If they want to make referrals interesting they dont have to put the AGT out for it. They could put the Captains table, pre-order bonus, liberated borg, uniform sets and vet bonus rewards and shuffle it up so each person brought in gets the recruiter a reward. Thus there is a continual reward to the recruiter with an entire slew of benefits that have more chance of being useful.
Put the ship on the C-Store for 1000C or something and they get revenue from both the referral system and the C-Store.
Do this and you have provided those that wanted Pre-order items / liberated Borg / Captains Yaht / Captains Table / Character slots / Uniforms a means to get them and get money from those that wanted the Galaxy-X from the C-store.
Hell, put the Galaxy-X in the referral program, just put it in the C-Store as well. That way the bonus of referring is you get all that stuff IN BULK at a discount rather than having to get them all individually.
That way the Referral program actually appeals to EVERYONE rather than just those that want a single ship design. While they may be a considerable amount of people that want that ship those that dont want it wont be interested and thus have no reason to participate.
If Cryptic is looking to fleece their playerbase out of the most money AND get subscribers the referral system should be attempting to offer rewards than would entice EVERYONE to participate.
to match the revenue between a friend referal and a c-store purchase you'd have to spend $75... or 5,500 c-store points.....
to match the revenue between a friend referal and a c-store purchase you'd have to spend $75... or 5,500 c-store points.....
So you're basically saying it's okay to sell a ship for $200? (the revenue would include a retail purchase)
That doesn't make it a bonus or reward at all! And you don't see anything wrong with this? Good god man!
Galaxy-X plus all the pre-order items, uniforms, vet rewards = Oh look incentive to refer friends because you get it ALL.
Where as those just wanting specific items can buy them individually and still provide Cryptic income for those specific items.
At least someone gets it.
It seems to me those who don't are basically going on the "NO IT'S MINE MINE MINE!" philosophy, they want the Galaxy X so they can lord it over the rest of us.
How utterly selfish can you get, and ironically how contrary to the spirit of Star Trek.
At least someone gets it.
It seems to me those who don't are basically going on the "NO IT'S MINE MINE MINE!" philosophy, they want the Galaxy X so they can lord it over the rest of us.
How utterly selfish can you get, and ironically how contrary to the spirit of Star Trek.
Huh... that seems to be the same philosophy you're going under. "I can't get it via RAF, but it should be mine, so it shouldn't be the RAF reward".
So you're basically saying it's okay to sell a ship for $200? (the revenue would include a retail purchase)
That doesn't make it a bonus or reward at all! And you don't see anything wrong with this? Good god man!
In EVE Online the Titan used to cost roughly $10,000 US when calculated against the average isk price of a GTC (figures from 3 years ago). Yes you built the ship one way or another after months of work and effort, it's just an off point.
The ship is exactly a reward, you convince people to play the game and you get exclusive items as a result, that fits the definition of a reward. This is not some new concept, it's the concept of, "you do this and I'll give you that." It's been around for a while
At least someone gets it.
It seems to me those who don't are basically going on the "NO IT'S MINE MINE MINE!" philosophy, they want the Galaxy X so they can lord it over the rest of us.
How utterly selfish can you get, and ironically how contrary to the spirit of Star Trek.
Desire to see CBS tell Cryptic to remove it due to canon violations rising...
And you just don't want other people to have it, because you state you can't get it.
No, the point is that everyone should have access to it. Not just a restricted group of people who have access to, and are able to convince 5 friends to purchase the game and stick with it for a second month.
No one here is saying not to include the Galaxy X at all. This is a strawman argument. Almost everyone is saying that this should be available to EVERYONE. I really only see a small handful of people posting how this is a good thing and implying that people are upset because they are lazy and don't want to do "the work" as if games are supposed to be work.
I play games to have fun. Getting cool stuff that looks nice is fun. Everyone having access to a variety of cool stuff is fun. Creating a rift between the haves and have-nots is not fun. It causes people to falsely believe they are better than and superior to others and starts TRIBBLE that doesn't need to exist to begin with.
