The Galaxy X is a ship that I have wanted to play since I heard STO was being developed, now I probably will not have the chance to do that because of this referral thing.
I is now officially sad.
Pretty much this for me. Even before I got into beta I wanted to fly this ship. It was from one of the few truly jaw-dropping moments from Trek growing up for me. It's big, its bad, it's ugly, it can cloak, and will lance a hole through a Klingon battlecruiser. Bar none...THAT ship is what I wanted to fly.
Now it's like "Yep its in game now, but not for you. Not yours, no can haz."
The real kick in the stomach is the fact that I can look on my friends list and see 6 people I basically begged to come play this game with me at launch. It almost makes me sick to even look at the icon on my desktop now. I suppose it dosen't matter though, since I'm cursed with the eternal blue mark of having bought a LTS. It's not like I can even quit in disgust.
I support any petition to have this accessible outside the referral program.
Of course by the time it becomes accessible to the public will be just the time it's rendered irrelevant by the release of the next higher tier of ships.
Because it's almost impossible, especially for players who had the "Collectors Edition". We already spread out the guest passes and trial keys. How many friends do you expect a single player can convice to buy the game and get a sub? 20? 30?
The referal program don't count on recruitments done in the past. So I am an idiot because I already gave away my guest passes and invited my friends weeks ago instead of waiting four month to get one of the most-wanted shipdesigns?
Yes, the OP complaines about not be able to do what Cryptic wants from him to get the ship he wants. A ship which was demanded by the community since release and should be part of the every Star Trek Game. And because this shipskin would cost him about $200 (5 retails + 5 subs), he has every right to be angry about it.
He's got my full support on this.
Dont stress yourself. STO zealots have the common sense of a Dodo volunteering for a suicide mission.
Of course by the time it becomes accessible to the public will be just the time it's rendered irrelevant by the release of the next higher tier of ships.
i dont believe there will be a higher tier, at least ive heard nothing to suggest there will be
If Cryptic are that Creatively bankrupt / desperate for money... raise the monthly subscription to cover the cost of the C-Store items. TADA... no more paying $2 for THREE EMOTES.
Oh no, we will charge people the subscription fee AND fleece them of extra money to get more items. Oh, and now we will turn them into viral marketers via the promise of a neat reward WHILE taking their subscription money.
*Yellow Alert*
Dubious Pyramid Scheme detected.
$20 for a goddamn model... seriously, people your going to pay an ENTIRE months subscription for a ****ing model ?
No wonder Cryptic cant be assed making content, they have so many fools willing to pay them to make fluff at prices that exceeds what they earn from the goddamn subscription. Renames, Respecs and character slots those all make valid options on a C-Store. New Races, ship skins, bridges, emotes and other features do not.
If Cryptic are that Creatively bankrupt / desperate for money... raise the monthly subscription to cover the cost of the C-Store items. TADA... no more paying $2 for THREE EMOTES.
Oh no, we will charge people the subscription fee AND fleece them of extra money to get more items. Oh, and now we will turn them into viral marketers via the promise of a neat reward WHILE taking their subscription money.
*Yellow Alert*
Dubious Pyramid Scheme detected.
$20 for a goddamn model... seriously, people your going to pay an ENTIRE months subscription for a ****ing model ?
No wonder Cryptic cant be assed making content, they have so many fools willing to pay them to make fluff at prices that exceeds what they earn from the goddamn subscription. Renames, Respecs and character slots those all make valid options on a C-Store. New Races, ship skins, bridges, emotes and other features do not.
First, as has been said many times before, virtually ever MMO from the gigantic WoW to the smallest MMOs has a Referral Program which gives a way time and/or special goods to members who bring in new players. There's nothing wrong with that in the industry.
Second, no MMO is going to go up against the 800-pound gorilla of the industry and raise subscription fees higher then WoW's. WoW gets to set the maximum subscription price for every other MMO. It's easy to simply say raise the price but the indusrty backlash would be huge. Instead of seeing threads about why we have to pay $2.00 for a ship skin we'd see many more threads about why this game isn't worth more per month then all the others.
