98 replies to this topic

[Heffay]

Hatchet Jack, on 19 December 2013 - 01:45 PM, said:

Do you have any Grey Poupon?

But seriously, the Clan 'Mechs will be available for C-Bill purchase.

Knowhatimeanvern?

My monocle just about popped out when I read his post! I mean seriously, poors... let them eat !

[Jun Watarase]

Heffay, on 19 December 2013 - 01:23 PM, said:

Aside from it being nothing at all like your analogy, the article mentions they are working on that as well.

The exact same complaint was made for the phoenix package, which forced you to buy crappy mechs like the locust to get the battlemaster.

The forums didnt explode into a crapfest and PGI just ignored all complaints and requests to allow players to buy individual mechs.

There's a lesson here folks, and its PGI only listens to player feedback when there is an amazing backlash to their decisions. Otherwise they assume everything is fine, the people complaining are a minority and that they can be safely ignored.

Edited by Jun Watarase, 19 December 2013 - 01:53 PM.

[jozkhan]

Actually I think the truth is even simpler than that...

PGI / IGP never listen to us - we know this already

The simple truth is nobody was buying the clan packs so they have to adapt or die

[Sandpit]

Rebas Kradd, on 19 December 2013 - 01:22 PM, said:

Still too expensive. Do they want ONLY the upper middle-class playing this game?

no, they want the middle-class playing with these mechs at an earlier date. The lower class? They can play entirely for free while those of us in middle class and above pay for them to have that privilege. (It's a privilege because ANY luxury such as a video game is a privilege)

[WVAnonymous]

Rebas Kradd, on 19 December 2013 - 01:22 PM, said:

Still too expensive. Do they want ONLY the upper middle-class playing this game?

Pilot, I am well into the upper-middle class. There is no way on this green earth I am paying $500 for a gold mech, or even $260 after the Masakari package discount. I'll spend $500 on a watch I won't wear more than once a month, but I won't drop $500 on a digital artifact with an uncertain lifespan. I've spent $500 on a dinner out with my wife (once) and I won't buy one of these things.

I bought Founder. I bought Overlord. I may even buy the Masakari. Gold mechs are just stoopid.

Edited by WVAnonymous, 19 December 2013 - 02:07 PM.

[L Y N X]

Rebas Kradd, on 19 December 2013 - 01:22 PM, said:

Still too expensive. Do they want ONLY the upper middle-class playing this game?

Negative, purchasing is a choice. If a poor middle-class person has a PC to spec and Internet Broadband, then even they can play for free... albeit progression will take longer. Still I promised not another purchase until after CW, and I keep my word.

[Devil Fox]

Well since the thread I was about to reply in was locked... in regards to the 200 out of 30,000 PP refunded... here it comes...

It's numbers out of his arse... honestly I wouldn't take any number presented via a 3rd medium without direct quotations because their likely out of context, exaggerated or not accurate enough. You'll find that more then 200 players got their PP refunded, you'll also find that more than 30,000 people abstained from even touching the package (their not counted)...

Now does the 30,000 refer to the number of active forum users for the past month or 2? Does it equate to roughly the number of actual PP sold? Or is it just a number pulled out of his arse to get a point across without actually having an analytical analysis of the sales figures on hand?! After all there are meant to be more then 1 million accounts, 30,000 just looks like a dismal sale.

[Kraven Kor]

Uh... OK so the new timeline they posted. A few problems of journalistic note (and I am not a journalist...):

1. They have made, over the course of development, multiple estimations and roadmaps showing Community Warfare - or some component thereof - as arriving in 60 to 90 days, starting with an initial ETA of February 2013 or so. So that has slipped for more than a year.

2. This new roadmap and admissions on the license situation and such proves that, not only has no code been written, but they still don't even really have conceptual design of CW done. Which, for those following along, implies further deception by PGI staff (and of more legal concern than the "You'll get 1PV queues and NEVER be forced to play WITH or AGAINST 3PV players..." promise...)

This latest post by Bullock actually makes it quite clear exactly how much dishonesty is really occurring.

They were continuing to sell product even with the license in question. They made numerous assurances or estimations of content being released, only to now find out they could not possibly have been even laying down a single line of code.

Sorry, but this whole situation still stinks. I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, small studio, etc. But the delays are getting to be unacceptable and all evidence points to some very shady things going on.

I could be, and hope I am, wrong.

Edited by Kraven Kor, 19 December 2013 - 02:19 PM.

[Heffay]

Apostal, on 19 December 2013 - 02:17 PM, said:

Well since the thread I was about to reply in was locked... in regards to the 200 out of 30,000 PP refunded... here it comes...

