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Subscription upgraded after 1000 days to LTS?
drkfrontiers
Member Posts: 2,477 Arc User
I cannot afford the LTS in one payment.
Can Cryptic not make it possible for Gold Subscriptions to be automatically upgraded to LTS after 1000 days?
If there are any devs reading this, please could you pass this request along?
Can Cryptic not make it possible for Gold Subscriptions to be automatically upgraded to LTS after 1000 days?
If there are any devs reading this, please could you pass this request along?
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However, i'd argue that 600 days is more than enough since @ 15 dollars/month, 20 months comes out to being 300 dollars. (same cost as Lifetime)
well dont pay for it in one go.?. how about stop spending every penny u got and save up?
back in the old day we used to have a money jar or a piggy bank try that
I have already almost payed for a 1000-day subscription as a Gold Subscriber.
Why should I now need to pay the cost of a LTS when I have already paid more than one is worth again....
Its not an outrageous request by any means. It's is entirely reasonable.
Most businesses offer similar rewards to long-term clients.
it is a bit like asking to your phone provider to downgrade your contract to a 50 bucks flatrate option just because you have been paying 100 bucks ever month for a limited minute package...
They won't do it.
And the moment you renew the contract what came before hardly matters.
best you can do is save 1/3 during a sale if you REALLY want the LTS instead of going FTP. Because honestly, after nearly 1000 days there shouldn't be much left of the Gold status you woulnd't retain after going to silver.
maybe complete the 1000 days to get teh accolade and ship and then call it a day.
I know thats the system. My point is why should I be paying twice for something. Why? And a LTS is not just some small thing in my currency. It equates to 1,723.81 for me.
And I have countless times in my career and personal life been afforded such arrangements. I do it everyday with my clients and I'm in IT.
Is the $ 349 I have paid thus far of less value than the $ 199 LTS? Please, I would like someone to explain to me why in this situation I'm feeling like the noob....
Also you say they won't do it?
They already made a precedent by altering the TOA of the LTS anyway. Now I understand that that is their prerogative. But, relationships are based on compromise and fair agreements.
It would be like paying for your LTS in monthly installments with an interest fee,after a 1000 days people already paid twice as to what a LTS costs.
Take back your home,end the grind!
Volunteer moderators policing the forums is like a mall cop trying to solve a murder.
Exactly my point. Where is the evil in this. Everyone walks away from this a winner. This is how loyalty rewards work in the real world.
Excellent suggestion.
At 33 months (990 days) * 15 dollars, you end up at a cost of 495 dollars, which is far above the cost (discounted or not), of the Lifetime purchase of 300 dollars (currently discounted to 200 dollars). If you reach 1000 days as a non-Lifetimer, then yes, the 1000 day reward SHOULD be a 1-time conversion to "Lifetime" status, with all the perks it involves (forum title etc).
Assume a player has been spending 15 dollars a month, and has reached maybe 950 days simply by supping. Why should this player spend an additional 200/300 dollars to make his subscription a "Lifetime" ? What would be the cost to Cryptic to award 1000 day veterans this status? The Veteran system wouldn't even exist in the first place, if STO had been built as a F2P game from the start.
No offense, but its called "saving money". You can play the game for free, so just set aside $15 per month and when you have enough to buy a LT sub, do it.
You obviously missed the entire point of this thread.
He's not asking for "Can I part-pay for a Lifetime instead of paying the full amount immediately?"
What's been suggested, is that "past a certain amount of accumulated veteran days", is it possible to be awarded an upgrade to "Lifetime" status?
And I still haven't seen anyone comment on what the Cons of such an upgrade would be. The Pros are obvious;
- Player is given Lifetime access to the game as a reward for "money spent on subscribing"
- Player is likely to spend more money over time on C-Store items / lockboxes etc
The most obvious Con I can think of is;
- Cryptic loses an active subscriber (who in turn is now regarded as a Lifetime member)
It's been said repeatedly that they aren't expecting most of their revenue to come from subscriptions. And we all know, most of that revenue comes from lockboxes/master keys, and lifetime sub sales.
If they thought it'd make sense and be an obvious no-brainer, they would've done it already. There are other games with similar deals that likewise have not done so. Additionally, the soon to be shut down COH never even offered lifetime deals.
I suspect that the typical, long-term subscriber, is already spending more than the typical lifetime player. They might also be playing more regularly as well, but I could well be wrong there. The generalization I've always heard is subscribers are more likely to play regularly, if for no other reason than to justify their subscription fee! Hell, between two games, I'm sure they've got some interesting metrics on what happens when a player converts from subscription to Lifetime...
