13 replies to this topic

[Mechteric]

In the recent NGNG podcast interview Russ Bullock mentioned the current cockpit item placement scheme doesn't work very well, especially if you have a lot of mechs, to hunt down that elusive coconut monkey bobblehead. Currently I don't even bother much with setting cockpit items in each mech I play because I don't want the hassle of constantly finding and re-equipping them all the time.

My proposal is to just make it so once you buy or otherwise acquire a cockpit item, you can then put that item in any number of mech cockpits you want. I think this would actually encourage more pilots to bring cockpit items to each match, and lead to more purchases of cockpit items.

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 23 January 2014 - 07:13 AM.

[mithril coyote]

i think this is a good idea.. especially considering how expensive these purely decorative objects are right now. if they are to remain single mech use only, they need a price drop. (at least 1/2!) by making them "unlocks" you can use in as many mechs as you want.. their current prices work better.

Edited by mithril coyote, 23 January 2014 - 11:46 AM.

[Bhael Fire]

Yes. This seems fair and would indeed give more incentive to buy cockpit items.

They'd probably need to refund MC to those that bought multiples of the same items though...

[Rhaythe]

I voted no simply because this is a free-to-play game, and free-to-play games make money on aesthetics and convenience. If you want your pretty do-hickeys and knick-knacks, you need to buy them. The servers don't run on good thoughts and well-wishes.

If a free-to-play game doesn't make money on convenience and aesthetics, then it has to make money on gameplay. Which means golden bullets and pay-to-win. No one wants that.

[Bhael Fire]

Rhaythe, on 23 January 2014 - 11:53 AM, said:

If a free-to-play game doesn't make money on convenience and aesthetics, then it has to make money on gameplay. Which means golden bullets and pay-to-win. No one wants that.

Pretty sure they make the majority of their money convenience fees like on mechs, mech bays, XP conversion, and premium time. As well as special packages like Project Phoenix and Operation Revival. At least, that's the only stuff I spend a lot of money on...

I'd wager that cockpit items rate very low on their list of breadwinners. That could change though if they gave more incentive for purchasing these items.

Edited by Bhael Fire, 23 January 2014 - 12:57 PM.

[Rhaythe]

Bhael Fire, on 23 January 2014 - 12:56 PM, said:

Pretty sure they make the majority of their money convenience fees like on mechs, mech bays, XP conversion, and premium time. As well as special packages like Project Phoenix and Operation Revival. At least, that's the only stuff I spend a lot of money on...

You make it sound like because an item is a lower-seller that they shouldn't make money on it.

Cockpit items are product. Expecting a company to give away product is quite poor business practice.

[Bhael Fire]

Rhaythe, on 23 January 2014 - 01:00 PM, said:

Cockpit items are product. Expecting a company to give away product is quite poor business practice.

Don't want to spark another pointless debate over vanity items but...nobody said anything about "giving away product."

Adding value to a product so that it's more enticing to the consumer is not only a good business practice, it's the only (ethical) business practice that makes money when the product in question not in itself a highly demanded item.

[Lord Perversor]

While i can see the lack of consume going down due ppl not wanting to buy extra ones, it can also raise the overall sales, since now it takes part on the collector side of many players, something they can spend some Mc from time to time until they can get all of them.

It's also an option PGI knows better how many individual and repeat sells of each item per players are happening in game.

[CtrlAltWheee]

Rhaythe, on 23 January 2014 - 11:53 AM, said:

I voted no simply because this is a free-to-play game, and free-to-play games make money on aesthetics and convenience. If you want your pretty do-hickeys and knick-knacks, you need to buy them. The servers don't run on good thoughts and well-wishes.

If a free-to-play game doesn't make money on convenience and aesthetics, then it has to make money on gameplay. Which means golden bullets and pay-to-win. No one wants that.

I think they'll make *more* money with this change. It's a win-win.

[LauLiao]

They're talking about making savable loadouts eventually, how about you can just save your cockpit items as part of that loadout save so it's easier to equip/unequip?

[Moromillas]

Actually I think that ALL the items should be global, not just cockpit items. Weapons, modules, engines, etc etc. The only thing individual items do, is make you spend more time in the Mechbay/lab searching, removing, and swapping, should you want to use another Mech.

[FupDup]

My dashboard Urbie demands this change at once.

[Geeks On Hugs]

CapperDeluxe, on 23 January 2014 - 07:10 AM, said:

In the recent NGNG podcast interview Russ Bullock mentioned the current cockpit item placement scheme doesn't work very well, especially if you have a lot of mechs, to hunt down that elusive coconut monkey bobblehead. Currently I don't even bother much with setting cockpit items in each mech I play because I don't want the hassle of constantly finding and re-equipping them all the time.

My proposal is to just make it so once you buy or otherwise acquire a cockpit item, you can then put that item in any number of mech cockpits you want. I think this would actually encourage more pilots to bring cockpit items to each match, and lead to more purchases of cockpit items.

Agreed. Alternatively you could set up a singular cockpit and it just goes with whatever 'Mech you happen to play in. I hate leaving my pet PUG behind.

Rhaythe, on 23 January 2014 - 11:53 AM, said:

I voted no simply because this is a free-to-play game, and free-to-play games make money on aesthetics and convenience. If you want your pretty do-hickeys and knick-knacks, you need to buy them. The servers don't run on good thoughts and well-wishes.

If a free-to-play game doesn't make money on convenience and aesthetics, then it has to make money on gameplay. Which means golden bullets and pay-to-win. No one wants that.

You're missing the point that this would hopefully INCREASE sales of items. When I first started playing I frequently bought stuff. As I got more Mechs I would juggle my items around until now it has got so unwieldy to hunt for a particular item I just don't bother anymore: and that means I don't buy anymore.

With a more convenient system of using the items I will start buying them again.

[Mechteric]

Geeks On Hugs, on 19 May 2014 - 12:35 AM, said:

You're missing the point that this would hopefully INCREASE sales of items. When I first started playing I frequently bought stuff. As I got more Mechs I would juggle my items around until now it has got so unwieldy to hunt for a particular item I just don't bother anymore: and that means I don't buy anymore.

With a more convenient system of using the items I will start buying them again.

Exactly on point. I won't bother buying another cockpit item until this happens just because I really can't be bothered to swap them in and out like I do my engines and modules. (hopefully even non-consumable modules one day will take a similar approach)