Avatar Statue deed sales - mindark sales in general

Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Posts
4,249
Society
Titans of Space
Avatar Name
John Black Knight
Over a year ago i purchases the avatar statue deed for twin peaks main - while the auction was still running i sent in some questions to clarify the sales criteria - however i didnt get an 'answer' until 9 month after i already had won the auction. And now i seemingly having been passed on to email communication i dont really seem to get any customer service either for a product i payed for over a year ago... :rolleyes:

Any suggestions on how to get anyone from mindark to respond to the issue before another year passes ?
(PS:Im still waiting for 6 and a half years now for the remaining features to my spaceships that i payed for in 2011 - but at least i got something to use meanwhile in that case...)

I hope mindark at some point will realise that customer communication especially when you cant/or dont want to deliver a product on time (or in the same year for that matter) is not a bad thing.

Here is the exchange:
---------------------------------------------
(mail to: Rec)
-----------------
Hello, the below part is from my support case regarding question on how to claim my avatar statue deeds and which customization/operation/handling/trade/upgrade options are avaiable for it. I originally asked those question a year ago and have not received an answer as to any specifics about my avatar statue deed (the case was closed with a final reply that didnt answer any of my questions after 9 months and refered me to write you an email).
So before i make my mind up on how i want my statue to look - could you please answer my questions from below ?
Thanks in advance.

John Black Knight

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hello, i wanted to ask a few questions regarding the avatar statue deeds while there is still time to bid on them.

Will the final appearance be a 3D avatar statue like can be seen at celeste habour on arkadia or will the appearance stay the same as current one with 4 sides just showing a facial impression ?

Will it only be avatars that can be displayed or could be be a spaceship/mothership with respective message about its crew/service as well ?

Will the message and 3D object be adjustable at a later point in time ? eg. graphics engine change or avatar appearance change

Will it be possible to purchase additional features to the statue ? eg. 1-3 itempoints to mount a pc content sign on to it

Will the deeds remain in playerpossession after the statues have been customized and be tradeable ?

Thanks for your time.

Kind regards
John

----------------------------------

Hi Black,

Thank you for contacting us and please accept our truthful apologies for not being able to reply in time.

They are now starting to make all the arrangements for the statues, and need a some information to start with.

Please choose the option below that is best suited for you.

Hunter = Avatar holding a rifle
Miner = Avatar hold a Finder.
Mindforce = Avatar using Mindforce
Crafter = Avatar holding crafting tools
Trader = Avatar holding scales

Email your answer to Rec@mindark.com and they will start the process.

Support will not be able to answer any further information about this and we suggest that you reach out to Rec if you have any inquiries.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Kind regards,
Hank | Entropia Universe Support
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Obviously i wouldnt just name one of the above listed criteria without any response to my previous questions - as i might end up with a 'cheap shot/solution' in return before i can specify.

Sorry for the rant but i really would love if they would reply to me at some point regarding the purchase that i made and never received.
Hope they will resolve all open sales matters of the past before selling again something that isnt rdy for sale and especially improve on their customer communications (like getting a reply in the same month even when its an 'inconvenient' topic would be a start)
 
Instead of a generic Hunter, Miner, Trader..etc, shouldn't the statue be of you? Your avatar?
 
That sucks man... the whole avatar statue thing is just ridiculous. They were expecting a big payday but instead only sold a couple for the starting bid. And because they resent that all the statues didn't sell they are punishing the couple people that actually did buy (for whatever reason).

Really it should have been something that took less than a couple man hours to finalize. After the deeds sold it should have just been handled thusly IMO:

A) Deed auctions complete, avatars can claim the deeds out of auction.
B) With deed in hand avatars could then activate a one time ability to customize their avatar via the avatar creation system. To allow them to have their avatar/statue look exactly how they want.
C) Once they are sure the avatar is how they want it. File a support ticket by the deadline (30 days after auction ends) citing what you want your avatar wearing and what gear they should be holding from anything in the game.
D) On the next VU devs would then make a copy of your avatar onto a modified mannequin pad (with interactivity to set and display a message but removed ability to equip/remove items) with the requested gear/clothes. They would then place the modified mannequin pad to replace the statues.
E) Avatar holding the deed (which would be tradable) would be able to interact with the modified mannequin pad to edit their message whenever they want. Even though the deed would be tradeable the new holder wouldn't be allowed to be changed how the statue looked.
F) As a bonus for such a long wait statue areas now include 15 item points so you can place a couple shopkeepers down in the area too.

