185 replies to this topic

[Elizander]

I'd get it for a couple but I'm not sure if they will sell like hotcakes.

The practical approach might have been all MC mechs come with 1 mech bay and C-bill bonus while c-bill mechs are the plain ones.

• If they just slap on 30% to all mechs people in the forums will call it a lazy PGI cashgrab.
  
• If they make unique camo/geometry for all converted 'heroes' then it takes more manpower from other things and sales are not guaranteed to earn enough returns for the effort.
  
• A method to upgrade a non-hero mech to have 30% is none-existent sytemwise and has to be build from the ground up which requires changing how the DB is structured.

As mentioned above, a permanent install module with a c-bill bonus would be nice and easy. Make it 15% or something if the 30% is too good a lure to get people to buy heroes and packs.

[Bishop Steiner]

Elizander, on 22 May 2015 - 08:33 PM, said:

I'd get it for a couple but I'm not sure if they will sell like hotcakes.

The practical approach might have been all MC mechs come with 1 mech bay and C-bill bonus while c-bill mechs are the plain ones.

• If they just slap on 30% to all mechs people in the forums will call it a lazy PGI cashgrab.

If they are worried about Forum QQ, I'd be shocked. It would hardly be the first, or worst accusation they withstood. If they decided Reddit Whiners was a bad reason to make money, well, then they don't deserve to make it.

But it's simple, it makes sense, and yeah, I do believe a fair number of people would embrace being able to run a Premium version of their favorite Mech.

[Zordicron]

I thought about this some more.... what if:

We have this as part of the mech tree for skills., except-
It is a module slot unlock for a new kind of module type.

New module type: modify cbill earnings, modify XP earnings, etc.

How it would work:

New tier after mastery, I dunno 50K XP. Unlocks this module slot. Perhaps multiple slots to unlock with tiers, like 50k XP, 100kXP, 250k XP

Modules could then be slotted, modules could include:
Cbill earnings +15%
XP earnings +15%
Cbill earnings AND XP earnings +7.5%

Furthermore, we could add new interesting things to this type, such as modules that would:
Add 1 MC for every 100 dmg you do in match. Or for every 25 points of "match score"
Add flat rates of c-bills for bonuses. Sort of like stacking current ones, like an additional flat amount(like 500 cbills, just an example) per spotting bonus. So if you have a specialized loadout, you can specialize your own bonus earnings to help.

There is room to be really creative here, and allow for some flexability to allow players to customize based on playstyle so certain things arent rewarded(like only damage dealt) because this is a team game after all.

As for how to make it a revenue stream, sell the modules. Sell them for quite a lot of cbills, and ALSO sell them for MC. People could grind out bonus modules for their mechs, or just buy them to see the results immediatly. Similar to how other things already work, pay to not grind.

I would prefer an interactive system with elements of "free" involved so there is no pay wall. Only pay to reduce grind. More involved then just sticking a hero bonus on a mech.

[Grey Ghost]

Honestly, I'm not sure. I don't know if the boost really means anything to me one way or the other. It's odd... when it comes to the Phoenix geo / fixed camo I wish I could convert them to look like the normal geo / changeable camo. However when it comes to the Resistance geo / fixed camo I wish I could pick which variant it appears on.

I've thought about buying a normal BLR-1G so I can use a camouflage of my choosing on it, but it feels like too much of a penalty for having bought the pack in the first place. I'd be spending even more C-bills and/or MC to trade my bonus out for visual customization.

[Impyrium]

Bishop Steiner, on 22 May 2015 - 07:18 PM, said:

No, it really doesn't. A lot of us seldom if ever use Premium Time, because it's not a cost effective investment. If you cannot guarantee a large chunk of playtime, that Premium Time is essentially wasted. Hero Bonuses are there, all the time, no matter what, and just make using Premium Time, even sweeter.

This, Premium Time is very, very meh. The biggest problem is that it ticks even when you're offline. I don't play this game in massive chunks, I have a life and a lot of other things to do + work so MWO is usually reserved to hour-long chunks.

Point being, I'd have no problem if they ditched the Premium Time system in favor of this. It actually makes more sense if you think about it. I doubt PGI really makes that much revenue from PT sales anyway... not that they'd probably care, it's all MC as far as they're concerned...

[Burktross]

Ted Wayz, on 22 May 2015 - 06:27 PM, said:

I think Premium time covers what you are asking for. Looking for a way to double dip on any mech you want? Don't think so.

The Hero mechs are mechs of lore. Do you remember reading stories about Joe Schmoes 4G?

