Statement to changed registration procedure (orga perspective)
The following message is supported by the Res orga and ENL orga of the upcoming UMBRA Dresden anomaly.
Hello everyone,
We want to give you a short heads up on the stuff which was written this night. We, as players and orga, are shocked about the way Niantic handles their registration now. It wasn't announced in the NIA/POC slack and now lots of discussions are there. At the moment it's not fully clear what this move means for us. We need to clarify this the next days and we will come back to this topic afterwards. From our perspective we really dislike this move and we are a bit speechless. Our orga put a lot of free working time into this anomaly till now, so we hope that you will still come to our beautiful city.
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Der folgende Post wird durch die Res Orga und der ENL Orga der kommenden UMBRA Dresden Anomalie getragen.
Hallo,
wir wollen euch kurz die aktuelle Situation nach der letzten Nacht zusammenfassen. Als Spieler und Orga sind wir schockiert, wie Niantic die Registrierung geändert hat. Das Ganze wurde nie im gemeinsamen Slack mit Niantic erwähnt und aktuell ist es nicht klar, was die Änderung für uns bedeuten. Wir werden es die nächsten Tage klären und später darauf zurück kommen. Uns macht das gerade sprachlos und wir finden die Art und Weise der Kommunikation vollkommen falsch. Unsere Orga hat bisher sehr viel kostenlose Arbeitszeit in diese Anomalie gesteckt, daher hoffen wir, dass ihr trotzdem in unsere wunderschöne Stadt kommt.
Comments
It amazes me, how NIA wasn't expecting the throwback from the players.
But let's face it, even though its unexpected and NIA will face the consequences for it, the timing makes some sense. It falls together with the retirement of Redacted (which in my personal opinion is bad because primes usability is bad for me and prime crashes far too often, etc.) and opens new possibilities for making money.
Also the price is acceptable I think (after they will have sorted out legal issues and implications with the service fee ;-)).
I'll simply look forward how NIA will handle the increased players expectations for something they pay for.
Things like:
* A bugfree experience during the anomaly
* Refunds in case something goes wrong
* Additional value for the price
* Not working for free for something you have to pay for (POCs etc)
* A spoofer-free experience on site
* Real support
Etc.
Also: A big shoutout to the organizers (res and enl players) of all previous (and next upcoming) anomalies for their free work and engagement. Thank you for making the experience so smooth in the past. Thank you for supporting your playerbase and thank you for all the additional stuff you organize (like swag, after-parties etc.)
Also the price is acceptable I think.
In a Western country maybe. In India that's 3 days wages.
In Ukraine, the average salary is 5 euros per day, so too, VERY many will refuse to help their faction, I hope NIA will review their policies
15 Euro is acceptable? Even in Dresden here that worths:
And what could we get when these money is given to Niantic?
It's not about (just) the 18 € (17.85 € to be precise), it's about the way Niantic decided to collect that money from the agents. Not announcing a fee before people booked their accommodation/flights is the most backstabbing way possible. I've spent more than 2K€ on anomalies this year alone, but there is no way I'm paying for this ticket.
This fee also reduces the chances of getting anyone new to join the game/anomaly.
The actual price is 13€ plus service fee and taxes. Take some other examples. Watching a movie at the cinemaxx costs roughly 10€, even in Dresden, so yes, I think that is acceptable (in Germany). The average beer price in germany is 2,5€, so that equals to about 5 beers.
I also wrote that players will expect additional value for the price.
Feel free to not pay it and not participate.
I didn't check the other prices (before writing my comment), so I was thinking, that the prices differ dependent on the local currency and/or income (I saw a difference between Dresden and Göteborg). If not, that's a really bad pricing policy imho and should be fixed by NIA (or they live with the consequences of drastically reducing their player base).
13 Euro is not quite a big amount, yes. A stealth costs over 65, that's 5 times the price. Rare or very rare swag packs were also some tens of euros. But compare how hard the POCs have done to get themselves funded (like swag shops), what did they done, how much do they earn from selling an item, it's understandable that for Niantic it's too easy to "tax" everyone.
Plus the weird "service fee", and that "players who do not pay may play, but scores may not be counted" policy, it's unfair and changing the game spirit. What if one faction wins the other in scores but loses finally because less guys were buying tickets? Does that make the winning more enjoyable?
For Stealth, GoRuck is Sending a Cadre over the flight and hotel needs to be covered. Niantic is currently not sending anyone over.
If anomaly's are now paid events why should orga team work for free? Charging players ends the volunteer system your company had been exploiting to avoid the cost of hiring employees and get free social media viral things. This is game changing in the bad way.
Please also have a look here:
That's exactly what we want to say.
@abstractpainter good point. I was a poc for a helios anomaly city, and have devoted countless hours aiding and guiding orga for various sites since around the usa. firm believer that once a poc you should then become advisor for future anomalies and give someone else a chance for the next one.
it is an unbelievable amount of hours, dedication and work to make it happen. work, time and investment niantic gets for free from players because we believed in a thing.
if they had to pay a wage for it to the people who do it, it would not be financially viable. you are looking at a four digit number of volunteer hours invested by each poc for an anomaly site - and that does not include the rest of the orga team.
This is outrageous, and how many people who now have to pay to attend will also spend money on swag and stuff that actually supports the anomaly by supporting the POCs. Further, remember how hard it was to get anyone to recharge during when those badges were taken away. Does anyone think many will attend if they don't get a badge, and wnen they aren't really helping their faction? They should go back to swag packs, which at least were fair to everyone, or charge for decorative, unnecessary stuff like a special color for your icon, a fancy screen for your stats page, or things like that many would willingly play a few dollars (or more) for. don't agree with the other letter that said most people would be fine with the fee if they had enough notice, either.
Exactly what I'm doing. Not going.
I will attend Dresden. I will capture portals. I will buy local swag, maybe even more than before. But I have not made up my mind about buying a badge ticket yet.
Another point:
We don't know playboxes or rules for the Umbra events yet. The rules of Calvinball are never set. I guess the field tests tomorrow might have some impact on anomaly gameplay. We don't even know what exactly we are being charged for. It's still Calvinball. This is not a service contract I am willing to sign.
I'm not against paying for participation credits per se. But the way this is being handled (short notice and unspecific expectations) is very bad practice.
I know what I can expect from local Orgas. I have been buying biocards, lighters, pins, patches, afterparty tickets and a whole lot of other stuff from locals in the past. It's my way of showing support. The Dresden party will be delightful.
Nuff said. Rock on!
Utter lack of respect to all the PoCs!
When all the hard work, time and stress consuming issues and also the financial and legal risks were already assumed and weighted by unpaid volunteer players it's an enormous disrespect this decision by NIA.
If NIA is looking for small and short term revenues this attitude will only undermine future anomalys and overall the game income.
Very clearly, I will join in into Dresden, especially to support orga.
I don't even mind paying for badge and beyond esp. if announced properly.
But I do expect this money to flow into drastically improved communication at later anomalies and into a no-lag anomalous experience.
We, customers of Niantic, expect a reliable partner which does not change situations and conditions in an instant.
Exactly. Lots of reasons not to like what Niantic is doing. Charging to be in a resource room takes the cake for dumbest idea. People are Already paying for that either in room or eat fees.
Anomalies are already problematic. Now it is being made undesirable to either go to a resource room for your faction , let alone the travel expenses of an oot anomaly
Thanks for your efforts, res&enl orga teams, on organizing this anomaly! I hope both of you get your tickets for free! Everything else would be still a bad move from Niantic.
If not I am gladly give the free tickets I will get now (from the Nia announcement earlier this day) to honor your voluntary work!