GhostRaptor_EU

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So what about people like the OP, who have ALREADY had accounts closed because their Maestro card was rejected without any kind of notification?

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As I noted above, we're working as fast as we can to get alternative and additional means of payment available. I'm giving you all as much information as I possibly can as I receive it myself.

Unfortunately, due to many factors, I can't quite yet give full details. There are a few details that need to be confirmed before we send messaging to existing Maestro subscribers - such as the exact date that Maestro will be fully removed - however it will be sent as soon as possible.

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And yet you still failed to provide any warning that Maestro was no longer an option. The only reason this issue has actually been brought to light is because I happen to have two accounts one of which needed reactivating. The policy change actually took place over 3 weeks ago and yet you failed to actually mention it.

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The failure to provide advance notice is something we've already apologised for earlier in this thread. You're absolutely correct, this should have been notified in advance. It wasn't, however we're now working as hard as we can to remedy the situation. I'll provide any new information as soon as I receive it.

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No offense intended GR but that wasn't the question I was asking. Also I can actually read so you don't need to bold things out for me. I'll rephrase my question for you.

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Apologies, I mis-read your post. However, the point I made stands: alternative means of payment are being worked on. They cannot be implemented instantly, however, and I do not currently have any details on which options will become available first. I'll keep you all informed as best I can.

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and what about those who don't read the forums? They haven't even got the warning WE have!

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That's a jolly good point. Hope NCSoft sends out an e-mail warning their users of the issue, unless they're holding out for one or more new alternatives as alluded to by GhostRaptor.

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We're putting together messaging for all current subscribers who use Maestro currently, and it will be sent before before we remove their current Maestro-based recurring billing - along with details of alternative payments as they become available.

This is a policy that Maestro originally intended to enforce from July 1st 2007, however they did not do so and we chose to continue allowing Maestro for recurring billing until such time as the policy became mandatory. That occurred recently (as of July 1st this year) and we are now working on complying with the policy. This is why we no longer accept new subscriptions with Maestro (also applies to reactivations).

Free online gaming magazine Thirteen1 has sent us word they've written an article on City Of Heroes for their latest issue. You can find the article, based on their experiences in Cimerora with a Mutation Controller, on pages 28 and 29 of the issue.

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Ok so I'm safe until October because I pay 3 monthly subs but what about those that want to come back and don't have any means to other than using Maestro? What are they to do in the meantime?

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As noted in my previous reply (bold added):

For those who currently have Maestro on recurring billing, we will be giving advance notice before removing your card from file. We also hope to have alternate payment means available at around the same time (before if possible, ASAP after if not).

We have no intention of leaving any of you without the means to pay your subscriptions. Quite the reverse, we're working as fast as we can to offer expanded options.

The first stage of the required changes was made last week, and only applies to new or reactivating accounts at the current time. It's unfortunate that the change went through without advance warning, for which I'd like to apologise to you all.

For those who currently have Maestro on recurring billing, we will be giving advance notice before removing your card from file. We also hope to have alternate payment means available at around the same time (before if possible, ASAP after if not).

I hope to have further news to share with all of you who use Maestro soon.

*cough* </offtopic>

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Does this mean that it is possible that we will see Maestro reinstated as a billing option in the future, once those procedural changes have been made, or has this change put the complete kibosh on it forever?

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Maestro might be reinstated for automatic recurring billing, but only when/if MasterCard/Maestro make adjustments to their current policies and systems to allow for it.

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I don't believe in credit cards as all you are borrowing is debt, my card is a visa debit card, if this goes ahead then the 3 accounts I am paying for will be cancelled (mine, Mrs ? and Empty Bug), altho i have a year on the card, making it harder for people to give you money is a bit baffling

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As I've noted above, only Maestro is affected. It's not our choice and we have no control over this. We've been notified of a new policy being implemented for online purchases made with Maestro and we are bringing our billing systems into compliance with those policies.

Over the coming months you will see the effects of this new policy across a variety of sites, starting with those who have a high volume of Maestro purchases made through their sites.

Visa debit cards are unaffected at this stage, as this is purely a Maestro change.

Essentially, MasterCard is beginning (as of 1st July) to enforce new anti-fraud policies for Maestro that they first announced (but did not enforce) to commence on 1st July 2007.

These policies will make it mandatory for online purchases to use the SecureCode anti-fraud system. This system requires the owner of the card to enter further identifying information when making a purchase. As we make changes to our billing system to comply with this policy, it effectively removes our ability to automatically bill your Maestro card. The policies also affect any "card on file" transactions (hence, Maestro will no longer be usable in the CoH in-game store either).

Please do not cross post

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hi all FrIce has asked me to post this so you all know that you all know that people are after you account detail, before a redname posts it remember ncsoft will never ask for your password or personal details in email

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Thanks for passing this along. If possible, could you get FrIce to forward me the original message? ghostraptor(at)ncsoft(dot)com

Also, as you all already know, we will never ask you for your passwords or secret question/answer.

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Or push their affiliates 'PaySafeCard'?

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Assuming players want to bother to get another piece of plastic... Making them jump through hoops for my suggestions is enough annoyance to make some people leave...

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Just to clarify (and I see the original post has been deleted) - PaySafeCard aren't an affiliate. They're an accepted method of payment, in the same way that we accept MasterCard, Visa etc.

