The 12/5 Recap - Dev Feedback on Level Access, Heyzap refinements, Bug Fixes, Holiday

[Samhayne]

Happy Monday, Dec. 5th everyone!

I wanted to give you a recap of some of the hot topics and development stuffs from around the Spacetime Headquarters. We will be patching shortly and I wanted to give a head's up to things being worked on:

High level and Low Level Premium Access - We appreciate everyone's input on this issue over the weekend. For those just tuning in, check out the official feedback thread here: http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?44384-Official-Feedback-Thread-for-Purchasing-High-and-Low-level-Dungeon-Access To reiterate, the intent of this Premium option is to allow lower level players who have higher level players to play with them, or vice versa (higher levels to play with lower level friends). Additionally, for higher level players to have some options as to where they gain exp, rather than only having the very latest expansion as a place to grind. We know what it's like to get to the elite level cap. We will be changing the price up to 5 Platinum. The intent is with the Platinum price is to have something of a barrier where people are less likely to abuse it and end up annoying other players. Thanks again for everyone's feedback on the issue.

Heyzap pop up - We recently joined the Heyzap social network and implemented the hooks to the game for users to check in when playing. You can read the original announcement here: http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?44231-Spacetime-Games-Join-the-Heyzap-Network! There are some bugs with the implementation that are a bit annoying (that the pop up comes up more than it should, for example) so we will be disabling Heyzap while we correct the underlying issue. Look for Heyzap to come back in the near future in a more refined fashion.

Guild and Friend lists Bugs - The most recent update included a couple of annoying bugs with the Guild and Friends list. We have fixes for these issues which will be going out shortly.

Crashing on logging in - We are also tracking a couple issues that are keeping players from logging in to games after updating to the new client. For iOS users, if you're able to update to OS4 or OS5 (depending on your device) from OS3, that should do it. We're re-submitting a new client through Apple that should correct the problem for users using an older device that can only use OS version 3.

For Android users, if you get a message saying you your device is not compatible, you can download the .APK directly. For more information and troubleshooting of Android installs, please see this support message: http://support.spacetimestudios.com/entries/20075762-i-have-trouble-installing-or-updating-the-game-on-my-android

Holiday Event - The team is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the holiday content for Pocket Legends and Star Legends. For Pocket Legends you can expect content similar to last year's event, but with a number of new items. We learned from this year's Halloween Event that the fans want new items, so that is what we are working to deliver for the December Holidays. For Star Legends you might even get to a certain malfunction of the USC Blackstar's climate control systems resulting in a frozen H20 particulate (snow!). Look for the Holiday events to roll out later this month.

Next Chapter in the Blackstar Chronicles - For Star Legends players, the next chapter to the Blackstar Chronicles is poised for release. We will be releasing further information from the drones investigating Planet Voltaria. Early investigation attempts resulted in pretty poor data recovery. Take a look here: http://www.spacetimestudios.com/showthread.php?44349-A-quick-reconnaissance-shot-of-Planet-Volaria The next chapter will raise the level cap to 40 (41 for the elite) and the current lvl 36 elite vanity helms will no longer be available. Expect this next campaign for Star Legends to come out later this month, probably in the same update as the Holiday event.

Please use this thread to post your replies to the above announcement. Thanks in advance for keeping the discussion friendly and constructive!

[Zeus]

Cool!! Glad to see you guys are handling things well.

[kas3closed]

Finally! All these new fixes and content sounds amazing as it will be my first PL christmas and SL also

[Ellyidol]

Thank you, Sam. Looking forward to the changes.

[drewcapu]

Any chance at a 24-hour notice when SL gets updated? :)

[Cahaun]

Nice! I was planning on getting a santa suit since I'm my guild's santa lol. So I'm getting plat soon!
(SY is released when the Halloween event did, now Volaria might on the Christmas one *speculation*) :D

[Samhayne]

Forgot about the crash stuff and added in this item to the above report:

Crashing on logging in - We are also tracking a couple issues that are keeping players from logging in to games after updating to the new client. For iOS users, if you're able to update to OS4 or OS5 (depending on your device) from OS3, that should do it. We're re-submitting a new client through Apple that should correct the problem for users using an older device that can only use OS version 3.

