Release Notes - June 2nd, 2009
 

Release Notes - June 2, 2009

Improved Early Player Experience

• Early Quests have been modified for better playability, including Quests to find the first three Black Pearl crew members and Quest lines related to the Voodoo Doll
• Introduced new tutorial pop-up hints. These hints can be turned on and off from the Game Options Menu (F7)
• In the Cutlass tutorial, Pirates are now shown the skills they can earn later

Transportation Enhancements

• Added new Dockworker NPCs to help Pirates stowaway on ships. This is a new transportation option which helps Pirates reach their destination without sailing a ship or needing a Teleport Totem. To become a stowaway, find a Dockworker on the docks of Tortuga, Port Royal, Padres Del Fuego or Cuba and pay him the gold he requests for the service.
• Added 38 new, player-submitted ship names to the Shipwright's Ship Naming Menu

Technical Enhancements

• Changed enemy difficulties in areas throughout the game for better playability
• Added Chat Permission Status to the Pirate Profile Panel
• Added an option to toggle on and off Windows Sticky Keys (this option is disabled by default)

Additional Improvements & Bug Fixes:

• Changing Cannon Ammunition types no longer restarts the recharge timer
• Made several bug fixes to NPC's: returned Navy Sailors to normal heights, enemies no longer ambush players and enemies will no longer attack Pirates once you leave their area
• Better feedback/flow for guild name requests
• The loading screen now appears when starting game instead of a black screen
• Polished the drop down Main Menu and Escape key interaction
• Made several improvements to the Ray of Light to address tracking and hint problems
• Removed the Quest completion percentages from the Journal page
• Re-enabled the "dazed" effect above a Pirates head (for higher-detail graphics/effects settings)
• Fixed a bug where your ship's repair spots would not be available even when the ship was stopped
• For security reasons, we have removed the ability to tab between Linked Accounts on the Pirate selection screen. Please sign in with the appropriate login and password for the account you want to play

The no more linked accounts did make it to open! The cannon change now allows you to reload a faster cannon type then switch to explosive so no more long wait to fire I thought they changed it before to prevent this!

Wait a second?! We cant link accounts anymore!!?

It appears that this one is going to cause quite a ruckus!!!

I haven't logged in yet today, to see if it is actually implemented. This has been a major discussion already.

If this has been implemented, then there is virtually no reason to have linked accounts anymore.

It appears they have brought the entire latest Test release to open.

"For security reasons, we have removed the ability to tab between Linked Accounts on the Pirate selection screen. Please sign in with the appropriate login and password for the account you want to play..."

This bites. I play with my sons and now I will be limited which characters we can choose from. Everyone should send a complaint - ASAP!

It is a big update!
It took over 10 minutes to load via my wireless account.

AND, they took away the ability to toggle between accounts. The selection arrows are gone!

This is really going to cause trouble for families! I know of about 10 or 12 in Dueces Wild guild alone who use a basic account so that they can link back to an unlimited for multiple players. Families are getting the shaft here. Multiply that times the number of guilds out there, and they have just eliminated about 15 % of their players.

Everything else on here is great except that last note. Its not that bad for me because I only used the linking so I could play twice on there, but I feel sorry for everyone else who used this for not having to pay for 2 accounts.

And how is this for security?! This is just to tick us off thats what it is!

Everyone really needs to contact Disney about the linked account item and lodge their complaint. Enough dissatisfaction may get them to change it back.

And if they're absolutely NOT going to back on this, they better offer a way to transfer characters to another account. I share my own account with Z and we both have 2 pirates on it.

This is absurd.... Im definitely complaining to Disney about the no linked accounts thing. I may even protest and not pay lol.They better either change this or distract my anger with some very big updates ;)

I agree with Sven that everyone needs to contact Disney about this one. I have already sent an online complaint, and am waiting for live chat support right now.

I suggest that everyone do the same. SWAMP them with complaints about this one. Even if you don't use linked accounts, your friends do! Think about it. Families that have a single unlimited account, but two, three, or even more players in the family, only one at a time will be able to play unlimited. The others will be stuck in basic. Also, since they already have their established pirate on the family unlimited account, they won't be able to access it.

So, if you don't use linked accounts, your friends might. How many husband/wife/son/daughter/siblings use this method to play together??

One last item about this, so that I don't turn it into a total rant, I don't play on Toon Town, or any other Disney game, but did they ever stop the ability to play linked accounts on any of those other games? If not, then their excuse here of doing this for "Security reasons" is just bogus carp!!! They are just trying to force families into paying for more accounts!!!!!

