test content
Logo
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Eyes Wide Open
webdeath
Member Posts: 1,570 Arc User
First, I want to say that yes, I am a fan of Star trek starting from TNG to the new JJ Movies..
But that isn't the reason for this thread.
I won't be going into the whole "Why I don't like this game from a Fan boi" point of view.
This is more of a "Some one has lost their marbles and I'm tired of it." Point of view.
I'm a Life time sub.
Spend, Guestimated around 2-2.5k On the game. (Right like Money matters in this discussion, but felt like I guess its a useful piece of info)
I went from a Full time PVPer, to a part time login-er..
The Game does have some decent story content. Some of it keeps me coming back around to play. And that's great that you have a way to bring me back to play.
And Yes, I know I don't need the newest and biggest shines to play PVE content. At least not the usual Story whoo-dee-doo they release.
But what bothers me, really bothers me, is the seeming cost to compete in this game now a days.
Used to be a point where I'd see new ships, or ship packages and go "Cool".
They release info that a new ship is coming out.. and instead of looking into the ship as if I could get access to it. I'm now groaning because a new ship is coming out with the newest price tags that are on the newest T6 ships.
That is mostly my biggest concern and dislike about the way the game is now..
I can't even enjoy seeing a new ship release with out going.. "And how much will this monkey be to feed?"
Sure you don't have to buy the C-store ships for all charac-
Oh wait.. before I even complete that sentence... I have to remind my self.. Fleet ships..
So I then find my self wondering.. What's the point?
How long before they start to charge $50, $100, $1,000 for a SINGLE SHIP UNLOCK (fleet accessories not included)?
Sure you can buy these ships as part of a "Discounted Package".
Heck you can even "earn" these ships by trading Refined Dilithium at 8k per character, per day..
But that brings up something else. I already have a job!
I'm supposed to be playing a game, not some Ferengi styled labor camp.
I guess I COULD go looking for another game. Not like I haven't spent 4 years, Plus Beta, Plus the Life time sub that was a Christmas Present from my now Deceased mother..
But then again, what good IS a subscription or even a Life time sub for now a days anyway?
What do you get again?
Let's see..
Liberated Borg..
Access to Test server..
500 Cryptic Points/mo
Extra Character slots
No limit on funds
Bank slots
Account bank slots
Captain's table Social zone (That is DEAD btw..)
3 Ships that have absolutely no real use compared to T6 ships in end game..but can be upgraded.. for a cost..yet still won't be as comparable since T6 ships are the only places to get those coveted and some might say OP Ship traits..
And yet you don't need ANY of that to play.
So.. let's see..Star trek online is a free to play game that..
You don't need to sub for..
Makes you grind or pay for the Newest shinnies that are released..
Is starting a trend where when a level cap is raised, the Next tier will be at least $5-10 more expensive then the last.
I guess all of my Gripes, all of the above ranting like comments or what some might call "Wall of Text" grinds down to is my absolute disgust with the current direction of Star Trek online.
Heck, even Podcasts like the renamed STOked show, don't even consider STO a true MMO!
And with the direction the game is running, is it any reason why its slowly more and more becoming, in appearance, like one big attempt to cash in on the Star Trek IP before the next big and great Star Trek Game does get released to fill the niche that this one no longer seems capable to provide?
So I guess my eyes are finally wide open.
Wide open to the Scam that the game has become.. T6 Opened it for me.
Especially when I realized if I let my stipend build up to buy the t6 ship package (That doesn't include this new release of course, or any other new releases) it would take at least 24 months for it to reach the amount necessary..
And then there's the Lock Box bonanza.. DR wasn't released a week .. heck I think it was on day one of DR that they released it.. with.. oh look yet ANOTHER T6 ship..
So yes. I can no longer look at the game and be happy with new Story content. Because the Story seems less important when you open the Zen Store and see what you need to continue to compete in the future.
