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What would it take for you to invest in ground costumes?
leviathan99
Member Posts: 7,747 Arc User
This was an interesting topic for me on the podcast interview with Geko and was part of the explanation for why Cryptic doesn't do many ground costumes anymore except through Lobi/rep; they don't sell as well as ships.
Now, I'll say upfront: I'm sure this is partly due to ground being less popular than space. And I think the EV suit sale was a first step towards trying to address this.
That said, I think it would be wholly reasonable at 1500-2000 ZEN, IF:
They were accountwide.
They included a costume.
They included a weapon.
They included a kit with themed powers. (Does NOT necessarily require all new animations.)
They included a costume slot.
But ships are more than costumes. They're almost like a new class with a new weapon.
I'm not sure, for instance, that a 29th century costume would have sold at 500 ZEN. But if it included the 29th century pistol with rifle range and a Disintegration proc (fitting the shows use of the pistol which was a vaporization tool used at long ranges and not a stasis device), and a kit with a cross class 29th century Security Team, Chroniton Grenade, Stasis Field, and some kind of Shield Recharge with a Temporal Backstep-type visual, you might well see it sell better at 1500-2000 ZEN than the costume alone would at 500 or than the costume would at 200 Lobi.
Likewise, I think, with the First Contact EV suit, if it had been a costume, a practical EV suit, a bat'leth, and a kit optimized for hazardous combat.
And I think a Dixon Hill pack would work if it was more than just the costume and it included a noir version of the Operative Kit and a Tommygun.
I think it's the "costume alone" aspect of these bundles that limit their appeal and that they need to be treated more like a feature heavy action figure.
The Klingon Academy uniform may have modest appeal but if it had been bundled with a cool bat'leth and a targ handler kit? Maybe it would be much bigger of a deal.
Now, I'll say upfront: I'm sure this is partly due to ground being less popular than space. And I think the EV suit sale was a first step towards trying to address this.
That said, I think it would be wholly reasonable at 1500-2000 ZEN, IF:
They were accountwide.
They included a costume.
They included a weapon.
They included a kit with themed powers. (Does NOT necessarily require all new animations.)
They included a costume slot.
But ships are more than costumes. They're almost like a new class with a new weapon.
I'm not sure, for instance, that a 29th century costume would have sold at 500 ZEN. But if it included the 29th century pistol with rifle range and a Disintegration proc (fitting the shows use of the pistol which was a vaporization tool used at long ranges and not a stasis device), and a kit with a cross class 29th century Security Team, Chroniton Grenade, Stasis Field, and some kind of Shield Recharge with a Temporal Backstep-type visual, you might well see it sell better at 1500-2000 ZEN than the costume alone would at 500 or than the costume would at 200 Lobi.
Likewise, I think, with the First Contact EV suit, if it had been a costume, a practical EV suit, a bat'leth, and a kit optimized for hazardous combat.
And I think a Dixon Hill pack would work if it was more than just the costume and it included a noir version of the Operative Kit and a Tommygun.
I think it's the "costume alone" aspect of these bundles that limit their appeal and that they need to be treated more like a feature heavy action figure.
The Klingon Academy uniform may have modest appeal but if it had been bundled with a cool bat'leth and a targ handler kit? Maybe it would be much bigger of a deal.
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adding more stuff to the ground item, like sets, powers, titles does sound like a good idea, although i would make sure they are still sold separately so someone can just buy the ground set, or just buy the outfit itself.
forcing people into buying a larger bundle without the option of buying smaller components would probably be a big mistake.
Well, you can't buy a ship without the costume or a console without a ship. And you defeat the whole point of selling costumes if you offer a version without the costume for 500 ZEN less and people don't take the costume.
In general, I think the key is to make the kit mechanically different. And one way to do that is, like in the examples I gave, making the kit mechanically novel (ie. permanent targ combat companion) or something that violates normal class boundaries (ie. shield recharge, stasis field, and security team on one kit).
I think this way it would really work. The issue in the past was that they always just released costumes which are only cosmetic and do nothing for gameplay.
People either like the visual of it and buy it or they simply ignore it.
Now, if you add valuable items to a ground pack - like Kits with special powers, a unique weapon it would help you.
I think a unique Kit with a power or a Set bonus is essential for a ground pack. This would work like a space ship console ability and advance your character where a simply costume and then I bet people would also invest in this.
It's easy.
Say it's the melee parts of the Tac operative kit (made faction agnostic) but one of its powers was a supply bunker.
Only the "bunker" was skinned as a snooty bartender in a white tux behind a bar that fades in Holodeck style. And has earth drinks along with fabrication items.
And then maybe a "Security Escort" that's an Untouchables-style G-Man or two (basically, the Dixon Hill look applied to a guy with a crewcut) with his own tommygun.
This thread was started because Geko says that doing that takes more character art time than a ship and sells less.
I barely see any ground combat. No-one queues for that breaking planet map and the big dig is only feasible when the daily for it is available. There is some action at Defera and Nukara but they aren't on the same scale as the space battles and again, dead unless the marks event is going. Ground STF's have a little action, but you'd need to be in a fleet or find a decent team to get any worth out of them.
One possible solution would be to offer unique ground kits with specific ships as an all in one purchase. Like for example the Gorn ships would come with a special Gorn tactical kit, with an ability that let's you lob massive boulders at enemies like the Ra'wiq.
Gecko also thinks there's nothing wrong with beam arrays, and that skills in STO have functions that they clearly don't.
Secondly, if Cryptic wants to sell costumes, stop shoving boffs that can't be customized down our throats. Why spend money on threads for the crew if the crew can't wear them?
It's not a matter of "people don't like the costume unlocks". There are fundamental game-wide issues that exist outside of someone saying "well I didn't want the Troi outfit".
