You know why subs are shrinking? It is because in a huge content patch our 3 "NEW" ships are re-skins of old ships...the news content vessels are going to be TRIBBLE amount on the C-store.
Cryptic is making good money off subscriptions but that subscription count will not increase if all the actual INTERESTING loot needs to be bought via a meta-game.
We may not be playing with new ships but it also mans we will not be playing with that many new players either because lets be honest: the price for entry is STARTING at $15 p/mo and rising.
You know, I think I wouldn't have had a problem if the 3 "retrofit" ships were in the C-Store instead of the new ships. That would make sense. The ships are already in game; these ones have an added bonus, sure, but they aren't really necessary (I probably won't be getting them in-game anyway). Then, put the actual new stuff in the game instead.
What i find very amusing is that the major complaners here are the blue names that don't even paying a monthly fee. yes yes we know u spent your 300 dollars a long time ago, but as a monthly fee payer i dont mind spending a few extra bucks for a game i enjoy playing for something that probly wont even make it into game if it wasnt for the c store.
I've made quite a few c-store purchases....using the FREE CP I got with my account. I have to wonder if they're seeing transactions from people like me and saying "WOW, look! people dig this c-store!"
But when it comes down to it I can't see myself actually buying CP. If I'm going to support a game with MT I'll happily go play DDO or LotRO (in a few months). I'm a lifer, but I don't play much - no more than an hour or so every week or two. I'm still in "wait and see" mode. My hopes are that some day I can jump in and be impressed at the advances that have occurred.
So, I don't regret my LTS....*yet*. However, there is not enough in the game currently to justify a monthly sub. If I hadn't bought my LTS I can easily say I would not be a subscriber. I bought the LTS knowing I was gambling - making an investment...Even if the game wasn't as good as I hoped, I could keep tabs on it and come back when things got better.
I think (hope) the pvp sectors will add a lot of depth that is desperately needed. The current PVP implementation made no sense to me from day one. It lacked purpose - it amounted to sparring. That and the anticipation of playable Romulans keeps me in good spirits.
Anyway, the solution to this C-store problem seems simple to me:
1) Make it fun: Give us a way to generate CP or offset CP with in-game activity (EC/Merits/PvP Performance/Anything)
2) Reward us for supporting you: A CP "allowance" every-so-often could be acceptable - give people x CP every month or every 3 months while they maintain a sub.
3) Make C-store items appropriately attainable in-game.
ALL of these would entice players to keep playing and keep paying the sub. If they had to shell out a few dollars here and there to get more CP then they could do that, but your average player isn't at a disadvantage.
If you did all of those things, or hell, ONE of those things, you would get far less flak from the community. Let the C-store be a crutch to people that, for whatever reason, can't or don't want to work for items in-game. Don't let it be a way to milk your player base. At least allow us to volunteer for said milking...
Technically Blue names are paying a monthly fee until we are here for 2.5 years, after that it's free...until that time we're paying a discounted 10 dollars a month...
Now if Lifetimers got 40 C-Points a month for the next 2 years...;P
Technically Blue names are paying a monthly fee until we are here for 2.5 years, after that it's free...until that time we're paying a discounted 10 dollars a month...
Now if Lifetimers got 40 C-Points a month for the next 2 years...;P
Not that this thread is being watched with a microscope by the devs, but, hey, Dstahl? Any word on the proposal exchanging merits for C-Points? Even a 'they're still discussing it?'
Not that this thread is being watched with a microscope by the devs, but, hey, Dstahl? Any word on the proposal exchanging merits for C-Points? Even a 'they're still discussing it?'
that would be a good questions for the interview look the RSA thread and post it there.
What i find very amusing is that the major complaners here are the blue names that don't even paying a monthly fee. yes yes we know u spent your 300 dollars a long time ago, but as a monthly fee payer i dont mind spending a few extra bucks for a game i enjoy playing for something that probly wont even make it into game if it wasnt for the c store.
Fine.
Assume for a second I don't have a lifetime subscription (I still pay per-month for CoH, I paid per-month for EVE, FFXI...hell, I think I even tried Pirates of the Caribbean) and then read any argument a blue-name has made. Even if I hadn't invested my money in a one-time payment, I would still be angry at this kind of behavior. Champions Online was more finished at launch, and had a TON of missions you could go run, people to save, random pop-up "stop the bank heist" missions, and the only things they've ever put in the C-Store were costumes and action figures (other than the standard rename, respec, character slots).
