STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
Just because it's a comedy site, doesn't make any of the stuff less true... well at least the true stuff anyway...
Still, i got a good laugh out of seeing the article. It really is one of those ideas that is terrible, yet to popular to drop apparently. I myself, while smart enough to know better, still put too much money into keys due to depression fuelled binge spending.
Author thinks STO is the only MMO to have lockboxes?
I think the author believes STO is a bigger game then we do.
STO is about my Liberated Borg Federation Captain with his Breen 1st Officer, Jem'Hadar Tactical Officer, Liberated Borg Engineering Officer, Android Ops Officer, Photonic Science Officer, Gorn Science Officer, and Reman Medical Officer jumping into their Jem'Hadar Carrier and flying off to do missions for the new Romulan Empire. But for some players allowing a T5 Connie to be used breaks the canon in the game.
As long as boxes drop a consistent average of Lobi, and there continues to be very high quality items to acquire in the Lobi store, the boxes can be considered a legitimate currency grind with the bonus of a small chance at something really nice.
This, and the fact that keys can be bought with resources generated from playing the game both through dilithium exchange grinding AND for EC on exchange, and that the very prizes they drop can be bought directly on the exchange without ever opening a box, make STO lockboxes some of the best of their kind, while other games can do them much, much worse.
In my not-so-flipping-humble opinion, SWTOR should have been #1. At least with STO, it's possible to do everything in the game without any outlay of cash. Not so with SWTOR. You can't even send in-game mail without buying the ability.
We should feel honored that out of all the games that use lockboxes, we're somehow the one that gets selected. Are we more popular than we think? *tongue-in-cheek*
Wow, some of the comments in this thread have shown me the error of my ways.
All this time I'd been thinking of Cracked as a comedy website, that uses humor to point out things of interest, or occasionally (if they're feeling really brave) make some mild social commentary; but evidently I was wrong.
Clearly Cracked is a legitimate academic journal, who's recent piece on the use of lockboxes in Star Trek Online is a serious study focusing on the economic, social, and moral fabric of not only this game, but online gaming as a whole, and also with some rather insightful and original research on the nature of gambling and it's relationship with human psychology.
Oh wait no, I was right the first time it's SATIRE.
So it's okay for authors at cracked to mock and make fun of others by pointing out the flaws in our games but not alright for us to mock them and point out the flaws in their articles.
Got it.
See, now that response I don't mind in the least, because instead of just whining, it used wit
In my not-so-flipping-humble opinion, SWTOR should have been #1. At least with STO, it's possible to do everything in the game without any outlay of cash. Not so with SWTOR. You can't even send in-game mail without buying the ability.
you are always on about tor and its f2p model im just saying maybe time to move on?
I don't see how anyone can argue with what was said in the article. Lockboxes are a ****ty way to make money. It's unfortunate that STO is being run that way. It doesn't matter if other games also do it, it sucks either way.
The real issue with how a game is monetized is it dictates what sort of content you get. By selling ships, and putting uber ships in lockboxes, it means you get a bunch of P2W ships made. That is the major focus of development. If they sold mission content instead, we'd see a lot more missions, and in my opinion also have a much better game.
The PWE lockbox method is not the only way to make money off of a free game, it's just the crappy strategy that they have learned to employ.
As long as boxes drop a consistent average of Lobi, and there continues to be very high quality items to acquire in the Lobi store, the boxes can be considered a legitimate currency grind with the bonus of a small chance at something really nice.
This, and the fact that keys can be bought with resources generated from playing the game both through dilithium exchange grinding AND for EC on exchange, and that the very prizes they drop can be bought directly on the exchange without ever opening a box, make STO lockboxes some of the best of their kind, while other games can do them much, much worse.
So what you're saying is that STO is the most honest used car salesman, or the most understanding loan shark?
I don't touch lockboxes, or anything costing real money at all really. Personally I don't see the point, real money for a bunch of pixels? All to play through content you can breeze through with a free ship? Never did make sense to me, but to each their own.
On the other hand I can't say I blame Cryptic for using the system. End of the day its the best F2P model out there, they offer so much for free they need to use such systems to earn. It certainly seems to do the trick seeing as its still here and actively being developed, even with cheapskates like me playing!
Indeed. Used car salesmen are oh so trustworthy. Never would they lie or cheat.
