I paid for a year of subscription. Had no idea about a VIP NPC. SSG wont give me the 2 months of rewards I missed.

[Ethril]

Just put the "Claim VIP Reward" button on the Daily Dice UI, or anywhere else accessible from anywhere you are when you're logged in.

As someone who has remembered to turn in all of the VIP rewards, I agree. It's a pain to interrupt what I'm doing to run (or teleport from the ship) to the Hall of Heroes. I don't see a reason for this when it could just be a click to claim like - as you said - the dice rolls.

 

[_fully_carroted_]

As someone who has remembered to turn in all of the VIP rewards, I agree. It's a pain to interrupt what I'm doing to run (or teleport from the ship) to the Hall of Heroes. I don't see a reason for this when it could just be a click to claim like - as you said - the dice rolls.

Adding more daily-dice-style UI is a lot more expensive than adding a quest NPC. That’s why.

 

[Ethril]

The irony there is how much better the interim placeholder was at accomplishing that goal. VIPs were logging every single day.

Not only that, I was logging in to more than one server each day.

 

[Ethril]

Yes, I understand the principle that you're delaying the acquisition of the rewards, of course, but I don't understand why it's that big a deal if you're getting the stuff, anyway. Just a couple of months later than you otherwise would have.

What are you "behind" on. The acquisition isn't a race, is it?

I guess another way to ask is, what significant impact on you is there in the resulting delayed acquisition?

I'd understand the apparent levels of angst if the rewards were significant enough that their delay was meaningful, or if it meant you'd lose out entirely, but unless I'm missing something here, that's not the case, is it?

Let's say someone pays for a year subscription. That's 12 potential VIP rewards for their ~$100. Let's say, as someone else used as a scenario, that person was in the hospital for a month and couldn't log in. They've now paid for 12 rewards, but only received 11.

 

[Ethril]

Adding more daily-dice-style UI is a lot more expensive than adding a quest NPC. That’s why.

Maybe, I wouldn't know how much work adding a new NPC (dialog, art, etc.) takes.

 

[Ahpuch]

Adding more daily-dice-style UI is a lot more expensive than adding a quest NPC. That’s why.

We dont actually know the cost. And more importantly, they created a ui panel for VIP loyalty program. It shows what you have claimed. All it needed was a button to claim the current reward.

It seems they did not want that ease. They wanted VIPs to jump through hoops to make their claims. We dont know why they would have thought that to be a good idea. A reward system that the majority of recipients say is a poor reward system is an odd decision.

 

[Valerianus]

Maybe, I wouldn't know how much work adding a new NPC (dialog, art, etc.) takes.

my dear dudes, no need for a new UI. it can all stay and work like it is now BUT along with the subscription, as a vip perk, you are buying the RIGHT, not the chance, to redeem stuff that gets unlocked month-by-month. one at a time or all at once at the end, whatever, even all at the beginning of the sub why not. because it is a vip perk, not a login reward - gold roll

why is it a perk and not a reward? because it is a fixed list of stuff that is not obtainable by other means.

gold rolls are a login reward, a chance at a slot machine. so if the vips do not log in, is it so bad if they miss the gold rolls? no, not even comparable with a fixed list of stuff that is supposed to be part of a sub. and the gold rolls, well, you can buy them.

 

[_fully_carroted_]

We dont actually know the cost. And more importantly, they created a ui panel for VIP loyalty program. It shows what you have claimed. All it needed was a button to claim the current reward.

It seems they did not want that ease. They wanted VIPs to jump through hoops to make their claims. We dont know why they would have thought that to be a good idea. A reward system that the majority of recipients say is a poor reward system is an odd decision.

I can make an educated guess about UI because they make NPCs all the time but have only done a couple of moline UI changes in several years.

And… what ui panel? I had no idea they actually did it. Where do I see it?

 

[Ahpuch]

I can make an educated guess about UI because they make NPCs all the time but have only done a couple of moline UI changes in several years.

And… what ui panel? I had no idea they actually did it. Where do I see it?

2nd from bottom of menu: “VIP Loyalty Program”. Right between Ddo Store and Main Menu

 

[Drunken.dx]

. What´s wrong with auto-granting the bonus rewards or just removing that time constraint so you can still claim rewards later on ?

Taking into account that VIP 500 monthly points auto grant, this is just spite.

Btw I have EVERY VIP loyalty "reward" but still consider SSG's system stupid.

