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.
Official My.com Press Release and statements
ArchivedUser
Guest
Greetings all,
VolkerMyCom writes:
Pay-to-Win
As previously communicated, we at My.com are, and remain, fully committed
to supporting the creative vision that Steven and Intrepid Studios has for
Ashes of Creation. Their vision appeals to the desires of western MMORPG
fans, and we are fully committed to bringing this non-Pay-to-Win vision to
the European players.
In the past, My.com has published and developed primarily titles that were, from the ground up, built around a Free-To-Play model. This is not the case with Ashes of Creation, which is fully tailored towards a subscription-based business model. We want to make sure the game reaches our players with a business model and monetisation options that matches the expectations of the fans and backers of Ashes of Creation.
We are fully supporting the Non-Pay-to-Win vision that Steven and Intrepid Studios have, and we will implement the same model for the My.com version as they implement for their version.
We believe that Ashes of Creation will be one of the largest MMOs ever to be globally published, and as a publisher, we are excited to help lead the charge , together with Steven and our friends at Intrepid Studios.
In the past, My.com has published and developed primarily titles that were, from the ground up, built around a Free-To-Play model. This is not the case with Ashes of Creation, which is fully tailored towards a subscription-based business model. We want to make sure the game reaches our players with a business model and monetisation options that matches the expectations of the fans and backers of Ashes of Creation.
We are fully supporting the Non-Pay-to-Win vision that Steven and Intrepid Studios have, and we will implement the same model for the My.com version as they implement for their version.
We believe that Ashes of Creation will be one of the largest MMOs ever to be globally published, and as a publisher, we are excited to help lead the charge , together with Steven and our friends at Intrepid Studios.
Customer Service
While My.com is always striving to provide the best possible Customer
Service for any of our titles, we may not always be meeting the players’
expectations in this regard. The feedback about Customer Service is
traditionally one of the toughest parts of publishing an online game, but
this will not deter us from improving. We are continually working on
getting better in this area, and we want you to keep on telling us about
your expectations.
In order to provide the best possible Customer Service for Ashes of Creation specifically, My.com will be working closely with Intrepid Studios to establish global procedures and policies for our players in the European and CIS regions. We will also establish joint service level expectations that My.com will commit to fulfilling.
As a first step to underline our commitment, we will already begin providing a base level of Customer Service for the European and CIS region, starting on the first of September. This will give us some head start on making sure that everything is set up for the times when players in Europe will have actual issues with which they contact us. Should you want to get in contact already - we are looking forward to hearing how we are doing there and where specifically you would want us to improve.
In order to provide the best possible Customer Service for Ashes of Creation specifically, My.com will be working closely with Intrepid Studios to establish global procedures and policies for our players in the European and CIS regions. We will also establish joint service level expectations that My.com will commit to fulfilling.
As a first step to underline our commitment, we will already begin providing a base level of Customer Service for the European and CIS region, starting on the first of September. This will give us some head start on making sure that everything is set up for the times when players in Europe will have actual issues with which they contact us. Should you want to get in contact already - we are looking forward to hearing how we are doing there and where specifically you would want us to improve.
Account Security
Intrepid and My.com will be working closely together on bringing the
account protection services to an even higher level. As part of that
collaboration, we at My.com are happy to announce, that we will be
providing additional account security mechanisms, such as Two-Factor
authentication, that will help to protect all our user’s accounts. This
will allow us to further expand security and control over accounts and data
for all users and we hope to share specifics on these plans in the near
future.
With the most recent implementation of the GDPR changes for European users, we have already solidified the security of your account and personal information, and given all My.com users more direct control over their data. These recent upgrades together with the plans we are pursuing with Intrepid will ensure that our data security is now up to the highest standards of the industry.
In addition to this, we will also closely collaborate on providing the client-server technology that will support this account security. Intrepid Studios will remain in full charge of compiling and providing the Ashes of Creation client through the My.com / mail.ru infrastructure, so that the process is as concise and secure as possible.
With the most recent implementation of the GDPR changes for European users, we have already solidified the security of your account and personal information, and given all My.com users more direct control over their data. These recent upgrades together with the plans we are pursuing with Intrepid will ensure that our data security is now up to the highest standards of the industry.
In addition to this, we will also closely collaborate on providing the client-server technology that will support this account security. Intrepid Studios will remain in full charge of compiling and providing the Ashes of Creation client through the My.com / mail.ru infrastructure, so that the process is as concise and secure as possible.
Localisation
In contrast to the titles that My.com was able to publish in the past, we
now find ourselves in the very positive situation of working with a game
that is in active development, and which is being built by a team that has
internalized the requirements for localisation and has considered this from
the get-go.
Intrepid Studios is already providing us with the necessary localisation tools that will allow My.com to focus on the actual localisation rather than having to work around a missing infrastructure. This will ultimately allow us to provide a localisation quality that meets our own expectations as much as those of the Ashes of Creation community. Additionally, the benefits of cooperating so early with the developers as in this case, allows us to provide feedback on matters of translations before things are set, which will further benefit the quality of translation in the game.
Intrepid Studios is already providing us with the necessary localisation tools that will allow My.com to focus on the actual localisation rather than having to work around a missing infrastructure. This will ultimately allow us to provide a localisation quality that meets our own expectations as much as those of the Ashes of Creation community. Additionally, the benefits of cooperating so early with the developers as in this case, allows us to provide feedback on matters of translations before things are set, which will further benefit the quality of translation in the game.
Server Quality
In order to provide the server quality, uptime and general operations
stability that we all expect from a game like Ashes of Creation, we will
once again work closely with Intrepid Studios who, by building a solid and
robust infrastructure and the necessary tools for managing them in the
first place, will lay the foundation for what will be a high quality server
environment for the European and CIS players.
