I cant launch my ships!

[sukael]

Originally Posted by lostinthelab

live chat is now blowing people off ("diligently working on it")

If they actually are working on it, is there really anything else they can do? Front-line tech support people in any organization are usually about the farthest you can get from actual software devs.

[lostinthelab]

Since these are two separate issues,

Originally Posted by sukael

If they actually are working on it, is there really anything else they can do?

Yes. They can offer to compensate you for the time that your game was not playable as normal which has undoubtedly decreased enjoyment; which is what keeps people paying month after month. It's a small thing to offer (since not everyone is experiencing this) and goes a long way to good will.

My assertion that the 'diligently working on it' was a placating nod to the problem was that prior to Captain Dobie telling them that he already knew that it was an ongoing problem from these forums, he was lied to and told basically that this was the first they'd heard of it. It would appear that whoever he was talking to (1) couldn't bother to read down the list of known problems to find that one; (2) when caught in the lie, uttered forth the known customer service phrase that causes people to say 'ok, well then, thanks. I'll go away now;' and (3) if instance one and two have happened, I seriously doubt that the customer service agent put in the trouble ticket.

In my experience, the more instances of a problem that you can get in and look at, the more likely you are to figure out why it's happening. But if they're not being reported, the developers can't possibly begin to see what is causing this problem which means that it will take longer for it be found and eradicated.

Originally Posted by sukael

Front-line tech support people in any organization are usually about the farthest you can get from actual software devs.

Yes. This is true. However, they are the first in line to deal with the customers and hear about the problems. They are the ones responsible for reporting problems to the organization, not dismissing people with platitudes because they don't want to do work.

People are leaving the game in droves. (I know this because I haven't seen many of my good friends in months. The game is also much quieter than ever before.) Let's wait to see what happens once everyone has a pirate that has a ship stuck at sea.

[icanhazuber]

Originally Posted by sukael

If they actually are working on it, is there really anything else they can do? Front-line tech support people in any organization are usually about the farthest you can get from actual software devs.

There is a reason why Developers do not take direct contact from people in games, they wouldn't get work done. This is done in all games that you play. There is nothing more a technical support person can do for you. It's not as simple as you all think it is to fix an issue in a game. First a code has to be tracked down that may be causing the glitch or bug. To track that down you first have to figure out what is causing the bug to happen. Than you have to change that code and make sure it does not conflict with other code. Then you have to test and fix till it is good to go to a live server as a patch.

The game is still playable and for people to ask for free time makes no since. I would start to ask for free time if I were not able to play at all because of a bug. Not because a feature in game that has some temporary faults.