Coffee break! 10 minutes to think about the problem.
So basically DB added the potential of approximately 300k victory points in the middle of the event which a lot of people could not access, thus changing the ranks people were able to obtain. DB has made a decision (mostly) to refuse to compensate based on any "possibly lost rank," which is what I'm trying to get them to change. In my own case, it is true that I cannot prove that I could have maxed out those 6 extra tickets (indeed I shot myself in the foot by seeing the writing on the wall, becoming frustrated and disheartened, and not maxing out the other tickets either; thus I am not even asking for crew).
Is it not possible, however, to project outcomes based on the original parameters of the event and game-play until the change was announced? I know that this would be a messy solution, but the problem is already messy.
Please be aware that I am not very good at this stuff yet. This is my first gaming experience, and my first time on the forums, so wiser minds than mine need to prevail here!
I'd suggested elsewhere that - when the second part of an event goes badly wrong - people should get rewards based on either their position at the end of part 1 or their position at the end of part 2, whichever was the higher. Not perfect but perhaps the least bad option?
Edit - I'm aware Galaxies would need a different solution as many people deliberately hold back in part 1 for strategic reasons.
Let's think carefully about what the appropriate resolution in this exact scenario should have been, because I am not really sure.
1) There is the solution that DB chose which was to give enough tickets out to (more than) make up for the tickets that were lost by the missing day. This completely ignored the fact as to whether or not people would physically be able to claim and use those tickets before the event ended.
2) Give everyone alternate compensation. 1 Mirror Crusher?, 2? 5? That would have put DB in the same position as they are now with Mirror Picard (although with fewer people impacted most likely)
3) Pause and reschedule the event. I would like to think this is what DB would have done if it had not been part of a Mega Event (but who knows). That would have raised the question of do you unpause the event at a later point, wait a week and push back the final event, something else?
4) Some kind of pack compensation. What if I didn't buy packs, invested nothing but my time to push as hard as I could in Phase 1 but then can't play Phase 2?
I am sure there are other scenarios but my point here is that there is not one approach here that would have made everyone impacted happy be cause there are so many different motivations and outcomes.
There will not be any additional compensation for this specific issue.
I will reiterate that not having the event last 5 days as announced was unintentional - it should not have happened but it did. And we are sorry it did. We looked into extending it as soon as it was discovered but it would have created far more additional issues.
As Ran said, sometimes it is just not possible to find a compensation plan that will cater to everyone, and we also have technical limitations as to what we can do.
That does not mean there are no improvements to be made regarding how we handle issues and compensations, quite the contrary - and that is high on our priority list.
5) just apologize and NOT issue 6 tickets. Let's be honest, those 6 tickets were an insult to anyone who had Christmas holiday plans. DB didn't want to risk a fix to the event clock because their devs had holiday plans, so they respond by spoiling everyone else's plans?!?!?
A lot of folks devoted extra effort and resources to the front end of this event, knowing with minimal time spent at the start of phase II, they could go all out in the last 24 hours of the event. Except those extra 24 hours disappeared and anyone without Christmas plans got an extra 300,000 VP.
For some folks, the last hours of the event were going on while their children were opening Christmas presents. No, those extra 6 tickets were not even close to be compensation .... they were an insult.
With all due respect to Shan, I think this is one issue where DB brass needs to speak to the community directly. It should have happened days ago, but it needs to happen before a chunk of the playerbase gets used to f2p and diverts their budgets elsewhere.
Shan, I said it before, in other threads, award everyone 250k extra, and you would have hurt no one. They'd all have had their schematics, and we wouldn't have had to try grind 6 extra tickets on Xmas day to try and achieve our goals for that event. It skewed the whole thing.
And I'm not after additional compensation. Or a mirror bev, or whatever. My gripe is you seem to be clueless on how your decisions affect the playerbase.
From being in the top 1000 to having no time to play through those "gifts" meant I finished in the low 3000's.
I was initially pleased by the return of the Expedition but that killed it for me.
One in a long line of two-fingers up to the community over the past month, imo.
