Where's the compensation for rolling characters back

[balvix]

Again...WHAT did "you" (and that's the Royal "you", not attached to your post quoted above) actually get from the time invested in this game??? Some bits and bytes on a server somewhere? Or did you actually get a chance to have fun and escape from reality for a bit?

It's a simple opportunity cost. You spent time, opportunity, (during what was obviously a chaotic time) playing a game that you knew, based on the numerous forum complaints even before the rollback, had issues. That opportunity had a negative result.

Money invested will likely be refunded...if not, you have a complaint.

Time invested... again, did you have fun while you were playing? You got nothing monetary or physical from playing the game that you can point to as a loss (unless they do not refund any purchases during that time).

I also like the hyperbole of not attacking anyone directly. Nice word salad.

I have seen many justify the things done to them by the devs on this game by using excuses such as these: this is not real, they are just pixels, the system is not perfect anyway, among other justifications.
I would challenge this, with the following: "Cogito, ergo sum" (Latin: "I think, therefore I am")
The simple meaning of the phrase is that if someone is wondering whether or not he exists, that is in and of itself proof that he does exist. On this forum there is a living, breathing, THINKING individual that is affected.
To some the

Some bits and bytes on a server somewhere?

argument makes sense, to others, choosing to spend what little time they have allotted to relaxing during a stressful day only to then see that time wasted, can be extremely aggravating. This forum is that outlet for their aggravation. If nobody posted any complaints on the forum then the devs would have no idea there was anything wrong until there was nobody left to play the game that pays their bills. By minimizing the complaints people have and completely invalidating them by saying "its merely a game" causes people to feel as if they have not nor will they be heard. This will cause more problems in the future than it will ever solve. People that feel as though they have been heard will calm down as a whole and life will move on, if they do not feel heard then there are more complaints and eventually people will simply leave the game. Ddo, has been around a very long time and as long as people play it will be around a lot longer. I personally was not really affected by this rollback very much, I have already earned everything available on the hc server, and only lost about 5 epic levels on the main server. However, since I would love to have Ddo continue being around I feel as though asking for compensation for a loss of 2 days play time plus a roll back, is not out of the realm of reasonability. As to what form that compensation would take, well that's debatable, and not everyone will be happy no matter what the compensation is. I wouldn't expect it to be an expensive store item such as an ottos box, but I also wouldn't expect it to be a coupon code for 20 free bigbys hands either, somewhere in-between would be where I would aim. I understand that you think people should wait a while and see if something comes, and I agree, but in the meantime, complaints on the forums allows the devs to know that the player base isn't happy and something needs to be done. So even though I have not really been affected by this rollback and the time lost, I will still avoid devaluing what happened by minimalizing others grief and irritation. You have enjoyed your fight within this thread, might be time to drop your bait in another thread.

[Buddha5440]

At times I feel like Geppetto. Dance, dance.

[Annex]

If I were in charge at Standing Stone Games, I would probably not offer a compensation package at this time for a number of reasons.

First, we are not through this upheaval. The roll back put the game in a playable state for the majority of players, but it also left many complicated bugs outstanding. Some of those bugs impact critical game systems. It will require a series of additional patches to fix those bugs and there is no guarantee they will go smoothly.

If I offer some compensation package now but the next patch attempt goes poorly, I may find players demanding another such package a week later. If the bugs drag on, the game could remain in a turbulent state for another month or two. How many compensation packages will I end up giving out?

If I hold off I gain two benefits. Most human beings have short memories when it comes to inconveniences. If the upcoming series of patches go well, players will get on with business and the incident will pass into memory. A few die hard complainers will never let it go, but most people will move on. If things do not go well, I can continue to hold my cards close until the problems get resolved, then offer one compensation package. If the package arrives with fixes in place, it will probably restore good will with most players.

Second, the rolled back time all occurred during off peak hours for the bulk of players. Very simply, not many players actually lost time. Compensation goes out to everyone.

