Friggin_Taser

Yeah, I just got a response from the GM where he tried to "show his math" proving he was right about how many Reward Tokens I should have.

He came out with 33 tokens. Even though I have 34 and have used 34 and he even mentioned 34 in a previous sentence, he was confidant with his response to me that he just proved I should only have 33 tokens.

I... don't know how to combat something so very incorrect.

What I would love to see is an easy to read and an easy to find list that not only shows you what games you bought and added to your account and what boosters you added (I still have some in my PlayNC Account just listed as GAME that I had to guess at), but also a chart that simply says the day each reward token was earned via in-game time, the day any token was earned via points purchases, and when the next token will be awarded to you based on your current subscription.

I've had difficulties in the past with the veteran rewards system where it seemed some GMs didn't believe free months added with Mac Pack or the Collector's Edition counted while others did. I was hoping that, since this is a fundamental part of our paid subscription as VIPs now, this system would be more uniformed, clear cut, and easier for both GM and player to understand.

So far it is not.

I start this thread after reading Zwill's many posts in the community digest about this very subject and walking away feeling like I'm sure he did: confused and a bit punch drunk.

When issue 21 hit last month, it hit on the exact day I was to receive my next veteran reward. No harm, no foul. But it definitely gives me a marker to look at going forward.

So this month rolls around and my billing date comes and goes. I notice the character transfer token and I notice the bonus VIP points added to my account, but no reward token. So I petition it.

Keep in mind, one of the perks of being a VIP is supposed to be excellent GM support. I have seen how wait times have improved since the launch of Freedom, but I have also seen a marked difference in what the GMs seem to think is reality and what the community reps and devs posting here on the forums think. On subjects such as the Widow second costume sex change bug, I have been told one thing that completely contradicts what I was told here.

My petition goes through and is escalated with the usual pleasantries and form responses. I don't have a problem with that. But after 5 days I received a response from a Senior GM telling me basically everything I already know about Reward Tokens and that I have already received my token for the month of October.

I haven't received any tokens since the launch of Freedom. Did that launch include a bonus token? He didn't say. He did try to tell me that I have exactly how many tokens I should have, though, which would have been fine but he was off by 1... the 1 I was petitioning him about. The GM also seemed just as confused as Zwill about when these tokens are to be rewarded.

So I ask Paragon and NC Soft: will every month be a fight to get this part of the VIP account I pay for? If so, I don't think it's really worth it and it certainly doesn't exemplify premium, paid-for customer support. With this system in place, there should be a quick and easy window on the Paragon Rewards menu that shows how many tokens you have earned and when you received them. The system in place now where us players pretty much have to do the math using our PlayNC Accounts is not up to snuff. This information should be available at a click of a button, up to date, and factual.

I don't, but I've learned to live with having a Ranma-esque transgender Widow at this point. The female Widow is the traditional Widow outfit, the male is a new costume I made out of CoT, Valkyrie, and Superscience.

It's still a huge bug and should be on the known issues list. Support tells me they are working on a fix, but I can't, for the life of me, think how they will go and retroactively adjust dozens of Widow's genders with a script or a bug fix.

One thing, developers. Do not give into temptation and go overboard with this new Silent Movie course of action. While you might receive the praise and admiration of the beltway and its various Magicians, tap dancers, and two man comedy acts, you have to play it cool.

Do not attempt too much, too soon, and introduce a Mummenschanz epic archetype:

I feel your pain, Feycat.

So I implore the devs to rethink Freedom. Sure, free to play is a great idea and all the new content is excellent. It's just the presentation that's wrong.

The public, as demonstrated by this thread, requests, nay DEMANDS, City of Heroes: Silent Movie.

Give us all the silent action packed missions we've come to expect, but just pause the action anytime something needs to be said so a tile card with narration can come up. This way people who hate sounds, are colorblind, or just miss the Vaudeville circuit can come and enjoy this game the way it should have been made in the first place.

Also, create a "Scamp" AT.

I was recently told something by a close friend about the recent launch of Freedom that has caused me grave mental and (in some cases) physical pain. It turns out that when the developers launched this new Freedom application, they did so without first wiping out all the sound effects and music cues from the game.

Listen folks: I don't play this game to hear "power effects." Have you heard hasten lately? I just assumed that with a large influx of new and returning players, the developers would see this oversight and correct it by making City of Heroes completely muted, allowing, nay forcing, all of you to do what I do: fumble around missions looking for the last glowing objective while listening to podcasts.

Now, I'm not saying I'm going to quit over this, because that's physically impossible to do with a free to play game. And I'm not even going to stop giving Paragon Studios and NC Soft my money every month. But I will be turning up my "Literature Review For People Who Own Dogs" podcast EXTRA loud the next time I have to disarm 10 bombs as a sign of aural protest.

Tried zoning and nothing helped.

I petition'd it and got the response of "This issue will be addressed in an upcoming patch."

And now we're back in this blah blah blah quagmire.