Assuming you actually wanted an explanation, I"ll give you mine. I bought a CO lifetime sub based, in part, on the inclusion of the MU uniforms. I'd have bought a 1 year or 6 mo. sub otherwise. The MU uniforms pushed me "over the edge" into the LTS.

This was why Cryptic added incentives to the Lifetime sub - to convince people who otherwise wouldn't have purchased it to do so - it's why they're called incentives.

I then did not get the uniforms when STO launched. Four months later, they finally arrived. And 30 days after that, they're for sale for $3.50. I'm told I should be OK with that, because it makes lots of people happy.

I call shenanigans. If they'd offered them for free, more people would have been happy - and I don't think those of us who paid for them would be any more annoyed. No, this wasn't about making people happy, this was about a cash grab. Anything else is spin, smoke, and mirrors.

The Galaxy-X is the same thing. Something a whole lot of people in this game want (I don't happen to be one of them, but I get the distinct impression I'm again in the minority here..) Cryptic has used this as an incentive for their recruit-a-friend promotion. People are buying multiple copies and subscribing with them for a month to get this ship. Cryptic knows this - they're effectively selling it for >$200.00 to these people.

Would more people be happy if Cryptic put the Galaxy-X in the C-Store? I'm sure they would. But then Cryptic would lose the cash from the fanatical, and some people who are out there beating the bushes for people to refer wouldn't do so - again, costing Cryptic cash. So it's not in the C-Store.

But once the promotion is over, and they've gotten all the cash they can that way, into the C-Store it will go, to get more money from anyone who still wants it and doesn't have it.

It's shameful treatment of customers - and I don't like being taken advantage of. So I'm upset.

On the point of the Galaxy-X I completely agree, that was a poor move to make, like you I don't really want it myself and a damn good thing too becuase I couldn't get 5 people referred if I wanted too and I'm sure as hell not going to go buy 5 copies and sub them. But the Galaxy-X Isn't in the C-store and if cryptic get a clue and be smart about it it won't be for at least a year and be rather a lot more than $6 when they do (referencing the approximate price of the TOS Connie)

Out of all the things that did go into the C-store the only items I can really see where people are coming from (even if I still don't agree) are the MU and TOS uniforms and at least the TOS uniforms had a female option (despite how poor it was) at launch. I was actually the same as you with the CO lifetime, I was just going to get a 6 month sub to fill time until STO launched the STO bonuses added to it as well as the thought of never having to pay a sub again was what pushed me over the edge.

Despite all this thought I don't see the point in getting all bent out of shape over it.

You should probably play Champions and be happy that you get to play it without a subscription charge.

That's usually the perk that LTS'es are all about. Complaining about pixels for a uniform in a completely different game than the sub was for, kind of devalues the sub itself. Which isn't a very strong position from which to "discuss" the topic.

You're basically saying the game you bought the subscription to has less value to you than the uniform perk fluffy bonus item that came with it.

You assume that the value of the sub is (or should be perceived to be) greater than the value of the pixels. That may be true for you, but unlikely to be true for everyone.

Personally I don't want to play CO or wear the silly MU uniform, but I certainly think the MU uniform has more value to me than that thing they call an MMO.

As for the OP, if he valued the sub more than the pixel, and the sub was put on the cstore for a pittance would his feelings of betrayal be anymore or less legitimate? Rhetorical question, obviously.

No assumption needed. Cryptic's final ruling is ... the subscription is worth 15 dollars per month. The uniform is worth $3.50 once.

Not only is that not really plausible (buying C-Points for money to then turn around and buy subscriptions which cost ... money) ... but the strange thing about this particular sub is ... they stopped offering it. Champs LTS does not exist anymore. The STO LTS you can still purchase after launch. The Champs LTS you could only get for that limited time.

Let's use the whole thing:
For me, the difference in cost between the LTS and the 1 year sub was worth it if I got the MU uniforms, and wasn't if they weren't included. That's just as Cryptic intended - that's why they were there.

Feel free to disagree with my valuation of the bonus, but at least have the common courtesy not to misrepresent my position by selective editing of my words.

Do you play Champions? Do you even like the game? If not ... it's hard to sympathize. If so, well, you got a pretty good deal on a pretty good game. So it's still hard to sympathize.

It's a bit of a catch-22. You take the hardline stance that the pixels were worth more to you and you really seem like you were willing to spend way too much money for an in-game item that doesn't even exist in real life. It's very hard for people, even tech savvy people to relate to that. Let alone give you empathy for your plight.

You take the reasonable stance that you bought the sub for the subscription and then the entire issue loses steam because the subscription has quite a lot of value and you got a great deal. On a game. But a different game from these forums.

Do I play Champions? (Online, as opposed to the paper n pencil version) - Yeah, a bit, not as much as City of Heroes. I was hoping for it to be a better superhero game than it turned out to be.

But there's no catch-22 involved. It's not an either-or choice. I bought a product with several features, for a given price, based on advertisements and statements by employees of the company that the only way to get those features was to buy the product. Those statements were false. If I had known those statements were false, I would have made a different purchase.

Others might not have - maybe you're one of them. I'm not looking for sympathy, empathy, or a refund. My mistake - I took this company at their word, and got burned for it.

Someone wanted to know why I'm upset, and I told them.

I also want to do what I can to ensure that anyone else who's looking at Cryptic's promotions in the future is aware of how they run things, so they don't end up feeling cheated. And I intend to do my best to that end.

This pretty much sums up how I feel.

I bought three copies of the game: a standard edition, a collector's edition, and a digital deluxe edition. The only edition I needed to play the game was the standard edition. The other two editions cost me $140, if I remember correctly. The only reason I spent that money was for the pre-order exclusives and the DDE/CE extras. I didn't even benefit from the extra 60 days of game time because I bought a lifetime sub.

I spent that money because Cryptic led me to believe--through intentionally vague statements and through their deafening silence when these subjects were discussed at length on the forums prior to launch--that the pre-order exclusives and the DDE/CE extras would not be put in the C-Store for a long time.

Had Cryptic told the truth, i.e., had they said "almost all of this stuff will be in the C-Store four months after launch for a fraction of the price," I would never have spent that money. I would gladly have waited to buy them in the C-Store.

Yes, I know it's my fault. I chose to put my faith in Cryptic, and I got burned for it. So I agree with Synchrotron. I'm not quitting this game over this one thing. I'm not asking for a refund. I'm not looking for sympathy from other players. I just want Cryptic to know how I feel and why I feel that way. That's why I posted in a Feedback forum.

And, like Synchrotron, I will also aggressively post warnings on the appropriate forums the next time Cryptic launches a game and sells pre-order "exclusives" or other extras, because I want other potential players of Cryptic's games to learn from my mistake, so they don't end up feeling as cheated and betrayed as I feel right now.

I'm talking about value and you are talking about price. They aren't always the same. I'm sure you know this so I won't patronize you with a definition.
This is why it was a rhetorical question. No worries.