THE PRICES ARE THE SAME - $25 still gets you $25 dollars worth of items. I give up. Folks can't do simple math deserve to give themselves an aneurysm from their misplaced rage.
As far as the cost to overseas players purchasing zen, I posted this elsewhere and I am happy enough (and have been although I was initially annoyed at having to pay in euro rather than USD as i did when i first started over 3 years ago)
The last time i bought zen at the beginning of June I got the 5000 zen bundle (which gave me 300 extra zen and so for STO would give me 4240 c points for my cash)
45 Euros = 5000 + 300 zen
45 Euros = GBP 36.35 (0.8777 x EURO)
45 Euros = $56.77 (1.26156 x EURO) - this does not equal $50 obviously.
Now converting sterling direct to dollars gets a similar result:
GBP 36.35 = $56.97 (1.56726 x GBP) - A difference here of 20 cents I can live with.
A direct conversion of USD price to sterling gives the following:
$50 = GBP 31.91 (0.638172 x USD)
An overall difference of GBP 4.44 from the actual charged price.
GBP 4.44 is approximately 14% of GBP 31.91
EU law only requires that the standard VAT rate must be at least 15% and the reduced rate at least 5% so my roundings may have given me the 14% rather than 15%.
This vat or purchase tax was formerly absorbed by PWE for many years, however they were pulled up for it i believe when they wanted to open their European servers and for european customers had to pass on the VAT charge. I don't believe US customers have this extra tax.
No more Steam wallet ? This means I won't buy anymore c-points (or whatever you call them). I don't want to give my credit card number to evey game i play and the steam wallet is perfect for that. I don't want PWE owning any information about my credit card either since I don't trust the company (and its location).
Does no store in your area sell Perfectworld, Rixty, or Ultimate Game cards? I don't give my cc info to ANY game company, so i use prepaid cards, and all 3 of the above can be used in the PWE Zen store. This also prevents me from doing the impulse game. I have a limited amount of entertainment dollars i allot each month, and this keeps me under budget. If you cant get the game cards locally, you can order the physical or electronic versions from Amazon.
Also, as mentioned earlier, Steam can still be used to purchase Zen, just not cp as they are going away.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
99 bugs found in the code!
99 bugs found in the code!
Fix one bug!
Compile it again!
101 bugs found in the code!
good luck blademasterronin. I think when there are more than 2 pages of posts folks just jump in right at the end despite their question "usually" having already been asked and answered multiple times.
good luck blademasterronin. I think when there are more than 2 pages of posts folks just jump in right at the end despite their question "usually" having already been asked and answered multiple times.
Just hoping when people see it answered 4, 5, or 6 times that maybe they will read one of them.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
99 bugs found in the code!
99 bugs found in the code!
Fix one bug!
Compile it again!
101 bugs found in the code!
Just one thing to add. . . pet hate of mine with STO
Not all of us have US$ as our local currency.
Now if you have chosen US$ as the basis of your exchange rate to game currency well that's fine, but when charging the rest of the world please convert into US$ at the current international exchange rate to the local currency. At the very least accurate up to 24hrs.
These nice ppl have services that can do it all for you for a tiny charge. http://www.xe.com/cus/
If any taxes etc apply to these transactions that you pass on to us, please make these charges explicitly clear.
Tax has often been used as the reason why transactions don't add up to exact US$ equivalent.
I call BS on this, if a flat rate of tax was being applied the difference would be the same in terms of % every single time. IT IS NOT. it swings by up to 10-15% on each bloody purchase.
I am sick of being ripped off because my local currency is UK pounds.
The rip off isn't even consistent.
EDIT: I will add some examples in a mo.
EDIT: Ok I correct myself. . . the rip off is at least consistant now at around 13.1%
It wasn't last time I bought CP and did the maths. . . it was also larger, I think 41% was the record! I suspect they have cleaned things up a bit in the Zenification.
So 13.1%
Care to explain why? Which tax law is that?
Also point stands about exchange rates, whilst it might be very nice to have 18 Euro = 2000 Zen = $20 forever that is simply not fair.