Is this REALLY the way that the Development of the game is going? Spitting out stories, and getting people to voice act, while trying to use that as a way to disguise the fact that this game is no longer about the story, or the content, but more about how many ships you can sell?
So yes.. My eyes are wide open to the NEW Star Trek online.. And it sickens me..
Will I give up logging in all together and Quit? I honestly don't know..
This is not a thread to give that kind of a statement. I'm a Life time subscriber.
I can't even promote the game to my friends!! So how do you expect me to have desire to log in any more!
Please.. Don't bleed your customers Wallets dry..
Please.. Don't make us work the Dilithium Mines..
Please find a way to make customers like me blind again..
Because after everything I've had go on in my life.. To have my one favorite game turn out like this..
Sorry for the long rant.
Sorry to those of you that decide this thread is too long to read.
I only hope that I'm not the only one to now have my eyes wide open on Star Trek Online..
But that isn't the reason for this thread.
I won't be going into the whole "Why I don't like this game from a Fan boi" point of view.
This is more of a "Some one has lost their marbles and I'm tired of it." Point of view.
I'm a Life time sub.
Spend, Guestimated around 2-2.5k On the game. (Right like Money matters in this discussion, but felt like I guess its a useful piece of info)
I went from a Full time PVPer, to a part time login-er..
The Game does have some decent story content. Some of it keeps me coming back around to play. And that's great that you have a way to bring me back to play.
And Yes, I know I don't need the newest and biggest shines to play PVE content. At least not the usual Story whoo-dee-doo they release.
But what bothers me, really bothers me, is the seeming cost to compete in this game now a days.
Used to be a point where I'd see new ships, or ship packages and go "Cool".
They release info that a new ship is coming out.. and instead of looking into the ship as if I could get access to it. I'm now groaning because a new ship is coming out with the newest price tags that are on the newest T6 ships.
That is mostly my biggest concern and dislike about the way the game is now..
I can't even enjoy seeing a new ship release with out going.. "And how much will this monkey be to feed?"
Sure you don't have to buy the C-store ships for all charac-
Oh wait.. before I even complete that sentence... I have to remind my self.. Fleet ships..
So I then find my self wondering.. What's the point?
How long before they start to charge $50, $100, $1,000 for a SINGLE SHIP UNLOCK (fleet accessories not included)?
Sure you can buy these ships as part of a "Discounted Package".
Heck you can even "earn" these ships by trading Refined Dilithium at 8k per character, per day..
But that brings up something else. I already have a job!
I'm supposed to be playing a game, not some Ferengi styled labor camp.
I guess I COULD go looking for another game. Not like I haven't spent 4 years, Plus Beta, Plus the Life time sub that was a Christmas Present from my now Deceased mother..
But then again, what good IS a subscription or even a Life time sub for now a days anyway?
What do you get again?
Let's see..
Liberated Borg..
Access to Test server..
500 Cryptic Points/mo
Extra Character slots
No limit on funds
Bank slots
Account bank slots
Captain's table Social zone (That is DEAD btw..)
3 Ships that have absolutely no real use compared to T6 ships in end game..but can be upgraded.. for a cost..yet still won't be as comparable since T6 ships are the only places to get those coveted and some might say OP Ship traits..
And yet you don't need ANY of that to play.
So.. let's see..Star trek online is a free to play game that..
You don't need to sub for..
Makes you grind or pay for the Newest shinnies that are released..
Is starting a trend where when a level cap is raised, the Next tier will be at least $5-10 more expensive then the last.
I guess all of my Gripes, all of the above ranting like comments or what some might call "Wall of Text" grinds down to is my absolute disgust with the current direction of Star Trek online.
Heck, even Podcasts like the renamed STOked show, don't even consider STO a true MMO!
And with the direction the game is running, is it any reason why its slowly more and more becoming, in appearance, like one big attempt to cash in on the Star Trek IP before the next big and great Star Trek Game does get released to fill the niche that this one no longer seems capable to provide?
So I guess my eyes are finally wide open.
Wide open to the Scam that the game has become.. T6 Opened it for me.