STO has nothing. The storyline is very defined; EVERY Federation player goes to the Klingon Front (Quinn), then to the Romulan (T'Nae), then to DS9 (Kurland), then on to fight the Borg (4 of 10). Every player has some ship appropriate to their level that very many people around them are also flying. The game desperately needs more diversity injected into it, from more contacts with more missions and episodes to more places to just go and hang out and explore to more ships that people can fly around in happily.
The C-Store can be a good thing, I won't deny that. They could make nice money off of it offering per-account and per-character services. They could make good money offering the pre-order uniforms and the new emotes and the pet targs. They could even make money offering very out-there alien species, like the Talaxians or the Federation Klingons. Hell, the ship re-skins of the Admiral-level ships isn't a bad thing; it's more costume options for us to play with! But brand-new ships with brand-new abilities and new races with brand-new abilities...it's not right. Not when you can stick that stuff in game, along with a slew of new mission/episode content and have a truly incredible game update.
If the excelsior (cruiser), nebula (science), and a tactical had been the new ships and the refits were what was in the c-store they'd have gotten exciting press and word of mouth.
There was content in the game during beta that got removed whilst it was polished, then it gets re released after launch as 'new' content. Most new content has only been graphical updates, as well as systems from Champions online been reskinned with a Star Trek theme,
this is/was the biggest killer for me in all of STO.
I agree...They take a race (we all know which one) and test it in beta.. then yank it and force people to buy it right after it launches...then finish the other one... poof c-store... they added things that were built in CO and migrated over here, and they slowly add superficial stuff that sort of (or fully did) already worked in beta.. or was begged to be fleshed out, and are just now getting to it.
I can't wait for them to turn on the BO vocal dialouge and claim they worked hard to do it, and they need 2k c-store points to unlock it on your account
I like the idea, but I would be happy to pay if it meant having a better game in the long-run because I have personally put a lot of money into this game but if everyone just stops using Crypttic points and just play the game, where will income and new game costs etc. come from? To pay means to gain.
I like the idea, but I would be happy to pay if it meant having a better game in the long-run because I have personally put a lot of money into this game but if everyone just stops using Crypttic points and just play the game, where will income and new game costs etc. come from? To pay means to gain.
You´re absolutely right, because STO is free-to-play.... errr wait. :rolleyes:
I like the idea, but I would be happy to pay if it meant having a better game in the long-run because I have personally put a lot of money into this game but if everyone just stops using Crypttic points and just play the game, where will income and new game costs etc. come from? To pay means to gain.
man, that whole $15 p/mo everyone pays for the game must really run this MMO team dry. Even so called dead MMO's are able to turn a good profit off of the $15 p/mo in order to produce new content.
The C-store is VERY low cost VERY high margin sales. Period. I'm sure part of it is going back into game development but honestly, who cares? ALL of the achievement loot is in the C-store anyway so there isn't much worth grinding for in the game in the first place.
If the excelsior (cruiser), nebula (science), and a tactical had been the new ships and the refits were what was in the c-store they'd have gotten exciting press and word of mouth.
You really belive that ohh if the only did this , if they did you all would complain that we should of had the refits in game from the begining. and the nebula is a cruiser not a science ship.
3-4 Million Energy Credits = 250 C-Points
1-1.5 Million Gold-Pressed Latinum = 250 C-Points
Problem solved. Slap a vendor in ESD and Qo'nos, send me my idea check...it should be as big as Thomasthecat's...
Let us also toss Merrits into this. Other than ship renames and BO retrains, these things are worthless, let us get value out of them and this is the way to do it!
3-4 Million Energy Credits = 250 C-Points
1-1.5 Million Gold-Pressed Latinum = 250 C-Points
Problem solved. Slap a vendor in ESD and Qo'nos, send me my idea check...it should be as big as Thomasthecat's...
That is a seriously steep scale and highly unreasonable.
I think 100,000/1 would be far more reasonable, especially for casual players. On the Latimum side, it should be something on the order of 50,000/1 to keep things interesting. On the merits side of the house, each tier should dump into the next tier at - say, 2/1 and the top tier should dump into C-points at a 3/1 rate.
I think a system like that would address the monumentally negative issue of items in the C-store NOT being able to be earned in game and also provide some way for people to feel the lower level rewards were not completely wasted. Such a system would also allow for the hardcore grinder to get proper rewards. Moreover it would also be great if the points could be used to purchase sub time or even gift stuff to other players.
