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Author
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Topic: Activision emails....
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Stripes
Cadet
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posted 02-03- 06:52 PM
   
Hello there FSSDOE Community,
I do not play FSSDOE regularly anymore ( too busy and frustrated to download all the proper online requirements ), and I dont normally post in this forum, but I do check in regulary to see whats new, and how this game is doing. I like FSSDOE, and I wish I had the time and knowledge to be involved, but I simply dont choose to.
Today I received a letter from Activision advertising their which "ever" promotions. I do not like this kind of email, I find it simply annoying, especially from a company, who didnt seem to care that a poorly constructed ( not to mention overhyped ) product with there NAME on it was shipped out the door, and landed in my PC. As we all know the story thats been around the forums, they didnt even care to reply, nor defend themselves amonst all the slander aimed towards them.
Now this very same company ( who I beleeve has a very "corporate" attitude, which in another story is the same attitude that is destroying my ability to work my trade peacefully, and proudly while earning a decent living ).... Sorry about that  I get touchy with some issues..
This Very same Company sends me email, through an address they received when I registered a "poor" product they had published, only too show me more titles that they had coming up. Beleive me, I am not interested in this company... what do I do? I look for a reply url to get myself removed from their mailing list, like any self respecting, MORAL automatic emailers supply. Now I am really starting to DISLIKE this company, so I've pleasantly asked them to remove me from thier list via reply email... Wether they care enough to read... that'll be a story for next time.Below is what I wrote to them, and above is the reason why....
"After what you had and hadnt done with FIGHTER SQUADRON SCREAMING DEMONS OVER EUROPE Would you be so kind as to remove me from your list, thank you, Yours Sincerely,
Dan Berladyn"
Perhaps I'll mail them this post aswell... seeing as it is a little more thought out, and perhaps can enlighten them as to why I DO NOT wish to recieve anything at all period from ACTIVISION.
That is if they CARE to read it...
Michael Harrison, I in no way intended to dishonor you or your work, I was sold a product that was unfinished in my beliefs...
I sincerly hope you do well in your industry and your pruducts flourish to be great everlasting fun ways to relax.
Yours Truly,
Dan Berladyn IP: Logged |
Mighty
Pilot
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posted 02-03- 07:36 PM
This is not intended as a flame. I'm just curious.What did you expect them to do with the email address you gave them when you registered? All of the email addresses probably go into one huge database. Most of their mailings probably aren't filtered based on past purchases. They certainly aren't going to say to themselves, "Oh, we got this guy's email from registering a game that didn't do well. He probably doesn't like us. Let's not send any promotions to him." The email I got from them today wasn't spam. I had registered and given them my email. They probably even had a checkbox asking if I wanted promo material. And there's an opt-out address in the email. Activision has certainly made a bunch of mistakes. But I don't think that them using their database of opt-in addresses is a horrible thing. It sounds like you opted out. Good idea. It sounds like you gave them more detailed feedback. That's good, too. If we keep insisting that the publishers act reasonably then as a group they'll slowly improve. IP: Logged |
Stripes
Cadet
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posted 02-03- 08:43 PM
Well, I had to check to make sure I wasnt wrong about a link on the email to "unlist" myself, and no, I wasnt wrong, there wasnt one. BUT, there was however a link, just in case, just in case I received the email by accident... clicking this link will ADD me to their database. That kind mentality is exactly waht my problem is. This mentality, is the mentality of, I dont care if you dont like this product/email. I do however care if you are to be interested in buying my product or reading my email. Sure I may have checked a box when I first opened the product and installed it into my computer. I do not remember, that was last year the day the game hit the shelves. If I had, then I had obviously made a mistake myself. But, to explain to you my thinking... this company wants me to buy their products. They send me emails describing upcoming products, and telling me that they've recorded the biggest profits. They think I care... Am I a shareholder? LoL? In my opinion they should include an unlisting link. Their products are so good, that it would be my loss for not taking an interest in them. Secondly, sending an email to a fixed address, should be considered a priviledge on their part, Not taken for granted as I see it. They want to reach out and email to real people, who play games, who may buy thier products. Service these people! Provide them with a customer reply area, dont treat them like a herd of farm animals. Maybe this was all a good thing though. Take a look at Wayward and B17-II. Now there is a company who is on the ball, and perhaps they learned it from Activision. They are not providing any promises or hardcore release dates, and they are asking for feedback. But then, I suppose, they are not a publisher... Maybe Im just sore at the way the world is changing things in front of me, I grew up in a quiet rural city, and now everything that had value to me is getting destroyed. Everything is getting so cold... Everyone seems out for themselves and big business doesnt care about anything other than lining their pockets and getting bigger and bigger, no matter what the cost to whom.
IP: Logged |
Jeeves
Pilot
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posted 02-03- 10:09 PM
Hey Stripes (Lucky)-It's your old pal Jeeves! I understand your frustration and feeling of being left to rot- but you'll not see that type of thing here- we are all working to make a sub-par game into what we expected it to be when we bought it. Yes- it is a sad thing when a consumer has to take a product and mold it into something that better meets their expectations, but this is how it is with SDOE.
