Character Retention?

[bhodikhan]

I canceled my subscription due to a pre-order issue where I didn't get my credit and couldn't sign up for the lifetime one-time price deal. (Long story - No help from Turbine).

However, the email I received when I canceled gave me pause as to Turbine's character retention policy. I'm hoping I could come back in 6 months and continue with my level 20 character but who knows?

"Your The Lord of the Rings Online(tm) : "My LOTRO Subscription 04/24/2007" subscription has been canceled. We are sad to see you go, but you come back again in the future at any time by returning to the MyAccount @ Turbine website, but you may lose your existing characters." 

Personally I think the whole 'Founders' thing is pure bullshit. IMHO if you actually purchased the game in ANY form or fashion in the first week or two you should be a 'Founder'. Kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.

[CmdrSlack]

Every game has that bit about losing characters if you cancel.  I've yet to see a game where my characters have been purged, although maybe by now my EQ1 characters are gone.

[Trippy]

Every game has that bit about losing characters if you cancel.  I've yet to see a game where my characters have been purged, although maybe by now my EQ1 characters are gone.

FF XI purges.

[CmdrSlack]

Glad I didn't play that one then.   :-D

[Jamiko]

I was curious about this myself and had searched the forums. This is what I found:

http://forums.lotro.com/showpost.php?p=548901&postcount=13

"We can't promise that we'll never delete a given character, but we maintain our character records for as long as possible.

In fact, it's even ususally possible to recover old characters from AC that haven't been played for years."

[Sky]

Every game has that bit about losing characters if you cancel.  I've yet to see a game where my characters have been purged, although maybe by now my EQ1 characters are gone.

Yeah, but this is a selling point of the pre-order, and they're threatening to cancel that selling point if you don't register your retail copy by a certain (quite early) point. The email points out you need to work with your retailer to get this process completed on time. This isn't a few months or years later, this is a few days!

Posting CS on a message board doesn't dull the poor CS that emails sends out. I had the same reaction as the OP.

Luckily, I was able to return my preorder box to the store and get a copy of Jade Empire instead.

[Nyght]

I don't see these policies as substantially different then any other game out there.

Characters created during the FREE open beta are subject to deletion if you don't buy the game by around the end of May (30 days).

Characters created in the live game that you paid for after April 24th will be retained just like every other game.

The only difference is if you preordered and then actually bought the game you get special pricing and no need to reroll at the end of open beta.

And besides which, level 20 is less then 24 hours played in anycase. BFD.

Perhaps you should have posted this on the official forums. Seems more worthy of that venue then here.

[Jamiko]

Posting CS on a message board doesn't dull the poor CS that emails sends out. I had the same reaction as the OP.

If you ask me they both are saying the same thing. "We can't guarantee they will be available." Promising they will is just asking for trouble. Better to say "we can't guarantee" and then do everything you can to make sure they aren't deleted. Every MMO I have played pretty much makes the same non-promise and I've never lost a character. Well, I never went back to FFXI but that is only because they promised to delete my characters. Bad policy right there.

Pre-order characters? They already said they wouldn't keep them and it looks like they actually will save them for you according to the forum post.

I wouldn't worry about it, at all. If you decide to come back, they can probably tell you if your characters are still there if you just ask them. If you decide not to play a game because there is a *chance* they will be gone after you take a break, in all likelihood the game wasn't winning you over anyway so why even care.

[Venkman]

I can see the concern as this is a new game and the idea of redoing level 20 currently gives pause. However, I suspect strongly two things:

• In six months, your class which could have been flavor of the month is now gimp of the month so you wouldn't want ot play it anyway; and,
• By that point whatever grind guide exists will promise level 20 in 5 hours /played or whatever.

MMOs are change. It's no more a selling point of beta than it is one of a game years old. Why should a company indefinitely support information about a character on an account from someone not interested in paying for it? This isn't directed at you Bhodi but more at the idea that data storage is free and therefore all data of all types should have the same priority to the company that has to manage it.

[Sky]

If you decide to come back, they can probably tell you if your characters are still there if you just ask them. If you decide not to play a game because there is a *chance* they will be gone after you take a break, in all likelihood the game wasn't winning you over anyway so why even care.

Probably doesn't cut it if I built up multiple pre-order characters and farmed cash like a lot of folks did, and then a month of playtime gets wiped because the UPS guy fucked up. That's a shitty CS experience. The proper thing is to say 'Don't worry, your characters will be there for three months after release for all pre-order accounts. We understand sometimes unexpected circumstances arise and we are doing all we can to make sure our customers are satisfied and welcome all pre-order players back to Middle-Earth!'

If my EQ2 characters were wiped in my normal summer/fall break, I wouldn't go back and play, and I enjoy the game. Ditto my CoX guys, I'm miffed that some of my names were gone, but at least that's understandable and they don't wipe all your efforts randomly.

[Numtini]

I think I'm a little confused about the issues. If you were in the pre-order and eligible to retain your characters, you have until the 24th of May to input the retail code.

[Sky]

I deleted the email I got, but it gave me to the 29th of April to enter a retail code for my preorder account Or Else. I returned the retail box and haven't logged into my preorder account for weeks.

[Falconeer]

I am positively sure that they removed the limit to enter the preorder code. I just need to find the link...

[Sky]

That would be good news.

Problem is the only thing I've heard as a (almost) customer is the email with the giant OR ELSE.

So the secondary issue of poor communication stands (assuming Falc is correct).

[Falconeer]

Uhm.. lotro-Europe only?

Upon entering your retail box product code on or after April 24th 2007, full instructions will be provided on how to redeem either your Founder's lifetime subscription or 6-month package.

We’d also like to announce, that with this new improved system there is no longer ANY time limit on when you can redeem your offer. As long as you have your Founder code available to you and a full retail key, you’ll be able to redeem the offer.

But reading a bit better the above posts, I think I could have misunderstood the whole issue... mh..

[FatuousTwat]

Somehow my sister made it in past the due date.

I believe she or her boyfriend posted something on the forums complaining about it (I don't think they screwed up, it was something to do with Turbine).

If I can find the thread, I'll post it here.

[Nyght]

I deleted the email I got, but it gave me to the 29th of April to enter a retail code for my preorder account Or Else. I returned the retail box and haven't logged into my preorder account for weeks.

This is true to be able to continue to log in. End of Open Beta = April 23 + 6 days grace period to get a retail box = April 29. No pay by then, no continued play.

You have until the end of May to enter a retail code on your preorder account and still get the character roll and the pricing. Futher more, I believe you can still enter preorder codes up until that same end of May date. Last week Fry's in San Diego still had tons of preorder boxes on the shelf for a $1 each.

If you can't or don't want to give them any money within a month of launch then I have to believe you don't want to play very badly  and I see no reason what so ever they should save anything for you (not directed at you Sky, just a general statement).

[Numtini]

Well my friend and I are both waiting on the pre-order / non order accounts to be deleted for (our real life) names that we want to snag and didn't, so I certainly hope after the 24th they remove the pre-characters.