beginners, vacation mode and #support

[rnd|One]

Background reading: Vacation mode & beginners.

I felt like this issue warranted some attention as this PA beginner (paid account) got shafted due not being experienced enough to know that a) can't have outgoing fleets b) can't have incoming ships, when trying to go into vacation mode. None of this is told in the preferences-menu and thus a beginner can't know this in advance.

the guy in question asked the pa team to bend the rules. it was explained that pa team coulndt. This is hardly getting 'shafted'

[Kargool]

hehe.. Cin is known for.. his... very helpful attitude..

[Neferti]

I think it sucks that you can't go into vacation mode when you have incoming fleets anyway. Especially since you can still get attacked while in vacation mode (through prelaunchers) - or did they fix this? Even if that was fixed, it would still suck. A player's round could effectively be destroyed just by spamming them with attacking fleets before they go away on vacation, thus stopping them using vacation mode and opening that planet up to constant attacks while he is away and can do nothing about it.

[Phil^]

erm. cant see what the problem is.
someone asked for special treatment to get around a game rule and got refused it as they should have.
Hardly a customer relations crisis and hardly worthy of a thread to complain about it

Plus, it is noted in the manual (http://game.planetarion.com/manual.p...672494&page=26)
its about time people went and actually READ IT

Originally Posted by PA Manual

Vacation mode
You have the option of putting your planet into a vacation mode, for if you are going away. While your planet is in vacation mode you cannot be attacked, however you do not accumulate resources, and cannot log into your planet for a duration of at least 72 ticks.
You cannot enter vacation mode if you have any fleets out or any fleets prelaunched.

bold added for emphasis

edit : also updated the wiki page to make this point clear. Lovely thing wikis.

The game has a manual!!!

when did this happen??!

[Phil^]

quite a long time ago

[Phil^]

Originally Posted by Neferti

I think it sucks that you can't go into vacation mode when you have incoming fleets anyway.

its outgoing fleets as stated in the manual, including the persons own fleets which are returning which prevent you from going into vacation mode. not incoming fleets from other people as far as im aware

[rnd|One]

When the in-game entry has a lengthy (*see below) informative description about vacation mode, which fails to mention a few very crucial things that can get you into trouble it is very understandable that beginners don't get it right.

When you have people willing to get you closed down (bonus: won't even have to look this up in the manual) rather than help you, I'd say that qualifies as a problem.

And reading the manual? Reading the Manual? Right...

I understand there's little care for the little guy whom is new to the game. Even if they paid to play. Let's even make jokes about them not having memorized every inch of the manual. Ha ha!

*in-game - vacation mode
Yes, I wish to put my account in vacation mode! [i want a tan now]
Going into vacation-mode will protect your planet from new attacks or covert-ops. It means you can not log back into your account the next 72 ticks, and your planet will not generate any income while being in vacation mode. Vacation-mode will last minimum 72 ticks, but you are not out of it until you actually log back in.

manual - vacation mode
You have the option of putting your planet into a vacation mode, for if you are going away. While your planet is in vacation mode you cannot be attacked, however you do not accumulate resources, and cannot log into your planet for a duration of at least 72 ticks.
You cannot enter vacation mode if you have any fleets out or any fleets prelaunched.

[Phil^]

So, not only are you complaining that the support team refused to do special favours for people, you're complaining that the ingame summary for pages is too large and that the manual is not for reading?

This has nothing to do with not caring for new people
This is about people asking for things which are against the rules and getting told no.
As far as i can see, you are the only one with a problem with this.

The question as to whether being able to put yourself in vacation mode with fleets out or not , is quite simple.
If it were allowed people could and would launch against planets, then set themselves in vacation mode so they could not be scanned, covert opped or retalled.
Surely you arent saying that this would be a good thing?

To prevent the abuse of vacation mode as detailed above - planets with fleets out are not allowed to go into vacation mode, as it does say in the manual.
its hardly the fault of the support staff or pateam if no-one reads the damn thing now is it?

its like drinking a hot cup of coffee all at once then complaining you got your throat burnt because you didnt bother to read the "Caution - hot" labels

[rnd|One]

I have given a new example on how wrong things can go in the current setup. Since this was not the first time this has happened it was time to raise the issue once again.

Yes, this can make me seem like a bad person. A whiner, even. *shudder*

I might even seem like the only person that has this problem, because I do not only look after myself in this game.

Do you think giving hypothetical situations which have nothing to do with this situation, implying even I would have raised this issue to benefit cheaters, really is necessary? Perhaps it's not enough to laugh at those whom do not memorize the manual.

This issue is like drinking a hot cup of coffee.

(bold added for emphasis)

[Phil^]

Its not wrong if:

1. The code functioned as intended
2. The rules were not broken
3. No-one got an unfair advantage

to reiterate :
everything which occurred was by-the-book and there was nothing wrong with the events whatsoever.

Furthermore :
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=analogy

I strongly recommend you read that , hopefully you will realise what it was i was trying to draw a link with in the situations. Namely the rediculousness of your complaint.

[rnd|One]

Hopping around and belittling the issue will not make it disappear.

I do not have a link to describe this phenomenom.

[Phil^]

you dont seem to understand. this is entirely a non-issue.
Its just you who thinks it is worth whining about.

clearly reason is lost on you, so theres little point in my wasting time in trying to show you the error of your ways.

Carry on with your delusions ( http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=delusion ) of grandeur ( http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=grandeur ) and continue on in the vain effort of convincing pateam that support staff breaking game rules and giving out special favours is a good thing for the game overall.