By all means set $20 = 2000 Zen but the Euro figure must change with the exchange rate, ok 18.14243 Euro might not be a nice round number but live with it!
That's not even bringing up how the second changer rate into ? could vary differently with both currencies.
I'm no economist, but I can recognize a rip off when I see one.
unfortunately i just lost my first reply.. so here is something to think about.
As I showed in my earlier post we seem to be paying between 14 and 15% TAX by paying in EURO against purchasing with USD directly. This is pretty much in line with EU legislation that minimum VAT for member states is 15%. The fluctuation is probably due to the fact that the USD to EUR conversion done by PWE in setting the 45 EUR price for 5000 zen is static while the actual EUR to GBP rate fluctuates (and has dropped 10% in the last year according to European Central Bank (ECB) (Source: http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-gbp.en.html)
If we consider that the 45 EUR price is 39.13 EUR PLUS 5.87 EUR (15% VAT) then this gives the exchange rate used at the time as 50/39.13 = approximately 1.28 USD : 1 EUR
so if PWE were to recalculate the EUR price even annually then the current price should be 50/1.25 = 40 EUR plus 40 @ 15% VAT = 6 EUR so the cost now would be 46 EUR for 5000 zen. not a big change. BUT.
If they had done this the same time last year however, the rate was 1.44 USD : 1 EUR so 50/1.44 = 34.72 EUR plus 34.72 @ 15 % = 5.21 EUR so the cost for the last year should have been 39.93 EUR, call it 40 EUR for simplicity sake, a saving for european customers of 5 EUR per purchase.
Should PWE review the EUR cost at least annually? Damn right they should (I would prefer quarterly but annually is at least a start). Will they? I doubt it but perhaps PWEBranflakes can highlight this concern to the accounts department as while PWE made extra money last year from it's EU customers than it rightly should have, if the EUR continues to weaken against the dollar the company will start losing money to it's EU customers..
.. damn maybe we shouldnt do anything or euro zone folks and brits will be worse off?
What is so good about the Zen to be used in a game the Cryptic points work better in, this reminds me of a old Tech saying " If it aint broken, do not fix it", this fits to the Cpoint system for both Star Trek Online & Champions Online, I think it should be an option to by Zen or Cpoints for the games, Zen for those who play 1 of the other games & Cpoints for Star Trek Online & Champions online
they are changing it to make things simpler for new players and the hard of thinking. old farts need to get with the program apparently.
personally i never liked this 80points for a dollar thing. I think it clouded the true price of an item. the pwe system is simpler - you pay 2500 US cents, you get 2500 zen. It is perfectly transparent that a ship cost $25 dollars.
I find it funny that people think PWE has direct access to any credit card information. You NEVER provide your CC info to PWE...rather, to the third party handling the billing transaction (Paypal, Skrill, Google Checkout, et. al. ).
Hence the reason you use third parties to handle financial transaction processing. Only the funds are transferred to PW....credit card info NEVER is.
Please learn how the process works before you complain about "giving your CC info to PWE".
I find it funny that people think PWE has direct access to any credit card information. You NEVER provide your CC info to PWE...rather, to the third party handling the billing transaction (Paypal, Skrill, Google Checkout, et. al. ).
Hence the reason you use third parties to handle financial transaction processing. Only the funds are transferred to PW....credit card info NEVER is.
Please learn how the process works before you complain about "giving your CC info to PWE".
Well if that was directed at me, I think its funny that you did'n read my post..
Otherwise, never mind.
Don't look silly... Don't call it the "Z-Store/Zen Store"...
It was inevitable. Yes, change is annoying. But aside from exchange rate and VAT tax issues for non-US customers, there's no point in raging over it. It's not like Cryptic would've had a choice, even if it wasn't a good business decision.
That much, I suppose, is debatable. Anti-PWE sentiment might have a greater effect on Cryptic's operations and sales.
But if people like the game and want the items and services that cost money, it leaves me scratching my head why some would balk at buying ZEN.
