Release Notes - December 16, 2008

[Edward Edgemenace]

As a person affected by the "velvet rope," I'd like to point out that I agree with Poison Elf.

Yes, I paid for unlimited. When it ran out and I reverted to basic, cannon ammo, dagger, grenades and staff were locked. Cutlass, pistol and voodoo doll skills were still PARTIALLY accessible by using the keyboard. I did not ever think that was accidental. It seemed like they were intended to be locked from earning those skills, not from using the skills your pirate had earned. (Actually, it was a relatively small sub-set of them.) For whatever reason, they've changed their minds about that.

I am glad that it is more consistent now. As Zeppers said, it is a step in the right direction. It certainly is less ambiguous.

For me personally, I'm sad that I can't effectively help people level cannons behind PDF anymore. I'm sad that my pirate can't (in good conscience) take the wheel (when requested) in SvS to help someone make a come-back...my level 40 basic pirate is now approximately equivalent to a level 9-level 12 unlimited pirate. When I try to help out now, it isn't even comical, it is just sad. But, such is life - no big deal.

One of my hobbies as basic, was to get Josie McReedy quests for molusks, then go use hex eater on them on abassa/tormenta to help whoever was there. I'd also clear seabeards out of the way for people. Now all I can do is add 5% crew bonus...I can barely survive a molusk (sometimes...but often not.)

Now, after the change, there is very little I can contribute to the overall well being of POTCO in-game. I can camp in Governor's Gardens - those level 9 sergeants I can usually handle. But I'm sure some will suggest that that is kill-stealing. /sigh.

Seeing knee-jerk comments (maybe just uninformed?) like Sarah's above, make me shake my head. They took skills away from PAYING customers that were dissatisfied and reverted to basic...not away from freeloaders, glitchers or griefers. They did it to alienate people who pay when there is content to pay for.

Unlimited access players can sell and buy back a war frigate to get their gold back down from 65,000. Basics like me, with several max-gold pirates, can only donate gold playing poker. I suppose that is viewed negatively too?

Seeing changes like this, make me wonder what Big D is afraid of. They didn't fix other horrific glitches with basic access that drive newcomers away. (E.g. Teleport then open a chat window by pressing ENTER crashes the game 100% of the time, in preview mode. Work-around is to click mouse in window after TP or when ship lands - which you usually don't have warning about.) If they are worried about losing revenue because people are going back to basic, then ADD THE KRAKEN so that basic is insufficient. If they are worried about PvP or SvS, then I hope they realize that changes like this (while perhaps more consistent) drive would-be players (and therefore returning, paying customers) away.

Unfortunately, I think Poison Elf was right on target - allowing basic and unlimited to mix, makes it too unpleasant for would-be paying (returning) customers. It is also sometimes moderately inconvenient to some unlimited pirates. (Not as inconvenient as the pervasive glitchers, but annoying in its own small way.)