19 replies to this topic

[Kyukuru]

So the PayBack II event as received some flak for giving additional c-bill bonuses to players who paid real money for certain mechs. Some have called this "Pay 2 Win" which is entirely false, however I think people are missing why this event is a turn for the worse. In the past there have been events similar to this and when it comes to mechs like the Warhammer getting the C-Bill bonus I personally have no problem with it, its like the developer saying "hey, you supported us with your money buying a mech that is only purchasable through real money so here is a bonus". This is something I like, adding more value to players who have spent money in their free2play game and I think its great, the PROBLEM is the steam mech variants. For instance the RVN-3L [S], the "[S]" stands for essentially "Steam Variant" means now they have started separating mechs that have been for the most part purchasable with C-Bills for some time and created separate identical versions from those bought with real money. So what if I bought a RVN-3L early on? No you don't get the bonus because its not the RVN-3L [S], does no one else see the problem with this? If this event gave rewards to all RVN-3L's and followed suit with all the other mechs available through steam performance packs that are purchasable with C-Bills then I wouldn't have a problem, but it does not. Again the key problem here is that it does this with mechs that are purchasable with C-Bills and not just MC. Perhaps I'm just crazy,but as someone who has spent a considerable amount of time and money on this game I can't help but feel like I'm being punished for not buying these mechs with real money that are purchasable with in-game credits and instead saved my C-Bills to buy them which is what stirs up those "Pay 2 Win" vibes among some players. But hey I'm just one guy, honestly I would like to know, do any of you have similar feelings, don't care, or think I am way off base?

[DivineEvil]

It's just a single event. Compared to everything I've achieved and gained troughout all the events I've participated in, it's nothing.

So no, I don't care and think you're off base.

[Black Ivan]

If this trend holds on I will start to worry. Let see how the next events will be first.

[HammerForge]

Well, it still isn't really pay to win, now is it? I mean, the Steam version isn't any better on the battlefield than your version other than this one event they could earn more c-bills by achieving certain goals, and those c-bills really only gets them able to buy normal mechs anyway. Would you feel the same if they only offered it to the 3L[C] version, which means it can only be bought with real money as well(or won in an event)?

Could it be a slippery slope, yes, and it is worth watching, but I saw it more as a thank you to all the new steam people that paid money for those versions, and to give them a head start into other mechs.

[sycocys]

Why would you give the rewards of the event designed for the people that PURCHASED special mech packs to people who didn't purchase those mech packs?

So what if you c-billed the non-special variant 2 years ago? You didn't buy the new pack which they were promoting.

[Escef]

Kyukuru, on 02 February 2016 - 07:22 AM, said:

So the PayBack II event as received some flak for giving additional c-bill bonuses to players who paid real money for certain mechs. Some have called this "Pay 2 Win" which is entirely false, ... there have been events similar to this ... I personally have no problem with it, ... This is something I like, adding more value to players who have spent money in their free2play game and I think its great, ...

Yeah, gotta agree with... wait...

Kyukuru, on 02 February 2016 - 07:22 AM, said:

No you don't get the bonus because its not the RVN-3L [S], does no one else see the problem with this?

Why should there be a problem? The mechs are identical in actual play. One you paid money for, the other can be purchased with C-bills. I mean, by your own logic, there should be no problem here.

[Ronan]

And like the Steam tagged mechs, there's [C] champion mechs that get bonuses you don't get if you used cbills to buy the same variant without the [C] tag. Part of the point of paying real money for stuff in a F2P game is to get more stuff.

If you want "more stuff", pay real money.

If you want to play the game for free, don't pay real money. You'll just have "less stuff," but hopefully just as much fun.

Or not. YMMV.

[Wintersdark]

Again, this is no different than buying c-bills with MC, or premium time, or a hero mech. The event is to thank people for supporting PGI. Basically all paid mechs have similar reward schemes for their purchasers. And of course there's something for everyone else too.

[Almond Brown]

Don't worry OP, this place is just chock full of "Ombudsman" who will never, ever allow PGI to do "anything" without much ado about it, not matter how small or trivial it is...