I'm writing my letter right now and for anyone who is writing them, please be civil. Yes, let Disney know how mad, frustrated, irritated, etc you are, but they aren't going to listen to an all caps marathon of yelling and uncivil unrest. You know what I mean, aye?

And Basil, I don't believe ToonTown or any other Disney game had the linked account ability. I can understand shutting off the Linked Accounts behavior on the Test environment, but not Open. For shame, Disney.

Just my personal opinion..
 

Do the whole pirate community a favor and go to http://apps.disneyblast.go.com/cgi-b...nline/form.tpl and fill out your info. Then make your complaint to them to reverse this "so called security update" that kill linked accounts.

Toontown does not have a linked account system, most players on there that need to be able to run 2 at a time purchase a 2nd account. I have played there for many years and I have a few friends that have 2 accounts on TT.

That's quite true. I've played TT for many years. It's 10 times the game POTCO is but it's had years to develop. The linked account feature was POTCO's best selling feature for me and my family. I had hoped that TT might adopt the feature so my whole family could play together without paying huge sums. Doubt many of us have lots of cash to throw around these days. After having linked accounts for nearly 2 years, calling this move just a security update seems like a slap in the face.

I haven't sent it yet but is this good? I'm not good at writing these type of things, lol.

"I believe that getting rid of the ability to have linked accounts is a big mistake. I hope it will be changed back to the way it was. There are families and friends that use linked accounts to be able to play together, now they cannot. Calling this move just a security update seems like a slap in the face. "

I wouldn't use the "and friends" phrase in the third sentence. That is exactly the thing Disney is trying to prevent. Multiple people using a single paid account.

Ok ill take that out. ty :)

Already sent mine... was very civil and mentioned that I play with my young sons as a family (which is very true). Basically, implied that as players - we have been VERY patient while waiting for updates and improvements, but that this change is detrimental and needs to be undone.

My letter has been sent. I got a little wordy and hopefully not too carried away but... things have just got to be said!

Ok here are the new enemies in this update:
Navy Dragoon- lvl 20s bayoneter
giant fly trap- lower than regular
rancid fly trap- better than earlier
corrupt stump- renamed
undead dueler- mid 10s swordsman
undead brute- just like undead pirate
undead mutineer- low lvl dagger guy
dire scorpion- sort of like the giant
undead executioneer- mid 20s to 30s swordsman
soldier wasp-mid 20s wasp

anybody see any others?

Nice Sven.

My letter is sent as well. Let's hope they listen.

Sven, I just read your letter and I don't believe anyone could have said it any better. Its perfect and just what Disney needs to hear. Not sure how I'm going to top that on lol

Maria, I just write what I thought they needed to hear. I may have gotten carried away a bit. You may be amazed how much you can write when you just go with it.

I think it's more important for Disney to hear from everyone on how each one feels about what they're doing with the game. We're the customers here. They need to be reminded who they're making this game for.

This is ridiculous. It seems like they're doing everything they can to drive away their players, and they're succeeding.

I'm done.

This should be obvious, but if you use linked accounts, make sure you send a feedback form from EACH of them!!! They are each active and viable, and they each need to voice an opinion!

How does this impact
 

I have not checked this out yet - - but how does this impact your "player friend list"? (you know, the people you can play with no matter which pirate- on any account). My newest pirate is on a different, linked account and I have not bothered to make regular friends with my player friends with them because when I logged into my old account - and arrowed to my newest account - my player friends were there. Are they gonna be there when I log into my newest account? My player friends are like my best buds and I gonna be upset if I have to get them on my newest account's player / friend list. BTW, I have three unlimited accounts that I have been playing for - one for me, one for the kids, and one that the kids / I share. I will be submitting a complaint from all three accounts. :zn3lp2:

Horrible horrible updates!!! This is the worst choice Disney has ever made...

lol this is stupid security reasons? LOL HAHA

Totally erased mine from my second account. All I can say that's appropriate here is grrrrrrr.

It impacts it in more ways than one. Say, someone you want to avoid at the time is player friended to your main account, you could log on through a basic account and be safe. Someone player friends you on a linked account, you can't see them again unless you re-player friend them.

