Obviously Cryptic's idea of "vanity" and "cosmetic" items is strangely different from what most people think. So simple with those items that cause all the dire (unique ships) make the available IN GAME too.
Yes, you've heard it a million times. Heck, I know at least one Dev guy here is trying to make it happen. I appreciate the effort. However... how about actually doing it? :P
Now lets just forgive the current two ships and say they stay C-Store specific. Just as a compromise. Now with future ships (including the Nebula and Excelsior) here's some ideas of mine:
C-Store for around $10 or so.
In-game options:
Okay first off lets sweeten the deal for the C-Store people. Lets say that future Tier 5 ships released can be bought and used at level 45. In order to get them in game you have to be max level (51 at next season).
So already you can get it early for a few $$.
If you want to further sweeten the deal give it decent level 45 items (not default). These will be replaced anyways and make them of medium quality. They'd all be obtainable in the game and you might even have better gear by level 45 anyways. Nothing spectacular. Just barely better than default gear for your first Tier 5 ship.
Now in my mind merits and ECs won't be how you get these in game. 1st off you have to be max level. 2nd off it'll cost you DAILY MARKS. So this will guarantee it'll take at least a certain amount of days to get it meaning more play time. Make it enough days to make people just want to buy it outright but not so much as to make it a stupid choice (like 60 days for a ship = dumb and way too far).
Keep in mind you'll be spending these on your ship rather than upgraded gear. So it shouldn't be TOO many days. Maybe a few weeks. A month max. I don't know.
Also just as another way to make it hard to get you can require certain missions be completed at least once. Like the higher end missions. If you can charge both Marks and Merits at the same time then why not?
The point is this would give reason for people to buy it in the C-Store and at the same time give a way to obtain it in-game which is both lengthy and difficult enough to make people might just want to buy it. Though at the same time not so lengthy and difficult that it's insane (see the older cost of Champions Online PvP gear! STUPIDLY insanely expensive).
Use this thread to suggest alternatives..
Also you can keep the TRULY pure cosmetic items (uniforms, emotes, etc) just as they are. New ships with new gameplay are not purely cosmetic.
Honestly I think I'm being too generous and nice. I tried to compromise but this still sounds terrible. How about just not putting NON-COSMETIC items in there? Yes, the ships are non-cosmetic. Stop trying to fool us.
I'd say this is a somewhat reasonable suggestion actually.
Things have to cost something. If they do not then they are valueless and therefore there would be no reason to want them . In MMOs there's not just a monetary cost but also a cost in time spent. You spend the time to gain something and it not only gives you something but also the sense of achievement. You feel that your time is well spent. This also translates to monetary gain for the developers as time spent in game equals more subscriptions equals more funds.
That said, a few weeks/ a month may be too short. Say it's $10 for a ship on the C-store. That in itself translates to 2/3 of a month but the future value of money is always less than the present value. Add that to the fact that the subscriptions are also paying for the regular Season updates and patches, you get a significantly lower recoup from in-game means.
From the player's perspective, it's the value of time. How much do you value your time? That's what the C-store provides. For an initial investment, you get to reduce the time spent to obtain this item and get your reward up-front. In other words immediate gratification, as Generation X is known for.
A parallel would be the use of legitimate downloads versus pirated media. The investment in pirated media is that you have to expend time to search for working media files, not to mention braving possible malicious programs, but you don't spend much. Whereas for paid download services like iTunes, you get the media of your choice fast and easy for a convenience fee. That's where the model works. Some choose one, some choose the other but the point is the choice is there.
I tend to believe that this has been heard, of course what happens next all depends on the politics with Atari, CBS, and whomever else has their hand out wanting income from the game.
Comments
Things have to cost something. If they do not then they are valueless and therefore there would be no reason to want them . In MMOs there's not just a monetary cost but also a cost in time spent. You spend the time to gain something and it not only gives you something but also the sense of achievement. You feel that your time is well spent. This also translates to monetary gain for the developers as time spent in game equals more subscriptions equals more funds.
That said, a few weeks/ a month may be too short. Say it's $10 for a ship on the C-store. That in itself translates to 2/3 of a month but the future value of money is always less than the present value. Add that to the fact that the subscriptions are also paying for the regular Season updates and patches, you get a significantly lower recoup from in-game means.
From the player's perspective, it's the value of time. How much do you value your time? That's what the C-store provides. For an initial investment, you get to reduce the time spent to obtain this item and get your reward up-front. In other words immediate gratification, as Generation X is known for.
A parallel would be the use of legitimate downloads versus pirated media. The investment in pirated media is that you have to expend time to search for working media files, not to mention braving possible malicious programs, but you don't spend much. Whereas for paid download services like iTunes, you get the media of your choice fast and easy for a convenience fee. That's where the model works. Some choose one, some choose the other but the point is the choice is there.