19 replies to this topic

[IraqiWalker]

Anyone else feeling scared what's at the end of this free mechbay tunnel?

[Deathlike]

IraqiWalker, on 18 August 2014 - 11:46 PM, said:

Anyone else feeling scared what's at the end of this free mechbay tunnel?

You mean, no CW?

Check again in 90 days of the last mechbay challenge.

[Impyrium]

I've stopped worrying about where this game is going. I'm already convinced this game won't ever turn direction towards what I think it should be, so no reason to worry myself over whether the game's going to asplode again.

My only gripe is that I have spent money on it... so I'll keep playing it until something really screws it up.
What do you mean, though? I'm relatively confident CW will start arriving as they said... mainly because they showed actual progress. But then again, I wouldn't be shocked if it didn't either. After MechBays? More MechBays, more sales. Gotta get those newbies sucked in and all that.

[MonkeyCheese]

IraqiWalker, on 18 August 2014 - 11:46 PM, said:

Anyone else feeling scared what's at the end of this free mechbay tunnel?

We all want CW yes and I know that is the meaning of this thread. But big stompy robots is still mostly fun.

But honestly I would be happy with a shiny new flea with a working MASC system to boom and zoom things.

I am siting at 37 mechs and 4 empty mechbays

[IraqiWalker]

OK. To clarify. Not this is not a "we're not getting CW" thread.

This is a "What the hell do they have in store for us, that they are throwing mechbays at us right now?" thread

Edited by IraqiWalker, 19 August 2014 - 12:14 AM.

[Deathlike]

IraqiWalker, on 19 August 2014 - 12:14 AM, said:

OK. To clarify. Not this is not a "we're not getting CW" thread.

This is a "What the hell do they have in store for us, that they are throwing mechbays at us right now?" thread

Oh... well, nothing then.

It's temporarily trying to absolve them of two months of nada in terms of PGI related events... so that they can do another 2 months of non-events after these series of events are over.

[Asmosis]

I'd rather a mech bay than some frilly seat thing for my mech.

I stopped buying new mechs when clans got announced, so now have 4 garages ready for direwolves and will probably buy some more bays for timberwolves later on.

As for expectations of the game, I have none. I log in either when theres a challenge or I feel like driving big stompy robots around since I couldn't get MW4 working 100% under win7

[Kilo 40]

IraqiWalker, on 19 August 2014 - 12:14 AM, said:

OK. To clarify. Not this is not a "we're not getting CW" thread.

This is a "What the hell do they have in store for us, that they are throwing mechbays at us right now?" thread

I think it's just because mech bays are an easy give away with the potential to cause you to spend money on another mech.

I don't think we will see any new clan mechs until around Christmas time and I don't see any more packages for awhile for IS or Clan.

[XX Sulla XX]

I think it is simple. I bet data shows that if people have more mechbays they buy more mechs and spend more money on the game. So if you give them away its a win win. So now they have a nice prize that also helps sale other things in the game. Glad they are giving them away myself.

[Onmyoudo]

If they give away 6 mechbays people will buy a number of clan mechs for c-bills and have to buy more mechbays in order to master.

Alternatively, combined with the c-bill/MC sales they're trying to get everyone to buy all the mechs they currently want in preparation for a number of new mechs or c-bill sinks appearing on the horizon. There's a couple months worth more heroes coming up for sure.

[EgoSlayer]

IraqiWalker, on 19 August 2014 - 12:14 AM, said:

OK. To clarify. Not this is not a "we're not getting CW" thread.

This is a "What the hell do they have in store for us, that they are throwing mechbays at us right now?" thread

I think it's more like 'We don't have anything in store for you, here have a mech bay challenge.' Just something to keep people interested in playing.

[CycKath]

XX Sulla XX, on 19 August 2014 - 12:57 AM, said:

I think it is simple. I bet data shows that if people have more mechbays they buy more mechs and spend more money on the game. So if you give them away its a win win. So now they have a nice prize that also helps sale other things in the game. Glad they are giving them away myself.

This, its a C-Bill sink and earns them brownie points for niceness.

[Johnny Reb]

IraqiWalker, on 18 August 2014 - 11:46 PM, said:

Anyone else feeling scared what's at the end of this free mechbay tunnel?

Nope, cause I still control my wallet.

[MonkeyCheese]

IraqiWalker, on 19 August 2014 - 12:14 AM, said:

OK. To clarify. Not this is not a "we're not getting CW" thread.

This is a "What the hell do they have in store for us, that they are throwing mechbays at us right now?" thread

Well you cant really blame us for instantly thinking that way these days.


Well with more mechbays comes more mechs which means

• more chances to buy mechs with MC.
  