The money was still going to the same place, the parent company doesn't magically change, there are more options for buying points than before, and the cash value hasn't changed for any item.
The only reason not to buy ZEN is because a person doesn't want to buy anything from Cryptic anyway, and the point becomes moot. I'll buy ZEN, but there's nothing forcing me to use it on anything but STO.
The one part I do not like is that I can no longer shop in STO and Champs from the same pool of points. Before there was nothing stopping me from spending my points on one game or the other. Now, they are separate. Frankly, it makes it far less likely that I will ever spend points on Champions since I can't apply my balance of Cryptic Points wherever I like.
It would be nice if we could export unspent points from one game back out to ZEN, but I can't imagine them doing that.
My views may not represent those of Cryptic Studios or Perfect World Entertainment. You can file a "forums and website" support ticket here Link: How to PM - Twitter @STOMod_Bluegeek
Not sure if this has been asked before, but if Lifetime Gold accounts still get 500 ZEN per month, does this mean a double-Lifter (CO & STO) gets 1,000 ZEN per month that could be transferred to any PWE game? :cool:
If so, this change may be worth all the fuss.
____________________________________________
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* Dec 2007 (CO)
* Oct 2008 (STO)
Not sure if this has been asked before, but if Lifetime Gold accounts still get 500 ZEN per month, does this mean a double-Lifter (CO & STO) gets 1,000 ZEN per month that could be transferred to any PWE game? :cool:
If so, this change may be worth all the fuss.
From the FAQ:
Q: What's going to happen to my monthly stipend as a Gold member?
You will continue to receive the stipend for as long as you are a Gold member, however, instead of 400 Cryptic Points you will receive 500 ZEN. Please note that the value of the stipend will remain unchanged, and remains game-specific currency.
So it seems that your stipends will still be game specific.
bluegeek back in my more active PWI days, there were instances where by raising a ticket with support they would transfer any unused cash bought gold (i.e not purchased in game via exchange) back into your wallet for use in other games/on other PWI servers. The rational provided accepted by PWE for this was that a player would no longer be playing on a particular server (tired of the community/newer local server in the case of the EU ones). Not sure this ties in totally with your request, but if you were for example going to be concentrating on CO for a while, you could ask to transfer your website purchased zen back to your wallet. They can only say no.. or might say yes.
While I'm none-too-keen on the aesthetic quality of the name Zen (in regards to Star Trek; frankly I liked "Atari Tokens", as they reminded me of old school video game arcades.), I love the idea that the actual dollar value of C-Store items (Z-Store?) will be more evident in the price. (ie 2,000 point items will cost $20 instead of $25 (which, instead will be 2,500 points)).
Frankly, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. It's an inevitable move, that's not at all surprising (after last year's buyout). And while I think some things (like the forum conversions) were/are handled poorly, it sounds like this is all rather on the up-and-up to me. (Though I'm sure there's room for Them to F' it up! )
Oh! So does that mean we get a "bulk" purchase bonus if we buy $50 or more worth of Zen at once? If I were ever again interested in buying CP, uh, ahem, Zen, then this would be nice (I always wondered why there wasn't any such bulk-rate)...
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Hello, I'm PatricianVetinari, using my alt-Silver account to access these new forums (as I'm not yet willing to PW link/convert my main/LTS account). To say I'm disappointed with this "conversion" event would be an understatement.
(Is there a way to make my text align next to the sig pic, instead of after/under it?)
As I mentioned on Saturday, I was going to get more clarification on some of the questions you asked in this thread. Here are the updates from this FAQ:
Q: What happens to the Dilithium Currency Exchange in-game? Will the price range be adjusted?
Yes, the price range will be adjusted.
Q: What is ZEN?
ZEN is the name of the virtual currency used to fund in-game purchases throughout all of Perfect World Entertainment's games. In some games this requires converting the Zen to a currency more in keeping with the game aesthetic however ultimately Zen is used to purchase items in each of the games' cash shops to enhance the user's gameplay experience.