Especially when I realized if I let my stipend build up to buy the t6 ship package (That doesn't include this new release of course, or any other new releases) it would take at least 24 months for it to reach the amount necessary..
And then there's the Lock Box bonanza.. DR wasn't released a week .. heck I think it was on day one of DR that they released it.. with.. oh look yet ANOTHER T6 ship..
So yes. I can no longer look at the game and be happy with new Story content. Because the Story seems less important when you open the Zen Store and see what you need to continue to compete in the future.
Is this REALLY the way that the Development of the game is going? Spitting out stories, and getting people to voice act, while trying to use that as a way to disguise the fact that this game is no longer about the story, or the content, but more about how many ships you can sell?
So yes.. My eyes are wide open to the NEW Star Trek online.. And it sickens me..
Will I give up logging in all together and Quit? I honestly don't know..
This is not a thread to give that kind of a statement. I'm a Life time subscriber.
I can't even promote the game to my friends!! So how do you expect me to have desire to log in any more!
Please.. Don't bleed your customers Wallets dry..
Please.. Don't make us work the Dilithium Mines..
Please find a way to make customers like me blind again..
Because after everything I've had go on in my life.. To have my one favorite game turn out like this..
Sorry for the long rant.
Sorry to those of you that decide this thread is too long to read.
I only hope that I'm not the only one to now have my eyes wide open on Star Trek Online..
You think that your beta test was bad?
Think about this:
American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
Think about this:
American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Post edited by webdeath on
0
Comments
It was a noble thread.
RIP real talk.
inb4 mods
https://youtube.com/channel/UCJZ5FBJ9bFaZ6yAFiNpZiRQ/featured?view_as=subscriber
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CaptainCidStorm
You aren't the only one my friend.
But there are a few die hards (like me) that still hold out hope.
I don't mind the grind.
I don't mind the added layer of cost.
What I hate is the game has become haves and have-nots. Its reinforced every day that unless you pay, you can't be competitive to play.
Can a free player (BTW for context, I've spend money too) come and enjoy blowing up borg with his formerly elite gear and ship? Sure. But he relegated to Normals, with absolutely no chance to earn anything to move forward.
Or those of us with multiple alts - the costs are ridiculous.
The new content is a drag combat wise. I've done it once. I used to race to get all of the alts through. Today I'm grinding CCA for 1 mineral, and doffing for XP.
The queues are empty.
And the devs, who 2 weeks ago started to communicate, have all but ignored the problems. Waiting for us to upgrade apparently.
It's sad.
But in a related note - they finally fixed the loadout problems. 4 weeks late.
:eek:
I guess that there is probably the Short.. short version of my problem now with STO.
Especially with multiple alts..
Before DR, you could play your alts, grind them up, and have fun.. sure there was some P2W concerns.. But it wasn't really that terrible.
After DR... yeah.... What alts other then Dilithium labor camp fuel?
Also, how can I even want to advertise playing STO to my friends/guildmates in other games if I have to give a warning of those things?
Think about this:
American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
It almost feels like this game has gone back to an open beta or one of those early access games where you know it's never gonna finished. It's a very sad state that this game is in and I don't see it getting better.
When I originally began playing Star Trek: Online, Season Five, the casual nature of the game enticed me to buy stuff. As a result of not feeling pressure, I was willing to open up my pocket-book. Now, I feel as though there is too much pressure. I have completely closed the door for more purchases.
Cryptic lost sight of what matters. Generating revenue is a very important goal: however, the accumulation of wealth should be one of many goals. Virtually every season after season five has been about making endless money. Star Trek: Online has more grinds than actual substance. Every location, outside of a few, was specifically designed and/or redesigned to accommodate 'The Grind'. Club 47 is the only recent piece of content, which does not require filling buckets or level progression. It's damn sad.
Outside of the social aspects of STO, I have given completely up on this game. I am starting to think Star Trek: Online should win 'Worse Star Trek Game of All Time'. I have already picked out my next game, for I have lost all faith in Cryptic's decision making.
