Curse

VitisVinifera · May 02, 2006, 07:42 AM // 07:42

Gaile, you and ANet have managed this situation about as badly as possible. I just got shut out of Factions just now and I'm not happy about this situation. You have penalized me and many other CE pre-orderers because of your blunders.

I will definitely not pay the extra money for CE for future releases. You've really alienated me.

edit: you've also directly contradicted yourself from your previous official announcement.

The Chimpster · May 02, 2006, 07:43 AM // 07:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaile Gray

Please understand why the Extended Head Start ended a few minutes ago: There are people who would abuse being given a large amount of time with access to the full retail game. There are those--you see them in this forum--who would "burn through" the game in a few days and never look back. We went above and beyond: We offered a Head Start, and then put forth an Extended Head Start that was even longer.

But at some point, painful as it might be, we had to close the servers to those who do not have a retail key. Allowing people to play 10 days on a pre-order that doesn't net us anything, that actually costs us money, would not be a wise business decision.

I don't have a CE. No one at ArenaNet has a CE. And yes, that's disappointing as heck! (You think it's bad wanting to play? Imagine helping to make the game and not being able to access it!

)

In all of this, and I know this might fall on a few deaf ears, there is a little brightness: We have learned about production, about shipping, and about how things can go awry. We have already made changes and will not be undertaking the same steps again. We'll also be well able to predict with greater accuracy the demand for Collector's Editions in the future. I know, again, that this is pale solace for a situation where you can't have the product that you're willing to buy! But do know that this should positively be the last time any of us have to deal with this again!

(And to those of you keeping your chin up and maintaining a positive attitude, thank you for that!)

Guess I'll goto my revision books then damn it. Ah well, at least my grades will improve because of this gaile, some good will come of it

eSe · May 02, 2006, 07:45 AM // 07:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by VitisVinifera

Gaile, you and ANet have managed this situation about as badly as possible. I just got shut out of Factions just now and I'm not happy about this situation. You have penalized me and many other CE pre-orderers because of your blunders.

I will definitely not pay the extra money for CE for future releases. You've really alienated me.

i too got to wait but cut ANet some slack they doing the best they can do they already said they wouldn't delete the chars and they working as fast as they can to get CE to us so no need to complain

Klaus Barnabas · May 02, 2006, 07:53 AM // 07:53

Edited by Dralspire: While we support open discussions, we have an expectation of courtesy and respect. Your post did not meet these expectations.

Gaile Gray · May 02, 2006, 07:54 AM // 07:54

ArenaNet did everything right. But sometimes, things go wrong, despite all that you've done. It's a very unfortunate situation, I agree.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VitisVinifera

You've also directly contradicted yourself from your previous official announcement.

There is no contradiction. Please reread all the official statements and you'll see. There are many things going on, but at no time did we state you could play for 10 days. I'm very sorry for your disappointment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klaus Barnabas

guess the guys at the website who make the announcements didn't get the memo you were screwing us all over?

I'm the "guys" who writes the website content. If you would please re-read, your expectations coloured what you saw, but you assuredly did not see us promising 10 days of free play.

Again, VERY sorry for the disappointment.

Ardrid · May 02, 2006, 07:55 AM // 07:55

My issue with that rationale is that those who were going to abuse the pre-order system would have already done so by now (there are already ppl who have beat Factions, Klaus being one of them

). Yes, extending the period further would undoubtedly increase that opportunity, but the consumer appreciation gleaned from doing so would be much greater and, IMO, outweigh the negative consequences by far. It just sux that those of us that are loyal get "punished" due to the possible actions of the few. Ugh, now I have to wait until next week and pray that I actually get my CE from EB. Oh well, back to FoW/UW runs for the time being.

Klaus Barnabas · May 02, 2006, 07:59 AM // 07:59

Edited by Dralspire: While we support open discussions, we have an expectation of courtesy and respect. Your post did not meet these expectations.

Arkis · May 02, 2006, 08:00 AM // 08:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ardrid

My issue with that rationale is that those who were going to abuse the pre-order system would have already done so by now (there are already ppl who have beat Factions, Klaus being one of them

). Yes, extending the period further would undoubtedly increase that opportunity, but the consumer appreciation gleaned from doing so would be much greater and, IMO, outweigh the negative consequences by far. It just sux that those of us that are loyal get "punished" due to the possible actions of the few. Ugh, now I have to wait until next week and pray that I actually get my CE from EB.

That's precisely my issue too. Sadly I am also evidence. I've blown through the game already and everything. The problem is I just wanna play more =P.