Q: Is there a way to gift Zen to others like players were able to do with Virtual Point cards?
Not as directly. You can send them money via PayPal, or you can purchase Perfect World Zen Cards from a variety of reputable retailers.
Q: Can I still buy Cryptic Points through Steam?
Cryptic Points will no longer be available through Steam, however, you can purchase ZEN for use in Cryptic Games. ZEN purchased for Champions Online through Steam will go directly into your ZEN balance in-game.
yup bulk bonus is a permanent fixture (and has been for some years) for purchases of 5000zen and up.
then you have the occasional 15% zen sales. woot (extra 750zen on the same purchase of 5000zen giving you a total of 6050zen for your 50 bucks. Not a bad return just for getting your timing right when buying your zen)
As I mentioned on Saturday, I was going to get more clarification on some of the questions you asked in this thread. Here are the updates from this FAQ:
Q: What happens to the Dilithium Currency Exchange in-game? Will the price range be adjusted?
Yes, the price range will be adjusted.
Q: What is ZEN?
ZEN is the name of the virtual currency used to fund in-game purchases throughout all of Perfect World Entertainment's games. In some games this requires converting the Zen to a currency more in keeping with the game aesthetic however ultimately Zen is used to purchase items in each of the games' cash shops to enhance the user's gameplay experience.
Q: Is there a way to gift Zen to others like players were able to do with Virtual Point cards?
Not as directly. You can send them money via PayPal, or you can purchase Perfect World Zen Cards from a variety of reputable retailers.
Q: Can I still buy Cryptic Points through Steam?
Cryptic Points will no longer be available through Steam, however, you can purchase ZEN for use in Cryptic Games. ZEN purchased for Champions Online through Steam will go directly into your ZEN balance in-game.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
You still haven't explicitly stated whether we will be able to buy ZEN using Steam Wallet from within Star Trek Online.
You still haven't explicitly stated whether we will be able to buy ZEN using Steam Wallet from within Star Trek Online.
Sorry that it is not clear As far as I know, there is no other way to purchase CP/ ZEN through Steam other than using the Steam Wallet. The FAQ is being updated to ensure it is clear.
Sorry that it is not clear As far as I know, there is no other way to purchase CP/ ZEN through Steam other than using the Steam Wallet. The FAQ is being updated to ensure it is clear.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
My apologies for getting caught up in minutiae, but there are differences in the way Champs and STO operate, some not overly apparent.
Yes. You will notice all of your balances go up (if you have any), but that also means C-Store prices will increase (even though the actual conversion price to IRL currency stays the same as it was if it were C-Store Points). The dilithium exchange will be adjusted for this change, too.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
I wholeheartedly disagree with this change. The current cost of things with C-coins is too high and I'm fairly certain that the 25% price increase on T5 and T5.5 ships was done simply to compensate for the pending switch to the ZEN microcurrency.
Also I do not want to have to explain to my fleeties why the price went up from 2000 to 2500.
I understand why. I JUST DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT TO MY FLEETIES!
President of the Amnian Illithid Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Please spread the word that the term "Mind Flayer" is a derogatory term to our kind.
yup bulk bonus is a permanent fixture (and has been for some years) for purchases of 5000zen and up.
then you have the occasional 15% zen sales. woot (extra 750zen on the same purchase of 5000zen giving you a total of 6050zen for your 50 bucks. Not a bad return just for getting your timing right when buying your zen)
...Also I do not want to have to explain to my fleeties why the price went up from 2000 to 2500.
I understand why. I JUST DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT TO MY FLEETIES!...
Ozewa, if you understand why, as you say, there's nothing to be upset about (surely nothing to call names over, and BTW, you may want to edit your post, it's an infractionable offense to call people names... Just trying to help :redface:).
Prices are going up, but so is the quantity of your currency.
For Example: If you or your Fleetie have 1,000 CP ($12.50 worth of CP), and are saving up for that 2,000 ($25) item, you're still going to be half-way there after the conversion.
You will now have 1,250 Zen ($12.50 worth) saving up for what will now be a 2,500 Zen ($25) item.
