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An SOE-Vanguard MMO Experience
Warsong
Member Posts: 563
I will now provide you with more facts as now my guild and other guilds have done repeated tests concerning the bug created by the most recent VG patch that in my case I was falsely accused of using in game exploits and then unjustly banned due to a completely different bug than the pet macro's the GM staff claims I was using.
At no time during this did I ever use a bug intentionally with the exception of attempts to try and determine what was going on to aid the GM Volson. And when I had a possibility in mind that may have be triggering the bug on Day 2 I then notified this GM within 10 minutes and shared with him my idea and he refused to assist me. At this time I stopped trying to help this staff do the job they are supposed to be doing (only to find out later that they obviously assumed I was using a pet macro and apparently demonstrating utter incompetence and mistrust of an honest customer and at that time cooperative one) unless a further request for my assistance was asked of me which didn't happen and I participated in no further combat. I was also never told or asked to not play a bought and paid for product until the issue was resolved.
This bug involves absolutely no macro's whatsoever and we now are 100% sure (02-09-08) what causes the shaman bird pet to load multiple attacks within 2 seconds time almost instantly killing a good percentage of different classes (results have varied some with heavily protected and armored characters)
I will now outline all the data I have gathered with the help of other good people and absolutely 0 help or concern from the GM staff as many customers have been trying to get to the bottom of this via tests and petitions and now GM's are threatening players who are just trying to help wrongs set right, and GM Volson is now making guild threats.
DAY 1 (2/05/08)
PVP vs Havoc and 1st sign of this new bug happens and player Stabfast plagues me in /tells for it seemed like an hour and also /tells from player Jazzaar accusing me of using a pet attack macro, calling me names and making threats of /petition while they tried to kill me a few times. My repeated replies to them explaining that I'm not using a pet macro and didn't know what was going on except that it may be a new increase in pet damage via the 02/05/08 VG Patch that morning and encouraged them to /bug /petition if they wished. A while later GM Volson asked for a moment of my time, and I offered my full cooperation to GM Volson try and figure out what was going on and then spent over an hour testing the pet damage with Volson and almost the whole time he kept asking me if I was using a pet macro, which I wasn't and had just recently only heard about the Necro class using “pet speed attack macro's” but I had no idea what they were or how they worked and never once tried to use one or obtain one.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/Day1.jpg
The outlined box shows the button I was pushing to attack and during each test I pushed only that button and only once which each time resulted in killing the GM within 2 seconds, I had no idea why this was happening and could only assume it was the game patch VG installed that morning as the day before this was not happening.
Volson's repeated asking if I was using a macro was getting annoying as I was not using one.
I tried to remain nice and patient with the GM which got tuffer as it then gave me an impression that I was lying to him. After at least an hour of this with GM Volson I had to log out to go eat and at that point I offered the GM to log on my that account to assure him of any doubts he may have been having. He replied was I believe “No thank you we will get to the bottom of this, Thank you for your time.” he then left as did I.
THE NEXT DAY (day 2) (2/06/08)
I started roaming the game world pvping and ended up pvping for around 2 hours in the city of Khal and not once in that time my pet attack anyone the same way it was the day before (I then assumed that GM Volson got the bug fixed) NOTE: I was fighting with 3 guild mates vs 4-6 from the guild MIM and they beat us up mostly in that session and my pet basically appeared to do very little damage to most of my opponents with a 1 vs 1 with Chicana (ranger lvl 50) which lasted around 4-5 mins and my pet was attacking him a lot during the fight with no sign of the bug it had the day before.
<I logged out for a break>
Later that day (day2)
Now in Razad pvping 2 from guild LAW Baruka (50 monk) and Goroka (50 bear shaman) no sign of the pet bug yet although I was killed as I was passing a chunk line and then mt character bugged (I had 0 health and couldn't use any spells/abilities/nothing and also had a death window open and counting down to alter.) They both started harrasing me with name calling cheater-hacker /tells and Goroka said he was petitioning me. I told them “I was dead and didn't know what was going on but I'm no hacker and encouraged them to /petition /bug it so that also could be hopefully fixed..1st time I ever saw that bug” I pvped for another hour or so in Razad with no sign of bugs.
I then traveled to the next chunk, Varryn Dunes and did /who and was alone and pushed the AUTO GUARD ME COMMAND on the pet toolbar. I started to small break as I was alone in the chunk and suddenly heard the *swoosh* noise an invisible or stealthed character makes when one is very close and encountered a big lag spike/freeze as my FPS dropped from 25 to 1-7 for a few moments and hit /who again and it showed only me in the chunk for the next 5-10 mins but the lag spikes and *swoosh*
and I assume that a GM was by me doing something. <shrug>.
I went afk 2 mins for a drink and when I sat back down I get attacked from behind by a 50 sorcerer and before I could react my pet killed him from autoguard, he died in 1 second by the now reoccurred new bug. And as I conversed in /shout with the still dead Sorcerer and he complained and I explained that the same thing was going on in (Day 1 patch day) and assumed Volson had the bug fixed as I had been on for hours (Day 2) pvping and it hadn't happened once until just now. So as I monitored /who for more enemies and the whole time showing just the 2 of us and the dead Sorc I had targeted 30m away. And now all of a sudden another *swoosh* and then a CTD. I quickly re log so the Sorc doesn't get a jump on me as I logged and discover that /who shows me alone again and then looked up the patch notes from the day before to see if any info could give me a clue and one catches my eye as I think of one thing that may have happened differently this day...I had my pet summoned and crossed the chunk lines from Razad to Rahz Inkur to Varryn Dunes.