So you're basically saying it's okay to sell a ship for $200? (the revenue would include a retail purchase)
That doesn't make it a bonus or reward at all! And you don't see anything wrong with this? Good god man!
no, $75 they already have a retail copy via means of your referal, they're just paying to activate/subscribe.
it's like world of warcraft , you can download the game for free, your payment is to actually connect to the offical server >_>, or if you buy the retail you get the install disc..
i refered my friend using my buddy code, they downloaded the game were able to play it for 5 days and then only had to pay the $15 for the subscription, no retail purchase needed (though they didn't get any of the benefits of a retail purchase )
i'm also a panda Dx we're androgynous.
and yes, i do think spending a TRIBBLE load of money is fair, what happens if i refer 5 friends and they spend the $75, and i get the ship, then you have joe blow across the street who payed what $10 to get the ship? how do you think i'd feel? "wow i just spend $75 for a ship and that guy across the street got the same thing for $10, i feel cheat, ripped of and all around like **** "
At least someone gets it.
It seems to me those who don't are basically going on the "NO IT'S MINE MINE MINE!" philosophy, they want the Galaxy X so they can lord it over the rest of us.
How utterly selfish can you get, and ironically how contrary to the spirit of Star Trek.
You just don't get it, do you?
Cryptic has decided that the Galaxy X is the (big) incentive for the RAF program. 5 new subscribers is the intended goal of the RAF promotion.
If they add it to the C-Store, there is no incentive to bring 5 new subscribers to the game when you can just buy it.
It seems to me that those who don't understand this are basically going on the "give it to us free because we waaaaaaan't it" and "we don't want to work for it".
People who work hard at their jobs are rewarded. They get the promotions, better pay and perhaps other perks. They have earned it by doing what is required of them.
What you're saying is you should be given the same position, same pay and same perks for doing less work (or none at all) and putting in less time/effort than someone who does work hard and earns it.
I have repeatedly said I'm okay with the holographic officer, as are a lot of people.
The issue here is the Galaxy X is something requested by the fans in good faith, now used for this referral program.
Please answer me honestly, would you put in the effort for a photonic officer? Or would you just say that you don't care about that and move on?
The point that I'm getting at is that the photonic officer is not as popular as the Galaxy-X(at least it seems to me, I could be wrong), why would they put something that wouldn't encourage people to get out there and recruit up as the top reward?
No, the point is that everyone should have access to it. Not just a restricted group of people who have access to, and are able to convince 5 friends to purchase the game and stick with it for a second month.
No one here is saying not to include the Galaxy X at all. This is a strawman argument. Almost everyone is saying that this should be available to EVERYONE. I really only see a small handful of people posting how this is a good thing and implying that people are upset because they are lazy and don't want to do "the work" as if games are supposed to be work.
I play games to have fun. Getting cool stuff that looks nice is fun. Everyone having access to a variety of cool stuff is fun. Creating a rift between the haves and have-nots is not fun. It causes people to falsely believe they are better than and superior to others and starts TRIBBLE that doesn't need to exist to begin with.
And everyone (except, where prohibited by silly laws) is able to get the Galaxy X as a RAF promotion. If you want the reward, you do what is necessary to get the reward. Having it as a RAF reward is a good thing. It stops it from being everywhere (since, apparently, getting 5 people to play a game with you is super hard), and it provides ample reward for those that do meet the requirements.
If myself and others are willing/able to put forth the work to get it, why shouldn't we be allowed to have it?
i agree with this. i don't like the idea of the easy "c-store purchase" it's basicly an "i win" button that lets you skip to the front of the line and purchase the ship, no effort required at all.
Cryptic has decided that the Galaxy X is the (big) incentive for the RAF program. 5 new subscribers is the intended goal of the RAF promotion.
If they add it to the C-Store, there is no incentive to bring 5 new subscribers to the game when you can just buy it.
It seems to me that those who don't understand this are basically going on the "give it to us free because we waaaaaaan't it" and "we don't want to work for it".
People who work hard at their jobs are rewarded. They get the promotions, better pay and perhaps other perks. They have earned it by doing what is required of them.
