Absintheuse
Posts: 348
11/8/2016
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You may have seen recently that Apple has allowed rolling subscriptions within their App Store. We had originally designed the mobile version of Fallen London to have one-month rolling subscriptions, to match the browser. However, when the iOS app first released in April 2016 this wasn’t an option and so we created 1, 3, 6 and 12 month subscriptions instead. Now that rolling subscriptions are allowed, we’re going to bring the iOS subscription functionality back in line with browser and Android.
We’re currently working on making these adjustments, and they should be up sometime next week. We’ll be sure to make a fuller, and more official announcement once everything is live!
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Flyte
Administrator
Posts: 671
11/8/2016
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I'm happy to say a bit about our thinking, here.
First of all, the main benefit of renewing subscriptions to us is that they make our revenue more predictable. The games industry is quite a volatile environment, because by and large you work on a game for two years without having any real idea how much money it's going to make, or whether it will cover the cost of creating it. Even long established and prudently managed companies can run into serious difficulties if two of their games do less well than expected in a row.
Renewing subscriptions really help with this – we can estimate how much we're going to earn from them six months from now, and be in the right ballpark. That makes it much easier for us to plan responsibly, and make sure we're still able to make games five years from now (and, with luck, don't have to lay anyone off to make that happen). This predictability is also the reason we've been able to justify monthly EF stories, which can be logistically tricky at times.
Supporting two different models also imposes significant maintenance costs on us, and the iOS model has been less popular than we expected – it currently accounts for less than 10% of subscriptions. I don't think this is the right thread to talk about content plans, but I can say that establishing closer parity between the app and web version will increase the pace at which we can do technical work in future.
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Flyte
Administrator
Posts: 671
11/8/2016
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lady ciel wrote:
A way to change card details without having to wait for our current subscription to end would be good, if it is possible. I agree – I'd like to make it a bit easier and more intuitive to manage web subscriptions than it currently is, although I can't say when exactly to expect that at present.
Robin Alexander wrote:
If you go into a restaurant and are promised steak from the chef at £10, then the waiter comes out and tells you that you're now getting lamb at £20, you'd be pretty miffed, right? You just had your order changed and were charged extra for the trouble. Wouldn't a more accurate analogy would be this? You go into a restaurant and get the steak you ordered at the price advertised; the waiter then mentions that they're changing the menu, and you won't be able to get the same dish at the same price the next day.
If you're still not enthusiastic about these changes you can, by the way, purchase a 12-month subscription on iOS right now – naturally, we'll honour it in full. The equivalent of buying a lot of steaks and freezing them, I guess? Although I think it will be more appetising with Exceptional Friendship than restaurant food. (Delicious friends.)
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Catherine Raymond
Posts: 2518
11/8/2016
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Personally, I like being able to start a subscription for $7 and then cancel it if my personal economics change abruptly. Of course, everyone's mileage varies.
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Cathy Raymond
http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/cathyr19355
Catherine Raymond aka Mrs. Rykar Malkus http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/Catherine%20Raymond (Gone NORTH)
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genesis
Posts: 924
11/8/2016
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Skinnyman wrote:
But why promise something in a certain context and, after a few months, announce you'll implement the opposite in less than a week? At least wrap things in a lovely package.
For better or for worse, FBG have made a number of statements in the past in the spirit of casual communication with their players on the boards. Some of these have not panned out. From memory, there was much talk several years ago about FBG having more public consultations on proposed features. I think they did one (on Journals) and maybe one other but then that initiative stopped. There was also some secret feature mentioned by Hannah last summer in the (then) Parabola forum which, to my knowledged, never materialised. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. When this happens forum-goers have cry foul.
Do we have reason to be upset/frustrated? Sure. Could FBG have handled it better? Probably. Are there factors we are not privy to? Almost certainly.
The end result, though, is that FBG have curtailed their communication even more. This is my speculation and I might be completely off-base. But I think all the complaining has made FBG less communicative because they can no longer afford being open and casual with their player base. Any announcement is now just that now - any official announcement, that goes through company pipelines, approvals, QA etc.
So to answer your question, the "promise" (such as it was) was a forum communication by a member of the company who has now left, who probably did not "log" the "promise" in some sort of binding database of promises, over half a year ago.
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http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/mikey_thinkin
Keeping track of incomplete content and loose ends in Fallen London
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Skinnyman
Posts: 2133
11/8/2016
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genesis wrote:
Guys, come on. It's a commercial company. "Leeching"?!?
Things being left unfinished is a valid complaint. Poor communication (inlcuding changing the expected pricing model without explanation) is a valid complaint. But criticising a business for prioritising paying customers?!
