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Alternate Way of Making Money Without Making the Game Dead
lezard21
Posts: 1,510 Arc User
LTS - $300
- Keeps all current perks, ie. does not lose extra character slot upon hitting 40 on a character BUT it caps at 59. Extra slots after 59 will have to be bought from Zen Store
Character Slots/2 Character Slots - 750/1400 Zen - $7.50/$14
- They unlock 1/2 Silver AT character Slots
FF Character Slot - 2000 Zen - $20
- Unlocks 1 FF character slot
Silver to FF Slot Conversion - 1000 Zen - $10
- Converts 1 Silver AT Slot into a FF Character slot. Does not give free retcon (ie. requires a Retrain Token to reset powers if character is not sub-expired FF already)
Premium Pack - 10000 Zen - $100
- Unlocks FF slots on account. Any further Character/2 Character Slots purchased will be automatically tagged as FF.
- 6 Character Slots
- Costumes
- Travel Powers
- Power Hue
Why is this good/bad/potato?
While prices might be adjusted according to PWI's need/greed, with an alternative method like the one I exemplified here, you manage to:
- Provide an alternative ingame grindable method for Sub-expired players to keep their FF toons at a non ridiculous price ($10 or 1000 zen per character)
- With the suggested price distribution it adds value to future FF slots purchased over buying Character Slot/2 Character Slots ($7.5/$14) and then converting those to FF ($10/$20) which would then also require a Retrain Token on top ($13/$26), meaning it would be much cheaper to just buy 2 FF Slots ($40) vs going through the whole conversion process ($60)
- But by giving the option of releasing FF perk accountwide with the Premium Pack ($100), you also add value to future Character/2 Character Slots purchased
- You can even add more profit by adding a Character Cap Release for purchasing Character Slots above 59.
As you can see from this simple example, there are a lot of alternative ways to make out a decent profit while not antagonizing the fanbase out the door
Discuss
- Keeps all current perks, ie. does not lose extra character slot upon hitting 40 on a character BUT it caps at 59. Extra slots after 59 will have to be bought from Zen Store
Character Slots/2 Character Slots - 750/1400 Zen - $7.50/$14
- They unlock 1/2 Silver AT character Slots
FF Character Slot - 2000 Zen - $20
- Unlocks 1 FF character slot
Silver to FF Slot Conversion - 1000 Zen - $10
- Converts 1 Silver AT Slot into a FF Character slot. Does not give free retcon (ie. requires a Retrain Token to reset powers if character is not sub-expired FF already)
Premium Pack - 10000 Zen - $100
- Unlocks FF slots on account. Any further Character/2 Character Slots purchased will be automatically tagged as FF.
- 6 Character Slots
- Costumes
- Travel Powers
- Power Hue
Why is this good/bad/potato?
While prices might be adjusted according to PWI's need/greed, with an alternative method like the one I exemplified here, you manage to:
- Provide an alternative ingame grindable method for Sub-expired players to keep their FF toons at a non ridiculous price ($10 or 1000 zen per character)
- With the suggested price distribution it adds value to future FF slots purchased over buying Character Slot/2 Character Slots ($7.5/$14) and then converting those to FF ($10/$20) which would then also require a Retrain Token on top ($13/$26), meaning it would be much cheaper to just buy 2 FF Slots ($40) vs going through the whole conversion process ($60)
- But by giving the option of releasing FF perk accountwide with the Premium Pack ($100), you also add value to future Character/2 Character Slots purchased
- You can even add more profit by adding a Character Cap Release for purchasing Character Slots above 59.
As you can see from this simple example, there are a lot of alternative ways to make out a decent profit while not antagonizing the fanbase out the door
Discuss
Post edited by lezard21 on
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We suggested all kinds of different models. Guess how many of those suggestions were taken under advisement.
The change will happen one way or another cause it's obviously a case of "game needs to make more money", so the best suggestion we can come with is one that alleviates the blow and not one that says "keep everything the way it is". The latter will fall on deaf ears while the former has a better chance of getting considered. In fact this is the time the community should be offering alternative suggestions.