What you're saying is you should be given the same position, same pay and same perks for doing less work (or none at all) and putting in less time/effort than someone who does work hard and earns it.
my point exactly.... with the exception, i don't mind it being a c-store item, aslong as it matches the effort i'm giving by refering friends, i'll settle for 3,500 crptic points, 3200 if someone wants to haggle a little and explain how a holographic BO is worth 300 cryptic points
i agree with this. i don't like the idea of the easy "c-store purchase" it's basicly an "i win" button that lets you skip to the front of the line and purchase the ship, no effort required at all.
So suddenly paying real money to purchase an item, adding revenue to Cryptic exactly as referrers would is somehow "cheating".
I just.. give up on some people.
my point exactly.... with the exception, i don't mind it being a c-store item, aslong as it matches the effort i'm giving by refering friends, i'll settle for 3,500 crptic points, 3200 if someone wants to haggle a little and explain how a holographic BO is worth 300 cryptic points
Okay, look.
THE GALAXY X IS NOT THE ONLY REFERRAL PRIZE.
You get a whole bundle of items for these referrals that include it. That alone matches the "effort" you've put in since c-store buyers are NOT getting that bundle for a similar price.
They have a great IP,
They have a great engine,
They have good coders,
They have a more loyal customer base than the ususal MMO-hoppers,
They have real fans out there, and...
They have a marketing department which acts like a bull in a china shop.
They have no idea what's it like to deal with a "Star Trek"-community.
Do you know what reminds me to this? "Star Wars Galaxies". One of the best games i ever played when it was released in 2003. SOE didn't understand why the community didn't want unlimited player jedis implented. They patched them in. Weeks later they had hopping hundreds of jedis through their game.
They had no idea how to deal with a Star Wars-Community and what means "continuity" to them.
SOE failed hard because they didn't understand their most loyal customers: The Star Wars Fans.
CRYPTIC is going to fail because they don't understand their most loyal customers: The Star Trek Fans.
Just remember this: If you do it right, these players would still be here when your usual MMO-hoppers are long gone and away to the next hyped game like SW:TOR from Bioware. You cann't avoid the hoppers to leave. But you can hold the Star Trek Fans forever. If you listen to them.
And everyone (except, where prohibited by silly laws) is able to get the Galaxy X as a RAF promotion. If you want the reward, you do what is necessary to get the reward. Having it as a RAF reward is a good thing. It stops it from being everywhere (since, apparently, getting 5 people to play a game with you is super hard), and it provides ample reward for those that do meet the requirements.
No, not everyone is able to get it via promotion. I don't have access to 5 friends, who don't already play, who like any combination of MMO/GAMES/STAR TREK, who have the time to play or the money to fork out. I am not in a unique situation.
There are laws in Denmark which prohibit this from happening because it looks like a pyramid scheme. Those people are out of luck too. I don't know how much of the playerbase they make up, but there is a population of people who cannot even qualify.
I do not understand the concept that part of the game should require work. I have a job for that. This game should be fun and should not require me to act as marketing to get an item which has been heavily desired and asked for by the fan base since beta. Cryptic told a lot of people that this game was supposed to be this really fun open experience and not exclude anyone because that isn't in the nature of Star Trek.
I guess people just get extremely petty. An overwhelming majority is calling for this awesome ship (and, in my opinion looks way better than every Cryptic designed ship so far) to be available to everyone who plays though either a C-Store purchase or as a reward for completing some difficult missions. There is only a very small portion demanding that awesome items are restricted from those players who are too lazy.
I am sure we are going to see the "It builds character argument soon"
Most of those decisions were based on directives from Lucas Arts.
Don't expect TOR to end differently. They've already made obscenely similar statements to the old LA QQ about WoW: TOR claims they need 1 million subs.
Good luck with that.
With the level of expense that BioWare has put into just the voice acting aspect alone, aside from their focus on making each class with its own unique questlines entailing a team of twelve (as I last heard it) dedicated writers, I would say that yes... They would need to have at least a million box sale to subscription conversions in order to break even.
BioWare has yet to say anything about their plans to make me question whether or not their high standards for game making remain intact. On the other hand, long before STO went into even closed beta, I had concerns that Cryptic didn't really have a clue what was needed to produce an MMO of the scope necessary to do Star Trek justice.