Now, personally? I think they should have special promotions for just long-term subscribers to buy Lifetimes, but that's me. It could be seen as a special perk, a special offer, for a loyal customer. Goodness knows Adobe torments me like that from time to time, and I have bitten! But, I can't see them giving something away when they can get some money out of it.
edit: TL;DR version - if it was obviously, compellingly more financially rewarding for Cryptic/PWE to do this, I think they would've done it. As is, the status quo seems to make more financial sense for them. Certainly, subs are relatively steady revenue.
My blog! Zen|Dilithium tracking on Thursdays
http://samonmaui.blogspot.com
As a lifetime member of STO, I officially became a financial liability as of April 2012 when compared to a subscriber.
My blog! Zen|Dilithium tracking on Thursdays
http://samonmaui.blogspot.com
As a lifetime member of STO, I officially became a financial liability as of April 2012 when compared to a subscriber.
Because the primary benefit of a lifetime subscription to a MMO company is the upfront capital investment which acts as an infusion of cash.. There is absolutely no incentive for them to do what your talking about, and PWE isn't in the habit of doing things that are against their financial gains.
It does work in their favour though.
First of all, as has been pointed out, the subscribed person has already paid well over the cost of a LTS, so it really doesn't cost them anything apart from an ongoing subscription. Having said that, continuing to pay for a subscription after you have the 1000 day Veteran reward is pointless anyway - You already have all of the rewards.
Next, it means that person is no longer paying $15 per month to PWE, and while they might not get the complete amount, I'd be willing to bet that a lot of that 'extra' money the player now has is spent in the Z-Store. Why? They have already paid for over 1000 days subscription, which in my eyes proves they are dedicated to the game, but they may not have been able to afford everything from the Z-Store on top of the subscription (like me and the OP). Besides, even if they have bought everything from the Z-Store already, new things are constantly being released into the store, and these new Veteran LTS'ers would now have more spare cash to throw at them.
They may not quite make as much as if someone continues subscribing, but with next to no reason to keep paying after you hit 1000 days, they would be losing it anyway. At least this way, they are encouraging people to continue playing and financially contributing to the game.
Will it happen? Sorry, not a chance!
It's like if you rent a house for 10 years, then the owner decides to sell it. You'll have to pay full price without a single $ discount.
The tradeoff is LTS are riskier in a way, but that subs cost more over time.
If you do that system whereby subscribers can just LTS, it removes the risk and large cash inflow.
With a F2P system, its not the same for sure, but under a switch like you propose they lose revenue.
It doesn't prevent the inflow of cash though. It just takes out the occasional large chunk of cash that goes in as someone buys the LTS. Plus, with continuing LTS sales, and impatient players, there will always be those who would outright purchase the LTS because they didn't want to wait the several years it would take to get there via subscription
because, you had a choice, you made a choice, and now you have to live with it..
i mean honestly, hearing this is kinda reminding me of what is wrong with this world.
in the begining and all through out this game, you had a choice to either sub monthly, or buy into a lifetime. this means you had a choice, the choice was keep paying or pay once and get bonuses. now its not cryptics job to make you happy cause you appearently made the wrong choice. they have been telling you what you will get if you keep subbing the whole time. they have never kept anything hidden, or worded in a sly way. you knew the whole time that you payed your subscription that it was not a lifetime, and that you would not get certain perks to it. they never misled you, nor are they now. by giving new lts subscribers access to vet rewards early they didnt really add anything to it, just sped it up. i mean an lts would eventually get it. so who cares.. you log on, you play "your" way, and you dont have to pay attention to others. its not like this game is based around having epic gear that not alot of peeps can get or anything..
this mentality of give me give me give me, i deserve this and that and everything, and we should all win is getting old and tiring. ive been playing since launch, i subbed for the first year and a half, then, i decided to go lts. i knew that i had payed for a year and a half, and then adding another 200-300 (depending on the sale i hopped on at the time) but i never once complained, nor felt entitle to something. i knew that my time subbing monthly would never get me the perks of a lts, so i got into my big boy pants, and made the move.
cryptic is not here to hold your hand and color everything in crayon for you. they put the rules, and payment options out. it is your choice, and yours alone what you choose. it is not their fault if you chose wrong, or chose the les desirerable option.
the choice is easy, stay subcribed, end your subbing and play for free, or buy an lts.
So yea, +1
What's the upside for them? Apart from the 3 years worth of paid subscriptions, those who are at 800 or 900 days might just carry on to 1000 and those at around 500 might decide to spend it all at once if they know the cost will be the same. Also, it might help silence all that crying about the recent LTS offer - at least until it expires.
That loyalty is worth rewarding after such a long time at that. I have honestly spent thousands.
It is in their financial gain. I have and continue to spend vast sums of money on their product. Showing some loyalty towards me in return is not unreasonable.
Its not unreasonable....and its not going to happen.
