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Zaptruder, on 14 February 2013 - 04:46 PM, said:
A good rational analysis, ignored because people can't be bothered reading a few words in succession, and would rather post: Get a jerb!
It's another vector for the F2P to grind, and another vector for them to get hooked into the game enough fro them to pull out their wallets for the first time; going from free to play, to paying customer. The difference is significant; one has trust issues about online payment and the game and the company. The other has experienced the payment first hand and knows what to expect.
Like I said at the bottom of the original post: I don't want to be losing customers over something this silly. While things have improved a lot, the new player and F2P experience still pales in comparison to other games on the market. Most people will play a game that actually respects the time they put into it, considering they have many other superior options available.
I'm deeply and sincerely concerned about the fact that a significant number of this thread's posts surmount to "get a job" and "pay the $7" because it means that the community doesn't understand various things.
1: People can make a much more satisfying purchase these days than an empty space to hold their virtual 'Mech.
2: People have other F2P games where spending ~$5 gives you the equivalent of a 'Mech. And slots are a non-issue.
3: Certain currencies in countries other than US/EU do not convert well to MC, and $1.75 is really more like ~$10. PGI has no separate pricing options available for those countries. For example: Poland.
I want everyone to understand that it's not about me. I don't have a problem with slots. I was here before the Founder's package was available, and it was pretty much a day one purchase for me because I love MW and want to see this succeed. I want this game to see the audience it deserves to see, bring in the people it needs to become a huge success, and be the catalyst that opens up more commercial ventures into this IP (e.g. a single-player game maybe one day, I'd even fund it on kickstarter).
For the health of the game, it's better to get $1.50 from 75,000 players than $5 from 10,000. You want that playerbase, you want that word of mouth spread, you want to be the next big thing that the hardcore people tell their friends to play, and that their friends keep playing because it's fun and they're not held down.
I'm afraid that many people don't see the big picture, or that they believe that this game has solid-enough player retention that the F2P experience doesn't need to change in this regard. I'm not saying that the game will devolve into a "founder's club" and all the F2P players will leave, but simply that an F2P player is a valuable commodity and should be treated as such.
I've played several F2P games, and seen many come and go, and, as a general rule of thumb, I believe that you want to make a microtransaction system that is fair for everybody. Cosmetic changes available for cash (colors, skins, and the like), have a pay-for-convenience system (XP boosts, Credit boosts), weapon unlock with $, etc. Basically, you can skip some of the "grind" if you pay. I'm not saying the game needs to have every single item 100% available to the F2P player, but as soon as someone notices that something isn't available, they are forced to make that decision "do I pay for it or do I play without it" - and people should be coaxed into their first purchase, a "basket full of carrots" as the devs said, not a "carrot on a stick" or "carrot behind a locked door that says $1.75 on it" to continue the metaphor.
Also, a subtle point from my previous post: As I mentioned, 50/56 chassis variants are available to the F2P player. Only 6 aren't. But an F2P player can only hold 4 'Mechs. Four. 4/50 would be ~8%, 4/56 would be ~7.1%. Yes, with enough time, and enough C-Bills, you could rotate 'mechs in and out of a slot, but for the players who want to keep their work, keep their progression, (especially if they painted a 'Mech or have emotional attachment to it) there is no solution except paying.
And when the devs plan to have achievements, including some that relate to collecting 'mechs, it puts bay-less players at a bit of a disadvantage. Granted, Achievements aren't too important, but again, perceived P2W/P2Pro is just as bad for a game's growth as actual P2W/P2Pro.
At the very least, a 'mech purchased with MC should come with its own 'Mech bay. Especially Hero 'Mechs. As it stands now, it's like having a $1.75 tax added on to each purchase because a bay slot is required. Which is a very high percentage of the purchase if you're going for a smaller 'mech (I believe the cheapest Commando is 680MC, which then requires a 300MC 'mech bay, more than 1/3rd the price of the actual 'mech.
This presents a high barrier of entry and discourages potential paying customers.
Anyway, my point is that when someone hits this wall, what are they going to do? Sell and buy another 'Mech? Pay the $7? Or, a scenario that I find to be more likely, get the feeling that the game is designed to hold them back, and stop playing as often, because they don't want to be forced to make the decision.
Basically, you want to show the player things to convince them to make the decision themselves to purchase something, not stop them after a certain amount of in-game hours and say "Okay, what did you think so far? You have to pay to get past here."
It can be a really hard grind, and then people might give up on it and just spend the money, but you need to let them come to the conclusion themselves rather than force them to make the decision at an arbitrary point. Get them to pay, but don't stop them and say "You must pay now, or throw away your progress to get some side-grades." People can't progress or advance their account past 4 slots.
I truly just want what's best for the game. I'm not saying give everything away. I'm not saying start players with 50 slots, or that slots need to go, I'm saying at least reconsider the pricing, reconsider the starting number, reconsider the "$$$-only" approach to this. Like I said, I'm not asking for hand-outs. It's just that I've seen a lot of great F2P games come and go because of a poor pricing model, and I don't want MWO to go to the wayside or have a smaller player-base because of something as seemingly-insignificant as a slot to hold a 'mech.
I wasn't trying to offend anyone, and am sorry if I came off as demanding.
