Question on dropping Station Access - typo in FAQ's I hope [Archive]

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SythRavenha

03-14-2007, 12:05 AM

Greetings,With the upcoming price increase on Station Access I will be dropping down to just a regular EQ2 account. I know that I will be losing character slots, and I am prepared to delete some much loved characters. I know I do not have to delete them as they would remain in the background and only the last 'x' number I have logged in prior to the downgrade will be available. My problem is the 'x' number above. Will we get six characters total, or four? I thought we got four extra slots, which means I would get to keep six characters. I think most people believe this, but look at this FAQ from SOE on the question.Please notice the BOLD Italized text and now you will know why I am concerned. It might just be a typo, but I want official clarification for SOE and not some random player (no offense folks, by I just can't trust this to assumption, given SOE's recent track record of absolute GREED). This comes from the FAQ in the Knowledge Base that the price update link directs you to"<a href="http://help.station.sony.com/cgi-bin/soe.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=13179" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://help.station.sony.com/cgi-bi...p?p_faqid=13179</a>################################################## #################"24. What happens to my four additional EverQuest II character slots if I cancel my Station Access subscription or let it expire?You will only have access to the four additional EverQuest II character slots while you are an active Station Access subscriber. If you cancel your Station Access subscription or let it expire, but continue with your EverQuest II subscription, you will only retain access to the four most recently played characters on your EverQuest II account and you will lose access to the other characters unless you delete one or more of the most recently played characters (then the next most recently played character(s) will be accessible)."<a href="http://help.station.sony.com/cgi-bin/soe.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=13179" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"></a>

SythRavenha

03-14-2007, 01:28 AM

Oh, and on another note ... what kind of crap is this?? ############################25. If I have access to the EverQuest II Bloodline Chronicles Adventure Pack, EverQuest II Splitpaw Saga Adventure Pack, EverQuest II The Fallen Dynasty Adventure Pack from my Station Access subscription and I end my Station Access subscription, do I lose access to the Adventure Pack(s) content? Yes. You would have to purchase the Adventure Pack(s) if you cancel your Station Access subscription. ############################So, one of the selling features of Station Access was we that access to these 'one time fee' add-ons was included in the price we paid. This was sold as part of the reason that Station Access was such a great deal.It might be legal, and it might be in the FAQ (now) .. but that sure is a shoddy way to treat customers who have stayed with a company despite constant price raises and higher costs than any other game in the industry. And yes, this is the truth, because to get 10 character slots you had to get the Station Access plan which was $24.99 (a tad cheaper prior). The major competitor gives you 10 slots PER SERVER for $14.99 I believe. Since a high percentage (more than most people think) of players were simply paying the extra amount for the characters slots and expansions (some might have had it originally for EQ1 or SWG, but those people have all but quit playing those games now), I see this as theft by deception. Even if it is legal, it goes to prove my previous note about SOE being greedy.

Nulad

03-14-2007, 05:24 AM

The character thing is a typo, you will have access to the six characters last played. The whole adventure pack debacle is what made me drop from the plan too, they were originally toted as being yours free if you had the pass, so long as you had been a Station Access Pass holder for three months before the adventure pack was released, at some point it was changed to being a 'rental' only and the loss of access to them would result from dropping Station Access, It was never advertised if I recall correctly, or if it was it was done very very quietly, pure bait and switch in my opinion.

Wingrider01

03-14-2007, 08:30 AM

<cite>SythRavenhawk wrote:</cite><blockquote>Oh, and on another note ... what kind of crap is this?? ############################25. If I have access to the EverQuest II Bloodline Chronicles Adventure Pack, EverQuest II Splitpaw Saga Adventure Pack, EverQuest II The Fallen Dynasty Adventure Pack from my Station Access subscription and I end my Station Access subscription, do I lose access to the Adventure Pack(s) content? Yes. You would have to purchase the Adventure Pack(s) if you cancel your Station Access subscription. ############################So, one of the selling features of Station Access was we that access to these 'one time fee' add-ons was included in the price we paid. This was sold as part of the reason that Station Access was such a great deal.It might be legal, and it might be in the FAQ (now) .. but that sure is a shoddy way to treat customers who have stayed with a company despite constant price raises and higher costs than any other game in the industry. And yes, this is the truth, because to get 10 character slots you had to get the Station Access plan which was $24.99 (a tad cheaper prior). The major competitor gives you 10 slots PER SERVER for $14.99 I believe. Since a high percentage (more than most people think) of players were simply paying the extra amount for the characters slots and expansions (some might have had it originally for EQ1 or SWG, but those people have all but quit playing those games now), I see this as theft by deception. Even if it is legal, it goes to prove my previous note about SOE being greedy.</blockquote>The statement concerning access to the AP's have been there since it was first offered, nothing new. This is a business, cost of business goes up, deal with the increase or not. EQ2 is not the only game in the package that they offer similiar bonus's IF you have Station Access. EQ1 gets 2 additional slots, Vanguard gets 4 additional slots, pirates you get 2 player card decks, so EQ2 is not unique for that

Jal

03-14-2007, 08:44 AM

With SA i got for free the adventure packs which ive used numerous times and the character slots which ive barely used. I have also used it as intended to play multiple games. People saying SOE is greedy for doing the same thing all along is ludicrous, the value of SA to some may have gone down due to how they used it but for its intended audience the deal is still good. I only have one account but i have SWg and vanguard which i occasionally like to play with EQ2 as my main focus, for me SA still does what it says on the tin. People should focus more on SOE providing the alternate services such as pay per slot extra character and the like. I'm sure they realise this is a big deal to their customer but would need tome to setup the proper billing and server side details if they choose to allow it.