Without MH, we all would still be flying 10 planes and having loads of trouble doing even that. But, a rare thing occurred instead...something of the likes that we will probably not see anywhere else- a creator realized that something he toiled at was not up to his standards- and yet a big $$$ company decided that enough was enough...there are other games already out- let's go with it. Resiliant as he is though, he continued to follow through and is still continuing to follow through almost a year later at no monetary value for himself. Why? Because of a pride for his project and an understanding of those who want to make it a better thing. SDOE will not be around forever, that is probably a certainty, but thanks to MH, Pete Hawk, OPPs, Jag-Razer-and the Hanger, loads of painters (couldn't forget you Zoy!), and us little peons who fiddle with things here and there-but mostly reap the labor put forth by others- it will be around for quite a while yet. In another month or so, the aircraft directory will seemingly double itself and these add-ons will be of much higher quantity than the crap I've seen for CFS. Man- I am long-winded....my point is- don't be discouraged- if you haven't popped the game in your drive in a while- you owe yourself a bit. The new planes, missions, zeppelins (Thanks Pete) and all other utilities are the result of a lot of volunteer work- and a love for this game. I was a master of the P38, but in a few weeks of making missions for Midway- I've found the qualities of the Zero to be downright mean- I am blowing Lightnings outta the sky left and right- it's the best example of a Zero I've ever flown...and there will be tons more WWI, WWII, and post-WWII aircraft to fly in the very near future! I'm shutting up now- good night! IP: Logged |
Stripes
Cadet
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posted 02-03- 11:45 PM
LoL, thanks Jeeves, I was surprized to see you recognize me I think I just wanted to quietly let activision know that I dont like them, nor do I wish anything from them. Then I thought Id share that with this community. I dont expect a response from Activision, nor do I even think what was written will be read but if it was... that would be commendable, I really dont expect them to.
Dont get me wrong, I like FSSDOE, thats why I made sure I said that in my post above. It is still on my hardrive, I played a quick mission after posting earlier. I follow the add ons...That reminds me, you know the one thing that has always been a major pet peeve of mine? The force feedback effects with my MS FF Pro.
Mighty, I thought you had said you where going to rewrite this code? What happened? No, its a good game Jeeves, and I do wish I had the time and knowledge to join in and make things... but the 8th needs my attention, and thats really all the time I have for computer things. I wish I was young again All those hours I could devote to learning how to build things for FSSDOE TAke Care Jeeves, have fun and dont be shy at the 8th homepage. PS We have a mini war, for fun starting next week if you'd like to drop by S! Lucky IP: Logged |
Mirthain
Pilot
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posted 02-04- 01:37 AM
sorry, I have to say this.....
when has a game been released in the past 5 years that wasn't a sub par game to expectations? Especially one that is a flight sim? I really cannot say what people expected, but from the moment I opened this game til now I have loved this game. And it just gets better and better. I know that most of you don't really feel badly about this game, but it is better then what is currently out there, and very possibly better then what is coming in the near future.....
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Mirthain=FC=
 IP: Logged |
Jeeves
Pilot
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posted 02-04- 04:38 AM
Mirthain-I completely agree with you on your points! As far as the last three years go- I can't say- I've only had a computer for 9 months. I can honestly say that if I hadn't found Pete Hawk's site way back in last May or June- I would still enjoy flying the game and wouldn't even have known the FM's weren't right...I mean how would I know- I never flew any plane OR sim before. But without the original site- I sure would've missed out on a whole lot of neat stuff. And the fact that over half our current members have the OPP's bug makes the possibilities for the sim endless. I've said it before and I'll say it again- I love SDOE and will probably the sole surviving player of the game years from now- it just is that good in my eyes. IP: Logged |
Michael Harrison
General
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posted 02-04- 07:03 AM
Stripes,Mighty has worked on the FF code but it's not generally available because of me. I've been working the equivalent of two or three full-time jobs for the last many months and haven't had the free time to really work on the unsupported betas of FS. I'm hoping that we'll be able to get the SOS (Semi Open-Source) project really going soon so FS will have a larger pool of coders to add the enhancements and features which we can't get to due to time constraints. As far as the Activision email goes, I generally agree with both you and Mighty. You did sign up to receive emails, but you should also have the ability to get off the list. Regardless of what you thought (or perhaps still think) about FS, I'm glad you're still hanging around. IP: Logged |
Stripes
Cadet
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posted 02-04- 08:27 AM
I dont really have time to post, as I am leaving for work, but I had just wanted to say thanks for your replies. Especially you Mr. Harrison, and just so your all clear on my views, I in no way meant to slam FSSDOE in anyway, or this community, only the PR of a large corporation. I really do hope this game continues to expand, and does so at an ever faster rate.Dan Berladyn IP: Logged |
DanW
Pilot
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posted 02-04- 09:38 AM
Stripes, Why dont you just configure you email program(netscape or outlook express...etc) to not accept any mail from that source? Just make a killfile. That would solve the problem. IP: Logged |
Zoycite
JAG
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posted 02-04- 01:39 PM
