In game CSR

[Alan]

Having two thoughts about posting this, but... what the hell.

In the old days of the old GM's, I heard unofficialy by a back door in a dark alley under the darkness of nightfall that GoA were planning to implement in game CSR. Around this time there was a noticable increase in official people in the game out of office hours.

This seems like eons ago and since then the GM's and some E&E resigned, think it was round about when ToA came out and many encounters needed help with resetting and other things.

Was this really a viable option ? Im sure it was something the community would really appreciate, afterall most people play a MMORPG out of office hours.

Or was I just dreaming the whole thing

 

[Serbitar]

CSR's would help muchos imo tbh

I'd even apply for the job

 

[Nimah™]

Aye it helps a lot.

I played Star Wars Galaxies (don't ask, and yeah, it sucked, but that's off-topic )
And my brother once got scammed by someone else for INGAME money, and he was well known for doing it. As my brother had just started the game, he was obviously not to know this.

Well anyway, heres the point.

I contacted a CSR and told him the situation, he then had the idea of catching him at it. So, in conclusion.

Using my char, I ran up to him, asking if he had any (in this situation), pets for 'sale', if you had played SWG you would know what I am talking about. Well, anyway, he said 'yes', and at this current time, the CSR was watching the conversation and everything I did on my screen. Accepting the trade for the pet, and giving the cash (back then the pets did not show in the trade window, general bug), I did not receive the pet, furthermore the bug-abuser ran off.

What happened? The character was instantly frozen, and he was perma banned from the game.

Just an exsample (sp?) of how helpful CSRs can be.

Edit: This was all in-game, doing /who [CSR] showed about 4 online CSRs on the server.

 

[Alan]

The support on Rightnow has been great when ive used it - way better than the first year of release, out of the 3 problems ive had in game of late, there was a GM online for two of them, just curious to know if the idea to implement CSR's ont he euro servers just fizzled away.....

 

[Archeon]

I'm not convinced it would help as much as some people think it would, mostly because the Mythic CSR seem to have their hands heavily tied with regard to what they can and cannot do - which kind of links to my other point, because any dip-shit with half a brain can /appeal the queue's would likley be filled with crap like..

"I killed XXX but didn't get YYY"
and...
"XXX uses Radar"
"YYY uses buffs"
"I got owned by ZZZ, he was strafing"


I'm not saying CSR would/is a bad thing, i'm just pointing out that its not so dissimilar to Rightnow when you get down to it...

Just my thought's anyway.

 

[Nimah™]

I'm not convinced it would help as much as some people think it would, mostly because the Mythic CSR seem to have their hands heavily tied with regard to what they can and cannot do - which kind of links to my other point, because any dip-shit with half a brain can /appeal the queue's would likley be filled with crap like..

"I killed XXX but didn't get YYY"
and...
"XXX uses Radar"
"YYY uses buffs"
"I got owned by ZZZ, he was strafing"


I'm not saying CSR would/is a bad thing, i'm just pointing out that its not so dissimilar to Rightnow when you get down to it...

Just my thought's anyway.

Then they would ignore the 'accusations' that don't come with proof.

And concentrate on things like bugged encounters, mls, and general bugs or advice.

 

[Alan]

I'm not saying CSR would/is a bad thing, i'm just pointing out that its not so dissimilar to Rightnow when you get down to it...

Just my thought's anyway.

Completely agree - there are some instances where RightNow is by far the best tool to use, but on the flip side it would also be usefull to have the option of a quick fix - when an Arti is bugged, or when someone is caught cheating.

 

[Morchaoron]

reminds me of what i had seen in UO ages ago:

I was dead (you'll become a ghost) and was running a bit around seeing if there was anything interesting going on

noticed a player killer running over to a player just coming out of a dungeon, and kills him
ghost of player: "OooOoOoOoOOoooO" (the living hear the dead like that)
Player killer: "Shut up fucking jew"

player killer continued the camping and a few minutes later a GM appeared and the PK got perma banned (The daed player reported him)

was funny how only one wrong word got him removed from the game permanently with everything gone, cuz if he said "fucking noob" or "fucking ****" it would not have been against the rules

 

[Mojo]

I would like to see CSR's in game.

