417 replies to this topic

[Scratchspider]

Mechbays are the number one thing that should NOT be free. I don't care about buying paint schemes or hero mechs, but after about a month of playing regularly I bought some mechbays and have no regrets. I'm a college kid working a minimum wage job and paying my own (and some of my father's) bills and even I can afford to buy mechbays without feeling guilty.
If you're going to stay with this game for any significant amount of time, then it's worth investing at least 7 or 15 dollars. Hell I've bought used games for more.

[Rauchsauger]

Volume, on 15 February 2013 - 11:10 PM, said:

AGAIN, I paid $120, I support the game, and I have since before day 1. My profile says "Member Since 02 Nov 2011" and the game has come very far. I just want to have this game available to play, and other people to play it with, after a couple years. For that to be the case, F2P players must be considered, new players must be considered, and yes, the improvements to the system are there, but a hurdle like this one is a turnoff.

I cut a lot of things (I mostly do not agree upon).

If you want to have the game available to play then PGI needs money and they get when we pay for something.
[Comparing MWO to something like LoL is just insane since the userbase is so much smaller.]

[Kousagi]

For everyone saying LoL has such a better system. I'm pretty sure they don't let you buy rune pages with IP ( in game money) you have to use real cash to get more of them, and they are pretty fundamental to your champ's early game. You only get like 2-4 free, I forget, been a while since I played that. Also, to get enough IP for a champ is a crap ton of time played.... Just to give idea, a Normal 30min to hour+ long game gave like 100-150 IP from what i remember, and ya needed like 6,400 IP to get one of the new champs... now sure they drop in price as they get older, but only the more unpopular champs do, the popular ones stay higher price for much much longer.

[Lykaon]

OK try and think about it in the context of other free to play titles.

Now let's just look at what a mech bay equates to in other more standard MMO games.

A Mechbay is a character slot.

Several free to play games impose a limitation on character slots for free players.Several limit you to a single slot so 4 is actually up there as far as free game access is concerned on an average.

But I wanna play a wizard now!!

I don't wanna delete my priest....oh well either pay or delete.This is a very common practice for free to play game models.


P.S. Hero mechs should come with a bay they are somewhat pricey so no real need to "tax" them with bay costs.

Edited by Lykaon, 16 February 2013 - 03:55 AM.

[Gargoth]

M A L I C E, on 14 February 2013 - 01:01 PM, said:

F2P PLAYERS NEED A WAY TO ACQUIRE 'MECH BAYS WITHOUT BUYING MC.


No they don't.

Indeed, they don't.

If you give too much F2P benefits, then... how in the name of nine hells you can raise money with the game?
and face the fact: with 7bucks, you get 1250mc, which is 4 mechbays, and you even get to convert some GXP with leftover MC.

So..
No, they don't.

[MechWarrior001347]

o.O You must be the dude that works 6/12 a Week for free
and if you think the prices for playing are to high think about the following:
A went to Party on Saturday and need:
18€ for the Taxi
7€ eat at Burger King
5€ get inside the Club
20-50€ for the fun inside
I Stay from 23-4 that are about 5 hours, with meal and way I am at maybe 8 Hours

....Ad the (....Word!) Pay Save i want to give someting in return to help this Game running !

[Tarman]

Volume, on 15 February 2013 - 11:10 PM, said:

Lots of words that mean I FEAR FOR THE PLAYERBASE

You're getting a lot of flak on this topic because most people think the pricing is fair and not gameplay-crippling, and most people get that a company is not a charity.

If you think this is a hurdle to enjoyment of the game for people who are unwilling or unable to pay in the first place, then this is what most people disagree with you over. Ten dollars is not a hurdle, it is a happy meal. Four mechbays does not hold you from the core gameplay. It does not put you in a secondary player queue. You are over-concerning yourself with the thriftiest part of the playerbase, where most people who aren't going to pay ten bucks for a game convenience aren't going to buy anything ever, regardless of how much they play or the cheapness of the prices.

Your postings sift down basically to your personal fear about this issue putting a major hole in the playerbase. In this, most people do not share your belief.

[SnuggleBug]

Scratchspider, on 16 February 2013 - 02:52 AM, said:

Mechbays are the number one thing that should NOT be free. I don't care about buying paint schemes or hero mechs, but after about a month of playing regularly I bought some mechbays and have no regrets. I'm a college kid working a minimum wage job and paying my own (and some of my father's) bills and even I can afford to buy mechbays without feeling guilty.
If you're going to stay with this game for any significant amount of time, then it's worth investing at least 7 or 15 dollars. Hell I've bought used games for more.

I wish i could give this comment a thousand likes. I have seen solitare multipacks at walmart for more than 7 dollars.

Edited by SnuggleBug, 16 February 2013 - 06:49 AM.

[Carnivoris]

Vechs, on 15 February 2013 - 10:46 PM, said:

Personally, I'd say just four mechbays for free would be perfectly fine... if you could unlock Master on a single mech without needing to purchase other variants. It's the requirement to have multiple mechs to "level up" just one of them that kinda irks me.

