Quote:
Originally Posted by Platinum Pirate
Crim, replying to your ticket doesn't need to be negative in tone. You have an opportunity to reply to their response as well in a positive way and clarify any points you wish to make so that the higher ups do in fact know where you are coming from. That representative will forward your reply to the higher ups as well and tell you so.
It's really a win-win situation for you. One voice can make a difference by being persistent with their passion.
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I thought about it and decided to go deeper. My response to Disney, should anyone desire to read it). If and when they respond, I shall update.
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To Whom It May Concern and to the Concerning of Whom It Applies:
As you stated in the earlier email, "We make updates and changes to the game according to what we hear as feedback and new additions to the game. In fact most of the changes that have happened in the game have been specifically for these reasons."
Therefore, based on this claim, I would like to relinquish a few creative ideas that stem from my earlier points (The 2000-signature Petition; The third-party hacking; Minimize to Maximize; Don't fix something that isn't broken; Be interactive; Renovate the islands; Make the game more movie-driven; Introduce more movie-driven environments; Monthly updates; Better customer support; Care about your game)
Throughout my life, I have played three online-based role-playing games, which include Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Online; Aeria Entertainment: Shaiya; Pirates of the Burning Sea. I would like to introduce some 'features' that would enhance Pirates Online.
The petition seems to address a broad spectrum of ideas, from the introduction of new content to the fixation of erroneous facets. My suggestion for this would be that Disney enhances its communication with its players. If you rely on feedback, encourage communication. Responses (and guild name approvals) should not exceed 24 hours, and if the information is being passed along to the 'right people,' I would like a response from them.
The third-party use within the game. If the Staff were having trouble with certain players, my suggestion would tie in with 'Minimize to Maximize.' The game hosts 'Crew Day' events in the game, but when a player goes to the dock, there is no one to be found. Game events are spread over countless servers where GM's, who spend about 10 minutes on them, are hopping just to greet everyone. Pirates of the Burning Sea and Shaiya have about 5-6 servers which hold hundreds, even thousands of players. If you want to expose unruly players, expose them to the game populace. They would be reported and your daily activity of finding them would be lessened. Not only that, fewer servers would encourage player interaction and allow the Online Staff to create content with ease (without mass-producing it), maintain speed and server stability, and allow the GM's to actively engage with the players.
But, if the game holds only 5-6 servers, that would eliminate the desire for players to level alone, right? Well, certainly, but that should come in with the introduction of movie-driven content and environments. Pirates of the Burning Sea and Shaiya have hundreds (I mean it), hundreds of environments that players can visit. I do not expect the Staff to make such a goal of establishing that much content, but with fewer servers, the Staff would be able to increase the map size and make a few introductions. I would say to increase the level cap to about 100 and introduce new story lines, something to keep the players going. (I'm not trying to compare here, but perhaps to enlighten the Staff for creative outlets, or bring to light the option of "If you enjoy these games, why play pirates?" Well, I enjoy Pirates all the same) In Pirates of the Burning Sea, Black Bart lays siege on Tortuga and ravages the Caribbean to which the French, Spanish, British, and Brethren Pirates ally to defeat him. The conflict with Roger seems to be going nowhere. Also, Pirates Online does have some French/Spanish/British aspects in the game. During the 1700's (the era which Jack Sparrow is in), the British were not the only entity within the Caribbean. Introduce Spanish and French ship enemies in the game (As Jack himself encounters them).
Pirates Online is VERY guild orientated. It is very uncommon to find a player who does not have some guild affiliation. I would suggest the Staff to make some form of a Guild House, like the Underground Parlors, to which a specific guild would only have access. Introduce a guild treasury where a guildmaster, and guilds, would have to pay to maintain those Guild Houses. Also, Shaiya has a 'Guild Battle' feature, where guilds enter into a specific area and fight enemies for something called 'Etin,' the currency to pay for said Guild Houses. Allow guilds to enter an atmosphere where they fight off Roger's invasion on both land and sea. A big feature that players desired was trading. Allow players to trade gold, clothing, weapons, etc.
I digress. Don't fix something that isn't broken. I have my environment setting set to the highest degree. I admit the environments are nicely designed, but it could use some improvement. (I recall the lava flowing on Padres, not the lava being stoic). Many clothing options were taken out, along with many facial options. Why are you reducing?
Be interactive. As I said, with those 5-6 servers, establish a national chat feature (enabled/disabled) that would allow players to talk to each other and perhaps organize events. This would also allow players to contact a GM (one of which should be playing during most of the day) if the player should need it. This could also help deal with the cracking down on hacking, unruly players, etc. What happened to the Marceline Guild? When Sparrow 'died,' his crew did not perish with him. When Barbossa 'died,' his crew did not disband. Just because Captain Walter is gone does not mean the Marceline Guild should be absent from the game.
Monthly updates. I admire and appreciate the Peddler Merchants, but honestly, why just new clothing? Most games have about 10-20 things to release every month. Let us examine Pirates Online New Archive: the last update in this tab dates March 19, 2009 with "Celebrate St. Patrick's Day." What is today's date? January 26, 2013. As I scroll down this page, particularly when the game opened, there are listings (about 5-10 in total) in a single DAY. Excuse my language, but what the hell happened to this game? There is no reason why one game (for example, Club Penguin) should receive preference over this. If Disney is operating these games, MAINTAIN them. If you do not care about it, shut it down then. Pirates Online had gamer cards stocked in stores, advertisements decorating television networks. If the Staff does not care, then tell me. I will delete and remove my account as such and go elsewhere. I created my account roughly in February of 2008. I created the guild Crimson Squad with hundreds of players and said my goodbyes to every one of them. Disney continued to breathe life to which I created -Crimson Squad-. Again, I said my countless goodbyes. If this streak continues, I dare to say my last farewell shall be to Disney itself. Not to mention, I began playing when I was a teen. I have come to witness the game progress in its entirety and watched the changing of the tides. Do not give credence to the saying that time decays all things.
I look forward to your response (and again, please do not give me a pre-written response). I apologize for the length, but that should suffice for receiving an equally thought-out response.
Best regards,
Anthony (Crim)