Boom. Simple. Complete. No BS - DONE.

P.S. The sad fact is that is MA handled things this way and people saw the cool perks of having an avatar area (IE ability to place shop keepers) they could EASILY sell the rest for much more than the first sold for. But that goes against MA's motto: "If at first it doesn't succeed - give up and move on the the next big thing"
 
Last edited:
It is indeed hard to grasp how little tought mindark put in to this and how they still try to keep putting it off for a later time -> i contacted an ingame official and he asked them about my email and the feedback i got was that they will be looking into the statues and how to do them and they will get back to me -> which is mindark language for we have not even started thinking about it and no time to do it right now, but we might do it in future...

I mean if you sell something and it doesnt go to plan and you dont earn what you hoped for then you should have had a plan B on how to resolve the delivery anyway or how to at least check with your customers how the situation could be resolved - i would have had plenty of low effort suggestions for those statues if someone had bothered to spent 5min following up the purchase and really to consider proposed solutions.

eg.
Mannequinns exist ingame + there is beauty interfaces already that allow you to alter your current avatar apearance -> so just use the interface that copies your avatar appaerence and upload it (+equipped clothes/items) on to a modified mannequinn pad that scales 3-5times the size and call it a statue = low effort high quality solution that even allows to update the statue over time as avatar appearances or game graphics change (could even offer to upload other ingame objects from the database (animals/vehicles/items))
This would allow to use the avatar statue as a multiuse 3d display (adscreen) and would increase its ingame value considerably - which in turn would enable mindark to sell the unsold statue deeds probably for more then the existing ones.
 
Please choose the option below that is best suited for you.

Hunter = Avatar holding a rifle
Miner = Avatar hold a Finder.
Mindforce = Avatar using Mindforce
Crafter = Avatar holding crafting tools
Trader = Avatar holding scales

Email your answer to Rec@mindark.com and they will start the process.


Choose one option. You were buying a statue, this will start the process.

But even in real life, things dont always go according to plan...

statue_01.jpg
 
Last edited:
Will probably look like the player statues that have been on cyrene for years (which I'm guessing is where MA got the idea)
 
Choose one option. You were buying a statue, this will start the process.

Im a interplanetary busdriver and use a gun turret for hunting - i dont see my profession listed in the available options and knowing mindarks love for communication i dont have the illusion of getting much of it after i choose an option that doesnt describe me. Besides i still hope i could get a spaceship as statue instead to represent the entire service instead of a single person - it would only take 5 min of communication to clarify such options but so far no communication on actual product features has happened.
My questions were already sent in before the sale occured.
 
Besides i still hope i could get a spaceship as statue

Well you shouldn't have bid if that was your plan I'm sorry to say. A spaceship isn't an avatar and they were promoted as Avatar statues not Vehicle statues.


I'd have chosen the Avatar using Mindforce option if I could have found the listings on the auction (which I couldn't at the time.)

:revive:
 
Well you shouldn't have bid if that was your plan I'm sorry to say. A spaceship isn't an avatar and they were promoted as Avatar statues not Vehicle statues.


I'd have chosen the Avatar using Mindforce option if I could have found the listings on the auction (which I couldn't at the time.)

:revive:

If they had listed the options they gave me before the sale im sure none of their statue deeds would have sold ;)
But thats not the point, im well aware that i took a risk like we all do in this game when we hope to achieve something, i made a bid on something that wasnt clearly defined in hope that i could contribute to defining it later maybe even by paying extra and if that for some reason is not an option then atleast i would need an anser to my question if we keep the deed after the statue is made and if the statue can be changed later on because those two questions will determine if i just go for it and maybe sell it later or if i sell the deed to someone else who just wants a standard avatar option.
As you might see, why should i choose an option if i havent even gotten an answer regarding resale possibility as making the choice might loose me my entire investment while i still can recoup it by selling the unused deed to someone else.
 
What a shame. Or sham to be precise.
I would recommend they fulfill the contract immediately refund all PEDS
 
If they had listed the options they gave me before the sale im sure none of their statue deeds would have sold ;)
But thats not the point, im well aware that i took a risk like we all do in this game when we hope to achieve something, i made a bid on something that wasnt clearly defined in hope that i could contribute to defining it later maybe even by paying extra and if that for some reason is not an option then atleast i would need an anser to my question if we keep the deed after the statue is made and if the statue can be changed later on because those two questions will determine if i just go for it and maybe sell it later or if i sell the deed to someone else who just wants a standard avatar option.
As you might see, why should i choose an option if i havent even gotten an answer regarding resale possibility as making the choice might loose me my entire investment while i still can recoup it by selling the unused deed to someone else.

