I have to agree--BW/EA's communication has been subpar for a while now. Not just for the launch, but throughout much of this pre-order/beta period where confusion has seemed to reign supreme about who was getting in, when, what date things were supposed to be delivered, what you actually had to sign up for, etc.

 

I don't think the problem is lack of effort, but lack of coordination, clarity of message, and an understanding of what the playerbase thinks is important.

I would rather sit in a 11 hour que and KNOW for a fact that I am getting in after 11 hours then sit by my computer hoping I get the email saying I can log in.

 

The alternative would be to give everyone an assigned wave so you can do what you want to do in your life and just keep track of what wave they are.

 

This business of them doing only 5 waves though is kinda poor. I can't believe they are only doing 5 and then saying better luck tomorrow.

Another area where communication left more to be desired was between Bioware and their retail partners. I understand, and rather like, the way the EGA system was implemented...however, Bioware should have made it abundantly clear to their retailers that they are required to send *valid* preorder codes *ASAP* upon preorder. Waiting several days to get an already-used preorder code that required dealing with the retailer's customer "service" is not cool.

I would rather sit in a 11 hour que and KNOW for a fact that I am getting in after 11 hours then sit by my computer hoping I get the email saying I can log in.

 

The alternative would be to give everyone an assigned wave so you can do what you want to do in your life and just keep track of what wave they are.

 

This business of them doing only 5 waves though is kinda poor. I can't believe they are only doing 5 and then saying better luck tomorrow.

 

I agree in part with this.

 

Perhaps more communication on when the waves are coming and maybe a notification on the schedule of the waves. But aside from that, everything else was written pretty specifically in the information provided in the pre-order page.

Edited December 13, 2011 by XOrionX

How do you know EA has started?

How do you know they're doing a few waves a day?

How do you know they're staggering it based on your pre-order date?

How did you know they were starting two days sooner?

 

Because they communicated it to you. You can try fluff it up all you want, but at the end of the day what you're complaining about is their inability to tell you exactly when you get your access.

 

And they've explaining why they can't really do that.....but here were are... two days before you even expected to play.... just a few hours after this starts.... and you're saying they've let you down. There's no amount of info they can provide that's going to be good enough for you other than "You're in."

Yep, they did messed up. Topic over, eh?

I would rather sit in a 11 hour que and KNOW for a fact that I am getting in after 11 hours then sit by my computer hoping I get the email saying I can log in.

 

The alternative would be to give everyone an assigned wave so you can do what you want to do in your life and just keep track of what wave they are.

 

This business of them doing only 5 waves though is kinda poor. I can't believe they are only doing 5 and then saying better luck tomorrow.

 

Oh I'm quite certain if you logged into the game and saw an 11 hour wait time, you'd be right back here complaining about it.

The one genuine mistake BW/EA have made is communication, a lot of people have said that they can’t believe the feeling of entitlement that a lot of people have. Personally I don’t feel entitled to access seven days early. (five is another matter). I do however feel entitled to proper communication from EA/BW. Something along the lines of, you will be on wave X, we are currently on wave Y, the ETA on the next wave is Z.

 

Furthermore I understand the need for a staggered launch, I understand server load and the fact that they can’t have everyone I the same zone at the same time (Though I do worry about the official release day, and Christmas day) However this is a retail product and a lot of people won’t have this level of understanding. A bit of explanation regarding the staggering would have been a good idea.

 

Some people will never be happy but polite communication goes a long way to keeping most people happy and alleviates frustration.

 

If you read the sticky it is explained why they have not given people set days and times for their EGA. They are sending out waves of emails, letting people log in and monitoring how the servers respond and then send out a new wave when those first people have moved on from the starter worlds.

 

Question: What happens if something unexpected occurs and they don't meet that day/time projection for you?

 

Answer: The forums erupt and there is blood in the streets.

 

Look at the amount of topics complaining about EGA now, now multiply that to the Nth dgree if they had given a day/time projection and could not meet it.