ADVENTURING (from patch notes)
Necromancer–Fixed a bug with Necro-Abomination pet graft abilities not working after chunking.
And I wondered if the VG team introduced this new bug with this change somehow. And over the next 5-10 minutes I crossed a chunk line to see if I can get a chance to test if the bug is triggered by crossing the chunk line and I kept tying to message GM Volson and then the *swoosh*/lag happens again and /who again shows me alone in the chunk and so I /tell Volson again and he is online and I am still hearing the noise of a character invis near me + lower FPS. I say “Can I help?” he replies “No, Can I help you?” my reply “Is that you following me here invis?” his reply “No, why do you ask?” and I explain the noise/lag and the CTD and ask if he knows what's going on or who it was and he replies.
“I have no idea” and I asked him if he found out what was going on with the pet damage and he replied “Yes, it will be fixed soon” my reply “Nice, hey I had an idea that the bug may be related to the Necro-Pet fix, do you have time to come test it with me?” his reply “No, the problem is being taken care of” and then I'm attacked from behind by 50 monk Baruka.
And in a split second Baruka hit's me with several attacks simultaneously that drops my health from 100% health (4500ish) to around me having 5% left and my pet on autoguard kills him 4-5 seconds later and might have killed him sooner but he was spam jumping 30-50m in the air and my pet did appear to be doing the bugged fast damage.
And then I tried to message GM Volson again so I could tell him that I'm thinking the damage bug is being triggered by the pet crossing a chunk line but said he was offline.
So I thought of how fast that monk was able to do over 4k damage to me in 1 second which over the last 2-4 months at least I start recalling fights with Monk and Rogue classes and guild mates who sometimes complained about being one shotted in 1-2 seconds (actually VG designed Monk/Rogue multiple attack macro's that in most cases where killing their opponents faster than or as fast as my pet was killing off and on since this new patch bug)
I then decided to make a /petition as I realize “How can this all be right?” and why are Monks and Rogues being allowed for months now to basically do the same thing as Necro pets and now, only newly apparent to me Shaman pets. Which is pvp killing other players with 3-5+ attacks in 1-2 seconds and why is there nothing being done by VG when Monks/Rogues do it?? And I am now being informed by many players that Monks and Rogues doing this is not only allowed but encouraged!!!?!!
I understand that they don't have heals or pets but those don't even become a factor as the kills are usually done in 1 second.
As I am close to submitting this /petition concerning these issues I hear the *swoosh* again over and over plus my FPS drop again but /who shows only me in the chunk and this combined with the fast macro attacks and bugged issues I'm experiencing with my pet that I'm getting grilled over really about it.
ROGUE EXAMPLE: http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/Roguemacroattack.jpg
At this point I'm starting to feel a bit harassed not only by THE PLAYERS COMPLAINING AND NAME CALLING & FALSE ACCUSATIONS, ETC But now with the tests and treatment and the soon to be very apparent mistrust GM Volson is harboring about me, despite my complete honesty and full cooperation. And to add to that trying to continue on my own to find out what is going on with my pet over the last 2 days since that patch!
Now as I'm scratching my head over all this I begin to feel very annoyed by all of these issues.
The now off and on 1-2 hours of hearing what can only be a GM hovering over me causing me bad lag spikes, false pvp alarms and a CTD are starting to wear thin and I close the petition concerning (which only confronted why Monk and Rogues) just in time as a group of players rush me and the next hour or so I spend pvping in and around this same area plus the GM poping in and out here and there which I believe may have caused 2 more CTD's and aided in me dying a few more time that I would have if not for the lag and CTD's this GM(or VG staff member) is causing gets me very annoyed with the whole situation.
MONK EXAMPLE:
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/MonkMac1vsBIRD.jpg
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/MonkMac2.jpg
So I stop what I'm doing and move to a safe place and I send GM Volson another tell asking him if he knows whats going on, he claims to not know. I then ask him if he could find out and offer my full cooperation and assistance with whatever the issue may be and he refuses to assist me and tells me he is busy.
At this point I no longer feel like I'm being treated fairly and yes I became lees than polite with the current GM staff (I'm human, the poor handling of this situation by the staff was reason to be upset)
So I take a bit of a break and start to discuss things with friends when I express my now agitated state and I accidently MT Volson a couple of times and then he asks me if those were really miss tells which I allowed to kinda offend me and he asked what I was referring to inquiring about the Mt's and at this point I vent my current frustrations with the issues and situation to Volson stating that I feel like I'm being harassed a bit here and unjustly so as I am breaking no rules and even to this date have offered full cooperation from VG beta to present day and didn't much like being treated like the cat who ate the canary and then took a 30-40 minute break from the game to calm down.
As I return to play some more in a calmer state but still mildly agitated. Me and a guild mate go to pvp and 20 minutes later I CTD once again and decide to take another 30-40 minute break and eat dinner.
