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Loyalty Discounts

giliongilion Member Posts: 686 Arc User
With the ever increasing number of ships available in the C-Store im really surprised that ships still cost $30 each. That is a LOT of money just for a ship. Since ships and Lockboxes seem to be where Cryptic get most of their income, I was thinking that there should be more of an incentive to buy ships since Lockboxes already have the rarity factor to get people opening them.

I was thinking that the more ships you buy from the store, the more of a discount you get on other ships. I know that there are a lot of players who have bought so many ships that even though they might want a new one, they cant justify paying full price for something thats only going to be slightly different then what they already have. However, they might be convinced to spend the money if they know that it will mean ships that come out later will be cheaper. Maybe even give people another reason to buy subscriptions by adding a discount to ships for Subscribers. Exactly how much of a discount you get per ship I cant say, only Cryptic's financial dept can say. However I do think that after buying a good number of ships that the discount limit should be substantial, like bringing down T6 ships from $30, to $10.

Also I know Cryptic wouldn't like it if people abuse it by buying T1 ships to make T6 cheaper, so maybe give lower, or no discounts for T4 ships and under.

So what do you think?
_____________________________________________________
Anyone want to give me a Temporal Heavy Dreadnought pack? I'll be your friend :D

Comments

  • thegrandnagus1thegrandnagus1 Member Posts: 5,167 Arc User
    gilion wrote: »
    So what do you think?

    I don't think I've every seen any proof(as in records), but the rumor in the industry is that "whales"(people who spend huge amounts of money rather than casual spenders) make up the majority of MMO revenue. If that is in fact the case, then your idea would hurt their revenue stream, as these big spenders wouldn't be making them as much money anymore.

    The-Grand-Nagus
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  • rattler2rattler2 Member, Star Trek Online Moderator Posts: 59,174 Community Moderator
    Would this apply to those of us who ground out Zen via Dilithium Exchange and bought things that way? Because if so...

    Where be my discounts for buying the Vesta and Delta packs? :D

    Ok... joking asside... I don't see this happening. As much as I would like it to... they aren't going to discount anything unless they have a sale, and we also have to consider how much more strain the servers or whatever they store our account data on will be under to know what we have at all times and adjust C-Store prices accordingly on a per account basis. While technically it already discounts ships we own to Free account wide, a percentage discount on ships we don't own based on what we DO own would mean more math, and more work for the system. Might mean longer log in times or worse... Login Server Crash and data corruption because of the sheer amount of data that has to be calculated every day.

    With ships, and even playable races, we already own its as easy as binary. On if you own, Off if you don't. One single variable. Throw in this discount Loyalty system... that's a lot more variables to consider.
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    I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?!
    The nut who actually ground out many packs. The resident forum voice of reason (I HAZ FORUM REP! YAY!)
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  • duncanidaho11duncanidaho11 Member Posts: 7,983 Arc User
    ...but as a F2P game how many ships you own can also just be a proxy for how much time you've spent with the game. And you gain other things by having that playtime, such as a stocked shipyard, sweet equipment, and awesome pants. To be rewarded with a discount on top of all that, well that's not very fair to everyone else. That's just a bit of smoke blown up our veteran behinds on the weight of an emotional (but non-specific) argument that we somehow mean more than other people.

    Might as well keep with the economic status quo. You want this, you pay that. It doesn't matter that you've already spent that other things, this is what you need to pay.
    Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
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  • rattler2rattler2 Member, Star Trek Online Moderator Posts: 59,174 Community Moderator
    edited July 2015
    I'd like the Dilithium Exchange to come down below 200/1 again. Heck I'll TAKE 200/1. But with all the new shiny coming out it just keeps driving up the demand for Zen, thus Zen prices going up.

    Makin' it hard for us F2P people to feel the time we're investing on grinding out ships is worthless because by the time we save up for the latest shiny... there's already 2-3 NEWER shiny out. I've had my eye on the Negh'Tev for my KDF... and now I also want that new T6 Mogai for my Romulan as I loved my Fleet T5 Mogai.
    db80k0m-89201ed8-eadb-45d3-830f-bb2f0d4c0fe7.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2ExOGQ4ZWM2LTUyZjQtNDdiMS05YTI1LTVlYmZkYmJkOGM3N1wvZGI4MGswbS04OTIwMWVkOC1lYWRiLTQ1ZDMtODMwZi1iYjJmMGQ0YzBmZTcucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.8G-Pg35Qi8qxiKLjAofaKRH6fmNH3qAAEI628gW0eXc
    I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?!
    The nut who actually ground out many packs. The resident forum voice of reason (I HAZ FORUM REP! YAY!)
    normal text = me speaking as fellow formite
    colored text = mod mode
  • rickdankorickdanko Member Posts: 470 Arc User
    I'd rather they just permanently lower the price on some older items. If a ship costs $30 the day it's released, it shouldn't cost $30 two years later.
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  • sirmaydaysirmayday Member Posts: 535 Arc User
    edited July 2015
    The Zen stipend for lifers (not sure if regular subscribers get the same) serves a functionally similar purpose, while at the same time being more flexible. Also, the bundles offer kind of ridiculous savings, at the cost of requiring a large single purchase; if a ship concept is realized as three variants for each of the factions (9 total ships), you get them for 33% off buying a faction bundle and ~55.6% off with the mega-bundle. The real issue here is that the ships are expensive in the first place. Others have pointed out that, for the price of 'keeping current' with C-Store releases, one could maintain a quickly growing library of current-gen console (or PC, for that matter) games. I'd join in such complaints but for two things: I'm strictly F2P, so the payments of others keep the game going, and the market obviously bears those prices or they'd come down (or the game would, since lack of sales would make it unprofitable to keep going).
  • giliongilion Member Posts: 686 Arc User
    edited July 2015
    arg, how come my threads only bring in smart people with legitimate arguments saying why I'm wrong? For once I want to attract the horde of "privileged" players who think they deserve more stuff for paying for the game that I always see on here. At least then Cryptic might consider my idea if nothing else :P

