Special Treatment & Favouritism?

[Mysturji]

On the subject of favouritism and special treatment, how long are 'Founder/backer' players going to keep on being rewarded above everyone else?

People who have just as much interest in the game now and contrubute just as much if not more, are receiving less content than those who signed up first. Had I even known this game existed earlier, I probably would have backed it. But I didn't even know it was in production until after it's general release.

They can't keep doing it forever surely? Especially once the game is 'complete' new players are going to be be pretty annoyed if they get less content that people who signed up several years ago and may not even be playing anymore!

Check my sig.
First, nothing and no-one stopped you from contributing to the Kickstarter. You say you weren't aware of it at the time. Fair enough, but why should anyone else be punished for your ignorance?
Second, it's precisely because of the Kickstarter backers that this game exists at all. Sorry if that's inconvenient for you.
Third, once a Founder, always a Founder. You want to revoke my Founder status? How would that work, exactly? Or maybe you would like FD to renege on their promise to give me the free Lifetime Expansion reward that they promised? Again, how would that work?
Nothing lasts forever, but I don't doubt your interest in this game. Why doubt mine? How very dare you!

 

[deleteduser]

I see nothing wrong with promoting groups in community spotlights etc, but when you are offering people material rewards in game because you (Frontier) approve of how they play, on some arbitary basis, that crosses the line (imo) because its sending a wider signal about what you approve of. and how we should be playing the game where we are supposed to have infinite freedom. As well intentinoned as this may well be it is, in my opinion, its not really satisfactory either.

This just isn't a valid argument Cosmos.

Firstly 'basis' & 'arbitrary' are mutually exclusive, but being less pedantic; yes FDev makes the decisions as to what is 'approved' gameplay. If Elite was an open-world of infinite freedom, that would be a decision made by FDev, a signal of approval for a specific style of play. FDev, like any game's developer make their preference felt through the types of missions available, the type of mechanics available, the ships & equipment available, the content locks and progression rewards for completing given tasks.
Fdev decided to reward a style of play by a group of players, which promoted Elite in the wider world, positively engaged this game's non-aligned players and contributed game content of the rest of Elite's players. Let's hope this acts as an incentive for others to take a pro-active role in gameplay creation, and maybe we can avoid so many 'X is a grind' threads.

How you can consider FDev's actions to be anything less than exactly fair is beyond my understanding. I respect that you have an opinion and that you've voiced it here, but the opinion appears to be contrary to the concept of 'fairness', IMO.

 

[Zac Antonaci]

I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one and its worth pointing out here that I'm not, nor have ever tried, to make this personal - unlike the many reponses I have recieved for simply stating an opinion. So no one at Frontier should have hurt feelings. Yes, its a criticism but its also a concern I have. I'm sorry to say though Zac that like it or not Frontier (imo) has shown signs of favouritism over the years, whether it be the slanted choice in moderators, and how thats been used to oppress and stifle the debate, alienating many, or how you deem certain actions in game more valuable than others. Its something I've never seen before and struggled to understand re a computer game. Its not just me who has this impression either. The forums here are often refered to as an echo chamber, sorry for spoiling the status quo.

You site examples of the Fuel Rats and DW but thats a subjective choice as to what has merit in the game, in celebrating them you are making it clear what is deemed acceptable or how you want people to play because of the absence of recognition of others. By all accounts they have made a significant visible contribution but as I said I still think the material rewards and promotions (hey you have them on the front page of the elite dangerous site) is far from being unquestionable.

I see nothing wrong with promoting groups in community spotlights etc, but when you are offering people material rewards in game because you (Frontier) approve of how they play, on some arbitary basis, that crosses the line (imo) because its sending a wider signal about what you approve of. and how we should be playing the game where we are supposed to have infinite freedom. As well intentinoned as this may well be it is, in my opinion, its not really satisfactory either.

As for being negative, I'm simply stating my opinion, I have never particuarly enjoyed calling Frontier out on certain things either, but what are you suggesting, I should shut up? Fine. It seems only certain people and groups around here can make a complaint, air a concern..

Close the thread, I'm done with this forum.

A lot of points here. Yes, I think we will have to agree to disagree. The main things I would just clarify.

Getting a decal for fantastic community contributions doesn't mean you have to fit into a play style. It means that you have done something that has demonstrated a huge amount of effort or community activity. It could still be PVP or "PVE" based. It could be as pirates or Truckers. We aren't defining the style of community contribution. But if you're suggesting that this rewards positive community contributions rather than negative community contributions (for example no one is going to get a decal for killing loads of new players) then yes, it does reward that.

I am also not suggesting you should "shut up". That's not what I said. But I do think it's fair to highlight that this argument is all about perception and how you perceive these interactions. As I said, if we allow ourselves to look negatively on things (which can easily be done) then you end up in a situation where you do nothing. Ultimately, given my role, I will always support the promotion of great community contributions. That's not to say you can't have a criticism, we aren't perfect and I will accept criticism for sure, but this is more about the way you view those interactions, in my opinion that this kind of activity should be celebrated.

 

[RobLocksley]

<snip>
Close the thread, I'm done with this topic.

Still focusing on the negative. As someone else posted, you have had quite a few posts trying to engage in disscusion but been overlooked and instead the inflamatory posts have been addressed as to look to be the majorety.
Yes you have been attacked but many posts have been trying to engage in discussion and ignored - that irritated me greatly and is why I take your objections more and more as self entitled. You might have a point but you don't engage in those who wonder if that point has as much merit as you would give it.