It's numbers out of his arse... honestly I wouldn't take any number presented via a 3rd medium without direct quotations because their likely out of context, exaggerated or not accurate enough. You'll find that more then 200 players got their PP refunded, you'll also find that more than 30,000 people abstained from even touching the package (their not counted)...

Now does the 30,000 refer to the number of active forum users for the past month or 2? Does it equate to roughly the number of actual PP sold? Or is it just a number pulled out of his arse to get a point across without actually having an analytical analysis of the sales figures on hand?! After all there are meant to be more then 1 million accounts, 30,000 just looks like a dismal sale.

Well, if there are a million people playing the game, that's good right?

If you're going to compare the sales vs the number of accounts, you have to be consistent in how you apply it. You can't just cherry pick the million accounts number without acknowledging where it makes you look bad.

[Bront]

From the article:

Quote

Many players complained about having to spend $210.00 to gain access to the infamous Mad Cat, so one possibility is that they could move the 'Mech around to fit into a lower tier so players could pay less and get it for pre-order.

Looks to me like they are listening a bit...

[AgroAlba]

Apostal, on 19 December 2013 - 02:17 PM, said:

After all there are meant to be more then 1 million accounts, 30,000 just looks like a dismal sale.

That is actually a pretty good rate for a Free 2 Play game. F2P games can and do survive on a 3% conversion to paying customer. Especially if they purchase big packages like Pheonix or Founders packages. That doesn't take into account the smaller non package purchases of MC, either.

Edited by AgroAntirrhopus, 19 December 2013 - 02:30 PM.

[Xigunder Blue]

This news, about the pricing, kinda hurt. I was in at Founders and bought the Phoenix Package plus lots of MC. All because I am a dedicated BT fan and this was a game I looked forward to playing. I have about 30 mechs (and for a lousy FPS player that's a lot), and I thought the graphics and such were ok (I am not a purist or tech expert). I could live with bugs and glitches and such cause it was Beta.

Then launch came, same game as Beta, none of the things we were told were in the game and there have been a series of sales, one after another since 'launch'. Core backers and supporters have already been told we are no longer the focus of the game development (Yes they actually said that!). I am certainly interested in getting clan mechs but have difficulty in getting up $240 for a promised delivery date. As for those Romney players who have no sympathy for us 47%ers, well, there is probably no answer they would listen to, "let them eat cake".

I am not ranting or raving, just hoping they will consider lowering those package prices in some way for those of us who simply cannot afford that pricing level. I still have hope for the game, still want to play but now it seems to be a matter of crossed fingers instead of enthusiasm. The OP was a small ray of light, lets hope they turn on the floodlamp. It is Christmas Scrooge, don't turn away those guys asking for help for the poor!

[Devil Fox]

Heffay, on 19 December 2013 - 02:20 PM, said:

Well, if there are a million people playing the game, that's good right?

If you're going to compare the sales vs the number of accounts, you have to be consistent in how you apply it. You can't just cherry pick the million accounts number without acknowledging where it makes you look bad.

Also gotta love how it makes the overall sale of PP look bad, no? Does it mean they sold 30,000 PP? No, the numbers he used are irrelevant to the discussion and feels more like taking a stab at the playerbase due to their reaction to a number of critical design decisions within this game. Will they release actual numbers of unit's sold? No because then we can calculate how much they actually made, and compare it to the production of this title...

Afterall I saw an interesting quote where the idea sold to founders was that PGI/IGP owned the right's to the IP, only now we find out their leasing the license, and had done so for a very small development window (in other words it seemed more like a touch wood experiment to see if they can milk the BT franchise).

Any numbers that come from a 3rd party source without direct quotations and references made by the developers are irrelevant, so there was no reason for Russ to even mention them as they are antagonistic... which on these forums, will only inflate the debate.

[Ryvucz]

Wonder what they'll do for those who have purchased the gold and Masakari...

Rebas Kradd, on 19 December 2013 - 01:22 PM, said:

Still too expensive. Do they want ONLY the upper middle-class playing this game?

Funny thing, I'm counted as the poor class and got both.

jozkhan, on 19 December 2013 - 01:56 PM, said:

Actually I think the truth is even simpler than that...

PGI / IGP never listen to us - we know this already

The simple truth is nobody was buying the clan packs so they have to adapt or die

That's the funniest story I heard all year.

[Tezcatli]

They should break up the pack somehow. Or offer something similar to the Saber package deal. The overall cost is what is turning people off.

[Sandpit]

If all numbers are to be believed, just from special package sales along we're looking in the area of $10 million not counting in any other income from various MC or premium time purchases. That's in less than 2 years. While not ready to topple CoD and BF series as top dog franchises in terms of money, that's decent.
As far as I'm concerned that's enough money for PGI. I'm sure they've already made some sales on clan packs but not nearly what they would have made had CW, UI2.0, and lobbies been implemented. Lets go PGI, time to get your finger out of your noses and get it done.