SythRavenha

03-14-2007, 09:21 PM

<ul><li>Actually Wingrider, multiple sources on other posts have older FAQ's about Station Access and that particular question was not on them at some time in the past. As another poster here said it, they sold it as you got the expansions for free originally. They said nothing about 'rental'. So, as for your business model, that means they are liable for a lawsuit. </li></ul><ul><li>Jalek, I understand what you are saying, but the harsh reality of it is, 8 character slots or more should have been there from the get go. To say the pitiful little amount of space taken up by extra characters is a major drain on the servers in total BS. I am a programmer, and if those four extra character files take up any significant amount of space on the whole, then the coding has to be absolutely craptastic. Now, it would be one thing if they allowed 10 characters per server instead of a whopping 10 per account regardless of server, as that might add 200% to the space requirements, but that's not what they do. </li><li>If the real target of SA was the multiple account subscribers as you believe, then SOE should give everyone 10 character slots for free with subscription ... SA or non-SA ... end of story. After all, any effect it would have SA subscriber totals shouldn't bother SOE because the intended audience as you put it, is dual gamers. Any extra SA subscribers they got in the past because of the extra slots were just gravy to them, and they should not be displeased if they lose them and also give them 10 character slots in the base subscription.</li></ul><ol><li>On a side note .. I give up on trying to format this thing. I edited 5 times but this board software has to be the worst I have ever seen for WYSIWYG editing. Sorry it looks so bad but hoefully the bullets help.</li></ol>

TSR-JasonC

03-14-2007, 09:42 PM

<cite>SythRavenhawk wrote:</cite><blockquote>...continue with your EverQuest II subscription, you will only retain access to the four most recently played characters on your EverQuest II account and you will lose access to the other characters<a href="http://help.station.sony.com/cgi-bin/soe.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=13179" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"></a></blockquote> Yes, that's a typographical error. They meant the six (6) most recently accessed characters. Alternatively, you can use the /camp character command to play the "hidden" characters.

Wingrider01

03-14-2007, 09:49 PM

<cite>SythRavenhawk wrote:</cite><blockquote><ul><li>Actually Wingrider, multiple sources on other posts have older FAQ's about Station Access and that particular question was not on them at some time in the past. As another poster here said it, they sold it as you got the expansions for free originally. They said nothing about 'rental'. So, as for your business model, that means they are liable for a lawsuit. </li></ul><ul><li>Jalek, I understand what you are saying, but the harsh reality of it is, 8 character slots or more should have been there from the get go. To say the pitiful little amount of space taken up by extra characters is a major drain on the servers in total BS. I am a programmer, and if those four extra character files take up any significant amount of space on the whole, then the coding has to be absolutely craptastic. Now, it would be one thing if they allowed 10 characters per server instead of a whopping 10 per account regardless of server, as that might add 200% to the space requirements, but that's not what they do. </li><li>If the real target of SA was the multiple account subscribers as you believe, then SOE should give everyone 10 character slots for free with subscription ... SA or non-SA ... end of story. After all, any effect it would have SA subscriber totals shouldn't bother SOE because the intended audience as you put it, is dual gamers. Any extra SA subscribers they got in the past because of the extra slots were just gravy to them, and they should not be displeased if they lose them and also give them 10 character slots in the base subscription.</li></ul><ol><li>On a side note .. I give up on trying to format this thing. I edited 5 times but this board software has to be the worst I have ever seen for WYSIWYG editing. Sorry it looks so bad but hoefully the bullets help.</li></ol></blockquote>Lawsuit? cost of that would be more then buying the ap's. go back and read your terms of service that you agreed to when you set up the account contract, it specificly includes information for a lawsuit, you would spend more on the initial visit to the lawyer.They are giving stock subscribers free slots - when the game originally released there was only 4 character slots available, they upped it by two later in the release. This is a business, TANSTAAFL - server level redundant fail over array boxes that also has good performance for database are not cheap, the cost of them will make the accountants cry. The additional benefit of the slots where not in when the game released, the slots for station access where added 12/09/2004 AFTER the release of the game<a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=64175" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...?topic_id=64175</a>that is the original post for the slot availabiliy for SA subscribers, as you can see it was originally announced as a benefit of station access

Nuhus

03-14-2007, 10:19 PM

<cite>Wingrider01 wrote:</cite><blockquote>SythRavenhawk wrote: They are giving stock subscribers free slots - when the game originally released there was only 4 character slots available, they upped it by two later in the release. </blockquote> Are you sure? granted I have a bad memory, but I don't recall that. I do recall them upping the SA account slots by 2 extra. Seriously though, I don't think the conversation is relevent. (more aimed to the op, not you wing) AP's were another added perk, you lose that when you dont have SA.... It's been known for a while.

TSR-JasonC

03-14-2007, 10:24 PM

Thanks for the help, Wingrider, it is accurate and appreciated. Unfortunately, I am instructed to lock this thread, since it is wildly off-topic for this forum. This is the technical support forum. Issues with policy, account, and billing issues are not allowed here. For assistance with issues related to those topics, please contact Account/Billing support via the following methods: <a href="http://station.sony.com/email" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Email</a>, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week <a href="http://station.sony.com/chat" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Live Chat</a>, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding some holidays Telephone: +1.858.537.0898, 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday, excluding most holidays