If DR had just been new story missions, no grind, no level changes, no upgrade system, no T6, no traits, I'd have bought the DR pack on launch day. "5 gun Raptor? Fed cruiser with dual LtCmdrs? Stealth Defiant? Plus all the other junk for $35 more? Kewl!" As it is this new stuff telling me what I HAVE to do, I have to grind specializations, I have to grind levels, I have to grind mats for upgrade kits, I have to grind this I have to grind that..... I don't HAVE to grind anything and TRIBBLE you for trying to make me do so.
Make the game just for fun and I'll happily toss money at it. But this grindtastic everything and Keeping Up With The Joneses nonsense is just ham-handed manipulation and insulting, and I'll stick by my old ships full of old Mk11s before I drop one dime supporting such a model. Its not even the money its just the principle of the thing.
tl;dr, your problem you didnt look before you walked across the street and noticed a very large lorry coming at speed from one side and a train coming the other direction and you dont like it. there have been plenty of posts about cryptic and what they want, you should of known better before ploughing in your time and money into it.
so your choices; play the game or dont.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
as for me:
- i spend much less bucks on sto since that trend (just as time)
- i won't rebuy my whole ship list on all toons (60+) in a t6 and then in t6 fleet version. only to have to wait they get to fleet t6-u (and i won't delete my whole list lol)
- i'm kinda sick by all broken promises
- i'm gettin sick by all this "this season this, next season that": they reroll decisions every few months. no sustainability nor something like a plan anywhere to spot (rep passives turned to few selectables, what i liked, to "border powercreep and number of passives" translates into "new specialization professions with a ton of passives, more to come and no border to collect em (xcept number of professions active... u don't think it will stay 2, eh?! :rolleyes:). get em all" lol :mad:
anyone ever jumped off a overspinned rollercoaster?!
oh yeah.... and i'm tired by all the fanboys who obviously got no clue but keep talk and talk (guramba?!). yay, internet
aye, < lifer who would not do so again!
nice coincedent themesong one may could refer onto all this lulz:
pulley - eyes open wide
(hello sig?what happened? did u quit? can't see u lol)
I feel for you man .
For me something seemingly irreparable broke last year when they removed the rotating calendar events that gave me a reason to log in more .
Ever since then , I have been looking for a reason to log back in ... (and ended up giving myself tasks to do when said reason failed to materialize 3/4 out of a year), and this was after I moved on from them butchering my fave gameplay (the old long STF'S) , and after I gave them a clean slate when they went F2P .
For each of us can take only so much before our faith is eroded enough that reality sinks in .
I'm sorry that for so many , DR was that event . I wish it wasn't ... , and I wish as you've said that we could be made "blind" again .
Yeah ... , STOked isn't really about STO anymore either sadly .
I would not get my hopes up by that propaganda spell if I were you .
My Space Doffs still abandon ship every time I zone , so ... yeah .
Unfortunately no, I did not see what their long term goal was 4+ Years ago with Star Trek Online. Back then it was a different game.
Think about this:
American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku
I've spent some money in the game, the amount is irrelevant. The issue is that I now feel like I shouldn't have, that it would have been better put towards supporting Star Citizen or another project that I feel will give much more back to me for my time and effort.
I don't mind a level increase, I don't mind upgrading weapons and gear to suit the new levels. I do mind being time gated and forced to grind to get there. The recent WoW expansion had people cover the new levels in a day maybe two. For the casuals it'll take a week, for the hardcore it took hours, amusingly through a very similar exploit to DR. The Hardcore used it to get to 100 straight away, but weren't penalised for a developer error.
The gear is used to determine dungeon levels, as I've suggested MULTIPLE times now. The lack of a gear rating = arbitrary bollocks used to balance the game. I don't see a fix for that, well not one the Dev's/PWE will accept that will also take into consideration the players. I've only seen one other game go this way and that was WarZ. It suffered from money grubbers at the top who in turn destroyed the games chances of being successful right at the start. STO is going the same way...