And when I log back in I notice almost my whole toolbar/combat set up missing which has happened before when a GM has logged into my account to fix something. And after finding out that most of the coreUI tool bars clear I had started rearranging my set up as to keep the re set up time to a minimum (I use a coreUI set up which is different than a VG generic one and has twice as many tool bars that I would make half for combat and the other half for craft but those times and takes some time to set up all the spells/attacks/crafting recipes, etc).
This made me very upset as my current /petition pertained to Monks and Rogues which would require no need to log onto the account. I couldn't understand why a GM logged onto my account while I was logged in causing me to crash to desktop. I could only assume at this point that GM Volson crashed my game intentionally to try and catch me using a pet macro as he kept asking about on Day 1 as no other reason as to why came to mind as I had done nothing wrong and the pet macro Volson badgered me on was the only reason I could think as to why.
I then pulled open the current unanswered petition and modified it while very upset at the current treatment by mainly the GM staff and modified it addressing my new concerns over feeling now harassed heavily by whoever is was following me around causing me to have a very poor gaming experience with all the distractions extra lag from whoever the staff member was following me.
I felt like I deserved some sort of explanation at this point as to who was doing all this to me and why it was being done.
Here is the GM reply to that petition:
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/FalseAssurance.jpg
And he tells me I have nothing to worry about if I was doing nothing wrong. And I felt that way already and the fact that a GM was following me didn't bother me and it had happened a couple other times over the last year but never to the extent it went to this day as who ever it was seemed to be teleporting in and out on me for I believe 2 hours and maybe longer and this action kept causing lag while I was pvping, CTD and an all to often alert that I was fixing to be jumped from behind again.
I DIDN'T FEEL ANY CONCERN THAT I WAS IN THE WRONG.
I STRONGLY FELTTHAT I WAS BEING TREATED WRONG BY THE EMPLOYEES OF THE COMPANY I PAY TO PLAY, WORK FOR.
The bottom line here is these are the people who are employed with money people like me spend to help insure a great gaming experience for my money I pay each month. SOE does have some sort quality level of the gaming experience in mind for their/your customers? So far does this sound about par as a “good” quality level? Is this the bar?
And now the kicker, since I missed getting my last petition handled when I was not online. I then had to rewrite another one as GM Volson's mail reply was very unhelpful and the next petition was answered by another GM who couldn't explain to me why I was being treated the way I was and GM Moonlite contacted me and banned the account accusing me of in game exploiting and a few days later (02-09-08) an email was sent (after a lot of time and trouble just to get an explanation of why and what, time which was apparently wasted by my friends and guild doing the GM's and any VG staff members job basically)
The email GM Moonlite sent and the reasons why I was banned included around 80% fabricated information (the 20% or so that was accurate was me verbally expressing my dissatisfaction and re-opening a forum thread to try and help educate my accusers of the facts.)
And now after seeing what kind of people are running things here we are blocking Sony, SOE and any other affiliated company from all of our credit lines as no part of what is allowing these kinds of things to be served to their customers will not receive another red cent of our money. Blacklisted
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The bug was created by the last vanguard patch and this was not an issue for my character the day before and any days before that NEVER until this patch. My people have now educated GM Moonlite about this bug and this GM has no cares whatsoever that their were mistaken.
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The bug starts by traveling via crossing any chunk line or porting (by any means, recalls, etc) with the pet out. And the bug does not exist if the pet remains in the same chunk it was created in.
-
The bug was caused by the Necromancer patch fix.
This info will now be publicly distributed as a public service to the community.
Comments
Welcome to the SWG Pre-NGE SOE haters club this is the way SOE treats its player base. and why SWG is almost dead.
Some more info that shows a misrepresented and self contradicting GM staff offering assistance with "anything" a customer may need assistance with. Which VG posted after GM Volson threatened and entire guild for wanting nothing more than wrongs to be made right and or educate this staff with new information that was being uncovered as a group of customers "beta" tested this new bug in hopes that submitting what was really going on and what the account was banned for was GM error and incompetence
VG MOTD
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/02-07-08.jpg
An entire guild threatened for wanting assistance and stated by GM's they would receive but didn't.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GuildThreats.jpg
There is actually allot more information to date that has been collected but not yet sorted through and compiled demonstrating horrid customer support and game management. I'm about to begin beta testing another game so if it gets to boring I may post it :P
PIRATE LORDS
And when SOE did take over the game most of the guild left and decided to wait for the next game we would like....only me and a few others stayed to support those few guild mates who were hesitant to give SOE another shot but did............So we knew this stove was hot :P
I'm actually not angry over this now as all of this recent stuff can be seen as being quite helpful in exposing incompetent management and service as well as ongoing customer abuse at the hands of the SOE staff.
I simply feel compelled to distribute it , as it now has potential to aid the community and even aid the current VG staff's bosses by placing a non corrupt and competent staff in their place. I have no expectations
PIRATE LORDS
The way I see it if it's in the game then it's all legal and their fault they ain't fixed it tbh.