Before the conversion, in our hypothetical senario you would have to pay $12.50 to buy 1,000 more CP to get that other half. After the conversion you'll pay $12.50 to buy 1,250 Zen to get the other half. Same is same.
Before/After the conversion, the value remains the same.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Hello, I'm PatricianVetinari, using my alt-Silver account to access these new forums (as I'm not yet willing to PW link/convert my main/LTS account). To say I'm disappointed with this "conversion" event would be an understatement.
(Is there a way to make my text align next to the sig pic, instead of after/under it?)
thanks drumknott. good to see some folks get it and can explain it calmly. i am starting to lose the will to explain it to people in a calm manner. especially when all the information is there and they just want to rage over nothing.
I've spent half the day looking for my copy of THUD!
Anyway, I get all that. I understand the math. I can explain it. I just don't want to.
I've spent most of the week explaining to people how to do things in PSO2. I don't want to have to explain how arithmetic works.
Especially when they could just leave the prices at the same numbers (2000 C-Coin = 2000 ZEN for pricing) and inflate their currency (2000 C-Coin == 2500 zen) and have their entire playerbase leap for joy while also generating a lot of free press. It does not seem logical to waste such an opportunity. Or profitable.
President of the Amnian Illithid Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Please spread the word that the term "Mind Flayer" is a derogatory term to our kind.
hmm nah can't see that happening. the whole 80 points = 1 dollar clouds the true price of items and makes most people think they are paying less than they actually are. the decision has been made now and the wheels are in motion, it's now about socialising the idea.
Holy long post, Batman! I'm not going to read it all before responding, sorry. I usually try to but I am pressed for time this morning.
I was wondering how long before this happened. I have gotten used to doing the conversion in my head, but this will be a welcome change, IMO.
While I'm sure some people will have problems mentally adjusting their current c-point count, in the end this puts "points" and "dollars" on a simple scale, so prices will be much easier to calculate in our heads.
I.E. An Atrox, which cost $25 US will cost 2500 Zen, as opposed to 2000 C-Points, which is just slight less then simple when it comes to the math. Yes, I can do it in my sleep, but now it will be even simpler then that.
Sorry if I am covering stuff that has already been stated or if I'm off on my numbers, I'm sleepy, hung over, and preparing for a date all at the same time lol... Pardon my lack of focus.
I once again match my character. Behold the power of PINK!
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Before someone else brings it up the statement below from the FAQ isnt completely accurate unless this is a wider change across all games:
ZEN is the name of the virtual currency used throughout all of Perfect World Entertainment's games (excluding Torchlight). ZEN is used to purchase items in each of the games' cash shops to enhance the user's gameplay experience.
PWI uses Gold and Silver in the in game boutique.
ESO uses Ebucks and Ecents.
Jade Dynasty uses Jaden and Jaden Silver
Foresaken world uses Eyrda leaves
BOI (and I think WOI), Rusty Hearts, Blacklight Retribution use Zen directly.
Torchlight isn't mentioned so I will take that at face value as not using zen and I presume that Neverwinter will use Zen from the get go. No Mention of what Raiderz uses and I havent tried the beta so dont know.
So if there is a wider plan to change all games currencies to zen, then the FAQ statement is at least partly correct, however if not it is more true to say that:
ZEN is the name of the virtual currency used to fund in-game purchases throughout all of Perfect World Entertainment's games. In some games this requires converting the Zen to a currency more in keeping with the game aesthetic however ultimately Zen is used to purchase items in each of the games' cash shops to enhance the user's gameplay experience.
Just something that may need clarified as i couldnt see a post on the PWI forum for example about converting gold/silver to Zen in the boutique.
Again, I can't devote the morning to this thread, but I saw this and was curious. I'm not a player of those other games, but as I understood it, the resources you mentioned were similar to Dilithium, not C-Store points. When you go to buy points from PWE the only option I have ever seen is for Zen. Again, I can't verify any of that, as I don't play any other PWE game then STO, but I have never seen an option to buy any of the currencies you have mentioned in this post.