I think that costumers would be much more happy if it had been done 10 days. Unforunately I guess that's how it goes. More time for studying! =).

Let's hope they learned their lesson this time

Eden2k5 · May 02, 2006, 08:00 AM // 08:00

The post on the Guild Wars website about the situation is way convoluted, who writes that stuff?

Just keep things percise and to the point and confusion like this won't happen!

I read it earlier today over a few times and figured they must of extended it till the 8th, which would give me plenty of time to receive my game... which i've ordered... 2 months ago.

This is the last time I ever pre-order or buy new game releases online. It defeats the purpose of pre-ordering, when anyone can just run into the store and pick it up far quicker than you can. Unless you live in the sticks.

Sheep · May 02, 2006, 08:03 AM // 08:03

Yes, the post on the site isn't clear at all, no matter how many times you re-read it's still very ambiguous.

I've cancelled my CE and now have to bug ebay sellers until I find one that will just email me a cdkey.

Why don't you do what Valve and other developers do and just offer cdkeys buyable from guildwars.com for those of us that put being able to play the game above having a box take up space :/

Fantus · May 02, 2006, 08:05 AM // 08:05

I fully understand that things like this can happen. I also can understand that you can't leave the servers open indefinitely for everyone, too. But being on the receiving side of "Error 165 - You shouldn't have ordered the Collectors Edition", it's still a bit sad getting kicked out of the game just because of ordering a Collector's Edition instead of the regular one.

Being a guild leader, the end of the head start event came with an additional fun for me because I basically had to rush the game up to House zu Heltzer so I could join my guild into our alliance before getting locked out of Factions for maybe a long time. It was really a nice idea to make forming alliances being dependent on the GL having access to advanced game content in Factions...

Other than that, yes, I love Factions from what I have seen. And yes, I am going to order the Chapter 3 CE, too, despite what happened now. I honestly and sincerely hope that everyone at Anet/NCsoft knows that you guys majorly messed up with your most dedicated fans (those are the ones buying CEs, right?), and that stuff like this never happens again. See you in Cantha again - someday.

koneko · May 02, 2006, 08:09 AM // 08:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheep

Why don't you do what Valve and other developers do and just offer cdkeys buyable from guildwars.com for those of us that put being able to play the game above having a box take up space :/

PlayNC Store?

I'm as upset as the next person about having access cut off for the next few days (weeks? June 30?) after getting a taste for Factions, but it makes sense to not further extend things (actually, extending the Head Start event didn't make sense to me, there would be people that would rush through and not buy the game = lose money).

Chill, people. Deep breaths. It's just a game. Go outside and do something else.

lord_shar · May 02, 2006, 08:11 AM // 08:11

I'm very confused... What happened to the May 8th grace period that was mentioned in the first post? I gave my wife my retail copy while waiting for my still-missing CE version already pre-ordered. EB-Games only allowed cancellation until this past Friday 4/28. Based on the May 8th grace period news, I didn't cancel my order. It is now May 2nd, and the grace period never happened -- I'm still locked out while waiting for the CE version that never came.

Who should I send the bill to for this CE-version I won't be opening since I'll be getting a regular copy tomorrow?

jmj102 · May 02, 2006, 08:14 AM // 08:14

The preorder key that gamestop sent me by email didnt even let me play in the head start, only gave me 2 character slots and the ingame items. Then I got an email saying that they might not ship me CE untill June >.<. I freaking pre-ordered in early March and I get screwed like this ?

VitisVinifera · May 02, 2006, 08:14 AM // 08:14

Ok Gaile, if you want to play word games then let's. Here's your statement:

Ten-Day Grace Period Explained 1 May 2006
The grace period mentioned in an earlier news post will end at 11:59 p.m. PDT on May 8. During the 10-day grace period, if you have a Prophecies account and have added a Factions pre-order key, you can create a 5th or 6th character. After the 10-day grace period, if you have not added a Factions (retail) key to your account, you will not be able to create a 5th or 6th character. We will not delete your new characters, items, or skill unlocks after the 10-day grace period. However, you will need to add a Factions (retail) key to your account in order to play with any Canthan characters after the end of the Extended Head Start Event.

So during the 10 day grace period, I can create characters, and you won't delte them during it. At the end you say we'll need to add the Facitons key at the end of the Extended Head Start Event. You added that little gem at the end of what we can do, and to many of us this looks like it's just a continuation of the 10 day statement. What then is the real purpose of the 10 day grace period? To create characters we can't play? Are you kidding me? If you shut us out after the end of the Extended Head Start Event, but have this 10 day grace period that essentially are empty promises, I wonder what the motivation of even having it? Because now you've upset a lot of people who were thinking they had 10 days to receive the delayed CE, which will probably narrowly coincide.