Third, a very small number of people are complaining in the forums. Some of the people complaining are some of the most advantaged, power players in the game. They are the very people most able to sustain the loss of a few hours. Power players are often very good customers and I want to keep them happy, but are these crocodile tears? I suspect some crocodile tears.

Fourth, the current weekend bonus is very powerful. If you are a subscriber and playing in heroic or epic levels, the +35% experience boost is gigantic. If you are not a subscriber, the +25% bonus is still substantial. The guild bonus will cover all renown losses from the roll back and actually result in a huge renown boost if so desired. Finally, the loot boost is no joke. Even a low difficulty player will see significantly more stuff than usual. (Hint: If you can, hunt your named equipment this weekend.)

As the person in charge, I am most concerned about people who spent money during the roll back hours and lost what they paid for. (The people at Standing Stone Games are working on this very problem, as they should.) I would also be concerned about paying customers, loyal premium and subscriber, who accomplished goals during the roll back hours, lost that progress, and now cannot play during the boost weekend or gain little advantage from the boosts.

Fifth, do I want to train my players to expect a hand out for every speed bump? On the grande scale of things that go wrong in life, this was a minor hiccup. What do I want my long term policy to be? I want my paying customers happy. I even want my freeloaders happy because they provide companionship for the paying customers. However, I do not want to undermine my revenue streams.

Sixth, if I do offer a compensation, some number of players will not like it. Some players may become upset because it undermines some accomplishment. The most advantaged players will feel slighted unless I offer something truly powerful, but doing that will undermine game progression.

These issues intertwine and present a complicated dilemma for the person in charge. I know some of you will now write, "AnneX, you are full of Kobold Cookies (as usual). Give the customers free stuff now and make them happy." Regardless of that sentiment, I am not surprised the people at Standing Stone Games have only offered the current weekend boost.

So why even respond in this thread? I want players to keep their eyes on the ball. We need the people at Standing Stone Games to produce a rock solid patch and stamp out critical bugs in the new storage system _forever_. This conversation is stealing air from that much more pressing issue.

As I wrote a week ago, I do not need apologies. I do not need compensation. I need the game to work.

Anyway, I know most of you want compensation so I now return to your regularly scheduled kvetching. *shrug* I'm wearing my armored catsuit, the one with the full face mask, so I'm good.

Hey! Maybe they will compensate me by giving me an armored catsuit with a full face mask! Huh. Fat chance.

I'll tell ya. I lost half a saga to the roll back but the real time loss for me is coming from these bank tab dumps. Not lookin forward to the next one of those.

We'll get through this.

[dogsoldier]

Well stated Sophie. I would like to hear some details on what they have in the works for the next patch, but they are probably still recovering from 24 hour shifts from the item recovery effort. I have worked a few of those myself in IT.

[Sam-u-r-eye]

If I were in charge at Standing Stone Games, I would probably not offer a compensation package at this time for a number of reasons.

First, we are not through this upheaval. The roll back put the game in a playable state for the majority of players, but it also left many complicated bugs outstanding. Some of those bugs impact critical game systems. It will require a series of additional patches to fix those bugs and there is no guarantee they will go smoothly.

If I offer some compensation package now but the next patch attempt goes poorly, I may find players demanding another such package a week later. If the bugs drag on, the game could remain in a turbulent state for another month or two. How many compensation packages will I end up giving out?

If I hold off I gain two benefits. Most human beings have short memories when it comes to inconveniences. If the upcoming series of patches go well, players will get on with business and the incident will pass into memory. A few die hard complainers will never let it go, but most people will move on. If things do not go well, I can continue to hold my cards close until the problems get resolved, then offer one compensation package. If the package arrives with fixes in place, it will probably restore good will with most players.

Second, the rolled back time all occurred during off peak hours for the bulk of players. Very simply, not many players actually lost time. Compensation goes out to everyone.

Third, a very small number of people are complaining in the forums. Some of the people complaining are some of the most advantaged, power players in the game. They are the very people most able to sustain the loss of a few hours. Power players are often very good customers and I want to keep them happy, but are these crocodile tears? I suspect some crocodile tears.

