table, ensure that for the first 4 ship battles, each of the super rare event crew can claim the big bonus on at least 3 of the 4. I think I would be OK with only the Legendary crew allowing you to get the 2000 VP in the 5th battle (anyone really going for 1st place is probably spending and grinding anyway). Ensure that combined:
a) The two super rare event crew will provide big bonuses on each of the first 4 battles
b) The Legendary + either of the super rares will provide big bonus on all 5 battles
iii) Fix the damn interface so that the big bonus crew shows first, the small bonus crew shows next and the rest of the crew shows up below. Provide a way for us to see who is big bonus and who is small bonus, and allow a search string field to be able to track things.
I don't think the above are unreasonable and demonstrate what any company with decent customer service who has screwed up as badly as DB has would be doing
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Comments
i'm in the exact same boat over Yargate
Shuttlegate yeah would be nice to have the compensation but at least there is small consolation on the improvements they have made.
Traitgate well i'm at a loss of what to say it's a right pickle. They need to test then release speciffic notes on changes to the mechanics of the event. They've clearly reacted to issues such as bots and now fudged it. Trouble is fudge smudges.
iii) Fix the interface so that the big bonus crew shows first, the small bonus crew shows next and the rest of the crew shows up below. Provide a way for us to see who is big bonus and who is small bonus, and allow a search string field to be able to track things
1 impacts everyone equally so I don't care and at this point its a game mechanic so I deal with it.
2 Well, I didn't get her so I won't pipe in on a resolution for those impacted.
3 See my happy piece above.
Don't even care about compensation on Shuttlegate, just want one blatantly honest mea culpa. Yeah it was broke. Yeah we fixed. Rah Rah.
I actually agree as well that all I want is a mea culpa, Regarding compensation, I was trying to channel the people I have spoken to who felt that they lost out on crew or drained resources because they were unlucky enough to mis-load shuttles. Basically that they lost out to people who won events for no other reason then that their crew lined up more naturally for First Second, not Second, first.
Be glad it was even fixed in the first place.
Also...
Spot on, i once wanted to boycott spending till the Enterprise E was added to the game. I came to the conclusion (after a pm from @Shan
Plus about polywater yar, im glad db nerfed her...it was very op (not 'original poster') and not fair to others. Granted it couldve been handled better...but i dont have a big opinion on this issue as i have neither polywater yar, nor have faced her in the arena as i have been improving my rank in the other divisions
Oh and one last thing before i wrap this post up...about the bonus to the event in this skirmish event...it was a miscommunication. Something that is quite common with db, its annoying, but again, get over it! Use a different crew member for the bonus...after all the skirmish battles arent even that hard to win!
Edit: im sorry if i sound condescending/rude, im saying this with the most kindness i can...i truly am...
Edit: removed the gifs because as many stated they were to darn big!
No.
wow cause you weren't affected directly, or are willing to deal with a company with bad customer service, the rest of us should just get over it? who made you judge and jury. Adding huge annoying GIFS doesnt make you right btw, it just makes you annoying. And any company who doesn't care about its paying customers doesn't have a company for long.
I'll play shan here, lets try to keep things constructive and not swing at each other. I am upset with how DB as a a provider of a product is treating me, a customer and have tried proposing what I think are appropriate ways to satisfy me (and I think a good chunk of the player base). If you disagree, please either ignore, or do so without huge snarky gifs. If you disagree with someone else in the thread lets not use inflammatory language either as that doesn't help.
JiL, I am glad you didn't find that these impacted you, but I personally invested a great deal of effort and time along with other diligent community members into proving the AND shuttle issue, a great deal of time and effort into getting Yar, and plan to put a great deal of time into future skirmishes (you will note my comments are not screaming about a wrong, just asking for appropriate communication and fair structure of events). I would like that for something I pay money into, that they validate my effort and the communities time. I believe that this is a fair expectation.
It needs to go beyond that. There are dozens and dozens of bonus crew. We need the ability to flag specific crew to always appear at the top of the skirmish crew list.
If I read JiLs post correctly, he basically stated, DB miscommunicates, that's how it is move on.
So he gets what you're saying, he simply opposes it in a rude, over the top and condescending fashion.
Case in point: the pop ups to remind people to take a break. They announced these as a server update, and then a few hours later (after people started complaining), they put up a post about macro usage. Now, we can clearly interpret, especially after the second post, that the pop ups are designed to combat macros...but it would be nice if they would spell it out.
I feel like a lot of the changes they've brought in over the last little while have been to address complaints - but they don't bother telling us that. I'm assuming the fact that we get a recurring character every week is related to people complaining about how we were getting too many new characters, too fast - but they're leaving that up to my interpretation instead of just telling us from the get go "we heard you, and this is what we are going to do."
