113 replies to this topic

[KuruptU4Fun]

Sandpit, on 16 October 2012 - 02:50 PM, said:

On the idea of real world items: I have personally plunked tons of money over the years into BT miniatures and such and I'd definitely buy a few odds and ends here especially if I could get a mini of my preferred mech maybe customized to fit MWO. It doesn't mean much to anyone else but it would be cool to me and I'm sure there are at least a few BT fans out there that would feel the same. Heck give me a keychain with the MWO logo on one side and my callsign on the other. Dog tags, things of that nature would be pretty cool to have. Everyone on here is obviously a gamer and it's a common tactic of game companies now to sell limited edition packs for a higher price point that include maps, figurines, etc. I'd be willing to drop a few extra bucks here and there to buy some cool MWO merchandise and I'm sure there are others who feel the same. Things like that can definitely be a cool incentive to spend money after the fact on the game.

Doesn't WoW have something similar to this? You can get a resin model of your particular character for a price? I'd buy that for a few bucks.

[RG Notch]

JazzySteel, on 16 October 2012 - 02:59 PM, said:

Because people spend an inordinate amount of money on their individuality. To many many people the ability to simply "look good' is well worth their money. Heck, you dont even have to look good, they just wanna look "different". Now, this wont make sense to someone who is objectively minded and is only worried about their bottom line, but most of the population doesnt think like that.

I think our definition of most is quite different. I know that a fool and his money are lucky enough to come together in the first place and that a sucker is born every minute but I can't believe there are more people who would blow real world money on a useless skin or cockpit doodad. Are there a lot of them on the forums, certainly or we wouldn't have these crazy discussions, but most in game I think not.
More importantly PGI doesn't seem to think so either or they wouldn't set the economy up the way they have. They would just selling ******* hats like this vocal minority seems to think is the answer. You can argue all you want, the decisions by PGI and all the F2P games I have encountered seem to agree. Skins and what not are fine but the real money comes from grind reduction or in some games straight out P2W.

[Sandpit]

RG Notch, on 16 October 2012 - 03:09 PM, said:

I think our definition of most is quite different. I know that a fool and his money are lucky enough to come together in the first place and that a sucker is born every minute but I can't believe there are more people who would blow real world money on a useless skin or cockpit doodad. Are there a lot of them on the forums, certainly or we wouldn't have these crazy discussions, but most in game I think not.
More importantly PGI doesn't seem to think so either or they wouldn't set the economy up the way they have. They would just selling ******* hats like this vocal minority seems to think is the answer. You can argue all you want, the decisions by PGI and all the F2P games I have encountered seem to agree. Skins and what not are fine but the real money comes from grind reduction or in some games straight out P2W.

It's statements like this that I just don't understand. Why do you feel the need to attack other people and their ideas? So suckers and fools are the only people who spend money on "frivolous" items? So says the "fool" spending money for an ISP, a video game, etc. Not to mention you are taking a things out of context a bit.

I don't think anyone has said anything about this being the sole source of income for the game. These are ways to help supplement that and when combined together they form Captain Planet........ erm I mean a viable economic solution along with the other plans that are in place. In defense of Jazzy's statement on individuality have you ever seen how much money people plunk into car customization, tatoos, piercings, hair stylists, etc.? It's not the exact same exchange for services but it is the same concept. Sure I'll spend $2 here and there to snag a cool camo once in a while if I want. That doesn't make me a fool or sucker that makes me a guy with $2 who spent it on that as opposed to couple of sodas. Your seeming hostility is completely unwarranted.

[Kazuar]

RG Notch, on 16 October 2012 - 02:42 PM, said:

Ah sarcasm is wasted here I see. I get it, decals, skins and what not simply aren't enough to fund a game like this. I wish they were because I would't need a dime to play. If it doesn't help me earn credits or XP faster or skip grinding I am not spending any real money on it. Why would I? More importantly why would enough people spend enough to matter?