In addition to the close consultation with Intrepid, our IT teams are already now beginning our technical planning. Working with our five, globally distributed data centers, we will be able to provide local servers that allow for the best possible connectivity, while working with cloud server providers such as Google and Amazon we are investigating possibilities for quick and efficient scaling of resources to quickly react to changes in demand of computing power.
Also here we will be able to benefit from working on the technical backbones early on in the development process, which allows us to make sure that the game and the infrastructure can work harmoniously instead of having to find ways to “work around” server structures that are developed for a more centralised market such as can be found in Asia. Intrepid supports the needs of a European infrastructure so that My.com can focus on providing the best possible service.
In addition to the close consultation with Intrepid, our IT teams are already now beginning our technical planning. Working with our five, globally distributed data centers, we will be able to provide local servers that allow for the best possible connectivity, while working with cloud server providers such as Google and Amazon we are investigating possibilities for quick and efficient scaling of resources to quickly react to changes in demand of computing power.
Also here we will be able to benefit from working on the technical backbones early on in the development process, which allows us to make sure that the game and the infrastructure can work harmoniously instead of having to find ways to “work around” server structures that are developed for a more centralised market such as can be found in Asia. Intrepid supports the needs of a European infrastructure so that My.com can focus on providing the best possible service.
In addition to these Official statements, I would also like to add the following comments as posted in the Official Ashes of Creation Discord server.
0
Comments
"Customer Service
As a first step to underline our commitment, we will already begin providing a base level of Customer Service for the European and CIS region, starting on the first of September. This will give us some head start on making sure that everything is set up for the times when players in Europe will have actual issues with which they contact us. Should you want to get in contact already - we are looking forward to hearing how we are doing there and where specifically you would want us to improve. "
This is a fantastic step towards creating a good standard for customer service appreciation. I would expect everyone subscribed here to wait with baited breath for specific details on promise to adhere to a service. OFC this is just sweet nothings without a condition also built in for penalties for failure to adhere to such a service.
"Account Security
With the most recent implementation of the GDPR changes for European users, we have already solidified the security of your account and personal information, and given all My.com users more direct control over their data."
There are potentially huge fines applied for failure to adhere to these regulations. One of the basic functions built into the GDPR is to have your data deleted upon request. I tried to do this with my data on this forum, with the hopes of renewing my account to the username I wish to keep. You still do not have an option to remove account data and neither did you respond to the mail I sent to you regarding it. I openly admit my intent was not for privacy reasons, so I did not pursue it any further than the mail I sent. But you must appreciate this shows lack of consideration to apply GDPR standards. Promises to apply them in the future holds little respect for me.
The fact that Interpid took the time to write this piece shows great character. I have never seen an MMO game supplier accept their mistakes with such openness before. It is brilliant to see, and no one is perfect. Far too many devs see themselves as above reproach once they have cash in their coffers. Taking the time to read through all the whines and moans must be seen as a very positive step to resolving this debacle. I really would like to see this venture survive into what it aspires to be, one of the greats.
"You are really going to miss out on one of the most fun MMOs in a very long time"
*waves*
(if latency allows, you can always just play on the NA servers)
not my words, but i am extremely wary of mycom.
has there been any news on billing services on eu? cause im not entrusting mycom with a loaded machinegun
There are some negatives but their are a lot of positives as well.
I won't be backing the project anymore, at one point I was strongly leaning to backing it but over time I have gotten hesitant.
Game has a lot of potential I'm in the wait and see what happens and give it a try when it comes out position at the moment.
I think each person really needs to just consider all the facts presented and decide for them selves if they are still committed believers, wait and see, or extreme doubters. Their really is no wrong choice it's something each person needs to decide for themselves.
Thankfully I don't live in EU nor do I really know the history of My.Com, sounds like with some people it will be a you have to prove it to me position ATM.
I can say without a doubt if they went with EA, Ubisoft or Daybreak in the US I would stay away, their would have to be some serious changes to those companies and factual and actual changes over a period before I would even think about spending a penny on any of those companies, regardless how good a company is business ethics is important.
I was a long time Apple customer since the first Mac that came out when I was in school, Ipods, Iphones, Ipads, Mac Books. I won't touch Apple products anymore I despise the company and their business ethics nor would I contribute to a greedy company like that . Nothing against people that loves Apple still I went from Extreme love to extreme hate.
So I could understand some peoples strong objections to My.Com based on their personal experiences. I think only time and action will tell and convince some of these people to give them a chance. Personally I don't kow the company so can't say my self.
I really do hope the game is still successful. I hope My.Com handles things differently for AOC for the sake of my EU brothers and sisters.
I have not written AOC off, I really hope everything works well and the game does great if it sticks to it's original vision. I will wait and see and only time will tell.
Intrepid, on the other hand, does not seem to have this fairness if they make decisions the completely other way around as they said previously. When I asked for a refund over this my.com BS, it got denied because I made the funding more than 30 days ago. And sorry if I hear people talking about "trust Intrepid" or trust"Steven Shariff", No, why should I trust a company or a person that is acting in such a way. Maybe next month they say, you know what, we decided that it is good for the game if my.com decides what´s in the cash shop, or maybe they decide, we do not think that European players should be able to play on NA because my.com complained that they do not make enough money.
Recommend you this Youtube video
I will give my.com credit because their servers usually are great and ive had very good experiences with their support. Any game they had input in turned out bad.
So.. if they really only will be handling support and network infrastructure for EU, fine with me. Perfect. No complaints from me ever.
If they handle more however i dont think we can garantee they will make the same mistakes again.