Those are just a few ways, but there are plenty of reasons, both obvious and not obvious.

well i dont have 2 accounts but i feel bad for the people that do
as for the other updates new ship names yeah i have 3 other pirates that need new ship names when i get their war fleet :buds:

the cannon reload thing finally now i don't have to wait so much

the guys in the shipyard that will get u to the tpable islands this is going to be a pain
with all the noobs in padres!

im really mad at POTCO that they took the percentage thing on the quests away
cause now when new quests come out were never going to know how long they are till we finish them and why take percents out of the game its E 10+ is Disney
saying 10yearolds are dumb and cant figure out percents? not good Disney :degen:

No more linked accounts........... worst idea to come.

I notice they have now taken the Live Chat support offline.
This is the only way to get technical support of the game, as their voice lines offer no technical assistance, only minor issues, and billing assistance.
They themselves have told me this each time i've called with technical issues.
Im guessing they are getting a bit overwhelmed by the negative feedback.

I wondered how long it would take.

WTG pirates!!! Keep bombarding them. Keep sending in feedback, and as soon as you see live chat back up, go through there again. Someone is bound to see the shear numbers of negative feedback on this one.

Thanks, Zep for telling us.

Haha, way to go everyone. I wonder how long that it will remain offline?

Curious. You think the Online Guys are yelling back to the Development Office?

"What the HELL did you guys DO?!? Fix it!! We can't take all these calls!!"


GO TO THEIR SITE... Post (nicely) in all of the new Grog Blog areas about this.

Don't forget to post on the blog everyone!

Not just the blog. You can also leave comments on the "Current News" under section "Important Account and Customer Support Changes" where it says "Tabbed Accounts". It has to go through a moderator, and I have NEVER been able to post there OR in the Grog Blog, but it doesn't hurt to try!

Speaking of the blog, I was just on the main site, and it appears that the link to the blog is "missing" right now! Either that, or these tired old eyes just can't see it.

lol, looking at the current posts there, I find it funny only ones that are positive towards the updates make it, not ones that tell the truth about it :D

I"ve added my dimes worth to every spot available on the POTCO site...none have them have showed yet. Wonder why...

Just bumping this post,thats ok right???? :)

Sven,

Actually I did read a negative post, but they're not going to post many if any more. But, I guarantee you someone is reading them.

And at some point, when someone who wears a tie to work sees all the negative stuff heaped up - they will make an executive decision to protect their money.

If you are playing or will play tonight - ask ALL of your guildies and crewmates to post a blog or complaint. INNUNDATE THEM!

Didn't notice the negative one, but your right, none more will go at this rate lol

Zilly,

I hope you don't mind, but I moved this quote to this thread from the poll thread. (If you don't agree, just say so and I will delte or modify it.) This is exactly the type of info that Disney has to be told.

Just like Sven Niscadae's letter above, here are some ideal words to send to Disney.

I say boycott Potco!!! Protest!!!

Protest with feedback. They'll never know how many are disgusted if you don't tell them.

I have posted and submitted complaints everywhere I could find, emphasizing I will absolutely not be renewing.

I have sent them feedback, they haven't sent me a reply yet.

I can't imagine how many complaints they must be getting at this point. I wouldn't be surprised if they start sending a copy and paste response. I bet the first few complaints got real answers though. Hmm, we shall see I guess.

My Submission:

-----

G'day

I must ask what is with the removal of linked accounts? Now me and my little one's pirates are useless as we cannot play together.

Calling this a "security" feature is just a cover for "money for two" accounts - its a poor choice as when my renewal comes up there will be no money spent for either (and since I pay yearly for me and my little one to play - the loss is only to you and not to my pocket).

This was a POOR decision, and from what I've discussed and read from others has only pushed the breaking point with many subscribers who have been loyal paying customer - while no new major story has been released since the game appeared in 2007 (which is when I joined).

Players for over a year have been forced to "entertain themselves" with Weapon Upgrades, A Few Side Quests and looking at new Towns where NONE of the REP earned counts - and now families cannot even play together.

Instead of wasting time on such matters try FIXING the Glitches which affect PvP and SvS and release the next storyline already.

Very Disgusted,
Maximvs (Used my real name here for the submission)

---

I'm sure they are trying to kill the game off... it is the only reason that they would continue to do these kind of actions...

grr...

Im about totally disinterested now. They think this will HELP with banned members???

Those people just create new basic accounts! Not used linked ones!

They have basically eliminated family play - I was always a big POTCO supporter and player, but Ive about had it.

Im ready to walk entirely now.

Yeah, you tell em Max!!! Disney :degen:

An official statement from Disney Online has been posted to the Grog Blog, reposted here:

Nice job Disney...instead of "fixing" the security issue you do this!!!???


i'll be sending off my thoughts to Disney after i get home tonight.

