40 replies to this topic

[LauLiao]

This entire "arguement" is just speculation. "I THINK that if players made more in-game cash they'll spend real money. No really, I swear I believe that."

Kreisel, on 08 November 2014 - 02:15 PM, said:

This should be evident by the fact players still bought mechs, mechbays and premium time with MC even when cbill earning was higher than it is now. We don't need to be starved for cbills to want a 30% or 50% boost, or to get that shiny new mech NOW.

Without having the sales figures you have no idea what this means for the economic status of the game. Yes people bought stuff before, but if they're spending 2 or 3 times more money now, then your entire argument is moot.

As a person who is a professional in the world of separating people from their money, you're thoughts are all "nice" but not very realistic or based in any kind of reality or fact.

[dario03]

I still say a major decrease in regular mech MC cost would get more sales, more players invested, and thus more likely to stay. If I could get some standard mechs for a few bucks I would probably do it all the time. But at current cost I just don't buy them for MC. And they could still charge a decent bit for heros and early access mechs.

Of course I am just guessing though since I don't know the current numbers and can only guess at what changing prices would do, but I know it would increase my spending. And I'm thinking would overcome the loss of profit from the whales not needing to spend as much (but they would probably buy everything early access anyways)

Edited by dario03, 08 November 2014 - 04:58 PM.

[Popper100]

When it comes to this games monetization model, it's clear there is little regard for how the game feels to play day in and day out. The low rewards are and endemic result of a lack of endgame and meaningful side content. The main course is the deathmatch, and CW seems to be leaning towards making the main course the objective based deathmatch. So I ask you, why play this game if the devs and gms are intentionally hamstringing you the entire length and breadth of the game?

This games monetization model has clearly driven people away, hell it continues to nag at and drive me closer to just shelving this crap for a year and hoping it gets to a stable point then. Mind you, this is 2 years after release. So it comes down to the twin facts that we have a dwindling playerbase from mediocre game variety and ludicrous prices. Coupled with the punishment that is trying to "free to play" this game, you get a near skinner box experience. It's time for drastic measures.

This game needs its rewards buffed in SIMPLE terms. Win: 75,000 Cbills, Lose: 50,000 Cbills. Period. This goes a ways to alleviate the monotony of the grind by allowing the player to always move forward at a brisk pace. Next is time for bargain basement sales. The best deals in this game are Mastery Packs, giving plenty of things for not a lot. Have a flash sale, 72 hours. Rotate every hour a mastery pack for 10 dollars. The result of this is that even the stingiest player should cough up the 15 dollars that they have to to get the MC for them, and that all of your recently added players get a chance to get deals that haven't been available to them and don't look to be in the future. If sales peak well change all future preorder packs to 10 dollar tiers, give deals to the players, make them want to spend the money.

For it is all about creating a good image, which in turn fuels the 15% to spend money more freely, which in turn creates a more diverse playerbase, which leads to a residual subscriber base to continue your game. Remember, if you charge the 2% 30 dollars the 15% won't pay it. But the 2% will still pay the same 10 dollars the 15% will. Do the math, it always favors going after the larger percent.

[Pale Jackal]

dario03, on 08 November 2014 - 04:57 PM, said:

I still say a major decrease in regular mech MC cost would get more sales, more players invested, and thus more likely to stay. If I could get some standard mechs for a few bucks I would probably do it all the time. But at current cost I just don't buy them for MC. And they could still charge a decent bit for heros and early access mechs.

Yeah, only people with no patience or who are ignorant would buy normal 'mechs for MC.

When I can buy an Ilya Muromets, on sale, for less than a normal priced Cataphract 3D, why would I ever buy the 3D? Of course, maybe PGI has better marketing data than I do, but I cannot comprehend spending almost $20 on a normal 'mech.

Alternately, even when Ilya is not on sale, for another $10 I could get a unique hero 'mech with a C-bill boost. I'd definitely fork over the extra cash for the hero.

Edited by Pale Jackal, 08 November 2014 - 05:06 PM.

[dario03]

Pale Jackal, on 08 November 2014 - 05:05 PM, said:

Yeah, only people with no patience or who are ignorant would buy normal 'mechs for MC.

When I can buy an Ilya Muromets, on sale, for less than a normal priced Cataphract 3D, why would I ever buy the 3D? Of course, maybe PGI has better marketing data than I do, but I cannot comprehend spending almost $20 on a normal 'mech.