$2 for a goddamn model? yes. $20 for a goddamn model? If it's my favorite ship (like the Galaxy-X) - call my crazy: yes. $200 for a goddamn model? For 5 retails + 5 subs... - No + Ragequit the game.
Because it's almost impossible, especially for players who had the "Collectors Edition". We already spread out the guest passes and trial keys. How many friends do you expect a single player can convice to buy the game and get a sub? 20? 30?
...
And because this shipskin would cost him about $200 (5 retails + 5 subs), he has every right to be angry about it.
First of all, "we" does not mean everyone. I still have 3 guest passes left over from my CE, so saying "everyone already used their referrals" is overegaggerating.
Second, the OP (nor anyone else complaining about it) does not have to shell out 1 cent for this if they do not want to. Just do what will be required of the referral program to get this skin and it's 100% free for you. Sure, it might not be easy to locate a few others to try the game, but it is by no means "impossible".
Third, if the OP or anyone else "must have it NOW!!!" and they choose to spend several hundred dollars just for a ship skin, then that is their own choice. They have no one to blame but themselves for making that decision.
Personally, I would have liked to see the Galaxy-X sold as one of those '50% of sales go to charity x' type deals. WoW had one recently with a pet, iirc.
The Galaxy-X was a special ship in a special episode. It deserves special treatment, and I wouldn't be averse to paying dollars rather than c-points for a special cause.
I'll never find five people to sub to STO, so I'll miss out as well
If Cryptic are that Creatively bankrupt / desperate for money... raise the monthly subscription to cover the cost of the C-Store items. TADA... no more paying $2 for THREE EMOTES.
how does raising everybody subscription prices to cover the items going to be better than giving people a choice?
at the moment whether you like the c-store or not they are cosmetic changes that people have a choice to buy them or leave them alone. raising everybody sub and giving people all the c-store items in game would just anger the people that dont want them.
i also guess that would make sto the most expensive on the market, can you imagine the uproar that would cause
I still have 3 guest passes left over from my CE, so saying "everyone already used their referrals" is overegaggerating.
So, congratulations. Let me sum up this:
I recruited already about 10 friends which were and are still paying subs every month.
You left your guest passes in your box doing nothing and wait until the referral program goes live.
I get nothing.
You get one of the most wanted T5-shipclasses for free.
You are right, it is all about timing and not impossible. It's just "a little bit" more difficult for all the idiots which already supported STO as much as possible.
But I learn much about MMO marketing these days, really.
how does raising everybody subscription prices to cover the items going to be better than giving people a choice?
at the moment whether you like the c-store or not they are cosmetic changes that people have a choice to buy them or leave them alone. raising everybody sub and giving people all the c-store items in game would just anger the people that dont want them.
i also guess that would make sto the most expensive on the market, can you imagine the uproar that would cause
If Cryptic are desperate for cash, raising the Subscription prices will surely allow them to get better staff and provide better content for us ALL. Additionally, the Galaxy-X is NOT just a cosmetic change its a completely NEW ship, not a ****ing reskin. A new ship for the price of $200 for Cryptics pockets.
Cryptic are doing the ONE thing they said they would not do. Money / Reward Items would NOT affect actual Gameplay or have any advantages over items attained via actual gameplay.
I call a new 'EXCLUSIVE' ship with a built in power a distinct advantage over its T5 competitors not to mention the tribble and the holo BO.
Why not have the captains shuttle be the reward ?
Oh thats right, because the Galaxy-X is something people WANT, and to make it even more appealing it comes with a custom power to sell it just that bit more.
They could have offered Character slots, Ship Slots, extra play time... all the things that WOULD be trivial and not affect gameplay. Instead they went with a SHIP, BO, Tribble and gave it a POWER noone else is going to be able to get UNLESS they become a marketer for the game. Yeah, thats not shady in the least is it ?
