Player Relations / Support Center
 

First, I would like to introduce Era’s new in-game support center. Too long have questions gone unanswered, problems unsolved, and complaints ignored because staff members were either not available (or not willing) to help. Hopefully, with the addition of the support center, we can help guarantee that all issues are addressed.

Along with the support center comes the removal of FAQs, and the switch from GP to Player Relations staff. You can contact the Player Relations team for both FAQ and police-related problems. The reason for the switch is because they will be doing more than just “police” work, and “Player Relations” is much easier to identify as someone who is there to help than “GP”. Keep an eye out for possible PR hiring in the future!


Important information about the support center:

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/1871/scenter.png

How do I use the support center?
Press F11 in-game to open the main menu. Follow further instructions from there.

When should I use the support center?
You should always first try to contact available staff members for immediate problems. Say ‘showadmins’ in-game to see who is online. All abuse reports should go through the support center and will be handled by the server Manager. If you feel that your ticket has been deleted unfairly, contact the Manager.

Other problems that should go through the support center include (but are not limited to):

• Bug reports
• Complaints about staff or development
• Ideas and suggestions
• Problems with gangs/businesses
• Any other problem that requires real attention

What should I say in my tickets?
Be clear with what you want to say. The more information you provide, the faster your problem will be resolved. Try to include screenshots, level names, account names, etc. whenever necessary.

Props to Chris Vimes for scripting this wonderful system!

Awesome system, but it would be cool if there was a system like this for all servers where they could submit tickets to local staff, or submit tickets on a global scale for globals to answer.

neat ^^ not very convenient for bans, but very nice!

Really cool feature though i hope i wont have to use it, and its about time GP and FAQ got connected!

If I am correct didn't they combine faq and gp awhile back before?

Also very nice system, hopefully those hackers will be caught easier.

Im very excited about this!
The Support System looks well-done too!

i doubt anyone hacks on era anymore. seriously whats the point to it :-/ ?

anyway yeah the systems cool, but unless era has changed tremendously the majority of the staff wont check it. also a great deal of players wont use it because they will just spam their question until they are ignored or its answered. but eh i could be wrong.

Yes, we went out of our way to introduce this system so we can just ignore it. Stop being so negative, please, it doesn't help anything.

I remember way back when, someone scripted a system like this for Zodiac. Players were quick to abuse it and so on, hopefully that isn't the case here.

I'd imagine some in-game button/link to the Graal Support Center would suffice for this.

The staff team has changed a lot, and personally I'll probably check it almost every 10-15 minutes because I multi task a lot. I usually am always doing more than one thing at a time while I'm Lating.

Who doesn't Multi-task? Heh, its something everyone has done atleast once.

Realistically, it'll be abused :D.
Not to mention it'd be easier to PM an Admin
But, that Global Ticket idea sounds spiffy though.

The idea is that it prevents things from going unheard, and ensures people get the attention they need. I know that sounds corny and canned, but that's the truth.

If it's abused, we'll just punish the abusers.

This was a good idea in my opinion. It will keep communication between staff and will ensure better relations for both.

You'd be suprised by how many hackers I've caught, you can ask dunez he's always the one I pm.

Maybe make it like max 1 message per like hour or something xP Or els it will be abused... Maybe add on the gui, "Players who abuse this system will be punished" So they are warned..

I doubt abuse to this system will be anything but minor. If anything, what you could do is make the ticket system somewhat like WoW's, to which if you open a ticket, you have one active "pending" ticket, and that's all your allowed.
One "pending" ticket -- until answered. Then you can go ahead and open another one.

I like the system.

Aside from trying to make yourself look good, how the hell did this add to the conversation about the support system in any positive way?


On-topic: This system is a good idea. As for the concern about abuse, as long as the staff members fairly investigate each claim, the only thing players could actually do would be to make a bunch of fake tickets.

There could be some sort of rep/strike system, where each time you make a false claim you lose rep/get a strike. Get too many, and you can't make a ticket for a while.

http://forums.graalonline.com/forums...ad.php?t=74011

Extremely outdated code, but alas, it's still there.

[QUOTE=MontyPython;1514940]Aside from trying to make yourself look good, how the hell did this add to the conversation about the support system in any positive way?


