Expired accounts seem reactivated?

Gloria
Exile
Post #1

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Gloria » Wed Jan 14, 2009 4:51 pm

http://www.deltatao.com/

1/14/09 — Expired Clan Lord accounts are all reactivated. Welcome old players back, and pass the word.

Fogtripper
Exile
Post #2

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Fogtripper » Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:20 pm

Uh.


I am grateful you posted this Gloria, but um...


Image


what
does
it
MEAN?

Michael
Exile
Post #3

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Michael » Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:24 pm

Yep, I can confirm that. I am able to log in but my account has been expired for months.

Fogtripper
Exile
Post #4

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Fogtripper » Wed Jan 14, 2009 6:32 pm

Michael wrote:Yep, I can confirm that. I am able to log in but my account has been expired for months.
Excellent.

Still a sit download, making me a sad panda.

Torin
Exile
Post #5

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Torin » Wed Jan 14, 2009 9:53 pm

So could we get an official comment please? Is this Free February starting early? How long will it last?

Yappy
Exile
Post #6

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Yappy » Thu Jan 15, 2009 4:28 am

Torin wrote:How long will it last?
"A while." Joe is preparing a FAQ.

Cinnamon
Exile
Post #7

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Cinnamon » Thu Jan 15, 2009 5:14 am

Is the free play only for expired accounts or are loyal paying customers included?

Eldon
Exile
Post #8

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Eldon » Thu Jan 15, 2009 5:53 am

Cinnamon wrote:Is the free play only for expired accounts or are loyal paying customers included?
Hence the FAQ forthcoming from Joe. I'm surprised he activated the accounts before he made an announcement.

Okay, not really. Hehe. :shock:

Fogtripper
Exile
Post #9

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Fogtripper » Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:19 am

Eldon wrote:
Cinnamon wrote:Is the free play only for expired accounts or are loyal paying customers included?
Hence the FAQ forthcoming from Joe. I'm surprised he activated the accounts before he made an announcement.

Okay, not really. Hehe. :shock:

Welp, last time he made an announcement like that, there was a slight problem with not actually having everyone activated. :wink:

Helios
Exile
Post #10

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Helios » Thu Jan 15, 2009 6:58 am

Any timeline on this forthcoming faq/announcement?

\impatient

:)

Fogtripper
Exile
Post #11

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Fogtripper » Thu Jan 15, 2009 7:30 am

:cry:


Image

xepel
Exile
Post #12

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by xepel » Thu Jan 15, 2009 8:55 am

And that's why we need caps on storage/rental fees!

Aldernon
Exile
Post #13

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Aldernon » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:35 am

I'm thrilled to be reactivated, regardless of fees!

Of course, I've had many years to save up for these year long hiatuses (is that a word?).

I've been planning on reactivating, just the timing (around the holidays) turned out to be very poor for my finances this year, what w/ sending my wife to grad school and all the accompanying costs associated w/ that endeavor (new car, second household, books, tuition, etc. etc.)

Thanks!

Joedelta
Exile
Post #14

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Joedelta » Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:10 am

Here's the FAQ I'm working on. Feel free to email more questions to joe@deltatao.com.

FAQ:

Clan Lord is free?
Sort of. For the foreseeable future, accounts that are expired will still be able to log on and play.

How long does this promotion last?
It's not a promotion. It's a policy.

Are new accounts free?
No, they're still officially $14.95. This is mostly to keep people from creating 100 accounts for no good reason. But yes, once created they'll be able to play with no monthly fees forever.

Can I still pay if I want?
Yes, we'd prefer that. Thanks!

Do you have a PayPal donation thing so I can pay a little bit every now and then but not the full regular fee?
No. If $10 is too much, you probably need your money even more than we do. Plus Paypal takes their cut off the top, so a $0.25 donation would actually cost us money. We think.

I already paid. Can I get a refund?
No! Sheesh.

I already paid. Do I get some sort of bonus?
Yes, you'll get lots more people to play with.

If I'm paying automatically now, will you keep billing me?
Yes. Thanks!

Can I turn my billing off now, and play free forever?
Yes. We'd prefer you didn't, of course, because it would be nice to pay our bandwidth costs and eat. And "forever" of course ends before forever.

How will you make a profit on these free accounts?
We won't. Profit's never been a big motivator for us (note the lack of marketing). We're just trying to get the player count up to where it's fun again.

How many players do you need before you consider this?
We don't have a fixed number in mind. It's one of those "we'll know it when we see it" things. We'll make an announcement well in advance of any substantial policy changes. A good clue will be if the server's bogging during peak hours.

Will the free accounts be crippled?
Not at first, but it's possible that -- if we're successful and we get the player count decently high again -- in the future there will be things available just for paid accounts. We hope that'll be new stuff, and not taking away old stuff, but no promises.

Are there any advantages to paying?
Warm fuzzy feelings? Right now there's really no advantage, but in the future other players will be able to tell who's a supporter and who's a freerider. We also might make premium features for supporters, or give them early access to new areas, or other things. We have no specific plans, though.

What if a snert gets a free account?
We haven't had a serious snert problem in a while, but free play certainly opens up exciting new possibilities. Our tools are pretty good, and court should help. If freeriders are annoying in some way, we'll probably be less patient than we are with paying customers.

Can I create 10 free accounts?
For $14.95 each, yes.

Won't this encourage people to make pocket healers, pocket mystics, pocket snerts, bots, and so forth?
We are working to reduce that sort of abuse. It's bad luck to attempt to circumvent the obvious game mechanic.

Can I transfer a character to a free account?
For $9.95 each, yes.

Can I add character slots to my free account?
For $8.95 each, yes.

Can I use my free account for evil?
We'd prefer not. Right now we don't have any plans to handle this, but as evil happens, we will respond. This may end up locking out the evildoers, putting limitations on all freeriders, or even putting limitations on every player. Don't make us think through that stuff; we'd rather make the game more fun.

What counts as evil?
Botting. Spamming. Annoying GMs. Making the game less fun for others. You'll know it in your heart. Or we will.

Michael
Exile
Post #15

Expired accounts seem reactivated?

by Michael » Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:28 am

So CL is now free? Cool!