52 replies to this topic

[John Clavell]

I think, after long deliberation we can agree MWO needs hats.

[HellJumper]

I voted Yes as i i am one of those players who cant put in more than 3 hours of gameplay everyday..life and work

And this is coming from a long time world of tanks players.. from what i have noticed is that you need to have the premium account in wot in order to maintain the high tier tanks.

so imo a similar concept can be applied here.. stock/low end mechs can easily be managed without the VIP status...but in order to maintain higher/better mechs u need to use real case..i dont know what is the purpose of xp here but C-bills earning..i wont mind paying for that as long as its in acceptable range for me.. say lik 10-15USD for a month??

[StormimOn]

MadBoris, on 18 May 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

You just mentioned the World Of Tanks F2P mechanic in Tribes:Ascend comparison thread on a M:WO forum! Away with you heretic!

Well, there is a big difference between WoT and Tribes Ascend.

In Tribes Ascend there is two bonus : VIP status and XP Boost.

• VIP status is a lifetime bonus when you do your first real money purchase. It gives you 50% more XP
  
• XP Boost is a limited time bonus (3 days, 1 week...) you buy with gold (gold = real money), which double your XP

So there is nothing wrong with a VIP status, if it's done in the same way as Tribes:Ascend. I think everyone should be able to afford at least one purchase.

[UncleKulikov]

Permanent stuff should be "1st on the ground" stuff, rewards for purchasing when the game is just being released to bankroll additional improvements. Things like special badges, titles, forum icons, and skins should be made available.

[Hellzero]

First things first: The PGI needs to make money, as they've been pretty much running on the edge more than a few times as its been stated in the Dev Blog 0: Reboot.

We have Battletech veterans spanning from the age of 10-55(that's the oldest I've come around thus far). Those that do work, have a family and such, wouldn't be declined to put good money in to a VIP status, or anything more, as its just not "WoT where you'll be paying for a half-arcade half-simulation game".

- We'll be paying for an insanely costly HOTAS set just to play the game(or we have already, I know I did, thank you CH ), and I sure as hell would bet that even paying for a "VIP Status to get in to the beta", in terms of helping the game float even better, would be a meagre sum. Not to even mentioning of buying C-Bills with real money, or going to the extremes: More unique paintwork, certain components, or special, but handicapped versions of certain mechs.

- We have waited over 10 years for a new Mechwarrior game, I think it won't be off of my welfare to pay for something I might at this point in life spend only 3 hours per day, due to work, personal life and such. Besides, I always wished to see how the Worlds Mechwarriors have fared in the Battlefield after Mechwarrior 3/4.

[Aelos03]

StormimOn, on 19 May 2012 - 12:10 AM, said:

Well, there is a big difference between WoT and Tribes Ascend.

In Tribes Ascend there is two bonus : VIP status and XP Boost.

• VIP status is a lifetime bonus when you do your first real money purchase. It gives you 50% more XP
  
• XP Boost is a limited time bonus (3 days, 1 week...) you buy with gold (gold = real money), which double your XP

So there is nothing wrong with a VIP status, if it's done in the same way as Tribes:Ascend. I think everyone should be able to afford at least one purchase.

But right there is where f2p ends and p2w start you say everyone should be able to make one purchase.... now thats what i mean its stupid to call game f2p and force them to make a purchase, what f2p really do is bring many players if you get like 5 guys and one make purchase its a win now each of this guys is going to bring at least one friend and so on f2p is aiming to get as many people possible not to force every player that come to buy something and let him feel used, why is so hard to check League of legends (i think most played game in word atm) model and learn something from it, there game will give you free skins and stuff even if you never gave a single cent and you contribute to game just by playing and if you like it there is big chance your friends will come too, point is not to separate community on payers and non-payers and treat them all equal because every single player is important and if players are satisfied maybe they will be buy something and once they buy they will buy again now thats how i see f2p system.

huh lost my breath

[StormimOn]

Aelos03, on 19 May 2012 - 02:36 AM, said:

But right there is where f2p ends and p2w start you say everyone should be able to make one purchase.... now thats what i mean its stupid to call game f2p and force them to make a purchase, what f2p really do is bring many players if you get like 5 guys and one make purchase its a win now each of this guys is going to bring at least one friend and so on f2p is aiming to get as many people possible not to force every player that come to buy something and let him feel used, why is so hard to check League of legends (i think most played game in word atm) model and learn something from it, there game will give you free skins and stuff even if you never gave a single cent and you contribute to game just by playing and if you like it there is big chance your friends will come too, point is not to separate community on payers and non-payers and treat them all equal because every single player is important and if players are satisfied maybe they will be buy something and once they buy they will buy again now thats how i see f2p system.

huh lost my breath

For me p2w = selling power for real money (like gold ammo in WoT). If there was something granting more credits or XP it's not selling power. You can gain access to some equipment faster and that's all. Without such bonus you can get this equipment too, but more playing time is needed and everybody can't afford this I think. In the end p2w notion is subjective.

I don't really care about VIP status or not. What's important for me is not being able to have an edge over other players with real money, because you get special weapons doing more damage for example. For the moment I'm confident, and we will see when it comes to the open beta and release

As for League of Legend, can't say anything since I've never heard of this game before coming on this forum

/searching lost breath

Edited by StormimOn, 19 May 2012 - 03:10 AM.

[Aelos03]

StormimOn, on 19 May 2012 - 03:07 AM, said:

For me p2w = selling power for real money (like gold ammo in WoT). If there was something granting more credits or XP it's not selling power. You can gain access to some equipment faster and that's all. Without such bonus you can get this equipment too, but more playing time is needed and everybody can't afford this I think. In the end p2w notion is subjective.

I don't really care about VIP status or not. What's important for me is not being able to have an edge over other players with real money, because you get special weapons doing more damage for example. For the moment I'm confident, and we will see when it comes to the open beta and release

As for League of Legend, can't say anything since I've never heard of this game before coming on this forum

/searching lost breath

i don't mind more xp and c-bilils but its better to sell that then give it for free for a period of time(it shouldn't be permanent) when you buy something you, let it be purchasable better that then some premium stuff.

and about league of legends read this it will be clear how big player base of that game is.
http://news.mmosite....e_players.shtml

[zverofaust]

This is really a no-brainer and I don't see why people would ever even consider this a bad idea. These developers are putting their hard work into a game that is available to the average peasant free of charge, how else do you expect them to put food on their family's table? I don't want to see Piranha go under 6 or 12 months after the launch of this game. I plan on giving them as much money as I can afford to give. Which, if you'd have heard me talk about Pay2Play games 6 months ago, is a statement that would blow your mind.

[Aelos03]

zverofaust, on 19 May 2012 - 04:42 AM, said:

This is really a no-brainer and I don't see why people would ever even consider this a bad idea. These developers are putting their hard work into a game that is available to the average peasant free of charge, how else do you expect them to put food on their family's table? I don't want to see Piranha go under 6 or 12 months after the launch of this game. I plan on giving them as much money as I can afford to give. Which, if you'd have heard me talk about Pay2Play games 6 months ago, is a statement that would blow your mind.

no matter how much money you are ready to give you still have to respect players that can only afford to give their time if game is following
f2p model they won't have problem in getting money but that model doesn't give it right away it takes time to get big players base and thats why its important that difference between paying and non paying to be minimal so buying stuff should be optional for people not a necessary thing to do.

[Morashtak]

Too many unknowns at this time to say either way. Can we buy booster packs? Anything beyond cosmetics? What is the ratio of RL cash to MCs?

If XP booster packs can be bought then a monthly sub could give a slightly less but permanent boost for the month. Would save one time to go in a buy another booster when the old one runs out. Makes it a pay for convenience item.

Since no non-cosmetic item (mechs, weapons, equipment, modules, etc) should be exclusive to the MC shop then one could add "Decal of the Month Club" or some other bit of eye candy only features.

[Youngblood]

Do not want. Artificial boosts in progression will never make up for any lack of proper balancing between stock 'Mechs/pilots and specialized/tuned/experience-added 'Mechs/pilots.