Obviously you didnt read any of the other posts otherwise you wouldve known what I was talking about even though I didnt quote the person. Please read everyones posts before making assumptions.

I don't see what's so hard about reading a PM so this really isn't that needed, but it's good for those who somehow manage to fail at such a simple system already in place.

The Global System would be much more appreciated (off-topic, but very relative).

Also, this system I doubt has much impact on the game, atleast not enough for this thread to have lasted more than one page. Someone close it so we can move on :D.

it'd be useful when there arent the correct staff on especially during the school year when staff are in school. Also a kinda cool update would be if say a GP read a ticket that needed Squirts attention, they could then transfer that ticket to Squirts inbox or w/e.

They can.

well okay then!

They can also read their PM and if the task is above them, say /opencomments and explain it to Squirt.

this system is no different than reading PMs and using comments. it's just more flashy. staff can ignore a ticket just as easily as they can ignore a PM, so I don't really think it's going to increase response time. if it does, that's pathetic. nobody wanted to take the time to go through their PMs but now that some flashy new system is in place, all of a sudden staff are eager to solve problems! gotta do it in style I guess :cool:

Well no more of this "PM me back cus i was afk and got disconnected"
Stuff i guesse for staff..
-_-'

I would think you would understand having previously been in administration.

I don't know about anyone else, but I get a lot of PMs when I'm working, and either ignore them or tell them to go to someone else. This makes sure that we see everyone's problem when we're able to deal with it.

Just though id be better for everyone to see.

I never ignored a PM while GP on Era :) But anyways, im sure Chris gets alot of spam pm's such as "MAKE THIS GUN BETTER" or he may get pms that should be directed to a GP or ET or someone else. With this system, im assuming it will be more organized and the correct people will get the correct messages. Obviously if it's an emergency or w/e a staff member should answer the question and not direct the player to the ticket systtem

I still dont understand why they say "Ugh i get so much pms." Simply putting a "DND" in there nick or RC will get them less pms. >.<

So basically, all this thing is going to do is put complaints in comments FOR you. So you can read it when you're ready, because for god sakes, you're working so hard its impossible for you to do that yourself.

staff find time to screw around with items but they don't have time to answer PMs.

I do understand what it's like to be someone everyone goes to when they have a problem, but it wasn't that bad. I think most staff tend to exaggerate the amount of attention they get just to use as an excuse for ignoring PMs.

Nice addition Era, good job. :)

Your in a *****y mood today huh? Anyways a player can't set a staffs comments. Why are you so upset that there is another way to contact staff? You should be happy, now people will read your complaints whereas on the forums most ignore you.

@Frankie: You act like the staff are lazy or something, and your being a hypocrite because i remember you quite well, and i remember all the "great" things you did. Maybe you remember staff having tons of spare time because you abused and had all the time in the world. Everyday when i was a GP on Era i worked hour after hour. Heck on the Era Hotel, i probablly spent around 10 hours the first day i realized it was having issues and much more on the days after.

I never said they were lazy. work still gets done and I recognize that, but it annoys me when people act like being staff is so time consuming that they can't answer simple PMs.

I don't care how hypocritical I sound. that doesn't make my point any less valid. you assume that my whole career as staff was nothing but laziness and abuse, but you're terribly wrong. I've had my phases where I didn't want anything to do with the server, but there were plenty of times where I worked my ass off. pretty much during Jack's whole management I was the only one helping players and doing anything for the server.

We can answer pms, sure, but answering a pm isn't the same as addressing the problem they are pming you about...especially if we are busy. Some of you seem to enjoy trying to point out the bad in every situation, but this system has so many benefits:

• Problems can easily be moved to the appropriate department, ensuring that the right person handles them
• Everything is displayed in an organized fashion
• You can communicate back and forth without needing both the staff and the player to be online at the same time
• The problem will always be in your inbox until it is resolved
• Adminstrators can overlook the problems that other staff are dealing with, and make sure they're handling them correctly
• and more!

Sounds good when you put it that way, but I liked it ever since it came out!
Also, there should be a notice somewhere saying that F11 activates the support system. Its not even on the Era New GUI yet!

It says Era Support GUI [F11]
when its oppened, you see that gui everytime you login or reconnect..