A member of my family passed shortly before the statue sale. We paid over 600 GBP to buy a bench near where she walked her dog every day. It is a fitting tribute and people who knew her can see it and not have to visit a graveyard to be reminded of her.

Lots of RL statues are of people no longer with us (Nelson's column downwards), If I had bought one it would be because one day I wouldn't be logging in. I think there is a chance you missed the whole purpose of the sale TBH.

Asking Mindark for a Mothership 'avatar' statue, well they would have been more polite with their reply than I would have been. I think you should consider selling your deed.
 
In what world is having to wait over a year to get the item you purchased considered acceptable?

That's only on of many reasons why I ended depositing over 2 years ago.
 
A member of my family passed shortly before the statue sale. We paid over 600 GBP to buy a bench near where she walked her dog every day. It is a fitting tribute and people who knew her can see it and not have to visit a graveyard to be reminded of her.

Lots of RL statues are of people no longer with us (Nelson's column downwards), If I had bought one it would be because one day I wouldn't be logging in. I think there is a chance you missed the whole purpose of the sale TBH.

Asking Mindark for a Mothership 'avatar' statue, well they would have been more polite with their reply than I would have been. I think you should consider selling your deed.

I think that your interpretation of what these statues are for is 'your' interpretation - in practical appliance i think it would be quite hard for you to request from mindark to put up the statue of anther player who may no longer be alive or whose account may have been terminated and whose avatar appearance is no longer in the database.
You can only upload an avatar who still exists and therefor its practically a statue for the living and the reason there were so few bids was because there is no players who fancy putting up a statue for themselfs.

Not everyone bidding on something in entropia needs to have the same 'reasons' you do mega, there in fact is plenty of different motivations and mine was from an advertisement point of view and 5k was a gamble i took gladly for the chance to advert for my service at twin peaks - this is possible with a spaceship but also with a normal player avatar due to custom description but before going for plan B it is my right to try for plan A regardless if you would make a different choice ;)

PS: As i said spaceship would have been my prime choice but i was well aware that the chance for it was slim, nevertheless please read my questions from opening post again and let me know why mindark should not answer them:
Hello, i wanted to ask a few questions regarding the avatar statue deeds while there is still time to bid on them.

Will the final appearance be a 3D avatar statue like can be seen at celeste habour on arkadia or will the appearance stay the same as current one with 4 sides just showing a facial impression ?

Will it only be avatars that can be displayed or could be be a spaceship/mothership with respective message about its crew/service as well ?

Will the message and 3D object be adjustable at a later point in time ? eg. graphics engine change or avatar appearance change

Will it be possible to purchase additional features to the statue ? eg. 1-3 itempoints to mount a pc content sign on to it

Will the deeds remain in playerpossession after the statues have been customized and be tradeable ?
 
Last edited:
I think that your interpretation of what these statues are for is 'your' interpretation - in practical appliance i think it would be quite hard for you to request from mindark to put up the statue of anther player who may no longer be alive or whose account may have been terminated and whose avatar appearance is no longer in the database.
You can only upload an avatar who still exists and therefor its practically a statue for the living and the reason there were so few bids was because there is no players who fancy putting up a statue for themselfs.

Not everyone bidding on something in entropia needs to have the same 'reasons' you do mega, there in fact is plenty of different motivations and mine was from an advertisement point of view and 5k was a gamble i took gladly for the chance to advert for my service at twin peaks - this is possible with a spaceship but also with a normal player avatar due to custom description but before going for plan B it is my right to try for plan A regardless if you would make a different choice ;)

Well statues are often of the passed, paintings were more typical of the living, so maybe it was more akin to that.

There were so few bids because MA screwed up the listing, so even typing in 'statue' couldn't locate it when I looked back in Xmas 2016.

Yes, statues could be used as an advert in the same way pets used to be back in 07, I agree, but I've linked the original offer and the statues were always of a customised avatar, and that is the choice that you have to make.