Fourth, the current weekend bonus is very powerful. If you are a subscriber and playing in heroic or epic levels, the +35% experience boost is gigantic. If you are not a subscriber, the +25% bonus is still substantial. The guild bonus will cover all renown losses from the roll back and actually result in a huge renown boost if so desired. Finally, the loot boost is no joke. Even a low difficulty player will see significantly more stuff than usual. (Hint: If you can, hunt your named equipment this weekend.)

As the person in charge, I am most concerned about people who spent money during the roll back hours and lost what they paid for. (The people at Standing Stone Games are working on this very problem, as they should.) I would also be concerned about paying customers, loyal premium and subscriber, who accomplished goals during the roll back hours, lost that progress, and now cannot play during the boost weekend or gain little advantage from the boosts.

Fifth, do I want to train my players to expect a hand out for every speed bump? On the grande scale of things that go wrong in life, this was a minor hiccup. What do I want my long term policy to be? I want my paying customers happy. I even want my freeloaders happy because they provide companionship for the paying customers. However, I do not want to undermine my revenue streams.

Sixth, if I do offer a compensation, some number of players will not like it. Some players may become upset because it undermines some accomplishment. The most advantaged players will feel slighted unless I offer something truly powerful, but doing that will undermine game progression.

These issues intertwine and present a complicated dilemma for the person in charge. I know some of you will now write, "AnneX, you are full of Kobold Cookies (as usual). Give the customers free stuff now and make them happy." Regardless of that sentiment, I am not surprised the people at Standing Stone Games have only offered the current weekend boost.

So why even respond in this thread? I want players to keep their eyes on the ball. We need the people at Standing Stone Games to produce a rock solid patch and stamp out critical bugs in the new storage system _forever_. This conversation is stealing air from that much more pressing issue.

As I wrote a week ago, I do not need apologies. I do not need compensation. I need the game to work.

Anyway, I know most of you want compensation so I now return to your regularly scheduled kvetching. *shrug* I'm wearing my armored catsuit, the one with the full face mask, so I'm good.

Hey! Maybe they will compensate me by giving me an armored catsuit with a full face mask! Huh. Fat chance.

I'll tell ya. I lost half a saga to the roll back but the real time loss for me is coming from these bank tab dumps. Not lookin forward to the next one of those.

We'll get through this.

I mean, you might, but I'm not re-installing the game for a while. Warhammer 3's immortal empires and Path of Exile are fun.

The new class-i-mah things were incredibly underwhelming. I would have much rather have had a new home brew like alchemist.

Add to that the risk of losing my TR cache randomly? No thanks. Hard pass.

SSG struggles to maintain their legacy code.

[hale99]

If I were in charge at Standing Stone Games, I would probably not offer a compensation package at this time for a number of reasons.

First, we are not through this upheaval. The roll back put the game in a playable state for the majority of players, but it also left many complicated bugs outstanding. Some of those bugs impact critical game systems. It will require a series of additional patches to fix those bugs and there is no guarantee they will go smoothly.

If I offer some compensation package now but the next patch attempt goes poorly, I may find players demanding another such package a week later. If the bugs drag on, the game could remain in a turbulent state for another month or two. How many compensation packages will I end up giving out?

If I hold off I gain two benefits. Most human beings have short memories when it comes to inconveniences. If the upcoming series of patches go well, players will get on with business and the incident will pass into memory. A few die hard complainers will never let it go, but most people will move on. If things do not go well, I can continue to hold my cards close until the problems get resolved, then offer one compensation package. If the package arrives with fixes in place, it will probably restore good will with most players.

Second, the rolled back time all occurred during off peak hours for the bulk of players. Very simply, not many players actually lost time. Compensation goes out to everyone.

Third, a very small number of people are complaining in the forums. Some of the people complaining are some of the most advantaged, power players in the game. They are the very people most able to sustain the loss of a few hours. Power players are often very good customers and I want to keep them happy, but are these crocodile tears? I suspect some crocodile tears.