I firmly believe that if such a comprehensive system were implemented in game a large part of the massive public relations nightmare the marketing people keep creating for STO would simply fade away - over night! :cool:
Consequently, as far as I'm concerned it is a win/win/win proposal for all concerned parties.
and I bet there will be some very hard feeling coming out of this, as a LOT of people dont feel the price is fair or even reasonable... and I agree...the most popular ships are tools to take advantage of the consumer.
Now I have a question... are they being added to ship types already available...
Because if they add options to the Cruiser classes (however Nebula is not as much a cruiser as a science ship) that would be fine to pay for. But if they are like the TOS Constitution and such, then thats stupid. MORE CUSTOMIZATION! Especially the Nebula which has most of the parts of the Galaxy. Just add the hull (and the upper sensor thingy) into the galaxy choices and then you can have choices that make the ships look really different and not all like Galaxy refits.
And the Excelsior can go into the sovereign or galaxy choices. I mean, it looks kinda similar to the sovereign, however because it is different it would be nicer in the galaxy, again to give real differences in the choice. These I would pay more for.
But for a separate ship that all I can do is color it... thats stupid.... wheres the real customization!. And they should add the TOS constitution to the constitution choices. I mean, I'd buy more choices, but a ship that takes up a ship slot without any real ability to customize it.
Or maybe make a new class of types called the Science Cruisers.
Lt- Oberth and choice(Have two ensign science and 1 engineer, no tactical and only one weapon slot)
Lt Cmdr- ?
Cmdr.- Excelsior and new choices
Cpt- Nebula and new choices or just the galaxy choices done in the nebula way
Adm- ?
great yes let buy cpoints for ingame creds way make leaglized gold farming no thanx. ...
Ummmm... I think you are looking at things backwards. It is a way to use in game rewards to get cpoints. Points I might add that cant be converted into real money. Moreover at the ratios I proposed I dont see any real incentive for people to buy from farmers - on the pure credit side, and the rest of the stuff is none trade able so it another moot point there as well.
Ummmm... I think you are looking at things backwards. It is a way to use in game rewards to get cpoints. Points I might add that cant be converted into real money. Moreover at the ratios I proposed I dont see any real incentive for people to buy from farmers - on the pure credit side, and the rest of the stuff is none trade able so it another moot point there as well.
you dont get it do you this will put a higher worth on EC then comes the balancing how many EC for a CP then the farmers will adjust their price on the EC to be competative with the Cstore money and it will be cheaper for players to buy of goldfarmers then of cryptic..... the CSTORE money is real money cause you buy em with real money...
you dont get it do you this will put a higher worth on EC then comes the balancing how many EC for a CP then the farmers will adjust their price on the EC to be competative with the Cstore money and it will be cheaper for players to buy of goldfarmers then of cryptic..... the CSTORE money is real money cause you buy em with real money...
You have it all wrong. The exchange is already over inflated. Merrits are pointless. Exploration points and Marks of whatevers are NON transferable. The CP's are not real currency. If it was, would cryptic have given out 240 CP for anyone who completed the "great exodus" poll? How about $50 worth after Galaxy Gate. CPs are best described as using Good Ol US green backs to trade in pesos and then spend those pesos at what the value of the Dollar should be.
so getting cryptic points for energy credits wount help increase the value of energy credits for a gold farmer?
and beside you allready use merits to buy respecs wich cost 400cp so basically 30k merits wich is at max rank on tribble now = 400cp
30k merits is a long time investment to get atleast more then 400cp worth in time spendt in game grinding..
400cp is like 5 Bucks a whole month of game play is 15 dollars.... ( $6.25 USD 500 Cryptic Points is the current market rate ) not sure how many merits u can grind a day if you really grind them out i havent tried and i never will. but this ec to cp thing is bad .
NO CP isent real money if it was cryptic would have to be the fedral reserve cause no one is allowed to invent money . But this is still in the grey areas cause you now exchange real money for a unreal currency that only exist in cryptic world...
Trying to say CP isent a real currency is what they really want you to belive , its real money as long as you exchange another real currency for it , then it has a real exchange rate etc....
so getting cryptic points for energy credits wount help increase the value of energy credits for a gold farmer?