Funny theres not one post about this bug on the vanguard forums , not even the Sartok server forums. I really doubt that you would have been banned if it was a bug that they introduced in thier last patch.Sounds like you got caught and now your on a vendetta
What is this then?
http://forums.station.sony.com/vg/posts/list.m?topic_id=27372(oh my another deleted thread, why am I not surprised? How bout this if you are even concerned, you go post a thread on the Sartok forums asking about the bug. Inquiring why no info is posted or a forum thread made making customers aware. Then ask if there were threads made over the last week since the bug appeared that had players and GM's accusing other players of using pet macro's
(the 2 bugs do the same thing but the one I was accused of requires using a macro and existed before the patch which I never did and the other was caused by the patch and no one really know how it worked until the GM's banned a player trying to help them and concerned customers used their free time to do the VG staffs job for them with almost 0 assistance and 0 concern to admit they had been wrong.)
You go do this and then run back here after your education and make false accusations
Also over the last week 2 threads on the topic of this bug have been deleted because of people that sound just like you making false accusations and flaming.
And one has to wonder when this kind of GM abuse is exposed how much could also be SOE-VG cover up.
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GMkillingwithpetbug.jpg
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/M-deny-ban-threat.jpg
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/whataspin.jpg
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GMfootinmouth.jpg
Looks here to be a bunch of back peddling, misrepresentation, lies even by the head GM.
In pic 2 the GM denies that anyone was banned over that pet bug and in the email my wife basically had to endure,
1st Doing the VG dev teams job in discovering how the bug was working (hours of testing and not only her)
2nd Proving to a GM staff that didn't want to listen or help since Radiok asked GM Volson for further assistance the day after the patch but was refused
3rd Many customers sent in petitions requesting assistance on this matter over the week and not only were they all refused it lead to GM Volson threatening an entire guild for wanting assistance. i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GuildThreats.jpg (this was also denied by the lead GM later in the week as shown the second link).
And while some may choose to view this as a vendetta and not believe a word, well that obviously is their choice.
But if this is all 100% accurate (it is) then who will be the next victim? Well that is easy, another one of their current or future customers.
I suppose it may be a good thing since all of this has happened and it can be traced via a competent investigation of the player and GM logs by someone higher up in the employment chain. And I have been contacted by SOE customer service requesting further details on the banning and they asked If I have any suggestions.
I then suggested a thorough investigation be done by those outside the current VG staff and disciplinary action be taken to the fullest extent to those employees responsible.
Still, I have 0 expectations as I am familiar with this company and the poor customer service many received dating back to 2003 by SOE. But I adamantly believe service this horrid should be reported and documented. Of course some may be perfectly fine with a lower standard of customer service and remain quiet. I am not one of those types of people and better or an improving standard for customer service will never happen if people just sit on their hands.
PIRATE LORDS
I was back for a month is Decmeber and had nothing but great experiences with the support staff. Of course, I wasn't on Sartok. I would imagine as long as it took them to ban Ebonlol that they are going to extreme lengths to make sure they don't ban someone without just cause.
I read your post (ALL of it), and I believe that you did in fact have something to hide. If this resonates with me after reading your one-sided view of how the interactions went, then it would probably be a slam-dunk if the other side voiced their opinions.
Just as the GM stated, why would you be paranoid about being followed by a GM if you weren't doing anything wrong? Paranoia in many cases is justified. If you truly wanted to test a possible exploit only to help the design staff, why not test it with friends who know you're not macroing? Instead of in PvP when people are already accusing you of hacking. Why would you compare your pets damage to that of another class if you were really only trying to get to the bottom of a possible bug introduction in a recent patch? This gives the appearance that you are trying to justify the use of something you know isn't on the level.
My guess is you already knew of the bug and continued to use it to your advantage and this is why you were banned. Perhaps you didn't know what caused it and that really doesn't matter in the end. If you know something isn't working appropriately, and you continue to use it to an unfair advantage that is indeed an exploit and won't go unnoticed (especially in PvP where people are scoping for exploiters).
Let's say that your pet got bugged after chunking and would no longer attack your opponent, what would you do? Probably dismiss it and summon a new one, right? Now, if your pet gets bugged and attacks 3 times in succession, shouldn't you do the same, knowing that this is not an intended mechanic?
Sorry, I couldn't resist......
So you have been familiar with their bad business practices since 2003, and yet for some reason, decided that you would be a faithful loving servant and 'test' their exploitable bug for them without being asked by the company you have known for years was corrupt?
You should gain a little consistancy in your story; next time you get caught exploiting bugs you should act 'shocked' that the company you have been so loyal to would do such a thing, after all it was their unblemished reputation for customer service that led you to choose to jump in the mix and help out for the good of the game.
You see, IF:
You knew SOE was corrupt since 2003 then......
A. You wouldn't be playing an SOE game
B. You certainly wouldn't self-appoint yourself 'exploitable bug tester' without written consent from SOE, so that you could cover yourself if they tried to do something slimy.
C. You would exploit the bug, stickin it to the man. Get caught, get banned and post at mmorpg thinking your well constructed argument that has put bits and pieces of evidence taken out of context together in such a way that surely the world will cry out for the head of Smedley once and for all and we will have our vengence.
D. You knew they were corrupt, tested the bug without permission anyway, get banned, eat your bitter pill, kick yourself in the butt, saying "I should have known better", and certainly not publicly admit in an mmo forum about the huge avoidable mistake you made.