Agreed on this and have stated so ingame multiple times, but it's a far cry too late for this. Had they adopted such model early on in CO's life they might have been able to garner a bigger community since the beginning.
- unlock one of your gold FF characters ($10~15 ?)
- unlock one one of your gold AT characters ($5?)
- unlock all your gold characters ($50?)
Because AT are also gold characters if you created them when you had a subscription running and they get locked as well if you end your subscription.
Remind them that this is not their private little plaything but a product we pay for and they are employed to provide.
They've had seven years to allow any of that. They didn't.
Sell other QoL items, too. The transport devices they put in a while back would have been a great thing to sell.
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All those options are included on the OP
"- unlock one of your gold FF characters ($10~15 ?)"
Is the "Silver to FF Slot Conversion - 1000 Zen - $10". If it was a gold FF character you would only have to spend $10, if it was a Silver AT slot you can convert it to gold FF but would require to buy a retrain token too.
- "unlock one one of your gold AT characters ($5?)"
Are you talking about Premium ATs? If yes, then you can reconvert them to Premium AT by buying said AT from the Zen Store (or event store), and then simply converting that slot into Silver Slot. If not, you can unlock your Gold AT's by simply reconverting them to Silver AT when your sub expires.
- "unlock all your gold characters ($50?)"
That one would be the "Premium Pack - 10000 Zen - $100" option.
Bear in mind that every price I suggested was a placeholder to showcase how a proper economy around the slot unlock/conversion system should work, so disregard those
And "Silver to FF slot conversion" is a bit confusing, because technically your characters are still Gold and not Silver when your sub ends and that's why you can't play them anymore: your have a Silver account but your characters are still Gold. If they're Silver it means that your used a respec token that turned your FF into an AT, or your AT into... an AT (but you have to use a token just as if it was a FF! And it doesn't only apply to purchasable ATs, I've got a locked Soldier character and Soldier is a FREE AT!). And if your Gold character is FF then that's not what you want, going Silver means you'll have to respec into an AT first then respec again into FF...
$100 to unlock the FF feature in your account.
That is, unlock your expired sub toons, but also new toons you make will also be FF without the need to buy FF slot (ie. after purchasing the premium pack any character slot you purchase be it the 750 zen one or the 2 for 1400 zen will turn into FF).
It should never be the consumers obligation to offer suggestions as to what payment models or policies a company should use; we shouldn't have this looming threat of harmful payment policy changes in wake of that either. And to be honest, I don't think that is the issue here. They are making decisions that actively strip players of basic features the game offered and locking them behind paywalls (much more so than with a recurring monthly fee). There is no way to make that model any better imho. So although I don't disagree that there is likely no chance of them backpedaling on this change, I still adamantly oppose this business model and do not find gouging any more money out of players to be acceptable (even if it's less than currently expected).
It's almost like deja vu, the same exact argument from back then, and it carries the same validity.
LTS - $300
- Keeps all current perks, ie. does not lose extra character slot upon hitting 40 on a character BUT it caps at 59. Extra slots after 59 will have to be bought from Zen Store
Character Slots/2 Character Slots - 750/1500 Z - $7.50/$15
- Gives 2 character slots.
Archetypes - 1000Z per premium AT
- Unlocks an AT for all available Character Slots on that account
FF Character Slot - 2000Z - $20
- Allows creation of an FF toon in one Character Slot
Silver to FF Slot Conversion - 1000Z - $10
- Converts 1 Silver AT Slot into a FF Character slot. Does not give free retcon (ie. requires a Retrain Token to reset powers if character is not sub-expired FF already)
Retrain Token - 500Z
Player Pack - 1500Z
- 6 additional Character Slots
- Unlocks Gold Travel Powers
- Teleport To Millennium CIty Device for each character
Character Pack - 2500Z
- Unlocks Gold Costume Sets
- Power Hue Customisation
That is exactly why I oppose it without any sort of leeway. The first step is what allows for this second situation to happen. People should have voted with their wallets back then, and I am genuinely frustrated that I was not around at that time NOR had knowledge of the event that took place until today. Thankfully (but also very unfortunately) not a single person I joined the game with is continuing. Have to imagine they aren't alone in this in the Gold Sub community. The only reason I will stick around at all is to try to squeeze the last bit of value out of my late LTS purchased in my own ignorance. But they will not receive a single penny from me until the day this game dies because It is very obvious what they are trying to do (again, apparently) and my review for the game will stand as negative (a farcry from my original upvote) in an effort to steer other players away from making the same mistake myself and others did.