They already have all the money you spent to this point. Why would they willingly forego a chance at getting another $200 out of you?
They wouldn't.
Sorry.
First of all, I never asked for anything free. Secondly, I have never once demanded anything nor stated in anyway that I was a dissatisfied customer. Lastly, you have projected your own mentality onto someone you do not even know. You make it sound like I am asking for some kind of handout. I am not.
I was simply asking a question. I have worked in the hospitality industry for 15 years. It was never an affront when a guest asked if they could get a preferred rate, or a upgrade to the room. I was always glad to assist them, and when they returned each year, who do you think they called on first, and who do you think went out of his way to provide exceptional service?
And I hate to rotten your cheese, but compared to the fresh 1-day F2Per that has walked in off the street yesterday and bought a LTS, I am still the preferred customer. BY every and any definition of the term. Not even the laws of nature, physics or quantum mechanic string theory can change that ever.
Yes, Sadly I agree.
The only option is to hope that the game survives my 1000 days, and then to just go F2P.
Everyone wins.
And don't forget, the owner can decide to not renew the lease, so they can raise the rent on the new person (assuming the price of rentals went up). Storage businesses will do this as well. Happens to private individuals as well as businesses.
Similarly, look at cable TV, internet access, etc. Stop paying, lose access. Keep paying, maybe the rates will go up, maybe not. At least here if you stop paying, you can fall back on Silver.
My blog! Zen|Dilithium tracking on Thursdays
http://samonmaui.blogspot.com
As a lifetime member of STO, I officially became a financial liability as of April 2012 when compared to a subscriber.
I don't feel entitled to free lifer service just because I chose to pay yearly. It is a measure of your confidence in the game that you wish to pay a huge lump sum up front in order to avoid any future charges. As has been stated earlier, it's a choice on your part to stick with a subscription model and the level of benefits set for it, but if you wish to fully commit, they in turn will reward you for that. Just because you spent 1,000 days, 2,000 days, whatever, in half-commitment doesn't mean they owe you a full commitment. You sign a contract for a certain amount of paid time. That contract runs out and must be renewed. Your reward for constant renewals are the Vet Rewards (not so much 'Veteran' now, but that is the idea behind them).
But being given a free LTS for coming back and renewing your pay agreement with them, stating you no longer have to do it? That is not how business works. As neat as it would be if it did, it is not, and you are asking Cryptic to simply hand out their top tier perks regardless how you spin it in an attempt to get out of paying a few hundred dollars. Cryptic, a business that must earn money to keep itself alive and keep feeding us the goodies we freely kvetch about every day, will not agree to that regardless of how many +1s come here; it's really easy to get 'I agree!' from people hearing a proposition to pay less.
You either take the plunge up front, or keep dipping your toes. But don't expect them to raise the water for you.
The Artist Formerly Known As Nikotaka ][ Join Date: Jan 2010
"Can anyone remember when we used to be explorers...?"
Yep. And its a gamble. I can understand having been leery of it at STO's launch, especially since Hellgate London had crashed and burned within recent history.
My blog! Zen|Dilithium tracking on Thursdays
http://samonmaui.blogspot.com
As a lifetime member of STO, I officially became a financial liability as of April 2012 when compared to a subscriber.
i apologize for you taking my whole rant to heart, as only a small part of it was meant in response to what i quoted. however, alot of peeps in this thread and the hundreds of others posted like it are all demanding and screaming for freebies. you sir have not really dont that.
however, this is a video game, not a hotel. cryptic cant wheel and deal with every individual like a hotel can. thus, you have to do what people have done since pay to play has been out. pick your subscription (weather its a month, 6 months, a year, or in sto's case a lts) and live with it.
a car dealership will give me a deal on a car, and if i drive it off the lot, it loses value, now if a better car comes out a few months later, im gonna lose money if i decide to go with the other car. this is a similier situation here. you chose to sub monthly, in that time, you have spent more than the lifetime sub. price, twice as much if it was on sale. now you want to trade in your reg. sub for a lts, well.. i would say that logical thing for cryptic to do, and for players to expect from their "loyalty" is anyone who hits 1k days of sub gets to buy into the lts at say half price. that is more than fair.
remember, this is a video game, and i know alot of these "new gamers" who are playing sto think that cryptic should bend over for them. however, wow, starwars, aoe, lord of the rings, and pretty much any other game that has ever been released has not waivered on their costs at all. so you can argue that to keep you as a customer they should, however no one else is gonna do it, so youll pay just as much. be glad that you have the option for a lts in this game at all. as i cant recall any other game that does offer it.
it was a huge mistake for cryptic to go ftp, the quality of the game went down the toilet, it became pay to win, and now we get to hear the greef of the player base. lol..
good luck man..