Give us keys. Simple as that. Through the retailers. I've paid and you've messed this up, so fix it.

Ardrid · May 02, 2006, 08:15 AM // 08:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by koneko

PlayNC Store?

I'm as upset as the next person about having access cut off for the next few days (weeks? June 30?) after getting a taste for Factions, but it makes sense to not further extend things (actually, extending the Head Start event didn't make sense to me, there would be people that would rush through and not buy the game = lose money).

Chill, people. Deep breaths. It's just a game. Go outside and do something else.

Yes, it is just a game, but at the same time we didn't have to drop an extra $20 for the CE either. In addition to it sucking that we can't experience more of a great game, there is the money issue. That is the ultimate problem here and what Klaus was trying to get at. Again, I truly don't think the rationale holds up bc if someone wanted to screw ANet over by beating the game and then cancelling their pre-order, they would've done it by now. In any event, I can find other things to do until next week (studying for finals among them), but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still a bit upset by all this.

Gaile Gray · May 02, 2006, 08:18 AM // 08:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fantus

I fully understand that things like this can happen. I also can understand that you can't leave the servers open indefinitely for everyone, too. But being on the receiving side of "Error 165 - You shouldn't have ordered the Collectors Edition", it's still a bit sad getting kicked out of the game just because of ordering a Collector's Edition instead of the regular one.

Precisely. THAT is the most bitter pill of all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fantus

Other than that, yes, I love Factions from what I have seen. And yes, I am going to order the Chapter 3 CE, too, despite what happened now. I honestly and sincerely hope that everyone at Anet/NCsoft knows that you guys majorly messed up with your most dedicated fans (those are the ones buying CEs, right?), and that stuff like this never happens again. See you in Cantha again - someday.

I can say with a lot of assurance, because I keep asking about it myself: This is highly unlikely to happen again. We have already made a commitment to significant changes in manufacturing and distribution that will make this situation nigh on impossible again. I mean, there are no absolutes in life, but we're incredibly saddened by, as you say, disappointing our most loyal players. We'll take every step we can, and two more, to assure things are shipshape for the C3 release!

Thanks for being patient with this. Your continued support, during a time when it might be easier or at least tempting to close the door, is very appreciated.

jmj102 · May 02, 2006, 08:23 AM // 08:23

I think we should all stop whining and be happy with what we have. And look forward to the greatness that is the Factions CE!

Thallandor · May 02, 2006, 08:28 AM // 08:28

The information on the main site specifically states that the headstart would be extended for a further 3 days (over the weekend) after the "Day of the Tengu". They didnt have to do it but they did after all which i am pleased but please understand that they run a business and opening the servers to new content for players without confirming our purchase is infact costing them resources based on our "word" (pre order key) to support them.

I think many players confused the 10 day grace period with the extended headstart which later we been told that our characters created from the extra slots wont be deleted after the headstart or the initially planned 10 grace period. This actually makes the 10 day grace period null and misleaded many into thinking that they will be able to continue playing past the extended headstart into 10 day grace period until their CE arrives later this week.

This miscommunication no doubt made many players felt injustice and why they should be punished for ANET/NCSOFT mistakes when they are just trying to support them, and no doubt some players may feel disgusted and not get Factions altogether which may result in some small loss of sales at least initially.

I can only Hope that Anet learns to communicate better with the community inregards to all aspect of the game from updates to annocements and events rather than make them without considering consequences first.

Gaile has already apologised for the miscommunication let us leave it at that. ( I am not her fan btw)

Never the less, i will still be waiting for my copy of the CE arriving this Friday. I am sure some others who are not getting them now will perhaps pick them up in a couple of months time for 10-15 bucks at some discount store :P

Forsythe · May 02, 2006, 08:38 AM // 08:38

There's a lot of negativity in here towards people who work earnestly to provide customer feedback and community support while also not charging a single penny for aforementioned extra-curricular availability and of course online play.

I've dealt with software and games for a long time both from a customer's standpoint and a developer's, and it really doesn't get much better than ArenaNet. In my opinion, the rule by which future projects should be measured.

Sure it sucks not being able to play our fancy new characters in our fancy new land despite being told we had the time to do so, but doesn't that mean Friday will be even more awesome?

Plus I'm sure there's things you've been neglecting to do in Tyria so get to it, you procrastinators.