71 replies to this topic

[Purplefluffybunny]

As per topic title, I link below a journalistic piece on MWO.

How F2P ‘Founder’s Packs’ Offer Great Deals at Great Risk

The article opens with the following;

'James Murff" said:

Kickstarter-inspired founder’s packages are here to stay.
While Kickstarter itself has had varying degrees of success, founder’s packs have been universally profitable. Free-to-play games have realized the benefit of frontloading part of their income, and in the process have been raking in oodles and oodles of money. But what about a founder’s pack drives our urge to buy? Why are they so wildly successful? Why are they exploding across the free-to-play scene like an oil slick across the ocean surface?

James then uses MWO as a case study to explore these questions.

Edited by Purplefluffybunny, 27 April 2013 - 04:29 AM.

[Kyynele]

Pretty good article. It's good to remember that buying things that aren't even nearly finished is always a big risk.

Anyway, this bit in the end got my eye:

Quote

This segregation is seen a lot in Mechwarrior Online – the only game I know of with a closed founder’s program – and players use it to determine skill. Seeing a team of all legendary founder’s badges on the enemy team is often enough to make free players outright leave, even if those enemy players are terrible.

Does someone really do this? I'm obviously not a founder, but honestly the only thing I've ever felt about that is a tiny bit of envy when I'm piloting my CPLT-C1 and someone else drops with a CPLT-C1(F).

Edited by Kyynele, 27 April 2013 - 07:15 AM.

[Purplefluffybunny]

Kyynele, on 27 April 2013 - 07:14 AM, said:

Pretty good article. It's good to remember that buying things that aren't even nearly finished is always a big risk.

Anyway, this bit in the end got my eye:

Quote

This segregation is seen a lot in Mechwarrior Online – the only game I know of with a closed founder’s program – and players use it to determine skill. Seeing a team of all legendary founder’s badges on the enemy team is often enough to make free players outright leave, even if those enemy players are terrible.

[...]

I don't think this is as strong now as it was previously. We have to keep in mind that the author's experiences, from which he wrote this article, may be from a good few months back now.

(I hope you don't mind me presenting yours and James's words like that, just wanted to add context to my response).

Edited by Purplefluffybunny, 27 April 2013 - 09:46 AM.

[CMDR Sunset Shimmer]

Kyynele, on 27 April 2013 - 07:14 AM, said:

Pretty good article. It's good to remember that buying things that aren't even nearly finished is always a big risk.

Anyway, this bit in the end got my eye:



Does someone really do this? I'm obviously not a founder, but honestly the only thing I've ever felt about that is a tiny bit of envy when I'm piloting my CPLT-C1 and someone else drops with a CPLT-C1(F).

It used to be a thing...

Basically back in the early days, it ment you were going against someone with a C-bill bonus, that could easily make up for the Repair/Rearm costs by even legging a mech. Because of the way RnR worked, the free player was at a massive disadvantage with it, so seeing a full team of Founders, you instantly assumed they were a pre-made team and left the game to save yourself the RnR bill...

It's, not exactly something that still holds true anymore.

[Monky]

It was a bigger deal when CB first ended, seeing a bunch of non paid people on one team and a bunch of paid on another made it pretty easy to predict how the match would go. Nowadays it's a non issue unless you're an absolutely new player who has no idea what the icons mean. Then it's just ignorance, but ignorance is capable of driving people away.

[Tennex]

saw this a while ago lol..

i love that PGI is under the spotlight for being successful. but also for screwing up. gotta cover both sides of the coin.

Edited by Tennex, 27 April 2013 - 07:47 AM.

[Roadbeer]

Jade Kitsune, on 27 April 2013 - 07:38 AM, said:

It used to be a thing...

Basically back in the early days, it ment you were going against someone with a C-bill bonus, that could easily make up for the Repair/Rearm costs by even legging a mech. Because of the way RnR worked, the free player was at a massive disadvantage with it, so seeing a full team of Founders, you instantly assumed they were a pre-made team and left the game to save yourself the RnR bill...

It's, not exactly something that still holds true anymore.

True, additionally, back when OB launched, there was a lot of resentment towards the founders because while we had our non-trial mechs to start with, our premium time, and CBill bonus, we were able to outpace those stuck in trials, plus we had a leg up on how systems worked, how to manipulative the meta, etc... and it lasted for a while. Now that non-founders have the cash to bring whatever they want to the field as well, it isn't the problem that it was.

Though, you do still see some occasional Founders Envy.

[Purplefluffybunny]

Yokaiko, I have to say that your youtube video is very, very funny.

[Rippthrough]

Jade Kitsune, on 27 April 2013 - 07:38 AM, said:

so seeing a full team of Founders, you instantly assumed they were a pre-made team and left the game to save yourself the RnR bill...

