You've finally discovered how a business can offer an extensive online game with regular updates and a large development team with full time professional salaries for absolutely free.
Let's say that you are wrong. It is only in the couple of "updates" that we are seeing the "why wait" button.
This is a worrying trend though. What annoys me the most:
You cannot see the time left unless you click the "why wait" button
You cannot use your gear because it gets locked for 2.5hours unless you click the "why wait" button.
This is a very worrying trend that companies will pursue if it brings them more money.
Imagine having a timegate pay button behind selling stuff on the exchange. Imagine having to wait or pay to equip items. Imagine having to pay or wait to do stf's once they change the cooldown timer to 4hours. And so forth.
Companies want more money, always, and this is going to be their next stop. They will slowly timegate everything with a pay to skip option.
Now I'm ok with a company wanting to generate revenue for a free service. HOWEVER, that should be within reason. When a F2P game starts costing 50-100$ a month to play it comfortably without timegates (see farmvile or the other thousands of Facebook games) then it becomes a huge problem.
The actual playerbase that pays do have limits, and I fear we're walking the line with the crafting "pay or wait" changes (see top my post).
any one else find the fact people complain about long grinds in ftp games that you can pay to short amusing?
when sub based games have them to and you have no choice but to do it the long way and you have to pay for the privilege of doing said grind. but make it free and give a way to pay to shorten, it's pure evil.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
any one else find the fact people complain about long grinds in ftp games that you can pay to short amusing?
when sub based games have them to and you have no choice but to do it the long way and you have to pay for the privilege of doing said grind. but make it free and give a way to pay to shorten, it's pure evil.
Again, you, like many people, only see this from two sides: No timegates, Yes timegates.
You have to realise there is a middleground that works fine! I am not against such mechanics to generate revenue. The issue is that slowly it seems every action is being put behind a timegate.
There is such a thing as "too many of something is bad".
When they blocked free drops from stf with season 7 and started charging 30,000 dil for them instead, much like or exactly like now having to rebuy your old gear, my characters that hadn't gotten gear, I let them go.
To this day they just contraband converters and yes I still have weapons from the real STF that's how cheap I am, and I am even more pitiful and bitter and resentful than I am cheap.
I ignored reputation, lockboxes and fleet gear. I did contribute to my fleet and I do buy an item here and there but overall I don't go buying 5 damage consoles at 60 million to watch them get invalidated by fleet spire.
Never had a purple console, never owned a top weapon. For this reason.
A crafting system's only legitimacy is in the core element of saving the user resources (usually by breaking down items) so he can EARN for putting in TIME.
Much like the dil system is a time currency in which you earn dil for your time.
This time they breaking their own premise of the whole game but I have no problem with staying out of room 237 for yet another season, belee dat
Again, you, like many people, only see this from two sides: No timegates, Yes timegates.
You have to realise there is a middleground that works fine! I am not against such mechanics to generate revenue. The issue is that slowly it seems every action is being put behind a timegate.
There is such a thing as "too many of something is bad".
I never said how I felt about the time gate I said I found peoples complaining about them amusing. the fact people assume I'm against them if i don't jump on the hate train only is amusing on good days.
personally I don't find any of the time gates to but so restrictive. could their be fewer or shorter. sure. would I protest cryptic shorten them, nope. but is it the the evil evil thing like to make it out too be no it's not. at most it somewhat annoying. and with the tech upgrade system adding more items to the end game. I willing to say this one is one of the better ways it could be done.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
We get so sick of the massive grind, we pay money to make it stop.
Very evil.
Yes, this is called "Free to Play". It's funny that a lot of players still think this is a good system. It is a one-way leading into a dead end in terms of gamedesign, creativity and longevity of a game.