Yes. thank you Disney for that "wonderful" statement. I guess we are doing our job though.. They are clearly feeling the heat on this one if they posted this. And in regards to that data, how did they get it I'm wondering :-/ .... And I agree, why was this "solution" not implemented when they RELEASED this??? Seriously, who is running things over there? Clearly someone is not thinking clearly.. or they are taking this pirate/rum thing a little to seriously.

There are 2 GM pirates on right now on antik server tortuga talking about the eict lol. In front of the tortuga dock.

Dear Jason,

We apologize for the confusion regarding Linked Accounts and for any
inconvenience it may have caused.

We have removed the ability to tab between Linked Accounts on the Pirate
selection screen. This feature was being exploited rather than being
used for its intended purpose and compromising the safety of other
players. We take the safety of our guests very seriously and did this
strictly to address security concerns.

While we have removed the ability to tab between linked accounts,
accounts can still be linked allowing families to still have multiple
accounts and pay for those accounts through one primary account.

We?re working on a solution that will directly address your concerns,
until then, please access the account you want to play directly by using
your account information.

Thank you,

Garon
Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Online Member Services

EDIT: Just got the exact same response for my other account. Except the second one was from "Robert"

ALSO, I call bull on this one. If they were getting enough complaints to make a statement on the grog blog and close down live support, this OBVIOUSLY affects more than "an extremely small number of players." I would sure like to know where the heck they are getting that kind of information.

HA. Just got the same exact response in my mail, except from "Beenish". Keep sending the message gang.

Yep, same response here, from Robert.

Same exact 2 responces.

I wonder how long they plan on keeping this up. I too sent an email to them in response to this. I'm not gonna post it like everyone else did, its pretty much the same exact thing, I just threw in a few thoughts towards their "reasons it was removed".

The suggestion for bans - Say I got my main pirate, Sven O'smythe banned, and that I have 3 accounts linked together. I log onto my linked account, then attempt to switch to my other ones, only to find out that my main one was dropped from the group.

What I pretty much meant by that (that wasn't the way I worded it either), any account that is banned should be dropped from the group of linked accounts, and not be added again until the ban is up, may sound dumb.. but look at their response to it -.-

For Test (again, not how I worded it) - Same as the banned accounts in a way, except a little differently. Heres another example, I have three linked, two were invited to test, one wasn't. I attempt to log into my uninvited one, it won't connect. But if I attempt to log into my invited ones, I can easily switch between the two (without the uninvited one showing up).


Well, thats pretty much the just of my emails to them. As I said above, I didn't bother to put much thought into it, doubt even if it was good it wouldn't be used.

For suggestion about the banning, how about banning the avatar that was used? And if they need to get rid of the pirate permanently, alert the parent's email, and delete the avatar that keeps getting suspensions. Pretty idiot-proof solution.

Nice idea truffleboy2894, I had that somewhere in my email too, its probably the best solution for them to take.

I got same message from Robert.

Just got the same response from Tyler -_-

That's it.. I'm responding to that e-mail.. let's see if they respond with a REAL answer this time....

Ok people, time for another rally; RESPOND TO THOSE EMAILS! :D.

So... what happens when they run out of names for people in the back O_o?

Sarah's reply was from Beenish - they already ran out. :laughks2:

Rofl, true... well, at the rate we are going, we might see a lot of names. Then again, last time I had a few emails back and forth with Disney, it eventually got to be too much that they forgot to include a name - keep it up everyone!

They still haven't replied to my initial one I sent several hours ago -_-

Ughh! This one really breaks the straw for me!
I also e mailed them complaining and letting them know that I will not be renewing and got the same lame response.
I posted some "negative" comments on the grog blog under both updates and neither were posted...what a surprise.
Their so called update has done nothing but change the name of enemies.
We still have NO real new content.

Excellent job disney...:degen:

Don't worry, they will, and it will probably be the same e-mail as we all got from a guy named John this time :laughks2:.

This entire uproar reminds me of Disney's doing in media and movies. Disney is big in the media and is in part with 4-5 other companies who control all of media and an entire culture in end. They created all these laws out of desperation to get rid of the few people with enough nerve to record and pirate movies. Basically,

Doesn't this sound incredibly similar to what's happening here?

After-all, didn't they say they wanted to rid of this because of the select few desperate to escape bans and suspensions?

My response to their response ;)

http://www.piratesonlineforums.com/f...blog.php?b=676

HAHA! Good work Pirategirl09!