Speaking only from personal observation, I feel that those concerns were well placed. But, from a development standpoint, Cryptic is trying to turn things around. If only marketing would just stop pulling all these crazy stunts that have the effect of throwing rocks at a hornets' nest.
It's not the developers. Its the marketing people and the suits at Atari who don't know enough about MMOs or MMO communities to see bad ideas when they happen. Every time the developers make a positive stride forward, Atari launches some ridiculous promotion that drives people to the point of quitting.
Atari is used to non-MMO games that generate short-term profits that are augmented by either the sale of expansion packs or other games. With an MMO, the goals have to be long-term, with the key factor being retention, rather than growth. Even WoW's subscriber base reached critical mass and stopped growing. So even if Cryptic delivers forward-going content that turns things around and the subscriber base starts growing, what happens when it reaches its plateau? Marketing decisions that make people quit now are hurting the game's retention potential for the future.
The timing for RAF is wrong, and the motivation for getting involved is as well.
Why not make it so that players who refer five people who subscribe get a free month? I mean, they would pick up five new subscribers the first month off one deal. They lose 1 month of revenue for one person. They're still pulling in 5x more on the deal. And then the next month, it's up to 6. A little give and take never hurts.
Yes there is, because you're getting it without spending points and you're getting a bundle of other things with it!
we're still spending money for it. if you calculate it out the ship is valued at 3,500 crpytic points (roughly)
we're not getting much more , 400 crpytic points, i don't know what all these extra bonuses are... without the 400 cryptic points the $75 spend on subscribing would be 5,500 points equivalent.
That's not what I'm saying at all, and I've had enough of your elitist attitute.
You simply desire this situation because you personally think you're in a position a lot of people are not in and can take advantage over it, so you can lord it over the rest of us.
A horrible attitude.
i'm not in a position to get the item but i like the idea aswelll , so it's not exclusive to just him.
we're still spending money for it. if you calculate it out the ship is valued at 3,500 crpytic points (roughly)
we're not getting much more , 400 crpytic points, i don't know what all these extra bonuses are... without the 400 cryptic points the $75 spend on subscribing would be 5,500 points equivalent.
You're not spending money on it. The people you refer are spending the money.
Unless you're talking about buying the subs yourself in which case we're done here.
Sadly, this thread has degenerated from Shikamaru's plainly stated petition (which garnered extreme support) to petty bickering about the validity of predatory business practice.
1) To those claiming "If you want the ship, jump the hoops"; Your blaize response simply does not address the fact that most people simply do not feel this game is in a state worth referring friends to, no matter what the rewards involved are. It also does not address the fact that the numbers involved basically encourages spamming, bribery, and all sorts of underhanded behavior that will be detrimental to the game in the long run.
2) Dismissing people who want this ship as 'lazy' ignores a very large problem this game has; It's a Star Trek game marketed towards Star Trek fans....with very little Star Trek content. And more and more actual Star Trek content is being created, but withheld from the general playerbase without jumping through financial hoops (Buying redundant copies of the game, a lifetime subscription for another game, and now bullying people into doing the same). Fans on a budget are not lesser fans than those with deep pockets, especially those who've dumped a lot of money into this game already and feel the overt and blantant fleecing simply will not stop.
3) Various Cryptic employees repeatedly say they're proud of their work, and stand behind it; If this is the case, it's time to let their work stand on it's own merits. Put their designs and content behind these walls of exclusivity, and let the game's quality and content be the draw for new customers, and the retention of existing ones, not gimmicks, ploys, and the lure of actual Star Trek content. This particular ship may have been in 'just one episode', but that's more than 80-90% of the ships in the game. Actual Star Trek ships, uniforms, graphics, and other such content should have been in this game at launch, rather than plodding ahead with the add-on cryptic designs now flooding the c-store.
4) Who's left to recruit? The major complaint seems to be that a great deal of the playerbase already recruited as many friends as possible long before now, recruits that will have no bearing on this little scheme. Even worse, the common theme is that most of those recruits have long since left the game, and gimmicks like these will not bring them back.
