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RIFT shows off its customer service department
What's it like working a day in customer service? Most of you probably don't have to speculate, since the odds of you having worked retail at some point hover right around almost certainty. But have you worked customer service for a game before? If you have, then you probably don't have any need to look at RIFT's new post about the perils of working in the game's CS team. If you haven't, maybe you'd like to know a bit more about the people you're cursing about as you try to get your character bugs resolved. Aside from showing off some anecdotes and company-wide teamwork for the team, the post also contains the helpful reminder for players of every games that things which seem to be exploits are probably better off reported rather than, well, exploited. If you want a peek behind the curtain to see how the service team operates within games in general and RIFT in particular, take a look at the full article.
Face of Mankind looking for storyline gamemasters
Nexeon Technologies is looking for a few good storytellers, according to a post on the Face of Mankind forums. The sci-fi sandbox has long been a theoretically rich roleplaying environment, and the devs are looking to put that theory into practice. "We are currently looking to bring back an official storyline to Face of Mankind in a manner whereby it will play a significant part [in] the roleplay environment [of] the game, and where we will see players from all factions and backgrounds taking part in one way or another," writes Arthurius, Nexeon's community manager. To that end, Nexeon is looking to bring in several storyline gamemasters, and applications are now being accepted. The requirements are nothing to sneeze at, particularly when it comes to game knowledge, perfect grammar, and the willingness to sacrifice your own game time for the greater good. If you think you've got what it takes (or you're just curious), you can read more on the official Face of Mankind forums.
Joymax launches Silkroad Online expansion and new events
There's a ton of new functionality on display in Joymax's free-to-play Silkroad Online MMORPG. The historical fantasy title, set along the renowned China to Constantinople trading route in the 7th century AD, has recently released its Rise of the Thief-Hunter expansion. Additionally, Joymax has added 24-hour GM support to the game and is hosting a series of events designed to draw awareness to the new services as well as solicit fan feedback (and offer prizes). Festivities include a share-your-knowledge event, a Fortress War video competition, and a Legendary Player tribute event. The expansion features a new emphasis on jobs, and players will be able to specialize in new skill sets dependent on their characters' jobs and levels. Job titles will also change as various advancement tasks are completed, and reputation gain is now tied in with rank bonuses (which in turn raises attributes). Rise of the Thief-Hunter also brings a newly designed crafting system granting players the ability to fabricate everything from siege items to alchemy staples. A new trade system allows for players to explore their smugglery sides and offers quests that reward unique job items. Players may also choose to protect trade caravans or raid them. Check out the official Silkroad Online website for more information on the expansion and associated events.
Public Service Announcement: Don't file false GM reports
This may seem like common sense to a lot of people, but it came up as an issue recently on the official Customer Support forums. The message is simple: Don't file false GM tickets. Whether you're doing it to get back at someone you dislike, to play a prank on someone, or just because you're bored, don't do it. Support forum agent Nevalistis points out that false reports are is against the Game Master interaction policy. Each GM petition is taken seriously, and if the GMs see a pattern of frivolous or false reports, they can and will take action from warnings all the way up to suspension or permanent account closure. Those of us who have tried to petition a GM lately know how long the queue times are -- so from all of us with legitimate problems, please make sure your ticket is legit. It may save your account, it may save a GM's sanity, and it'll certainly help those with real problems get the help they need a little faster.
New Customer Service Forum
Questions are frequently asked on the official forums that only receive a response saying that it's an issue that needs to be reported to a GM in-game rather than on the forums. Well, now people have a place to ask such questions on the forums, where everyone can see them - the customer service forum. The forum is frequented by Blizzard GMs and is littered with official Blizzard responses. There are already some helpful sticky posts here - one listing solutions to common problems and another displaying this week's most common issues. Technical issues should still posted about in the technical support forum (or the Mac technical support forum) and the bug report forum remains the best place to report specific bugs, but the customer service forum provides a place to discuss in-game issues that are not technical in nature.
