2003 replies to this topic

[THOR HAMMER]

Missions #1 a Campaign and know it would be an advantage but i would love to buy Weapons Armor Heatsinks Ecm systems and Ammo id buy mechs if they would let you but i know they wont but it would be Awsome if they did . Realistically i dont know where i would spend any money on this game if they didnt sell any of things i listed . Maybe a larger mech bay and a custom skin but that would be it .

[THOR HAMMER]

Viola, on 21 March 2012 - 02:20 PM, said:

So the question of what would I pay for is fairly pointless. However the question of what should I be able to buy isn’t. To break this down I’m going to start with a list of things that are typically paid for in previous games.

• Mechs
  
• Weapons
  
• Refitting
  
• Pilots
  
• Repairs
  
• Drop fees
  
• Maintenance
  
• Travel
  
• Upgrades for chassis

Next up the forms of currency theoretically.

C-Bills: An in game currency earned by going on missions used for mechs, weaponry, repairs, drop fees, pilots, maintenance, travel, and upgrades.
Experience: An in game currency used to customize your pilot’s skill set.
Money: As of yet there is nothing saying what can and can’t be purchased using this.


Now let’s take a look at cost items individually.

Mechs: These are the main driving point behind the game. They cost a lot of c-bills and tend to take a while to earn for the larger varieties. Provided there is no difference between one that is paid for and one that is earned these should be purchasable with money. The only time this would cause any gameplay advantage is at launch when c-bills will still be in short supply.

Weapons: These offer a significant advantage if not earned and are instead paid for. Paying for weapons with money can grant jumps up multiple tiers in a single hop if bought with real money. Therefore it is my opinion that they should be limited to in game money only.

Refitting: It is the process of outfitting your mech with weapons, paint jobs, ammo, armor, and so on. Do not confuse refitting for upgrading. Refitting can be covered under the cost of maintenance and was in MechWarrior 4 Mercs.

Pilots: Its seems the case that you are your own pilot and therefore assigning wages for yourself would be fairly pointless as you are earning your own money. As your pilot levels and you customize it you may find that the customization does not suit your play style as well as you would like, it stands to reason that you should be able to respec. While this should not cost money, it may cost experience as you would effectively abandoning learned skills for other learned skills.

Repairs: This is a very important part of maintaining the mechs you own. When you are forced to repair a mech it costs money and takes time. Being able to pay for faster repairs or pay for the repairs would not offer any advantage in game play.

Drop fees: To go to a mission or an active fighting zone requires the money to drop your mech(s) on the battle field. However in an MMO style game they could be incorporated to the fees you would be entitled to for participating in the fight. If done this way there would be less micro management of funds.

Maintenance: The process of keeping your inventory in working order and paying pilot wages. Includes the costs of refitting (not upgrading), it is time based and would be fairly tricky to work in considering long lapses in play time amounting in negative c-bills. I would suggest maintenance fees based on usage instead of time i.e. the more time missions you go on the more maintenance you would have to incur. If your mech doesn’t need repairs from being too damage to be useable after a fight it still would need to be cleaned have the damage to the armor repaired and so on. Paying for this with money would not offer any gameplay benefits.

Travel: Travel is the cost of going to one star system from another star system. This is also something that using money for would have no in game advantages. Though, I honestly don’t know how this would be implemented in an MMO style game.

Upgrades: This is a simple concept of upgrading an older model mech with newer parts. This is something that offers jumps up multiple tiers if allowed to be paid for with money and therefore should be c-bills only.

Other things that could be implemented for purchase with money.

C-bill booster: Grants a boost to the amount of c-bills you earn through missions for a period of time or a specified number of matches.

Experience Booster: Same as c-bill booster except with experience.

Customizable paint jobs including icons, camouflage (or a lack there of), banners, and so on. People enjoy looking different or standing out or blending in depending on the person and many people would pay for the ability to do so.

In cockpit details, Anything that can be placed in the cockpit that makes it feel more like yours.

Any other purely cosmetic item. These items should have a total of what the owner has and how many that can be used in any of their mechs, they should not be lost due to mech destruction as this would deter any buyer from purchasing the item.