For Android users, if you get a message saying you your device is not compatible, you can download the .APK directly. For more information and troubleshooting of Android installs, please see this support message: http://support.spacetimestudios.com/entries/20075762-i-have-trouble-installing-or-updating-the-game-on-my-android

[Killerade]

interesting, first of is the dungeon lvl elixir. Is it only limited to 5min or are you gonna add 30min ones?
second of all, is the holiday event the same as the Halloween event like rental items and such?
lastly...and this is just my curiosity...i wonder what kind of elite lvl vanity they will release this time...chest, feet, arms or back...hmm

[FluffNStuff]

Wait, so your solution to 'fix' something that makes the game fun is to raise the price???? You HAVE to be kidding!

[StompArtist]

Wait, so your solution to 'fix' something that makes the game fun is to raise the price???? You HAVE to be kidding!

I agree entirely.

[Skeletonlord]

Cool update Sam! This is fantastic because it shows you what you are working on!

[FluffNStuff]

When are these 'improvements' going to happen. I was hopping to get the Inaugural (and apparently final) run of the PL Marathon going tonight, and I need to know if I should cancel it.

[maneatingtree]

Yay so old holiday items wont be in this holoday!!! Yay im so excited

[Cascade]

Lol they are raising the price...They are gunna get trolled sooo bad...Also I think they will still have old items they are just adding new items.

[maneatingtree]

Aww thats no good:( but still new items is good!!

[Ellyidol]

Wait, so your solution to 'fix' something that makes the game fun is to raise the price???? You HAVE to be kidding!

In that perspective, I agree.

On the bright side, at least the fix came relatively quick - hopefully.

I can only foresee that more people will feel angst towards this. It increases the gap between the platinum and non-platinum spenders.

[StompArtist]

I can only foresee that more people will feel angst towards this. It increases the gap between the platinum and non-platinum spenders.

I suspect this gap is going to slowly increase with time as well.

[FluffNStuff]

In that perspective, I agree.

On the bright side, at least the fix came relatively quick - hopefully.

I can only foresee that more people will feel angst towards this. It increases the gap between the platinum and non-platinum spenders.

The speed of the 'fix' makes the sting hurt slightly less, but I still feel like I got burned really bad. They introduce a fun way to play the game for the price of 12 plat an hour, and once I realized how fun it was, they are now raising it to 60 plat an hour.

[ninjaduck]

Sorry to police Sam but you said planet "Voltaria", is it this or "Volaria"? They both sound über-cool so im happy with both! :D

[Ellyidol]

The speed of the 'fix' makes the sting hurt slightly less, but I still feel like I got burned really bad. They introduce a fun way to play the game for the price of 12 plat an hour, and once I realized how fun it was, they are now raising it to 60 plat an hour.

Agree, was starting to have fun.

I'm a bit surprised that the bigger issue for them was the XP-issue for it instead of the kill count/Leaderboard issue. I would have been perfectly happy if they disabled kill counts but kept the rest.

I'm aware of the XP "abuse" that this may have brought, though I thought the next best thing would have been to tweak the latest campaign rather than the one thing that would allow us to re-use pretty much any campaign.

[Cahaun]

"The intent is with the Platinum price is to have something of a barrier where people are less likely to abuse it and end up annoying other players." - Samhayne

I think it was a good idea and they have good reason. Let us see how it turns out and see how we can improve it. :)

[Xaphan Fox]

Although I am sure you do not yet have an exact release date, (last minute touches and whatnot) when you do know, it would be great to be given an exact date.

A lot of players have a wealth of time and plat spent on their journey to 36.

A "gang its coming out the 17th!" would let people do the math, see how much exp they need each day, see if it's even possible, and weigh their options.