You don't have to own all the mechs at once to get the elites on the one you want. Buy the chassis you will not keep, get all the basics on them, then get the model you want, get the basics on that and you'll be able to get the elites on it.

[Vahnn]

Volume, on 15 February 2013 - 11:10 PM, said:

I suggest doing at least one of the following:

1: Allow trial 'Mechs to unlock pilot efficiencies. If a new player has unlocked a bunch of efficiencies on a 'Mech, and the rotation changes, and they liked that 'Mech, they may feel more inclined to purchase it.
2: Remove the "3 variant to elite/master" requirement. If a new player picks four different chassis, as many will do because of a desire for variety, they can continue to work towards long-term goals and continue to play instead of giving up before making a convenience purchase.
3: Make 'Mech Bays available to F2P players in some way (achievements and the like will hopefully be a strong, viable option for this) See previous posts for this one. If people only had to spend $1.50-$1.75 to buy one bay, they are more likely to do it See Steam sales figures for proof of this one, on pretty much any game, they make the most money when it's the cheapest. With $7 as the lowest available price point, the barrier of entry is too high for many potential F2P players.

Don't limit the game if you don't pay. Give paying customers the power to enrich their gaming experience instead of being forced to unlock it. Make it fun to spend money. A happy customer spends more. This entire thing is a huge risk. The 'Mech bays, as they stand now, are a cash-locked limiter, not a cash-enabled expander. A player should be able to use money to expand the game, not as a key to locked, limited content. If money gives you more, it's fair. If money removes limitations, it feels much worse.

Thanks for clearing things up, I admit I misunderstood the purpose of this thread as well.

These are excellent suggestions. After a couple of days of talking with some of my friends about why they weren't enjoying the game, a lot of it had to do with the restrictions to using the Trial 'mechs, mainly with regards to how the 'mech skill trees operate. One guy said it's ridiculous to have to purchase 3 variants of the same 'mech to get to the next skill tree tier when he only gets 4 'mech bays, and he didn't feel like spending any money until the game progresses and he can see where it's heading in the future.

Also, he said the game felt terrible to play with the Trial 'mechs. He can't fire more than once every 6 seconds or he'll overheat, they're slow, they turn like molasses... It's just all very frustrating to jump into for the first time. And a majority of these friends have terrific memories of previous MW games, but their initial experience with this game is a huge turn off for them.

[Commander Kobold]

Thontor, on 15 February 2013 - 02:18 PM, said:

You could unlock the master module on every mech in the game with one mech bay

of course you could, but that would be about as much fun as pulling teeth, especially with how grindy earning CBills can be.

Stone Profit, on 15 February 2013 - 02:13 PM, said:

If "beta" is the issue, come back when its not "beta" or dont cry about. "Beta" issues making you refuse to support the game. Herp de derp!

can you not read? or are you just being stupid on perpose?

being able to buy mech bays at like 10,000,000 CBills would be great,(and have the price go up for every few bays they buy to keep the benefit of the MC going)

[p4r4g0n]

Volume, on 15 February 2013 - 11:10 PM, said:

snip ...
The new player experience can be improved, the F2P experience can be improved, and what terrifies me the most is that most of the playerbase doesn't seem to care or want it to be improved. I am concerned for the longevity of the game and the sustainability of this community, mostly because of the ruthless elitism in this thread and throughout the forums. The division between playerbases - paying/founder, nonpaying, pug, premade, all needs to stop, because we're all in this together, and I don't want to be here in 18 months when the only people still playing are Founders because of the high barrier of entry into making a meaningful purchase in this game.

Thank you for your post but as a player who absolutely refuses to play F2P games which are designed to force players to spend real cash to access all of a game's content, I respectfully disagree that the inability to obtain mech bays with anything other than MC is a significant turnoff for people who wish to play MWO for free.

If all of the other current issues that make the new player experience underwhelming were eliminated, I really doubt this factor alone would be an issue. As things stand, it is possible that this can be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back but the solution should be to address those other issues.

Having said that I quite like the principle behind this suggestion with the caveat that it allows easy access to only 1-3 more mech bays and starts going up astronomically after that:

Omni 13, on 16 February 2013 - 09:49 AM, said:

snip ...
being able to buy mech bays at like 10,000,000 CBills would be great,(and have the price go up for every few bays they buy to keep the benefit of the MC going)

Gotta agree with your comments on elitism though ... absolutely.

Edit: To add the following

Omni 13, on 16 February 2013 - 09:49 AM, said:

of course you could, but that would be about as much fun as pulling teeth, especially with how grindy earning CBills can be.... snip

Every individual's threshold for grind differs and maybe its just me but I really can't take complaints about the level of grinding in MWO seriously given past experience with other games.

I also don't see what difference having more than 1 mech bay makes to getting master once you have 1 mech mastered in every class. For example, if you have already mastered Jenner and want to do Raven ->

Buy Raven variant 1, get basic, sell.
Buy Raven variant 2, get basic, sell.
Buy preferred Raven variant, get basic, get elite, get master.
Done.

Edited by p4r4g0n, 16 February 2013 - 10:45 AM.