There is a big difference between offering someone an extra ship and offering them a custom enhanced ship. The latter can directly impact gameplay when Mr. Split Phaser Cannon is damaging something in a fight.
You are right, it is all about timing and not impossible. It's just "a little bit" more difficult for all the idiots which already supported STO as much as possible.
Now that I will agree with 100%. It isn't going to be easy for some to recruit 5 others for this program. I also support those that request this be applied retroactively to those who did indeed bring at least 5 others into the game via guest passes and invite a buddy keys. Those customers already helped bring in paying customers, so they should be given the opportunity to collect this skin.
However, if anyone who has not brought in any friends yet that wants that ship bad enough, they can take the time, put in the effort and do what is required to get it and it does not have to cost them anything.
For some people its even 100% impossible to recruit a single player, and they get no chance whatsoever to get the Galaxy-X, simply for the very reason that it is ILLEGAL in some countries.
For some people its even 100% impossible to recruit a single player, and they get no chance whatsoever to get the Galaxy-X, simply for the very reason that it is ILLEGAL in some countries.
I was just looking at the 3 pages of WoW's RAF program. WoW's program seem to cover North America, Asia, Oceania, and Europe without any difficulty so I don't believe your post has a lot of validity. If anyone were going to get sued over it WoW, with its 1.2 billion in revenues, would seem to be the prime candidate.
i've already gave away my 3 buddy codes from the CE, and got my brother to start playing too, so that's 4.. I might be able to get another 2, if I really push them.. but it's a bit late now to get the ship so why bother heh.
For some people its even 100% impossible to recruit a single player, and they get no chance whatsoever to get the Galaxy-X, simply for the very reason that it is ILLEGAL in some countries.
How is it illegal to send an email invitation to a friend?
I would prefer to see this ship as a Veteran reward instead of referal program.
Referral should instead give paying monthly/quarterly/yearly customers a free month per each referral. If you are a lifer, then C-Store points should be the compensation.
I dont see why this ship that a lot of people want would be put out in front of a very selected few that has the friends to join, or the ones with more money than sense that will actually spend the money themselves.
Most people wont get this and this also comes after the games been out for several months without counting the people already been referred.
How is it illegal to send an email invitation to a friend?
Blizzard noted that their referral program was not valid in Denmark, and would not be honored there, because that country's laws forbid even the appearance of pyramid marketing. I do not believe Denmark is the only country with such a law, either, but I could not tell you what others there are.
It may very well be an overly broad law, but it's there. If Cryptic has not said that it is not valid in Denmark or other countries, then perhaps their legal counsel found a way to allow it that Blizzard's didn't.
I was just looking at the 3 pages of WoW's RAF program. WoW's program seem to cover North America, Asia, Oceania, and Europe without any difficulty so I don't believe your post has a lot of validity. If anyone were going to get sued over it WoW, with its 1.2 billion in revenues, would seem to be the prime candidate.
Blizzard noted that their referral program was not valid in Denmark, and would not be honored there, because that country's laws forbid even the appearance of pyramid marketing. I do not believe Denmark is the only country with such a law, either, but I could not tell you what others there are.
It may very well be an overly broad law, but it's there. If Cryptic has not said that it is not valid in Denmark or other countries, then perhaps their legal counsel found a way to allow it that Blizzard's didn't.
Wow, very interesting. That indeed stinks for players from there.
Does that mean there is less advertising in Denmark?
If that means less TV commercials due to this law, I'm going to write my congressman and ask him to enact that law here in the US.
"Pyramide Marketing" does not mean common advertising. It is just not allowed in some countries to grant rewards or special conditions to costumers for persuading other people to subscribe in long-term contracts.
The intention of these laws is to avoid these tactics while selling insurances, magazine subscribtions and other long-term-contracts.
I'd like a way to earn the Galaxy Class All Good Things in game somehow, either by C-Store or by a difficult raid, or both.