It should not because if the system I proposed is used, why would someone give a gold farmer money for EC to exchange for CP when they could easily give Cryptic the money for CP? It is like you said the time necessary to grind out the stuff is simply not worth it. Moreover the system goes beyond just EC but covers all the units of utility in game.
Trying to say CP isent a real currency is what they really want you to belive , its real money as long as you exchange another real currency for it , then it has a real exchange rate etc....
The "point" system is there for a couple reasons and the whole currency exchange thing is not one of them.
I agree with MarkStone. I thought his post was perfect. It accurately described exactly how I'm feeling right now about the C-store.
I paid for two LTS when they were $240, one for me and one for my wife. She has logged in once in the last three months, not because she doesn't like the game but because she's just been really busy. This means that right now, Cryptic basically got the money for two LTS for the price of one person on the Holodeck.
I really love the game. I'm having a blast playing it. I have quite a few chars now (2 RA5s and 2 Commanders and a Klingon I barely play), and I'm having fun playing on Advanced difficulty. The graphics are great, things look awesome, I really like space combat tactics, and I thoroughly enjoy the game. I'm really looking forward to Season 2 so I can brush the dust off my Klingon and really give the Klingon faction a shot.
With that being said, I just can't justify spending any more money on this game right now. I invested $480 into STO six months ago, and while I'm very pleased with all the updates I've seen thus far, I do not feel I've received my full $480 value back yet. I'd love to have the Galaxy-X, but I cannot justify spending $25 on one ship yet (if ever). And I've been really looking forward to playing the Excelsior ever since the poll finished. But to have to pay to fly it only 6 months after I've paid Cryptic $480 already leaves a horrible taste in my mouth, especially considering that I don't think I've received even a quarter of the value of that $480 back yet in play time, items, or content updates (yet!).
Now, I could easily see myself buying bridge packs or ship skins, things that are really just aesthetic. Plus, those examples I feel are very reasonably priced. But new ships, like the Galaxy-X, Excelsior and Nebula should not be pay to play. And if they are, I honestly don't see myself paying for them anytime soon, if ever, no matter how badly I may want to fly it.
This is not a bash Cryptic post, and I certainly hope you know that. I don't post very often, but when I do it's because I'm either very happy about something, or very concerned about something. This goes in the "concerned" pile. I will continue playing the game, no matter what. But right now I'm feeling penny pinched, and that's not a comfortable feeling I associate with a company I'm choosing to do business with.
Ideally, I'd love to see the Tier 3 version of the Excelsior free for everyone. That level really needs another option for Cruisers; the four-nacelled Heavy Cruisers aren't everyone's thing. I agree, though, a Tier5 Excelsior would be more of a C-Store ship since it's a special case kind of refit; but, if I had my choice, it would also be free.
The Nebula would make a fine addition to the Tier4 as a free ship, and a possible Tier5 version available on the C-Store as a "refit"
you dont get it do you this will put a higher worth on EC then comes the balancing how many EC for a CP then the farmers will adjust their price on the EC to be competative with the Cstore money and it will be cheaper for players to buy of goldfarmers then of cryptic..... the CSTORE money is real money cause you buy em with real money...
Farmers? What farmers? If someone has the money to pay farmers to get ECs...WTF wouldn't they just buy C-Points and skip the middle man?
That is a seriously steep scale and highly unreasonable.
I think 100,000/1 would be far more reasonable, especially for casual players.
*sigh* 3-4million for 250 C-Points is my idea...
Your idea of 100,000 EC for 1 C-Point = 25,000,000 EC for 250 C-Points...My idea is FAR more reasonable...
Or, also 12.5 million latinum for 250 C-Points, again your idea...
250 points isn't enough to buy much, that's like one decent item or a few dinky items (emotes and such) and at say 4 million EC that would wipe a lot of admirals out (myself included)
Also since PvP pays so well this would increase people's desire to pvP...
On the merits side of the house, each tier should dump into the next tier at - say, 2/1 and the top tier should dump into C-points at a 3/1 rate.
Merits = Starfleet Merits, there are no tiers of those...
Best part of having the Conversion System in STO?
It's not in Champions...yet...
That means more people paying to play STO to get C-Points to buy things in Champions...
I can understand this view point, and Ill make sure to pass it along. I also want to remind you however that we use the C-store to make things that you are requesting, which otherwise would not make it into the game. So, without the C-store, there would be no excelsior or Nebula in STO for some time.