Because hats are cool, and everybody wants cool?
Or because you're 'l33t', and your 'clan' is 'l33t', and you want the l33t colors of your l33t clan on your l33t mech? (now my '3'-key feels dirty)

Serious mode: sorry if your sarcasm is lost in my translation back in my native tongue, but are you seriously propagating a p2w model, or is there sarcasm lacking in 'my version'? Because yeah, finding/thinking of incentives for us players to spend (more) money is what this thread is about, right? And yes, the chance that some ideas are redundant (i.e. have already been considered, and dropped, by PGI/IGP) is certainly given, though I would be somewhat surprised if they had the 'active art' or 'vote mech by pre-order' idea already (simply because they're unique).

And if even one of the ideas brought up here is seriously considered by the devs, than it was well worth it, imho.

[Super Mono]

Lots of good ideas in this thread. Another thing would be HUD enhancements, such as voice packs for different alerts, and HUD gadgets like a clock and weather display for conditions on the map.

[RG Notch]

Sandpit, on 16 October 2012 - 03:22 PM, said:

It's statements like this that I just don't understand. Why do you feel the need to attack other people and their ideas? So suckers and fools are the only people who spend money on "frivolous" items? So says the "fool" spending money for an ISP, a video game, etc. Not to mention you are taking a things out of context a bit.

I don't think anyone has said anything about this being the sole source of income for the game. These are ways to help supplement that and when combined together they form Captain Planet........ erm I mean a viable economic solution along with the other plans that are in place. In defense of Jazzy's statement on individuality have you ever seen how much money people plunk into car customization, tatoos, piercings, hair stylists, etc.? It's not the exact same exchange for services but it is the same concept. Sure I'll spend $2 here and there to snag a cool camo once in a while if I want. That doesn't make me a fool or sucker that makes me a guy with $2 who spent it on that as opposed to couple of sodas. Your seeming hostility is completely unwarranted.

It's not hostility, it's incredulity. Why someone would spend real money on a skin in a video game is beyond me. I think the same thing about people who spend all that money on a car or what not. People like this are waiting for someone to take their money and lots of people make a living off of that. I guess if you have money burning a hole in your pocket and can't find something useful to spend it on then have it. It doesn't change my opinion, and that's exactly what it is my opinion. You don't have to agree, but I don't apologize for having it or stating it. Some people spend far too much time and effort biting their tongue and not speaking what they truly feel. I'm not going to do that.
While it may not be in this thread, trust me there were people saying that selling cosmetics alone are enough and they keep bringing up the one game where it works. I've already said it's a fine addition to the system but it's not where the money really comes from.
I speak bluntly and I'm really not trying to win a popularity contest so if I offend you, oh well it's not my intention, but it is my intention to voice my opinion and absent violating the CoC I will continue.

[Sandpit]

RG Notch, on 16 October 2012 - 03:43 PM, said:

It's not hostility, it's incredulity. Why someone would spend real money on a skin in a video game is beyond me. I think the same thing about people who spend all that money on a car or what not. People like this are waiting for someone to take their money and lots of people make a living off of that. I guess if you have money burning a hole in your pocket and can't find something useful to spend it on then have it. It doesn't change my opinion, and that's exactly what it is my opinion. You don't have to agree, but I don't apologize for having it or stating it. Some people spend far too much time and effort biting their tongue and not speaking what they truly feel. I'm not going to do that.
While it may not be in this thread, trust me there were people saying that selling cosmetics alone are enough and they keep bringing up the one game where it works. I've already said it's a fine addition to the system but it's not where the money really comes from.
I speak bluntly and I'm really not trying to win a popularity contest so if I offend you, oh well it's not my intention, but it is my intention to voice my opinion and absent violating the CoC I will continue.

The same reason they would spend money on a video game in the first place. It's entertaining to them. They like it. They want it. Just because YOU don't like it doesn't mean others don't and is not a reason to attack them. You repeatedly state how you don't spend money on anything that isn't "useful" yet you're here on a video game that you've spent money on (even if you didn't spend it on a founders pack which obviously you did because you have a founders tag) You're contradicting yourself sir. I'm merely pointing out that you're quick to condemn others and call them names (IE foolish and suckers) because you won't spend money on the same "useless" stuff. You're argument of "others on here" has no merit here because that wasn't the post in this thread.

I agree with you Notch that the money cannot come solely from this but it is something that can be explored by the company. It will be a combination of content, economy, micros, etc. that will make this game viable commercially.