For those who have Maestro on auto-renew recurring billing currently being accepted, I'm afraid I can confirm this will stop being accepted soon (exact timing will be announced in advance). We're working on alternative means of paying for subscriptions, and we'll also be putting together a list of places to obtain game time cards (as comprehensive as we can).

I've locked this thread because of the direction it has taken, not because of the content originally posted or the actual topic under discussion. Let's get a few things sorted out:

1. Farming itself, as long as carried out within the stipulations of the EULA, is allowed.

2. Looking for additional team members for a team, again as long as carried out within the stipulations of the EULA, is allowed.

3. While many of you may not like farming or the team requests that the farmers send, those who enjoy farming - as long as they do not breach the EULA or forum rules - have as much right to post on the forums as you do. That means that the forum rules, especially those to do with harassment, must be followed by both farmers and non-farmers alike. The right to not be harassed has been trampled on in this thread .

4. If you feel so strongly that a thread like this doesn't belong, send me a PM or email (ghostraptor(at)ncsoft(dot)com) and I'll have a look at it. Keep in mind that if you choose to reply, you send the thread back to the top of the list and thus prolong its time in the spotlight - so if you aren't interested, you might find the better option is to simply not reply and see if it disappears on its own due to a lack of community interest.

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Also, this is the small print...

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5 runners up will win a copy of City of Heroes Issue 12: Midnight Hour

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We now have to pay for Issues? DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

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They'll be full copies of the game .

The dev team were talking about the video while we were over there ... they really enjoy the fan created stuff and are quite keen to help out in little ways when they can.

This time, it's The Sun:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...cle1430929.ece

Entries are open to UK and Republic of Ireland residents over 18 years old only, I'm afraid. And I can't enter either, which is a real shame because:

"WANT!"

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what does it say about NCsoft that they can't/won't accept one of the major payment methods from the UK.

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Re-iterating my earlier post, and with a little more information provided, this was not our choice. The removal of Maestro as an auto-renew recurring billing method for subscriptions has occurred because we are in the process of making our systems compliant with new requirements that MasterCard have put in place for Maestro.

These new requirements prevent automatic recurring billing (as they require the card owner to verify the transaction when it occurs), amongst other things.

Over the coming months you will begin seeing these changes by MasterCard/Maestro impact on other online services and how they are able to handle Maestro as a payment method.

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Also of great annoyance is that while you cna indeed use paypal, you can't use it in conjunction with NCsoft without registering your bank details with them... (however you do not have to do this with lots of other people (my Girlfriend regularly uses her paypal with ebay without having this problem before...)

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The only way we can offer PayPal as an option at all is by minimising the risk of fraudulent purchases. This protects both us and you as a customer. eBay is merely a middleman between the buyer and seller in the vast majority of cases, so they are not a good point of comparison (especially as PayPal is owned by eBay).

heheheh ... this was a fun thread to read . Any other speculation? Any more geese you want to chase across the forum floor?

More seriously, we asked Positron last week if there was anything he could share about it at the current time. Kerensky's putting a little something together and you might find out some more about this feature when it's ready. Let's just say the word 'offline' is meaningful .

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Just look at the Roman TF. the 3rd mission has so many patrols, mobs and etc. it's super laggy doing nothing. And the netgraph shows no network lag there.

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This one should hopefully be fixed, or at least improved significantly, in an upcoming build.

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So... From that, it looks like they WANT to lose one HELL of a lot of players then...

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I have to apologise for the delay in responding to this thread. As I was in the US (and travelling back from the US) last week when this thread was posted, checking up on the reasons for this change took a bit of time.

I'm following up internally today, however I have already been notified that the reason for this change is due to a policy change by Maestro. If it was up to us we would still accept Maestro.

We are currently looking into alternative methods for Maestro users to purchase game time, and I'll post back to this thread as soon as I have further information.

I know it doesn't help now, however the bug with the Lost Cure is on the list to be fixed.

The chat ban issue is separate - if you wish to discuss that one further, please do so in a thread devoted to that topic.

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Wait, so you're actually the ghost of a dinosaur?

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A bird of prey, actually. Usually a wedge-tailed eagle, being as I'm an Aussie and all.

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Time and date? Duh..try looking at the time I petitioned.

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Not always the same time that the problem occurred. Needs to be confirmed.

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Character name? Duh..try looking at the character I sent the message on.

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See above.

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Server? Yes thats a couple of lines down from the character name.

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See above.

You might be surprised, but yes it does happen from time to time that petitions come in where the pre-filled info is not accurate. Hence, the check.

As a recent example, when some players were unable to log in with some characters due to the Aura bug there was a good chance that all three pieces of auto-generated info you mention would be wrong.

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The person I feel sorriest for at the moment is GR, cuz he's got a LOT of inside gen and can't share it. I'm guessing we'll see an exploding GR very sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooon™

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Thankfully I have a long fuse . *checks fuse* ... oh dear, you may wish to run before you get covered in ectoplasm...

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the "offline character reward system" caught my eye too
that's why i came looking here for more answers
but GR already "no-comment"ed that

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I think you'll like it

The Base Raids improvements sound rather awesome as well... (no further comment )