28 replies to this topic

[-Halcyon-]

I don't understand why colors are shared but patterns you have to repurchase for every mech?
I'll never do this. I bought one camo but when I figured out it can't be shared that closed my wallet for any future camo purchases.

If PGI were to share camos, I would buy more. Plain and simple.
You guys are shooting yourselves in the foot on this one. Don't be so greedy.

[El Bandito]

I imagine most of PGI's target demographic is around 25+ age. Hence they think such price is completely comfortable.


I'd give them more money, if they actually provide the service they promised to us in the first place.

[Durant Carlyle]

Halcyon201, on 21 April 2014 - 07:51 PM, said:

If PGI were to share camos, I would buy more. Plain and simple.
You guys are shooting yourselves in the foot on this one. Don't be so greedy.

If there were X patterns, you would only buy X patterns.

But there are (X * Y) patterns, because each chassis needs it.

More chances to buy equals more money going to the devs.

[GreyGriffin]

I wouldn't mind paying X*Y, if X wasn't ten bucks.

[Durant Carlyle]

GreyGriffin, on 21 April 2014 - 08:58 PM, said:

I wouldn't mind paying X*Y, if X wasn't ten bucks.

$1 = 250 MC at the best exchange rate.

Highest pattern price is what? 1250 MC? That's $5, not $10. (Not to mention that some are on sale for 750 MC, which is only $3 per pattern).

Of course, if you buy the lower MC packages, then you get less MC per dollar spent. That's the way things work -- buy more at a time, get a better deal.

Edited by Durant Carlyle, 21 April 2014 - 09:10 PM.

[Daekar]

I believe that most people find the camo prices a bit hard to swallow, which is why you don't often see them. The people who do want them seem to be willing to pay the price that's asked. I imagine there is a good reason that camos go on sale so frequently - drum up sales while maintaining the nominal "market value" at the elevated number.

I bought a bunch of colors, but I've never bought a pattern. Probably will never buy a pattern, unless they make changes that render my Catapults worth driving. Would consider buying one for them... but until missiles get un-sucked and remain stable for a while, there is no point in putting money into a chassis which will likely be abandoned again.

[Khobai]

Quote

$1 = 250 MC at the best exchange rate.

Highest pattern price is what? 1250 MC? That's $5, not $10. (Not to mention that some are on sale for 750 MC, which is only $3 per pattern).

Yes but you can only use it on 1 mech. Thats the problem.

I dont think anyone would have a problem with paying $5 for camo if they could use it on ALL their mechs.

[GreyGriffin]

Customizing your 'mech has a huge upfront cost. Let's use the website's self-claimed "most popular" package of $30 for 6500 MC. That's, roughly $0.25 per 50 MC.

So, taking a standard pattern and 3 standard colors is 2250 MC. That's about eleven bucks ($10.37) to not reskin, but just recolor a 'mech. There are no other signficant aesthetic changes, no new geometry, just making your 'mech a couple different colors. The real kicker is that the matte green Trial color is just abominable. Sure, $10 might be the going rate to reskin a character in a free-to-play game, but those characters usually at least look good out of the gate. You have to pay up front just to drop looking decent.

I love aesthetics, I love customization, but the price point feels pretty wrong for the value. Sure, colors are universal across all 'mechs, but it's still a single paint color. Sure, patterns are where the meat is at, but without unique colors, the patterns just fall flat.

Combine that with being nickel and dimed for cockpit items (really? Can only have them equipped in a single 'mech? Really?), the high cost of new 'mechs, the frankly insultingly bad "basic" paints for C-Bills, and customization as a whole really feels like a ripoff, rather than an opportunity to spend money tuning my personal experience.

Taken in a vacuum, the going rate seems like it meets the market average, but combine the experience of being incrementally charged half a 'mech's worth of MC to just slap on a non-shameful paint job, and the easy-to-flub trap of buying multiple cockpit items (this also applies to modules, but that is another thread), and customization really feels like a ripoff.