I think the level of support is poor as it is, I wouldn't mind paying more in the way of subs to get CSR's ingame, if only to answer some of my stupid questions and clear up some minor issues i might have.

 

[Nimah™]

I wouldn't mind paying more in the way of subs to get CSR's ingame

They will most likely take you up on that mate.

 

[Alan]

Do i smell a poll ?

Would you be willing to pay an increase in subs for ingame CSR ?

1 - No thank you im happy with Rightnow
2 - Would love in game CSR but we pay enough as it is
3 - Sure, I could stomach 1(euro) a month
4 - Definetly, would be willing to pay 2(euro) more a month
5 - In game CSR is really important, and i may go higher if needed

Or similar mm i love polls

for me would be (2) we pay the same rate in subs as the USA servers if i recall, anyone confirm this ? Failing that maybe (3)

 

[Nimah™]

Do i smell a poll ?

Would you be willing to pay an increase in subs for ingame CSR ?

1 - No thank you im happy with Rightnow
2 - Would love in game CSR but we pay enough as it is
3 - Sure, I could stomach 1(euro) a month
4 - Definetly, would be willing to pay 2(euro) more a month
5 - In game CSR is really important, and i may go higher if needed

Or similar mm i love polls

for me would be (2) we pay the same rate in subs as the USA servers if i recall, anyone confirm this ? Failing that maybe (3)

I seriously doubt that GOA would go ahead with this.

But anyway. I'd choose 2 or 3.

 

[Alan]

I seriously doubt that GOA would go ahead with this.

But anyway. I'd choose 2 or 3.

Yeah i get the same impression, but im curious how the limited people who play the game and read FH would respond I would expect as we pay the same as the USA they would want CSR for nothing.

 

[Nimah™]

Yeah i get the same impression, but im curious how the limited people who play the game and read FH would respond I would expect as we pay the same as the USA they would want CSR for nothing.

Well yeah, USA has in-game CSRs. And as you say, we pay the same amount of money.
Would be a nice addition to have AN in-game CSR, one for each server, and for set times of the day maybe, I'm sure if GOA wanted to they could have a router as to who works which times in-game.

If I was working for GOA, in-game CSR would be the top of my list for jobs
Generally as I like helping people out.

 

[Kami]

Do i smell a poll ?

Would you be willing to pay an increase in subs for ingame CSR ?

1 - No thank you im happy with Rightnow

Played US servers and thier time there is spent answering retarded questions from people which should never have been /appeal 'd. Personally I think CSRs aren't needed in the EU version. Rightnow has always been reliable when I've used it.

 

[Alan]

You mean a Rota - not router ?

I would be suprised if one for each server is actualy needed - surely int he USA the CSR's just log in and can be contacted from any game server... <shrugs> just speculation anyway.. back to work for me

 

[old.Whoodoo]

Things to consider here:

You want to pay more for the game - SWG costs £15 afaik, compared to DAoC - £8. If you really want CSRs, then be realistic, option 5 5 - In game CSR is really important, and i may go higher if needed - is the only way to go, the other options are not really viable to a business.

Can you handle 10x the crap that this forum comes up with?

The GMs play the game too, out of hours its just courtesy to help.

Id love the job of CSR, despite my arogance on here, in RL i deal with idiot users all day long, brain surgeons who cant figure out the use of a toaster etc, and i keep a very level head, its all part of the job. But I do wonder how the CSRs on SWG and USDAoC handle it all.

While I kinda liek the idea, I too think its not needed in euro.

 

[Nimah™]

You mean a Rota - not router ?