"You don't have to do something again and again and again repetitive that doesn't have much challange, that's just a general good gameplay thing."
I liked STO very much the past 3 years and especially my social surrounding in there as in fleets/in game friends is the only thing that qualifies me to stick around.
My message to Cryptic/PWE and what they did to the game because of DR is quiet simple.
I dont pay them anymore.
This game is free to play and if I feel treated like I am turned from a customer into a product its the only option.
I have played through DR already you know. All toons are 60, all toons are mk14, the lates reput is a joke to cope with. Was all entertaining (or rather annoying) for about 3 weeks.
Its not only that I dont need anything for my 8 state of the art toons anymore its also wonderful to see that there isnt even anything new worth getting. Only stuff in more or less contradiction towards recent changes to end game. Other stuff like epic weapons are basically for free or quiet cheap in game when you know how to get em without zen. And lol, the voyager interior is something I can skip as well after having played the DR introduction episode the 3rd time.
Here is to free to play and time to thank you for that option PWE.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
Not to mention that they keep adding more and more super powerful traits, doffs, etc. that I will never get because I don't want to be stuck playing with 1-2 characters. I have 21 level 50+ characters because the game used to be pretty alt-friendly.
PS. Despite my forum date I actually joined right after Season 4. I just never felt like making a forum account.
Just because Cryptic does want us all to upgrade stuff and grind stuff out, doesn't mean we have to - just we move away from what they do and create our own game within STO. Star Trek Battles does it for PvE, PvPers have already made our own 3 level system in advance of DR, the Foundry guys are still at it. (mostly)
Or, we could carry on working to support a system no one likes. Our decision.
If no player spends money on STO, then Cryptic will reverse this sorry state - if we carry on as lab rats and grind they get the message it is acceptable to do this, to make a total grindfest as if it was actually good, and they will carry on mocking the entire IP and all of us.
I joined STO right before Season 5 launched and luckily (and, ironically enough, accidentally) I joined a fleet that taught me how to play and right about the launch of Season 6 I was finally figuring out this game. It was challenging, there were many options, and I also dropped a $20 here and there either for dilithium or ships. And I used to tell all my friends how much fun I had and how I came here and relaxed.
Now?
I actually told a co-worker not to even bother with this game. He'd heard me talk about it so much he decided he wanted to join STO and our fleet. However... He couldn't even get the freaking game to load, that's how I found out. He came to me and asked me what he was doing wrong. I had to tell him it wasn't him, it's a bug riddled unstable POS and the grind is beyond maddening. He was really sad, and so am I b/c I would have really liked to game with him. But not here, not now. I've gone from playing 6hrs+ a day to only logging in long enough to doff and slot R&D projects on 5 toons.
Our fleet has all but abandoned STO, we're on Rift now. It's stable, their loadouts work FLAWLESSLY, and they GIVE you stuff just for logging in every day/week. 1 gift per day, and an extra one per week. I am more than happy to spend money there, it's F2P as well... But they have my respect. STO does not, in fact they have my disgust. For what they're doing to Star Trek and how they treat their players.
XO of Training
Tier 5 Starbase, Tier 3 Embassy, Tier 3 Dilithium Mine, Tier 3 Spire
Join us at www.dtfleet.com
Can't argue with anything you where ranting about. The game has gotten to be a stupid grind with no end in sight.
I still log in here and there mostly to work the exchange for 15min and log out... might as well keep a good stash of EC around in case things change.
Your line about the game being a Ferengi Inspired work camp... that cracked me up. Well put.
Some of the pandas are over in archeage ... I have been dabbling in TOR and EVE again. Elite Dangerous comes out on the 16th of december... I'm hoping that might be something to play.
It seems pretty unlikely that anything in STO is going to change for the better anytime soon.
