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Mc Cost In Mwo


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#1 TyGeR STD

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:25 AM

I want to start off by saying that I really enjoy MWO. I have been a mech fan for years an have played every mechwarrior title that has came out. I think PGI is doing a great job with the production of MWO and I cant wait to see where this game is at in the future.

All that being said, I understand the idea behind microtransactions for video games, but I think PGIs price points are a bit to high. If you do a bit of math, you will see that for buying MC at the lowest an highest amounts that the price per points differ a bit, witch they should. for buyinng the $100 package you get about 250 MC per dollar, if you buy the cheapest package you get about 180 MC per dollar.

If you star out with the MC cost of the cheapest mech in the game, the Commando-1B at 680 MC, this mech will run you between $2.72 and $3.77 depending on what package of MC you buy. Again I am useing the smallest and larges MC packs for my numbers. And my numbers might be off buy a few cents because I rounded everything off. Thats not a ton of money for a mech, but that is the cheapest mech in the game. But what happens when you start looking at the higher end mechs that cost more. Well less look at the Atlas K, the most expensive mech in the game at 5480MC. Your lookinng at $21.92 to $30.44 to buy this mech. $20 to $30 bucks for a mech? I have bought games for that price range. Dont for get the 300MC you need for the mechbay. The next most expensive mech in the game is the Hero mech the Ilya Muromets, that lands at $21.00 to $29.17. This mech has the Cbill booster on it, so I could see it running a touch higher then other mechs, but we are still talking $20 to $30 bucks for a single mech in the game.

Paint, 250MC for paint, $1.00 to $1.39, 125MC, $0.50 to $0.70. And dont forget that if you change the color, and want to go back, you have to rebuy the paint all over again.

IMO, I think PGI should do one of 2 things, 1) cut the cost off all items by 1\2, or double the amout of MC players get for the packages. I know cutting the cost by half is a big chunck, but I belive that they will see more over all income from lowering the prices points of items in the game by the increase they will see in the amount of people that would be willing to buy and spend MC.

Anyone who would like to see the compleate list of prices for mechs PM me with your Email address and I will send it to you.

PGI and fellow gamers, thank you for your time
TyGeR

#2 Apoc1138

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:30 AM

it's not entirely fair to compare the cost of a mech in an MMO to the cost of a boxed retail single player type game
the cost of the mech is actually to disuade people from doing it too much - the system is setup to encourage players to buy premium time (like a subscription) and then play to earn items

if they lessened the cost of the big mechs then alot of people would buy them and basically feel that they had maxxed out the game over a shorter time period and stop playing... yes PGI would make more money in the short term, but the player base would decrease quicker too

having people pay for premium bonus and play over a longer time period is healthier for the game than people buying lots of mechs and then quitting because they have nothing to really play for

if you compare the cost of a REQUIRED monthly subscription to a big subscription game and then the time requirement to reach end game material in that game, the costs of MWO (you know, like, you can play for free) are actually quite fair

Paint I think is about the right price... patterns are too expensive (for me to consider buying), or they should be unlockable rather than single use

premium time will be PGI's bread and butter and I think that is about the right price / industry standard pricing (as little as about $7 a month if you buy the biggest MC pack and 360 days of premium time)

Edited by Apoc1138, 14 December 2012 - 08:34 AM.


#3 Penance

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:30 AM

signed...i'd love to support the game more, sadly at the current prices I don't feel it's really worth it. I may buy a 6500 package, that's the most reasonable one, but I have no immediate plans to do so.

Edited by Penance, 14 December 2012 - 08:31 AM.


#4 Pendraco

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:38 AM

Do not spend MC on 'Mechs. Get premium time and buy your 'Mechs with C-Bills. You get 50% more C-Bills and XP with premium time. It really makes a huge difference. Better yet, if you buy the $100 premium package I think you can get 10 months of premium for about $10 a month.

If you can not play during the week and hate the idea of premium ticking away while at work, just purchase premium on the days you can play (250MC)

With premium you can purchase all the 'Mechs you could want (I have). As it is very easy to make lots of C-Bills even on a loss if you manage your repair costs well.

The Hero 'Mechs, cockpit items and paint are expensive. Some think the C-Bill boost for Hero's are worth the cost, some don't......I had no problem purchasing the Christmas lights cause I love them! But I would not dream of spending MC on paint....feels to much like "renting" color. I think if you buy something...you should be able to keep it.

#5 multiplesanta34

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:46 AM

Quote

the cost of the mech is actually to disuade people from doing it too much - the system is setup to encourage players to buy premium time (like a subscription) and then play to earn items

F2P games shouldn't try to dissuade people from buying certain items, or make you miserable until you buy certain items, they should draw you in with a fun game that you want to enhance through micro transactions or premium purchases. The key word is micro. Many people would buy lots of mechs and mech bays if they were priced reasonably, but as of now they just seem like a rip-off.The MWO way seems to try to punish you into giving them money, and that's not going to work.