Indeed, close the thread as there is no 2-way discussion - only onesided diatrade [hotas]

 

[vrseven]

As for Customer Services apparently playing favorites, this is untrue. If the player who encountered issues was due to a bug or an exploit, more chances than not, Customer Services will restore part or in full of the commanders profile. If Customer Support is freely restoring content to commanders without a backing reason for it, than by all means, do let me know.

Customer Support sometimes cannot do a full commander restore due to how the backend servers store session and commander profile information.

Hey Brett, I was told MANY times by customer support that I could not get certain items or exploration data back after losses due to bugs. That is not the case. Others players have gotten their commander data restored COMPLETELY, even when being destroyed to the same bug. I have discussed this here and on the Steam forums. I have gotten different results myself depending on which CScmdr I have dealt with. Sometimes I would get credits, sometimes credits and Combat bonds/bounties, ect. So it is true and thanks for replying.

 

[Falcon_D]

Right.
Wanted to quote Zac but his was a really long post.

I vote to give decals to the Cannon, the Rifters and a First Contact decal to CMDR xdeath and the other CMDR who first found the alien crash site.

P.S.: Not being sarcastic but I really do feel that these guys deserve some in-game recognition.

 

[Cypher2139]

Surprised it took 63 posts for that bit of blatant and mindless envy to come up. You cannot or will not add what the Kickstarter backers added to the game (full disclosure: I am one):

• They made the game possible that you were either blissfully unaware of at the time or did not want to back
• Many invested a lot more than the current purchase price, sometimes hundreds of pounds
• Many provided feedback and invested their time in the design decision
• All Backers took the risk of not receiving anything in return for their investment

For that, we receive a few benefits. Mostly access to Founder's World, a slightly better starter ship for many (i.e. Eagle instead of Sidewinder). Anything beyond that (Lifetime Pass, Beta Access etc) was directly tied to money. Hey, I don't even get a Kickstarter decal!

Just to clarify, it's not envy in the slightest. I have already earned access to the Founders World by becoming Elite ranked. I have no need/desire for the Cobra MkIV, and I wouldn't use the Beta even if it was available for free due to the lack of progress carry through (few people have time for that). It was just the principal I was bringing attention too, personally I think once the final season lands the benefits stop, as the game you backed is 'finished'.

I would however argue that your comment of "You cannot or will not add what the Kickstarter backers added to the game" shows a huge amount of arrogance and blatant disregard for the efforts and contributions of the thousands of current players who aren't Kickstarter Backers, who are constantly adding to/changing the way the game is built.

 

[CMDR Ellegon]

Here's a crazy idea: release a decal editor like CoD's. Everybody's happy.

Then we end up with naughty things created.

That one is easy to solve. Charge a small fee (real money, say 2 or 3 GBP) to activate the decal outside Solo, enough for someone to take three minutes to check it and push a green or red button.

 

[smiths121]

OK slow learner.

Page 17 and it suddenly dawns on me this thread is not about FD being pro Empire and anti Fed.

Given I do not want to join a large group, I am sure you can understand just how disappointed I am.


Simon

 

[MottiKhan]

...
Close the thread, I'm done with this topic.

I think we have enough here to say goodbye to this.

 

[Winterwalker]

I don't think it hurts, at all and is a good incentive to get involved with a group/the game
By the way, I have like a million tons mined .. where's my "miners do it with limpets" decal??

Probably with my 'Explorers do it in the Asp' one.

Traders do it with Bio Waste ..
Smugglers do It with Imperial Slaves?
Forget decals! Where's the bumper stickers at? lol.

... DBOBE is my copilot.
or .. How's my driving? Dial 1-800-eat-laser
and .. My other ship's a Triple A rated Clipper

edit: off topic obviously ... baby onboard ;p

 

[raymondo the great]

Instead of decals for certain cliques (For that is what they are)

We should get Decals as a substitute for achievements.

Been to Beagle Point? Decal
Sag A*? Decal for that!
100 ELWs discovered? Decal
Rank 5 Powerplay? Decal specific for each faction
Loads of smuggling without being scanned? Decal
Loads of trading without dying? Decal
Kill a Conda in an Eagle? Decal
Refuel a commander out of fuel? Decal

Etc etc, it can all be done without any need to have joined some sort of "special group" or team that most people playing never even know exist!

*"Loads" to be defined but in the 10's or 100's of millions.

 

[Robert Maynard]

That one is easy to solve. Charge a small fee (real money, say 2 or 3 GBP) to activate the decal outside Solo, enough for someone to take three minutes to check it and push a green or red button.

.... which would leave the opportunity in place to take debug camera shots of decals that would not be approved for multipplayer and, if self-published, could be taken as representing approved decals....

 

[Marshall...]

I think Frontiers community engagement is fantastic. It really sets the bar for other devs.

The decals etc, as far as I'm aware, are for player groups that have been adding content and/or supporting the games community.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

@Cosmos.

If you don't want the thread to descent into negativity, spend a little more time addressing the constructive posts, and a little less on ... other posts. I have seen quite a few good responses which couod have led to a good discussion but were left to the side of the thread.

 

[Brett C]

Hi all, by request of Cosmos, I'm going to go ahead and close the thread.