I can't recruit people to the game, because my friends are addicted to world of warcraft. Therefore, I'm losing out on a ship I want to play with, and a new unique power...
It doesn't matter if it never happened. It's still a canon ship design in that it was designed for the show.
It isn't canon in-universe but it still has something over Cryptic designs.
It's also become a classic in the hearts of many fans due to it's quirky new take on a classic ship.
My personal opinion is that the class variant doesn't exist and that the ship's odd appearance was only a fancy of Q. I just don't believe that Starfleet would turn a graceful design like the Galaxy class into such a pompous
The 3rd nacelle variant was done in conjunction with working on fixing up the Galaxy - and if you check out the Galaxy on Tribble - you'll notice it has been updated.
Multi-task!
I just looked at the Galaxy Class on Tribble... and :-( it looks EXACTLY the same as the Galaxy-Class we have for WEEKS on Holodeck now. It still has some very obvious Texture Bugs on it.
The Galaxy Class was updated some time ago, so if you did those 2 together then you have been sitting on this Model for some time now, also it will not look any better IF you are talking about the same model that is on Tribble.
/rant mode on
I am kind of pi$$ed because i did not get the Constitution from GameStop... (AFAIK the deal was not even avaible in Germany and when i wanted to import it from the US they wanted 20+$ for shipping! LOLz? i pay 2.50$ for airmail from Hong Kong when i import X-Box games!!!)
Anyway ...Now i probably will not get another "ENTERPRISE"-Model... that's 2!
ENOUGH WITH THE EXCLUSIVES! STOP IT ALLREADY!
C-Store is annoying and rip off enough but at least it is AVAIBLE to everyone who is willing to pay.
It seems to be a fulltime job to keep up with the exclusives and it is pretty much impossible to get half of them without buying the game again and again... and CO LifeTime... and Steam a second time... and and and...
But with that logic the Olympic class shouldn't be around either but it's in the game.
The Olympic-class served the Federation as early as the 2370s. (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels") In an alternate future timeline, the Olympic-class was utilized primarily for medical emergencies. (TNG: "All Good Things...")
I just looked at the Galaxy Class on Tribble... and :-( it looks EXACTLY the same as the Galaxy-Class we have for WEEKS on Holodeck now. It still has some very obvious Texture Bugs on it.
The Galaxy Class was updated some time ago, so if you did those 2 together then you have been sitting on this Model for some time now, also it will not look any better IF you are talking about the same model that is on Tribble.
Apparently you didn't take a close enough look. The torpedo launcher has been added to the model which has been missing in the previous versions. Nearly all the phaser arrays have been added to the model, the one from the bottom is still missing. The Model itself is nearly flawless. The skin however still needs work. One of the noticeable changes on the skin is the correct placement of the escape pods on the top of the saucer section, which was absent before. The escape pod patter is still off on the rest of the model though, for instance in the wrong place on the bottom of the Saucer Section, and still absent from the bottom.
The model is getting there, it will just take a little more work to polish it up.
This thread has been derailed yet again. Let me try to get this back on track. I realize that this is supposed to be a civil discussion for petitioning Cryptic to offer the Galaxy-X outside of the referral program. In my previous post I got a little heated over the subject, and I will be willing to retract some of what I said in good faith.
Now, I agree with everything shikamaru has said in these 36 pages and 358 posts. I think that this is a bad marketing move and giving something as wanted and potentially gamebreaking as the ship is will cause a new wave of elitism in the same vein as the "blue name" fiasco. Those who either have the money or who can fleece others out of a subscription will be able to get a ship WITH A FUNCTIONING CANNON! They will, in all likelihood, tout their shiny new ships and lord over those who don't have it.
I think that it is a great idea to change the policy that marketing (and it IS marketing that's pushing for this) is implementing something else. I offer the following solutions that would work for me (and possibly lots of others):
1) Offer the Future Enterprise (Galaxy-X) as an incredibly expensive C-Store item. I would be willing to pay good money for the ship skin even WITHOUT the functioning cannon (say, $20.00 as suggested), just not several hundred dollars to do so.