[Jonathan Paine]

As many posters have pointed out, the limitation of four free mechbays do not stop you from mastering every chassis in the game. Nor does it prevent you from have a variety of mechs at your disposal. At any time you could have a fully mastered light + medium + heavy + assault hanging out in your free mechbays.

Yes, it would be a lot of grinding to do that. If you like the game, and want less grind - pay up. Get a hero mech, get premium time get a few mech bays. Enjoy life with a lot less grinding.

Here is the nitty gritty. I paid real money to make sure this game is successful. Those MCs? Paying players paid for those. They are, in a sense, OUR MC. You CANNOT have my money - I already gave it to PGI. If you don't pay, MY GAME WILL FAIL.

[Khobai]

Quote

Mechbays are the number one thing that should NOT be free

And I never said they should be free. Just that you should be able to get upto 8 for free because 4 isnt enough.

Even WoT gives you 6 free garage bays, but WoT also doesnt require you to play 3 different variants to level up a tank. So I dont think 8 mech bays would be too much to ask for.

[Ngamok]

I wish everyone would work for free. This world would be so much better. No need for money to buy stuff. Play games for free because there is no money. Yea, those would be the days.

[Vapor Trail]

Ngamok, on 16 February 2013 - 10:39 AM, said:

I wish everyone would work for free. This world would be so much better. No need for money to buy stuff. Play games for free because there is no money. Yea, those would be the days.

There's a reason communism is both the most perfect and least possible forms of society.

Generally has to do with the people in it.

[Bagheera]

Warrax the Chaos Warrior, on 14 February 2013 - 01:06 PM, said:

I think players should be able to sell MC to each other for c-bills. PGI would completely control the market and the price to prevent any sort of exploits. Whales that spend lots of cash will still have a reason to buy more MC once they have all the things, and people who don't spend will keep playing to grind c-bills to get MC. PGI gets paid when the MC is bought regardless of who uses it, and nothing is "locked behind a pay-wall".

Please no. No Player to Player marketplace or trading of any kind, what-so-ever. This is not an MMO, we don't need this sort of "economy," and PGI doesn't have the resources to battle RMT farmers so it would basically ruin the game for everyone, kind of like "gold farming" always does. The only way to prevent RMT farming is to never implement player trading.

Edited by Bagheera, 16 February 2013 - 11:11 AM.

[Red Klown X]

M A L I C E, on 14 February 2013 - 01:01 PM, said:

F2P PLAYERS NEED A WAY TO ACQUIRE 'MECH BAYS WITHOUT BUYING MC.


No they don't.

No they dont , at least support the game you play and like, be honest with yourself !!!

Edited by klownnection, 16 February 2013 - 11:26 AM.

[Corpsecandle]

There are several impacts that those who seek a grindable mech bay are overlooking, but the most important one is that fact that it's VERY easy to reach 'endgame' here. Meaning that those who achieve their personal goals are just sitting around accruing resources gxp, C-bills, there's nothing taking those out of the game for the folks who've mastered their preferred chassis with their preferred modules. The only thing that the game still has going for many of these folks is experimentation; meaning buying new mechs or playing with their existing configs. Naturally these people don't want to drop their favorite mechs to play around with (or at the very least are unlikely to) so they'll buy additional mech bays so they can put a new chassis in there.

If you make mechbays grindable, the revenue generated from mechbay sales by these people stuck at their 'endgame' is effectively eliminated. They're already accumulating these resources anyway and therefore it costs them absolutely nothing to dump this stuff into a mechbay.

So back to the players are 'content' argument. How much content does the game lose by keeping the mech bay for fee? Well as others have stated odds are that most people who are doing the F2P thing long enough to grind up to 4 mechs aren't going to see an issue with dumping a couple of bucks into the game and will probably buy a few bays if they feel they've hit a wall. So only a few of strictly F2P people will bail once they've hit 'endgame' (and lets be honest, if they played enough to get that point, they'll probably be back). While these people are dedicated 'content', is their abandonment the game detrimental enough cause other players, who fund the game, also jump ship? I can't see how it is.

As for the 'purchasing empty space is demoralizing' argument that I've seen flying around here, that's pretty weak. A mech bay slot is arguably more flexible than any other purchase in the game. You keep seeing it as 1 slot = 1 mech, but that's only viewing things from a collectors mindset. New mechs are being added to the game all the time, it's unreasonable to assume that you're going to want to play that chassis for the life the game. Eventually they'll release something that you'd rather play, and either the mechs you have been playing sit there and gather dust, or you sell them. In short 1 mech bay gives you access to every mech in the game. (Also I've been wondering because of some of the arguments I've seen here, but you realize that you keep XP for a sold mech right? You don't have to own all versions of that mech at the same time in order to master it.)

[Joseph Mallan]

Corpsecandle,
You realize we haven't begun to play the game yet, right? This game is to be the reenactment/retelling of the Clan Invasion. As such we have to actually play the fights from When ever this starts, till the lopping off of ilKhan Osis's head.

Edited by Joseph Mallan, 16 February 2013 - 11:42 AM.