^ Memory Alpha.org is not canon. It's a open wiki with arbitrary rules. Only what can be cited from an episode is. ^
"No. Men do not roar. Women roar. Then they hurl heavy objects... and claw at you." -Worf, son of Mogh
"A filthy, mangy beast, but in its bony breast beat the heart of a warrior" - "faithful" (...) "but ever-ready to follow the call of the wild." - Martok, about a Targ
"That pig smelled horrid. A sweet-sour, extremely pungent odor. I showered and showered, and it took me a week to get rid of it!" - Robert Justman, appreciating Emmy-Lou
With the next season, our stuff will wear-down and cost dilitium to repair !!
Our ship will use dilitium to move in sector space and if you die, respawn cost dilitium...
Yes, this is called "Free to Play". It's funny that a lot of players still think this is a good system. It is a one-way leading into a dead end in terms of gamedesign, creativity and longevity of a game.
Absolutely - what is interesting to watch is what happens to a game at what I guess is now "end stage" - do they keep the game going at a sustanance level or bow to max-profit requirements and just close it? One of my favorite games has apparently come to terms with it by maintaining a modest sized development team and doing the things they always wanted to do, while retaining many of the cash and grab aspects from its "peak cash grab period" they are somewhat tacitly deemphasized. That particular company has a history of keeping games they love open if they can sustain even tho0ugh the are no longer "at peak".
One of the distinctive differences of some MMO's from others is how well known their brand is. It's my current thinking that since the Star Trek brand is so well known, it is more likely than not that this game will live on in some form, although it may not be the form most suited to the cash grabbers. Unlike less well known brands, I "suspect" there is a core love for the brand/game/series that it will live on in some form even if it were "sold" to less cash hungry management. Surely those who control the purse must know that if they go too far, someone else will fill the void. If they end up not caring, someone else wlll (and of course some are trying already anyway.)
These MMO's are not oil companies or cable companies so I doubt they can purchase enough political clout to ensure their monopoly control, they have to hope to do it through business model and right now that's a much dicier proposition without the political muscle to enforce effective monopolies.
Maximum profit is not sustainable either here or out in the real world. At least here it doesn't have adverse climatological side affects.
There is only so much disposable income in the hands of people willing to fork it over to avoid delayed gratification....then you hit an invisible wall and decisions will have to be made. in that other MMO I referenced above, the big cash grabbers moved elsewhere, the major superstars of management moved elsewhere, and a core group is there hanging in and actually focusing on game changes the players have always wanted. I hope that contintinues as long as it can.
One never knows when a major expansion is going to signify such a change...
We get so sick of the massive grind, we pay money to make it stop.
Very evil.
either that or we quit playing altogether. I wonder, can pwe/cryptic really afford to risk losing their installed base and potentially a very valuable IP?
The issue here isn't that people will spend money to save time...its whether they are getting their money's worth when they do so. I spent money on dil so I could get fleet gear and ships more quickly because I have limited time and could afford it. The gear purchases were useful on a variety of ships and builds so I felt I was getting something useful that would remain so into the future.
Now they feel they can keep whales spending by putting more time gates in the game then generously offering to let me skip the wait they have imposed for no other reason than to try to frustrate me into spending more money? Not a chance.
It's just lazy game design. Want me to keep spending money? Make sure my current expenditures retain thier end game value while introducing more variety and gear choices for us to dabble with. The time gates on crafting and gear upgrades diminish the value of both my time and my money while only serving to return me to competative endgame funtionality on a level I had already worked hard to achive. The announcement of Fleet T6 greatly diminishes the future value of previous ship investments even if I play along with all the upgrades.
Making a better game with more variety and challenge is how you keep us hooked and spending....not atificially moving the bar on us like a carrot on a stick we'll never quite get to.
Just did an upgrade of a beam weapon. Cost me ~700K EC per tech upgrade, of which I needed ca. 10. That's 7 mil EC, right there! And that was only for an upgrade to Mk. XIII of a single wep! So, for a full ship, with like 20 upgradable items, where looking at ca. 150 mil in tech upgrades alone, not even counting Dilithium.