Probably, but let's put it this way:
The option for bigger EF packages was promised and, let's face it, only the hard-core player would have bought bigger packages. I doubt many people would had rushed to 3+ EF with out being certain they'll enjoy the game. This means that FBG's profit would have been lower from the player base which always renew their EF.
Another fact was this festival which non-PoSI probably weren't able to view it as a festival; more like a freebie possibility. As I'm a hoarder I would have enjoyed to get all companions, but I wasn't able to get two more confessions! Solution for both cases: pay Fate.
The Zee festival was harsh, but only due to RNG factor. Even so, I'm guessing that most people were able to get everything from it. I managed to get everything from it in about 10-12 days and I even returned to the island to increase Stormy-Eyed only for RP! The number of AP invested in the Zee festival was way smaller than this and after every failure the solution was to pile up a few more AP and try again!
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ESs items and quality requirements sheet. Please check if there are errors or if something is missing
Achievement list if you're feeling bored!
I am accepting Plant battles, Neath's Mysteries card, Starveling Cats and boxed cats.
No suppers, no second chances gain and no need to cure my menaces!
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John Moose
Posts: 276
11/8/2016
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I'd like to point out that by NOT having the option to pay for a long membership in advance, FL might be throwing money away - if the way people purchase and use gym memberships, for example, can be used as an analogue. I don't know FBG's reasons for this decision, but they generally haven't been "this way we'll pump more money out of our players." "Leeching" isn't a word I'd use for a company no longer giving a discount.
I don't think the restaurant comparison is very fair either, unless I misunderstood something and people who bought a longer subscription are now not getting the months they already paid for, or somesuch.
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Estelle Knoht
Posts: 1751
11/8/2016
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Considering the occasional complaints from people about credit card and subscription trouble, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to leave people the option to buy a month of EF?
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Estelle Knoht, a juvenile, unreliable and respectable lady.
I currently do not accept any catbox, cider, suppers, calling cards or proteges.
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lady ciel
Posts: 2548
11/8/2016
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A way to change card details without having to wait for our current subscription to end would be good, if it is possible.
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ciel
Sorry RL means I am not a very active player at the moment. No social actions unless you are prepared to wait and definitely no sparring or other mult-action things.
No Calling Cards or boxed cats please. Will take dupes on the affluent photographers. Other social invitations welcome. Parabolan Kittens usually available, send me an in-game social action saying you want one and I will get one to you as soon as possible.
storynexus name - reveurciel
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Skinnyman
Posts: 2133
11/8/2016
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What?
So from this:
Alexis Kennedy wrote:
Hi all!
The 3/6/12 month subscription options were a last-minute surprise we had to implement because of some of the circumstances of working with Apple.
We will be offering them through the website as well, as soon as we've tidied up everything post mobile launch. Last year we were very wary of offering multi-month subscriptions, because Exceptional Friendship was still experimental and we worried we might need to change price or benefits. But we know what we're doing, now.
we ended up having this:
Absintheuse wrote:
Skinnyman wrote:
So buying bigger and cheaper packages won't be possible with iOS either or I understood the other way around?
Correct, the larger packages will no longer be available. Instead, a 1 month, auto-renewing subscription purchase option will be available across all of our platforms.
Really...? Bit odd, but from the last two weeks I'm starting to get the feeling FBG is trying to leech more money. Hope an explanation will prove me (and probably other) wrong!
--
ESs items and quality requirements sheet. Please check if there are errors or if something is missing
Achievement list if you're feeling bored!
I am accepting Plant battles, Neath's Mysteries card, Starveling Cats and boxed cats.
No suppers, no second chances gain and no need to cure my menaces!
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Mr Sables
Posts: 597
11/8/2016
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Skinnyman wrote:
Really...? Bit odd, but from the last two weeks I'm starting to get the feeling FBG is trying to leech more money. Hope an explanation will prove me (and probably other) wrong!
I've been having that feeling for a while . . .
Maybe it's just in my head, but - since Alexis left - it just doesn't feel the same? More stuff breaking and left broken, more random changes and updates, and now they've just done a 180 flip on their position (seemingly) . . . not to mention a total lack of communication at times between staff and the playerbase (looking at how many people had questions about the confessions) . . .
I'm hoping this is a miscommunication issue, as Alexis' promise for 3/6/12 month subscription was a good one.
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Skinnyman
Posts: 2133
11/8/2016
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I am quite aware of the work required to implement to other platforms, but did you really have to remove it from iOS? I wasn't able to pay my EF subscription via iOS app, but I was patiently waiting for it to arrive on mobile/Android.
Why implement a 12 month payment of 55$ for web and Android when you can just remove it from iOS and leave the "cheaper" 12 x 7$ option? 
