Should Support Occasionally Say No To Reimbursement?

[Dbrn47]

Should the Moderators occasionally say no to Shadragon posts?

Since we can't prove it's all abuse and waste all the time, I'm going to go with no until we see some evidence.

 

[Devari]

I think another concept which is not difficult to understand is that people are taking this game way to serious. It also explains all the idiotic discussions we have on this forum.

Well to be fair the issue of ship reimbursement is a big deal issue for many players so I understand why it generates a lot of interest. It's not just an issue of "immersion" or "quality of life" or "improve the grind" or "make the game easier" or "make the game harder" posts that we usually see flooding the forums, reimbursements relate to cases where players have lost ships where they have often invested considerable time and effort. Frontier also seems to understand this as they have generally been very good at giving out "bulk" reimbursements for widespread game bugs (Skynet NPCs, NPC maneuver bug, etc.) in addition to maintaining an extremely well-run Support service so they seem to consider it an important game issue as well.

 

[babelfisch]

Well to be fair the issue of ship reimbursement is a big deal issue for many players so I understand why it generates a lot of interest. It's not just an issue of "immersion" or "quality of life" or "improve the grind" or "make the game easier" or "make the game harder" posts that we usually see flooding the forums, reimbursements relate to cases where players have lost ships where they have often invested considerable time and effort. Frontier also seems to understand this as they have generally been very good at giving out "bulk" reimbursements for widespread game bugs (Skynet NPCs, NPC maneuver bug, etc.) in addition to maintaining an extremely well-run Support service so they seem to consider it an important game issue as well.

My opinion (since it's what this thread is about) is that nobody should expect support to reimburse you if you lost your ship without experiencing a bug, but nobody should be mad about them if they do. It's basically an out-of-game action for the kid that dropped his ice cream. Not because someone pushed him or a bird took it, but because he was careless. I wouldn't blame parents if they get him new ice cream and I wouldn't blame them if they don't. I would blame everyone who thinks they are entitled to blame them though. If that makes any sense.

Personally I would never ask them for reimbursement, not even when I lost my ship due to a bug.

 

[Devari]

My opinion (since it's what this thread is about) is that nobody should expect support to reimburse you if you lost your ship without experiencing a bug, however nobody should be mad about them if they do. It's basically an out-of-game action for the kid that dropped his ice cream. Not because someone pushed him or a bird took it, but because he was careless. I wouldn't blame parents if they get him new ice cream and I wouldn't blame them if they don't. I would blame everyone who thinks he is entitled to blame them though. If that makes any sense.

Personally I would never ask them for reimbursement, not even when I lost my ship due to a bug.

Well that makes more sense, I thought you were asking why players seem to care so much about ship reimbursements in general. You're wondering why some players care so much about whether someone ELSE might be getting (or not getting) a ship reimbursement in any particular circumstance when it doesn't affect them directly. I think that's more of an issue with some players who expect a 100% consistent game experience and it "bothers" them when other players might be getting something that they didn't get themselves. They want the game to be as "real" and "immersive" as possible and it bothers them when 100% of people don't follow the same rules 100% of the time.

Ironically, having an actual person showing sympathy in these types of situations is actually MORE immersive and representative of real life experiences so I think it's just that some people can't handle when something isn't 100% consistent. They're probably also the same type of people who would complain if someone was able to talk their way out of getting a traffic or speeding ticket because it wasn't "fair" in their mind.

 

[Yank31]

Why worry about what happens between two other parties? We can't go around being in-game moral police. Our individual Gamer Ethics are for us, not to be imposed on others. In the end, if FD think a reimbursement is warrented, let it happen. Anything else is just pressing our views on other players, and the Dev's.

Yes if the game was 100% solo.

It's not about being moral police, it's about making sure rules are applied consistently to a multi-player game shared by everyone that plays it.

People may say it doesn't affect them, but they are mistaken.

And yes if the game was 100% multi.


But, it's E, a mixed bag of everything. So yeah, the case by case approach does look appropriate. Also, it's sort of a niche game, with... arguably a slow patch rate, you probably don't want to deter your playerbase. So probably case by case + slightly biased toward helping, rather than not. I guess it's fine.

Tbh, this whole multi-mode thing + the ability to freely switch to any mode at any time + the combat log... I mean... let the support help whoever the hell they want, and just be happy for them. Dangerous is only in the title.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

We've all seen threads where people have had ship losses due to various reasons. The general reaction is "put in a ticket and get reimbursed," which most people do.

HOWEVER, if the game truly is Elite: Dangerous (emphasis mine) shouldn't Support be a little less, well supportive. If the loss is due to a game bug then yes, I agree with granting a ticket. However, if:

- you accidentally boost inside a station and ram into the back wall in your shieldless T-7 loaded with Imperial Slaves
- you leave your ship to grab some dinner. While away, your ship runs out of gas and takes you to the rebuy screen
- you have six+ million in bounties in a RES, shoot a SecShip by accident and get mauled
- you rig up a new combat Cobra, drop into a USS, deploy weapons against two NPC Vultures and your shields/systems power down leaving you helpless while under fire.

Then why should Support reimburse you? In the above cases, pilot error is the cause of the loss (PS. those are real world threads I've seen since being on the board.) If you have the rebuy covered, no worries. If you don't, then shouldn't you get kicked back to a Sidewinder? I'm certain you won't do the same thing again.

I know why Frontier has that loose policy, it's great PR and it does feel great when you get your stuff back, but that removes any suspense / tension and no one is held responsible for their actions (or idiocy.)

Anyway, I thought I'd ask the question.

I've never asked for a re-imbursement. My flying is so bad, they pay everyone else.