Heya all,I'm not on Activisions list but I have sent them emails. At first they were with general questions, mainly about the their FS main page. I wanted to know when they might be updating the page. They replied with "we dont run that site", hmm, then who does? Shheesh, the page still talks about a beta release. I wish they'ed take the time to update and list all off the new stuff going on here. They didnt even care and couldn't even direct me to who was running the FS page. So since then I have sent them taunting emails. Mostly just for fun  But then this statement just made me realize what kind of people are running Activision. After being a long time CIV junkie, I asked why they offered little support for the new Civ game, Call to Power and asked what, if any new features and or fixes might be added. Now I was taunting by this point and said, boy it would be a shame if a through the lack of support this great long running title went done the drain. Their reply was "We didnt make the new Civ". What!!! Hmm, says right here on the box "Activision", those bastards sure know how to ruin a good title. I replied, probably was a little rude at this point and suggested that maybe they should stick to ,making games for the 2600 and 10 year olds. "They replied with "I dont see the relevancy to the 2600." I get mad everytime I think about it. They cant even hire people who know what the games the company has worked on (screwed up). Arrrrhg! , I guess if it aint Quake, and on the wish list for all the little kiddies, then In-Activision wont support it. I hope they go broke! Sorry, I feel better know Jeeves, thanks ------------------
Zoycite {GS}
GUNSLINGERS  visit The War Paint Factory IP: Logged |
Spanky the Mad Dog
Pilot
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posted 02-04- 02:08 PM
Mad Dog here... Thats why you don't register your software Stripes!  While I agree with most of what has been said I do have a couple of things to say. Activision is a large company and thus doesn't give a crap about you anymore. (or any of us for that matter. Do you see an Activision rep surfing the forum?) Any money that they got from this game they got months ago...and thats what Activision is in for...money. Speaking of money...Jeeves wrote "...he continued to follow through and is still continuing to follow through almost a year later at no monetary value for himself." MH's motivation for still being around and involved may not be monetary at first glance but if you think that he won't make any money from being here you are out of your head. Don't get me wrong about this...I feel that MH is doing something absolutely wonderous in terms of helpfullness and possibly even love for a creation but from a business perspective it makes more sense than Pokemon! I know that alot of you freaks (you know who you are ) will buy every sim that comes out but how many of the rest of us will be signifigantly more open to giving his next game a day in court? To release a game and to already have a large number of people who very well might love it as much as SDOE is astounding. I don't know how Wayward did it with b-17. Am I just thick or does that make sense? ------------------
-Seperated and independant halves of a genius super-organism who believe that no game will ever satisfy them completely.
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Stripes
Cadet
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posted 02-04- 06:59 PM
I dont know if theres really a need for me to post back in this thread, especially with feeling as tired as I am. I think I agree with all the posts since my last, and I really just wanted to answer to DanW.My original post, and my gripes with Activision is mainly about atitude, especially corporate cole attitude the one I see with Activision and all of their ( IHMO )
POOR Public Relations. They dont care and its apparant with everything that I see and hear them do. They dont care if I no longer wish there emails, thats my problem to deal with. Lie a vampire, invite them in once, and they take for granted that they are still welcome. Look at the post about the website that isnt updated. "Thats not our site", its just the whole attitude associated with them, its cold, ugly and plain rude.
I dont know how any of you make your money, but I am a trade where I produce a finished product. I do OK, pay wise, but everyyear it seems Im working harder to create an even better product that is demanded by people who know nothing about it, with poorer and poorer supplies as suppliers are cuting corners to save money. and guess what? Everyyear they are forcing me to do it for less, I am already working very hard for my money, I dont want to give it to some corporation that doesnt give a rats ass wether I am happy with thier product, or not. I dont want to have to block them from sending me email, maybe Im too ideal in my thinking, but I just dont think that thats an acceptable and likable way to approach potential customers. That is all, I am done and I need sleep. I hope I made sense. IP: Logged |
Mirthain
Pilot
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posted 02-05- 06:41 PM
That makes perfect sense Stripes.
I think the thing that is important for all of us to remember is that Activision is mostly a publisher at this stage, doing very little of their own work, but by allowing smaller companies like Parsoft and others release through their name, it provides a high profile release for the "little guys" and a monetary boost and infrastructure in place for marketing. Many small programming companies have very little in the way of a marketing dept., if they have one at all.
I agree that Activision blows people off, but so do many large companies.
The trade off is when people like MH and Parsoft come to where we are and do work with us to help us and help themselves improve the game. And Mad Dog, that is the point.. sure they are hoping that we go out and purchase more of their products, it would be ludicrous to suggest they don't, but don't think that just because they do the work they do here, that they are banking on us buying the new RC release. They will probably use our response on the forum to help show marketing that it is feasible for a game like that to sell, but what they do here is to actually support us in a way that most other developers wouldn't even dream of doing. And that is something that comes from a group that are just as interested in have a great sim that can be enjoyed by all as making money.
I am sure that if MH doesn't agree he will say so, but that is what I have seen over the last year of this and previous forum posts.
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Mirthain=FC=
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