Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Questions/Concerns/Suggestions for "Referral system"
So I just want to start off by saying I do not believe that this referral system effects me in any personal way, my concerns with this can seem petty to some but its honestly just a flat concern or what have you.
So i'm noticing a lot of people are spamming their referral code without properly explaining WHAT exactly it is. I am seeing people spam the link in comment threads (especially in the kickstarter comments) and at the end of some YouTube videos.
My concern with the system is this; while i do think that it is a nice system as kind of like a personal "thank you" from the developers for spreading the word about their game, I feel that people are currently using the referral link in the wrong way.
They do not seem to be using the link solely for the purpose of bringing people to the game, but rather in the hopes they can dupe enough people into clicking and signing up via the link in order to have a discounted subscription.
Again while i do not think this technically effects me in any way,shape or form. I feel that something should be in place outlining specifically what using someone's referral code actually means.
For instance maybe have a little "!" pop up during the account creation saying something of the following....
"By using "(insert referrers name)" referral link, every purchase you make via the ingame cash shop or paying for you monthly subscription will give (insert referrers name) a discount on their subscription as well."
Also I would like to see an option to REMOVE your account from being linked with someone at a later date if you no longer wish to have it linked.
While I agree that it is a nice idea to reward people who have a large audience draw and turn people onto the game, I do not feel currently that this is being used properly. I am seeing many people talking about entering for weekly alpha key draws and simply linking the referral code and not the actual website.
Bringing it all back together again i do not have a burning issue with this system, regardless if i will be using it myself or not. However, I do feel a little irked that i am seeing many potentially dishonest people using this system to try and cheese their way into a cheaper subscription fee a month. I would ask that something be done or implemented into the account creation screen when using one of these referral codes to better lay out exactly what is being done when someone chooses to use said link. If the person is in full knowledge of what they are doing then i see no issue with the system at all. Additionally, since i have not used a referral code myself I would be unaware if something like this already exists, but i simple do not know.
Call me old fashioned, but I just feel a little bad that a lot of people could potentially be being tricked into signing up and potentially giving someone a free sub to AOC in the coming years. I feel that some specific YouTube content creators are not being honest when they say "use this to support me directly" and nothing else. I feel that people in comment sections talking about weekly drawing and linking their code are just being flat out dishonest.
Apologize for the long winded topic. Just wanted to throw my thoughts out there and offer a topic of discussion for you all. Would love to hear your thoughts.
So i'm noticing a lot of people are spamming their referral code without properly explaining WHAT exactly it is. I am seeing people spam the link in comment threads (especially in the kickstarter comments) and at the end of some YouTube videos.
My concern with the system is this; while i do think that it is a nice system as kind of like a personal "thank you" from the developers for spreading the word about their game, I feel that people are currently using the referral link in the wrong way.
They do not seem to be using the link solely for the purpose of bringing people to the game, but rather in the hopes they can dupe enough people into clicking and signing up via the link in order to have a discounted subscription.
Again while i do not think this technically effects me in any way,shape or form. I feel that something should be in place outlining specifically what using someone's referral code actually means.
For instance maybe have a little "!" pop up during the account creation saying something of the following....
"By using "(insert referrers name)" referral link, every purchase you make via the ingame cash shop or paying for you monthly subscription will give (insert referrers name) a discount on their subscription as well."
Also I would like to see an option to REMOVE your account from being linked with someone at a later date if you no longer wish to have it linked.
While I agree that it is a nice idea to reward people who have a large audience draw and turn people onto the game, I do not feel currently that this is being used properly. I am seeing many people talking about entering for weekly alpha key draws and simply linking the referral code and not the actual website.
Bringing it all back together again i do not have a burning issue with this system, regardless if i will be using it myself or not. However, I do feel a little irked that i am seeing many potentially dishonest people using this system to try and cheese their way into a cheaper subscription fee a month. I would ask that something be done or implemented into the account creation screen when using one of these referral codes to better lay out exactly what is being done when someone chooses to use said link. If the person is in full knowledge of what they are doing then i see no issue with the system at all. Additionally, since i have not used a referral code myself I would be unaware if something like this already exists, but i simple do not know.
Call me old fashioned, but I just feel a little bad that a lot of people could potentially be being tricked into signing up and potentially giving someone a free sub to AOC in the coming years. I feel that some specific YouTube content creators are not being honest when they say "use this to support me directly" and nothing else. I feel that people in comment sections talking about weekly drawing and linking their code are just being flat out dishonest.
Apologize for the long winded topic. Just wanted to throw my thoughts out there and offer a topic of discussion for you all. Would love to hear your thoughts.
0
Comments
Also,
[quote quote=22651]
While I agree that it is a nice idea to reward people who have a large audience draw and turn people onto the game, I do not feel currently that this is being used properly. I am seeing many people talking about entering for weekly alpha key draws and simply linking the referral code and not the actual website.
[/quote]
Maybe you haven't entirely gone through the referral system or just failed to notice this but each referral "code" is actually just a link to one of the pages on this website. The system uses cookies to track who the last used referral link to the official ashesofcreation.com was issued by.