Edited by multiplesanta34, 14 December 2012 - 08:47 AM.


#6 Dane Dread

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:46 AM

I'm very new (playing 2 weeks maybe) but I don't see myself paying any money in MWO at this point. As you've pointed out, straight up purchases are on the pricey side.

Premium time is a meh prospect also. Gaming is a hobby for me. I'll play 2 - 3 matches a day on a good day. 0 - 1 on bad days. Maybe if my wife some day takes the kids on trip by herself, not holding my breath, I'll look at some premium time then.

I'm hoping at some point there will be bundles where you can get several mechs or variants of the same mech for a reasonable price. So far all I've netted from my play time is a Commando (bad purchase, I'm not good enough to pilot lights well yet) and a Hunchback 4-SP that I'm enjoying. I bought the structure upgrade for the Hunchback and now am about 2/3rds of the way to getting a second Hunchback.

This game just feels a bit slow without purchases but the purchases are a bit steep for my tastes at this point. Free to play trend, I kind of hate you.

#7 Max Grayson

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:48 AM

View PostApoc1138, on 14 December 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

it's not entirely fair to compare the cost of a mech in an MMO to the cost of a boxed retail single player type game
the cost of the mech is actually to disuade people from doing it too much - the system is setup to encourage players to buy premium time (like a subscription) and then play to earn items




^craziest thing I have ever heard in my life. I don't "earn" pixels however i do earn money which saves me "time" grinding in game.

Second, as a pure business model I think PGI would "earn" more money if MC and Mech costs we lower, on volume. (enough people would buy MC at a lower price point to compensate and surpass the current earnings from people buying MC at current prices)

my 2 c-bills

Edited by Max Grayson, 14 December 2012 - 08:50 AM.


#8 Apoc1138

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:49 AM

View PostPendraco, on 14 December 2012 - 08:38 AM, said:

If you can not play during the week and hate the idea of premium ticking away while at work, just purchase premium on the days you can play (250MC)


If you play more than just 1-2days a week, you are better off getting the full 1 year pack (24,000MC for 360 days $8 per month)
2 days per week * 250MC = 25000MC
if you did tend to not play much and wanted to just do 1 day per week as a major session to grind cbills then it might be a good approach, but if you only tend to play only a little bit per session, but nearly every day, then the month or more packs would be better


View PostMax Grayson, on 14 December 2012 - 08:48 AM, said:



^craziest thing I have ever heard in my life. I don't "earn" pixels however i do earn money which saves me "time" grinding in game.

Second, as a pure business model I think PGI would "earn" more money if MC and Mech costs we lower, on pure volume. (more people would buy MC at a lower price point)

my 2 bills


read my whole post, I'm talking about comparing MWO to subscription MMO's
sure you can pick apart my post if you quote 1 sentence in isolation

if you don't want to play the game to get stuff, then why bother paying for it with real money either, as you aren't then going to play the game to use the stuff you bought with real money... ^^ craziest thing *I've* heard in *my* life

Edited by Apoc1138, 14 December 2012 - 08:52 AM.


#9 Penance

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:52 AM

View PostPendraco, on 14 December 2012 - 08:38 AM, said:

Do not spend MC on 'Mechs. Get premium time and buy your 'Mechs with C-Bills. You get 50% more C-Bills and XP with premium time. It really makes a huge difference. Better yet, if you buy the $100 premium package I think you can get 10 months of premium for about $10 a month.

If you can not play during the week and hate the idea of premium ticking away while at work, just purchase premium on the days you can play (250MC)

With premium you can purchase all the 'Mechs you could want (I have). As it is very easy to make lots of C-Bills even on a loss if you manage your repair costs well.

The Hero 'Mechs, cockpit items and paint are expensive. Some think the C-Bill boost for Hero's are worth the cost, some don't......I had no problem purchasing the Christmas lights cause I love them! But I would not dream of spending MC on paint....feels to much like "renting" color. I think if you buy something...you should be able to keep it.


The only thing wrong about this sentiment is regarding the hero mechs. the only way a player can get one is with MC. The only way to get MC is to buy it as there is no means in game of earning the premium currency. Hence, how they will help fund and push the game along. Which I'm totally fine with. The hero mechs aren't overpowered, and are nice additions I feel worth buying, but not at the current prices.

Personally, spending the MC on a mech that can increase my cbill earnings allowing me to get the mechs you say with cbills is a much better investment than non-functional cockpit items. Buying the standard chassis with Cbills is the way to go (learned that the hard way when I bought / sold an atlas k with mc at ob). But, in either case, both items are overpriced for what they do. The idea is to move the digital product, not have them sit idle in a harddrive.