[jozkhan]

OK what I was saying was they were not selling the clan pack in anything like the intended numbers

[Deathlike]

Bront, on 19 December 2013 - 02:24 PM, said:

From the article:


Looks to me like they are listening a bit...

It's "listening" if they actually made the change.

[Jun Watarase]

Quote

Pirahna Game's president Russ Bullock is listening to the playerbase of MechWarrior Online.

Just like how he listened to feedback about things like game balance, hit registration, lag compensation, community warfare, broken matchmaking, being forced to buy the locust to get the battlemaster in the phoenix package, etc?

Quote

Although the complaints come from a range of topics, many concentrate on the timing of the announcement.

Uh no. Most of the complaints are about the pricing, the inability to purchase the particular mech you want without buying mechs you don't want, the refusal for PGI to listen to player feedback on almost every issue in the game, the number of unresolved issues in the game, and the fact that 1.5 years after closed beta started, the game still looks like an unfinished beta, the constant missed deadlines and outright lies (3PV, community warfare, etc)....

Quote

Some players see this new DLC pre-order only as a chance to make more money in lieu of producing more content.

Wrong again, first of all this isn't a DLC, you are not paying money for an expansion pack, secondly most players see this as a chance to make more money in lieu of fixing the game, not producing more content. We are well aware that PGI has a policy of pushing out new hero mechs every month or two to sell for more MC.

Quote

First, the highest-priced items are simply collector's items. They look cool and do not have extras that go along with them that give them an advantage during combat.

Untrue again, they will have, at bare minimum, a unique module. Unless said unique module has no ingame effects whatsoever.

Quote

Second, all of the 'Mechs on the list can be paid for with in-game funds once released, minus some of the non-combat bonuses attached, meaning that any player who wants to can continue to pay nothing at all.

Untrue, yet again, because whoever pays money now for the clan mechs will have a few months where they can use clan mechs and clan tech while the non-paying player wont. So its either a huge advantage to the paying players or clan mechs and tech suck so much that its not....neither option of which is attractive.

Quote

Bullock wanted to emphasize that despite all of this, he knows that what the playerbase is really asking for is community-based features.

Not true, community based features in a game with no working lag compensation, poor hit registration, a non working matchmaker system that frequently pits newbies in trial mechs vs high ELO premades, etc, is still going to be a very ****** game.

Quote

Of the players who purchased the Phoenix Project pre-orders, only about 200 of them actually requested refunds of out 30,000 packages sold.

Im really interested in seeing some evidence for these figures, in particular the claim that 30k packages were sold. Given that the lowest priced phoenix package was, IIRC, $20 or 30, and i believe PGI has previously claimed that they made $1 million from the phoenix package sales, the numbers dont really add up here...especially when you factor in the sabre package (which may or may not be considered part of the phoenix package). Either way, the fact that "only" 200 people were dis-sastified enough to ask for refunds is really telling...you have to really **** off your customers to get 200 people to ask for refunds, since most customers who are dissastifed with their purchase simply learn to live with it. Most people never go to the trouble of demanding a refund unless they are really unhappy. Also no mention of the people who got banned for asking for refunds.

Quote

The developers tweaked the third-person options by not allowing them during competitive mode.

What? We have a competitive mode? Since when? This is a game with a matchmaking system that consistently pits newbies in trial mechs vs high ELO premades with amazing lopsided results such as this.

Quote

Players like those are happy to see new 'Mechs come up for purchase, but Bullock pointed out again that what they really want are more community options.

Wrong again, for reasons explained earlier. Real hardcore players are not happy with unloading multiple SRM volleys into a red CT mech to no effect or having every match be dominated by victors/highlanders with JJs or jagermech ballistic boats. Or having multiple lopsided matches in a row.

Quote

Bullock admits that he was not 100 percent happy with the packages and arrangements of pricing. The team is making adjustments to them right now, adding options that will give the plans more pricing levels and flexibility.

The exact same complaints was raised with the phoenix packages (that they were too restrictive/too expensive, among other factors), PGI quietly ignored everyone and no adjustments were made....but this time they are making adjustments....any guesses why?

Continued (too many quote tags breaks the forum apparently)

Edited by Jun Watarase, 19 December 2013 - 03:53 PM.

[RG Notch]

Ryvucz, on 19 December 2013 - 02:54 PM, said:

Funny thing, I'm counted as the poor class and got both.

Funny thing it shows you got your priorities all screwed up if that's what you're spending money on it might explain why you're poor. As a wise man once said "A fool and his money are lucky enough to come together in the first place".