Fourth, the current weekend bonus is very powerful. If you are a subscriber and playing in heroic or epic levels, the +35% experience boost is gigantic. If you are not a subscriber, the +25% bonus is still substantial. The guild bonus will cover all renown losses from the roll back and actually result in a huge renown boost if so desired. Finally, the loot boost is no joke. Even a low difficulty player will see significantly more stuff than usual. (Hint: If you can, hunt your named equipment this weekend.)

As the person in charge, I am most concerned about people who spent money during the roll back hours and lost what they paid for. (The people at Standing Stone Games are working on this very problem, as they should.) I would also be concerned about paying customers, loyal premium and subscriber, who accomplished goals during the roll back hours, lost that progress, and now cannot play during the boost weekend or gain little advantage from the boosts.

Fifth, do I want to train my players to expect a hand out for every speed bump? On the grande scale of things that go wrong in life, this was a minor hiccup. What do I want my long term policy to be? I want my paying customers happy. I even want my freeloaders happy because they provide companionship for the paying customers. However, I do not want to undermine my revenue streams.

Sixth, if I do offer a compensation, some number of players will not like it. Some players may become upset because it undermines some accomplishment. The most advantaged players will feel slighted unless I offer something truly powerful, but doing that will undermine game progression.

These issues intertwine and present a complicated dilemma for the person in charge. I know some of you will now write, "AnneX, you are full of Kobold Cookies (as usual). Give the customers free stuff now and make them happy." Regardless of that sentiment, I am not surprised the people at Standing Stone Games have only offered the current weekend boost.

So why even respond in this thread? I want players to keep their eyes on the ball. We need the people at Standing Stone Games to produce a rock solid patch and stamp out critical bugs in the new storage system _forever_. This conversation is stealing air from that much more pressing issue.

As I wrote a week ago, I do not need apologies. I do not need compensation. I need the game to work.

Anyway, I know most of you want compensation so I now return to your regularly scheduled kvetching. *shrug* I'm wearing my armored catsuit, the one with the full face mask, so I'm good.

Hey! Maybe they will compensate me by giving me an armored catsuit with a full face mask! Huh. Fat chance.

I'll tell ya. I lost half a saga to the roll back but the real time loss for me is coming from these bank tab dumps. Not lookin forward to the next one of those.

We'll get through this.

At this point I don't want anything other than a "Hey we F'ed up" message straight from the producers mouth. It would be nice for them to also admit that they ignored community feedback and just rolled out a **** update and this has been the cause of a lot of issues and upheaval.

Would XP pots and other goodies be nice... Sure. I'd rather have a stable game with a stable future. Let's work on that rather than some temporary solution to the crappy situation that just happened.

[Buddha5440]

If I were in charge at Standing Stone Games, I would probably not offer a compensation package at this time for a number of reasons.

First, we are not through this upheaval. The roll back put the game in a playable state for the majority of players, but it also left many complicated bugs outstanding. Some of those bugs impact critical game systems. It will require a series of additional patches to fix those bugs and there is no guarantee they will go smoothly.

If I offer some compensation package now but the next patch attempt goes poorly, I may find players demanding another such package a week later. If the bugs drag on, the game could remain in a turbulent state for another month or two. How many compensation packages will I end up giving out?

If I hold off I gain two benefits. Most human beings have short memories when it comes to inconveniences. If the upcoming series of patches go well, players will get on with business and the incident will pass into memory. A few die hard complainers will never let it go, but most people will move on. If things do not go well, I can continue to hold my cards close until the problems get resolved, then offer one compensation package. If the package arrives with fixes in place, it will probably restore good will with most players.

Second, the rolled back time all occurred during off peak hours for the bulk of players. Very simply, not many players actually lost time. Compensation goes out to everyone.

Third, a very small number of people are complaining in the forums. Some of the people complaining are some of the most advantaged, power players in the game. They are the very people most able to sustain the loss of a few hours. Power players are often very good customers and I want to keep them happy, but are these crocodile tears? I suspect some crocodile tears.