And a the boost isn't the only thing people pay for. Some pay for the look of the mech and the hard points. So no, a token would not be the equivalent of a hero mech and PGI could not charge the same. Well they could, but I doubt it would have the same revenue stream as a new shiny mech.

The loadouts and paint is from heros.
The cbill bonus is from PGI.

Hero bonus + Premium Time = Not as painful of a grind

We already covered it not costing the same as a hero-- maybe some hundred MC less depending on the chassis.

Edited by Burktross, 23 May 2015 - 08:31 AM.

[Wildstreak]

Burktross, on 22 May 2015 - 05:30 PM, said:

Oddly specific... Why camo?

Because I see no point to making the exact same Mech that you can only get with MC for a CB boost.
It is like Champions. I don't buy them, only Champ I own is the Cent-A that I won.
XP boost makes the grind to Master shorter but shorter grind means less CB gained while grinding.
So I don't get them.
Kinda similar to having a copy of an existing Mech only buyable through MC for a CB boost.
I recognize the need to spend MC to get the CB boost but why a separate copy of the same Mech? Why not something you put on the Mech instead?
Camo, item, something, the 'thing' costs MC and you choose when it is on or off.
Much more flexible.
We already have Hero camos that show they can be locked to one Mech so that is one option.

[Burktross]

Wildstreak, on 23 May 2015 - 09:23 AM, said:

Because I see no point to making the exact same Mech that you can only get with MC for a CB boost.
It is like Champions. I don't buy them, only Champ I own is the Cent-A that I won.
XP boost makes the grind to Master shorter but shorter grind means less CB gained while grinding.
So I don't get them.
Kinda similar to having a copy of an existing Mech only buyable through MC for a CB boost.
I recognize the need to spend MC to get the CB boost but why a separate copy of the same Mech? Why not something you put on the Mech instead?
Camo, item, something, the 'thing' costs MC and you choose when it is on or off.
Much more flexible.
We already have Hero camos that show they can be locked to one Mech so that is one option.

We're not (or at least I'm not) suggesting buying a whole new mech.

Say you have a Kit Fox, one that you really love-- but it's your KFX-C.
You simply select it and press some button to "upgrade" it for an MC cost slightly less than its Chassis' hero cost.
Then that mech-- the one you already have-- get's a cbill bonus

No mandatory color, no mandatory camo, just pressing a button for that one mech and getting cbill bonuses.

Edited by Burktross, 23 May 2015 - 09:28 AM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Burktross, on 23 May 2015 - 09:28 AM, said:

We're not (or at least I'm not) suggesting buying a whole new mech.

Say you have a Kit Fox, one that you really love-- but it's your KFX-C.
You simply select it and press some button to "upgrade" it for an MC cost slightly less than its Chassis' hero cost.
Then that mech-- the one you already have-- get's a cbill bonus

No mandatory color, no mandatory camo, just pressing a button for that one mech and getting cbill bonuses.

or you could buy one new if you don't have it already.

[Burktross]

Bishop Steiner, on 23 May 2015 - 09:31 AM, said:

or you could buy one new if you don't have it already.

So the best of both worlds

[Bishop Steiner]

Burktross, on 23 May 2015 - 09:31 AM, said:

So the best of both worlds

plus with the lack of new Heroes, and all new mechs being Packs only, really what use is MC besides buying Premium Time? They really need to do something to make MC useful again, or scrap the idea all together

[Wintersdark]

Bishop Steiner, on 23 May 2015 - 09:34 AM, said:

plus with the lack of new Heroes, and all new mechs being Packs only, really what use is MC besides buying Premium Time? They really need to do something to make MC useful again, or scrap the idea all together

This is something I've been thinking about lately. Because mechs release for cash first, be it via packs or gift store, there's no point to mc at all.

I'd much sooner see it scrapped entirely. It won't be, because its an easy way to grant cash-equivalent prizes (a good thing) but really... I had a large chunk of MC for a very long time because I had nothing to spend it on. I own lots of colors, I buy mechs from packs, and have lots of banked premium time (also from packs). I ended up just dumping it on some unnecessary camos because why not?

But yeah. I don't want to buy more MC because I can't use it to buy mech packs, and that's the best use of dollars to PGI by a large margin.

[Wintersdark]

The ability to upgrade mechs to having a cbill bonus would be a great added use for MC.

But god, no camo change. Hell, I hate how my pack cbill bonus mechs have fixed camo, I have to choose between cbill bonus and the look I want.

No module, either: its not as good a revenue stream because it can be moved. If it can't be moved, there's no reason to eat a module slot.