I believe @Shan when she tells us "I'm letting them know of your concern," I just wish they'd say "Shan told us, and this is what we're doing" instead of "Hey! We're changing this! Have fun...or not, whatever," if they even mention that they're changing it at all.
Dilly Dilly
We who had gotten Polywater through an effort of hard work in the event or though spending of money and in game currency, can argue for some kind of compensation for the Polywaters we have,
What about the people who spent money and in game currency who tried hard to rank in the event but failed the get her. They have the least chance for any compensation.
It is my view the only way to satisfy all players is to reinstate Polywater's ship abilities.
Keep in mind, the Borg Sphere effected the balance of the game (In my opinion more so than Yar) and DB never rebalanced the Sphere.
If will now make my arguments on a legal side.
One Polywater was unique. She was with her original ship abilities a masterpiece. Two, DB agreed and valued her even more, they decided to reduce her value turning her in to the equivalent of a reprint.
Three, in DBs agreement it has the word rebalancing. DB has interpreted this word as the right to devalue Polywater for all purposes making Polywater useless to the ones that acquired her. This action is illegal. It is equivalent to a bait and switch.
Four, question: if a statement in an agreement can be interpreted illegally does that make that statement illegal.
If so and the statement can be considered illegal, does an illegal statement in an agreement make the agreement null and void as it would for a contract.
Five, if there is no agreement, can we return the game for all our money back.
These are issues I would be considering talking over with my alma maters law professors.
But one thing I do know is common sense is usually considered law.
It is common sense that you do not devalue something people have worked for or paid for, after or while they are trying to obtain it.
If that were an option, not just for this issue, but ever, I would take it and never look back! I've met a lot of really great people, and I could continue talking to those really great people on Line, without the game.
"Timelines? What is this Timelines of which you speak?"
If that is a possibility, that bankrupts DB. Not what I realy am looking to do.
If that is a possibility, that bankrupts DB. Not what I realy am looking to do.
It is my last resort, seeking legal advice.
TL:DR
DB is bankrupting itself. There are so many regulars that no longer order off the menu here...
The timing of the nerf meant that the cash was spent on bad faith items, I don't think it is asking overmuch for either cash back or the Yars being exchanged for similar cards.
I keep saying I'll stop spending, and then they pop up an inviting option and I cave in. I'm not sure I'll be caving in anymore.
I like to support games like Timelines, but the quid pro quo is they act in a reasonable manner towards those playing the game. And I feel like DB do no do that.
The timing of the nerf meant that the cash was spent on bad faith items, I don't think it is asking overmuch for either cash back or the Yars being exchanged for similar cards.
I keep saying I'll stop spending, and then they pop up an inviting option and I cave in. I'm not sure I'll be caving in anymore.
I like to support games like Timelines, but the quid pro quo is they act in a reasonable manner towards those playing the game. And I feel like DB do no do that.
I’m in the same boat. When I withheld spending after Picardgate I still ran ad-warps...this time I think it will be easier to resist.
Haha...no...i was affected directly by the AND bug...its fixed now so get over it! And as for polywater yar, i wasnt affected directly so i dont have a very big opinion on it. Thridly, its a miscommunication, a small one that db has now explained and remedied (sort of). Im not trying to be as you say 'judge and jury' im just saying that that, quite frankly im, oh wait, im not going to reiterate my entire post...
I understand it, and am grateful as they were fixed! And im sure we all thank you for ypur work on it, but one has to know when to consider the fact that hey, they (db) aint gonna admit it...and i mean this with all the kindness i can but please, stop posting about something that has already been fixed...
I actually wasn't affected by the bug at all, but I don't feel the need to tell people to get over something that has negatively impacted their game play, not sure why you do. Is the forum not a place to post how people feel or their opinions? And ditto I wont rehash all of what I said in the past either, but if you think changing the specs on an officer several days after its released, when people spent actual money on what they thought they were getting, is a small miscommunication, maybe you should go work for db, cause you been drinking their koolaid.
But...its fixed though, the AND bug is fixed, id understand if it was still not working but it isnt, and this whole wanting an official response from db, that has been going on for (hope im not exagerating here but if i am please tell me) for over a month, there come a time when you just gotta accept that hey, they dont wanna admit they were wrong, alright. Please reserve a money boycott for big issues, issues that haven't been handled yet. And about polywater yar, just goes to show you didnt read my post, i may not have said it then but im saying it now i agree it could've been handled better, and it might be worth a boycott for those that spent to get multiple copies, but i think in the back of our heads we saw that 2 second initialize and though "that is so gonna get nerfed" well i know i did at least. And yes, thats what this forum is about, expressing our opinions, and i personally dont think a money boycott is really necessary for a problem that has been fixed and a miscommunication about how skirmish events work. But thats just me, trying to be as nice as i can, sorry if it seemed i wasnt