Subscription Rollout

[HR-Trevor]

Hello, everyone!

I've made this post to convey to you all a difficult but important decision we've made for the future of Haelrahv. Despite the fact that 'live' is not yet ready and despite our personal desires on this issue, we've come to the decision to begin rolling out Haelrahv as a pay-to-play service.

It has become increasingly difficult to maintain Haelrahv for me personally. Haelrahv has been run, first as a development project, then as an open gaming service, for two years now. We've had players in-game for roughly a year. In that time, we've had an opportunity to realize the concept and premise of Haelrahv shows a lot of promise and potential, and that with hard work and dedication, Haelrahv can be a very competitive product. I'm both happy for you all and, at the same time proud for that.

But, Haelrahv has needs. To be honest, even -I- have needs -- and I'm not talking a $50,000 engagement ring. Basic necessities of life are frankly the types of things I've put on hold for Haelrahv's sake for a long time now. Furthermore, Haelrahv needs special development and hardware -- especially for all our hopes and dreams for 'live', all of which will come at a cost.

So, we're going to arrange things so that those who are able and enjoy Haelrahv most are able to enjoy the best of benefits Haelrahv has to offer, while investing in its future. We're going to offer a free play option too, so that we lose as little of our precious community as possible in the process. I'll detail that shortly.

First, I'd like to outline our goals for the revenue this will generate:

* General relief for my own personal situation with regard to the effect Haelrahv has on finances, etc.

* Dev work to reduce: lag, frequency of and need for resets, and general downtime.

* A new, more powerful game server to reduce lag, character save times, etc. Currently, Haelrahv operates from a single system that is also used for any other functions I might personally need to accomplish. Any dev work, recreation, you name it -- occurs on that same system, and this is troublesome for both the game and myself.

* Additional funding to go mainly towards: artwork, music, and development of a custom game client for RPGN games.

We are in a position where the needs of the game are great and resources short, but I hope in due time to also compensate the staff for their work. These are people who truly do this as a 'labor of love' without doubt. Still, even a small amount of extra change in their pocket would only be right and that is part of the long-term plan for Haelrahv.

That said, I'd like to outline account types we will offer to you all:

Standard, paid account:
- $10 per month (this is reduced from the $15/month we intend to charge in 'live').
- Eight character slots (same as current).
- Access to all alteration/merchant, wedding and quest events.
- May transfer characters to/from other standard accounts. No fee for transfers.
- May own a home.
- Large locker capacity.
- Access to custom pets (new types as well as 'alterations' for pets).
- Cannot have a free account but may have unlimited standard accounts.

Free account:
- No charge at all.
- One character slot.
- Access to most alteration/merchant events.
- Cannot have staff assisted weddings or use wedding mechanics (unless one of those being married is standard, anyway).
- Cannot participate in quests (quest events - automated quests like level 20 quest are still available).
- Cannot transfer characters to/from other accounts.
- Home ownership not permitted.
- Standard locker capacity.
- Access only to standard pets, cannot have pets altered.
- May only own and connect to one account.
- Multiple connections from an I.P. address known to play on a free account are not permitted (accounts may be terminated if this rule is broken)

As you might have noticed, the differences are mostly fluff and cosmetic rather than any strategic advantage and this is intended. The difference in locker space is one exception, but we don't feel this gives a player an 'edge' over another in any substantial way. Some of these options may be Simutronics Premium-esque to you all, and all I can do, frankly, is apologize for any apparent similarities. We are NOT intending in any way to divide players into separate classes -- only to provide substantial benefits to those who are significantly helping Haelrahv's growth.

Now, with this rollout, I feel the staff has an obligation to give you a little more. So, we're going to be releasing new systems and system updates. I won't list all of them because some are iffy still, but these WILL include the following:

- Homes. Need I say more?
- Notoriety and alignment system to curb PvP concerns.
- Larger lockers for EVERYONE (but standard players will have even larger lockers!)
- A wedding system (automated) and staff-assisted wedding services.
- New pet types for standard players.

Again, there are several other changes/additions we are examining. If the community has begged for it, it's probably one of things on the table of possibilities, but I can't comment on those items right now.

Some general Q&A:

Q: Will there be a free trial period?
A: YES. For 30 days all new accounts will enjoy standard player benefits at no cost. One free trial per customer. Additionally, all existing accounts at the time of this rollout will receive this same 30-day trial period.