So choose. :silly2:
 
So choose. :silly2:

I have chosen to wait till my questions are answered :cool:

But feel free to make me an offer in pm if you are so eager to put up a statue for yourself according to mindarks specification ;)
 
If you can see where the offer of a spaceship statue is within that text please bold it for me.

Mega, I think you're confused. I made no mention of what you're referring to.
 
Mega, I think you're confused. I made no mention of what you're referring to.

I think you want to blame MA for something that isn't their fault.


PS : I happen to know what one of the other statue purchaser wants. :yup:

He wont get that either.
 
I think you want to blame MA for something that isn't their fault.

Selling a product , not delivering it, not engaging in customer communication about it and ignoring several customers for a year just to then prompt them with a limited choice while still not clarifying the most basic property questions - i tend to think that is totally their fault.
 
Will the final appearance be a 3D avatar statue like can be seen at celeste habour on arkadia or will the appearance stay the same as current one with 4 sides just showing a facial impression ?

Please see artistic impression, your avatar in a pose of your choosing.

Will it only be avatars that can be displayed or could be be a spaceship/mothership with respective message about its crew/service as well ?

Avatar only


Will the message and 3D object be adjustable at a later point in time ? eg. graphics engine change or avatar appearance change

No

Will it be possible to purchase additional features to the statue ? eg. 1-3 itempoints to mount a pc content sign on to it

No

Will the deeds remain in playerpossession after the statues have been customized and be tradeable ?

Non tradeable, it is your statue, avatar bound.

Thanks for your time.

Kind regards
John

----------------------------------



You're welcome.

Mega.
 
Selling something to people then failing to follow up isn't their fault?
Really?

Come on...

I think mega somehow missed out on the fact pattern in my story where i claimed the statue deed after purchase in support case back in january 2017 and then got ignored for 9 months till my cases got closed and i got told to write an email which then got ignored - meanwhile the other statue owners are just as much in the dark as myself.
 
I think mega somehow missed out on the fact pattern in my story where i claimed the statue deed after purchase in support case back in january 2017 and then got ignored for 9 months till my cases got closed and i got told to write an email which then got ignored - meanwhile the other statue owners are just as much in the dark as myself.

I'm well aware of the statue story and of the other owners thank you.

It wasn't handled well, I've already stated that but I dont know how many times I have to say it, you can wait till 2020, you will not get a spaceship avatar. Ever.
 
I'm well aware of the statue story and of the other owners thank you.

It wasn't handled well, I've already stated that but I dont know how many times I have to say it, you can wait till 2020, you will not get a spaceship avatar. Ever.

This thread is not about a spaceship avatar, its about getting a customized avatar as advertised and the spaceship question is secondary in case you didnt notice. Primary point being getting into a dialogue with the seller of the product in the first place who did not deliver nor communicate and still has no process in place on how to realize those statues.
And no their standard options are not a process because i got indirect message from an offical saying they are 'working on it' as an answer to my question of when ?
 
Generic statues not delivered for year... feel sorry for you.
I am curious, how much did shop owners on Ark paid for custom shop skins? Those shops look amazing and design is nowhere close to "generic" .
 
Give people who bought the statues their statues in WHATEVER form they want, and please remove the rest of them!

Oh and Mega? SHUT UP!!!
 
Generic statues not delivered for year... feel sorry for you.
I am curious, how much did shop owners on Ark paid for custom shop skins? Those shops look amazing and design is nowhere close to "generic" .

see:
http://planetarkadia.com/realvalue-3/

yes, quite interesting if you compare a custom shop front, the needed affords and time to implement it, and the fucking avatar statues, needed time & afford, and the fact mindark didn't manage to deliver them in over a year

and what soko said
 
Give people who bought the statues their statues in WHATEVER form they want, and please remove the rest of them!

Oh and Mega? SHUT UP!!!

Or make the statues in whatever form they want and make them BADASS looking! Then put the other statues back on the market and maybe others would want one too!
 
Tnx Admiral for bringing it up!

It is showing us again and again what MA thinks about they customers and how they handle business, community deserves to know what kinda treatment to expect.
I often wonder " does MindArks share holders know how company is handled, does they really dont care about investments and reputation ? "
How we can see again and again MindArks employees are not professional or not suited like minimum and it goes on for years.
Project Entropia is 15 years old now and what is achieved in those years? Nothing tnx to bad business handling!! With all trust and money provided from players in the past... EU did have a chance to become something big, but we are where we are.
 
Bump up so people can get their statues
 
Back
Top