Banned
Hello Ubisoft,
I'll be addressing you, the company and the community representatives, administrators etc. here.
Firstly, I'd like to thank you for the Season 6 challenges. My friends and I personally found them easy due to our experience in the game, and wanted them to be a lot tougher, but then they have to be made to cater to newer players also, so it's relatively understandable.
That being said, I must bring to your attention that whether or not it was accidental, we (the players) have been very clearly scammed by you (the company, Ubisoft) as far as one of the rewards for Season 6 is concerned. The third and final special reward for completing solo challenges throughout Season 6 (all 4 weeks, or all 12 solo challenges) was a "White Chopper".
Let's talk about what a "White Chopper" is, to a person who does not own one, me for instance. I can access the list of vehicles I own by pressing tab, scrolling to the rebel skill (Vehicle Drop-Off), and cycling through the items there with Q or E. If I do not own a vehicle, the game will not list it here.
If I go to a white helicopter (unarmed Little Bird) in-game, and stand next to it, the game will prompt me to get into a "Helicopter (Santa Blanca)".
If I go to a white helicopter (Little Bird armed with miniguns) in-game, and stand next to it, the game will prompt me to get into a "Helicopter (Santa Blanca)".
If I go to a white helicopter (Little Bird armed with rockets) in-game, and stand next to it, the game will prompt me to get into a "Helicopter (Santa Blanca)".
So if I don't own a "White Chopper", it won't show in my list of vehicles, and since the names of the white Little Birds when you stand next to them are all the same, I have no way of knowing what my reward is going to be until I receive it. One would think that adds mystery to the reward. Wrong. All you need to do is look at the picture right above where it says "White Chopper" on the challenges screen, and you'll see a Little Bird armed with miniguns. Or better yet, look at the promotional advertisement picture that would pop up every now and then throughout the 3 or so weeks of Season 6, when you were in main menu, and you'd see a big photograph of all three special reward vehicles, and one of them is a Little Bird armed with miniguns.
Now here's the deal. I fly the Little Bird in this game a lot. I provide air support with it, I stunt with it etc. Anyone who really knows helicopters in this game knows that the minigun Little Bird is the best helicopter in the game by miles, in every aspect. There is no match. So when Season 6 came out over 3 weeks ago with that promotional picture, a lot of us were extremely excited to stick around for all 4 weeks of challenges just to get that minigun chopper and finally get to spawn it whenever we wanted, instead of having to look for one.
The Scam by Ubisoft: We did not get the minigun Little Bird as the third and final special reward for Season 6 solo challenges. We got the unarmed white Little Bird.
The reason I call it a scam is because that promotional picture was shown to the entire playerbase for over 3 weeks, fooling many who paid attention to it, into believing they were going to get a certain reward and they didn't.
Let's say you, Ubisoft, made a mistake. Just like in Week 2 when you somehow "translated" Montuyoc into Itacua in many languages, and San Mateo in others, for one of the solo challenges. But you realized that mistake (not that you made any "quick" effort to correct it) once people talked about it. So what about this "mistake" (in the hypothetical scenario that it was a mistake)? Did you not read all the threads of people talking about the minigun chopper reward? Did you think that people were not going to notice when 2 miniguns were missing from their reward chopper?
The problem I have here is the lack of quality control, the lack of checks and balances in so many simple things. I understand if an "internee" did not know how to translate province names into other languages. But who puts effort into making a promotional advertisement picture with something that players aren't even going to get? I wouldn't believe that the company made a "mistake" this big.
Let's work with the theory that you're a business like any other and you need players to keep playing the game, so there's more chances of us putting money into your microtransaction economy (battle crates, vehicle packs etc.) So you give us a picture of arguably the best aircraft in the game, and keep us hooked for over 3 weeks, only to give us a completely useless vehicle instead. So now we go back to buying battle crates to 'possibly' get a minigun chopper and not the same cosmetic item for the 30th time. Now I'd believe that theory, because businesses/companies have been known to employ deceitful tactics to make money.
Please understand that as displeased as I may have sounded in this thread, my objective is to bring to light the clear scam (accidental or not) that the players were subjected to, and for you, Ubisoft to give us compensation, by either giving us what you advertised as the reward, or at the very least, admitting that it was a mistake, and one that should not be made (and not corrected for over 3 weeks) by a company with your standing.
To you, the forum administrators, moderators, community representatives etc., I hope this gets to the right party within the company as soon as possible.
Posmertnyy
Edit:
I'm glad to add an update here that after this thread went public, Ubisoft did indeed acknowledge their error and have subsequently compensated all players who completed all 12 solo challenges, with the minigun chopper reward as advertised (in addition to the unarmed white chopper). Please refer to Ubi-Alien's response (Reply #13 on Page 2 of this thread) for details.
