6 replies to this topic

[Vechs]

Hey guys, I was thinking about the idea of having a bidding system to sell off mechs to other players for CBills.

And then the idea hit me-- instead of CBills, make the transactions be in MC.

Why?

It would be a great way to keep players buying MC. By bidding, players will automatically determine their own price points for a mech on sale. It creates the opportunity for impulse buying of mechs for MC, because compared to normal prices they're "on sale". PGI should take a 10% cut of the MC price so that the market is a net-loss.

It seems like a lucrative MWO version of the Diablo 3 Real Money Auction House. Only because it's priced in MC, the proceeds can only be spent on the game itself.

I'd like feedback on this, so feel free to rip it apart and tell me what could go wrong with it.

Potential issues I see:

- Auctions should be up for at least 24 hours to eliminate the risk of players trying to use the system to transfer mechs privately. (Like, a 15 minute auction at 6am to try and get your friend to easily win it.)

- Requires a new UI and server

- Bidding would be for the stripped chassis as-is with whatever upgrades are on it, but no items / armor / weapons.

- May or may not be able to auction hero mechs... not sure on that.

Edited by Vechs, 17 January 2013 - 01:30 PM.

[Praeses]

Wouldn't this attract farmers?
Unless you are thinking this would be use only with hero mechs

[Vechs]

Praeses, on 17 January 2013 - 01:32 PM, said:

Wouldn't this attract farmers?
Unless you are thinking this would be use only with hero mechs

What exactly do you mean? There is no way of transferring MC to another player in the game. And to participate in the market, you have to buy MC in the first place.

[Praeses]

Vechs, on 17 January 2013 - 01:36 PM, said:

What exactly do you mean? There is no way of transferring MC to another player in the game. And to participate in the market, you have to buy MC in the first place.

You are suggesting selling mechs (not just hero mechs) to another player for MC, is true that you can't sell the MC but you can't sell the account itself

You have to buy MC if you are buying, or you have to pay also if your are selling?

[Garrath]

No.

You would see more people botting matches to get mechs to sell at discounted MC rates.

Just, no.

[Vechs]

Praeses, on 17 January 2013 - 01:39 PM, said:

You are suggesting selling mechs (not just hero mechs) to another player for MC, is true that you can't sell the MC but you can't sell the account itself

You have to buy MC if you are buying, or you have to pay also if your are selling?

Praeses, on 17 January 2013 - 01:39 PM, said:

You are suggesting selling mechs (not just hero mechs) to another player for MC, is true that you can't sell the MC but you can't sell the account itself

You have to buy MC if you are buying, or you have to pay also if your are selling?

Well if you're going to spend real-life money buying a MWO account, why not just buy MC instead? Unless the real account is cheaper because the person is quitting, and at that point there's really nothing PGI can do to stop it. But that's probably a very rare thing.

For your second question, both.

You have to use MC to buy at the auction.

If you sell a mech on auction, for, let's say, 1000 MC, PGI takes 100 MC as their cut.

This is important because it acts as a way to funnel MC out of the economy, thus making players have to buy more of it every now and then.

[Praeses]

I want to add, I don't think it's a bad idea, but it could presents many problems