There's nothing wrong with voicing an opinion or even being blunt but you're not just voicing your opinion. You basically called those of us willing to drop some money on certain things suckers and basically say we're dumb for spending our money on such frivolous items. Your opinion is just that, YOUR opinion. That doesn't make it ok to tell others they're stupid for supporting the exact same game you're supporting in a different fashion. It's not a matter of offending me sir, it's a matter of having a little respect for other people's opinions and views.

[Norris J Packard]

First post updated with newly submitted ideas.

[Draco Argentum]

Active noseart is a totally boss idea. That one could fill the role of LoL premium skins where they are more fancy and cost more.

[Sandpit]

I wouldn't mind being able to design my own nose art in PS and plaster it across my mechs

That would be something I might micro for once in a while. Now here's an idea........
If we could do custom nose art and such and upload them as a playerbase and sell them to other players. Things like that help sustain the economy because as a player I'm pulling in MC for my designs which earns me money. At the same time charge players an upload fee to upload their stuff.

Example:
I open Photoshop and design a cool piece of nose artwork. I pay xx amount to upload it and use i on my mech. Players A and B see said fantastic (yes I said fantastic lol) artwork and commission me to design a few pieces for them.
I tell them ok based on how much the upload fee is and time it will take me to design it I will do it for xx amount of MC. I'm buying MC in order to upload the logos and the other players are buying MC in order to pay me for the design. You have the starts of a full-blown economy.

Now take that example with a grain of salt. You could set it up as another part of an auction house so people aren't getting screwed out of money by nefarious means and handle all transactions in game. You could actually do quite a few things like this and again I think if you PGI charges upload fees, auction house fees, etc. it ensures that currency gets taken out of circulation by the game and requires players to buy more.

[RG Notch]

Sandpit, on 16 October 2012 - 04:05 PM, said:

The same reason they would spend money on a video game in the first place. It's entertaining to them. They like it. They want it. Just because YOU don't like it doesn't mean others don't and is not a reason to attack them. You repeatedly state how you don't spend money on anything that isn't "useful" yet you're here on a video game that you've spent money on (even if you didn't spend it on a founders pack which obviously you did because you have a founders tag) You're contradicting yourself sir. I'm merely pointing out that you're quick to condemn others and call them names (IE foolish and suckers) because you won't spend money on the same "useless" stuff. You're argument of "others on here" has no merit here because that wasn't the post in this thread.

I agree with you Notch that the money cannot come solely from this but it is something that can be explored by the company. It will be a combination of content, economy, micros, etc. that will make this game viable commercially.

There's nothing wrong with voicing an opinion or even being blunt but you're not just voicing your opinion. You basically called those of us willing to drop some money on certain things suckers and basically say we're dumb for spending our money on such frivolous items. Your opinion is just that, YOUR opinion. That doesn't make it ok to tell others they're stupid for supporting the exact same game you're supporting in a different fashion. It's not a matter of offending me sir, it's a matter of having a little respect for other people's opinions and views.

Why? My opinion is that those people are fools who are just waiting for someone to take their money. If you can't see the difference between something that is "useful" in a video game and something that is just a way to part you from your money I don't know what else to say. Respect means nothing if it's not earned and I don't give it away. If you mean that everyone's crazy and foolish notions deserve the same treatment, I disagree. When some one says something I think is stupid I point it out. These folks may not be stupid, but they sure do things I consider to be stupid and I don't see a reason to lie about it. Some people will argue that opinions can't be wrong, well if your opinion is 2 +2=5 it's wrong. And while this isn't black and white, as stated it's my opinion. Feel free to disagree and point out why my opinion is wrong, but don't ask me to change my opinion because people don't like it.
As I said until I violate the CoC I will continue to express how I feel and not sugar coat it so people with tender sensibilities aren't offended.

[Sandpit]

Notch, I'm going to feed your trolling anymore. You're attacking people because they have a different idea on how they can spend their money. Don't like it? Don't send your money on it and let them do what they want. Your opinion can't be wrong because it's YOUR opinion. It's subjective, not fact. You are contributing nothing to this post other than saying "It's my opinion and I'm entitled to it" An opinion of 2+2=5 isn't an opinion, it's an ignorant statement of fact because mathematically 2+2=4 factually, it's not subjective.