And for the people who keep saying they'd be willing to pay obscene prices in the C-Store for this.... please stop that, because that's what the alternative will end up being. And not just for this ship, but for every batch of missing canon content.
I guess people just get extremely petty. An overwhelming majority is calling for this awesome ship (and, in my opinion looks way better than every Cryptic designed ship so far) to be available to everyone who plays though either a C-Store purchase or as a reward for completing some difficult missions. There is only a very small portion demanding that awesome items are restricted from those players who are too lazy.
I am sure we are going to see the "It builds character argument soon"
Odd, I see nothing resembling an 'overwhelming majority' could you back that up with some facts please?
It is available to everyone (again, with the possible exception of places with bad/silly laws). Whether or not you have people you can recruit does not change it's availability. The lottery is available to everyone in my state (for example)... but I don't buy tickets... should I complain to the lottery people until they 'make it fair' and 'available to everyone'?
THE GALAXY X IS NOT THE ONLY REFERRAL PRIZE.
You get a whole bundle of items for these referrals that include it. That alone matches the "effort" you've put in since c-store buyers are NOT getting that bundle for a similar price.
you only get a holographic BO and 400 points per referal, that still only equates to 2000 crpytic point bonus (not counting the BO )
Once your recruit has subscribed to the game for a month (and has been billed for that subscription), youll earn:
A new title: Recruiter.
An exclusive Holographic Bridge Officer (works with Federation and Klingon players).
400 Cryptic Points.
For each additional recruit that subscribes to the game, youll receive an additional 400 Cryptic Points. Once youve recruited five subscribers, youll receive these great rewards:
A new title: Master Recruiter
A special ship: The Tier 5 "All Good Things" Galaxy Class. (Note: This vessel will be cleared for active duty and released from the Utopia Planetia Shipyards when Season One, Update Two releases.)
where anywhere there does it say i get anything else?
Why? You get the Galaxy X and a whole bunch of other rewards for free, for referring 5 friends.
You just want an exclusive shiny all to yourself.
YES!
Why is it that this era is filled with "I don't want to put in effort, but I demand reward"???
An Exclusive reward is meaningful. A non-exclusive reward is meaningless. If you don't study, and you fail the class, it isn't the teacher's fault. Not sure if that was clear.
In fact, at this point, I'm against this whole concept simply because I've absolutely had it with the lazy self-deserving mentality that is getting so much airtime here.
May my posts stand in direct opposition of the "Gimme" crowd. Greed and sloth is all I see here.
I don't know, maybe thats what Cryptic will fall too... feeding the fat and lazy to keep their subs in. A game full of people who feel they deserve reward for doing simple things. I was taught that too... when I was being potty trained. I've since learned it takes more than simple excretion to earn praise and reward in life.
You're not spending money on it. The people you refer are spending the money.
Unless you're talking about buying the subs yourself in which case we're done here.
who spends the money weither it's myself to buy it via c-store or my friend is almost irrelivant, what if i refer my husband and we both use the same credit card? what if i refer my son and due to him being under 18 doesn't have a credit card and thus, uses mine?
thats 2 accounts right there using my money but that i'm not using myself.....
Comments
to match the revenue between a friend referal and a c-store purchase you'd have to spend $75... or 5,500 c-store points.....
And you just don't want other people to have it, because you state you can't get it.
Galaxy-X plus all the pre-order items, uniforms, vet rewards = Oh look incentive to refer friends because you get it ALL.
Where as those just wanting specific items can buy them individually and still provide Cryptic income for those specific items.
So you're basically saying it's okay to sell a ship for $200? (the revenue would include a retail purchase)
That doesn't make it a bonus or reward at all! And you don't see anything wrong with this? Good god man!
At least someone gets it.
It seems to me those who don't are basically going on the "NO IT'S MINE MINE MINE!" philosophy, they want the Galaxy X so they can lord it over the rest of us.
How utterly selfish can you get, and ironically how contrary to the spirit of Star Trek.
If myself and others are willing/able to put forth the work to get it, why shouldn't we be allowed to have it?