I would be suprised if one for each server is actualy needed - surely int he USA the CSR's just log in and can be contacted from any game server... <shrugs> just speculation anyway.. back to work for me

Yeah, mean rota, ffs don't quote me, just got back from school.

And yeah well, a CSR/Server is a bit much I guess, and would agree that it would be hard to find the staff...

But imo, I reckon DAoC is a soon-to-be-dead game, with all the new MMORPGs being released. I'll be personally going to GuildWars, which I played in E3 and loved it, a lot less time consuming when it comes to both PvE and PvP anyway (again, off-topic)

Things to consider here:

You want to pay more for the game - SWG costs £15 afaik, compared to DAoC - £8. If you really want CSRs, then be realistic, option 5 5 - In game CSR is really important, and i may go higher if needed - is the only way to go, the other options are not really viable to a business.

Can you handle 10x the crap that this forum comes up with?

The GMs play the game too, out of hours its just courtesy to help.

Id love the job of CSR, despite my arogance on here, in RL i deal with idiot users all day long, brain surgeons who cant figure out the use of a toaster etc, and i keep a very level head, its all part of the job. But I do wonder how the CSRs on SWG and USDAoC handle it all.

While I kinda liek the idea, I too think its not needed in euro.

SWG costs $15, which is about £7, is it the same about daoc' cost, well it's actually lower.

 

[Alan]

Things to consider here:

You want to pay more for the game - SWG costs £15 afaik, compared to DAoC - £8. If you really want CSRs, then be realistic, option 5 5 - In game CSR is really important, and i may go higher if needed - is the only way to go, the other options are not really viable to a business..

Mythic manage to provide in game CSR, and a whole host of other things for the same price...... maybe its true they really do hire chimps <giggles>

Like i said in my first post, had 3 problems of late that i can recall, two were delt with in game as a GM was online, the third was answered on the forums that same evening, so im not trying to slate the support - actualy think its pretty good

 

[Nimah™]

Mythic manage to provide in game CSR, and a whole host of other things for the same price...... maybe its true they really do hire chimps <giggles>

Like i said in my first post, had 3 problems of late that i can recall, two were delt with in game as a GM was online, the third was answered on the forums that same evening, so im not trying to slate the support - actualy think its pretty good

I agree the support can be good, but sometime's it can be terrible, just chilling out atm, not willing to go into discussion about that.

 

[Alan]

I agree the support can be good, but sometime's it can be terrible, just chilling out atm, not willing to go into discussion about that.

yup weve had good points and bad points

Still curious to know if ingame csr was on the cards a few months ago... and has been burried, or is something on the horizon tho.

 

[Nimah™]

yup weve had good points and bad points

Still curious to know if ingame csr was on the cards a few months ago... and has been burried, or is something on the horizon tho.

I do remember them mentioning the idea of in-game CSRs, but don't think they ever said any more about it, let's hope a GM replies?

 

[IainC]

When Kemor and Zargar were talking of possible ingame CSRs just before they left, they were talking about a reorganisation that was happening at around that time. Back then there was a GM for each server who dealt with community issues and a CSR team who dealt with other problems like technical issues, bugs etc. The teams were reorganised to make the GMs responsible for everything - all RightNow issues except billing as well as community stuff like forums. To do this they hired more GMs - myself and Zenythe included - and made some of the old CSR guys GMs as well. The idea is that we have a presence on at least one server at most times of the day from around 10am till 11pm CET and if we aren't ingame, then an E&E can contact us quickly to get us there.

I am regularly around on one server or another most evenings, as is Zenythe. If you need a GM quickly then there are a number of ways to get hold of us. Do /who 100 to see if we're online. If not contact an E&E either ingame or on the #E&E channel on Quakenet. We are also active on these forums so leaving a message or a PM here is likely to get our attention as is a RightNow report marked 'Urgent' (don't use the 'technical' category of Rightnow though for these as they go to a different department and there'll be a delay before that team reroutes it to us).

