The original thread (
http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=238898) went off topic and was locked, so I hope that we can get it addressed in the Tribble forum.
For tribbles and pets (and very likely in the future ships, costumes, and other items) to ONLY be available as character-only unlocks is essentially alt-hate. It actively discourages alt-characters by charging for each instance of an item on a per character basis, so when you get to VA and want to level up a new character you'll have to re-buy every item from the C-store.
The facts as I understand them are these:
- The stated reason for making pets character-only unlocks is so that formerly unique items can be given to multiple BOs and as gifts.
- There is no intention "at this time" to make ships character-only unlocks.
- Items currently unlocked on an account-wide basis for a player will remain account-wide for that player.
- There has been no stated intent to create an option for pets and tribbles purchased after F2P goes live available for account-wide unlock.
- There has been no price adjustment on Tribble to reflect the reduced value of pets and tribbles resulting from the account-wide to character-only shift.
As a player I feel that I've been very patient with the content drought and the preparations to go F2P. I've not weighed in on the changes to crafting or the economy. I've even taken a "wait and see" approach to determine whether there would be sufficient value to maintain my gold status when my annual subscription comes due. I want for Cryptic to earn my money. I bought an annual sub instead of a LTS with the hope that I could pay it for the next 10 years in order to encourage Cryptic to continue to develop a world that I want to inhabit. I've purchased most C-store items with the same purpose.
As a consumer and a Star Trek fan this move has caused me to feel unvalued. Gifting items is a great idea, but if I have purchase the same item every time I start a new character in order to enjoy the same props, I won't create new characters. Without alts there is no motivation to keep playing STO. There simply has not been nor do I anticipate there will ever be enough content to sustain one character.
Comments
I say this basing my opinion on the way the Caitian/Aenar BOFF's work. 100 CP seems like a reasonable price for these BOFF, especially as when they fist came out I was able to sell a few of them for a couple of million EC's. This gave some of my poorer toons and opportunity to make some EC's they could use to buy other in game stuff, at the same time it gave other richer players an opportunity to buy stuff without having to pay real money.
Secondly I have only used them on one or two toons, and not account wide. For example my Caitian now has several other Caitian\s serving on his bridge. This wouldn't have been possible if the unlock was done the old way where it was account wide but you were limited to one per toon.
Finally I'm also thinking of the Horta, I purchased that buy have only used it on a couple of toons again as the other ones already had the crafted horta pet. I would have rather payed less considering this.
Like I said I can see the concern but I think if they do it properly it won't be a problem. Some things like Tribble of Borg should be account wide and other less usefull items, or items that don't have an in game equivalent, could/should be person specific.
For the record, I'm happy to have character-only unlocks side-by-side with account-wide unlocks for a reduced fee. I wasn't pleased when the Aenar and Caitian BOs were released as character-only. They would've been an instant buy with a account-wide (and deservedly more expensive) option.
Maybe the most die-hard, deep-pocketed player would buy C-Store items for each character, but I have to assume those individuals are few and far between.
HOWEVER, people who may purchase everything in the C-Store, (Ships, Costumes, Pets, etc.) with the intent of using those items with multiple characters have to be VERY common. I am one of those people. I would love to have a collection of every C-Store item. But I won't do it for a single character.
As the original poster said, there is NOT enough content on this game to sustain one single character. I just signed up this summer, and quickly maxed out my initial character. There needs to be more content around to keep us playing. Account-wide unlocks is some of that content.
I think Cryptic's focus on creating more income with a F2P model means we'll see ships become single unlock at some point. That is just unacceptable. I would be happier playing as a subscriber with Cyptic earning my money with account-wide unlocks for everything than a F2P player paying for every darn thing under the sky for each and every character.
So you should be able to get this for energy credits if someone wants to sell them. That said, the prices probably should actually drop, you know like they said they would.
I understand the purpose. I'm saying that I don't like it. I don't play Star Trek to play games with the economy, especially when it's tied to actual money. I play the game so that I can log into the Federation. Playing games with the economy or repurchasing items that I've already purchased for another character ruins that illusion. It doesn't matter what adjustment they make to prices if they don't retain an account-unlock option. All I'm asking for is the OPTION. I don't mind if other players prefer to play FERENGI COMMERCE AUTHORITY: THE GAME as long as I can play in the Federation.
