Release Notes - June 2nd, 2009

[Eliza Creststeel]

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

[Stephen O'Malley]

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

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

[Crazypirate]

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.

[Bartholomew Foulsteel]

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.

[jason davy]

Originally Posted by Bartholomew Foulsteel

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.

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.

Originally Posted by Bartholomew Foulsteel

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.

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.

[Crazypirate]

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.

[Eliza Creststeel]

Originally Posted by Crazypirate

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.

[Andrew]

Just submitted my comment, here it is:

Dear Pirates of the Carribean Online Crew,

I noticed in the recent release notes, for Pirates of The Carribean Online, that the option to link accounts was removed:

"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 is extremely unfair to players who can not pay for 2 accounts, it makes it harder on them. The option to link accounts was a great idea by Disney, it made it easier on members to not have to pay for 2 accounts, it also made it easier for families and friends to stay closer on the game, and know where they are.

In my honest opinion, I think the option to link accounts should be added back to Pirates of The Carribean Online, for the better part of POTCO.

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

EDIT
Here's the reply:

Hello Andrew,

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 continue having
multiple accounts and pay for those accounts through one primary
account.

Please read our updated comment on the Linked Accounts news in the Grog
Blog:


http://apps.pirates.go.com/pirates/v...portant_accoun
t_and_customer_support

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,

Jordan
Pirates of the Caribbean Online Member Services

[EllaSpizwackle]

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!

[Eliza Creststeel]

Originally Posted by EllaSpizwackle

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

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

[Batleth]

I just check the official site and the rates seem to be the same as they always have been.

[Basil Dreadflint]

I just looked and didn't see any rate increases.

$4.95 first month $9.95 per month thereafter
$49.95 for 6 months
$79.95 for a year

I may be wrong, but I think these are the same rates from when I started 16 months ago.

[Eliza Creststeel]

They are. Ella, where did you see the price was changing?

[wmah]

Ella,
that just make me think of something,
Those that get suspended or banned will just make a basic pirate and go in that way so they can do the same stuff that got them in that mess anyways. Only difference is now they will show as a different pirate name (or not) and they will be a basic member and most of the paid members just assume those are kids playing and ignore it.

I just want to be able to have more than one of my 4 on at the same time. Most people in the game know that I have been doing 2 at once for awhile now and it wasn't until a couple months ago when I did 3 at once and a couple times I even tried 4, it was pretty much a screen shot moment. I can only handle 2 at once and usually do that. That is one pirate per hand.

I need to play double as I get too bored doing just one.

[Dr. Zeppers]

Honestly, id rather them raise the rates by a dollar or two, then try to hit families up for paying for additional accounts. That would at least be more straight up with the community as far as the dollars and cents go. Not yank our chains as it seems they are doing to me.

There are a few better ways of handling this as a "security" issue than shutting everyone (linked account usage) down like did. Besides if this was a security issue, its been ongoing for quite awhile, and I fail to see the effectiveness of turning it off out of the blue without having taken other actions towards the issue at hand.

Solution #1 - Make banned accounts inaccessible in all ways. A linked account not being able to access it would solve this problem.
Solution #2 - Change the system to allow multiple logins on the same account (up to 4 per account).

EDIT: Solution #1 is better, as kids playing on family accounts could easily delete pirates on the main account if using option #2, whereas linked accounts cannot delete pirates on another account.

There are probably more approachs, but these 2 seem quite obvious. And something they could have worked on without shutting everyone down, because as I said, if this was a security issue, its been ongoing now for quite awhile, and did not warrant a sudden shut down of the feature.

The one and only time I got banned from the game, their customer service manager actually TOLD me to create an additional account to circumvent the ban. Thats Disney wisdom for you.