I would say I am getting sick of updating this but since there are no updates on the Herald and since they seem to like to make obscure posts on page 20+ of threads about this stuff... I update it as I get to it.
From Mark again on the Vault Boards:
Folks,
Just so we are clear on a few things:
1) EA did not make this policy, period. I'll repeat this again, quite clearly, nobody at EA came up with this policy.
2) I said quite clearly that when I was referring to the September 18th launch that I was commenting on a poster who said that we changed *the launch date* at the last minute. I know full well what was up on our web site regarding the Grace Period. I am not ducking that issue. Again, we announced the launch date on Aug 6th and we just made a change to the Grace Period. So, if you insist on saying things like "busted Mythic, we have proof" the only thing you are proving again and again is that you didn't read this message or the previous message.
3) I've always been honest with the community. I didn't have to come here and say anything. I could have easily ignored this thread and just let it go on and on and on but I chose to come here, deliver and try to explain the decision. This doesn't make me a saint but at least I had the integrity to stand up here and tell you what was going on. Yet, so many of you have seized this opportunity to once again resort to personal insults and attacks.
4) In my explanation I stated quite clearly that we were trying to do something about the situation. Yet, nobody has picked up on that but rather used this opportunity to play "pile on the developer" without giving me/us at least a reasonable chance to see what we could do before resorting to the usual mix of personal attacks, insults, etc. As a few people have noticed, we just changed things very recently. That should be a clue. Just yesterday, I went the extra mile with our server cloning policy to try to come up with a solution for the server queuing issue (which is a lot less severe than was faced by WoW for example) and within 48 hours instituted and executed on a plan to make things better. Yet, all of that is forgotten in a heartbeat.
It is a very, very complicated situation and one that has occupied me for the last 6 hours. Stuff is going on but I'm not going to lie to the community, beg for its forgiveness or insult your intelligence by doing anything other than telling the truth and trying, as always, to take a very difficult situation and turn it around.
Some of you have said "OMG, this is history repeating itself" and I do find that deeply ironic. Be angry, absolutely. Let me know that you are upset, check. Let your retailers know that you want the grace period extended and they should tell EA that, perfect. However, if every time I have to deliver bad news it automatically becomes "OMG, Mythic Sucks, EA is Evil and Mark Jacobs is a liar" you know how that will turn out, just as it did the last time. We've gone the extra mile every single time we had the opportunity to do so with the Open Beta, Head Start, the CE itself, cloning, etc. and yet, once again that is all forgotten in a heartbeat when I have to deliver bad news.
You want to help the situation? Read what I said in my posts every carefully and don't immediately say "Flame on" and point your hands towards us.
Mark