Q: How is 'customer' defined for free trials and other purposes:
A: A combination of customer information including name, address, phone number, email address, etc. will be applied.

Q: When is all of this taking place?
A: The new account system, website changes, etc. will be in place possibly as soon as end of this week or sometime next week.

Q: Will all accounts get a free trial?
A: YES. Even accounts that have existed for a very, very long time.

Q: Does Haelrahv have minimum play time requirements for free accounts such as those in Eaxia Online?
A: At this time, no. This is subject to change but such requirements are not currently planned.

Q: I plan to purchase a subscription. How will I pay?
A: Either through PayPal, or via money order/personal check in postal mail. We cannot accept credit card transactions directly at this time (we'll need substantial capital first to provide this option).

Q: Will I be required to enter credit card info before I can make a new account?
A: No. You will not need a credit card or PayPal account to start a new account. You will need to be able to pay via PayPal, personal check or money order after your 30-day trial, if you wish to be a standard account holder. All billing by PayPal is handled by PayPal directly so Haelrahv/RPGN will not have direct access to your credit card information at any time.

Q: After my 30-day trial period ends, what happens exactly?
A: Your account will become inactive / expired. You may purchase a game subscription or request a free account at this time, renewal through PayPal will not happen automatically. If you choose to purchase a game subscription, you may sign up for automatic monthly payments or make a one-time, manual payment. Automatically-recurring subscriptions may be canceled at any time.

Q: Is my account at risk of deletion / purging if it is inactive / expired?
A: Yes, but only if it has been inactive / expired for longer than one year (consecutively).

Q: Can I upgrade from a free account to a standard one later?
A: Yes, you may upgrade at any time.

Q: Can I downgrade from a standard account to a free one?
A: Yes, but you may only do so if you have only one character on the account. If not, you will need to remove characters to meet this requirement. Additionally, any remaining time/credit for your current 30-day subscription period will NOT be refunded.

Q: What if I have paid for multi-account access?
A: You will receive free game play credit extending beyond your initial, 30-day trial period. For example, if you have $10.00 multi-account access credit remaining, it will be converted to one full month of Standard account access.

Q: Are you continuing to offer a multi-connect option?
A: We have considered this, but out of a sense of fairness, those who wish to have multiple connections will need separate, paid accounts, each billed at $10 per month. Only one connection per I.P. address will be permitted while the connection is used to access a free account, therefore, two persons with free accounts cannot connect on the same I.P. address, nor can a free account and a standard on be used simultaneously via the same I.P. address. There are no restrictions on connections per I.P. address for standard customers or free trial accounts.

Q: When will X feature you've mentioned be available?
A: As soon as possible. The expected release of items mentioned will probably occur in the following order: Increased lockers, new pet types & alterations, notoriety and alignment system, and finally homes. Homes require the most overall effort by staff to complete and therefore are expected to take longest to release. A fair portion of homes-related work has been completed already at this time, however.

Q: Will all of the new features mentioned be available before my 30-day trial expires?
A: Not necessarily. We will do our best to have as much as possible done as quickly as possible, however.

Q: How does this affect live? Are our characters still being wiped, etc?
A: Our plans for live haven't changed. We're still planning to wipe money, items, etc. primarily out of necessity, but we are carrying over experience so you keep that investment in your character.

If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to post them in the Responses to Announcements from the Staff topic in the message forum. Thank you for your support!
_________________
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." -- Plato

-- Trevor Rage / Rich Mondy

[HR-Trevor]

The subscription system is in place and everyone's free trials have started as of early this morning (about midnight-ish). If you have not logged on since then, your 30 trial will begin when you log on next.

After 30 days your trial will expire and you'll need to either request a free account or upgrade your account to standard for $10/month. While an account is in trial status any multi-connect fees paid still apply and multi still works as it has. When your trial expires, just let me know and I'll convert any remaining multi money to payment toward standard account status.

If you have any questions, post them or email me at service@haelrahv.com.
_________________
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." -- Plato

-- Trevor Rage / Rich Mondy

[HR-Trevor]

BTW, we will be adding new tools to the site to assist you and some of the links there are not properly set up yet but will be in the coming days. The previously mentioned new systems have also been in development, such as homes etc.
_________________
"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something." -- Plato

-- Trevor Rage / Rich Mondy