Senior Member
I must admit I also noticed this reward helo had the mini guns mounted when first revealed.
As a new player to GRW I thought this was pretty cool & the fact it didn’t take me longer to suss out the best all round helo.
Personally it’s the little white with mini guns so I was very pleased to see this as the final reward as opposed to flying the Rebel helo with no weapons from the skill tab.
I had intended to finish the challenges later tonight after work.
It’s very disappointing to now find out this particular reward doesn’t come with the mini guns as shown all those weeks ago & now.
I don’t know why but I had a sneaky suspicion this could possibly be the case, why?
Ubisoft’s reputation hasn’t exactly been outstanding since frequenting the forums after purchasing GRW & observing posts :/
jAG
Senior Member
I completed this challenge earlier today, and also noticed what is tantamount to FALSE ADVERTISING.
I also went through the procedure of calling one in multiple times in the event that the drop was randomized. NOPE. ALL LIES.
Moreover, we already have a black unarmed Scout available to us... WhyTF would we need a cosmetic alternative to decrease the cyclic rate of the drop list?
Please execute the individual(s) responsible for this FUBAR, and give those of us who completed the challenge the advertised gunship (Scout w/ miniguns).
Senior Member
I...did try to tell everyone who would listen for the last few weeks that the last reward was going to be an unarmed white chopper.
White minigun choppers are a battle crate item and have been since "SO2" deployed with its new pool of crate items.
Ubisoft do not typically offer store or crate items as rewards. This would punish those of us who bought the items already.
To me it was quite clear that the pics showing a chopper with miniguns were a mistake.
Posmertnyy. Darling. You know I love you dearly, but I even told you personally that the chopper would be unarmed.
The entire microtransaction model is of dubious business ethics in the first place, but it seems a little uncharitable to cry "scam" about these challenge rewards. ((((
Banned
A mistake is something you try and correct, so if the company did not realize their mistake for over 3 weeks, it's worse than making this 'mistake' intentionally and not correcting it. As I said, to show us a minigun chopper (which is arguably the best aircraft in the game) for over 3 weeks in a promotional advertisement, to keep us hooked, and then giving us something useless instead, to me isn't a mistake. If it is, I've already asked Ubisoft to come forward and admit their mistake and compensate us. They're not a small group of individuals with a few computers. They're a company.
Also, Ami I know what you tried to tell me and others. I had my doubts, yes, but you're a person with an opinion, just like I'm a person with an opinion. Companies on the other hand do not have the luxury of accommodating opinions in a case like this. They do have the luxury of advertising to the playerbase, so if rewarding us with a minigun chopper hurts their microtransaction economy, there is absolutely no chance the advertisement (or the challenges page) was a mistake. Companies don't make mistakes like this when it comes to money.
Member
So funny to see my pal a little disappointed over this.. I care about little birds as much as he loves to come to predator with me.. thats never. I sent him a screenshot of the new challenges cause he was out of town as he was looking forward to getting the bird when he got back.. the ironic thing was. with all my joking around my screenshot had no challenges complete for any week. they are just too silly. and i can care less about patches and birds. then again if it was a new antique weapon, id be all over it. its all perspective and each perspective is real. we all have em. I tend to agree with Pos and these few other people. Most people I know play, and never come to the forums. I even watched Furys video of the challenge finish to see if it was unlocked, and i got the impression by his voice he seemed slightly disappointed, but ok with it.. But, that is just how I viewed it from my perspective.
Senior Member
I guess maybe I'm just too cynical.Originally Posted by Posmertnyy Go to original post
In my view advertising is almost always false, so I am not surprised or upset when examples manifest. The entire concept and industry built around advertising are founded on manipulation and deception.
It's a consequence of free markets in liberalism. Companies scramble to take advantage of rubes with disposable income, push products people don't need, engineer those products' obsolescence so that they must be bought repeatedly or replaced with upgrades, corrupt state governments with money and lobbyists, hoard their profits, and almost never have to answer to anyone but their shareholders.
As the old Russian axiom goes, "Actions speak. Words dissemble."
Never listen to what a a company have to say. Look instead at what they do, how they operate.
I don't honestly know if the picture of the minigun chopper was put up (and left up) due to malice or mistake (plus inertia), but the fact remains that it was possible for me to model the outcome of these challenges based upon observation and analysis of Ubisoft's previous behaviour regarding store and crate items.
And if I can do it anyone can.
Capitalism has killed more people than any idea in history other than misogyny, and I hate it with every fibre of my being, but it's the world we live in, and we have to be aware of it and take steps to protect ourselves from it.
So I leave you with this final piece of advice...
Caveat emptor.
Senior Member
Senior Member
dittoOriginally Posted by non-exist-ent Go to original post
Senior Member
