OK, I get a little wiser as I continue to get older (much older it feels like) and it was a good thing I slept on it. Here's my take now. (Executive summary for those of you that won't read all this: I'm staying, but pre-setting conditions upon which I will leave)
The game is still fun and the guild and new relationships are what I most enjoy these days. Initially, at least, the so-called Exchange Servers will be limited to new servers if I read the letter correctly. While I feel like what SOE is doing here is 100% hyocritical, bordering (or full into) unethical, and demonstrates an outright lust for money over understanding what's important to players, but some of you may be right, we on the non-Exchange servers are mostly unaffected.
I will point out now, however, that my first assumption about anything SOE says is absolute rubbish. I was probably stupid for taking them at their word in the first place, but I am absolutely convinced that they are lying on this one. Their words say that a "significant percentage" expressed "some level of interest" in having these kinds of servers. The poll was supposedly conducted amongst players of EQLive before EQ2 was launched. To me this means a few things:
1. They didn't get a majority percentage so they called "significant percentage" enough to justify what they were always planning to do anyway.
2. They fully intended to do this all along anyway since it was polled for long before EQ2 was released.
3. They manufactured their "significant percentage" by presenting a biased poll. I haven't seen the poll but when they say "some level of interest" that tells me that there was likely a range that went from "not interested" to "maybe interested" to "somewhat interested" to "fully interested" or some iteration therein. If you add all the other "interesteds" and exclude the "not interesteds" you probably get a "significant percentage."
4. Building a process to host this sort of thing is not simple. If they plan on releasing it soon, they've been working on it all along. No way they crank this out over a month's time.
5. They have lost touch with or simply have no regard for what the actual game players think.
With this broadening insight, I now choose to proceed with my eyes as wide open as I can get them (assuming that I am not yet dastardly enough in my thinking to predict the next ridiculous move by SOE). My conditions for continuing are as follows:
1. Highkeep server does not become an Exchange server. They did say that they would convert old servers if the demand was "high enough." They failed to define "high enough" nor illumine us on how they intend to determine that. This essentially sets them up to convert servers on an arbitrary whim. If it happens to Highkeep, I'm gone. After penning a letter to Smedley, of course. The reason is because a) I don't want to be on one of those servers, b) this will split our guild. Despite the fact that SOE will "benevolently" allow us a one-time free move to a different server, it screws the guild, the guild accomplishments, etc.
2. I do not personally witness a bunch of bots & farmers at work. I simply don't have the energy or patience to report these and I certainly don't have the faith in SOE that they'll give a flip anyway. If I see them in increased numbers (because I've already seen them), I'm just going to hang it up. No sense putting up with it.
3. Our guild needs to update its charter. We must assertively state that: We will not accept botters or farmers. If someone transfers a character from one owner to another they're out of the guild. We will not tolerate outside of the game purchases of items, money, characters, etc. Any that do are instantly booted, no second chances.
4. If I start grouping with people that have bought their characters and don't know how to play them and I start dying as a result. This will undermine my confidence in my fellow players and will discourage me from grouping with non-guild members. Much as I love my guild, I believe we need to group with others outside the guild to get our guild name out and demonstrate our competence. When this goes away, a major component of what a MMORPG is goes away.
5. If I can't complete a heritage quest or harvest a node because the botters have them camped.
6. If bug fixes come EVEN SLOWER because the programmers now have to either come up with two fixes each time (one for Exchange servers and one for non) OR if all the fixes suddenly start flowing to the people that have the money (e.g. the Exchange servers).
7. If I can't buy a rare item from a broker (because they are all listed elsewhere).
The reasons listed in Smedley's email for doing this smack of a team that was assembled to justify in consumable terms why the sudden reversal in policy was "necessary." That Smedley put his name to it mystifies me. What a pile of contrived hooey.
Seriously, how does this approach address the customer service call issues they have now while THERE ARE NO EXCHANGE SERVERS? How do the Exchange servers alleviate the current problems? What motivation do the botters have to move their operations to the Exchange servers where everyone will be able to do it? And how will SOE be able to enforce a no-botting, etc. policy now that they are essentially making it OK elsewhere?
(grammar edit)
Message Edited by Hrogath on 04-21-2005 10:37 AM