In other words, make sure the game is fun for newbies, do not let it get ruined by long-time players (despite the PvP objective of the game)

Edited by Youngblood, 19 May 2012 - 07:06 AM.

[Sesambrot]

Aelos03, on 19 May 2012 - 05:50 AM, said:

no matter how much money you are ready to give you still have to respect players that can only afford to give their time if game is following
f2p model they won't have problem in getting money but that model doesn't give it right away it takes time to get big players base and thats why its important that difference between paying and non paying to be minimal so buying stuff should be optional for people not a necessary thing to do.

Do you actually realize that you are contradicting your own point somewhat?
You are saying that the difference between paying and non-paying players should be kept to a minimum, but do you actually realize that selling XP/Moneyboosts for a limited time only serves to make that gap bigger?
Besides, what exactly are we talking about, when we speak of a difference between the two groups?

The difference that is being discussed here is only that one group will advance faster when compared to the other, which is actually exactly what was announced to happen from the very begining. This is not a gamebreaking feature and something you as a player wont notice in a battle as it has no effect on you whether your opponent gains a bit more XP than you do. The only thing by which could possibly identify a VIP is a special camo of some sort (Since it's already been mentioned a million times over that they'll not be selling power). Again that special camo is not gamebreaking...
Now, what is being suggested is to give that VIP-status to players who do a real-money purchase once. The idea behind this is simple:
Ever bought something on Amazon, Ebay, Steam or Origin? The first time is always the hardest, isn't it? It naturally is, as you don't exactly know what to expect; "will it work?", "will it ship in time?", "how hard will it be to get a refund if need be?", "is it actually worth it?" etc.
All those questions and many more may run, or may have run through your mind the first time you thought about making a purcahse like this. Of course depending on your personality, these concerns might be more or less relevant to you, but actually that's not what I'm trying to point out.
The point is, that when confronted with anything new, most people are quite hesitant, especially if it involves giving their money to someone else. At least that is until they managed to do the first step.

That said, the whole point of this VIP-status, is to encourage people to take that first step.

So why do I think this is a good idea?
Well first of, it is in the interesst of the developer/publisher to get as many paying customers as they can, and encouraging people usually works better than forcing them. The best way to encourage someone, is to give something away for free...
Look at it this way: you only pay for the item you want to buy, but get the permanent VIP-status on top, so basically you got that at no extra cost.
Now you could say: "why not just throw in a free camo?"
Valid point I say, BUT...
...that camo is probably not going to appeal to everyone, and aside of that, it doesn't enhance your gaming experience.
The VIP-status does exactly that, while at the same time not being mandatory at all in order to enjoy the game.
At the same time, it is absolutely unimportant while fighting your enemies.

Another point, I've seen the argument: "well they can make booster packs that only last for a specific amount of time...!
While I believe that something along those lines will definetly be introduced, it isn't really something someone who doesn't have all that much time in the first place is going to spend too much money on, as after that certain timeperiod, the boost is taken away, no matter how much you played.
Back to the top of my post, why do I think a system that relies only on boosterpacks is going to make even more of a difference than the one that uses a VIP-status like Tribes: Ascend?
It's simple really.
I see myself as someone who would occasionally buy something he really wants, but I also think long and hard (yeah, that's what she said) about whether I really need it or not, and getting a VIP-status would definetly help me with that decision. If there were boosters only, me wanting to keep up an increased XP-rate would really turn this game into a moneysink despite not knowing if I will have the time to use the booster proberly, aside of probably deciding that I don't really need it in the first place...
That said, it splits the players into those that progress at 3 times the normal speed and those that don't.
Considering all I said, it's still not that big of a deal as it still has no impact at all on gameplay, but the difference is bigger compared to normal for non-paying, 1.5 times for (at least) one-time-paying, and 3 times for constantly paying players.

Keep in mind that those numbers have been pulled out of my ***, and are more or less random.
That said, also do keep in mind my original point, that the VIP-status is pretty much just a promotional action that is supposed to encourage non-paying players to become paying players, while not selling something mandatory.

Also, I've posted this before, but I think it's a good video on the underlying subject, Microtransactions.


Sheesh, huge wall of text (again)...
Anyone mind reading? lol