Perhaps this is one of those things that gets affected by the Atlantic ocean; but in the UK used car dealerships don't have a particularly bad reputation and are quite strictly regulated by law.
(Although, that's me making the quite possibly false presumption that the original comment was made by an American.)
In my not-so-flipping-humble opinion, SWTOR should have been #1. At least with STO, it's possible to do everything in the game without any outlay of cash. Not so with SWTOR. You can't even send in-game mail without buying the ability.
That entire game, by me at least, was a complete mess. They really should have opened it up more and made it as much like KOTOR I&II as possible. Especially given that you could build your character from scratch and play through as a Jedi or Soldier, or even a Bounty Hunter. Could you imagine if SWTOR let you branch between the different stories based of your choices rather than just doing it all so class based?
But yeah, i'm in total agreement that the F2P model there is just horrible, and they probably should have been closer to the top.
We have to remember that STO actually survived it's F2P transition. And some may consider me heretical, but it looks like it is doing considerably better as a F2P game.
We have to remember that STO actually survived it's F2P transition. And some may consider me heretical, but it looks like it is doing considerably better as a F2P game.
well ya because you have sorry to say it cheapos the but hurt ppl always going on about tor f2p model kinda shows it
Comments
aw well, Over to that thread then, close this one down.
Still, i got a good laugh out of seeing the article. It really is one of those ideas that is terrible, yet to popular to drop apparently. I myself, while smart enough to know better, still put too much money into keys due to depression fuelled binge spending.
This, and the fact that keys can be bought with resources generated from playing the game both through dilithium exchange grinding AND for EC on exchange, and that the very prizes they drop can be bought directly on the exchange without ever opening a box, make STO lockboxes some of the best of their kind, while other games can do them much, much worse.
All this time I'd been thinking of Cracked as a comedy website, that uses humor to point out things of interest, or occasionally (if they're feeling really brave) make some mild social commentary; but evidently I was wrong.
Clearly Cracked is a legitimate academic journal, who's recent piece on the use of lockboxes in Star Trek Online is a serious study focusing on the economic, social, and moral fabric of not only this game, but online gaming as a whole, and also with some rather insightful and original research on the nature of gambling and it's relationship with human psychology.
Oh wait no, I was right the first time it's SATIRE.
See, now that response I don't mind in the least, because instead of just whining, it used wit
system Lord Baal is dead
you are always on about tor and its f2p model im just saying maybe time to move on?
system Lord Baal is dead
The article only says STO is the most recent offender. I take it you fellas didn't read it?
Probably not.
The real issue with how a game is monetized is it dictates what sort of content you get. By selling ships, and putting uber ships in lockboxes, it means you get a bunch of P2W ships made. That is the major focus of development. If they sold mission content instead, we'd see a lot more missions, and in my opinion also have a much better game.
The PWE lockbox method is not the only way to make money off of a free game, it's just the crappy strategy that they have learned to employ.
Click here for my Foundry tutorial on Creating A Custom Interior Map.
So what you're saying is that STO is the most honest used car salesman, or the most understanding loan shark?
Click here for my Foundry tutorial on Creating A Custom Interior Map.
I think that's rather unfair to used car salesmen, that's a perfectly legitimate and legal business, as opposed to loan sharking, which isn't.
On the other hand I can't say I blame Cryptic for using the system. End of the day its the best F2P model out there, they offer so much for free they need to use such systems to earn. It certainly seems to do the trick seeing as its still here and actively being developed, even with cheapskates like me playing!
It is a bigger game than we do.
Perhaps this is one of those things that gets affected by the Atlantic ocean; but in the UK used car dealerships don't have a particularly bad reputation and are quite strictly regulated by law.
(Although, that's me making the quite possibly false presumption that the original comment was made by an American.)
That entire game, by me at least, was a complete mess. They really should have opened it up more and made it as much like KOTOR I&II as possible. Especially given that you could build your character from scratch and play through as a Jedi or Soldier, or even a Bounty Hunter. Could you imagine if SWTOR let you branch between the different stories based of your choices rather than just doing it all so class based?
But yeah, i'm in total agreement that the F2P model there is just horrible, and they probably should have been closer to the top.
system Lord Baal is dead
well ya because you have sorry to say it cheapos the but hurt ppl always going on about tor f2p model kinda shows it
system Lord Baal is dead