My guess is C.
If your story is true, you should have picked D. And next time you have the opportunity to 'test' an exploitable bug, I highly recommend you try options A or at the very least B.
Funny how you make no attempts what so ever to challenge and explain away that at the point on day 2 when I know the pet was bugged and I contact GM Volson asap and inform him that I believe I know how the pet is being bugged and suspect what part of the last patch caused it as well. (note this is 02-06-08 the day after the patch)
Here you made no attempts to explain why GM Volson didn't come to assist me assist the VG staff in a course that would correctly identify a bug so that something could be done about it. You can assume what you wish and then twist it anyway you want, that is your right. But I know what my intentions were and what they weren't and will continue to stand my ground.
If I were a GM and in charge of making sure the customers of VG are treated as fairly as possible I would have agreed to come to assist a customer that on the day before had an hour long test in attempts to identify a game problem when they later requested assistance. But here GM Volson refused and I'm left with trying to make an intelligent and informed decision why, and my conclusion tells me that GM Volson never really believe that a new bug now existed and was instead now just trying to trap a customer he believed exploiting a pet macro and un professionally assumed a player was just lying to him .
It's no stretch what so ever as no one believed a new bug now existed and and this was clearly seen over the course of the week on the forums as many players from another guild (Havoc) made accusations over and over as to such until 02-08-08 when one of our members (Ruski) challenged one of them (Tzigone) to a test proving that a macro was not being used. Tzigone logged to his bird shaman and Ruski met him and showed him. The proof that the GM staff had made the same mistake is clearly outlined and is also backed with SS proof which also exposes my wife being flat out lied to by the Lead GM. The following SS are from 02-08-08 (my account was banned 02-06-08)
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GMkillingwithpetbug.jpg (my wife educating the GM staff that another bug exists and is thanked and note as she is told that the lead designer is there took the information. If the GM staff already knew what was going on then why even bother bringing the lead designer??)
And after this my wife tried to get the lead GM to admit they were wrong and not only does that not happen she is also lied to twice by the lead GM as the next 3 SS outline.
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/M-deny-ban-threat.jpg
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GMfootinmouth.jpg
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GuildThreats.jpg
In M-deny-threat link the lead GM claimed that no one was banned for using a shaman pet bug and denies a guild being threatened. The following 2 links show proof to the exact opposite. And I understand that you can simply say "those SS can be faked" ya you "can" but the fact is this is all 100% accurate and could be easily verified if any at SOE higher up on the chain cared to make an investigation. Mind you if an investigation was made by a competent party at SOE more lies and abuse would also be discovered dealing with just this one poorly mismanaged episode. And I challenge SOE to do so.
And ya I understood full well people like you would be coming along but the truth with proof and facts backing it > weak twists and assumptions.
The other facts are. After GM Volson refused to believe me I attacked no one else, I was attacked 2 more times before I left and yes my pet killed them from auto defend and I knew full well it was bugged (I was trying to leave the area)I then and did go to an unpopulated area with a friend (Ruski).
There we did some tests up until my game was crashed by a GM logging on my account and cleared most of my UI for no reason what so ever other than false assumptions that I was using a pet macro which wasn't there as now I'm sure thats why this was done.
And ya at that point the next time I spoke with GM Volson I told him that if he had been working for me in service and I caught him treating people in this manner I would have fired him (something like this was said in the ban mail GM Moonlite sent the account later but it accused me of claiming that I could have them all fired) Again another staff lie/twist of truth which can be verified by a competent investigation from SOE. (and there are a few other lies in the mail plus a very un professional haughty little taunt made by GM Moonlite concerning my monetary status that I believe SOE corporate/the lead GM's boss should only see)
It's clear to me these SOE employees believe themselves to be un touchable and can get away with anything they want with the EULA and all. Time will tell
wordpress.com/tag/john-smedley/
PIRATE LORDS
Sorry, I couldn't resist......
So you have been familiar with their bad business practices since 2003, and yet for some reason, decided that you would be a faithful loving servant and 'test' their exploitable bug for them without being asked by the company you have known for years was corrupt?
You should gain a little consistancy in your story; next time you get caught exploiting bugs you should act 'shocked' that the company you have been so loyal to would do such a thing, after all it was their unblemished reputation for customer service that led you to choose to jump in the mix and help out for the good of the game.
You see, IF:
You knew SOE was corrupt since 2003 then......
A. You wouldn't be playing an SOE game
B. You certainly wouldn't self-appoint yourself 'exploitable bug tester' without written consent from SOE, so that you could cover yourself if they tried to do something slimy.
C. You would exploit the bug, stickin it to the man. Get caught, get banned and post at mmorpg thinking your well constructed argument that has put bits and pieces of evidence taken out of context together in such a way that surely the world will cry out for the head of Smedley once and for all and we will have our vengence.
D. You knew they were corrupt, tested the bug without permission anyway, get banned, eat your bitter pill, kick yourself in the butt, saying "I should have known better", and certainly not publicly admit in an mmo forum about the huge avoidable mistake you made.
My guess is C.