No one wants to be husslin, almost there, then get blind-sided with it coming out in the AM; the last 5 days plat spent that could have been saved in a futile effort.

Many would appreciate this.

Thank you for your consideration.

Woof
Testament

[Yvonnel]

Wow! Just wow! The devs give us.something that breathes new life into PL and a few, and I do mean a few (most people I know enjoyed the new elixir) complain so now I have to pay 5 plat.

Well there goes that fun. I guess my lvl 35 won't get to play in Plasma Pyramid after all.

Thanks a lot!

:banghead:

Tapatalk'd from my PowerWashed Fascinate

[Samhayne]

Although I am sure you do not yet have an exact release date, (last minute touches and whatnot) when you do know, it would be great to be given an exact date.

A lot of players have a wealth of time and plat spent on their journey to 36.

A "gang its coming out the 17th!" would let people do the math, see how much exp they need each day, see if it's even possible, and weigh their options.

No one wants to be husslin, almost there, then get blind-sided with it coming out in the AM; the last 5 days plat spent that could have been saved in a futile effort.

Many would appreciate this.

Thank you for your consideration.

Woof
Testament

It's coming soon. It probably won't be this week, but it sure could be next.

[Samhayne]

Wow! Just wow! The devs give us.something that breathes new life into PL and a few, and I do mean a few (most people I know enjoyed the new elixir) complain so now I have to pay 5 plat.

Well there goes that fun. I guess my lvl 35 won't get to play in Plasma Pyramid after all.

Thanks a lot!

:banghead:

Tapatalk'd from my PowerWashed Fascinate

We are still evaluating pricing. The only way to do that is to give it a try and see what people do. Thanks much for your feedback.

[FluffNStuff]

We are still evaluating pricing. The only way to do that is to give it a try and see what people do. Thanks much for your feedback.

The new 5 plat thing is up, so what do we need to do to get it back down to one plat? Would it help if we fixed the code that won't let the developers remove kill counts from the new elixir? I guess I could give it a shot.

[Yvonnel]

We are still evaluating pricing. The only way to do that is to give it a try and see what people do. Thanks much for your feedback.

Thanks for the response Sam. My ire is not for the development team. You do the ansolute best you can to deal with us ungrateful zealots who demand everything be our way. You guys and gals are definitely stuck between a rock and a hard place. You could always do whatever you want and say the heck with the people (I've seen this before) but you don't. And that is the reason I always seem like a "Yes Man". I truly appreciate what you guys do. It was just I really liked these elixirs, but cannot pay 5 plat for 5 minutes.

Thanks as always! This is by no means a deal breaker for me. I love PL and will be logged in at my usual time (about an hour from now).

See ya in Alterra!

Tapatalk'd from my PowerWashed Fascinate

[ninjaduck]

We are still evaluating pricing. The only way to do that is to give it a try and see what people do. Thanks much for your feedback.

Thanks for the response Sam. My ire is not for the development team. You do the ansolute best you can to deal with us ungrateful zealots who demand everything be our way. You guys and gals are definitely stuck between a rock and a hard place. You could always do whatever you want and say the heck with the people (I've seen this before) but you don't. And that is the reason I always seem like a "Yes Man". I truly appreciate what you guys do. It was just I really liked these elixirs, but cannot pay 5 plat for 5 minutes.



Thanks as always! This is by no means a deal breaker for me. I love PL and will be logged in at my usual time (about an hour from now).

See ya in Alterra!

Tapatalk'd from my PowerWashed Fascinate


Im not a zealot >:(

[Samhayne]

The 5 minutes is how long you have to be able to zone hop. Once you are in, you're good until you travel to another zone.

[Nick41324]

Please just take the elixir that 'let's you get xp from lower levels' out. All it is doing is ruining the game and making the players more upset. The one that let's you go up is ok, I think.