Huh... that seems to be the same philosophy you're going under. "I can't get it via RAF, but it should be mine, so it shouldn't be the RAF reward".
In EVE Online the Titan used to cost roughly $10,000 US when calculated against the average isk price of a GTC (figures from 3 years ago). Yes you built the ship one way or another after months of work and effort, it's just an off point.
The ship is exactly a reward, you convince people to play the game and you get exclusive items as a result, that fits the definition of a reward. This is not some new concept, it's the concept of, "you do this and I'll give you that." It's been around for a while
Desire to see CBS tell Cryptic to remove it due to canon violations rising...
*Sends Complaint mail to CBS*
No, the point is that everyone should have access to it. Not just a restricted group of people who have access to, and are able to convince 5 friends to purchase the game and stick with it for a second month.
No one here is saying not to include the Galaxy X at all. This is a strawman argument. Almost everyone is saying that this should be available to EVERYONE. I really only see a small handful of people posting how this is a good thing and implying that people are upset because they are lazy and don't want to do "the work" as if games are supposed to be work.
I play games to have fun. Getting cool stuff that looks nice is fun. Everyone having access to a variety of cool stuff is fun. Creating a rift between the haves and have-nots is not fun. It causes people to falsely believe they are better than and superior to others and starts TRIBBLE that doesn't need to exist to begin with.
no, $75 they already have a retail copy via means of your referal, they're just paying to activate/subscribe.
it's like world of warcraft , you can download the game for free, your payment is to actually connect to the offical server >_>, or if you buy the retail you get the install disc..
i refered my friend using my buddy code, they downloaded the game were able to play it for 5 days and then only had to pay the $15 for the subscription, no retail purchase needed (though they didn't get any of the benefits of a retail purchase )
i'm also a panda Dx we're androgynous.
and yes, i do think spending a TRIBBLE load of money is fair, what happens if i refer 5 friends and they spend the $75, and i get the ship, then you have joe blow across the street who payed what $10 to get the ship? how do you think i'd feel? "wow i just spend $75 for a ship and that guy across the street got the same thing for $10, i feel cheat, ripped of and all around like **** "
You just don't get it, do you?
Cryptic has decided that the Galaxy X is the (big) incentive for the RAF program. 5 new subscribers is the intended goal of the RAF promotion.
If they add it to the C-Store, there is no incentive to bring 5 new subscribers to the game when you can just buy it.
It seems to me that those who don't understand this are basically going on the "give it to us free because we waaaaaaan't it" and "we don't want to work for it".
People who work hard at their jobs are rewarded. They get the promotions, better pay and perhaps other perks. They have earned it by doing what is required of them.
What you're saying is you should be given the same position, same pay and same perks for doing less work (or none at all) and putting in less time/effort than someone who does work hard and earns it.
Please answer me honestly, would you put in the effort for a photonic officer? Or would you just say that you don't care about that and move on?
The point that I'm getting at is that the photonic officer is not as popular as the Galaxy-X(at least it seems to me, I could be wrong), why would they put something that wouldn't encourage people to get out there and recruit up as the top reward?
And everyone (except, where prohibited by silly laws) is able to get the Galaxy X as a RAF promotion. If you want the reward, you do what is necessary to get the reward. Having it as a RAF reward is a good thing. It stops it from being everywhere (since, apparently, getting 5 people to play a game with you is super hard), and it provides ample reward for those that do meet the requirements.
i agree with this. i don't like the idea of the easy "c-store purchase" it's basicly an "i win" button that lets you skip to the front of the line and purchase the ship, no effort required at all.
my point exactly.... with the exception, i don't mind it being a c-store item, aslong as it matches the effort i'm giving by refering friends, i'll settle for 3,500 crptic points, 3200 if someone wants to haggle a little and explain how a holographic BO is worth 300 cryptic points
So suddenly paying real money to purchase an item, adding revenue to Cryptic exactly as referrers would is somehow "cheating".
I just.. give up on some people.
Okay, look.
THE GALAXY X IS NOT THE ONLY REFERRAL PRIZE.
You get a whole bundle of items for these referrals that include it. That alone matches the "effort" you've put in since c-store buyers are NOT getting that bundle for a similar price.