Nice job Jules!

Exact same response, but mine was from Gwen. I still call BULL! There is only one statement in that response that tells the truth:

This is it. They are telling us the truth here. If you want to link your accounts so that it is EASIER TO PAY for them, then that is what we (Disney) will allow you to do. Otherwise, there is ABSOLUTELY NO PURPOSE to having linked accounts.

I looked it up. July 10th was the date last year when I stopped paying monthly and went to an annual account. SOOOooo, unless something major happens, (This gets fixed!) July 10th is the date my account will go to basic. Since I am Mastering my 4th pirate tomorrow, that is 4 fully mastered pirates going into retirement.

Very nice, Maria. My reply to their reply wasn't as eloquent as my first letter. There's only so much restraint in my world.

My closing statement says it all though, I think.

At least some of you got a response - I guess I was not even worthy of having someone send me a message...

I must admit - working the last 8 weeks as much as I have and not playing as much, I have missed talking to my friends but not the hassles of this game.

Though I'm not speechless, I guess I'm just overwhelmed with the continued 'mis-guided direction' the game continues to travel.

A sad day indeed :(

Awesome letter! My feelings exactly.

I think that Disney wants everyone to buy their own account instead of having linked accounts! If you think about it, this might be their "desperate plan" to get money because of all the people leaving POTCO! We should boycott POTCO to get playing rights we deserve!!!

Disney:degen:

Absolutely excellent letter... I hope Disney considers changing this. Its ruined gameplay for many, if not most families who play together.

And, I thought if anything, Disney was supposed to be family friendly.... sigh...

Disney does not give a hoot about all these complaints, this is their attempt to clear our as many people as they can to fully justify killing out the game for good. I have seen this coming for a while, they are doing this just to tick people off, and get them to leave. They are doing this to justify letting the game developers go. When subscriptions drop again, they will probably end the game. I dont have any facts to back this up, but I have been reading between the lines for a while now. This game could have been so much more, but they dont want to fund it, it is obvious now with this crazy update.


:SkullBullet1:
Larence Tuppington

A thought that will probably happen at the rate this game is going down.....

(not to break us off the flow of comments about linked accounts)
Has anyone noticed that the percentages on quests have "conveniently" been re-added?

Well then if they can re-add those - they can re-add Linked Accounts if they know just how disgusted we are! ;)

On another note - since this IS an update - has anyone looked at the new ship names? I didn't get to check yesterday.

Fight on Pirates!

Admin GM Cayman Trench

Thanks for your feedback regarding the change made to Linked Accounts. We understand your concerns and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you, we'd like to take a moment to address your questions and comments:

Q: The Linked Accounts feature was implemented from the beginning, and used by a large number of subscribers and families, why remove it?

A: We removed the feature because it was being exploited more often than it was being used for its intended purpose. Players were using it to work around suspensions and holds after these players were removed from the game. In addition, many players were allowing other players to access their account with the feature too - In both cases, this compromised game security on several levels. Please know before we implemented the change we collected data on exactly how many people would be affected by it, in reality this change affects an extremely small number of our players.

Q: With this update, you have effectively made my character (that I have spent many hours to level and master) totally inaccessible.

A: If the character you're trying to access is yours, you should have the account information to access it. If you don't remember your account information, please use our Account Services to recover your Member Name and Password. Can?t remember your password or account information, then use the links below for help:

Forgot Your Account ID?

Need to Change Your Password?

Q: Is this so Disney can make more money on subscriptions?

A: We did this strictly to address security concerns. We?ve removed the ability for you to tab between linked accounts, not to link them, so families can still have multiple accounts and pay for those accounts through one primary account.

For the few families that actually used the feature to play with other members of their family at the same time using the same account, again, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. We're working on a solution that will directly address your concerns, until then, please access the account you want to play directly by using your account information.

Thanks for all your great feedback. We know any change takes some getting used to, but feel the change will not only improve account security but help make the game better as well by making players more responsible for the actions of their own accounts. Keep those comments coming!

The fact that they posted this within 24hours means YOU the player are having an affect!

DON'T LET UP!

Tell ALL your guildies and mates to post complaints about this! If they are trying to weasel out this quick, then they will FOLD if we keep pushing.

If you have family or friends who will suffer from this, mention that. If you have accounts in any other DISNEY Online Game - WARN them that they may lose your business!

If Disney is TRULY trying to kill the game by running off their Unlimited players, what option is there? All of us continue to play free - so they have to leave their servers running?