Just because you THINK something is dumb (which again is subjective not factual) doesn't mean it is to someone else. You have spent a large amount of money on this game yet say this would be "useless". A video game is not a necessity so many in society would call it a useless expenditure. You just choose to be selective on what YOU consider frivolous and attack others with name calling. You have contributed nothing to this post other than saying "I don't like it" You have given no ideas or alternatives nor have you suggested changes to the idea that might help. You are simply a troll.

[RG Notch]

Sandpit, on 17 October 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

Notch, I'm going to feed your trolling anymore. You're attacking people because they have a different idea on how they can spend their money. Don't like it? Don't send your money on it and let them do what they want. Your opinion can't be wrong because it's YOUR opinion. It's subjective, not fact. You are contributing nothing to this post other than saying "It's my opinion and I'm entitled to it" An opinion of 2+2=5 isn't an opinion, it's an ignorant statement of fact because mathematically 2+2=4 factually, it's not subjective.

Just because you THINK something is dumb (which again is subjective not factual) doesn't mean it is to someone else. You have spent a large amount of money on this game yet say this would be "useless". A video game is not a necessity so many in society would call it a useless expenditure. You just choose to be selective on what YOU consider frivolous and attack others with name calling. You have contributed nothing to this post other than saying "I don't like it" You have given no ideas or alternatives nor have you suggested changes to the idea that might help. You are simply a troll.

Oh noes! I'm a troll because I won't agree that wasting money on cosmetics in a video game isn't stupid. Sorry If I hit a nerve, if you want to blow your money on useless crap, be my guest it all helps PGI pay the bills. If some one is going to part fools from money I'm happy that PGI can do so to make this game better. My suggestion is to stop wasting time making suggestions.
Again if you can't grasp that there are "useful" items in a video game context and worthless junk it's not my fault. If you don't think so then I guess it's ok to sell better ammo and weaponry for real money too? I never said everyone does or should share my opinion. Yet it is mine and I am voicing it.
It's funny because I never tell people to stop posting if they disagree with me or attempt to insult me. Feel free to do so or just ignore me. I'm not concerned with what you think of me or my contributions to this thread. This thread, along with the many similar ones isn't accomplishing anything. The devs aren't poring over these forums looking for ideas no matter what you think or they say. This is a place for us to blow off steam while they work on the game. Do they check in to see what people are discussing, sure, but if they are getting ideas from here God help us all.

[Norris J Packard]

RG Notch, on 17 October 2012 - 02:50 PM, said:

Oh noes! I'm a troll because I won't agree that wasting money on cosmetics in a video game isn't stupid. Sorry If I hit a nerve, if you want to blow your money on useless crap, be my guest it all helps PGI pay the bills. If some one is going to part fools from money I'm happy that PGI can do so to make this game better. My suggestion is to stop wasting time making suggestions.
Again if you can't grasp that there are "useful" items in a video game context and worthless junk it's not my fault. If you don't think so then I guess it's ok to sell better ammo and weaponry for real money too? I never said everyone does or should share my opinion. Yet it is mine and I am voicing it.
It's funny because I never tell people to stop posting if they disagree with me or attempt to insult me. Feel free to do so or just ignore me. I'm not concerned with what you think of me or my contributions to this thread. This thread, along with the many similar ones isn't accomplishing anything. The devs aren't poring over these forums looking for ideas no matter what you think or they say. This is a place for us to blow off steam while they work on the game. Do they check in to see what people are discussing, sure, but if they are getting ideas from here God help us all.

Notch. Garth and Matt have personally said they love my thread.

And this is the last post of yours I reply to, I am also going to kindly ask that you consider taking your poisonous posting elsewhere. It really is nothing more than an attempt at derailment and adds nothing to the pool of ideas.

Edited by Norris J Packard, 18 October 2012 - 10:09 PM.

[Artgathan]

A while ago (in a different thread), I suggest making mechs 'rentable' for a fraction of their normal MC cost.

The basic idea was that players could 'rent' a mech for a few days (gaining normal xp / C-Bill accrual) before getting locked out of the use. After enough rentals (when you'd rented it enough times to have spent the same as actually buying it), you'd get to keep it for free. I think this would be intriguing to new players, as it would allow them to experiment with new mechs cheaply and then entice them to either spend or play more to get the mech they like most.