They have a great IP,
They have a great engine,
They have good coders,
They have a more loyal customer base than the ususal MMO-hoppers,
They have real fans out there, and...
They have a marketing department which acts like a bull in a china shop.
They have no idea what's it like to deal with a "Star Trek"-community.
Do you know what reminds me to this? "Star Wars Galaxies". One of the best games i ever played when it was released in 2003. SOE didn't understand why the community didn't want unlimited player jedis implented. They patched them in. Weeks later they had hopping hundreds of jedis through their game.
They had no idea how to deal with a Star Wars-Community and what means "continuity" to them.
SOE failed hard because they didn't understand their most loyal customers: The Star Wars Fans.
CRYPTIC is going to fail because they don't understand their most loyal customers: The Star Trek Fans.
Just remember this: If you do it right, these players would still be here when your usual MMO-hoppers are long gone and away to the next hyped game like SW:TOR from Bioware. You cann't avoid the hoppers to leave. But you can hold the Star Trek Fans forever. If you listen to them.
No, not everyone is able to get it via promotion. I don't have access to 5 friends, who don't already play, who like any combination of MMO/GAMES/STAR TREK, who have the time to play or the money to fork out. I am not in a unique situation.
There are laws in Denmark which prohibit this from happening because it looks like a pyramid scheme. Those people are out of luck too. I don't know how much of the playerbase they make up, but there is a population of people who cannot even qualify.
I do not understand the concept that part of the game should require work. I have a job for that. This game should be fun and should not require me to act as marketing to get an item which has been heavily desired and asked for by the fan base since beta. Cryptic told a lot of people that this game was supposed to be this really fun open experience and not exclude anyone because that isn't in the nature of Star Trek.
I guess people just get extremely petty. An overwhelming majority is calling for this awesome ship (and, in my opinion looks way better than every Cryptic designed ship so far) to be available to everyone who plays though either a C-Store purchase or as a reward for completing some difficult missions. There is only a very small portion demanding that awesome items are restricted from those players who are too lazy.
I am sure we are going to see the "It builds character argument soon"
With the level of expense that BioWare has put into just the voice acting aspect alone, aside from their focus on making each class with its own unique questlines entailing a team of twelve (as I last heard it) dedicated writers, I would say that yes... They would need to have at least a million box sale to subscription conversions in order to break even.
BioWare has yet to say anything about their plans to make me question whether or not their high standards for game making remain intact. On the other hand, long before STO went into even closed beta, I had concerns that Cryptic didn't really have a clue what was needed to produce an MMO of the scope necessary to do Star Trek justice.
Speaking only from personal observation, I feel that those concerns were well placed. But, from a development standpoint, Cryptic is trying to turn things around. If only marketing would just stop pulling all these crazy stunts that have the effect of throwing rocks at a hornets' nest.
It's not the developers. Its the marketing people and the suits at Atari who don't know enough about MMOs or MMO communities to see bad ideas when they happen. Every time the developers make a positive stride forward, Atari launches some ridiculous promotion that drives people to the point of quitting.
Atari is used to non-MMO games that generate short-term profits that are augmented by either the sale of expansion packs or other games. With an MMO, the goals have to be long-term, with the key factor being retention, rather than growth. Even WoW's subscriber base reached critical mass and stopped growing. So even if Cryptic delivers forward-going content that turns things around and the subscriber base starts growing, what happens when it reaches its plateau? Marketing decisions that make people quit now are hurting the game's retention potential for the future.
The timing for RAF is wrong, and the motivation for getting involved is as well.
Why not make it so that players who refer five people who subscribe get a free month? I mean, they would pick up five new subscribers the first month off one deal. They lose 1 month of revenue for one person. They're still pulling in 5x more on the deal. And then the next month, it's up to 6. A little give and take never hurts.
we're not getting much more , 400 crpytic points, i don't know what all these extra bonuses are... without the 400 cryptic points the $75 spend on subscribing would be 5,500 points equivalent.
i never thought about making it a special reward in game. but as for paying money for it see previous comment.
i'm not in a position to get the item but i like the idea aswelll , so it's not exclusive to just him.