If your story is true, you should have picked D. And next time you have the opportunity to 'test' an exploitable bug, I highly recommend you try options A or at the very least B.
"My guess is C."This one is easy, one of us is making guesses and the other is not.
PIRATE LORDS
AD SANITATEM GRADUS EST NOVISSE MORBUM
Ya, I guess I should have just logged out, not played at all and continued to wait 3-6 months when the current VG staff finally figured out the bug on their own and then another 3-6 months for them to figure out how to fix it.
PIRATE LORDS
EDIT: I just had an interesting conversation with someone who remembers you bragging about the coin and infamy you took off Volson after killing him. Wonder if maybe you have an alter-ego on these forums.
Funny emote.
You exploited, got banned, started to whine.
You think that the emote describes anything else then your apperance?
I'm so broke. I can't even pay attention.
"You have the right not to be killed"
Sorry, I couldn't resist......
So you have been familiar with their bad business practices since 2003, and yet for some reason, decided that you would be a faithful loving servant and 'test' their exploitable bug for them without being asked by the company you have known for years was corrupt?
You should gain a little consistancy in your story; next time you get caught exploiting bugs you should act 'shocked' that the company you have been so loyal to would do such a thing, after all it was their unblemished reputation for customer service that led you to choose to jump in the mix and help out for the good of the game.
You see, IF:
You knew SOE was corrupt since 2003 then......
A. You wouldn't be playing an SOE game
B. You certainly wouldn't self-appoint yourself 'exploitable bug tester' without written consent from SOE, so that you could cover yourself if they tried to do something slimy.
C. You would exploit the bug, stickin it to the man. Get caught, get banned and post at mmorpg thinking your well constructed argument that has put bits and pieces of evidence taken out of context together in such a way that surely the world will cry out for the head of Smedley once and for all and we will have our vengence.
D. You knew they were corrupt, tested the bug without permission anyway, get banned, eat your bitter pill, kick yourself in the butt, saying "I should have known better", and certainly not publicly admit in an mmo forum about the huge avoidable mistake you made.
My guess is C.
If your story is true, you should have picked D. And next time you have the opportunity to 'test' an exploitable bug, I highly recommend you try options A or at the very least B.
"My guess is C."This one is easy, one of us is making guesses and the other is not.
Yes, I can only guess based on the info you provided that you exploited. You know that you did.
Nice of you to give props to SOE, they got rid of an exploiter (illness) and are on the way back to health.
Answer these questions directly:
Did you 'test' the bug on other players or mobs without that persons knowledge or consent?
Did you 'test' the bug AFTER you asked the GM to help and he said, "no"? This is basically you asking for permission to test and the GM telling you not too....so did you anyway?
If you answered 'no' to either question, this is what you have to undeniably prove with clear evidence.
If you answered 'yes' to EITHER, you deserved to be banned.
Nice of you to give props to SOE, they got rid of an exploiter (illness) and are on the way back to health.
Answer these questions directly:
Did you 'test' the bug on other players or mobs without that persons knowledge or consent?
Did you 'test' the bug AFTER you asked the GM to help and he said, "no"? This is basically you asking for permission to test and the GM telling you not too....so did you anyway?
If you answered 'no' to either question, this is what you have to undeniably prove with clear evidence.
If you answered 'yes' to EITHER, you deserved to be banned.
Ok, I guess replying to you is going to remind me of dealing with the current VG staff as I will have to pull you around via lil red wagon. (That means help you along because you are having trouble getting places you need to go FYI)
1. No props, allow me to be of assistance to interpret what is what.
Illness=Corrupt&incompetent GM staff Health=Knowledge of Facts, Knowledge of Cure
2. Q: Did you 'test' the bug on other players or mobs without that persons knowledge or consent?
A: Absolutely Not
3. Q: Did you 'test' the bug AFTER you asked the GM to help and he said, "no"? This is basically you asking for permission to test and the GM telling you not too....so did you anyway?
A: I will assume you are referring to section 1) or 2) of the OP. Why don't you take a little time and re examine, this lesson may help you better understand what people are saying when they communicate.
As I will clearly show in no way shape or form am I ever asking permission to test and in no way shape or form am I ever being asked or told not to test. Your skills at comprehension are not impressive to say the least.
Let me know if you still have trouble comprehending and I will be glad to assist you further.
I asked if he had time to come test it with me, he said "no" (as in he does not have time), the problem is being taken care of” (as in the bug will be fixed.......the bug still exists)
I was informed not long ago about another incompetent GM who answered a petition because it was still going on. The GM logged on that character to "fix it" and not only did he not fix it, he broke the pet and it no longer functions properly as a pet at all. The GM also accused this player of using a differently related bug that I'm now told only affects Bear Shamans and Clerics (he is a bird shaman).
It deals with stacking several tiered spells to benefit from them all at once.
The player did have multiple tiered spells on his hot bar but this is actually very common with high players who buff lower level players as the higher ones will not work if the levels are to far apart.
So the VG GM staff=corrupt and incompetent......that does sound like an Illness for SOE, but I rarely have trouble comprehending reality and logic but I don't ice skate well...I guess we all have our areas.