I agree with your take on things and regarding these two ships specifically ... They are older ships. So even though iconic, not necessary to the time period nor the game.
I'll gladly pay for them as STO has been delivering on other fronts enough to keep me happy.
Klingons are the one shortcoming I see regarding content and even there I see work being done behind the scenes.
My bat'leth is held high in salute to the work being done and more so ... those behind the scenes.
I agree with your take on things and regarding these two ships specifically ... They are older ships. So even though iconic, not necessary to the time period nor the game.
Qapla' !!!
The Refit Connie which is standard at Lt. Cmdr is older than the Excelsior, as is our Miranda... the Nebula is newer than the Galaxy or at best the same age...
The canon ships should have been in the game from the start and the non-canon should have been purchasable skins...
Comments
But when it comes down to it I can't see myself actually buying CP. If I'm going to support a game with MT I'll happily go play DDO or LotRO (in a few months). I'm a lifer, but I don't play much - no more than an hour or so every week or two. I'm still in "wait and see" mode. My hopes are that some day I can jump in and be impressed at the advances that have occurred.
So, I don't regret my LTS....*yet*. However, there is not enough in the game currently to justify a monthly sub. If I hadn't bought my LTS I can easily say I would not be a subscriber. I bought the LTS knowing I was gambling - making an investment...Even if the game wasn't as good as I hoped, I could keep tabs on it and come back when things got better.
I think (hope) the pvp sectors will add a lot of depth that is desperately needed. The current PVP implementation made no sense to me from day one. It lacked purpose - it amounted to sparring. That and the anticipation of playable Romulans keeps me in good spirits.
Anyway, the solution to this C-store problem seems simple to me:
1) Make it fun: Give us a way to generate CP or offset CP with in-game activity (EC/Merits/PvP Performance/Anything)
2) Reward us for supporting you: A CP "allowance" every-so-often could be acceptable - give people x CP every month or every 3 months while they maintain a sub.
3) Make C-store items appropriately attainable in-game.
ALL of these would entice players to keep playing and keep paying the sub. If they had to shell out a few dollars here and there to get more CP then they could do that, but your average player isn't at a disadvantage.
If you did all of those things, or hell, ONE of those things, you would get far less flak from the community. Let the C-store be a crutch to people that, for whatever reason, can't or don't want to work for items in-game. Don't let it be a way to milk your player base. At least allow us to volunteer for said milking...
Now if Lifetimers got 40 C-Points a month for the next 2 years...;P
I vote your Avatar for the daily WIN!
that would be a good questions for the interview look the RSA thread and post it there.
Assume for a second I don't have a lifetime subscription (I still pay per-month for CoH, I paid per-month for EVE, FFXI...hell, I think I even tried Pirates of the Caribbean) and then read any argument a blue-name has made. Even if I hadn't invested my money in a one-time payment, I would still be angry at this kind of behavior. Champions Online was more finished at launch, and had a TON of missions you could go run, people to save, random pop-up "stop the bank heist" missions, and the only things they've ever put in the C-Store were costumes and action figures (other than the standard rename, respec, character slots).
STO has nothing. The storyline is very defined; EVERY Federation player goes to the Klingon Front (Quinn), then to the Romulan (T'Nae), then to DS9 (Kurland), then on to fight the Borg (4 of 10). Every player has some ship appropriate to their level that very many people around them are also flying. The game desperately needs more diversity injected into it, from more contacts with more missions and episodes to more places to just go and hang out and explore to more ships that people can fly around in happily.
The C-Store can be a good thing, I won't deny that. They could make nice money off of it offering per-account and per-character services. They could make good money offering the pre-order uniforms and the new emotes and the pet targs. They could even make money offering very out-there alien species, like the Talaxians or the Federation Klingons. Hell, the ship re-skins of the Admiral-level ships isn't a bad thing; it's more costume options for us to play with! But brand-new ships with brand-new abilities and new races with brand-new abilities...it's not right. Not when you can stick that stuff in game, along with a slew of new mission/episode content and have a truly incredible game update.
this is/was the biggest killer for me in all of STO.
I agree...They take a race (we all know which one) and test it in beta.. then yank it and force people to buy it right after it launches...then finish the other one... poof c-store... they added things that were built in CO and migrated over here, and they slowly add superficial stuff that sort of (or fully did) already worked in beta.. or was begged to be fleshed out, and are just now getting to it.