On a more positive note, my addiction to this game has been exponentially easing. Not participated in an Event, Voyage (for obvious reasons) or a Gauntlet for a few days. 👍
The silliest thing about the mess-up is that if DB did nothing and just shortened the event by one day, the rankings would have remained largely the same if the schedule had been five days. The 6 tickets threw everything out of balance. I would have easily been top 1500 and gotten 600 relatively useless schematics if the event ran as planned. If the event was just shortened by a day, I still would have been top 1500 without the schematics. After my back and forth with CS, I was given the schematics, but not the last star for Mayweather. ?!?!?
So, I’m left with a useless 3/4 and a wasted 4 day event. DB should never be altering events in such a way as to change the rankings in the middle of the event.
Absolutely, and I'm getting bored repeating and seeing so many people have to reiterate the same thing; issue that really bit was the 6 extra tickets. Better no compensation than that.
But there is a parallel with sending out the Picard; it's the insensitive compensation that alienated so many.
Let's think carefully about what the appropriate resolution in this exact scenario should have been, because I am not really sure.
1) There is the solution that DB chose which was to give enough tickets out to (more than) make up for the tickets that were lost by the missing day. This completely ignored the fact as to whether or not people would physically be able to claim and use those tickets before the event ended.
2) Give everyone alternate compensation. 1 Mirror Crusher?, 2? 5? That would have put DB in the same position as they are now with Mirror Picard (although with fewer people impacted most likely)
3) Pause and reschedule the event. I would like to think this is what DB would have done if it had not been part of a Mega Event (but who knows). That would have raised the question of do you unpause the event at a later point, wait a week and push back the final event, something else?
4) Some kind of pack compensation. What if I didn't buy packs, invested nothing but my time to push as hard as I could in Phase 1 but then can't play Phase 2?
I am sure there are other scenarios but my point here is that there is not one approach here that would have made everyone impacted happy be cause there are so many different motivations and outcomes.
I kind of like suggestion 2 and 4 and the others as points of reflection.
Shan, a lot of people are still hopefully waiting on those tickets. I don't think this is going to just go away. You did it for the Picard event. Do it for this one.
I am sorry but it will not happen.
The 6 Expedition tickets and the 4,500 Honor were the compensation for everyone for this issue.
And yes, we do realize that it was less than perfect for everyone.
Our main goal is to make sure it does not happen again, but also to have more flexibility/better solutions when compensation is required.
As Ran said, sometimes it is just not possible to find a compensation plan that will cater to everyone, and we also have technical limitations as to what we can do.
That's why DB should answer each request separately for this screw up. As I stated in another post, some people ask for Bev, others for copies of Mayweather, others for a refund of resources wasted in Phase 1. I know it's very hard to find consensus, but the first step is to say something like "Let's work together to find a solution" instead of "There will not be any additional compensation for this specific issue". You make players pay for your screw up and this is unacceptable. You need to stop owning your mistakes, DB.
As for the long run, the plan is simple: stop screwing up and there will be no compensations.
I am sorry but it will not happen.
The 6 Expedition tickets and the 4,500 Honor were the compensation for everyone for this issue.
And yes, we do realize that it was less than perfect for everyone.
Our main goal is to make sure it does not happen again, but also to have more flexibility/better solutions when compensation is required.
What part of "You sold me that but gave me this", doesn't DB understand?
DB collected money prior to the event. Real money with value all over the world. We prepared expecting to use what we bought for the advertised event. We didn't buy packs for a rerun sometime in the distant future, we bought them for the 6 day event without extra tickets handed out willy-nilly.
THAT event didn't happen. Some Frankenstein F'd up abortion happened in its place.
How can DB sit on our funds and say tough crap? Why does DB think THEY deserve to profit from an error while their customers lose out? Makes no sense in any universe.
Time to test out Google plays CS for the first time ever.
I am sorry but it will not happen.
The 6 Expedition tickets and the 4,500 Honor were the compensation for everyone for this issue.
And yes, we do realize that it was less than perfect for everyone.