Just a flat, permanent upgrade for an MC cost. I'm fine with $10 - a little less than a month of premium time, but a lesser cbill bonus, on one mech only, but permanent.

[Bishop Steiner]

Wintersdark, on 23 May 2015 - 09:52 AM, said:

The ability to upgrade mechs to having a cbill bonus would be a great added use for MC.

But god, no camo change. Hell, I hate how my pack cbill bonus mechs have fixed camo, I have to choose between cbill bonus and the look I want.

No module, either: its not as good a revenue stream because it can be moved. If it can't be moved, there's no reason to eat a module slot.

Just a flat, permanent upgrade for an MC cost. I'm fine with $10 - a little less than a month of premium time, but a lesser cbill bonus, on one mech only, but permanent.

would probably have to vary by tonnage, but I'd be willing to pay 15-20 or maybe a little more on a 100 tonner. They aren't adding things, so no reason they couldn't be cheaper aside from the price points in their own economy.

[Ted Wayz]

Ha ha ha!

So it is true that if you lift up a Bishop Steiner you will find a Burktross underneath!

Again, premium time covers what you are talking about. Why should PGI dilute their own market? I mean why would a casual player that doesn't want to 1 v 1 his buddy ever buy premium time when they can just make a one time purchase instead of recurring purchases on an expiring commodity.

Not seeing the benefit for PGI here. I can see why you would want it, but there doesn't seem to be a business case for it. And imagined sales is not a business case.

[Burktross]

Ted Wayz, on 23 May 2015 - 10:20 AM, said:

Ha ha ha!

So it is true that if you lift up a Bishop Steiner you will find a Burktross underneath!

Again, premium time covers what you are talking about. Why should PGI dilute their own market? I mean why would a casual player that doesn't want to 1 v 1 his buddy ever buy premium time when they can just make a one time purchase instead of recurring purchases on an expiring commodity.

Not seeing the benefit for PGI here. I can see why you would want it, but there doesn't seem to be a business case for it. And imagined sales is not a business case.

Because premium time and hero bonuses stack. Neither invalidate eachother, only add onto one another.

[Bishop Steiner]

Ted Wayz, on 23 May 2015 - 10:20 AM, said:

Ha ha ha!

So it is true that if you lift up a Bishop Steiner you will find a Burktross underneath!

Yup, it's true, when you have no legit argument, you make personal attacks and insults. Bravo.

[Burktross]

Bishop Steiner, on 23 May 2015 - 10:25 AM, said:

Yup, it's true, when you have no legit argument, you make personal attacks and insults. Bravo.

Oh hush, Bishop, he's just joking around. I don't think that was any attempt at ad hominem, just joshing.

[Wintersdark]

Burktross, on 23 May 2015 - 10:22 AM, said:

Because premium time and hero bonuses stack. Neither invalidate eachother, only add onto one another.

Exactly.

This is why currently intend to favor running my hero/special variant mechs alongside premium time. I find the game unacceptably grindy otherwise, as my play time is so limited. That's another discussion though, and one unlikely to go anywhere.

As to imagined sales? The cbill bonus is a major draw to hero mechs (its why I bought mine).

More cbill bonus is very valuable for a lot of players who want to use the mechs they love, not just specific variants.

After all, what foes it matter for gameplay if I run my NVA-Prime or NVA-A? They're identical. Or my BLR-1D instead of my BLR-1G? Not identical, but just a personal preference.

People would still buy new mechs for all the same reasons they currently do, but would also but packs they may not have before because they felt the cbill bonus was on the wrong variant.

[Burktross]

Wintersdark, on 23 May 2015 - 10:31 AM, said:

Exactly.

This is why currently intend to favor running my hero/special variant mechs alongside premium time. I find the game unacceptably grindy otherwise, as my play time is so limited. That's another discussion though, and one unlikely to go anywhere.

As to imagined sales? The cbill bonus is a major draw to hero mechs (its why I bought mine).

More cbill bonus is very valuable for a lot of players who want to use the mechs they love, not just specific variants.

After all, what foes it matter for gameplay if I run my NVA-Prime or NVA-A? They're identical. Or my BLR-1D instead of my BLR-1G? Not identical, but just a personal preference.

People would still buy new mechs for all the same reasons they currently do, but would also but packs they may not have before because they felt the cbill bonus was on the wrong variant.

I imagine Hero sales would decline, yes, but it would more than be made up for with the sheer amount of non-hero mechs with Cbill bonuses could be bought.
Imagine if every scrub and their mother could buy TDR-9S and STK-4N with bonuses? Much more MC spent (I figure) than Misery or whatever the hell the Thunderbolt hero is.