Fourth, the current weekend bonus is very powerful. If you are a subscriber and playing in heroic or epic levels, the +35% experience boost is gigantic. If you are not a subscriber, the +25% bonus is still substantial. The guild bonus will cover all renown losses from the roll back and actually result in a huge renown boost if so desired. Finally, the loot boost is no joke. Even a low difficulty player will see significantly more stuff than usual. (Hint: If you can, hunt your named equipment this weekend.)

As the person in charge, I am most concerned about people who spent money during the roll back hours and lost what they paid for. (The people at Standing Stone Games are working on this very problem, as they should.) I would also be concerned about paying customers, loyal premium and subscriber, who accomplished goals during the roll back hours, lost that progress, and now cannot play during the boost weekend or gain little advantage from the boosts.

Fifth, do I want to train my players to expect a hand out for every speed bump? On the grande scale of things that go wrong in life, this was a minor hiccup. What do I want my long term policy to be? I want my paying customers happy. I even want my freeloaders happy because they provide companionship for the paying customers. However, I do not want to undermine my revenue streams.

Sixth, if I do offer a compensation, some number of players will not like it. Some players may become upset because it undermines some accomplishment. The most advantaged players will feel slighted unless I offer something truly powerful, but doing that will undermine game progression.

These issues intertwine and present a complicated dilemma for the person in charge. I know some of you will now write, "AnneX, you are full of Kobold Cookies (as usual). Give the customers free stuff now and make them happy." Regardless of that sentiment, I am not surprised the people at Standing Stone Games have only offered the current weekend boost.

So why even respond in this thread? I want players to keep their eyes on the ball. We need the people at Standing Stone Games to produce a rock solid patch and stamp out critical bugs in the new storage system _forever_. This conversation is stealing air from that much more pressing issue.

As I wrote a week ago, I do not need apologies. I do not need compensation. I need the game to work.

Anyway, I know most of you want compensation so I now return to your regularly scheduled kvetching. *shrug* I'm wearing my armored catsuit, the one with the full face mask, so I'm good.

Hey! Maybe they will compensate me by giving me an armored catsuit with a full face mask! Huh. Fat chance.

I'll tell ya. I lost half a saga to the roll back but the real time loss for me is coming from these bank tab dumps. Not lookin forward to the next one of those.

We'll get through this.

Agreed 100%. It was a bad roll-out but they are getting attacked before they even have time to fix things (yes, ideally they would have done more QA testing)..

If you actually spent real money (or even AS or Points) on something, and they don't refund/reimburse in the near future, you DO have a reason to complain. Unless you want to join the team and work through the coding from multiple coders as well as multiple companies...please give it a bit of time. (This last part was directed to those who disagree with your above comments.).

[Buddha5440]

At this point I don't want anything other than a "Hey we F'ed up" message straight from the producers mouth. It would be nice for them to also admit that they ignored community feedback and just rolled out a **** update and this has been the cause of a lot of issues and upheaval.

Would XP pots and other goodies be nice... Sure. I'd rather have a stable game with a stable future. Let's work on that rather than some temporary solution to the crappy situation that just happened.

Pretty sure the "producers" are aware that there is dissent regarding their recent updates. As for the "stable future", it's a 16-1/2 year old online game, we're lucky it's still even alive. Maybe find something else to do with your free time (This is not a targeted statement; but one to apply to all).

[thebeast1985]

Pretty sure the "producers" are aware that there is dissent regarding their recent updates. As for the "stable future", it's a 16-1/2 year old online game, we're lucky it's still even alive. Maybe find something else to do with your free time (This is not a targeted statement; but one to apply to all).

You are pretty wrong. I'll tell you why.
In real life, products keep on getting produced untill it's economically convenient to do so.
We buy this product that they sell.
It's thanks to us, customers that the game is still Alive.
If we keep on buying, as much as the product is bad, they will keep on (clearly as long as production costs are lower than income)
That's why there should be a compensation, to keep us happy and move on spending, it's economy 101
You are the sons of the Eagle, land of the free, capitalist at its best, you should know it better than me, a poor Italian that has been freed more than 70 years ago of the grasp of the evil.