No matter how many threads the mod closes, this is insane, pure and simple.
No it a buy to play and that just a one time fee then you can play all you like. I don't know if they have any time gates as I never played it before but if they do have them it not everywhere like STO .
No it a buy to play and that just a one time fee then you can play all you like. I don't know if they have any time gates as I never played it before but if they do have them it not everywhere like STO .
I am very sorry for this but I have to ask.
if you have never played how do you know anything about any time gates GW2 may or may not have?
and sto has that beat you pay a no time fee of nothing... because thats what free to play means.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
I don't know if GW2 has any but I could look around or get an answer from someone who has played .
please do before saying it's better then sto on the ground... you don't like what sto has. not trying to be rude but if you going to compare things you should know what your comparing to.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
"We're not mad at Angry Birds, and we're not trying to defend the universe from Angry Birds. Although you might want to consider defending yourself from Angry Birds. If you aren't paying for the app, you aren't a customer, you're the product."
Comments
GW2 f2p model is much easier on the player than STO is...
Link :: This is what 'Star Trek: Online' has been turned into.
Let's say that you are wrong. It is only in the couple of "updates" that we are seeing the "why wait" button.
I'm sorry to people who I, in the past, insulted, annoyed, etc.
I heard they want to cancel Christmas. And ban puppies and kittens.
...you realise you don't have to pay right? Or in fact take part in any upgrades or new ship tiers at all? Ah who am I kidding...
This is a worrying trend though. What annoys me the most:
You cannot see the time left unless you click the "why wait" button
You cannot use your gear because it gets locked for 2.5hours unless you click the "why wait" button.
This is a very worrying trend that companies will pursue if it brings them more money.
Imagine having a timegate pay button behind selling stuff on the exchange. Imagine having to wait or pay to equip items. Imagine having to pay or wait to do stf's once they change the cooldown timer to 4hours. And so forth.
Companies want more money, always, and this is going to be their next stop. They will slowly timegate everything with a pay to skip option.
Now I'm ok with a company wanting to generate revenue for a free service. HOWEVER, that should be within reason. When a F2P game starts costing 50-100$ a month to play it comfortably without timegates (see farmvile or the other thousands of Facebook games) then it becomes a huge problem.
The actual playerbase that pays do have limits, and I fear we're walking the line with the crafting "pay or wait" changes (see top my post).
sig
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/5451/om71.jpg
It is a peculiar phenomenon that we can imagine events that defy the laws of the universe.
No, but it needs to be said over and over again because a certain subset of people on the forums will defend these business practices in the extreme.
There are limits to patience.
sig
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/5451/om71.jpg
It is a peculiar phenomenon that we can imagine events that defy the laws of the universe.
when sub based games have them to and you have no choice but to do it the long way and you have to pay for the privilege of doing said grind. but make it free and give a way to pay to shorten, it's pure evil.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
Again, you, like many people, only see this from two sides: No timegates, Yes timegates.
You have to realise there is a middleground that works fine! I am not against such mechanics to generate revenue. The issue is that slowly it seems every action is being put behind a timegate.
There is such a thing as "too many of something is bad".
sig
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/5451/om71.jpg
It is a peculiar phenomenon that we can imagine events that defy the laws of the universe.
To this day they just contraband converters and yes I still have weapons from the real STF that's how cheap I am, and I am even more pitiful and bitter and resentful than I am cheap.
I ignored reputation, lockboxes and fleet gear. I did contribute to my fleet and I do buy an item here and there but overall I don't go buying 5 damage consoles at 60 million to watch them get invalidated by fleet spire.
Never had a purple console, never owned a top weapon. For this reason.
A crafting system's only legitimacy is in the core element of saving the user resources (usually by breaking down items) so he can EARN for putting in TIME.
Much like the dil system is a time currency in which you earn dil for your time.