There just needs to be some self-control - Do we really need that much free stuff to enjoy this community??
Hopefully they add these two things in the website update. Would be nice for people that don't want to support someone to be able to remove their link and maybe apply it towards someone they want to support, like favourite streamer, YouTuber or a friend.
The information is PLAINLY available on the website the referrals take people to. It is YOUR responsibility to pay at least a fraction of attention to what you are looking at.
The devs save money on advertising, and players who are passionate about the game or just making money may very possibly reach a lot of people that advertising wouldn't.
Adverts spam themselves all over webpages too in much more annoying ways than a referral link can.
I agree that people shouldn't put up FALSE info to try to get clicks - again though it's the clickers responsibility to pay attention like anything online!
The reason some probably don't explain the whole referral link is to keep the message short.
The system is here to stay, and if successful then you can probably expect other studios to adopt it if it saves a lot of money on advertising.
Would be nice though, a outfit or title or something like most games.
Bottom line, no one is being forced to do anything. Intrepid studios is almost certainly saving money which goes into the game instead.
And don't even go there about the eyesore of links on pages, 88.99% (made up stat) of stuff on the internet is total inexcusable garbage anyway.
[/quote]
If you are referring to cloaking donkey and his absolute misinformed stream of bile video he made then good riddance, ironically he was complaining about dishonesty and untruths whilst being so off the mark 90% of his vid it was sad to see.
[/quote]
Yes, but I believe you'll have to delete this account and start fresh using their link until Intrepid comes up with a better way to give ppl cred.
<div class="d4p-bbt-quote-title"><a href="https://www.ashesofcreation.com/forums/topic/questionsconcernssuggestions-for-referral-system/#post-22829" rel="nofollow">TheCouchNerd wrote:</a></div>
Yes nothing says “community” than spamming forums, comments, streams with referral links and not bothering to say what the ref link does, not giving a F about the game (I’ve seen streamers that knew about the game becoming pissed and now won’t talk about it or even support it). There should be a warning or explanation at least before you register.
</blockquote>
If you are referring to cloaking donkey and his absolute misinformed stream of bile video he made then good riddance, ironically he was complaining about dishonesty and untruths whilst being so off the mark 90% of his vid it was sad to see.
[/quote]
Who?
[/quote]
Well, it was just a guess :),
The good thing is the sign up doesn't lose anything, there is no remote chance of them ever losing out on anything by being referred.
So, no I do not believe that people should be able to remove their referrers. If they have clicked a link and signed up then the referrer has done their job, yes you can argue if the link was on KS then maybe not so much. But how is it fair if someone has spent time posting on websites/games/wherever else to not gain anything from it?
Would an advertisement company refund money spent later on if the advert was a success? No, they would not.
What kinda is sad is that well... the interwebz doesn't require people to know beans about what they comment on or require that people even post FACTS instead of whatever the hell they like or feel without a thought to what they might be damaging. That is the nature of free speech. It ain't always pretty but it is something that we do treasure.
The referral system looks harmless to me. It costs nothing to be a part of. Rather than working like a pyramid and making you more $$$ as people refer those you have referred, your referrals are reduced as their friends refer them! Hardly a scam artist's approach to wealth. ;)
Or maybe the sub is set higher to accommodate that, oh dear... that idea will set people off!
Or maybe the sub is set higher to accommodate that, oh dear… that idea will set people off!
[/quote]
Exactly! The way that these smaller startup Indie Dev games are structured they can be REAL CASHCOWS, or so I am told. Also despite what someone was going on about... what? oh yeah, The team realistically should be multiple times bigger than it is at this stage just isn't so. I have seen fairly impressive progress by a small team in short periods of time towards actually large enviroments with at least some basic functionality.
TDLR, You don't have to have huge teams and devastating overhead which probably explains why 15% off the top is doable for Intrepid..... Even if I was taught that advertising was best situated around 5%. Things have changed.
Edit: And it is a positively rolling (for Intrepid)15%. When my referrals start getting referrals that 15% starts going to them and not adding up for me.
<div class="d4p-bbt-quote-title"><a href="https://www.ashesofcreation.com/forums/topic/questionsconcernssuggestions-for-referral-system/#post-22857" rel="nofollow">TheCouchNerd wrote:</a></div>
Cloaking who? I have no idea who that is. And sadly no, not everyone are that smart to know all that. I’ve played with people who couldn’t grasp stuff that was for me so obvious and easy to understand. It’s better if they make it fool proof and add a watch to retroactively change stuff.
</blockquote>
Well, it was just a guess :),
The good thing is the sign up doesn’t lose anything, there is no remote chance of them ever losing out on anything by being referred.
So, no I do not believe that people should be able to remove their referrers. If they have clicked a link and signed up then the referrer has done their job, yes you can argue if the link was on KS then maybe not so much. But how is it fair if someone has spent time posting on websites/games/wherever else to not gain anything from it?
Would an advertisement company refund money spent later on if the advert was a success? No, they would not.
[/quote]
I really have nothing against the referral system except how people use it, but that's more of a moral thing I guess. We just don't think the same and that's totally fine.