2) Offer a different, non-canon or less popular canon ship in its place.
3) Offer ALL of the referral perks for getting only ONE person to sub, like other MMO companies.
4) Offer the ship for the veteran rewards program, say at the 500-600 day mark.
My vote would be for either number 3 or 4, but I'm throwing out what I feel is fair.
Where have they said this will be an uber cannon of death that will 1 shot entire fleets of Borg ships? Complaining about this before any specifics are given is kind of silly. For all anyone knows, this cannon won't do more than standard damage and is more cosmetic in nature than functional. For all anyone knows, it will come with a 30 minute cooldown.
Wait to see what it does and how it works before calling it "gamebreaking".
1) C-Store item - $10 - $20 MAX.
2) Refer one friend
3) Vet Reward 400 days
4) Accolade - From 'Into The Hive' or a new mission dealing with alternate timelines / Q
As an additional aspect, there should be TWO more vessels added, one for Science and one for Escort. Thus ALL classes and career paths have equal benefit. Thus the reward for completing the above will be THREE new unique custom ships.
Comments
Pretty much this for me. Even before I got into beta I wanted to fly this ship. It was from one of the few truly jaw-dropping moments from Trek growing up for me. It's big, its bad, it's ugly, it can cloak, and will lance a hole through a Klingon battlecruiser. Bar none...THAT ship is what I wanted to fly.
Now it's like "Yep its in game now, but not for you. Not yours, no can haz."
The real kick in the stomach is the fact that I can look on my friends list and see 6 people I basically begged to come play this game with me at launch. It almost makes me sick to even look at the icon on my desktop now. I suppose it dosen't matter though, since I'm cursed with the eternal blue mark of having bought a LTS. It's not like I can even quit in disgust.
I support any petition to have this accessible outside the referral program.
Of course by the time it becomes accessible to the public will be just the time it's rendered irrelevant by the release of the next higher tier of ships.
Dont stress yourself. STO zealots have the common sense of a Dodo volunteering for a suicide mission.
i dont believe there will be a higher tier, at least ive heard nothing to suggest there will be
Oh no, we will charge people the subscription fee AND fleece them of extra money to get more items. Oh, and now we will turn them into viral marketers via the promise of a neat reward WHILE taking their subscription money.
*Yellow Alert*
Dubious Pyramid Scheme detected.
$20 for a goddamn model... seriously, people your going to pay an ENTIRE months subscription for a ****ing model ?
No wonder Cryptic cant be assed making content, they have so many fools willing to pay them to make fluff at prices that exceeds what they earn from the goddamn subscription. Renames, Respecs and character slots those all make valid options on a C-Store. New Races, ship skins, bridges, emotes and other features do not.
Second, no MMO is going to go up against the 800-pound gorilla of the industry and raise subscription fees higher then WoW's. WoW gets to set the maximum subscription price for every other MMO. It's easy to simply say raise the price but the indusrty backlash would be huge. Instead of seeing threads about why we have to pay $2.00 for a ship skin we'd see many more threads about why this game isn't worth more per month then all the others.
$2 for a goddamn model? yes.
$20 for a goddamn model? If it's my favorite ship (like the Galaxy-X) - call my crazy: yes.
$200 for a goddamn model? For 5 retails + 5 subs... - No + Ragequit the game.
First of all, "we" does not mean everyone. I still have 3 guest passes left over from my CE, so saying "everyone already used their referrals" is overegaggerating.
Second, the OP (nor anyone else complaining about it) does not have to shell out 1 cent for this if they do not want to. Just do what will be required of the referral program to get this skin and it's 100% free for you. Sure, it might not be easy to locate a few others to try the game, but it is by no means "impossible".
Third, if the OP or anyone else "must have it NOW!!!" and they choose to spend several hundred dollars just for a ship skin, then that is their own choice. They have no one to blame but themselves for making that decision.