Alternately, even when Ilya is not on sale, for another $10 I could get a unique hero 'mech with a C-bill boost. I'd definitely fork over the extra cash for the hero.

Yeah and sales seem a little out of control too. Why buy any mech that has been out for more than few months when a couple of days later it might be 50% off? I'm sure the 50% off drives sales but I wonder if it lowers sales when it isn't going on... If prices were lowered I would probably set sales at a lot lower percent and/or frequency.

[Burktross]

dario03, on 08 November 2014 - 05:11 PM, said:

Yeah and sales seem a little out of control too. Why buy any mech that has been out for more than few months when a couple of days later it might be 50% off? I'm sure the 50% off drives sales but I wonder if it lowers sales when it isn't going on... If prices were lowered I would probably set sales at a lot lower percent and/or frequency.

A sale schedule would be nice. Nothing specific.
Just every month...

Quote

Hello Mechwarriors! Welcome to December! Here's this month's sale schedule!
Friday the 12th - Monday the 15th
Saturday the 27th - Sunday the 28th

[Oto Kanon]

Pale Jackal, on 08 November 2014 - 02:41 PM, said:

I think PGI could do a lot better in two ways:

1) improving the new player experience. Up the free 'mech bay count from 4 to 6.
2) improve cadet bonuses to double the current amount.

1) I think 6 is too little. We need 12 as a baseline for everyone to be able to compete in community warfare.
2) Cadet bonuses are a double-edged sword. I'm sure PGI can pull out the statistics of players that have quit or gone dormant shortly after the drop in earnings after they complete their first 25 matches and it would probably be significant because these people have been conditioned to high earnings then are suddenly left in the cold. I would probably prefer daily/weekly quests for more controlled flow of income and to keep players coming back after the first 25 games.

Edited by Oto Kanon, 08 November 2014 - 06:32 PM.

[Troutmonkey]

Since the change I've gone from getting 120 - 170k for a win to frequently getting sub 100k games for a win. This is patently ridiculous. CBILL rewards need to go back up to at least what they were before.

With the introduction of 12v12 CBILL earnings in 2013 tanked from 150-200k, to 110 - 170k, and now we're being hit again down to 80-150k. Earning less than 100k on a WIN is just utterly depressing.

[bluepiglet]

They just lowered TAG/Narc bonus after using them as excuse to reduces all the other rewards, therefore dropping the average rewards drastically. Obviously the company has been never intended to go where OP suggests it to.

Edited by bluepiglet, 09 November 2014 - 05:15 AM.

[Pale Jackal]

Oto Kanon, on 08 November 2014 - 06:30 PM, said:

1) I think 6 is too little. We need 12 as a baseline for everyone to be able to compete in community warfare.
2) Cadet bonuses are a double-edged sword. I'm sure PGI can pull out the statistics of players that have quit or gone dormant shortly after the drop in earnings after they complete their first 25 matches and it would probably be significant because these people have been conditioned to high earnings then are suddenly left in the cold. I would probably prefer daily/weekly quests for more controlled flow of income and to keep players coming back after the first 25 games.

1) While I don't oppose 12 'mechbays per player, I think that's a bit of a stretch. 6 'mechbays lets you master 4 chassis if you sell off the undesirable variants. If PGI did 12 or 8 I'd be happy, but I think 6 is a very reasonable accomodation.

2) I agree with daily / weekly quests to keep player retention high and improve income. I think a higher cadet income bonus would help players quickly get into the 'mech lab and have enough income to actually play around with a few builds. The quicker you make new players more competitive, the more fun they will have. I am definitely in favor of daily / weekly bonuses or quests though.

Edited by Pale Jackal, 08 November 2014 - 08:07 PM.

[Andi Nagasia]

i agree, and think rewards do need to be buffed,
i have a couple friends that have started playing MWO,
3 of the 4 have stopped because of slow progression,

[Dark Nightmare]

Speaking for my friends and I as new players, and returning in my case, none of us want to spend any money on this game, everything costs WAY TOO much. The high amounts of C-bills needed with low acquisition rate for a mech makes it an even stronger deterrent. For equivalency I can spend 30 dollars on this game and get 2 maybe 3 if its a cheap scout. League of Legends I can get, not counting sales and bundles a maximum of 14 Champions which can be compared to mechs. Lowest amount of champs I can get for that? Four highest cost top tier champs Like Yasuo, Lucian, Vi and Thresh. MWO? Can't buy the highest cost stuff without upping the amount of money, but if I try and work with the 30 the most I can get is 1.

