Sony's zombie MMO H1Z1 launched yesterday on Steam Early Access, and the developers are already offering refunds.
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Aside from the now seemingly obligatory server and login issues associated with most online games, the biggest issue fans have with H1Z1 is its air drop feature, which is perceived as pay to win.
H1Z1 allows players to call in supply drops with real money, and in a game that puts an emphasis on supply management and ammunition, that can be a pretty big advantage. The air drop can be attacked by other players, and is quite noticeable and slow (meaning the one who called in the drop may not end up with the supplies), so the developers argue that it's not truly pay to win.
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That said, they understand the frustration and disappointment in the fan base if any customers feel duped, and as such are offering no-questions-asked refunds. SOE president John Smedley took to Reddit to extend an olive branch:
"If you feel like the airdrops are an issue for you, you may immediately request a refund to bwilcox@soe.sony.com - this offer applies till Monday and it applies only to people that have purchased the game as of 10:30 a.m.Pacific today, January 16, 2015."
At the same time, Smedley feels the team had been perfectly clear about the presence of air drops in H1Z1 before launch, despite earlier comments ensuring fans that there would be absolutely no way to buy ammo, food, or guns in the game. The airdrop feature was present in videos, and he made a point to show it off during gameplay footage.
"We've been showing it clearly in all of the streams we have been doing," he said in a lengthy Reddit post. "I made a point of personally doing it during last Friday's streams. We want them to be server events...so we make sure the whole server knows they're coming and I've personally been killed many times after I paid for them myself. So I fundamentally disagree with the argument. In terms of us not being honest about it - untrue to an extreme.
"Quoting an eight month old Reddit post after numerous streams and interviews where we've been quite public AND putting it front and center in our 'what to expect document' which was right on the purchase page just makes this blatantly unfair IMO."
It's debatable whether the somewhat randomized nature of the drop is pay to win, but there's little arguing that Smedley clearly stated in the past that H1Z1 wouldn't offer purchasable supplies. He can say now that those comments were old, but does that invalidate what certainly came across as a promise? The air drop feature is being altered--Smedley admitted after watching some streams that it can end up being pay to win, which was not their intention, so the situation may change in the near future.