Trion is a great dev. Rift is a great game and a fantastic F2P setup. They have been the NA publisher of Archage as well... more of a open sandbox, might be a few new launch pains there yet. Its another great one to look at sort of from the same dev.
I'm very happy with my experience there so far, will check out Archage as well. You're the second person to bring it up to me. Thank you!
XO of Training
Tier 5 Starbase, Tier 3 Embassy, Tier 3 Dilithium Mine, Tier 3 Spire
Join us at www.dtfleet.com
But yeah, I'll join the crowd. I'm not a big fan of Rift, as a game by itself. It's not bad, but I don't like it that much (taste and all). However, the f2p system is closer to what you expect from an occidental game. And it's a good one.
Sto is more and more asian in everything. From pay to everything, to the gameplay itself and it's huge amount of mindless grind to unlock more mindless grind. Grind patrol missions, so you can unlock... patrol missions ! Hurray !
Even the story was put behind with DR (half of it are patrol mission, and you don't have enough story mission to level up anyway). Which is even more sad considering the casting they had.
Seriously, re-releasing a ship (intrepid) you paid 2000zen, +700zen (2700zen) to upgrade to t5u, as a full t6 (3K zen) ? And if you made a fleet t5u, that's 500zen more (3200zen). Oh look, you enjoyed paying 2700 zen for your t5u ? Well, good news, for 3000zen, you'll have a better version of it ! And later we'll release a fleet version (+500zen) !
In the end, you would pay 2000+700+500+3000+500=6700zen... for the same ship with various upgrades. Sure, you can skip it and spend 3500 zen right away, but most forumer are veterans, and chances are, you already bought the t5 long ago if it was your kind of ship.
In the end, I find that revolting. How long before they re-release everything we already have, as t6, for 30$ a piece ? How long before the "your ships are not obsolete" and the whole upgrade being finally being useless ?
And after that, how long until they make a new level cap, and everything we have will need to be upgraded to t6u (for 1K zen a piece), until they start re-releasing again as t7 ?
And that may be yet another aspect to the issue - people seem to love Fantasy MMOs, considering how many exist and survive out there. Sci-Fi MMOs or Startrek MMOs seem yet to be a smaller niche - so it could smiply be that a fantasy game may be able to attract more players and thus may use a different F2P model than one that attracts less.
Yes, that might mean we get milked for our money. But be aware that the alternative is not neccessarily a "less milkier/grindier" model for STO - the alternative may be just no Startrek Online game at all. So you set your limits - how much you can take, and when STO exceeds that line, you drop it.
Ter 6 canon ships are a neccessity. Players fought long and hard to get all the canon ships to Tier 5, not for the sake of being Tier 5, but for the sake of having them as endgame ships. If the endgame moves to Tier 6, these ships need a Tier 6 variant.
From Cryptic's point of view - they need starship sales. But customer that already has his favorite choice of endgame ship is very unlikely to buy a new ship. So they have to raise the level cap so that people have a mechanical incentive to buy new ships.
And since people still want their old ships back, they eventually get them. But they have to buy at full price again, because anything else wouldn't make economic sense for Cryptic. As an incentive, they at laest bring new mechanical features (beyond the mere upgrade) and a new skin.
We may still remember the days when a skill cost something like 500 Zeen, but those were also the day when you spend 15 $ a month to play STO.
The new reality is everything costs far too much for the marginal benefits it brings over old equipment and old ships and rewards for so many things, such as, dilithium and energy credits have been reduced despite missions requiring additional time and effort.
Can you imagine that? Difficulty has been increased, but rewards have been decreased. This is the new reality.
+1, finding myself checking patch notes as much or more then playing some days seeing if they even give a &&&& to listen to "real" visionaries voice "real" fixes to STO's play style, almost all the "real" fixes fall on deaf ears, this is what happened when you pool a "brand name" in with a billion other game titles...
Not quiet.
See all upgrades made, all ships are Tier 6, all toons have maxed out specializations.
