2003 replies to this topic

[Psydotek]

Hula girl. And I too would also be willing to purchase really awesome posters to decorate my living and office spaces.

[Blackfire1]

Thanks for the catch. I don't have word installed. I was forces to quick draft this once or twice before posting. As anyone who does that knows. You know what you meant when you type something. So you brain corrects it in your head automatically and you don't notice.

What else would people be interested in?

[Mason Grimm]

My thoughts are as follows...

Custom Paint Jobs: You pay a fee and you submit a paint scheme (based on a template). It is reviewed and approved and voila you and your company can use the paint jobs.

Custom Unit Logo: Same as above

Real World Items: I also really dig the idea of the real world items. I would totally love having a Grimm Reaper Company logo on a coffee cup or a mouse pad (does anyone actually use these anymore with optical mouse?) or maybe even a ball cap as was suggested.

[Kodiak Jorgensson]

i would pay £5 for an extra 2-3 Techs to maintain my mech (techs maintained by ingame money) £10-£15 for hanger space or £10-£15 personal dropship (diffrent dropship classes cost more? perk would be reduced drop fees in game) paying for cosmetics would be a cool idea imo, would love to own an atlas, and cycle through sevral of the head designs. (paint and decals included)

[Blackfire1]

Ooo Hanger Space thats a good one.

[Uncl Munkeh]

Realize, of course, that anything made in the game or out that features the prominent (sorry) "clans" or merc orgs or even Houses will probably sell like wildfire.

I imagine that a "clan" or a merc org will require everyone to use the same "pain jobs" (sorry again, I just couldn't help myself).

The game may end up being "pay to accessorize" :-) I honestly wouldn't mind that so much.

[Gaius Cavadus]

-Hangar Space For Mechs
-Armory Space For Weapons/Equipment
-Custom Paint Schemes
-Aesthetic Modifications
-Custom Cockpits/Cockpit Modification
-"Premium Account" for bonus XP and C-Bills (and perhaps salvage if they have that)
-In-Game Currency (as long as the matchmaker puts together fair matches I don't see any problems)

Honestly, I think your pricing for XP and C-Bill boosts is way over the top. Games like Global Agenda and World of Tanks sell 30-day premium accounts for normal MMO subscription prices. I want that. What the OP proposes is pretty much gouging.

Edited by Cavadus, 02 December 2011 - 10:23 AM.

[Dlardrageth]

Voice Packs.

Who won't want a voice pack that gives his Mech's computer either a sultry female voice that makes you miss a shot occasionally, or a Darth Vader voice pack or a South-Park'ish one or whatever. There used to be a time when people spent literally millions world-wide to customize their answering machines and the industry for providing new tunes/gimmicks for mobiles these days...

Then there's the microwave for the cockpit. Just be careful as a critical hit there might trigger a full-blown popcorn burst right into your pilot's face...

Depending on how the pilot avatar will be depicted/accessible in-game, that is a good option for upgrades as well. I'd sure want the proper uniform for my faction and a decent sidearm of sorts. Especially if future employers can see a pilot depiction, don't want to miss the "big deal" because they got hold of a picture of me wearing pajamas like these:
http://ecx.images-am...31v-hLeUtXL.jpg

Also, 100% boosts like OP suggests are maybe a bit over the top. 50% boosts should suffice. And no salvage boosts, pls, that would be close to paying for better weaponry once ClanTech becomes available through salvage, kthx.

Edited by Dlardrageth, 30 November 2011 - 11:55 PM.

[Blackfire1]

I had a suggestion in one thread somewhere about paying premium for personalized voice files. However that would be extremely expensive and time consuming. Voice packs however would be neat.
If the game hits big maybe we'll see Patrick Stewart -$10, Morgan Freeman - $25, Arnold Schwarzenegger- $2.50, Mary Kay Bergman - $12, Charlie Addler - $15 Natalee portman - $100 >.> Ok I can dream.

The % boosts would wholly be determiner by the leveling scale. For anyone who's played LoL Theirs is +200% and its still slower then most mmos. Which is a good thing. It give Incentive.