The Galaxy-X was a special ship in a special episode. It deserves special treatment, and I wouldn't be averse to paying dollars rather than c-points for a special cause.
I'll never find five people to sub to STO, so I'll miss out as well
how does raising everybody subscription prices to cover the items going to be better than giving people a choice?
at the moment whether you like the c-store or not they are cosmetic changes that people have a choice to buy them or leave them alone. raising everybody sub and giving people all the c-store items in game would just anger the people that dont want them.
i also guess that would make sto the most expensive on the market, can you imagine the uproar that would cause
So, congratulations. Let me sum up this:
I recruited already about 10 friends which were and are still paying subs every month.
You left your guest passes in your box doing nothing and wait until the referral program goes live.
I get nothing.
You get one of the most wanted T5-shipclasses for free.
You are right, it is all about timing and not impossible. It's just "a little bit" more difficult for all the idiots which already supported STO as much as possible.
But I learn much about MMO marketing these days, really.
If Cryptic are desperate for cash, raising the Subscription prices will surely allow them to get better staff and provide better content for us ALL. Additionally, the Galaxy-X is NOT just a cosmetic change its a completely NEW ship, not a ****ing reskin. A new ship for the price of $200 for Cryptics pockets.
Cryptic are doing the ONE thing they said they would not do. Money / Reward Items would NOT affect actual Gameplay or have any advantages over items attained via actual gameplay.
I call a new 'EXCLUSIVE' ship with a built in power a distinct advantage over its T5 competitors not to mention the tribble and the holo BO.
Why not have the captains shuttle be the reward ?
Oh thats right, because the Galaxy-X is something people WANT, and to make it even more appealing it comes with a custom power to sell it just that bit more.
They could have offered Character slots, Ship Slots, extra play time... all the things that WOULD be trivial and not affect gameplay. Instead they went with a SHIP, BO, Tribble and gave it a POWER noone else is going to be able to get UNLESS they become a marketer for the game. Yeah, thats not shady in the least is it ?
There is a big difference between offering someone an extra ship and offering them a custom enhanced ship. The latter can directly impact gameplay when Mr. Split Phaser Cannon is damaging something in a fight.
Now that I will agree with 100%. It isn't going to be easy for some to recruit 5 others for this program. I also support those that request this be applied retroactively to those who did indeed bring at least 5 others into the game via guest passes and invite a buddy keys. Those customers already helped bring in paying customers, so they should be given the opportunity to collect this skin.
However, if anyone who has not brought in any friends yet that wants that ship bad enough, they can take the time, put in the effort and do what is required to get it and it does not have to cost them anything.
How is it illegal to send an email invitation to a friend?
Referral should instead give paying monthly/quarterly/yearly customers a free month per each referral. If you are a lifer, then C-Store points should be the compensation.
I dont see why this ship that a lot of people want would be put out in front of a very selected few that has the friends to join, or the ones with more money than sense that will actually spend the money themselves.
Most people wont get this and this also comes after the games been out for several months without counting the people already been referred.
This is my take on it.
Blizzard noted that their referral program was not valid in Denmark, and would not be honored there, because that country's laws forbid even the appearance of pyramid marketing. I do not believe Denmark is the only country with such a law, either, but I could not tell you what others there are.
It may very well be an overly broad law, but it's there. If Cryptic has not said that it is not valid in Denmark or other countries, then perhaps their legal counsel found a way to allow it that Blizzard's didn't.
Europe is a very vague definition since it consists of many different contries.
And not everyone can take advantage of it.
http://forums.wow-europe.com/thread.html?topicId=12947102651&sid=1
Wow, very interesting. That indeed stinks for players from there.
Does that mean there is less advertising in Denmark?
If that means less TV commercials due to this law, I'm going to write my congressman and ask him to enact that law here in the US.
The intention of these laws is to avoid these tactics while selling insurances, magazine subscribtions and other long-term-contracts.