What the op is saying I believe to be correct, the current model is a big deterrent for new players.
I know battletech players in my town who stopped playing this due to the cost and how long it takes to grind.

[Burktross]

Dark Nightmare, on 09 November 2014 - 07:12 AM, said:

Speaking for my friends and I as new players, and returning in my case, none of us want to spend any money on this game, everything costs WAY TOO much. The high amounts of C-bills needed with low acquisition rate for a mech makes it an even stronger deterrent. For equivalency I can spend 30 dollars on this game and get 2 maybe 3 if its a cheap scout. League of Legends I can get, not counting sales and bundles a maximum of 14 Champions which can be compared to mechs. Lowest amount of champs I can get for that? Four highest cost top tier champs Like Yasuo, Lucian, Vi and Thresh. MWO? Can't buy the highest cost stuff without upping the amount of money, but if I try and work with the 30 the most I can get is 1.

What the op is saying I believe to be correct, the current model is a big deterrent for new players.
I know battletech players in my town who stopped playing this due to the cost and how long it takes to grind.

Not only a detterent for new players, but even for people like me who've put a lot of time into the game, it becomes increasingly dodgy as it whether its worth playing at all or not.

[Chemie]

people won;t buy mechbays if they know they can't afford the mechs to put in there.

but PGI does not care cuz their only model is to sell mech packs.

[GuyFleegman]

I've been playing for a little over 1 year. I have 54 mechs. I have spent about $400 over that time span on premium time, 4 hero mechs, Overlord + Sabre, XP to GXP, a few colors and patterns and of course, mech bays. I have my eye on 3 of the Mastery Packs but I'm not pulling the trigger because I don't have the C-bills to outfit the mechs properly. And I will never buy those C-bill packs due to the terrible value. So I just have to wait while I grind out more C-bills. Granted, I spent about 50 M cbills recently due to the quirkening making some of my unloved mechs interesting again. PGI is leaving money on the table in my opinion. Here are some things I think they should do:

• Founder mech cbill bonus goes to 70-100%
  
• Hero mech cbill bonus goes to 50-70%
  
• Champion mech cbill bonus goes to 30-50%
  
• Cbill bonus of 250K-500K for each day of premium time used
  
• Premium time gives 75%-100% bonus

Edited by GuyFleegman, 09 November 2014 - 09:33 AM.

[Burktross]

GuyFleegman, on 09 November 2014 - 09:20 AM, said:

I've been playing for a little over 1 year. I have 54 mechs. I have spent about $400 over that time span on premium time, 4 hero mechs, Overlord + Sabre, XP to GXP, a few colors and patterns and of course, mech bays. I have my eye on 3 of the Mastery Packs but I'm not pulling the trigger because I don't have the C-bills to outfit the mechs properly. And I will never buy those C-bill packs due to the terrible value. So I just have to wait while I grind out more C-bills. Granted, I spent about 50 M cbills recently due to the quirkening making some of my unloved mechs interesting again. PGI is leaving money on the table in my opinion. Here are some things I think they should do:

• Founder mech cbill bonus goes to 70-100%
  
• Hero mech cbill bonus goes to 50-70%
  
• Champion mech cbill bonus goes to 30-50%
  
• Cbill bonus of 250K-500K for each day of premium time used
  
• Premium time gives 75%-100% bonus

Champion mechs don't get cbill bonuses.
We should fix that :^)

[Solidussnake]

They would get more of my money if premium time and mechs were worth it. Right now, as a casual player I feel the only way to get anywhere in the game is to spend money. And thats not what it should be about. I should "enjoy" spending money on the game. Not feel like its a required.

[Khobai]

earnings feel like they need to be increased by about 20K per match

[Pjwned]

LauLiao, on 08 November 2014 - 04:45 PM, said:

This entire "arguement" is just speculation. "I THINK that if players made more in-game cash they'll spend real money. No really, I swear I believe that."


Without having the sales figures you have no idea what this means for the economic status of the game. Yes people bought stuff before, but if they're spending 2 or 3 times more money now, then your entire argument is moot.

As a person who is a professional in the world of separating people from their money, you're thoughts are all "nice" but not very realistic or based in any kind of reality or fact.

It isn't based on nothing when there have been numerous threads about people complaining that prices are too high and don't spend money as a result.

[Burktross]

Pjwned, on 09 November 2014 - 12:01 PM, said:

It isn't based on nothing when there have been numerous threads about people complaining that prices are too high and don't spend money as a result.

Customer satisfaction isn't ever bad too.