I'm more than a little demoralized that this issue isn't getting the attention it deserves. It's not like Cryptic is going to lose me to another MMO, they're just going to lose me.
No. There was no commitment to that. About the only way they could have made the assurance flimsier would have been to highlight the 'plans change' text in red and underline it.
Hmmm....
SEE?!
I think the ability to play in the Trek Universe and to interact with that universe is far more unique amongs fans of the series' than say...any other MMO. It is just damn cool to have a horta follow you around. But if you can't account-wide unlock it...then it just another hyper-capitalist scheme to feed on the dollars of nerds.
Y'know...everyone was caught with thier pants down when WWII started. "Maybe they'll stop with Poland." What's the difference here..."They'll stop with just Tribbles....and pets...."
They just made refit ships super frakkin' cool with all these universal consoles. Are you sure that's not just propaganda stepping stones to single-unlock ships?
Where is a DEV comment on this issue?
46 more day until TOR releases baby
No kidding. This thread is the continuation of a 67 page thread that was shut down by the devs before the original issue was adequately addressed. The irony is that they seemed to address about every tangential issue that was raised and then shut down the thread for being off topic.
Which is why to this day I still dont have any Aenar or Caitian BOs... Im not paying for something that is tied to one character for the simple fact that a build I may like today isnt ruined by changes Cryptic makes (SKILL TREE CHANGE IM TALKING TO YOU). So if its tied to a character and I delete it...that money is gone forever.
There's also fatigue to consider. Even I can't work up the effort to oppose most of this TRIBBLE because I'm just too tired of doing it.
This is what the Conjectural Communist Chinese Gentlemen Overlords(tm) are hoping:
Spam the player base with enough negative changes and after a while their rage will be spent and they'll be too apathetic to object.
Sort of like when the prisoners at San Quentin run a train on the new guy what drops the soap in the showers-- he might have reservations with regards to having his backside introduced to the concept of non-consensual sodomy, but by the time the fifth or six convict comes along, he'll be already traumatized enough not to raise any more objections.
While we might not start following Cryptic around with our hand in their back pocket and occasionally get traded to another Asian grindfest mmo for a carton of cigarettes or toilet bowl hootch, they're hoping for enough silence to interpret it as consent.
Again, this is all just conjecture.
I may be totally off.
Carry on.
What else do you expect from Profit World?
I believe that I've seen your posts in a few other threads. Thanks for showing up and being counted for. I'm generally not inclined to post on the forums. I think that I had a total of 3 posts since pre-launch until this issue came up. I'm disappointed by the apathy. I think Cryptic under appreciates how this will negatively effect the true Trekkers who play the game.
Yeah No Thanks, keep your alts Cryptic Im not buying everything 2+ times. Maybe in Communist China people accept this stuff and dont complain but this is the Land of the Free, something Perfect world doesn't understand.
Yeah....but will that fatigue translate to enough frustration for you to cancel your subscription in protest?
I think if they started STO with the premise of having character only unlocks, it wouldn't have gotten as much hate. While I dislike character unlocks, I hardly have time to work on numerous alts so... it doesn't affect me that much.
Besides, if I am right. Character unlocks means two things:
1) You can buy that item to gift to another person
2) You can sell it on the exchange (giving another person an "in-game" method for acquiring it .
As long as character unlocks mean the price of the item reflects the decreased value from account wide unlock, i'm fine with it.
Check, Plz.
The last one was shut down for a reason. Not to mention the current acting head of cryptic confirmed in a dev blog the only thing that they were making character unlock instead of account wide is the tribbles. There were other dev comments on the tracker a while back because of the other now closed thread.
Even the new vet rewards are either account wide one use like a respec or ship slot or they say for each character (aka account wide).
Will be fun to see what happens in this thread.
EDIT
I should say I have not checked the forums lately so something may have been said that I missed
I agree with this