--
ESs items and quality requirements sheet. Please check if there are errors or if something is missing
Achievement list if you're feeling bored!
I am accepting Plant battles, Neath's Mysteries card, Starveling Cats and boxed cats.
No suppers, no second chances gain and no need to cure my menaces!
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genesis
Posts: 924
11/8/2016
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Guys, come on. It's a commercial company. "Leeching"?!?
Things being left unfinished is a valid complaint. Poor communication (inlcuding changing the expected pricing model without explanation) is a valid complaint. But criticising a business for prioritising paying customers?!
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http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/mikey_thinkin
Keeping track of incomplete content and loose ends in Fallen London
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Mr Sables
Posts: 597
11/8/2016
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genesis wrote:
Guys, come on. It's a commercial company. "Leeching"?!?
Things being left unfinished is a valid complaint. Poor communication (inlcuding changing the expected pricing model without explanation) is a valid complaint. But criticising a business for prioritising paying customers?!
"Leeching" is a harsh word, true, but it does feel that 'profit' is coming at the cost of 'quality' . . . I would think most people are happy to give money - both in exchange for services and as a donation - should they not feel that a company has changed their business model without alerting the paying customer to such changes. In this case, a member of staff said "we're doing x for you", while another is saying "nah, now we're doing y and that inconvenience will cost you more money" . . .
So, yes, they have every right to ask for money. It's fair and it's natural. I just think that making people pay more, for something they've backtracked on, despite promising to do that original thing -? It feels unethical, and it's just one more thing added onto a huge list of issues, which makes it all the more frustrating.
If you go into a restaurant and are promised steak from the chef at £10, then the waiter comes out and tells you that you're now getting lamb at £20, you'd be pretty miffed, right? You just had your order changed and were charged extra for the trouble.
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Skinnyman
Posts: 2133
11/8/2016
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So buying bigger and cheaper packages won't be possible with iOS either or I understood the other way around?
--
ESs items and quality requirements sheet. Please check if there are errors or if something is missing
Achievement list if you're feeling bored!
I am accepting Plant battles, Neath's Mysteries card, Starveling Cats and boxed cats.
No suppers, no second chances gain and no need to cure my menaces!
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Absintheuse
Posts: 348
11/8/2016
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Skinnyman wrote:
So buying bigger and cheaper packages won't be possible with iOS either or I understood the other way around?
Correct, the larger packages will no longer be available. Instead, a 1 month, auto-renewing subscription purchase option will be available across all of our platforms.
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Absintheuse
Posts: 348
11/9/2016
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Optimatum wrote:
I currently have one of the longer subscriptions which is due to expire shortly. Is there any way for me to purchase another long-term subscription anyways? As far as I can tell, I can't purchase another through the app until the current one runs out, and it won't expire until after the changes.
It is possible to have an active subscription and buy any other subscription you'd like on top of that. You can do this from within the app.
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Ben
Posts: 657
11/14/2016
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If for some reason failbetter didn't always set off fraud alerts every time I tried to purchase from it, it wouldn't be an issue to have a rolling subscription.
Doing the in person authorizations with my bank so that I could buy a block in advance was going to be how I got around that.
First an Android ap that isn't actually available on all Android devices, and now no ability to prepay for a subscription in advance.
The upside to prepay is that you already HAVE my money if I use that, and I'd like to give you more money, but you seem reluctant to give me a good way to pay you.
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The wind has no destination.
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/IcountFrom0
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Skinnyman
Posts: 2133
11/8/2016
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Catherine Raymond wrote:
Personally, I like being able to start a subscription for $7 and then cancel it if my personal economics change abruptly. Of course, everyone's mileage varies.
I couldn't say it better, Cath!
I intend to stay here a lot, enjoy every bit of content and this festival's possibility to grab 3 ES at a discount was great! Maxed out my budget with them, but, in the long run, I'll be able to get another ES from it.
But why promise something in a certain context and, after a few months, announce you'll implement the opposite in less than a week? At least wrap things in a lovely package.
--
ESs items and quality requirements sheet. Please check if there are errors or if something is missing
Achievement list if you're feeling bored!
I am accepting Plant battles, Neath's Mysteries card, Starveling Cats and boxed cats.
No suppers, no second chances gain and no need to cure my menaces!
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Estelle Knoht
Posts: 1751
11/8/2016
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When it comes to money matters, perhaps it'd be best to put this heads up on all of your social channel? Or, more importantly, an announcement on the App itself. (I just scampered off to the App to check.)
edited by Estelle Knoht on 11/8/2016
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Estelle Knoht, a juvenile, unreliable and respectable lady.
I currently do not accept any catbox, cider, suppers, calling cards or proteges.
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