I can't recruit people to the game, because my friends are addicted to world of warcraft. Therefore, I'm losing out on a ship I want to play with, and a new unique power...
Please make sure this is possible, at some point.
Weeeeeel, I dunno about that...
I just looked at the Galaxy Class on Tribble... and :-( it looks EXACTLY the same as the Galaxy-Class we have for WEEKS on Holodeck now. It still has some very obvious Texture Bugs on it.
The Galaxy Class was updated some time ago, so if you did those 2 together then you have been sitting on this Model for some time now, also it will not look any better IF you are talking about the same model that is on Tribble.
/rant mode on
I am kind of pi$$ed because i did not get the Constitution from GameStop... (AFAIK the deal was not even avaible in Germany and when i wanted to import it from the US they wanted 20+$ for shipping! LOLz? i pay 2.50$ for airmail from Hong Kong when i import X-Box games!!!)
Anyway ...Now i probably will not get another "ENTERPRISE"-Model... that's 2!
ENOUGH WITH THE EXCLUSIVES! STOP IT ALLREADY!
C-Store is annoying and rip off enough but at least it is AVAIBLE to everyone who is willing to pay.
It seems to be a fulltime job to keep up with the exclusives and it is pretty much impossible to get half of them without buying the game again and again... and CO LifeTime... and Steam a second time... and and and...
/rant mode off
The Olympic-class served the Federation as early as the 2370s. (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels") In an alternate future timeline, the Olympic-class was utilized primarily for medical emergencies. (TNG: "All Good Things...")
sorry had to nerd out there for a second.
Apparently you didn't take a close enough look. The torpedo launcher has been added to the model which has been missing in the previous versions. Nearly all the phaser arrays have been added to the model, the one from the bottom is still missing. The Model itself is nearly flawless. The skin however still needs work. One of the noticeable changes on the skin is the correct placement of the escape pods on the top of the saucer section, which was absent before. The escape pod patter is still off on the rest of the model though, for instance in the wrong place on the bottom of the Saucer Section, and still absent from the bottom.
The model is getting there, it will just take a little more work to polish it up.
Now, I agree with everything shikamaru has said in these 36 pages and 358 posts. I think that this is a bad marketing move and giving something as wanted and potentially gamebreaking as the ship is will cause a new wave of elitism in the same vein as the "blue name" fiasco. Those who either have the money or who can fleece others out of a subscription will be able to get a ship WITH A FUNCTIONING CANNON! They will, in all likelihood, tout their shiny new ships and lord over those who don't have it.
I think that it is a great idea to change the policy that marketing (and it IS marketing that's pushing for this) is implementing something else. I offer the following solutions that would work for me (and possibly lots of others):
1) Offer the Future Enterprise (Galaxy-X) as an incredibly expensive C-Store item. I would be willing to pay good money for the ship skin even WITHOUT the functioning cannon (say, $20.00 as suggested), just not several hundred dollars to do so.
2) Offer a different, non-canon or less popular canon ship in its place.
3) Offer ALL of the referral perks for getting only ONE person to sub, like other MMO companies.
4) Offer the ship for the veteran rewards program, say at the 500-600 day mark.
My vote would be for either number 3 or 4, but I'm throwing out what I feel is fair.
Where have they said this will be an uber cannon of death that will 1 shot entire fleets of Borg ships? Complaining about this before any specifics are given is kind of silly. For all anyone knows, this cannon won't do more than standard damage and is more cosmetic in nature than functional. For all anyone knows, it will come with a 30 minute cooldown.
Wait to see what it does and how it works before calling it "gamebreaking".
1) C-Store item - $10 - $20 MAX.
2) Refer one friend
3) Vet Reward 400 days
4) Accolade - From 'Into The Hive' or a new mission dealing with alternate timelines / Q
As an additional aspect, there should be TWO more vessels added, one for Science and one for Escort. Thus ALL classes and career paths have equal benefit. Thus the reward for completing the above will be THREE new unique custom ships.