[Kyukuru]

I feel it important to point out that I said the problem is that they are identical in every way, not just in actual gameplay. Champions and Heroes have extra benefits, namely more C-Bills and XP gained in a match (Not to mention Champions come with better stock setups, double heat sinks, etc) which give them value. The steam variants have absolutely no benefits over the stock mechs so if you already own them there would be absolutely no point in purchasing them if you already owned them. Obviously this is not "THE END OFTHE WORLD" as apparently some of you think I am suggesting. But I do think its a slippery slope and while "one event" is not a big deal I'd rather stop this kind of stuff before it becomes a trend.

[Ratpoison]

I think this event has highlighted how desperate some are to rage about something PGI did. This is one of the smallest, least rewarding events I've ever seen PGI do, and yet people are still getting up in arms about maybe 5 quickmatch games worth of cbills. Just absurd.

[SkaerKrow]

The event is called "Payback," which implies that they're rewarding people who have given them real money for things. Steam things are one of their most recent offerings, so it makes sense that they would be included.

[Grimlox]

I have no problem with these sorts of events and I had no mechs that qualified for the additional cbill rewards. The event gave absolutely no in game advantage and only rewarded players with cbills that can't be used to purchase things that give an advantage over people that haven't spent any real money.

Seems like a good way to encourage people to buy their real money packs and therefore support the ongoing development of the game. Also helped a bunch of the new steam users make some more cbills to buy more mechs. Seems perfectly fine to me if they continue this practice.

I've got an archer pack coming and I'd be pleased if they gave me a couple million extra cbills for taking the archers out for a spin.

[Zoid]

Seeing as how I feel like the prices on most 'mech packs are ridiculous, I don't mind this at all. Give the people who paid some real money more bang for their buck. They're not getting any advantage, just more C-bills.

Seriously, people are paying the price of an entire new game for 3 'mechs, let them get a few extra C-bills to go with it. Personally I can't bring myself to pay that much just for a few new robots, regardless of whether or not I have the extra cash.

[Felicitatem Parco]

C-Bills are for sale in the game client. You can buy them with money.

Offering more C-Bill rewards to paying players, while also offering a cool million to non-paying players, seems fine to me.

[Mystere]

The sense of entitlement of some people is really astounding.

[LordNothing]

i wasnt even gonna do the event but i think i was bored on saturday night, and so i ran my clan hunch and jenner. both are murder bots, dual gauss medium and 36 tube 35 ton beast.

[Felicitatem Parco]

LordNothing, on 02 February 2016 - 03:54 PM, said:

i wasnt even gonna do the event but i think i was bored on saturday night, and so i ran my clan hunch and jenner. both are murder bots, dual gauss medium and 36 tube 35 ton beast.

I bought them specifically for LoLbuilds. :-)

[Chuanhao]

In a free to play, people part with cash to
1) shorten the grind
2) cosmetics.

this event is nothing more than to further reduce the grind for those that have paid for mechs by Giving them a short cut to more cbills.

so its nothing new.

its not as if a 3L with special camo will outperform a normal (albeit upgraded) cbill raven.

the only ever contention are heo mechs and their unique loadouts which can only be gotten by cash.

I have earned enough MC over the many events to have been able to buy Hero mechs totally without the need for real cash

so play to win? Nah.

[MrJeffers]

Kyukuru, on 02 February 2016 - 12:47 PM, said:

I feel it important to point out that I said the problem is that they are identical in every way, not just in actual gameplay. Champions and Heroes have extra benefits, namely more C-Bills and XP gained in a match (Not to mention Champions come with better stock setups, double heat sinks, etc) which give them value. The steam variants have absolutely no benefits over the stock mechs so if you already own them there would be absolutely no point in purchasing them if you already owned them. Obviously this is not "THE END OFTHE WORLD" as apparently some of you think I am suggesting. But I do think its a slippery slope and while "one event" is not a big deal I'd rather stop this kind of stuff before it becomes a trend.

This isn't true - the [S] variants have a 30% C-Bill boost, just like the [R] Resistance and [I] Invasion variants. So while they are identical in hard points to stock, they have a boost just like other pre-order/Pack mechs.
So just because they re-released some older mechs with [S] models isn't establishing any sort of trend, outside of providing C-Bill boost mechs for existing models. But otherwise this event isn't unlike any other event where real money mechs get extra rewards, and minimal rewards at that.