I don't really understand why STS would put the 'one that let's you go down' in the game :/

[Rittik]

Planet Vularia...hmmm!!!
Time to Solve the mystery everyone....i am ready with my Blade Fin...whos with me??
Sam...there are rumours In the Game
Update is 14th or 17th....thanks a lot for confirming...its next week :D

[FluffNStuff]

Please just take the elixir that 'let's you get xp from lower levels' out. All it is doing is ruining the game and making the players more upset. The one that let's you go up is ok, I think.

I don't really understand why STS would put the 'one that let's you go down' in the game :/

Because for those of us who could care less about the leader boards and not looking to exploit xp gaining ( it really is faster in fang with a semi competent team) were having a ton of fun with it. It really does break up the monotony of fang runs over and over.

[MightyMicah]

Overall I like the whole idea of the new elixar. It makes it fair game for everyone. Even kill boosting is fair. Think about it, if you are on the leaderboard for kills, you can boost just like anyone else. 1 platinum for 5 minutes I believe is fair also.

Everyone complaining about kill boosting is actually complaining about something totally different. They are complaining about elixars in general. This new elixar added nothing but a faster way to level and gain kills. Ever since elixars came out "kill boosting" was possible. This new elixar changes nothing....EXCEPT (caps for emphasis) the fact that the new campaign will be neglected until top level/ hardcore top level.

As far as I can can see changing the price of the elixar will not solve this problem. Personally I never wanted to level up to 65/66. Then the new elixar came out and it was impossible to get booted from 60% of games joined or never be able to find a group at all. Why? Because I could solo or play with my lower level buddies. Now, I'm back to not leveling anymore. Why? Because I'm not gonna spend my life savings on a video game...I'm sorry sts, 1 plat a minute is too ridiculous for me.

On the bright side, I can't wait till all the winter campaigns come out!!! THAT, is where my plat is going. :D
Anyways, overall thanks for the information Sts I appreciate it!

~MM

[kallima]

Wow! Just wow! The devs give us.something that breathes new life into PL and a few, and I do mean a few (most people I know enjoyed the new elixir) complain so now I have to pay 5 Plat.

:banghead:

Tapatalk'd from my PowerWashed Fascinate

I'm going to use the argument that so many already have, "STS isn't forcing you to buy it and you don't have to use or buy plat to have fun in PL."

I think 5 plat is a reasonable fee. I don't think that it fixes the issues of which the majority were complaining though. I am not on LB's and don't have the desire to ever be on LB's but for those that worked to get there the right way, I feel for them.

Additionally, why not make it a little more expensive to level in an area that is much easier and cheaper? 12k/hr in Balefort and one gets to keep all the kills? Simple math, STS would lose money because the majority are going to use it like that - human nature. AND that 12k xp/hr, that's just soloing - so itd increase nominally with a full party. I don't think you and a small minority would abuse it like that, but STS has said before they have to factor in the lowest denominator. So if they want easy leveling and can save plat compared to leveling in Fang, they need to pay for that convenience. Personally, make it 10plat, to me it's whatever, if I want to help a friend I would pay it. Heck, I've spent about 500plat after I reached 66 just so the runs would be faster, which means my friends could level faster.

Oh and before anyone says well you did it because you could still get the chance at pinks - this is when the NO pinks dropping glitch was going on.

[MightyMicah]

Not everyone has the money you have :\ I think that's why many don't like the new elixar. I know for me, i felt like i was cruising through levels and I was starting to have fun again, but the new price is well over my budget :(

As of everything else you said, I do agree. :)

[ThisGuy0502]

Have you guys fixed pvp? (engineers are really messed up)

[Whirlzap]

The elixir price is still affordable by high levels who want more PVE kills.
That's the only reason why STS has not removed the kill count issue.
They don't want to dissapoint their top Platinum Spenders, AKA top PvE Leaderboard People.

[Jasonm]

Why take of the lv 36 elite vanity helms please bring them back

[Samhayne]

Why take of the lv 36 elite vanity helms please bring them back

Sorry Jasonm, the elite vanities always go away when a new elite level cap comes out.