Our main goal is to make sure it does not happen again, but also to have more flexibility/better solutions when compensation is required.
What if I give back the 6 tickets, 4500 Honor, and 600 ISS Defiant schematics in exchange for the last star for Mirror Mayweather? Then it would be just as if the issue never happened. Isn’t that the point of compensating problems? No harm?
I don't ever want to contact 'support'. It's like engaging with people you know don't care and would rather not help. I don't need that **tsk tsk** in my life. I'm supposed to be having fun. Not complaining.
It makes me realise just how good customer service is in Australia. I've never had such negative vibes from asking for help before.
I don't ever want to contact 'support'. It's like engaging with people you know don't care and would rather not help. I don't need that *hugs* in my life. I'm supposed to be having fun. Not complaining.
It makes me realise just how good customer service is in Australia. I've never had such negative vibes from asking for help before.
I have found db support to be quite helpful the times I have contacted them. I understand your frustration about a mid event change but mistakes and problems occur in any game. The six extra tickets allowed me and others to get all rewards and we got three more tickets than we would have had with the extra day.
I have found db support to be quite helpful the times I have contacted them.
I also want to add my voice to this part of Apollo's quote. I've had mostly good experience with CS in the past 2 years. For those times that I didn't in the beginning, deep breaths and further communication seemed to resolve things in the end. Failing that, I just take it as someone who accidentally sat on a rough, splintered, knawed-up, sharp, and nasty broomhandle, pointed-end first, and they couldn't be bothered to remove it because of the sheer volume of tickets they have to go through.
There's bad days, and then there's really bad days...
In the immortal words of Spock: "Live long and prosper"
Comments
So basically DB added the potential of approximately 300k victory points in the middle of the event which a lot of people could not access, thus changing the ranks people were able to obtain. DB has made a decision (mostly) to refuse to compensate based on any "possibly lost rank," which is what I'm trying to get them to change. In my own case, it is true that I cannot prove that I could have maxed out those 6 extra tickets (indeed I shot myself in the foot by seeing the writing on the wall, becoming frustrated and disheartened, and not maxing out the other tickets either; thus I am not even asking for crew).
Is it not possible, however, to project outcomes based on the original parameters of the event and game-play until the change was announced? I know that this would be a messy solution, but the problem is already messy.
Please be aware that I am not very good at this stuff yet. This is my first gaming experience, and my first time on the forums, so wiser minds than mine need to prevail here!
Edit - I'm aware Galaxies would need a different solution as many people deliberately hold back in part 1 for strategic reasons.
1) There is the solution that DB chose which was to give enough tickets out to (more than) make up for the tickets that were lost by the missing day. This completely ignored the fact as to whether or not people would physically be able to claim and use those tickets before the event ended.
2) Give everyone alternate compensation. 1 Mirror Crusher?, 2? 5? That would have put DB in the same position as they are now with Mirror Picard (although with fewer people impacted most likely)
3) Pause and reschedule the event. I would like to think this is what DB would have done if it had not been part of a Mega Event (but who knows). That would have raised the question of do you unpause the event at a later point, wait a week and push back the final event, something else?
4) Some kind of pack compensation. What if I didn't buy packs, invested nothing but my time to push as hard as I could in Phase 1 but then can't play Phase 2?
I am sure there are other scenarios but my point here is that there is not one approach here that would have made everyone impacted happy be cause there are so many different motivations and outcomes.
I will reiterate that not having the event last 5 days as announced was unintentional - it should not have happened but it did. And we are sorry it did. We looked into extending it as soon as it was discovered but it would have created far more additional issues.
As Ran said, sometimes it is just not possible to find a compensation plan that will cater to everyone, and we also have technical limitations as to what we can do.
That does not mean there are no improvements to be made regarding how we handle issues and compensations, quite the contrary - and that is high on our priority list.
5) just apologize and NOT issue 6 tickets. Let's be honest, those 6 tickets were an insult to anyone who had Christmas holiday plans. DB didn't want to risk a fix to the event clock because their devs had holiday plans, so they respond by spoiling everyone else's plans?!?!?