Alternatively, I also suggested giving all players a free mech that gained xp and c-bills, but could only be used for a certain number of matches a day. Extra matches could be unlocked through a small MC purchase. Again (as above), enough purchases would give the player the mech.

Just two small suggestions to entice new players to stick around. In my opinion both of these options encourage player retention, which in the long run leads to greater spending.

[Sandpit]

I like the premise of the first idea. Not sure how the mechanics would work but I like the idea behind it. It gives new players a chance to play in some of the heavier stuff before they can actually buy it which would hopefully help keep them interested while they are grinding it out. It helps give players a reason to spend a few bucks here and there. I would recommend that no pilot experience be earned and very little general experience be earned though. This should merely be a way for players to jump in a mech and take it for a test-drive.

[Firesteel]

What about tying a small XP gain bonus to mechs? Similar to how founders' mechs get a 25% C-Bill bonus, you could use MC to buy a 25% XP bonus and tie it to a mech you own.

[Sandpit]

Would it be feasible for PGI to incorporate a system where players could do direct transfers within their own faction? Say I have a mech I'm looking to put up for sale, instead of putting it up for auction, selling to the system, etc. I could offer it in-house to other players for a certain price and have an MC fee paid to the system. It could be a minimum amount of MC but it still is another way to get players to purchase MC here and there

[Kazuar]

Firesteel, on 17 October 2012 - 04:18 PM, said:

What about tying a small XP gain bonus to mechs? Similar to how founders' mechs get a 25% C-Bill bonus, you could use MC to buy a 25% XP bonus and tie it to a mech you own.

Such a bonus would certainly help making MCmechs more attractive; 25% might be too much, though, as it would imho water down the utility of premium time - the bonus would either be permanent (though bound to a mech), therefore invalidating premium, or temporary, and be invalidated by premium. They could still be cumulative (like founders bonus is to premium), but shouldn't reach founders levels imho - for obvious reasons. But as an extra treat for churning out 5-20$ for a mech?

Sandpit, on 17 October 2012 - 04:18 PM, said:

Would it be feasible for PGI to incorporate a system where players could do direct transfers within their own faction? Say I have a mech I'm looking to put up for sale, instead of putting it up for auction, selling to the system, etc. I could offer it in-house to other players for a certain price and have an MC fee paid to the system. It could be a minimum amount of MC but it still is another way to get players to purchase MC here and there

But what would be the benefit for the player offering his mechs that way? If it is 'getting more c-bills than from selling to system', it risks devolving into a 'get c-bill for $' kind of system, I think, which would again compete with the premium time model.
And whats the benefit of the player 'receiving' this mech? Saving c-bills as compared to buying from the system? This is dangerous, as it makes MCmechs less viable an option for players - therefore, the MC cost for making the offer would have to be balanced against the potential loss of a 'MCmech sell' (depending on the chance an unknown person X would have bought a mech).
For this, a lot of economic calculations, and weighings, seem to be necessary. On the plus side, 1/5th* of a sale's better than no sell, and it would underline the MMO/community aspect, maybe drawing in more/other players... * = number completely made up

These are the implications I see with this. Without statistics (which only PGI has), it's impossible to say if it is feasible, but *I* think it's definitely worth weighing after CW goes live.

[Sandpit]

If the MC fee was kept minimal I think it would prevent an abuse tactic like what you're thinking of. If I'm a player sitting at 500 million C-Bills (this isn't an unrealistic number after the game has been live for a while) and I'm a recruiter for a specific group then I might be in charge of offering mechs to new members of my group at a discounted cost to help get them started. (Or even as a reward for inter-unit promotion) and they pay the MC fee to purchase it from me at a steep discount. So let's say I'm Kurita and in a unit Sand's 2nd Raiders (All just as an example) My "clan" has recruiting setup etc. and once a new player advances past recruit status to become a full-fledged member I sell them a shiny new Cicada for 10k C-Bills and PGi has it setup that this transfer will cost 10 MC. (These numbers are all jsut for the example PGI could crunch numbers and come up with feasible numbers) Thus it causes an MC transaction and allows me to help out members of my unit.