The Italian Tolkien Society’s tenth edition of Hobbiton was held in the medieval city of S. Daniele del Friuli this past weekend. It was a great three days spent milling around with hobbits, elves, lords and ladies, nazgul, warriors of all types and description, and the general happily curious public. [More]
Month: September 2003
I have gotten many great e-mails from folks both supporting and knocking Star Wars Galaxies, while it is a fun game, the bug issues really makes a grown man cry. Today I had this experience that I thought I would share, it is a great testimat to how Sony’s Customer Service has been handling these issues.
CSR-TerryH: Greetings this is CSR-TerryH. Do you have a moment to discuss your ticket?
Flinch: Yes I do.
CSR-TerryH: I understand you lost many deeds [houses, mining factories, etc], I have gathered the list from your comment. Is there anything else you would like to discuss with me today?
Flinch: Well, you guys don’t support pet recovory and are unable to verify that the item Enhancement had what I said it had… so… this makes me really come of feeling like only a portion of the game is actually supported.
CSR-TerryH: I can understand your frustration.
Flinch: I can’t concievably see how a game can have so many features yet not actually support them.
This was met by a long pause.
CSR-TerryH: I am sorry you feel this way.
Flinch: Additionally, I reported that I found users running a strip club here on Naboo, and was mocked and insulted for expecting this game to be clean when i reported the issue on the Official Forums.
CSR-TerryH: At this time we are doing our best to address the issues that affect the greatest number of players.
Flinch: I can understand that.
CSR-TerryH: We will be addressing the inappropriate behaviors.
Flinch: My only response to that is will it be in time? How would mothers of these players feel if they knew that their children were being invited to watch Digital Avatars take off their clothing in exchange for in-game currency. How would Sony expect mothers to react to this?
This was met with no response whatsoever.
CSR-TerryH: I can either place your items in your home, or in your personal inventory.
Flinch: Inventory would work best.
CSR-TerryH: Please remember to delete your ticket when you are through with it.
Flinch: Could I possibly ask you about another issue while I have you? A good friend of mine has lost his entire in-game lifes work as his house containing a museum which we all put a great amount of time into just randomly went missing.
CSR-TerryH: I am sorry to tell you that we are not able to reimburse for lost pets. We are not authorized to address another players issues.
Flinch: Well it is my issue as well, though us only being able to open one customer service ticket at a time means I could not create an issue for this as well.
CSR-TerryH: Have you looked in your inventory to verify the deeds I placed?
Flinch: My original issue is solved yes, could you please speak with my friend about his problem if you will not speak to me?
CSR-TerryH: Thank you for your time. I would like to take this opportunity to once again apologize for the inconvenience.
CSR-TerryH: I hope you are able to enjoy the game as it was meant to be, a fun experience.
CSR-TerryH would not respond to any of my messages after this. My friend’s very expensive home is just missing, with several hundred thousand in-game credits worth in Bio Engineered Pets and Rare items. My friends issues and my own were only partially addressed and we cannot help but feel that our time in this game is wasted as even Sony who has every power to fix the issues that befall us, won’t even follow through and support their product.
Many of you have e-mailed me telling me that as you played Asheron’s Call you feel the service I am mentioning from Sony will be emulated by Vivendi. I can only say that I trust Chris Taylor, and respect him, and if it is possible to release an MMORPG smoothly into this gaming industry then he will find a way.
Again, only time will tell.
If you’ve had adverse experiences in a game, or on the off chance that you actually are ENJOYING Star Wars Galaxies, please e-mail me directly at Flinch@TheOneRing.net.
A ton of people have asked for more information on the Montreal Triple-Screening that I am working on in conjunction with some local fan clubs and other groups. We have yet to determine the format, dates, or locations just yet. But if you want to be kept in the loop sign up for the Line Party page I made for the event. More details to come soon!
So, we hear the ROTK trailer will be shown with Secondhand Lions, which was supposed to open September 26th but was bumped UP to September 19th, so will the ROTK trailer be shown then? Apparently not, read on from our anonymous tipster for all the details. [More]
So, we hear the ROTK trailer will be shown with Secondhand Lions, which was supposed to open September 26th but was bumped UP to September 19th, so will the ROTK trailer be shown then? Apparently not, read on from our anonymous tipster for all the details.
As you know, the plan all along has been for the (stunning) ROTK trailer to be attached to SECONDHAND LIONS (SL), which was previously scheduled for release on 9/26. However, SL got moved up a week to 9/19 (as it was finished early and has been testing incredibly well), but the ROTK trailer still won’t be ready/mass-produced until the original 9/26 date. Hence, it will be sent separately to theater owners to screen with SL its _second_ weekend (9/26). New Line (NL) apparently will be promoting this, and also plans to expand the release of SL its second weekend.
And by the way… I may be biased, but I think SL is a _fantastic_ movie that LOTR fans will adore, with or without the ROTK trailer. (It’s written and directed by Tim McCanlies, who wrote THE IRON GIANT, and stars Michael Caine, Robert Duvall and Haley Joel Osment.)
Bryan sends along a handful of images from The Return of the King preview on The Two Towers DVD. Most of these we’ve seen before, and some are old, some are new, some are borrowed and some are… (hey, my sister is getting married in 3 weeks…can you blame me?). Take a look! !!!Spoilers!!! [More]