Hey guys, I've played this game on and off for a very long time, and came back today to find my character gone. I remember reading that characters with supporter points can never expire, which is why i downloaded the world community grid program and earned a few supporter points. Apparently, that didn't protect me. Is there anything that can be done about this? I'm posting here because the report a problem link only ever takes me back to the homepage. Can someone please help?
The bad news: Yes, we used to be able to do character restores, sometimes, partially... but during the last server move, the data to do the restores was lost. We can't do it any more.
Deletions have to happen because, like any online game, we get a lot of casual signups from people who take one look, leave, and never come back. Even long-time players frequently move on to other things in their life and, again, never come back. If all the 200,000-plus accounts that have ever been created were sticking around to clog up the database forever, there'd be horrendous lag and the game would be unplayable. There is a cutoff for deletions: 180 days of inactivity.
Here's the current deal, which is a promise. No character who has ever made a donation, of any amount, even as little as one dollar, will be deleted.
That's not the same as having supporter points. If CMJ gives out supporter points for other things, that's his way of saying thank-you, or celebrating an occasion. Or, in the case of WCG, it's him being all noble and generous to support a good cause. But none of that puts dollars in his pocket to pay the costs of running the the Island or feeding his family.
So if there's a character you might want to hang on to? Think ahead.
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