 

The alternative would be to give everyone an assigned wave so you can do what you want to do in your life and just keep track of what wave they are.

 

 

If all you want is an *absolute date* so that you can do other things in your life, they've already given it to you: December 20th. No guessing, no wondering, no needing to check an email.... December 20th is the date you can be sure to be in.

How could they have communicated more?

 

They told us that early access was first come, first serve since the very first day of pre-orders.

 

They told us they would let waves in as fast as they were able, and explained not only why they were doing this but also why they couldn't be more specific.

 

They sent emails, they posted stickies, they answered repeat threads, and basically made it impossible to miss the information they were giving us.

 

So I ask again, how could they have communicated any more clearly?

How could they have communicated more?

 

They told us that early access was first come, first serve since the very first day of pre-orders.

 

They told us they would let waves in as fast as they were able, and explained not only why they were doing this but also why they couldn't be more specific.

 

They sent emails, they posted stickies, they answered repeat threads, and basically made it impossible to miss the information they were giving us.

 

So I ask again, how could they have communicated any more clearly?

 

I believe that I covered this in my original post. Also the word “explained” has a very different meaning to the word “stated.”

If you read the sticky it is explained why they have not given people set days and times for their EGA. They are sending out waves of emails, letting people log in and monitoring how the servers respond and then send out a new wave when those first people have moved on from the starter worlds.

 

Question: What happens if something unexpected occurs and they don't meet that day/time projection for you?

 

Answer: The forums erupt and there is blood in the streets.

 

Look at the amount of topics complaining about EGA now, now multiply that to the Nth dgree if they had given a day/time projection and could not meet it.

 

So you shouldnt be upset with Biowares failure because they could have had a bigger failure? Hey dad, I got a D on my report card. That is ok son, it could have been an F. Hey boss I didnt complete that job you wanted me to do. That is ok wage slave you could have done it worse.

 

Dont reward failure. Dont excuse Bioware for failing.

If you read the sticky it is explained why they have not given people set days and times for their EGA. They are sending out waves of emails, letting people log in and monitoring how the servers respond and then send out a new wave when those first people have moved on from the starter worlds.

 

Question: What happens if something unexpected occurs and they don't meet that day/time projection for you?

 

Answer: The forums erupt and there is blood in the streets.

 

Look at the amount of topics complaining about EGA now, now multiply that to the Nth dgree if they had given a day/time projection and could not meet it.

 

Please read and comprehend my original post. At no point did I even suggest that we should be given a specific time/date for early access.

"Early Game Access* will begin on December 13th at 7:00AM EST, 2011 and ends on December 19th, 2011 at 10:01PM EST. During this time, we will be emailing invitations to join Early Game Access based on the order in which you redeemed your Pre-Order Code. Pre-load the game client now, so you're ready to play when your Early Game Access invitation arrives. Note that download time can vary and may take awhile"

 

I get that the time frame and blaa blaa blaa after the dates. But this could have been worded 100% better to keep people from say, taking a day off work or something like that...

Doesn't say the invitations won't exclude you from access if you don't get them BY the 13th. Its says early game access is the 13th plain and simple. By this E-Mail, I would expect to be playing at the latests, late on the 13th but no later...

An email informing people which wave they would be in would of been a good idea you know something simple like "You are in wave 15".

 

No need to give an estimated time when wave 15 would hit, just update the twitter with the current wave number that got released.

You feel entitled to something you were never told you would get.

 

I don’t expect to be *told* that I will get a good level of customer services from any company, I expect it to be embedded. I’m paying this company money and I assume that they want me to be a continual subscriber. Do you not understand how the service industry works?

I'm not sure why people feel the need to know how many waves of invites have been sent out. Knowing that isn't going to effect your invitation time. The way I see it, I will get in when I get in.

 

It's not about getting in sooner, it's about being provided with the information required to make an educated guess. i.e. Should I keep checking my email or should I call it a night and do something else?