Wont cope with fail conditions in elite mode nor will it help to get it as rewarding as it was before. There is almost no new challenging contend around, almost no teamwork. Only more hit points and/or npcs to boil.
They have simply taken stuff away from us via changes to endgame and expect us to buy and play for new stuff not being able to get back what we had even if we strive for it.
One can hardly pug anymore and one understandingly looks at empty queue lists.
This info should be added to the DR package in each advertisement of it.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
I hear ya on the Rift argument. I would say many of us playing STO though are both MMO fans and Trek fans... so Rift is a game that appeals to us. Granted many people that found STO as there first MMO cause they love trek aren't likely to be all that excited by Rifts or Archages and the other fantasy style games.
TOR has its own set of issues... and Eve is a very different game from STO. I guess its why so many games come up when we talk about alts to play. There isn't really much that is a perfect 100% replacement for everything that makes STO STO. Just wish Cryptic would realize how much potential this game has... somehow they seem to miss so much that could make it one of the best mmos of all time. (its so far from that at this point lol)
As far as the cash shop... and there greedy finger P2Wish style of handling it. I myself hate it so very much. I don't begrudge them making moeny. Its just so many other devs get there cash shops right. Or at least not so painfully wrong. Yes paying for the same ship 4 or 5 times at this point is a bit stupid. Its like buying the same movie on Laser Disk... and then VHS... and then DVD... and the Blu... and then buying a digital copy... all with in a couple years. lol
The zen store should have went full on cosmetic from day one... but Cryptic was way to greedy when they kicked off there F2P. Yes we know silly costumes don't sell like ships do. However Ship costumes would have... Paint schemes would have... Space firework displays would have.
IMO they would have made a just as much money and had a lot more happy customers. (perhaps made more even) had they sold all ships for a third of what they sell for now... 3000 Zen, should be 1000 zen. Then they should have sold more ship costumes.... for 200-300 zen each... they should have sold cool paint jobs for the ships for 200-300 zen each.... most of us have the standard unlock fireworks. Why not sell new and cool space fireworks for zen.
Another thing they could have sold (I know back in the day they claimed CBS wouldn't allow this) Different colour weapon Crystals. (add a crystal slot to all ships leave it empty leaves them default) adding a crystal changes the energy weapons colour. Considering how many horid looking weapons we have no I can't imagine CBS would care anymore.
Most devs would have come up with all sorts of ways to make cosmetic stuff sell like crazy... and keep the insane ship sales out of things. Ya at this point at 3000 zen a ship for ONE T6... and I don't even wanna know what the first T6 3 pack is going to cost. Its just to much... leave the 2000 dollar ship purchases to the morons willing to give money to Roberts over there in the low end of the genetic pool in SC.
Rift does have it right in a lot of ways, STO could learn from them, a lot. Thing is I think the real reason the devs here ignore us so much is to minimise the amount of effort they want to put in and maximise their profits. They do need to take a long hard look at Rift and see that paradise of near bugless, rewarding and balanced gameplay and realise how terrible they are in comparison, because Cryptic have nothing on them quality wise.
The only reason a lot of people don't bail on this game is because of hope that they will turn this around, because there is no reason this game should be doing badly except for stupid decision making which has been prevalent for a long time, and only keeps getting worse with this game.
But its not..
Its the fear that STO is more like this then what I was expecting STO to be like..
But I guess we already are at that point now aren't we? But at least our ships are account unlock-able. So that makes it ok to spend $20-$500 on single ships and ship packs, right?
Oh, sorry, I don't recall there being anything for $500.. Yet...
Not to mention the feeling of pressure to buy those ships because of what they will give you that none of the previous ships give you... Win..
Maybe not instant win.. but Win none the less, right?
Compare the guy with the T5U and who can't spend time grinding for the Zen for a T6 ship, vs some one who has the bank roll and/or time to own all of the newest goodies as they come out..
Which would you want on your PVP/PVE (LOLENDGAMEWHERE) groups?
Think about this:
American Football has been in open beta for 144 years. ~Kotaku