[Corwin Vickers]

Should we really get camo patterns unlocked for all mechs?

I have 68 mechs atm.

Some people have 3.

Should we pay $5 to unlock a pattern for 68 mechs? How about $68.

$68 for 68 mechs and $68 for 3 mechs?

The problem is there are so many cheap asses that want it all for nothing. Like somehow the MWO developer's salaries are paid by the magic money tree.

If this was a MMO we'd be paying $15 a month. That's $180 a year plus $60 for the box and $50 for an expansion every year and a half.

And yet people are complaining about a $5 pattern that they IN NO WAY NEED TO BUY to play the game.

The only problem comes when they squader the money we give them and misappropriate it for other projects (I still believe they used founder money to make Tactics.)



In summary, get a job hippy!

[GreyGriffin]

I'd be happy to give them my money if they weren't trying so hard to take it.

[Crimson Fenris]

I'm not really fond of price tag they put on permanent unlocks, especially the thing work only for each chassis. I'd rather prefer to be able to unlock a camo for all mechs, but I'm sure they don't want that to happen ever...

Unlock for (big amount of) GXP ? Not happening, since GXP are free (at a very low rate however).

Finally, I considered the "one use" option for my favourite mechs : Since I rarely keep more than 1 or 2 variants for each chassis, there is no need to pay the unlock for 3 or more.
I only use one pattern : digital camo, since I find that one very efficient for its true purpose : camouflaging my mech.

That cost me only 75 MC, meaning about 0.23€ (0.32$), or with my initial founder's MC, around 0.18€ (0.25$).
I don't play very often, thus not having too many mechs in my hangar (around 20 now), but paying those amount is not bothering me, for the moment ^^

And I always remember that it would have been a better deal to unlock the pattern after more than 10 changes, which means 3-4 changes on 3 variants, or more than 5 change on 2 variants...
Not happening soon, until they add the Multicam™ pattern, maybe ? ^^

Until PGI give us the ability to store & choose our camo accordingly to the played map, why bother unlocking with those silly prices ?

Edited by Crimson Fenris, 22 April 2014 - 01:16 AM.

[AlexEss]

First off a lot more work goes in to making the patterns compared to the colors, and the work increase as we get new mechs as every mech need it´s own skin fitted. So that is one reason for the higher price.

Secondly there is a need to monetize something, and this way that something is something that you can ignore.

As for a third, and this is something i was taught by my parents as a child. If you can not afford something upfront you save for it. And i am pretty sure that anyone can save a dollar a month. In a year that person could buy both a nice camo and some nice paints. If you don´t buy them due to a perceived lack of value.at the current price-point my recomendation is that you should come up with something else that can generate a steady income without impacting the game-play.

Any way i usually get the one-shot ones and keep my eyes open for sales on colours i like. That way rarley feel i don´t get my moneys worth.

[-Halcyon-]

Corwin Vickers, on 21 April 2014 - 10:27 PM, said:

Should we really get camo patterns unlocked for all mechs?

I have 68 mechs atm.

Some people have 3.

Should we pay $5 to unlock a pattern for 68 mechs? How about $68.

$68 for 68 mechs and $68 for 3 mechs?

The problem is there are so many cheap asses that want it all for nothing. Like somehow the MWO developer's salaries are paid by the magic money tree.

If this was a MMO we'd be paying $15 a month. That's $180 a year plus $60 for the box and $50 for an expansion every year and a half.

And yet people are complaining about a $5 pattern that they IN NO WAY NEED TO BUY to play the game.

The only problem comes when they squader the money we give them and misappropriate it for other projects (I still believe they used founder money to make Tactics.)



In summary, get a job hippy!

Hey, excuse me but I've put close to $100 in this game in about a month. I bought hero mechs, regular mechs, and colors plus one pattern.
For $100 I want to see more value out of my pattern.

And I have a job.