Edit: new forums are odd, it quoted the wrong post...
I once again match my character. Behold the power of PINK!
Fleet Admiral Space Orphidian Possiblities Wizard
Comments
e.g
Armitage costs $25 USD
= 2000 Cpoints (old cryptic price)
= 2500 zen (expected pwe price)
= $25 USD
Not a difficult concept.
As far as the cost to overseas players purchasing zen, I posted this elsewhere and I am happy enough (and have been although I was initially annoyed at having to pay in euro rather than USD as i did when i first started over 3 years ago)
The last time i bought zen at the beginning of June I got the 5000 zen bundle (which gave me 300 extra zen and so for STO would give me 4240 c points for my cash)
45 Euros = 5000 + 300 zen
45 Euros = GBP 36.35 (0.8777 x EURO)
45 Euros = $56.77 (1.26156 x EURO) - this does not equal $50 obviously.
Now converting sterling direct to dollars gets a similar result:
GBP 36.35 = $56.97 (1.56726 x GBP) - A difference here of 20 cents I can live with.
A direct conversion of USD price to sterling gives the following:
$50 = GBP 31.91 (0.638172 x USD)
An overall difference of GBP 4.44 from the actual charged price.
GBP 4.44 is approximately 14% of GBP 31.91
EU law only requires that the standard VAT rate must be at least 15% and the reduced rate at least 5% so my roundings may have given me the 14% rather than 15%.
This vat or purchase tax was formerly absorbed by PWE for many years, however they were pulled up for it i believe when they wanted to open their European servers and for european customers had to pass on the VAT charge. I don't believe US customers have this extra tax.
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Does no store in your area sell Perfectworld, Rixty, or Ultimate Game cards? I don't give my cc info to ANY game company, so i use prepaid cards, and all 3 of the above can be used in the PWE Zen store. This also prevents me from doing the impulse game. I have a limited amount of entertainment dollars i allot each month, and this keeps me under budget. If you cant get the game cards locally, you can order the physical or electronic versions from Amazon.
Also, as mentioned earlier, Steam can still be used to purchase Zen, just not cp as they are going away.
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Just hoping when people see it answered 4, 5, or 6 times that maybe they will read one of them.
Not all of us have US$ as our local currency.
Now if you have chosen US$ as the basis of your exchange rate to game currency well that's fine, but when charging the rest of the world please convert into US$ at the current international exchange rate to the local currency. At the very least accurate up to 24hrs.
These nice ppl have services that can do it all for you for a tiny charge.
http://www.xe.com/cus/
If any taxes etc apply to these transactions that you pass on to us, please make these charges explicitly clear.
Tax has often been used as the reason why transactions don't add up to exact US$ equivalent.
I call BS on this, if a flat rate of tax was being applied the difference would be the same in terms of % every single time. IT IS NOT. it swings by up to 10-15% on each bloody purchase.
I am sick of being ripped off because my local currency is UK pounds.
The rip off isn't even consistent.
EDIT: I will add some examples in a mo.
EDIT: Ok I correct myself. . . the rip off is at least consistant now at around 13.1%
It wasn't last time I bought CP and did the maths. . . it was also larger, I think 41% was the record! I suspect they have cleaned things up a bit in the Zenification.
So 13.1%
Care to explain why? Which tax law is that?
Also point stands about exchange rates, whilst it might be very nice to have 18 Euro = 2000 Zen = $20 forever that is simply not fair.
By all means set $20 = 2000 Zen but the Euro figure must change with the exchange rate, ok 18.14243 Euro might not be a nice round number but live with it!
That's not even bringing up how the second changer rate into ? could vary differently with both currencies.
I'm no economist, but I can recognize a rip off when I see one.