I've gone through my founders MC already. I bought 1 month of premium time (which is really what they want people to buy. with premium, the entire game experience is completely different).

Edited by Penance, 14 December 2012 - 09:02 AM.


#10 Pale Jackal

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:52 AM

PGI would get infinitely more money from me if they cut the costs of everything by half.

Right now I'm only buying 'mech bays.

At 50% cost, I'd have Premium Time for every month (currently I haven't started mine). I would buy 'mechs on a whim - currently I will never, ever buy a 'mech for MC.

As is, the only thing I'm going to spend money on is 'mech bays, maybe a Light Hero 'mech (with good hardpoints and ECM), and maybe Premium Time... and if I buy the Light Hero 'mech, I won't buy as much Premium Time.

Hopefully PGI is just trying to bleed Founder's dry of MC before they reduce prices.

Edited by Pale Jackal, 14 December 2012 - 08:52 AM.


#11 Glucose

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:52 AM

Honestly, I think 90% of it is they have to start high until they find the good price point. Raising prices would be disastrous.

#12 Max Grayson

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:58 AM

View PostApoc1138, on 14 December 2012 - 08:49 AM, said:

read my whole post, I'm talking about comparing MWO to subscription MMO's
sure you can pick apart my post if you quote 1 sentence in isolation

if you don't want to play the game to get stuff, then why bother paying for it with real money either, as you aren't then going to play the game to use the stuff you bought with real money... ^^ craziest thing *I've* heard in *my* life


I did read whole post. I disagree with your sentiments, I respect your right to have that opinion though. Not going to really argue about "earning" something in a game. lets just agree to disagree.

However, to explain the concept. I buy X which saves me time to so i can spend my limited game time enjoying the game. I also buy X so when i drop I have the My favortie mech build so I don't have spend time playing in what i consider an inferior build.

#13 Pendraco

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 08:59 AM

View PostDane Dread, on 14 December 2012 - 08:46 AM, said:

I'm very new (playing 2 weeks maybe) but I don't see myself paying any money in MWO at this point. As you've pointed out, straight up purchases are on the pricey side.

Premium time is a meh prospect also. Gaming is a hobby for me. I'll play 2 - 3 matches a day on a good day. 0 - 1 on bad days. Maybe if my wife some day takes the kids on trip by herself, not holding my breath, I'll look at some premium time then.

I'm hoping at some point there will be bundles where you can get several mechs or variants of the same mech for a reasonable price. So far all I've netted from my play time is a Commando (bad purchase, I'm not good enough to pilot lights well yet) and a Hunchback 4-SP that I'm enjoying. I bought the structure upgrade for the Hunchback and now am about 2/3rds of the way to getting a second Hunchback.

This game just feels a bit slow without purchases but the purchases are a bit steep for my tastes at this point. Free to play trend, I kind of hate you.


I think you would be surprised how much faster the grind is with premium time. My current average is a little over 200k per match. Try a free premium day for yourself! http://mwomercs.com/pennyarcade

I have 22 'Mechs, 4 founders and 2 hero's...the rest I bought with C-Bills and they have all been heavily modified. And I do not get to play anywhere near as much as I'd like to :-(

#14 Apoc1138

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 09:08 AM

View PostMax Grayson, on 14 December 2012 - 08:58 AM, said:


I did read whole post. I disagree with your sentiments, I respect your right to have that opinion though. Not going to really argue about "earning" something in a game. lets just agree to disagree.

However, to explain the concept. I buy X which saves me time to so i can spend my limited game time enjoying the game. I also buy X so when i drop I have the My favortie mech build so I don't have spend time playing in what i consider an inferior build.


Earn: To acquire or deserve as a result of effort or action

complaining about MC costs coming from a legendary founder that already paid $60 for 3 mechs is somewhat incongruous no?

yes, PGI might make more money in the short term by lowering mech prices, but in the long run it wouldn't encourage players to keep playing or to keep a steady income coming in

I agree that cosmetic item prices are too high and that at these prices I won't buy, however I think mech prices should be kept fairly high to encourage players to keep playing and to buy premium time which in the long run may well be the more profitable approach

people with less time, but more money will buy a mech or two (or 6) to cut down on grind time, but most players with less money and more spare time for gaming will pay a little money for premium and then play the game whilst generating cbills to buy mechs

saying that people would buy more mechs if they were cheaper is a very short sighted view and that *would* be the money grab imo

Edited by Apoc1138, 14 December 2012 - 09:13 AM.