 

[Nimah™]

When Kemor and Zargar were talking of possible ingame CSRs just before they left, they were talking about a reorganisation that was happening at around that time. Back then there was a GM for each server who dealt with community issues and a CSR team who dealt with other problems like technical issues, bugs etc. The teams were reorganised to make the GMs responsible for everything - all RightNow issues except billing as well as community stuff like forums. To do this they hired more GMs - myself and Zenythe included - and made some of the old CSR guys GMs as well. The idea is that we have a presence on at least one server at most times of the day from around 10am till 11pm CET and if we aren't ingame, then an E&E can contact us quickly to get us there.

I am regularly around on one server or another most evenings, as is Zenythe. If you need a GM quickly then there are a number of ways to get hold of us. Do /who 100 to see if we're online. If not contact an E&E either ingame or on the #E&E channel on Quakenet. We are also active on these forums so leaving a message or a PM here is likely to get our attention as is a RightNow report marked 'Urgent' (don't use the 'technical' category of Rightnow though for these as they go to a different department and there'll be a delay before that team reroutes it to us).

Ah well, answer's mine and Tears question
Although, I think it may be an idea to TRY in-game CSRs, and if it doesn't proove to be a big help, ditch it.

 

[Flimgoblin]

Although, I think it may be an idea to TRY in-game CSRs, and if it doesn't proove to be a big help, ditch it.

I imagine it'd cost an awful lot of time/effort to set up... not something you wanna shell out on unless you're convinced it'll make life better for the majority of your players.

 

[Nimah™]

I imagine it'd cost an awful lot of time/effort to set up... not something you wanna shell out on unless you're convinced it'll make life better for the majority of your players.

True. But then they're a gaming company, and if they want to keep the game alive...

The customer is always right? :<

 

[IainC]

Ah well, answer's mine and Tears question
Although, I think it may be an idea to TRY in-game CSRs, and if it doesn't proove to be a big help, ditch it.

You missed my point - the GMs are the ingame CSRs.

 

[Naetha]

Instead of a costly increase in the number of paid staff, how about better usage of volunteers that are already there?

The advisor system and E&E system are both great, but very underused. Doing /a most nights only brings up a very small number of people, usually in the same guild(s), while on Mid Excal I'm the only advisor on most of the time. Also in all my time of playing (and I have listed myself as an advisor since my statutory 15 hours of play time was reached 2 and a half years ago) I've only ever had two requests for advice (although no doubt people do /t <advisor> rather than /advice <advisor> ). Most E&E aren't listed as advisors, and there are no indicators that any advisors are E&E as well.

I know advisors can't change game settings, or reset encounters, but quite often they can be a first point of call for advice. (I wonder how many CSRs on US servers get asked in game directions or other stuff that could be answered by an advisor? :roll: )

How about the /advice system is "marketed" a little more, and ALL E&Es appear in there unless they're anon? Most of the people who've been playing for the same amount of time as me, have picked up lots of information and hints and tips about the game that could really help newer, or less experienced players.

Even being able to redirect people to better sources of information can really help - e.g someone asks what to spec in as a cabalist - you've never played a cabalist before so you suggest that they look on www.cabalist.org, or talk to <insert friendly level 50 experienced cabalist's name here (I usually use Belcar ) >.

Just some musings anyway

 

[Nimah™]

You missed my point - the GMs are the ingame CSRs.

One thing missing...

The time they are online. Hardcore players play a lot of the night, camping artifacts possibly for hours, and when one spawns, there is NO help, so they logged off pi**ed and by the morning it has gone.

 

[Alan]

The idea is that we have a presence on at least one server at most times of the day from around 10am till 11pm CET and if we aren't ingame, then an E&E can contact us quickly to get us there.

Your reply really answered my initial quesiton - thank you

Is there any way to know which servers the GM's are likely to frequent ? or is there a secret method we can use to test if a GM is online somewhere as (I guess this is what the E&E channel is for anyway)