    These are all good counter arguments but I still find it stupid how for half the price of a new AAA game, all we get is basically a new costume and toy.
    _____________________________________________________
    Anyone want to give me a Temporal Heavy Dreadnought pack? I'll be your friend :D
  • duncanidaho11duncanidaho11 Member Posts: 7,983 Arc User
    edited July 2015
    gilion wrote: »
    These are all good counter arguments but I still find it stupid how for half the price of a new AAA game, all we get is basically a new costume and toy.

    Well you do have to remember that a F2P game still costs as much as its equivalent retail/subscription based game. The price tag is just dressed up as a voluntary transaction with perhaps over-simplified components (ie. that ship or that uniform) which you can either foot yourself or have someone else do it for you (via dilithium.) You go through the theater of buying a "ship", but really what you're paying for (one way or the other, which is the key bit for how a game like this works) is stuff like server time and content development.
    Bipedal mammal and senior Foundry author.
    Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
    Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!
  • rattler2rattler2 Member, Star Trek Online Moderator Posts: 59,174 Community Moderator
    Huh... usually this is the reaction I get when I bring a logical argument...
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    Me=Yang
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    I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?!
    The nut who actually ground out many packs. The resident forum voice of reason (I HAZ FORUM REP! YAY!)
    normal text = me speaking as fellow formite
    colored text = mod mode
  • giliongilion Member Posts: 686 Arc User
    gilion wrote: »
    These are all good counter arguments but I still find it stupid how for half the price of a new AAA game, all we get is basically a new costume and toy.

    Well you do have to remember that a F2P game still costs as much as its equivalent retail/subscription based game. The price tag is just dressed up as a voluntary transaction with perhaps over-simplified components (ie. that ship or that uniform) which you can either foot yourself or have someone else do it for you (via dilithium.) You go through the theater of buying a "ship", but really what you're paying for (one way or the other, which is the key bit for how a game like this works) is stuff like server time and content development.

    I do unerstand that, its just that most MMOs fill their in-game store with items that are worth the asking price. STO is the only game I know of that charges so much for what is, in terms of other games, a new horse + a gimmick. And yes, I do know that all new content is free but still, it feels dumb paying so much for a ship.

    Oh and btw rattler, be more original, I remember you posting that exact same thing on the gif thread :P
    _____________________________________________________
    Anyone want to give me a Temporal Heavy Dreadnought pack? I'll be your friend :D
  • rattler2rattler2 Member, Star Trek Online Moderator Posts: 59,174 Community Moderator
    I know I posted it over there. That's why I went and grabbed it because it fit.

    And STO isn't overpriced. While we're paying up to $30 for a Playable ship... over in Neverwinter its about $25 for what amounts to a BOff.
    db80k0m-89201ed8-eadb-45d3-830f-bb2f0d4c0fe7.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2ExOGQ4ZWM2LTUyZjQtNDdiMS05YTI1LTVlYmZkYmJkOGM3N1wvZGI4MGswbS04OTIwMWVkOC1lYWRiLTQ1ZDMtODMwZi1iYjJmMGQ0YzBmZTcucG5nIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.8G-Pg35Qi8qxiKLjAofaKRH6fmNH3qAAEI628gW0eXc
    I can't take it anymore! Could everyone just chill out for two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?!
    The nut who actually ground out many packs. The resident forum voice of reason (I HAZ FORUM REP! YAY!)
    normal text = me speaking as fellow formite
    colored text = mod mode
  • kavasekavase Member Posts: 771 Arc User
    As someone who has a library of about 70 games totalling around 85$, yeah, I agree paying $30 for a ship is damn expensive.

    However, it's a F2P game, and their prices are pretty much on par with other F2P games, maybe even a bit less. Especially when you consider you can use the exchange to help make your purchase. MMO such as this are very expensive just to maintain let alone add content to them.

    So I think overall it's fair. Ships are probably their biggest money maker and to take a chunk of that away would be a mistake.
    Retired. I'm now in search for that perfect space anomaly.
  • giliongilion Member Posts: 686 Arc User
    Sigh, so it looks like the summery of this thread is "Just give in and buy that command cruiser" :P
    _____________________________________________________
    Anyone want to give me a Temporal Heavy Dreadnought pack? I'll be your friend :D
  • angrytargangrytarg Member Posts: 11,016 Arc User
    I would be in favour of discounts for synnergy ships, for example save X% with each ship from a "legacy" (T3/T4 refit T5 retro/T5U T6) you already purchased. Because paying the full price fr the same ship again seems a bit wonky - and I know it's not the "same ship", but it would be a nice gesture for people that get all ships for the synnergy effect.

    Other than that, yes, 25/30 currencies for ships is insane and no reasoning can change my mind on that. But I guess people just eat it and buy anyway, otherwise they woulkd lower the prices - at least they introduced a kind of "first chance" discount for T6 ships being 2500zen the first week or so they are available.​​
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  • daveynydaveyny Member Posts: 8,227 Arc User
    edited July 2015
    I just want Them to have a "17% off" sale on ships, more often.
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