Some of us stayed and made sure they had a repair bill to worry about even with the bonuses...

[JeepStuff]

Yokaiko, on 27 April 2013 - 05:46 AM, said:

deleted

So here's the thing, I only agree with maybe 20% of this, but it's still freakin hilarious. Really really funny. Nice work.

[Yokaiko]

EJT, on 27 April 2013 - 10:27 AM, said:

So here's the thing, I only agree with maybe 20% of this, but it's still freakin hilarious. Really really funny. Nice work.

Not my work, but I can see the E-mail in my corporate mind......

[Deathlike]

The sad thing is... I do see some founders that don't quite know how to play this game.... maybe my ELO is shot or something.

[Stoicblitzer]

this is a great topic. while reading the article, i found a new f2p game that i'm interested in: dirty bomb.

then i saw a video that made my week. thank you everyone.

[Crockdaddy]

The video made it all worthwhile. Now I can go fight against an entire team of ELO loving Atlas and die happy today.

[Psydotek]

I read the Gamefront article last night. It echos my exact sentiments right now toward the game.

And that video is hilarious.

[Purplefluffybunny]

I think I was reported by several people for making this thread. A sign of the times.

I would like to note that despite my best efforts, the only other review type pieces I have been able to find are from blogs and based upon early beta impressions. As for the commercial gaming news sites, well, they are more an advertising space and even here, I have not found a 'review' proper.

[Roadbeer]

Purplefluffybunny, on 28 April 2013 - 11:50 AM, said:

I think I was reported by several people for making this thread. A sign of the times.

But it's still here, so obviously, those who are sensitive to it, are more so than IGP/PGI.

It's not a bad review, and on the whole, pretty fair and accurate. the message is nothing new. Buyer beware, good advice for pretty much everything. Had this come out earlier, there might not even have been the rampant sense of entitlement on the part of some Founders.

[Crockdaddy]

Purplefluffybunny, on 28 April 2013 - 11:50 AM, said:

I think I was reported by several people for making this thread. A sign of the times.

I would like to note that despite my best efforts, the only other review type pieces I have been able to find are from blogs and based upon early beta impressions. As for the commercial gaming news sites, well, they are more an advertising space and even here, I have not found a 'review' proper.

\

Seriously they are lame enough to report you? I guess these must be the don't swear doo gooders I find out in the game world sometimes.

[Peiper]

From the article. Interesting...

"You might not get the game you paid for

While gazing ahead at the collection of new founder’s packs and F2P titles is tempting, sometimes we have to look back at what came before. In this case, what came before was Mechwarrior Online. As already mentioned, MWO’s founder’s sale was an incredible success that paved the way for developers to create and promote founder’s packs across the medium. It also serves as an abject lesson in how you might not get what you expected, and that the higher price of a founder’s pack can often make you feel like you’ve been cheated. Preordering a normal game comes with the guarantee that you’ll at least get an approximation of the game you ask for, and at minimum only costs a few dollars. Purchasing a founder’s pack comes with no such guarantee, as you are buying into a game that is still undergoing continuous development and iterative change. It’s also a lot more expensive than a few dollars.

MWO’s developers released an announcement at the beginning of March about consumables. While this isn’t unusual in itself, they also mentioned that they would be implementing a coolant flush system. For those unaware, coolant flush was a controversial mechanic in Mechwarrior 4, and the developers told the userbase that it would not be implemented into the game. Now the developers were saying it was, in fact, going to be implemented, and the best version was going to cost real money and be consumed on completing a battle.

The forums erupted shortly thereafter in a furious rampage of anger. The most outspoken Mechwarrior fans – the ones who were hoping MWO would turn out to be like their beloved Mechwarrior 2 – railed against the design decision. They also publicly complained about the founder’s packs they had purchased, lamenting the fact that they had spent so much money only to have the game change in a way contrary to their expectations. A few demanded refunds, but that will never happen.

This conflux of nerd rage serves as a cautionary tale for both consumers and developers. To all you buyers: Be wary of your purchases. That $250 pack sure looks like a great deal, but it comes with the risk of the game changing in a way that you just can’t stand. Can you really afford to spend that much on a game you stand a good chance of abandoning later due to developer mismanagement? To all you developers: Remember that you are asking quite a lot of money for your project. Ignoring the feedback of the players who have spent over $100 on your game is a dangerous proposition, and could lead to widespread abandonment."

Interesting...

[Lusankya]

I bought my founders package to help the developers make a new Mechwarrior game I've been waiting for since Vengeance/Mercs came out. It's always risky to invest time/money into something that you know isn't set and will be constantly changing whether they are big or small changes. There are some things I wish the devs would do to make the founders "feel" a little more appreciated but other than that I'm pretty happy with the way the game is progressing.