Anyway... take your time to digest the informations that I shared with you.
Also remember that there are older games than this and guess what? They keep on going thanks to...us that keep on spending onthe game we like.
Cheers!

[frepla]

Yes please...let's worry about compensation before they fix what's broken. That's like calling the power/cable company and asking for money back before your service is restored/secured.

If "YOUR" ISP went down, would you ask them to reimburse/compensate you for your DDO downtime? DDO was unable to provide you with the game during that time so they (the ISP) should have to pay you back for not being able to play a GAME!!!

Welcome to REAL LIFE. Things happen. Life isn't perfect or even fair. Get over it. Anything they give us players is more than they are required to do. That being said, I expect more to be coming in the near future (as it usually has).

Happy GAMING all (note the key word there).

Hey dude.
Have you lost any item or progress either because of the rollback or because of the TR cache bug? Do you understand how frustrating it is to see your items disappear either because of the first or the latter?

By your wonderful logic, rollback was also NOT necessary, after all "it is just a game". All they had to do was fix the tr bug and *not* compensate those who lost TR items.

Next time spare us from this flawed logic that says "duh, why compensate one half of the player base at the expense of the other half when they can just screw over one half of the player base and not screw over the other half".

Also, the name Buddha does not fit you because that guy was wise and pretty consistent.

You are welcome.

[badm0f0]

Why is everyone asking ssg for compensation? Shouldnt we be asking the influences what should be the compensation ? They seem to be pulling the strings atm ?

[dogsoldier]

Why is everyone asking ssg for compensation? Shouldnt we be asking the influences what should be the compensation ? They seem to be pulling the strings atm ?

Agreed; something should be done there for sure.

[dogsoldier]

Alignment restrictions are confusing for new players. If you are going to use Paladin / Troll, or whatever, you really should make sure the context of that usage does not undercut your own argument.

[dogsoldier]

It is funny being called a Paladin given I have been one of the harshest critics of certain Update 56 decisions. Your ignorance undercuts your argument as well.

[cromotep]

I came back last week on a whim when I saw hardcore was active. Thoroughly enjoyed dying and rerolling until I found a comfortable build. I was enjoying it so much I decided to re-up my VIP. Two days later the servers are down for a day. Reminded me of how many times it happened in the past. Still, these things happen, so I wasn't really bothered. When it came back up and I saw I lost near 3 levels and some loot I had farmed on hardcore, I lost that drive and desire to play. Still logged in and played awhile but it just went from a rush to reminding me of the hamster wheel.

I am cancelling again, (I know, big whoop) but I just wanted to relay the experience. If it happens to one new or returning player, you can bet a lot of other players might have similar experiences and decide to pull money out of the game, or rather the business. That affects everyone. Still like the game, still like SSG, they work hard and I respect and enjoy their work. I know this thread is about compensation but sometimes there isn't any that is going to make a difference. Still, I think it's better to announce it (if any) asap in order to appease those that might take their coin-purse elsewhere.

And to that one person, how many half-bigby's hands are you getting per post in this thread? Kidding, your points are just as valid as everyone else's and are a good read to switch up the dialogue.

[dogsoldier]

And to that one person, how many half-bigby's hands are you getting per post in this thread? Kidding, your points are just as valid as everyone else's and are a good read to switch up the dialogue.

I got an unlimited supply of Bigby's Sonic Slap on my Bard when Update 56 hit.

[cromotep]

I got an unlimited supply of Bigby's Sonic Slap on my Bard when Update 56 hit.

Not you dog

[dogsoldier]

Not you dog

Oh, sorry. I suppose it may be relevant to those still confused on alignment. True nuetral here, fyi.

[cromotep]

Oh, sorry. I suppose it may be relevant to those still confused on alignment. True nuetral here, fyi.

What if they do give compensation and it's 50 bigby's. Oh, sweet lord, that would be amazing. Imagine how many alignment changes would ensue.

[dogsoldier]

What if they do give compensation and it's 50 bigby's. Oh, sweet lord, that would be amazing. Even the Dame Alonsa's would buy that alignment change.

Bigby's for Otto's would turn actual Paladins into Death Knights.