Better management of C-Store and in-game unlocks.

System

There's a lot of stuff going into the C-Store, and there's a lot of complaints that we monthly subs are just paying for the right to pay for more.

Suggestion: raise the monthly sub $5, include a 500-point stipend. That way we could convert our sub time to something useful for better unlocks, and you'd still make money on those who are willing to pay a premium to get items faster.

Archived Post

I see all the little kiddies are out in force. Many of you have no problem slapping down $200 for silly PDA phones that you don't need, tons of junk food, Soda/Fast Food, even some of you have done dumb things like bought cars and houses you cant afford, but wait don't dare charge a few bucks for something in a game OMG. Slowly but surely the days of the fat kid sitting at home playing hours upon hours, or the person who extends their unemployment out for a year just so they can grind all the best things in online games having a leg up on the more average players is become a thing of the past. Thanks to things like the C-Store.

Archived Post

OmegaSurpeme wrote:

I see all the little kiddies are out in force. Many of you have no problem slapping down $200 for silly PDA phones that you don't need, tons of junk food, Soda/Fast Food, even some of you have done dumb things like bought cars and houses you cant afford, but wait don't dare charge a few bucks for something in a game OMG. Slowly but surely the days of the fat kid sitting at home playing hours upon hours, or the person who extends their unemployment out for a year just so they can grind all the best things in online games having a leg up on the more average players is become a thing of the past. Thanks to things like the C-Store.

You sound like the perfect customer for my new resturant i will be selling huge plates for 15 bucks , only thing if you want food on them thats gonna cost you extra...

Archived Post

OmegaSurpeme wrote:

I see all the little kiddies are out in force. Many of you have no problem slapping down $200 for silly PDA phones that you don't need, tons of junk food, Soda/Fast Food, even some of you have done dumb things like bought cars and houses you cant afford, but wait don't dare charge a few bucks for something in a game OMG. Slowly but surely the days of the fat kid sitting at home playing hours upon hours, or the person who extends their unemployment out for a year just so they can grind all the best things in online games having a leg up on the more average players is become a thing of the past. Thanks to things like the C-Store.

I am actually VERY offended by the unemployment statement.

I am on unemployment right now, and I am currently looking for work in my field as much as humanly possible. In almost every state, you have to actively look for work while on unemployment, and be able to provide a list of contacts to prove it. If they call and find out you either didn't apply there, or intentionally bombed an interview, you lose your benefits.

There's FIVE UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE for EVERY ONE job opening in the U.S.A. right now. That means You have to be better than FOUR other people for any job you apply for. Most companies are on hiring freezes (including my state's unemployment office, as I even applied THERE.)

So before you go on saying people are getting unemployment extensions to play MMOs, do a little research. People may JOKE about it, but the fact of the matter is, unless you're highly qualified, have an amazing resume, and interview extremely well... you haven't got a chance in hell at getting a job right now if you don't already have one. I have been out of work since March, and I have been sending my resume around, and applying like crazy, and I have 15 years of experience in my field, with lots of great references, and I'm the king of interviews... and I'm already looking into unemployment extensions myself.

Anyone who says they extended their unemployment to play a MMO and 'relax, and chill out, ya know.. right?' is really just too damn embarrassed to say "Yeah.. so, I've been looking for a job non-stop, but no one will freakin' hire me." because that can be easily confused with "I suck at life and can't get a job, so I'm a bum" by most idiots on the internet who like to make broad, sweeping, generalizations about people.


(BTW: I have a $400 PDA Phone that I purchased while I was employed because I needed it for my job, but I don't eat junk food or fast food because I don't want to be a ******. :P )

Archived Post

*sighs* I was worried about this turning into a flamefest.

I'm not talking about the people who are complaining about the C-Store or the people who are defending the C-Store. What I'm saying is, from where I stand, it's quite possible that this model's not going to be sustainable. We've had two major content patches and how many C-Store updates now? C-Store content is massively outpacing in-game content. We've seen two, yes TWO, content updates in-game... we've seen at least four times that number of C-Store updates.

Where I was hoping the thread would go is suggestions for a better model for C-Store items, where one doesn't have to treat the Trek elements one expects in a game as ala carte items. Another thought that occurs is make C-Store items limited, and tie merit to time. Items go up on the C-Store FIRST for early adopters and die-hard Trekkies who'll pay the money (about half the time I'd be in that group). They get taken down after a set period of time and allowed to "cool off" before going into a merit store where you can pay with points that you've accrued over time. The advantage to this approach is it doesn't leave monthly subs with an advantage over lifers.

Archived Post

JemmyMcDonough wrote:

*sighs* I was worried about this turning into a flamefest.

I'm not talking about the people who are complaining about the C-Store or the people who are defending the C-Store. What I'm saying is, from where I stand, it's quite possible that this model's not going to be sustainable. We've had two major content patches and how many C-Store updates now? C-Store content is massively outpacing in-game content. We've seen two, yes TWO, content updates in-game... we've seen at least four times that number of C-Store updates.

Where I was hoping the thread would go is suggestions for a better model for C-Store items, where one doesn't have to treat the Trek elements one expects in a game as ala carte items. Another thought that occurs is make C-Store items limited, and tie merit to time. Items go up on the C-Store FIRST for early adopters and die-hard Trekkies who'll pay the money (about half the time I'd be in that group). They get taken down after a set period of time and allowed to "cool off" before going into a merit store where you can pay with points that you've accrued over time. The advantage to this approach is it doesn't leave monthly subs with an advantage over lifers.

Welcome to the STO forums, where even the most benign thread can erupt in a flame war, where people are at each others throats.

Anyway, back on topic. I think that the C-Store is a good idea, but only when done right. Unfortunately, Cryptic's going about an MT store the wrong way. Offering a few items here and there over time and using them as supplements to a good game with regular updates would be a better way to go. Alternatively, make the game F2P and offer everything up for sale as one of a number of subscription options a la Turbine's model with DDO and LOTRO.

Another problem is that Cryptic mentioned early on that any item put up on the C-Store would become available in-game. It hasn't happened yet, with the exception off respecs and those are insanely expensive unless you still have the freebies offered at each rank. Give the option of earning an item through an accolade or a mission reward or something.