 

[_fully_carroted_]

2nd from bottom of menu: “VIP Loyalty Program”. Right between Ddo Store and Main Menu

Well, then I take it back. They spent all that UI money anyway, and it was wasted.

Sometimes these guys make me facepalm with both hands. Trust SSG to make pessimism seem like dewy-eyed childlike optimism.

 

[Hobgoblin]

Let's say someone pays for a year subscription. That's 12 potential VIP rewards for their ~$100. Let's say, as someone else used as a scenario, that person was in the hospital for a month and couldn't log in. They've now paid for 12 rewards, but only received 11.

not really? if I started in Feb and don't log in on may I would get final reward on March no?

 

[Ahpuch]

not really? if I started in Feb and don't log in on may I would get final reward on March no?

In this theoritical the VIP sub was only for 12 months. In March you would not be a VIP and could not claim the reward. This has been mentioned a few times in the thread.

They've now paid for 12 rewards, but only received 11.

But as should be clear the VIP Reward Program is not paying for rewards based on the length of the sub. They didn't pay for 12 rewards. They paid for 12 months of access to the VIP Rewards Program. The number of rewards claimable is a range from 0 to 13 for that sub. It is not specifically 12 rewards.

Many can agree that this is a dumb system but pretending it is a different system to make the criticism more forceful is not useful. It is an Access to the Program perk. Nothing more. Cordo's message earlier in this thread talking about the misinterpretation of the rewards program might have been avoided if they had accurately indicated what it was from the outset.

 

[Bobbryan2]

Catch up with what? It's not as if there's a time limit by which you must have the stuff acquired, is there?

Catch up to the other players that had the exact same time enrolled in the VIP loyalty problem?

I feel like you're getting too cute by half in trying to make this a clever situation where no one loses.
But he did lose out on 2 months of rewards. The fact that he can forever make up those rewards means that he will not have the newest rewards until his 2 month delay timer expires on those.
is that the end of the world? No.

But if it happened to me, I'd be peeved enough to make a forum post voicing my displeasure. I imagine I'm not the only one.

 

[Knightrose]

Look man it's simple. We pay for something we should get it. There's no reason to play with our time and money in an unfair and unprofessional way. It causes stress to the player and it's bad marketing for a game that already relies on word of mouth promotion to get any kind of traffic. I'm putting up with only because of my commitment and nostalgia. Perhaps that's idiotic to some but I know others can understand what I mean. I'd rather see my favorite only hobby treated well and properly taken care of. That includes me, us, the customers.

 

[Mornyngstar]

The really easy thing to do so everyone can achieve the maximum is that the program lasts only 2,3,4 or 5 years and then stops. That way anybody can eventually catch up and there will be no arguments about I am 1 month, 2 ect behind. This will also mean that we can't look forward to year 10 or beyond Loyalty rewards so that is a disappointment but it solves the issue.

 

[lilgeek]

It is a poor design because I paid for something that should have been automatically provided after they received my payment. It is not like other areas of the game don't have automatic distribution or holding of items, even if I don't pick them up immediately. Giving the customer the sense that fraud has been committed against them is moronic at the minimum and an outright hit to the bottom line at the worst. This flies in the US, perhaps because there are minimal protections, but in the UK, it's not going to go so well when they open the server there.

So let's restate your argument: if I buy a year long National Park pass and don't go to the National Park for six months, am I a victim of fraud?

 

[Ethril]

But as should be clear the VIP Reward Program is not paying for rewards based on the length of the sub. They didn't pay for 12 rewards. They paid for 12 months of access to the VIP Rewards Program. The number of rewards claimable is a range from 0 to 13 for that sub. It is not specifically 12 rewards.

Yes, but that's not how most people (it seems) understand a "loyalty program".

 

[Ethril]

not really? if I started in Feb and don't log in on may I would get final reward on March no?

Are you talking about March of the following year? If so, then no, unless they re-upped their subscription.

 

[Ethril]

So let's restate your argument: if I buy a year long National Park pass and don't go to the National Park for six months, am I a victim of fraud?

That's apples to oranges. A more similar comparison is if someone pays for a year of VIP and doesn't play the game. No one is arguing that that wouldn't be solely on the person buying the VIP subscription. Or, to put it another way, it would be like paying for a National Park pass that ALSO included a free coupon in your e-mail every month, but only if you talked to a park ranger. There is absolutely nothing preventing them from sending the e-mail and talking to the ranger is just a burden.