#15 Desirsar

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 09:12 AM

I would almost be inclined to agree with the OP's view on the pricing, except that we have premium accounts available...

Buy premium. Play matches. Buy many mechs with your influx of CBills. The only MC cost will be slots, and the pricing is consistent with games like World of Tanks at that point. The MC cost of the tanks is you paying extra for a shortcut, which is how microtransaction games do it right - not pay to win, just pay to play sooner.

Edited by Desirsar, 14 December 2012 - 09:12 AM.


#16 Max Grayson

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 09:20 AM

View PostApoc1138, on 14 December 2012 - 09:08 AM, said:


Earn: To acquire or deserve as a result of effort or action

complaining about MC costs coming from a legendary founder that already paid $60 for 3 mechs is somewhat incongruous no?


I play video games to relax (Relax :: to seek rest or recreation) not to "earn" things. again i think we disagree on what should be "earned". For example-I earn money at work. I expect relaxtion when playing a video game

Also, not complaing about MC costs. I just believe that PGI would make more selling MC's at a lower price point. More people would buy MC's, PGI recieves more money then they do currently and hopefully with more money PGI will fix the netcode faster

everyone wins.............

#17 Dane Dread

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 09:23 AM

View PostPendraco, on 14 December 2012 - 08:59 AM, said:


I think you would be surprised how much faster the grind is with premium time. My current average is a little over 200k per match. Try a free premium day for yourself! http://mwomercs.com/pennyarcade



The problem for me is premium times flies in the face of what makes MWO attractive. I like that this game is respectful of my time. If I have 20 minutes I know I can play a match and then go away. It won't drag out into an epic 90 minute affair like some other FTP games. If I have an hour I can sit down and play 5 or 6 matches typically. And that's about the most I can play in one sitting.

If I'm busy or another game catches my attention, I can disappear for a week or two and then come back and not feel like I just threw away some subscription time. I don't feel like paying to create an enticement to play more and more and log in more often.

The whole concept of boosts in games is something I'm not very fond of. It's encouraging people to play in an unhealthy fasion. Far better to sit down and play 20 - 30 minutes and go do something else than sit and grind out hours and hours of matches because your on premium time and want to make the most of it.

I will of course take advantage of a free day of premium time just to see what I'm missing. Seems like it should be good for several 100,000s extra cbills if I can get 4 or 5 matches in that day. Thanks for the link.

#18 Penance

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 09:24 AM

View PostDesirsar, on 14 December 2012 - 09:12 AM, said:

I would almost be inclined to agree with the OP's view on the pricing, except that we have premium accounts available...

Buy premium. Play matches. Buy many mechs with your influx of CBills. The only MC cost will be slots, and the pricing is consistent with games like World of Tanks at that point. The MC cost of the tanks is you paying extra for a shortcut, which is how microtransaction games do it right - not pay to win, just pay to play sooner.



Premium does indeed make the grind much much much more bearable, BUT, it doesn't provide any means to get the special items such as some paints, camos, Hero mechs, cockpit items, or anything else they decide to add down the road for MC. Also keep in mind, hero mechs come with a cbill bonus, so purchasing one of them, acts as a "poor mans premium time", and can help someone grind Cbills faster, but you can only get one with MC.

That's the heart of the issue here. If there were a way to earn a minimal amount of premium currency in game (like a weekly accomplishment) it wouldn't be so bad, but there isn't. Sure, we all know that PGI has bills to pay, and that this is a business. But the players are contending that if they just make the prices more attaractive, people would buy more, more often. Right now I would pay the $30 for the 6500 MC (I think that's the tier) once maybe 6 months or so. Imagine if this were half the price for the same / similar amount...I'd probably drop at least $60...and do so more often, and MC goes fast so the opportunity is there to make more on certain types of people.

I recently spent my last MC on some premium time, I haven't activated my founders as of yet. Yes, I obviously saw a huge increase in Cbill earning, but prior to that, I was mostly running my founders mechs, and YLW (before I got the ILM) due to the cbill bonuses.

Edited by Penance, 14 December 2012 - 09:33 AM.


#19 PurpleNinja

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 09:25 AM

View PostPale Jackal, on 14 December 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

Right now I'm only buying 'mech bays.

My feeling, at best.
They are way above average on prices.

:P :ph34r:

#20 Khobai

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Posted 14 December 2012 - 09:32 AM

MC cost is ABSURD in MWO.

Look at Hawken...

1) In Hawken all the meteor credit packages cost the same rate of $1 per 72 MC. There isn't an absurd price jackup in the smaller MC packages like there is in MWO.

2) In Hawken you can buy any mech for 720 MC which is $10. They dont charge you an absurd $21 for Mechs like MWO.

the reality is that PGI is charging way too much compared to other free to play games.





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