Funny, I never got that form letter and I complained on at least three occasions, including a follow-up to that lame excuse blog. I posted it as a separate news item so more folks will see it.

Just because a full day has passed, don't stop!

Bombard Disney with your complaints. Even if you don't have/use linked accounts, your mates do. If we don''t keep the pressure on them, they will let this slide quietly into the background.

I would recommend (if I may) that it appears that Big D is still working on a fix for the issue WITHOUT going back to linked accounts.

Think about it--AOL (yeah, I know) would allow multiple users on a single account, but oine couldn't use multiple users at the same time. They fixed this (years ago) so now a family can have a single account and log in from multiple computers in multiple locations simultaneously. It seems like that's the direction this is going. At least to me.

The fight is to be able to use multiple pirates on a single account at once, right? Therefore, THAT is the result we want, NOT just being able to access linked accounts again.

Hang tight all--voice your opinions, please--but make sure Big D knows what you REALLY want is to access multiple pirates on the same account at the same time, okay?

Well put, and thanks for moving my posts to the appropriate threads.

Keep bombarding them pirates! We HAVE to let them know we're angry!:degen:

I'll be organizing an Abassa riot this weekend, I'll post the exact times.

I agree Bart D needs to have a family account option that would allow it to have multiple pirates logged in at the same time, even if there was an additional fee for this as long as it was less than the regular monthly fee then everyone still wins.

Well, based again on precedent (AOL again) there's no additional fee for accessing any of those users on a single account. If they allow us to make 4 different pirates we should be able to access each of those whenever we want. Nobody's hurting anybody by allowing this to happen. Can't see a reason to add a fee to that.

Before we get too carried away, check out this post: http://www.piratesonlineforums.com/f...ad.php?t=11658

It appears to me Disney is still working the issue.

Agreed. It was free and worked well before, having to pay extra for accessing multiple pirates on the same account is exactly what we DON'T want.

They did say they were looking for a solution to address our concerns, but then again - they lied outright when they said this wasn't going to open in the first place - who's to say they aren't just saying that without actually intending to do anything about it? They probably think if they let it go long enough, we will forget about it and just give up.

Response to my response -

Dear Jason,

We're sorry you have decided to cancel your subscription to Unlimited
Access in Pirates of the Caribbean Online. To cancel online if there
are no other accounts linked to yours, please log in with your Account
ID and Password at the link below. This page is also available from the
"Membership Options" section under "Account Services":

https://apps.pirates.go.com/pirates/...ntcancel/login

Hope that this helps you complete your decision.

Robert
Pirates of the Caribbean Online Member Services


Oh yes, they seem very sorry.

edit: Woops, double posted myself.

I understand nobody wants to pay more but Big D loves to charge for extras look at Cars online to get somethings you have to buy disney liscenced products to get a code to unlock things in the game. I was just saying that a small fee for one upgraded account is better than currently have to pay for multiple. I am sure the removal of the linked accounts was an attempt by Disney to increase the number of paid accounts with sooo many protesting by going back to basic or leaving the game Disney has had to cut dev budgets which is delaying the new content even more, the fewer that pay to play the longer it will continue to take to get more content out there.

Yes, Crazy - BUT there is an old adage, you must SPEND money to MAKE money. Also, the customer is ALWAYS right. I've been in service long enough to know that you don't win new business by ticking off the very people you seek income from.

Just submitted my comment, here it is:

Hoping to get a reply soon, I will post again (or edit this post) when I get a reply.

EDIT
Here's the reply:

SVEN - Love your letters! I got the same form letters back from Disney and it just made me more upset. Calling in to customer service is a joke and rates have gone WAAAY up for renewal!

So I made it official after all this junk with linked accounts and did NOT renew my membership with Disney today. I had a main account with my fully mastered pirate and linked my son's account so he could play with the benefits. He is 12 and we played online together many, many nights at the same time with out computers next to each other. It was a lot of fun and I am going to miss the game and the friendships I have developed online.

Yes, I have seen several people use the linked account feature to avoid bans. Removing linked accounts will not stop people from misbehaving. This will only encourage them to try harder to find ways around it and make the game worse in the long run.

I hope the powers that be realize that this was a terrible idea to remove the linked accounts feature and restore the fun for those that were using it for its intended purpose.

-Ella Spizwackle

P.S. Did you see that the rates went way up anyway?!?! Geesh!

They RAISED the RATES?!?! I didn't even look yet!