An Open Letter to TurbineFollow

An Open Letter to Turbine:

Turbine has chosen to create two types of players in LoTRO, those who get a free mount at level 25 and those who don’t. To Turbine and to those who received the free horse this seems to be no big deal, but to those that did not, and now can never get one, it remains a point of contention. For those of you who do not understand, let me explain. Turbine unveiled the plan to reward those players who are Founders, i.e. they pre-ordered the game, or those players who chose the Lifetime membership on or before 3 December 2007, with a free mount at level 25. While the mount in question is slower than the level 35 mount, it is both free and remains a good 30% faster than running. To be fair Turbine did offer a reduced monthly fee to those customers who did not qualify for the horse. But this is where the plan falls apart. The reduction in price is nice, but hardly equates to the value of a mount, free of charge, a full 10 levels before everyone else. As a marketing strategy this promotion also fails, if it was offered along with the ability to subscribe for a lifetime, than it would act as an incentive for players to purchase a lifetime account. But no, the lifetime horse deal closed before it was announced, so there is no incentive. What is left is a player base split in two, ones who have the gift horse and those who don’t, and never the two shall meet.
Of course the players who received the gift horse are very supportive of the decision by Turbine. But their support could be shortsighted. What this really shows is that Turbine values their customers differently. Founders, and to a lesser extent, Lifetimers, are more appreciated, than their other customers. For now that doesn’t really matter to Turbine, as they are still flush with Founders. But as the game ages Turbine will have less and less founders to hold them over, and if they continue to neglect their newer players, well that in itself is a dangerous game.
Many players have defended Turbine, although I have yet to see one who didn’t receive the gift horse come to their defense, but I concede it is possible, that this is just a form of veteran rewards, and that Turbine is just honoring their loyal customers. But this isn’t a veteran reward, because there is no chance, no matter how long you play the game, to ever get this reward. You could play from now till the servers are shut down, but you will never get this gift horse. So no, it is not a veteran reward, veteran rewards are based on loyalty measured by length of play, not by whether or not you pre-ordered or decided to buy a lifetime membership. A veteran reward should be obtainable by any player who stays with a game long enough, thus it serves two proposes, it rewards loyal customers, and gives new players an incentive to remain with the game. This free horse did neither. Long standing players, who pay a monthly fee, but did not pre-order or chose the lump sum lifetime option are forever relegated to the inferior statues of not having a mount at level 25. In the end Turbine has created two camps within their game, and all the positive spin and accolades, given to them by the free horse members, cannot change this.

Remember that time that Allakhazam was Turbine?

No, me neither. I, for one, was super happy with the price reduction. Jealous I didn't geta horse, but not butthurt about it.

They did specifically mention that there would be a reward for those who didn't get the horse, not sure if the price reduction was it or not.

In nice terms

Wait, you mean I HAVEN'T been working for Turbine all this time!? My dreams have been crushed!

I'm sure you intended for this diatribe of yours to be taken as a logical and rational argument against a choice made by Turbine. However, your "logic" breaks down in several key places and what I'm left hearing from you is "I didn't get that and now I don't feel special"

You attempt to speak for everyone when you claim that;

It is a point of contention for you and may well be for some others but I seriously doubt if most people are troubled by it and I would be willing to bet my lungs that not everyone... every single person who did not receive a free horse finds it a point of contention. NOTE: Try not to make sweeping all inclusive statements when making your point... it damages your credibility.

You also assume that the intent in all this was a [failed] marketing attempt by Turbine;

When in fact, the move was designed as a reward to a select group of players who gave of themselves and their wallets long before the game was released.

Personally, I have been playing this game for over a year now, having started just before the first round of closed beta, last November. Not only did I play test for months and help to flag countless bugs and issues without compensation, when the game was ready for open beta I stepped up and risked almost $300 on the chance that the game would meet my needs and expectations when it was finally launched.

In repayment for this loyalty and service, Turbine has seen fit to give me (and the other founders) a stipend in the form of a horse 10 levels before you get yours. And by the way, when did you start playing?

You close by stating;

Trust me on this, it's not the lack of a horse that is making your stature inferior... it is more likely your attitude and your ridiculous sense of entitlement that make you less of a player.

If you truly believe that you cannot hope to compete with other players in LOTRO because of a lvl 25 speed buff, it may be time for you to find a game where the rules are more "fair". I would suggest "CareBears Online" but I don't think it's out yet.

How do you know will 'never' get a level 25 horse? On the official forums Patience said that in January they are starting a player rewards program based on how long you have maintained a subscription. I'm willing to bet the level 25 horse will be one of those rewards.

All I can say is the free horse is worth the price. You aren't missing anything. You will want a replacement ASAP. You are almost better off grouping with a hunter for speed.

It is only slightly more useful than the free Hope Crystal (which is not worth the inventory space imho, yet I cant bring myself to destroy it...).

Does someone need their binkie?

the lifetime offer is still there...the difference once founders got a reduced price $200...now the lifetime account costs $300

now that we know Turbine is doing something different like this for life-timers, will you activate the life-time membership? if you still say no then the next time when something is offered for that set of players, you can't have any regrets.