A lot of folks devoted extra effort and resources to the front end of this event, knowing with minimal time spent at the start of phase II, they could go all out in the last 24 hours of the event. Except those extra 24 hours disappeared and anyone without Christmas plans got an extra 300,000 VP.
For some folks, the last hours of the event were going on while their children were opening Christmas presents. No, those extra 6 tickets were not even close to be compensation .... they were an insult.
And I'm not after additional compensation. Or a mirror bev, or whatever. My gripe is you seem to be clueless on how your decisions affect the playerbase.
From being in the top 1000 to having no time to play through those "gifts" meant I finished in the low 3000's.
I was initially pleased by the return of the Expedition but that killed it for me.
One in a long line of two-fingers up to the community over the past month, imo.
On a more positive note, my addiction to this game has been exponentially easing. Not participated in an Event, Voyage (for obvious reasons) or a Gauntlet for a few days. 👍
So, I’m left with a useless 3/4 and a wasted 4 day event. DB should never be altering events in such a way as to change the rankings in the middle of the event.
But there is a parallel with sending out the Picard; it's the insensitive compensation that alienated so many.
I kind of like suggestion 2 and 4 and the others as points of reflection.
Shan, a lot of people are still hopefully waiting on those tickets. I don't think this is going to just go away. You did it for the Picard event. Do it for this one.
The 6 Expedition tickets and the 4,500 Honor were the compensation for everyone for this issue.
And yes, we do realize that it was less than perfect for everyone.
Our main goal is to make sure it does not happen again, but also to have more flexibility/better solutions when compensation is required.
It was situationally terrible for many. It was not compensation, it was wreckage.
That's why DB should answer each request separately for this screw up. As I stated in another post, some people ask for Bev, others for copies of Mayweather, others for a refund of resources wasted in Phase 1. I know it's very hard to find consensus, but the first step is to say something like "Let's work together to find a solution" instead of "There will not be any additional compensation for this specific issue". You make players pay for your screw up and this is unacceptable. You need to stop owning your mistakes, DB.
As for the long run, the plan is simple: stop screwing up and there will be no compensations.
Why not?
But in this instance, the "compensation" was worse than the issue.
DB literally stepped in an altered the leaderboard by granting those 6 extra tickets in the middle of a holiday weekend event.
What part of "You sold me that but gave me this", doesn't DB understand?
DB collected money prior to the event. Real money with value all over the world. We prepared expecting to use what we bought for the advertised event. We didn't buy packs for a rerun sometime in the distant future, we bought them for the 6 day event without extra tickets handed out willy-nilly.
THAT event didn't happen. Some Frankenstein F'd up abortion happened in its place.
How can DB sit on our funds and say tough crap? Why does DB think THEY deserve to profit from an error while their customers lose out? Makes no sense in any universe.
Time to test out Google plays CS for the first time ever.
What if I give back the 6 tickets, 4500 Honor, and 600 ISS Defiant schematics in exchange for the last star for Mirror Mayweather? Then it would be just as if the issue never happened. Isn’t that the point of compensating problems? No harm?
I am exceptionally disappointed to read this thread this morning. Exceptionally.
This is not looking good at all.
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
You don't know how much I wish I had.
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
It makes me realise just how good customer service is in Australia. I've never had such negative vibes from asking for help before.
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
I have found db support to be quite helpful the times I have contacted them. I understand your frustration about a mid event change but mistakes and problems occur in any game. The six extra tickets allowed me and others to get all rewards and we got three more tickets than we would have had with the extra day.
A big hug from Q would go a long way towards making me happy
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
I also want to add my voice to this part of Apollo's quote. I've had mostly good experience with CS in the past 2 years. For those times that I didn't in the beginning, deep breaths and further communication seemed to resolve things in the end. Failing that, I just take it as someone who accidentally sat on a rough, splintered, knawed-up, sharp, and nasty broomhandle, pointed-end first, and they couldn't be bothered to remove it because of the sheer volume of tickets they have to go through.
There's bad days, and then there's really bad days...