As I showed in my earlier post we seem to be paying between 14 and 15% TAX by paying in EURO against purchasing with USD directly. This is pretty much in line with EU legislation that minimum VAT for member states is 15%. The fluctuation is probably due to the fact that the USD to EUR conversion done by PWE in setting the 45 EUR price for 5000 zen is static while the actual EUR to GBP rate fluctuates (and has dropped 10% in the last year according to European Central Bank (ECB) (Source: http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-gbp.en.html)
If we consider that the 45 EUR price is 39.13 EUR PLUS 5.87 EUR (15% VAT) then this gives the exchange rate used at the time as 50/39.13 = approximately 1.28 USD : 1 EUR
Bear in mind that the current actual conversion rate for USD : EUR is 1.25 USD : 1 EUR (and has dropped almost 13% over the past year as the EUR weakens against the dollar) (Source: http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-usd.en.html)
so if PWE were to recalculate the EUR price even annually then the current price should be 50/1.25 = 40 EUR plus 40 @ 15% VAT = 6 EUR so the cost now would be 46 EUR for 5000 zen. not a big change. BUT.
If they had done this the same time last year however, the rate was 1.44 USD : 1 EUR so 50/1.44 = 34.72 EUR plus 34.72 @ 15 % = 5.21 EUR so the cost for the last year should have been 39.93 EUR, call it 40 EUR for simplicity sake, a saving for european customers of 5 EUR per purchase.
Should PWE review the EUR cost at least annually? Damn right they should (I would prefer quarterly but annually is at least a start). Will they? I doubt it but perhaps PWEBranflakes can highlight this concern to the accounts department as while PWE made extra money last year from it's EU customers than it rightly should have, if the EUR continues to weaken against the dollar the company will start losing money to it's EU customers..
.. damn maybe we shouldnt do anything or euro zone folks and brits will be worse off?
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personally i never liked this 80points for a dollar thing. I think it clouded the true price of an item. the pwe system is simpler - you pay 2500 US cents, you get 2500 zen. It is perfectly transparent that a ship cost $25 dollars.
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At least the value is the same.
CRUISERS NEED A 206% HULL BUFF
Hence the reason you use third parties to handle financial transaction processing. Only the funds are transferred to PW....credit card info NEVER is.
Please learn how the process works before you complain about "giving your CC info to PWE".
ROLL TIDE ROLL
Well if that was directed at me, I think its funny that you did'n read my post..
Otherwise, never mind.
That much, I suppose, is debatable. Anti-PWE sentiment might have a greater effect on Cryptic's operations and sales.
But if people like the game and want the items and services that cost money, it leaves me scratching my head why some would balk at buying ZEN.
The money was still going to the same place, the parent company doesn't magically change, there are more options for buying points than before, and the cash value hasn't changed for any item.
The only reason not to buy ZEN is because a person doesn't want to buy anything from Cryptic anyway, and the point becomes moot. I'll buy ZEN, but there's nothing forcing me to use it on anything but STO.
The one part I do not like is that I can no longer shop in STO and Champs from the same pool of points. Before there was nothing stopping me from spending my points on one game or the other. Now, they are separate. Frankly, it makes it far less likely that I will ever spend points on Champions since I can't apply my balance of Cryptic Points wherever I like.
It would be nice if we could export unspent points from one game back out to ZEN, but I can't imagine them doing that.
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If so, this change may be worth all the fuss.
The poster formerly known as LordOfPit, and his blog.
* Dec 2007 (CO)
* Oct 2008 (STO)
From the FAQ:
So it seems that your stipends will still be game specific.
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Frankly, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. It's an inevitable move, that's not at all surprising (after last year's buyout). And while I think some things (like the forum conversions) were/are handled poorly, it sounds like this is all rather on the up-and-up to me. (Though I'm sure there's room for Them to F' it up!
Oh! So does that mean we get a "bulk" purchase bonus if we buy $50 or more worth of Zen at once? If I were ever again interested in buying CP, uh, ahem, Zen, then this would be nice (I always wondered why there wasn't any such bulk-rate)...
(Is there a way to make my text align next to the sig pic, instead of after/under it?)
Yes, the price range will be adjusted.
Q: What is ZEN?