This time they breaking their own premise of the whole game but I have no problem with staying out of room 237 for yet another season, belee dat
I never said how I felt about the time gate I said I found peoples complaining about them amusing. the fact people assume I'm against them if i don't jump on the hate train only is amusing on good days.
personally I don't find any of the time gates to but so restrictive. could their be fewer or shorter. sure. would I protest cryptic shorten them, nope. but is it the the evil evil thing like to make it out too be no it's not. at most it somewhat annoying. and with the tech upgrade system adding more items to the end game. I willing to say this one is one of the better ways it could be done.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
Yes, this is called "Free to Play". It's funny that a lot of players still think this is a good system. It is a one-way leading into a dead end in terms of gamedesign, creativity and longevity of a game.
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
Our ship will use dilitium to move in sector space and if you die, respawn cost dilitium...
comming soon
GW2 has *no* F2P model. Just sayin...
Absolutely - what is interesting to watch is what happens to a game at what I guess is now "end stage" - do they keep the game going at a sustanance level or bow to max-profit requirements and just close it? One of my favorite games has apparently come to terms with it by maintaining a modest sized development team and doing the things they always wanted to do, while retaining many of the cash and grab aspects from its "peak cash grab period" they are somewhat tacitly deemphasized. That particular company has a history of keeping games they love open if they can sustain even tho0ugh the are no longer "at peak".
One of the distinctive differences of some MMO's from others is how well known their brand is. It's my current thinking that since the Star Trek brand is so well known, it is more likely than not that this game will live on in some form, although it may not be the form most suited to the cash grabbers. Unlike less well known brands, I "suspect" there is a core love for the brand/game/series that it will live on in some form even if it were "sold" to less cash hungry management. Surely those who control the purse must know that if they go too far, someone else will fill the void. If they end up not caring, someone else wlll (and of course some are trying already anyway.)
These MMO's are not oil companies or cable companies so I doubt they can purchase enough political clout to ensure their monopoly control, they have to hope to do it through business model and right now that's a much dicier proposition without the political muscle to enforce effective monopolies.
Maximum profit is not sustainable either here or out in the real world. At least here it doesn't have adverse climatological side affects.
There is only so much disposable income in the hands of people willing to fork it over to avoid delayed gratification....then you hit an invisible wall and decisions will have to be made. in that other MMO I referenced above, the big cash grabbers moved elsewhere, the major superstars of management moved elsewhere, and a core group is there hanging in and actually focusing on game changes the players have always wanted. I hope that contintinues as long as it can.
One never knows when a major expansion is going to signify such a change...
either that or we quit playing altogether. I wonder, can pwe/cryptic really afford to risk losing their installed base and potentially a very valuable IP?
Now they feel they can keep whales spending by putting more time gates in the game then generously offering to let me skip the wait they have imposed for no other reason than to try to frustrate me into spending more money? Not a chance.
It's just lazy game design. Want me to keep spending money? Make sure my current expenditures retain thier end game value while introducing more variety and gear choices for us to dabble with. The time gates on crafting and gear upgrades diminish the value of both my time and my money while only serving to return me to competative endgame funtionality on a level I had already worked hard to achive. The announcement of Fleet T6 greatly diminishes the future value of previous ship investments even if I play along with all the upgrades.
Making a better game with more variety and challenge is how you keep us hooked and spending....not atificially moving the bar on us like a carrot on a stick we'll never quite get to.
No matter how many threads the mod closes, this is insane, pure and simple.
I can still move.
I can still fight.
I will never give up!
I am very sorry for this but I have to ask.
if you have never played how do you know anything about any time gates GW2 may or may not have?
and sto has that beat you pay a no time fee of nothing... because thats what free to play means.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
I can still move.
I can still fight.
I will never give up!
please do before saying it's better then sto on the ground... you don't like what sto has. not trying to be rude but if you going to compare things you should know what your comparing to.
if I stop posting it doesn't make you right it. just means I don't have enough rum to continue interacting with you.
- former CIA, NSA chief Michael Hayden
... something to ponder ...