Im with you

[THOR HAMMER]

Just make us pay a monthly fee and give us the full monty then pay to win goes right out the side window of your mech and everyone is happy.
But you have to Really update and keep the game fresh . New campaigns new mechs new weapons new multiplayer maps every month that would be worth $10 a month.

[docmorningstar]

omegaclawe, on 02 November 2011 - 09:11 AM, said:

The problem is, this isn't a spreadsheet simulator. Unless the mech also had the same profile, one would be more advantageous than the other. :/

'Meh' as long as the meshes were 'pretty close' it wouldn't have too huge of an effect on gameplay. Slightly different head on an atlas? no problem! slightly thinner legs on the same (a couple % increase in the miss rate). I don't mind too much if there is a tiny boost in performance for the guys who are paying, but as long as the total effect is like maybe 5%, and most of the benefits are in the cosmetics department...not and issue for me

Doc

[Nik Van Rhijn]

The "unseen".

[Shukka]

I think this would be a great idea, bad I idea from me, as it means I will have to spean more money.. Hmmm.. might have to get a second job. lol

[Felicitatem Parco]

Bump for Merge with the pinned "Online Store" topic in Suggestions forum.

[Thorgar Wulfson]

Stormblast, on 21 March 2012 - 08:30 PM, said:

Could I buy a Canadian from the store?

no but i hear Australians are on discount this week,

Edited by Thorgar Wulfson, 22 March 2012 - 08:40 AM.

[Felicitatem Parco]

Stormblast, on 21 March 2012 - 08:30 PM, said:

Could I buy a Canadian from the store?

Thorgar Wulfson, on 22 March 2012 - 08:36 AM, said:

no but i hear Australians are on discount this week,

Dude, if you plan on buying a second-hand Brit, then I highlty suggest you go Canadian. Those Australians are based on a Ruffian chassis-model that actually failed QC, but the Canadians have Xtra Nice engines and Extended-Hospitality support protocols.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 22 March 2012 - 09:32 AM.

[Mason Grimm]

Prosperity Park, on 22 March 2012 - 08:41 AM, said:

Dude, if you plan on buying a second-hand Brit, then I highlty suggest you go Canadian. Those Australians are based on a Ruffian chassis-model that actually failed QC, but the Canadians have Xtra Nice engines and Extended-Hospitality support protocols.

Plus we come with free med-care.

Just sayin.

[Johannes Falkner]

If something could be worked out with Harmony Gold, I would definitely pay for unseen mech skins

Coming from world of tanks, I kind of like the premium account model. You pay for a limited duration account upgrade and get faster credit and experience accumulation, but not overwhelmingly so. You also get the premium vs standard garage (for all that that is worth). Premium accounts are also the only ones who can form (note, form not participate in) platoons (lances), tank companies and clans.

Translating this to MWO I could see the C-bill and experience accumulation translating directly over and the mechbay being visually different in terms of appearance and location. For example your standard mechbay is located at the spaceport while the premium is at a noble manor or business district (instead of the visual equivalent to Mos Eisley). Premium accounts would be necessary to form lances/stars and any higher organizational group.

Other things I would pay for are the standard cosmetics, logos, camo, alternate mech skins, etc. Ditto for the standard characters, mech bay size, etc. Depending on how much out of cockpit play there is I would consider paying for pilot customization.

Cash for c-bills conversion as an option would be nice, just limit the conversion rate/day, for example $5 = 500k cbills, max X times per day. Limit it to prevent newbs from simply buying their way to the top but allow us to pay for acceleration and avoid that I need another mission because I am 10 c-bills short situation.

Customizing personal and clan mechbays would be next. I want a big Warhammer crushing an Urbanmech beneath it heel as a statue in front of my mechbay.

Expedited delivery, customization, etc. would be another point to pay for.