In the end though the game need less costumes! It's a military!
First contact ev suit set would be nice
First contact anti-borg set, weapons w/ built in remod resistance
Insurrection kit with possible reclaimed drones, force fields and the unique weapons we found there
What about an orion smuggler kit? So many possibilites
A captain proton kit might be really fun, outfit turns your character black and white, over-stated weapons, maybe a melee weapon too.
You could have a Maquis kit, all kinds of combinations there
The possibilities are endless and I know people would pay very well be able to become a character in the game.
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Same here, i bought way more costumes & costumeslots then ships. I totally support seeing those costumes of that sig added
Kits are essential class defining stuff on ground, the more they add the harder it will be to maintain class balance on ground and making them store items/bundling em up just adds to the p2w on ground which i'd rather not see happen. So i'd rather not see kits added like that at all.
Same here, I've bought two ships but almost all the costume options. I definitely support the costumes from your signature (especially if they're available to the KDF).
I won't go hunting for them in lock boxes though as I feel that's a colossal waste of money on junk I don't want for a costume for just one alt. That's a whole different subject.
I like the idea of a bundle with the costume and themed weapons or other items and would be prepared to pay a bit more for that.
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I wouldn't buy them if they were more expensive. I didn't buy the EV suit either. The only ground gear I've invested in was by accident, what ever doffs and weapons came in my DS9 bundle and such. I suppose my Ferengi whip counts too, but I got mine with the free lobi. Ground gear just isn't interesting. Of course, I'm not much a ground player, so I'm sure that factors into it.
Ships? I have a problem... My bloated shipyards can attest to that... And I lament the loss of purchasable ship costumes as well.
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So long as they actually get those weapons correct. I'm still cranky about Cryptic's inability to find the right Fx (both visual and sound) for the Bajoran phasers.
This isn't a dress up game, really. Once you have a look that you like, you don't need more looks, and armor covers up your base uniform anyway. Is there even a way to hide armor? I need to check.
So yea, they'd need to include ground weapons, kits, shields, armor, etc that level with you, as a way to kick start new characters, or some kind of other perk.
"Buy Worf's costume, get a klingon boff for every character! Buy Seven of Nine's costume, get a liberated Borg Boff for every character! Buy Picard's costume, unlock /facepalm emote for every character!" etc.
Either that or make them dirt cheap and hope to recoup your investment through volume. Something that could become feasible if the game grows, but apparently isn't feasible currently.
I'm not opposed to more costumes, but having them in the lobi store is fine to me. Yes it's expensive but it gives no edge over current game equipment and it's all I want. Just a skin, nothing more. That's why I have some of the lobi costumes by the way.
Unique weapons already exist, in the lobi store. You're just asking for the lobi stuff at a lesser price, and it's not going to happen anyway.
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Account wide would be nice. Making it a uniform instead of off-duty would be nice too. I seriously regret getting the Merc pack because none of my crew can be outfitted with it.
My problem with buying outfits is the cost honestly. Not so much that it's a few bucks, but that the per-unit price is weird.
Meaning, all of the uniform packages are 550 zen (except the env suits). Yet with some packages you get 1 male & 1 female outfit, other packages only give you a female outfit, yet other packages give you multiple outfits.
I'd like to see a better per-uniform packages. I.e:
200 zen for a female only uniform
400 zen for a single female/male uniform
500 zen for a multi-uniform package (+100 zen per uniform after the second.)
I'd rather see cosmetic stuff put on the zen store while game changing items are offered on the lobi store. I'd think that would help out control the pay-to-win aspect of the game.
You actually SHOW your armor? I haven't looked at armored suits on the characters since Beta days.
And actually, STO is ALL about dressing up the avatar. Whether in humanoid form where race and uniform/off-duty costume come into play or ship form where you dress your avatar in various "hulls". Sorry, didn't mean to burst your bubble, but STO is definitely still "Barbies/GiJoes-in-space".
A lot of the costume items that are in game could be repackaged or bundled to sell without any additional work on the devs part.
Where does that one even come from?
700z for char unlock ev suit ? and our bo's can't wear it ? maybe if it could make us fly like the rocketeer ...
and rocket boots of course
ent ,voy ,tos ,tng packs need doffs ,and self leveling special ships and ground devices
Just so happens the EV suit overwrites the maco/omega/Hg abilities in addition to the optional costume being the most prestigious outfit to wear.
What would I pay to wear say the reman cape and be allowed to color or say copy/paste some borg outfits or maybe the romulan hoodie?
There probably wouldn't be an upper limit for those kind of items. And it's funny because all the great clothing items are already in there it wouldn't take "3 weeks".
Most of the stuff we have now though, not so much - especially not in comparison to wearing the optional costumes.
It depends. If it added kit visuals like TOS Tricorders and the like, I think that would be cool.
I have plans on getting ST II set and the open chest set later. Also TNG set is on my list or the one from DS9/Voyager. I'm still waiting for the TRIBBLE one.
I do agree with yellow on the price. Some are just too expensive for me to buy. Only 1 set for a guy/woman for the same price. Then need a better price range for them. Why buy the "Troi" just for 1 outift where I can buy a large set of them for the same price.
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I turned the armor feature off soon as I found out how. I hate the look of that. So now I can see my uniforms all the time. KDF don't even offer the armor look, which is even better.
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- to let you grind for a romulan costume and then not provide it for KDF is a bad idea
- per toon unlocks for 200 lobi is a bad idea
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probably selling costumes as a bundle with a DOFF (crusher doff with crusher costume, chang doff with chang costume... you get the idea).. if there was an unique weapon usable in ground STF's, or some other gimmick, i would gladly pay 700 Zen.