I can't wait for them to turn on the BO vocal dialouge and claim they worked hard to do it, and they need 2k c-store points to unlock it on your account
You´re absolutely right, because STO is free-to-play.... errr wait. :rolleyes:
man, that whole $15 p/mo everyone pays for the game must really run this MMO team dry. Even so called dead MMO's are able to turn a good profit off of the $15 p/mo in order to produce new content.
The C-store is VERY low cost VERY high margin sales. Period. I'm sure part of it is going back into game development but honestly, who cares? ALL of the achievement loot is in the C-store anyway so there isn't much worth grinding for in the game in the first place.
You really belive that ohh if the only did this , if they did you all would complain that we should of had the refits in game from the begining. and the nebula is a cruiser not a science ship.
3-4 Million Energy Credits = 250 C-Points
1-1.5 Million Gold-Pressed Latinum = 250 C-Points
Problem solved. Slap a vendor in ESD and Qo'nos, send me my idea check...it should be as big as Thomasthecat's...
Let us also toss Merrits into this. Other than ship renames and BO retrains, these things are worthless, let us get value out of them and this is the way to do it!
That is a seriously steep scale and highly unreasonable.
I think 100,000/1 would be far more reasonable, especially for casual players. On the Latimum side, it should be something on the order of 50,000/1 to keep things interesting. On the merits side of the house, each tier should dump into the next tier at - say, 2/1 and the top tier should dump into C-points at a 3/1 rate.
I think a system like that would address the monumentally negative issue of items in the C-store NOT being able to be earned in game and also provide some way for people to feel the lower level rewards were not completely wasted. Such a system would also allow for the hardcore grinder to get proper rewards. Moreover it would also be great if the points could be used to purchase sub time or even gift stuff to other players.
I firmly believe that if such a comprehensive system were implemented in game a large part of the massive public relations nightmare the marketing people keep creating for STO would simply fade away - over night! :cool:
Consequently, as far as I'm concerned it is a win/win/win proposal for all concerned parties.
and I bet there will be some very hard feeling coming out of this, as a LOT of people dont feel the price is fair or even reasonable... and I agree...the most popular ships are tools to take advantage of the consumer.
the "money grab" smell is back.
please dont ripoff the fans.
.
Because if they add options to the Cruiser classes (however Nebula is not as much a cruiser as a science ship) that would be fine to pay for. But if they are like the TOS Constitution and such, then thats stupid. MORE CUSTOMIZATION! Especially the Nebula which has most of the parts of the Galaxy. Just add the hull (and the upper sensor thingy) into the galaxy choices and then you can have choices that make the ships look really different and not all like Galaxy refits.
And the Excelsior can go into the sovereign or galaxy choices. I mean, it looks kinda similar to the sovereign, however because it is different it would be nicer in the galaxy, again to give real differences in the choice. These I would pay more for.
But for a separate ship that all I can do is color it... thats stupid.... wheres the real customization!. And they should add the TOS constitution to the constitution choices. I mean, I'd buy more choices, but a ship that takes up a ship slot without any real ability to customize it.
Or maybe make a new class of types called the Science Cruisers.
Lt- Oberth and choice(Have two ensign science and 1 engineer, no tactical and only one weapon slot)
Lt Cmdr- ?
Cmdr.- Excelsior and new choices
Cpt- Nebula and new choices or just the galaxy choices done in the nebula way
Adm- ?
Ummmm... I think you are looking at things backwards. It is a way to use in game rewards to get cpoints. Points I might add that cant be converted into real money. Moreover at the ratios I proposed I dont see any real incentive for people to buy from farmers - on the pure credit side, and the rest of the stuff is none trade able so it another moot point there as well.
you dont get it do you this will put a higher worth on EC then comes the balancing how many EC for a CP then the farmers will adjust their price on the EC to be competative with the Cstore money and it will be cheaper for players to buy of goldfarmers then of cryptic..... the CSTORE money is real money cause you buy em with real money...
You have it all wrong. The exchange is already over inflated. Merrits are pointless. Exploration points and Marks of whatevers are NON transferable. The CP's are not real currency. If it was, would cryptic have given out 240 CP for anyone who completed the "great exodus" poll? How about $50 worth after Galaxy Gate. CPs are best described as using Good Ol US green backs to trade in pesos and then spend those pesos at what the value of the Dollar should be.
and beside you allready use merits to buy respecs wich cost 400cp so basically 30k merits wich is at max rank on tribble now = 400cp
30k merits is a long time investment to get atleast more then 400cp worth in time spendt in game grinding..