[Phromethius]

AlexEss, on 22 April 2014 - 01:24 AM, said:

First off a lot more work goes in to making the patterns compared to the colors, and the work increase as we get new mechs as every mech need it´s own skin fitted. So that is one reason for the higher price.

Secondly there is a need to monetize something, and this way that something is something that you can ignore.

As for a third, and this is something i was taught by my parents as a child. If you can not afford something upfront you save for it. And i am pretty sure that anyone can save a dollar a month. In a year that person could buy both a nice camo and some nice paints. If you don´t buy them due to a perceived lack of value.at the current price-point my recomendation is that you should come up with something else that can generate a steady income without impacting the game-play.

Any way i usually get the one-shot ones and keep my eyes open for sales on colours i like. That way rarley feel i don´t get my moneys worth.

Not calling you out personally OK? But I get really tired of hearing this excuse. UV mapping ANY 3D geometry is NOT HARD TO DO, especially if you have an existing pattern on several similarly shaped objects. Also scalling. Scalling in a mathematically based creation system which ALL 3d software is at its core is also NOT HARD TO DO. I will give you this: a new pattern would be some work because that new pattern has to be tweaked for each chassis. Not hard work just a decent work load for any 3d texturer.

[Ngamok]

If they let me unlock a pattern across all my mechs for 10x the cost, I would do it. So a permanent Woodland for 7500 MC, I would probably do it. It would also make them more money from someone like me because currently I won 70 mechs. If I buy them at 75 MC for single use, that's only 5,250 MC. But in the longer run if I go over 100 mechs, then they lose money unless I got bored with Woodland (or whichever, used Woodland as example).

Note: I wouldn't do it now since some of my mechs have 1 shots of camo on them and wouldn't change them. They had to have offered this way back when, heh. Of course the newer camos I'd never buy since I was locked into one already.

Edited by Ngamok, 22 April 2014 - 12:03 PM.

[Bilbo]

Daekar, on 21 April 2014 - 09:25 PM, said:

I believe that most people find the camo prices a bit hard to swallow, which is why you don't often see them. The people who do want them seem to be willing to pay the price that's asked. I imagine there is a good reason that camos go on sale so frequently - drum up sales while maintaining the nominal "market value" at the elevated number.

I bought a bunch of colors, but I've never bought a pattern. Probably will never buy a pattern, unless they make changes that render my Catapults worth driving. Would consider buying one for them... but until missiles get un-sucked and remain stable for a while, there is no point in putting money into a chassis which will likely be abandoned again.

I see the them everywhere.

[Pygar]

/Signed

Yeah, I wish I didn't have to rebuy the same paint schemes over and over, I understand why PGI makes it like that though. (they used to allow them to be used more openly actually, but they "nerfed" paintjobs) I think the part of the painting system that really kills me is how much some of the colors cost, and that you can't at least buy basic colors for cheap. (possibly even for C-bills)

[Androas]

Well, packages would be nice, maybe "Faction packages" which would give you lets say each of the factions cockpit items, plus the factions main colors, and an fitting camo, unlocked for your whole account, kinda like the mech starter packs they offer.

Or maybe a Starter Pack, including 3-4 Camos for your whole Account, 3-4 Colors and 1-2 Cockpit Items.

[Phromethius]

bundles are always fun. BUT they actually have to be a deal and not just a la carte prices in one go. Color/Camo bundles would nice. They are going in the right direction with color group sales but I never have any MC when that happens. They need to make a broader BETTER simple rainbow of color available for CBills for those true F2P players as well

[LauLiao]

Corwin Vickers, on 21 April 2014 - 10:27 PM, said:

The problem is there are so many cheap asses that want it all for nothing. Like somehow the MWO developer's salaries are paid by the magic money tree.

Okay, welcome to Economics 101. Nobody is necessarily asking for anything for free. The general consensus is that prices on patterns is too high. By lowering the price of these, or otherwise making them more "economically viable", they could potentially sell MANY MORE of these, making up for the lower cost with a much higher volume, and possibly making MORE money by lowering their prices.