Mud Pandemonium
Minmatar
Umbra Congregatio
Interstellar Alcohol Conglomerate
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Posted - 2007.08.01 03:10:00 -
[1]
You've probably heard me say it before, I'll say it again.
Addiction really screws us over when it comes to getting any real changes made. CCP are fully aware that most of us will play no matter how bad things get.
When I first started playing EVE Online I looked at CCP as this great company, GMs actively involved with their userbase? Awesome!, Free downloadable client and free expansions? Awesome!
After awhile I sort of saw through the silvery haze of all this to see CCP for what it really is. The epitome of capitalistic immorality, extremely shady business practices and a generally unprofessional approach to customer service.
Here, I'll reiterate,
"With a clever combination of hardware and proprietary software, the EVE backend has been constructed and refined based on CCPÆs years of experience of operating virtual worlds. This powerful combination allows CCP to operate the server clusters at lower cost than most other games with lower hardware investment and less bandwidth charges."
- http://www.ccpgames.com/company/technology.asp
A lower cost that is unfortunately not being passed on to the paying customers since we're paying what generally could be considered the standard monthly fee for an MMORPG yet we're not receiving what would be considered standard service as advertised, IE: Working fleet warfare.
Now, I don't mean to say the only thing EVE holds for people is 0.0 fleet warfare, however your advertising campaigns explicitly tout this as the be all and end all of CCP endgame content. You've stated before that everything essentially serves PVP within EVE.
Your trailers continually show fleet warfare as you envision it, not how it actually is.
I'm well aware that some..liberties can be taken with trailers, that some exaggerations to gameplay can be afforded. However the base gameplay in question is horribly, horribly broken.
How about showing the public and potential customers what fleet warfare is really like?
How about showing the public and potential customers what CCP customer service is really like?
How about showing the public and potential customers that your approach to server management the "Do more with less" angle is incredibly stupid?
It really doesn't matter though does it? You can still count on our monthly payments rolling in each month knowing that we'll continue to play because we've got the MMO addiction going on.
Why not release some hard data regarding spending over revenue? Put my mind at ease that you're investing heavily in the server cluster.
I want to know that your profit margins aren't insanely huge while your expenditures are extremely slim.
I've had a petition sitting on the burner for nearly a month now. Like I told one of your GMs, the slow response time and the massive queue time only shows your complete lack of empathy, respect and professionalism towards paying customers.
GMs asking in local how to change a station name and then replying with "Well duh" doesn't exactly inspire confidence either.
I don't pretend to know how to manage a business, but it seems to me you need to get a few consulting firms in to hold your hand. You need a consultant to overlook your customer service team, review training procedures and update your policies to make them more realistic.
If a ship is lost when there is 500 people in local and the player petitions it as a desynch when there is a huge known issue with desynchs..it's best to give the customer the benefit of the doubt.
Little note, perhaps stop advertising broken gameplay, it's a slap in the face to us who already play and it's incredibly immoral to use it as a lure for new players.
So yeah, CCP, wake up, take responsibility for your game.
Also, stop introducing crap that nobody asked for, dedicate your manpower to fixing current issues, not gluing sequins to a loaf of steaming "customer service"
Annihilation, Obliteration
Pulses in these veins
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