I will happily ignore you.

[rnd|One]

Let me tell you a story, Phil:

There once was this guy, whom brought up a minor issue about the text in Planetarion's preferences menu being insufficient with important information being buried within the manual.

For trying to have this corrected he got called names, being put down and finally ignored.

Luckily the person doing this was not the final word in the matter.

[Guran]

Originally Posted by Phil^

erm. cant see what the problem is.
someone asked for special treatment to get around a game rule and got refused it as they should have.
Hardly a customer relations crisis and hardly worthy of a thread to complain about it

PAteam bends the rules every round and you of all people know this. Weird it never seem to happen when newbs need a hand (CAUSE THEY ARE SO DAMN STUPID, THEY DIDN'T READ THE ENTIRE MANUAL FROM WORD TO WORD!!). Yes everything was 'by-the-book' as you put it. Does it make it right? Seems you are someone who is all about the rules.

You talk about that everything was done by the book. There's no denying in this but it didn't prevent them from helping him out. Just because my computer has one years warranty, doesn't mean they wouldn't fix it for free one week after warranty is due. It's called good customer service.

[pig]

To be honest this is a load of bs. This is a player who needed help. He went through the right channels, he did the right thing, now im not saying bend the rules for everyone or indeed anyone but needless to say you have done worse, and this instance is not going to effect the outcome of anything. At worse you could have suggested to recall his fleets and then you put him in vac mode. To be honest i would tell him off the record to get his mate to login, the worse that can happen is he loses 1/3 of his roids which is a lot less than being roided to the ground.

[Kal]

ignoring any of the events which may or may not have happened - people want the information on the preferences page to match the more accurate and clear manual entry, correct? If so i'll add that to the todo list and try and get it changed during this round.

Note I am not proposing changing any rules, mearly clarrifying and existing rule.

[barney]

Originally Posted by Guran

PAteam bends the rules every round and you of all people know this. Weird it never seem to happen when newbs need a hand (CAUSE THEY ARE SO DAMN STUPID, THEY DIDN'T READ THE ENTIRE MANUAL FROM WORD TO WORD!!). Yes everything was 'by-the-book' as you put it. Does it make it right? Seems you are someone who is all about the rules.

Agreed, im not saying the rules should have been bent in this case but had they been, there have much worse cases of admin abuse this round.

[MrPedantic]

Ok.
Are you complaining that the support ppl didnt help the guy to break the rules, or that the ingame text didnt state absolutely everything that is on the manual page?

If its the first option, then ffs what is wrong with you. you dont expect official people to tell people that cheating is acceptable do you?
Furthermore, you dont think that breaking the rules is 'alright' ?
If you do i would hope the multihunters are scruitinising you as i type

@ pig , from the text his fleets were already returning. plus if they did it for one person they then have to do it for everyone who asks, and that is a highly abusable situation. telling him off the record for his mate to log in is highly irresponsible. Like they said in the .txt , he and his friend could get closed for it. Who do you think they'd come complaining to then?

if its the second, fair enough but the information -was- there if people had bothered to read, so its hardly worth throwing your knickers in the air over. The bit at the bottom is a summary, ie " not everything under the sun regarding things here"
Thats what a summary is

[ChubbyChecker]

Originally Posted by MrPedantic

Ok.
Are you complaining that the support ppl didnt help the guy to break the rules, or that the ingame text didnt state absolutely everything that is on the manual page?

If its the first option, then ffs what is wrong with you. you dont expect official people to tell people that cheating is acceptable do you?
Furthermore, you dont think that breaking the rules is 'alright' ?
If you do i would hope the multihunters are scruitinising you as i type

@ pig , from the text his fleets were already returning. plus if they did it for one person they then have to do it for everyone who asks, and that is a highly abusable situation. telling him off the record for his mate to log in is highly irresponsible. Like they said in the .txt , he and his friend could get closed for it. Who do you think they'd come complaining to then?

if its the second, fair enough but the information -was- there if people had bothered to read, so its hardly worth throwing your knickers in the air over. The bit at the bottom is a summary, ie " not everything under the sun regarding things here"
Thats what a summary is

Oh you are soooooooooh pedantic.

Zing!

I was looking for a post of yours where I could say that and by gum I've found it.

[Entium]

Originally Posted by rnd|One

You cannot enter vacation mode if you have any fleets out or any fleets prelaunched.

Well, actually this should be written on the mission page, not on the preference page. The problem occurs when you launch a fleet, it's too late when you want to go into vacation mode, having a fleet out.

[xontas]

*sigh*

i like to congrat jackle and cin on having the correct responce to the problem
if we bend rules we do it because the rules are causing a major problem in game!
but its not something we do often

in this case i see no isue that is worth breaking the rules
there is even a solution to the problem
he could pull and get his fleet home in time to go in vacation mode!
but

he would like to have his cake and eat it 2

he wants to keep his attack going and go into vacationmode!
thats his choise and we dont bent any rules over a player making a choise to keep going

[Kal]

the preferences page should now be a little clearer on the conditions required to enter vacation mode.

[noah02]

It would be bad to bend the rules because If ppl get caught cheating and breaking the rules they should be deleted just like all them ppl who did last round.....

maybe you could put him in vacation mode then and then take of some roids and xp of him?
I heard thats a valid punishment nowadays ?
cant remember where i read it though.

[noah02]

Originally Posted by Kal

the preferences page should now be a little clearer on the conditions required to enter vacation mode.

You are to damn efficiant :P or however you spell it.

[jerome]

efficient