Referrals - Where can you see how much money Steven owes you?

Slapshot1188

So I think it was back in 2018 (not sure, but it was a looooog time ago) that this company removed the ability to see how much money you were owed due to referrals.  (They are supposed to pay you 15% of what the person you refer pays  them... forever I believe).  This was blamed on a switch to a new website and some data issues.   It's now almost halfway through 2020.  Can we see that information?  The dollar amount that they owe you?

Asking for a friend.

Slapshot1188

Nobody knows?   Interesting.

jahlon

Its on my list of questions for him on 8 July when I interview him.  

Slapshot1188

jahlon said:

Its on my list of questions for him on 8 July when I interview him.  

That fact that it's been years and nobody knows is kind of stunning to me.

Kyleran

Pretty sure he's altered the deal, pray he doesn't ask you to ride a unicycle, wear a dress and call you Mary.

  

Wizardry

I think if they are hiding the information,it would be obvious they intended to hide it and for sketchy reasons.
I would be more interested in the actual design of the system because what i read on another site doesn't sound right.I would think you only attain 15% of YOUR referral and that it does not work down a pyramid scheme where you also get a kickback on their referrals.

I do find it odd they would allow you to use the referral $$ as subscriptions,that is kind of hurting your business long term,it would have made sense to give away cash shop currency the way DBG/SOE does with EQ.Matter of fact DBG/Soe give away 500 cash shop currency to everyone that subscribes,no referral needed.

So this tells me there are two possible scenarios.
1 Steven felt he didn't really need the money so this was a true incentive program.
2 Steven felt they really DID need the money and needed a jumpstart incentive program to get that money coming in quickly.

I am not sure about the timeline,i see mention of some website changes  "yeah heard that one before"ahem...right Bill...ahem double click bait.I would lean more towards the BIG picture,when this game seemed to slide into the hate zone and seemed to be dying quickly.That timeline was when the whole Reddit debacle happened,friendships lost,trust lost and seemingly the game development had come to a halt as well and then of course the BR move soon after.

Something happened internally that said the game was in trouble and imo is why all of a sudden information halted.I believe right now the game is still in trouble and they are STRUGGLING just to get a product out they can sell.

Wizardry

The guy i was following all along was a guy i felt was a RARE breed ,a non SHILL and that is ItsZiz.He was a big fan of this game,a friend to Steven and really wants the game to be a success.However he tells it straight,no bs,he gives his heart felt opinion and doesn't try to sell you a lemon.

Now since he was removed as a friend for various reasons,Steven doesn't like criticism "red flag"ItsZiz might have become a tad more docile but i still feel he is a guy who can give you HONEST answers.

When dude here Jahlon interviews Steven,i highly doubt you are going to get a straight honest answer,likely an excuse or scapegoat.....oh the guy doing those numbers had to be put into a different area of development so he no longer does those numbers sort of excuse.

Vrika

Wizardry said:

I do find it odd they would allow you to use the referral $$ as subscriptions,that is kind of hurting your business long term,it would have made sense to give away cash shop currency the way DBG/SOE does with EQ.Matter of fact DBG/Soe give away 500 cash shop currency to everyone that subscribes,no referral needed.

If they had made the referral rewards for cash shop purchases only, that would have given people the impression that in addition to all other fees there's going to be a cash shop where you'd want to spend that much money.

BruceYee

Bernie Madoff is holding on to that list for safe keeping.

jahlon

Wizardry said:

The guy i was following all along was a guy i felt was a RARE breed ,a non SHILL and that is ItsZiz.He was a big fan of this game,a friend to Steven and really wants the game to be a success.However he tells it straight,no bs,he gives his heart felt opinion and doesn't try to sell you a lemon.

Now since he was removed as a friend for various reasons,Steven doesn't like criticism "red flag"ItsZiz might have become a tad more docile but i still feel he is a guy who can give you HONEST answers.

When dude here Jahlon interviews Steven,i highly doubt you are going to get a straight honest answer,likely an excuse or scapegoat.....oh the guy doing those numbers had to be put into a different area of development so he no longer does those numbers sort of excuse.

So couple of things here just for the clarity of the record

Ziz was not removed from the content creator program for "criticism" he was removed because he did a Podcast in December of 2018 where he specifically said 

1. Intrepid is not working on an MMO
2. They have not been working on the MMO
3. They have shown no key systems for the MMO

Now, while every content creator is allowed to have their own opinions, opinions do not get you removed from the Content Creator program.  Ziz was one of the creators who was in a meeting with Steven where Steven specifically laid out expectations that Content Creators can be positive or negative as long as they are truthful. 

I have said a great number of negative things over the 2+ years I've been a content creator for them.  Each time however, instead of just running with the negative I ensure to gather up some facts, reasons, and rationales for my position.   90%+ of the time Intrepid takes those things and either directly addresses the concern with me, or releases a statement or article or updated based on the concern.   I accept that the remaining 10% of the time the things seemingly go unaddressed due to business reasons, and I can't expect to be privy to everything.

When I ask the question to Steven, I'm going to ask for a no-later than date.  However, given that they are still trying to fill the position of the web developer for their studio, that's going to be probably a wild-guess at best. 

That doesn't mean I won't try to get an expected date from them, and Steven knows if he does give a date, then I will track it and if they go late, I'll call him late.  

Slapshot1188

Are the Content Creators compensated directly by Stephen? Or do they just get revenue from the referrals they generate?

jahlon

Slapshot1188 said:

Are the Content Creators compensated directly by Stephen? Or do they just get revenue from the referrals they generate?

I can't speak for the rest of the content creators, but I have not been offered any compensation.   

The only thing I get is a little bit of media push now and then, an occassional interview, and sometimes a heads up that I might want to clear my schedule to make content.  

Slapshot1188

jahlon said:

Its on my list of questions for him on 8 July when I interview him.  

As of July 9th we still have no answer to this question.  Well, we have an answer that NO you cannot see this information but we still (since 2018) do not have an answer or ETA on when we will be able to.

Wellspring

Slapshot1188 said:

jahlon said:

Its on my list of questions for him on 8 July when I interview him.  

As of July 9th we still have no answer to this question.  Well, we have an answer that NO you cannot see this information but we still (since 2018) do not have an answer or ETA on when we will be able to.

To be fair, your question in the thread title said "Where" not "When". Looks like you're going to have to wait until the next interview to get it right :P

Slapshot1188

Good point.  We have no when or where or how or... anything.   

Slapshot1188

Wizardry said:

When dude here Jahlon interviews Steven,i highly doubt you are going to get a straight honest answer,likely an excuse or scapegoat.....oh the guy doing those numbers had to be put into a different area of development so he no longer does those numbers sort of excuse.

Well... you called it

Kyleran

Slapshot1188 said:

Wizardry said:

When dude here Jahlon interviews Steven,i highly doubt you are going to get a straight honest answer,likely an excuse or scapegoat.....oh the guy doing those numbers had to be put into a different area of development so he no longer does those numbers sort of excuse.

Well... you called it

Seems to be standard indie developer excuse #17, there's no time / resources to work on the web site, refunds, support, as we are all too busy "delivering" the game.

Yet the game delivery never actually seems to come.

One exception, if there's a cash shop, unless you are SBS / COE they usually make sure those work quite well. (Except for maybe the refund module, those are notoriously fickle.)