Edited by Blackfire1, 30 November 2011 - 10:47 PM.

[EmpireEnd]

* XP/income boost.
* Special weapons/components/ammo that are expandable/consumable/destructible that will need to be replaced regularly.
* Custom paint jobs that other players can see.
* Single player campaign (assuming they get AI's in).
* Mechs (uncommon mechs that are not the mainstay of the Battletech universe).
* Mech/weapon/item storage space.
* Mechbay selection. (eg, pick from a list to replace the standard one. Purse aesthetics).
* Pilot/avatar bonus/customization (assuming your pilot/avatar will have stats that affect your mechs)
* Fitting of Clan weapons onto Inner Sphere mechs and something of equal balance applying to Clan mechs.
* Direct transfer of real $$ to ingame $$ assuming there is a store of sorts.
* Tanks.

*Edit. I second voice packs. Hearing "It bounced off!!" for the hundredth time in the same tone gets to you (WoT).

Edited by EmpireEnd, 30 November 2011 - 09:10 PM.

[Corsair114]

'Mechs: Y'know, those every-day, multi-ton, walking (well, in some cases waddling), war machines we all so desperately love. Everyone of them available for micro-transaction. Have an urge to switch to something different, but don't have the c-bills 'cause you impulse-bought the Limited Edition Platinum Hula-Girl with real Platinum Hula-Girl physics? No sweat, break out ye olde credit card and go to town.

Weapons: Sick and tired of your AC5? Want to test out a PPC? Clan's come a callin' and need an upgrade to bust 'em up? No problem! Day or night, C-bills or real bills, the online shop has ya covered!

Just remember, for the two above, everything should also be available for C-Bills. All weapons, all 'mechs. Perhaps not immediately, introduce them for real money, then later as C-bill purchasable. A three month exclusivity seems reasonably fair (think not? 'Mech fight! READY? GO!). Either way, at some point, all the above should be for sale for C-Bills.

XP Boost: For when you've finally said "Blankitty-blank these blanking kids and their blanking free time" and decide you need to catch up 'cause you can't play videogames for three days without sleep anymore. Not without a habit, anyway.

Income Boost: Come up with your own damn witty tidbits, I'm on my lunch break.

'Mech Bays / Armory Space: Public Storage ain't as cheap as they'd lead ya to believe.

Real money gets ya the above. Or maybe huge amounts of C-Bills.

[ChaosTicket]

The only things that would be available in micro-transactions that would totally unbalance the game are cosmetic changes.

anything else, such as more effective parts would allow people to "buy" all the wins.

"dont wanna play fair?
dont wanna work for things?
Come on down and buy a fully equipped Atlas at level 1 for cash now!"

many online game wreck themselves by allowing people to just buy there way to victory. this often kills the game in the long run as the premium content overtakes the non-premium.

[Mordegald]

The people here saying that they'd pay for cosmetic stuff, real physical items, and minor quality of life boosts (garage space, xp/c-bill boosts, etc.)? Those guys, I'm with.

I don't hold with the idea of selling 'mechs or parts for real cash though. I've seen what that can do to a game. League of Legends is a great example; fun game, notionally free to play, but don't you tell me half those players didn't buy their way to the most broken characters in the game the second they had the opportunity. Thank god they took runes off the cash shop, at least...

I don't want MW:O to be a Pay For Power game like that. If somebody wants to mount an Atlas at level one, then more power to 'em, but they'd better have a hell of an impressive way to rake in the C-Bills if they mean to snag ten million before they move on to level two.

[ChaosTicket]

Well I wasnt going to say it but Yeah, League of legends is a major example of "Fremium" games, where people buy their wins, World of Tanks is another, Exteel was so bad that 50% of the whole game was just paid for with cash, until they finally closed it.

Nothing worse than seeing new players just buy the rarest and most powerful things.

Edited by ChaosTicket, 01 December 2011 - 12:09 AM.

