October 25, 2006 - Coming Changes
As many of you may have heard there are some changes coming to Atlantis and we
want to take this opportunity to share specifics as to what will happen…and
what won’t.
For the past several months we have been working to make substantial positive
changes to the Atlantis and now we are at a point that we can give you the
details.
1. The site will have a great new design
In about 30 days time you will see the site will go through a fantastic
redesign that will give you a great deal of flexibility to see, manage, and
play games as you want.
2. You will have access to all games for free
In addition to the site redesign we are consolidating Atlantis and the Reef
into the “Online Community”. Next, all the games on the newly combined Online
Community will become freely available to one and all – guest visitors and
registered users, such as Charter Members and Paying Subscribers. This site is
not becoming a pay site. However, we will continue to offer a subscription
package that will offer its own benefits, but again, the main point here is
that all the games on the Online Community will be free and open to all.
So, as Charter Members and Paying Subscribers you will not see your access to
premium games taken away.
3. You keep all your hard earned tokens
The tokens that you have laboriously accumulated will not, we repeat NOT, be
taken away or adversely affected. Those hard-earned tokens are yours.
To reiterate, the 3 items above apply regardless of the type of user you
currently are – free user, Charter Member, or Paying Subscriber.
A number of you have been sending in questions (thank you for that!) to
ION_Kaye, ION_Hope and others and we thought we would share those questions and
our answers for you to read through. If you still have questions above and
beyond this list, please feel free to participate in our
Community Forum on Wednesday, November 1st at 1 PM PST
Q & A from the Community Forum on Wednesday, October 25, 2006:
Question: When will this be turning into a pay site?
Answer: We are not turning to a pay site. You will get to enjoy every
single online game on the site for free. That does not include downloadable
games though, just the online games you can play now on The Reef and Atlantis.
Q: How can you offer all these games for free? What’s the catch?
A: Advertisements! In order for us to continue bringing you great games
and operate this site we need to bring in advertisers. So, while you can play
every game on this site, including Team Bingo, for free, we will have ads.
Q: Why are you doing this?
Answer: We decided to open up the entire site (meaning all the games) to
everyone for free so that we can continue to foster the community and allow
everyone to share the fun of online games. We listened to your feedback
throughout the year and based on that, we have decided to offer all our online
games to everyone at no charge.
Q: What if I want an ad-free game playing experience?
A: In order to enjoy an ad-free game playing experience we recommend one
of our subscription plans. The new subscription plans are similar to the ones
we currently have running but will not include Premium Games since all the
games on the site will become freely available to all.
With a new subscription (Monthly, Quarterly or Annual) you will get ad-free
games, token jackpot multiplier, and token sign-up bonuses. So, if ad-free game
playing is important to you, we will still offer these subscription packages.
Q: I am currently a Paying Subscriber. How will these changes to the
subscription plan affect me?
Answer: As a current Paying Subscriber, if your subscription plan is still in
effect at the time of the change over to the new plan, you will automatically
be enrolled into the new subscription plan. For many of you we recognize that
getting access to what were once called “Premium Games” was why you originally
signed up. Since we are making these “Premium Games” available to one and all,
we want to make sure you are well taken care of. To that end, we are going to
give all of you current Paying Subscribers the following: (1) a coupon for a
free downloadable BFG Studios game worth $19.95, (2) a one-time 25,000 token
gift, (3) and for those of you Quarterly and Annual subscribers, a free 1-month
and 2-month subscription extension, respectively.
Q: Will we have to pay for Team Bingo when our Charter Membership
expires?
A: Nope. All games will be free for the community to play, including
Team Bingo.
Q: I don't like the ads, they bother me and my computer. Can you do
something about it?
A: To get the ad-free game playing experience we recommend our new
subscription plan. These subscriptions will come in three types: Monthly,
Quarterly or Annual, just as they do now. All of the plans will allow you to
enjoy ad-free game playing, but also several additional perks. For instance…
The new Monthly subscription plan will feature 2x token payouts, 50,000 sign-up
bonus, sneak previews on up-and-coming games before anyone else sees them, and
beta testing of new games in development (to be able to Beta test any of our
games your computer must be able to support Sun Java, ActiveX, Flash, and
Director.) The price for the Monthly subscription is $4.95 per month.