You can retrain your gold ATs to Silver Ats, for free.
And ofcourse you have to pay for the Zen store ATs, like every Silver player.
Free For All, Not All For Free.
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
Get TV commercials, YouTube commercials, web banner ads. SOMETHING! The way it is now CO is practically a phantom on the internet. I love this game, and I regret I never tried a web search of the keywords 'superhero MMO' years sooner. I would've dropped consoles years earlier.
Right now the marketing campaign is just word of mouth from one person to another. You devs really want to save the game? Let the public know that it's there! And it's awesome!
Fairly certain this is not something Cryptic thought up, but their bosses at Perfect World. And as employees, they do what the boss says, even if they may think it's a stupid move.
I don't care about a convert slot/button, I want an unlock button that doesn't alter my characters and allows me to play them out of the box the way they were without any respec and conversion shenanigans. I'm ok with paying for that unlock button, but I'm not going to pay for a convert then respec then convert again and re-respec.
That unlock button existed until now, it was called "resub". But they decided to take it away...
I'm not explaining myself well. The token would allow a player whose Gold subscription had expired to have access to their Freeform characters without needing to buy an LTS. One unlock token, with a cost equivalent to one month's subscription, unlocks one slot on a Freeform basis indefinitely. How it works... well, I don't know and I don't much care. I know there are "Special" slots, which are open to Silver and Gold subscribers and which gave a Freeform character slot which never expire or needs conversion from one state to another, so how about going from Gold to Special?
I've been trying to avoid the "doom and gloom" type posts for the most part, but this is one of the main reasons I feel that I know what direction this game is headed. In my profession, I deal with marketing incessantly. The only reason you would make a change into this payment model (which squeezes more money out of already established accounts) and not also push marketing campaigns is because you fully expect your product to die out and you are just trying to get what you can out of it before whatever is left of it's overall value has expired.
Now to be fair this could also be wrapped up in upper-management decisions that don't reflect the developers hopes for the game, but the bottom line is still likely to be the same. This is a new business model that in any other scenario would not be meant as an investment into the long-term. The removal of subscriptions also means the end of perceived responsibilities for the Dev's. Those usually always go hand in hand for most players (in-b4 "stop complaining about a free game" type defenses start popping up). Servers are very, very cheap to run; and they are getting cheaper. People justify paying monthly fees for these types of games primarily for the purpose of investing in development. I am assuming we will see a clear decline in that area; the end of the monthly costumes being the first example.
This all being said. If absolutely none of my assumptions end up being true and the game is instead actually moving forward with big content additions, plans to advertise, and plans to grow their game then I am just surprised they haven't made that intention clear. To me, it appears they are keeping their heads low, making the changes, and saying nothing. This would be exactly the right move to phase your game out without risking tarnishing your reputation with false presumptions.
In order to generate new sales from whales, development has to continue otherwise there's nothing new for them to buy. The Z-Store has likely proven to be much more profitable than subs, so this is a plan to focus on the more profitable method in the long-term. Removal of a sub system is also not an indication that a game is going under soon, getting less development, or really anything other than they're abandoning an outdated payment model and refocusing on more effective ones. For all the 'outrage' over microtransactions, they've been extremely successful and actions speak louder than words.
My super cool CC build and how to use it.
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Used to be coach on the forums. Still @coach in game.
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My super cool CC build and how to use it.