[Thorgar Wulfson]

Prosperity Park, on 22 March 2012 - 08:41 AM, said:

Dude, if you plan on buying a second-hand Brit, then I highlty suggest you go Canadian. Those Australians are based on a Ruffian chassis-model that actually failed QC, but the Canadians have Xtra Nice engines and Extended-Hospitality support protocols.

yeah but the canadian models dont make good Aussie beer.

[Felicitatem Parco]

The ability to purchase C-Bills directly with cash would probably block the inclusion of any ability to send C-Bills back and forth between pilots and Merc Corps... or so that's what others have mentioned to me in a thread (link) where I brought up the idea of being able to bribe other pilots/Merc Corps with in-game C-Bill transfers.

The discussion was rather blunt, but hoards of players said that "The ability to transfer in-game currency, coupled with the ability to purchase in-game currency with case = gold farming." I then suggested that PGI/whomever would enact a "c-bill transfer fee" to be paid in cash by any party who is sending C-bills to a recipient, so "gold farmers" have to pay cash fees to PGI when they want to transfer C-bills to other players.

The reply was rather blunt, but others said that any fee paid to PGI would still not be enough to compensate the losses they would experience from rampant black market C-bill farming piracy.

I heartedly disagree, and would like the ability to pay cash so I can transfer C-bills to my fellow Merc Corp Members, and to other pilots if I want to bribe them for some reason or another...

Edited by Prosperity Park, 22 March 2012 - 03:52 PM.

[FaustianBargain]

How about pilot cosmetic changes? If we can look around the cockpit and even glimpse our avatar's arms and legs why not have an option to put the pilot in a custom uniform or even short shorts and cooling vest?

[Johannes Falkner]

Prosperity Park, on 22 March 2012 - 03:52 PM, said:

The ability to purchase C-Bills directly with cash would probably block the inclusion of any ability to send C-Bills back and forth between pilots and Merc Corps... or so that's what others have mentioned to me in a thread (link) where I brought up the idea of being able to bribe other pilots/Merc Corps with in-game C-Bill transfers.

The discussion was rather blunt, but hoards of players said that "The ability to transfer in-game currency, coupled with the ability to purchase in-game currency with case = gold farming." I then suggested that PGI/whomever would enact a "c-bill transfer fee" to be paid in cash by any party who is sending C-bills to a recipient, so "gold farmers" have to pay cash fees to PGI when they want to transfer C-bills to other players.

The reply was rather blunt, but others said that any fee paid to PGI would still not be enough to compensate the losses they would experience from rampant black market C-bill farming piracy.

I heartedly disagree, and would like the ability to pay cash so I can transfer C-bills to my fellow Merc Corp Members, and to other pilots if I want to bribe them for some reason or another...

There is an even bigger potential problem. If c-bills are transferrable AND purchasable by cash, you run into all kinds of regulatory issues regarding money laundering, RICO, etc.

[Qman]

Mason Grimm, on 22 March 2012 - 09:53 AM, said:

Plus we come with free med-care.

Just sayin.

We have free med care...of sorts...someone has to pay for all those bbq burns and drinking mishaps...i know i would be broke if we did'nt.

Edited to suggest MWOnline stubby holders.

Edited by Qman, 22 March 2012 - 06:04 PM.

[THOR HAMMER]

would love for some co op play but not pay for each one use c bills to pay for acess maybe

[Hanged Man]

I honestly think the OP's summary is pretty reasonable. The only real exception is that I'd never pay the price he lists for XP/cash/etc boosts - more than about a dollar a day and I'd just have to suck it up and deal with being slow.

[Thunder Fist]

THOR HAMMER, on 22 March 2012 - 07:01 PM, said:

would love for some co op play but not pay for each one use c bills to pay for acess maybe

Youd pay for it THOR

[Togg Bott]

you know when i first started playing Battletech. before the video games. i had a Phoenix Hawk L.A.M. it was a varient with a srm6. i had the mech setup so that when i fired the missles. there was a 1 in 10 (d10) chance that the load of missles were simple paint missles, they did no damage, but produced beautiful (IMHO) splashes of color on the enemy mech (Ala. Kelly's hero's. ..OddBall)

i would pay for that ability to make someone else pay to repaint his/her mech