I offered the GM to log on my that account to assure him of any doubts he may have been having.= (Me offering the GM to log on my account)
“No thank you we will get to the bottom of this, Thank you for your time.”= (He will figure it out on his lonesome) Which actually never happened, the staff, other players all denied another bug existed.
In all truth other players denial of this bug made sense cuz as far as I know, most (maybe all) of the player bird shamans run summon pet macos that constantly recall the pet (because of another bug that causes the pet to do a run away loop). So it doesn't surprise me that other players aren't noticing a bug because as soon as they cross a chunk line a new pet is called negating the bug. (I don't use spell/combat/summon macros)
So ya the whole "we will get to the bottom of this" never even came close to happening until my people began testing AFTER I was banned and then informed the staff as shown here on 02-09-08
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GMkillingwithpetbug.jpg
And this also further demonstrates an un professional unwillingness to admit they were wrong as I never once used a pet macro (the pet macro did the same thing this bug did but with a macro and I guess is used by spamming a button or stacking text)
So I was banned for using a pet shaman bug on 02-06-08 but I never once used a pet macro (fact)....well hmmmm. Still having trouble with the math? If I had done something intentional I wouldn't go through all this to expose these n|tw|tz. But I will do this to inform people with a degree of intelligence who can understand that exposing this kind of mis management has the potential to lead to a better standard for customer service.
i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GMfootinmouth.jpg
I can only guess with the example you provided of your comprehensive skills that you are having trouble comprehending information.
PIRATE LORDS
Funny emote.
You exploited, got banned, started to whine.
You think that the emote describes anything else then your apperance?
Why yes it is funnyYou opened thread, didn't read, got fixated on the pretty colors and flashys
WTS ROPE! PST
WTS SPELL CHECK! PST
WTS WIT! PST
PIRATE LORDS
True story, I was up to 15p
..........then he asked for it back. 
And the infamy???lawl he had 7 infamy and even if VG infamy was worth anything 7 wouldn't buy a stick of gum so not sure why that was mentioned. lol
And the alter ego thing......well I do like to play and if I'm in game or on that games forums I'm usually bout 99% RP and having a good time for my money.
But when it comes to business and customer service I'm 90-100% all business and 0-10% play.
PIRATE LORDS
Warsong, I think we just don't have enough insight into this matter to judge who was wrong or right.
You sound mature enough that I'd believe your story, but I wasn't there. I just see the screenshots you assembled and it can be as you say, or not.
So what I am going to say below isn't said in defence of these specific VG GMs. You may in fact be falsely accused of exploiting.
The thing I do see is that the GMs were quite polite. There were at least two GMs involved and they may not have known what the other GM had said, which may have led to answers that did seem like lies. Additionally GMs are restricted in what they can do, or say, by corporate policy. Even if they would want to help you, they have to adhere to the rules. They can get fired if they make a wrong decision that was against these policies.
I have been involved in Customer Support for a MMORPG myself and I can honestly say that you just can't expect a GM to assist you immediately. GMs have a lot of work and they have a ticket queue which is quite long at times. Imagine you are helping someone with his/her issue, and you permanently get spammed with tells from other people that think their issue is top priority. You'll obviously tell them that you cannot help at the moment. Especially if the matter is already noted as a bug.
And the following around thing (if it really was a GM following you):
A GM that doesn't care at all, would just ban you. Not follow you for ages and let a lot of the people on the server wait for help.
So a GM following you for such a long time, shows that they want to make absolutely sure you are intentionally exploiting, before they ban you. And keep in mind, it might have been a different GM following you that worked on a petition from another player. He might not have known you are "testing". Testing on non-friendlies isn't a good idea anyways in such a case. I understand that this problem did stop for a while, so it is hard to blame you for continuing to play with your pet. I would have dismissed my pet after the first player died though.
And if I would have supected you of intentional exploiting, I would have given you a warning plus the advice not to engage in PvP with your pet until the issue is resolved.
It seems the GMs did not do that. Or you didn't post it.
Banning a player is the last thing you want to do as a GM.
I am not a Sony Fan, but this is my perspective of the issue after reading your story.
If what you are saying here is the truth, the ban will most likely be lifted.
I wish you good luck.
PIRATE LORDS
When I first read your original post I almost felt sorry for you. I thought there was a good chance that you had been unjustly accused and banned. After looking at the screenshots however, I noticed that they all seemed to contain just the portions of conversation that you wanted to log. Almost as if you were already trying to build your case to try and get someone fired.
I suspect you exploited, laughed and bragged about it, then when posed with the possibility of account ban, you started compiling what you consider "evidence" to support a wrong-doing by CS. Am I getting close here? This starting to sound familiar at all? I give you props for almost being convincing. Next time you want to get someone fired, I recommend you actually log a wrong-doing by CS, and not some pseudo wire-tap framejob.
I didn't poke holes in the chedder. It was swiss when it was delivered.
IMHO this is the first intelligent post that makes great sense and many fine points. I understand and agree with 100% of it.
With the exception on day 1 when I was pvping Havoc just after the server came up I have no way of knowing one way or the other if my pet is supposed to be doing what it was doing or not, for months now rogues and monks have been killing players in pvp in 1 second using a not only allowed macro but a VG designed and GM encouraged to use macro (I was using no macro and as I was doing nothing different than I did the day/weeks/months before my first thought was in was an intended change by the dev team).