[Corsair114]

See, that's where Game Design comes in. If PG does a good job of balancing the game (through situational imbalance with any kind of luck!) then having 'mechs and weapons available for cash is no big sweat. Make that times ten if they manage to make a game where you aren't just ranking up to the next, heavier, chassis to keep up with people and stay effective, as they seem to have indicated is their goal. I really see no difference between buying an Atlas with C-bills, getting it free as your starter 'mech, or purchasing it for cash down the road. Ditto for newly added 'mechs or weapons. If they fill a niche, great. If they're mandatory to be competitive, then PG ought to kick the person responsible for game balancing and hire a new person (or promote from within the company, that way whoever takes over is already mostly up to speed).

Of course, balance-wise, the elephant in the room is the Clans. To say they'll have an impact on the balance of the game is like saying the fall of the Berlin Wall was a minor footnote in history.

'Course they could muck it all up and, especially in this economy, there's a good chance that'll be the end of MW for a long time to come. Again.

[ChaosTicket]

well it would be a problem if A, the c-bill amount and other requirements were much higher than anything a low-mid level player could get(endgame stuff), B if they played against other new players using things such as light mechs, and C, if rewards were based on how much damage they did. an Atlas would do much more damage than say, a Panther.
----------------------------
I do want clan mechs and tech, but if those become premium, Im going to hurt somebody. Clan are unbalanced period as the main advantage IS has is technology that the clan donts have such as Hyper-velocity autocannons, numbers, and supplies.

a large part the Clan Invasion was that clan mechs rarely had much ammunition, IS mechs more often mass-production, and had developed other tech to "even the playing field" such as extended range LRMS that were longer range than anything clan mechs mount.

[Longhorn]

I want a Shirt and a Baseball cap, I want miniatures and larger scale with moving parts. I want to loose vision in one eye from missiles that work. I want Ice Cream that looks like a trash can. I want PGI to be big enough to become the leading power in the Military Industrial Complex and own every political and Judicial system we think of so when we in the USA violate all written documents we try to shove down every other countries throat and give ourselves the Patriot act, I want a Mech on every corner with CC TV like the British have. I want show tunes.

NO I want whatever they give us and I will be happy. Franchise fan since 1992. PGI for Senate. Woo Hoo.

[Haeso]

Every 'Mech requires a large sum of C-Bills or a moderate sum of real money to unlock the ability to purchase, with the a proper salvage/economy this prevents buying 'Mechs equating to power, it would just remove the grind for those who wish to spend extra money.

Think of it like planetside's Certs or Buying a champion in League of Legends almost.

[Corsair114]

See, here's where I'm coming from. I'm very much hoping that chassis class (L/M/H/A) and model (Panther/Raven/Wolfhound/etc.) is a choice made not on a progression, but on a need that you'll fill on the battlefield. For ex. you take a Cyclops, not because it's heavier and therefore better than a Raven, but because it does something that makes it valuable. You'd take an Atlas for a different job that you would be performing, in concert with the rest of you lance. Or you take a Raven, not because you've not tiered up to Panther, but because it's electronics and performance are what you need for the role you want to fill. All of the above goes for weapons, too. Take it because you need it, not because it obsoletes the weapon that preceded it.

I think if they manage that, then having additional 'mechs and weapons available in the cash shop is not a problem.

I hope, and yes, this is just a hope and not confirmed by the devs or anything,that you get your choice 'mech when you start out. Not whole hog, but a solid variety across all classes. Just one, though. I also hope that pilot class doesn't pidgeon-hole you into a weight class, but that there are, in time, plenty of 'mechs in each category that synergize well with your pilot's skills.

As for the Clans, balancing their awesomeness out vs Inner Sphere where new people coming into the game on the side of the Inner Sphere don't just quit or switch sides straight up for better tech... is a conversation for a different thread that I'm not going within miles of.

[Mattiator]

Taking a note from other F2P games:

Different colors of muzzle flash. You'd be surprised how well this sells.
Hats. Lots and lots of hats.
XP/C-Bill boosts. No to salvage boosts.
Extra Single-player content.
Custom personal sigils (just to cut down on stupid players spraypainting genitalia on the side of their Flea)
Custom merc group sigils
Everything that can be bought with C-Bills