Really? When I was younger the clap was quite common and it was always very personal.......

Hook...my kids love that movie. I could be wrong but he says that, or something very close to that.


Anyway, back on topic, Life isn't fair, if you haven't already figured that out by now. Either way, keep subbing, don't sub, or get an LTS.
No one made you Sub but you.

What do you get? This is what you get.

Both sides have a point here. Life-timers shelled out a hell of lot of money way back in the day, so they should have been rewarded with some kind of in-game special compensation. That's called creating customer loyalty, and it?s a very basic and important concept in business. If none of you in the forums recognize this, then you don't understand business.

On the other hand, looking at this situation from the point of view of my end as somebody who paid for 400 subscription days before buying an LTS, I really like the idea of my hard earned and paid for days stacking up towards the vet awards I will get after buying an LTS. A lot of LTS'ers bought a life-time account, played a few months after launch and haven't touched the game again. Should the time that they spend not playing be rewarded more than the money and time I had to spend into get up to my 400 days on the gold subscription? So, I can perfectly understand resentment towards lazy lifers because they didn't have to be online for every one of those days that accumulated towards vet rewards.

That being said; the devs are treading down a very dangerous path. They're cheapening awards that lifers thought were unique to them in order to attract gold?s and f2p'ers. That means they're willing to sacrifice some of the loyalty of pre F2P lifers in order to earn an extra buck. That looks a lot to me like a desperate move. If you don't have enough special content that you can't even please long-time life-timers, that means there is something fundamentally wrong with your content production schedule.

This decision also brings you further down the path of monetizing everything in the game and cheapening any sort of special incentive for having bought an LTS long ago. Hey, don't get me wrong; I don't condone lazy LTS'ers sitting on their butts, but a lot of LTS'ers do continue to make purchases in the game through the c-store. So, a balance is needed here. C-store purchases are necessary, but the items within the c-store shouldn't break the balance of the game in areas like PVP. Fleets are necessary, but one shouldn't have to join one to have to enjoy the special content in the game. Veteran awards are necessary to attract gold players, but there should also be special awards for people who have been with Cryptic since day one and long ago.

In sum, this is a bad business and PR move by Cryptic. Poorly executed through and through. Don't offer vet rewards to F2p'ers through a LTS without ensuring that the rewards for long-time LTS holders remain special, thus ensuring customer loyalty with that crowd. In other words, if you don't have enough special content to be able to create special rewards for long-time layers and new LTS members, then you shouldn't be doing these promotions at all. It looks like you're so desperate for money that you're willing to sell the very soul of STO for a few extra bucks.

Anyways, my 2 latinum.

To the OP.

The answer appears obvious.

You get a bruised ego and are no longer any more special than other lifetime members.

As it should be.

Keep your tears to yourself.

I've played since release. Always paid subscription, still do today, when I have played STO.

I have 536 days. I've obviously taken breaks from the game.

That first year all I ever heard from lifetime members was how they paid the money so they should count more than other subscribers.

2 and a half years later those same people are complaining about those who are paying money, saying they aren't as special simply because of when they paid their money. Weird.

At 536 days I've paid as much as most lifetime folks. With 464 days until 1000 days, I can buy a $200 lifetime today and get the rewards, or pay around $240 for the next 16 months to get those rewards.

My point is, Cryptic is doing this for me, not you, and will be paid $200 today for it.

All of you guys need to stop the finger pointing, insults, and childish comments. I'm not even a moderator, and this thread has gotten out of hand. Don't tell him to keep his tears to himself because it seems like you're massaging your ego in the process of belittling him. Show some maturity.

Was that a vid of Cryptic's customer service reps?

Correct! It's from Hook when the cap'n is lamenting how awful kids are. If only he could see this thread.

The truth is not always compatible with everyone's sensibilities. Nothing of what I say is inaccurate.

There is a false premise by some that length of time played is the primary measurement to be used in relative comparisons specific to a players commitment to STO. This premise includes a working assumption of entitlement for those who were around in the beginning.

It's a fallacy, and always was. Now the game no longer provides a basis for that artificial belief some had that made them special. They feel slighted their ivory tower is crumbling around them.

I have no sympathy. It was always a fallacy, their realization it was a fallacy does not make the issue a community problem. The only damage here are to the egos of those who have discovered they are not any more special than other lifetime members, an ego bruise everyone impacted by will recover from just fine.