And of the 3 Havoc one was a rogue so why would I stop fighting them when it took my pet 2-4 seconds to kill each of them the rogue could have killed me in 1 second. The whole double standard going on with the unbalancing and backward logic here is just another issue that stinks to hell-o. And with this in mind I wasn't not going to stop using my class abilities unless instructed to do so and this never once happened.
I also understand their policies are strict and initially they were polite with a small exception to GM Volson asking me over and over on the 1st day "Are you sure your not using a pet macro" There is only so many times this can be answered with the same response which was exactly what I was doing. "No, I am pushing the pet bar attack button only once each test" before it starts to wear thin over the course of an hour"
And I don't and didn't mind helping the staff but I am a customer and I pay money to play a game not test bugs for the people I'm putting food on the table for to be direct. And as a customer I want great customer service and shown a degree of respect that makes me feel like I'm being trusted. I am a honest man and I not only didn't like the feeling I was getting from him it was compounded with the lag and CTD's I was getting the next day. I don't mind at all a GM following me as long it's not as prolonged as it was and causing me to have a horrible gaming experience. If it wasn't causing me lag and CTD's they can follow me 24/7 and I wouldn't care, I could have tolerated the *swoosh* noise.
And yes I can and did understand that GM Volson may have been busy and that was fine also and no he did not give me any instructions like "don't fight, don't fight with pet, don't test, don't pvp, don't play the game" I would have followed any of those instruction and even the last as long as the time was reasonable or if longer met with compensation in some fashion for the money I pay the company for the product I am expected to receive. GM Volson said nothing other than things to the effect that the problem was being handled or it would be fixed soon and neither of those replies turned out to even be true.
It was my wife with the help of guild mates who days later proved to them that another bug existed which leaves only 1 conclusion, they didn't believe me at all and they banned me because they thought I was using a pet macro and I wasn't and they couldn't prove I was because I wasn't. And that led me to believe that when I called 858-537-0898 and spoke with Mat H. (CSR) I was first told by him that he was obligated to give me the details of why the account was banned, he put me on hold for a bit and then told me "It was for using in game exploits" I then asked him to explain and he refused and said he didn't know and would tell me nothing else other than his supervisor was Scott D.
The mail sent giving reasons first lists the main reason
.i170.photobucket.com/albums/u269/Blackcorsair/GMfootinmouth.jpg
And then lists some others and 2 of them are true which involves me speaking out in anger to GM's and on the forums which I felt justified in doing because of the way the whole thing was handled. There are some other things there twisted and even fabricated claiming I said other things I would never say and didn't say even if angered. I would get great satisfaction and comfort if their superiors asked/demanded them to produce the evidence.
At this point even if the ban is lifted it would take some serious azz kissing and at the very least serious action taken by their employers to those responsible for the fabrications made. As it stands my guild of 65 members/accounts are going through the process being removed from the game and this company.
TY for your interest and logic /deepbow Your attitude is the kind that will improve customer service as well as many other things I'm sure
PIRATE LORDS
When I first read your original post I almost felt sorry for you. I thought there was a good chance that you had been unjustly accused and banned. After looking at the screenshots however, I noticed that they all seemed to contain just the portions of conversation that you wanted to log. Almost as if you were already trying to build your case to try and get someone fired.
I suspect you exploited, laughed and bragged about it, then when posed with the possibility of account ban, you started compiling what you consider "evidence" to support a wrong-doing by CS. Am I getting close here? This starting to sound familiar at all? I give you props for almost being convincing. Next time you want to get someone fired, I recommend you actually log a wrong-doing by CS, and not some pseudo wire-tap framejob.
I didn't poke holes in the chedder. It was swiss when it was delivered.
Ahh, actually I overlooked you posting within the quote line in the other postAnd now that I did read it and then read this post it makes me wonder if you went to the same school as Zorgo.
And I'll say the SS are clipped as my wife was hitting SS like every second because just after the test the GM suddenly logged out leaving her dead on the ground and then crashed the chunk which logged out her account.......She lost a good bit of good info because of this and because she wasn't spamming SS.
It's clipped to show relevant info and not the same chat over and over and allot of the SS were also just my wife requesting assistance, asking questions and making statements with very long spans of flat out being ignored. with all the SS's I had to go through I believe I got all and any relevant info as to pertain to what happened and what didn't happen.
The part where you say that GM Moonlite says no account will be banned for using a bug accidentally. This account was so does that make her statement true or false? Never once did I intentionally use a bug and even on the second day when I noticed the bug was back I never attacked anyone although I was attacked and my pet was on auto defend and that is just when I knew the bug was back....I had pvped most that day with no sign of it and now I realize that was because I crossed no chunk lines with the pet out. So where is the intent then?
As for any of the other stuff you are asking/claiming/guessing/miss reading/flipping/forking or spooning you can wad up and stuff into the holes in the swiss and make it cheddar because the supply is running low and if you post again you will need more.
I have answered enough of your post to demonstrate a valid point that the account was wrongly banned. Any of the other things you said drop into a mail and sent it to my secretary ---->
PIRATE LORDS
srry, hit quote when ment to hit edit
PIRATE LORDS