400cp is like 5 Bucks a whole month of game play is 15 dollars.... ( $6.25 USD 500 Cryptic Points is the current market rate ) not sure how many merits u can grind a day if you really grind them out i havent tried and i never will. but this ec to cp thing is bad .
NO CP isent real money if it was cryptic would have to be the fedral reserve cause no one is allowed to invent money . But this is still in the grey areas cause you now exchange real money for a unreal currency that only exist in cryptic world...
Trying to say CP isent a real currency is what they really want you to belive , its real money as long as you exchange another real currency for it , then it has a real exchange rate etc....
It should not because if the system I proposed is used, why would someone give a gold farmer money for EC to exchange for CP when they could easily give Cryptic the money for CP? It is like you said the time necessary to grind out the stuff is simply not worth it. Moreover the system goes beyond just EC but covers all the units of utility in game.
Someone simply does not understand our fractional reserve banking system.
The "point" system is there for a couple reasons and the whole currency exchange thing is not one of them.
I paid for two LTS when they were $240, one for me and one for my wife. She has logged in once in the last three months, not because she doesn't like the game but because she's just been really busy. This means that right now, Cryptic basically got the money for two LTS for the price of one person on the Holodeck.
I really love the game. I'm having a blast playing it. I have quite a few chars now (2 RA5s and 2 Commanders and a Klingon I barely play), and I'm having fun playing on Advanced difficulty. The graphics are great, things look awesome, I really like space combat tactics, and I thoroughly enjoy the game. I'm really looking forward to Season 2 so I can brush the dust off my Klingon and really give the Klingon faction a shot.
With that being said, I just can't justify spending any more money on this game right now. I invested $480 into STO six months ago, and while I'm very pleased with all the updates I've seen thus far, I do not feel I've received my full $480 value back yet. I'd love to have the Galaxy-X, but I cannot justify spending $25 on one ship yet (if ever). And I've been really looking forward to playing the Excelsior ever since the poll finished. But to have to pay to fly it only 6 months after I've paid Cryptic $480 already leaves a horrible taste in my mouth, especially considering that I don't think I've received even a quarter of the value of that $480 back yet in play time, items, or content updates (yet!).
Now, I could easily see myself buying bridge packs or ship skins, things that are really just aesthetic. Plus, those examples I feel are very reasonably priced. But new ships, like the Galaxy-X, Excelsior and Nebula should not be pay to play. And if they are, I honestly don't see myself paying for them anytime soon, if ever, no matter how badly I may want to fly it.
This is not a bash Cryptic post, and I certainly hope you know that. I don't post very often, but when I do it's because I'm either very happy about something, or very concerned about something. This goes in the "concerned" pile.
The Nebula would make a fine addition to the Tier4 as a free ship, and a possible Tier5 version available on the C-Store as a "refit"
Farmers? What farmers? If someone has the money to pay farmers to get ECs...WTF wouldn't they just buy C-Points and skip the middle man?
*sigh* 3-4million for 250 C-Points is my idea...
Your idea of 100,000 EC for 1 C-Point = 25,000,000 EC for 250 C-Points...My idea is FAR more reasonable...
Or, also 12.5 million latinum for 250 C-Points, again your idea...
250 points isn't enough to buy much, that's like one decent item or a few dinky items (emotes and such) and at say 4 million EC that would wipe a lot of admirals out (myself included)
Also since PvP pays so well this would increase people's desire to pvP...
Merits = Starfleet Merits, there are no tiers of those...
Best part of having the Conversion System in STO?
It's not in Champions...yet...
That means more people paying to play STO to get C-Points to buy things in Champions...
I agree with your take on things and regarding these two ships specifically ... They are older ships. So even though iconic, not necessary to the time period nor the game.
I'll gladly pay for them as STO has been delivering on other fronts enough to keep me happy.
Klingons are the one shortcoming I see regarding content and even there I see work being done behind the scenes.
My bat'leth is held high in salute to the work being done and more so ... those behind the scenes.
Your work is very much appreciated!
Qapla' !!!
The Refit Connie which is standard at Lt. Cmdr is older than the Excelsior, as is our Miranda... the Nebula is newer than the Galaxy or at best the same age...
The canon ships should have been in the game from the start and the non-canon should have been purchasable skins...