The new Quarterly subscription plan will feature 2x token payouts, 75,000
sign-up bonus, sneak previews on up-and-coming games before anyone else sees
them, and beta testing of new games in development (to be able to Beta test any
of our games your computer must be able to support Sun Java, ActiveX, Flash,
and Director.) The price for the Quarterly subscription will be $9.95 per
3-month period.
The new Annual subscription plan will feature 2x token payouts, 100,000 sign-up
bonus, sneak previews on up-and-coming games before anyone else sees them, and
beta testing of new games in development (to be able to Beta test any of our
games your computer must be able to support Sun Java, ActiveX, Flash, and
Director.) The price for the Annual subscription will be $29.95 per year.
Q: My charter is going to expire and I can't pay. Do I lose my current 2x
jackpot spin?
A: Yes, you will lose that benefit as that is now part of the
subscription plan. But you certainly won’t lose you current token count. You
will continue to have full access to all online games; your account and tokens
are yours to keep.
Q: Will the subscription plan perks expand or change in any way?
Answer: Yes they will. We are planning to add additional features to the site
and expanding the benefits you get with the subscription too. Those benefits
will be announced and messaged to subscribers under the new plan as they occur.
Q: If I don't upgrade, do I lose my account name and tokens?
A: No, the account and tokens are yours to keep.
Q: I am considering paying but I don't want to use my credit card. What
other payment methods do you offer?
A: At present we only accept credit cards and our e-commerce system is
very secure. However, we are looking into more options for payment so please
keep on checking the site.
Q: Why should I pay? I can't win anything because I am not from the U.S.
or Canada.
A: We must adhere to the laws and regulations of the various countries
in which our customers come from and in some cases that means that you can not
fully enjoy the online community to the extent that your other friends might.
As for why you should go for the subscription, if you feel that an ad-free game
playing experience, 2x multiple payouts on tokens, tokens on sign-up, sneak
peaks, and beta testing are still worth it to you then you should subscribe.
Q: How will you remember your loyal Charter Members as you continue to
grow the site?
Answer: Loyalty should be rewarded. You are absolutely right. So, I will let
you in on a secret here…We are planning on having badges on the Online
Community early next year and all you Charter Members will be getting a badge
only available to you loyal folk.
Q: Will you continue offering lotteries?
A: Yes, if you are eligible you can enter the lotteries for a chance to
win cash and prizes. This won’t be going away. In fact, we have some exciting
plans to make those lotteries even more attractive for you to participate in.
Q: I have 314,767,381 tokens. What can I do with them?
A: Wow. That’s a lot of tokens. As of right now the most you can do with
them is accumulate them and show the world how good you are at getting them.
Well, actually you can do a bit more. You can still enter lotteries with them
and that we’ll keep. But let us hear from you and let us know what you would
like to see and what you would like to be able to do with your tokens.
Q: Can I give you feedback about the ads that run on your site?
A: We really appreciate your feedback and welcome you to let us know how
the ads we serve affect your computer. For instance, do the ads seem to slow
down your computer. Things like that. Absolutely do give us feedback.
Q: Will you still have auto renew for subscriptions?
A: Yes, auto renew will remain.
Q: Do I have to accept auto renew for subscriptions?
A: Yes, that is the way the subscription plans work. If you want to
cancel your subscription, you need to use the Contact Us link, which can be
found under our Help section.
Q: Will my subscription start and end dates show under “My Account”
information?
A: Yes, you will be able to see the start and end dates of your
subscription term under “My Account”.
Q: Do you store credit card information?
A: No, we do not store credit card information.
Q: Can I cancel my account through “My Account” or do I have to email Big
Fish Games Customer Support to cancel?
A: Please use the Contact Us link found under Help, since we do not
store your credit card information we need to authorize our secure vendor to
cancel your subscription. Alternatively, you can contact
support@bigfishgames.com and we will be happy to assist you.