ZEN is the name of the virtual currency used to fund in-game purchases throughout all of Perfect World Entertainment's games. In some games this requires converting the Zen to a currency more in keeping with the game aesthetic however ultimately Zen is used to purchase items in each of the games' cash shops to enhance the user's gameplay experience.
Q: Is there a way to gift Zen to others like players were able to do with Virtual Point cards?
Not as directly. You can send them money via PayPal, or you can purchase Perfect World Zen Cards from a variety of reputable retailers.
Q: Can I still buy Cryptic Points through Steam?
Cryptic Points will no longer be available through Steam, however, you can purchase ZEN for use in Cryptic Games. ZEN purchased for Champions Online through Steam will go directly into your ZEN balance in-game.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
then you have the occasional 15% zen sales. woot (extra 750zen on the same purchase of 5000zen giving you a total of 6050zen for your 50 bucks. Not a bad return just for getting your timing right when buying your zen)
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You still haven't explicitly stated whether we will be able to buy ZEN using Steam Wallet from within Star Trek Online.
Commander, Starfleet Corps of Engineers • 7th Fleet
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Sorry that it is not clear
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
My apologies for getting caught up in minutiae, but there are differences in the way Champs and STO operate, some not overly apparent.
Commander, Starfleet Corps of Engineers • 7th Fleet
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I wholeheartedly disagree with this change. The current cost of things with C-coins is too high and I'm fairly certain that the 25% price increase on T5 and T5.5 ships was done simply to compensate for the pending switch to the ZEN microcurrency.
Also I do not want to have to explain to my fleeties why the price went up from 2000 to 2500.
I understand why. I JUST DO NOT WANT TO HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT TO MY FLEETIES!
Prices are going up, but so is the quantity of your currency.
For Example: If you or your Fleetie have 1,000 CP ($12.50 worth of CP), and are saving up for that 2,000 ($25) item, you're still going to be half-way there after the conversion.
You will now have 1,250 Zen ($12.50 worth) saving up for what will now be a 2,500 Zen ($25) item.
Before the conversion, in our hypothetical senario you would have to pay $12.50 to buy 1,000 more CP to get that other half. After the conversion you'll pay $12.50 to buy 1,250 Zen to get the other half. Same is same.
Before/After the conversion, the value remains the same.
(Is there a way to make my text align next to the sig pic, instead of after/under it?)
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Anyway, I get all that. I understand the math. I can explain it. I just don't want to.
I've spent most of the week explaining to people how to do things in PSO2. I don't want to have to explain how arithmetic works.
Especially when they could just leave the prices at the same numbers (2000 C-Coin = 2000 ZEN for pricing) and inflate their currency (2000 C-Coin == 2500 zen) and have their entire playerbase leap for joy while also generating a lot of free press. It does not seem logical to waste such an opportunity. Or profitable.
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I was wondering how long before this happened. I have gotten used to doing the conversion in my head, but this will be a welcome change, IMO.
While I'm sure some people will have problems mentally adjusting their current c-point count, in the end this puts "points" and "dollars" on a simple scale, so prices will be much easier to calculate in our heads.
I.E. An Atrox, which cost $25 US will cost 2500 Zen, as opposed to 2000 C-Points, which is just slight less then simple when it comes to the math. Yes, I can do it in my sleep, but now it will be even simpler then that.
Sorry if I am covering stuff that has already been stated or if I'm off on my numbers, I'm sleepy, hung over, and preparing for a date all at the same time lol... Pardon my lack of focus.
Fleet Admiral Space Orphidian Possiblities Wizard
Again, I can't devote the morning to this thread, but I saw this and was curious. I'm not a player of those other games, but as I understood it, the resources you mentioned were similar to Dilithium, not C-Store points. When you go to buy points from PWE the only option I have ever seen is for Zen. Again, I can't verify any of that, as I don't play any other PWE game then STO, but I have never seen an option to buy any of the currencies you have mentioned in this post.
Edit: new forums are odd, it quoted the wrong post...
Fleet Admiral Space Orphidian Possiblities Wizard