• more chances to buy hero mechs with MC.
  
• more chances to convert GXP with MC for grinding new mechs fast.
  
• more chances to buy paint with MC.
  
• more chances to buy camos with MC.
  
• more chances to buy cockpit items including warhorns with MC.
  
• more chances to buy cbil packs with MC for equipping new mechs fast.

And the wheel keeps on spinning and we keep on playing big stompy robots.

Like people have said they haven't found a way to monetize maps or game modes.

[FDJustin]

MonkeyCheese, on 19 August 2014 - 01:12 AM, said:

Well you cant really blame us for instantly thinking that way these days.


Well with more mechbays comes more mechs which means

• more chances to buy mechs with MC.
  
• more chances to buy hero mechs with MC.
  
• more chances to convert GXP with MC for grinding new mechs fast.
  
• more chances to buy paint with MC.
  
• more chances to buy camos with MC.
  
• more chances to buy cockpit items including warhorns with MC.
  
• more chances to buy cbil packs with MC for equipping new mechs fast.

And the wheel keeps on spinning and we keep on playing big stompy robots.



Like people have said they haven't found a way to monetize maps or game modes.

So basically, it's a win win.

*Also, maps and game modes indirectly monetize a game. But it's a gambit, and it's hard to track. Will this new $40,000 map a: retain enough players for long enough to keep the game populated? Or b: Draw in enough new sales to recover, and preferably exceed the cost of development?
It's not easy to answer, and it's not a direct product = sales equation.


Maps and game modes might not be the right way to go. Jaded players might very well get bored of them within a week. Then again maybe they don't. PGI should already have the answer to that, by simply looking at play percentages from when a new map was released. How many idle accounts became active? How long did they stay active? How many new accounts were formed? Were the idle accounts more apt to purchase? How long was the purchasing boon? Did the new accounts act in a similar way to most new accounts?
I'm sure there are more questions to ask, but I don't know them.

Anything that affects the game experience affects sales. Even training grounds affect sales. The UI actually takes away from sales, as it has some strong experience souring aspects.
Each time I click on mech details while considering the options in the store, it forces me to go back to mech bay, click on the purchasable, wait for load, then click on the weight category I want again. 2, 3 times of doing this and I lose all interest in examining the mechs. That's not an atypical reaction, and that does cost sales.

Now, another way to add more diversity and experience is with a different sort of skill / tech tree. The upside is a lot more diversity and a sense of really owning your character / mechs.
The downside is power creep. Which does exist in this game. Right now, if you join, you'll be battling against people in your near-stock mechs who already have the XL engines, can easily pay the DHS tax if not using an older mech already, have modules up the wazoo, and may have already paid their 20 hours of gameplay to get their turning, cooling, breaking, acceleration bonuses and extra module.


Community warfare probably is the best road to make money right now. TDM is nice, it's enjoyable, it proves the mechanics are in working order. But it's kind of a small, lazy game that isn't really built to keep people around forever.
It's fun... But it isn't fulfilling.
Clear goals, adversity, prestige, the sense of having an impact, progression, companionship, achievement. These are the things that transform a game from a fun distraction, to a marriage ruiner.

Edited by FDJustin, 19 August 2014 - 03:09 AM.

[Dirgez]

IraqiWalker, on 18 August 2014 - 11:46 PM, said:

Anyone else feeling scared what's at the end of this free mechbay tunnel?

You afraid that those free $1 mechbay challenges are an indication of weakness? You must be joking.

[wanderer]

Free Mechbays are useful and encourage people to buy more robots to fill them, thus encouraging further gameplay.

[MonkeyCheese]

FDJustin, on 19 August 2014 - 02:21 AM, said:

Each time I click on mech details while considering the options in the store, it forces me to go back to mech bay, click on the purchasable, wait for load, then click on the weight category I want again. 2, 3 times of doing this and I lose all interest in examining the mechs. That's not an atypical reaction, and that does cost sales.

I really hate this problem, is it so hard to just examine multiple mechs in the purchase section. I have the same kinda problem with paints and their small window on such a large screen but these and the new player experience are all topics for other threads and have been beaten silly so many times.

[John1352]

I'd say it's mainly a PR thing, getting everyone thinking positively about the game (more likely to spend money). With a free mech bay a week, an active player will still likely need more. I think they should do a mech and mechbay one (like thunderbolt) to mix it up a little. It's probably also a distraction from CW module 1, which adds no value to gameplay on its own.

[IraqiWalker]

WM Dirges, on 19 August 2014 - 03:45 AM, said:

You afraid that those free $1 mechbay challenges are an indication of weakness? You must be joking.

Nope. Just afraid that this might be the harbinger of something big.