You're not spending money on it. The people you refer are spending the money.
Unless you're talking about buying the subs yourself in which case we're done here.
1) To those claiming "If you want the ship, jump the hoops"; Your blaize response simply does not address the fact that most people simply do not feel this game is in a state worth referring friends to, no matter what the rewards involved are. It also does not address the fact that the numbers involved basically encourages spamming, bribery, and all sorts of underhanded behavior that will be detrimental to the game in the long run.
2) Dismissing people who want this ship as 'lazy' ignores a very large problem this game has; It's a Star Trek game marketed towards Star Trek fans....with very little Star Trek content. And more and more actual Star Trek content is being created, but withheld from the general playerbase without jumping through financial hoops (Buying redundant copies of the game, a lifetime subscription for another game, and now bullying people into doing the same). Fans on a budget are not lesser fans than those with deep pockets, especially those who've dumped a lot of money into this game already and feel the overt and blantant fleecing simply will not stop.
3) Various Cryptic employees repeatedly say they're proud of their work, and stand behind it; If this is the case, it's time to let their work stand on it's own merits. Put their designs and content behind these walls of exclusivity, and let the game's quality and content be the draw for new customers, and the retention of existing ones, not gimmicks, ploys, and the lure of actual Star Trek content. This particular ship may have been in 'just one episode', but that's more than 80-90% of the ships in the game. Actual Star Trek ships, uniforms, graphics, and other such content should have been in this game at launch, rather than plodding ahead with the add-on cryptic designs now flooding the c-store.
4) Who's left to recruit? The major complaint seems to be that a great deal of the playerbase already recruited as many friends as possible long before now, recruits that will have no bearing on this little scheme. Even worse, the common theme is that most of those recruits have long since left the game, and gimmicks like these will not bring them back.
And for the people who keep saying they'd be willing to pay obscene prices in the C-Store for this.... please stop that, because that's what the alternative will end up being. And not just for this ship, but for every batch of missing canon content.
Odd, I see nothing resembling an 'overwhelming majority' could you back that up with some facts please?
It is available to everyone (again, with the possible exception of places with bad/silly laws). Whether or not you have people you can recruit does not change it's availability. The lottery is available to everyone in my state (for example)... but I don't buy tickets... should I complain to the lottery people until they 'make it fair' and 'available to everyone'?
you only get a holographic BO and 400 points per referal, that still only equates to 2000 crpytic point bonus (not counting the BO )
Once your recruit has subscribed to the game for a month (and has been billed for that subscription), youll earn:
A new title: Recruiter.
An exclusive Holographic Bridge Officer (works with Federation and Klingon players).
400 Cryptic Points.
For each additional recruit that subscribes to the game, youll receive an additional 400 Cryptic Points. Once youve recruited five subscribers, youll receive these great rewards:
A new title: Master Recruiter
A special ship: The Tier 5 "All Good Things" Galaxy Class. (Note: This vessel will be cleared for active duty and released from the Utopia Planetia Shipyards when Season One, Update Two releases.)
where anywhere there does it say i get anything else?
YES!
Why is it that this era is filled with "I don't want to put in effort, but I demand reward"???
An Exclusive reward is meaningful. A non-exclusive reward is meaningless. If you don't study, and you fail the class, it isn't the teacher's fault. Not sure if that was clear.
In fact, at this point, I'm against this whole concept simply because I've absolutely had it with the lazy self-deserving mentality that is getting so much airtime here.
May my posts stand in direct opposition of the "Gimme" crowd. Greed and sloth is all I see here.
I don't know, maybe thats what Cryptic will fall too... feeding the fat and lazy to keep their subs in. A game full of people who feel they deserve reward for doing simple things. I was taught that too... when I was being potty trained. I've since learned it takes more than simple excretion to earn praise and reward in life.
who spends the money weither it's myself to buy it via c-store or my friend is almost irrelivant, what if i refer my husband and we both use the same credit card? what if i refer my son and due to him being under 18 doesn't have a credit card and thus, uses mine?
thats 2 accounts right there using my money but that i'm not using myself.....