The one genuine mistake BW/EA have made is communication, a lot of people have said that they can’t believe the feeling of entitlement that a lot of people have. Personally I don’t feel entitled to access seven days early. (five is another matter). I do however feel entitled to proper communication from EA/BW. Something along the lines of, you will be on wave X, we are currently on wave Y, the ETA on the next wave is Z.

 

Furthermore I understand the need for a staggered launch, I understand server load and the fact that they can’t have everyone I the same zone at the same time (Though I do worry about the official release day, and Christmas day) However this is a retail product and a lot of people won’t have this level of understanding. A bit of explanation regarding the staggering would have been a good idea.

 

Some people will never be happy but polite communication goes a long way to keeping most people happy and alleviates frustration.

 

While having that information would be nice you ARE NOT entitled to it. I am sorry but you have likely only payed a $5 pre order fee, are not paying a subscription and fail to see they own the software, servers, rights etc to the game.

Lack of communication lol, what game have you been following.

Clearly new to the gaming world.

 

Oh I see, so you’re logic is that if all other similar companies give a poor level of customer service then its okay. Progressive.

While having that information would be nice you ARE NOT entitled to it. I am sorry but you have likely only payed a $5 pre order fee, are not paying a subscription and fail to see they own the software, servers, rights etc to the game.

 

I’ve paid for the retail release of the game (CE as it happens), the moment that money left my position I became a customer of BW/ET. What they have ownership of is immaterial. People need to get over this mind-set that we are somehow beholding to this company regardless of how much you like the game (I like it a lot), we are their customers. I’ve simply pointed out where they have provided a poor level of customer service in this instance. If people disagree then that’s their prerogative but if BW/EA had handled this better they would have far fewer unhappy customers. For the recorded I’m not that bothered personally at this point, I just think they need to take this on board for the future.

No I’m an adult with a grasp of customer service.

 

for an adult you sure do whine a lot LMAO

"Early Game Access* will begin on December 13th at 7:00AM EST, 2011 and ends on December 19th, 2011 at 10:01PM EST. During this time, we will be emailing invitations to join Early Game Access based on the order in which you redeemed your Pre-Order Code. Pre-load the game client now, so you're ready to play when your Early Game Access invitation arrives. Note that download time can vary and may take awhile"

 

I get that the time frame and blaa blaa blaa after the dates. But this could have been worded 100% better to keep people from say, taking a day off work or something like that...

Doesn't say the invitations won't exclude you from access if you don't get them BY the 13th. Its says early game access is the 13th plain and simple. By this E-Mail, I would expect to be playing at the latests, late on the 13th but no later...

I completly agree with the OP. The backlash would be no where near as bad as it is right now if they just communicated what they were actually doing.

 

Stephen Reid stated earlier today that BW didn't want to disclose figures and such which is understandable. But they could at least say that they are letting in people who preordered before xxx date for example. Just so there isn't so much confusion. It's obvious why they haven't layed out exact dates for people because they honestly don't know what's going to happen next, I'm sure if things stay smooth then they'll ramp it up. But I just don't understand why they cannot just inform us which dates they are letting in when they announce a new wave. That would at least allow us to see the progress.

 

I don't mind waiting a full week to play the game, but when I'm sitting in the dark for that week not knowing what's going on, then that's when it becomes annoying.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Rohawk

Sure it was great that early access was 2 days early, but the whole early access experience has reflected poorly on Bioware.

 

Making people wait for an email, that might not arrive for a day or more, is just a little disrespectful. Just IMHO.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Monsoon

The one genuine mistake BW/EA have made is communication,

<snip>

Some people will never be happy but polite communication goes a long way to keeping most people happy and alleviates frustration.

 

I agree 100%. Most recently I think the lack of communication is evident in removing the grace period without saying why they decided to go against the MMO standard in that regard. I could happily accept such announcements if they said WHY.