Firstly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to clarify; however, these sorts of announcements should really be made prior to a (seemingly) offhand Dev Notice, if your goal genuinely isn't to cause a stir. I don't want to be too critical, but it really, really seems poorly-thought-out, not to have announced this ahead-of-time. redface
May I ask how firmly decided you are on the one-week duration, or would you be willing to consider adjusting it based on user response? I've owned my own Amulet since before the area was released, but I can imagine that if it had been opened after only one week of use, I'd have been awfully perturbed. I'd personally feel a bit more comfortable with a duration on the order of a month or so, because it seems difficult to claim that a user who has had one month of access to the area hasn't had due opportunity to use their gem. I understand this means a lot more work on your end, but to be fair all of that work could've been avoided by simply announcing the change today, and enacting it a month from now. sweatdrop
The last nitpick I'd make is that the Dev Notice states that this was 'asked for' - as far as I'm aware, the only place in which such a discussion has been openly fielded (at least recently) was Ask-the-Admin. Unfortunately, AtA'ers represent an extremely small portion of the zOMG! Forum, and the zOMG! Forum in turn represents only a small portion of the zOMG! Community - I imagine you can see how that statement seems unfair, considering what a small minority it applies to. If the community had been given - at the very least - the opportunity to voice concerns prior to this change, then the uproar would likely not have been nearly as zealous. Not only would an earlier announcement have avoided more technical issues, but it would've given the community an opportunity to have its opinions - and all of its opinions - aired before the change actually came into effect.
EDIT: Alright, just one more: is there any particular reason why this couldn't have been delayed to coincide with DMS's release anniversary, a couple of months from now? The announcement (and removal of Gems from the shop) could've been made on the 16th of this month - one year from when Amulets first went on sale, if the Archives aren't misleading me - giving at least some objective justification for the timing of it. At least then it wouldn't feel like the decision was made on-a-whim, and I suspect the some of the negative response comes from the fact this feels senseless, or random. I feel that in the future, a bit of planning could go a long way toward avoiding these sorts of issues in the first place.
Wut Panda
Only the people that were too cheap to buy the bloodstone are rejoicing.
No offense intended, but it's always best to avoid unnecessary generalisations; I can't speak for anyone else, but I bought a total of 9 Amulets (8 of which were given away as gifts), and am perfectly happy to see the area finally opened. As has been stated, it was always intended that the area be opened eventually, and while I certainly agree that there were better ways to go about announcing it, the fact of its being open is hardly due cause for dismay... 3nodding
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