Cryptics market is down right exploitative, there's no way around it for anyone who's been paying attention.
You said in black and white that there is no way to avoid an exploitative market... In other words, players are being exploited via the CStore in a coercive manner, as there 'is no way around it'...
Now, you can keep trying to spin those words how you wish... You're merely fencing over semantics, having been called out on your bull****, and are now refusing to support your statments, instead resorting to strawman arguments, even implying I am detached from reality...
Let's not neglect that you omit the bulk of my previous response, as it does not suit your stance :
Not only do you accuse Cryptic of exploiting players, you now insist on trying to defend the accusation by suggesting I am the one detached from reality... That's actually quite amusing...
The implication that Cryptic would 'exploit' players infers that there was a measure of coercion or lack of choice in the matter... An implication you are refusing to acknowledge and supply even a single shred of evidence to support your case on...
You can argue you never claimed players had no choice all you want, your original remark made quite clear exactly what you were implying...
Perhaps you should elaborate, then, on just exactly how it's "exploitive".....
I've asked them to provide some form of example, or even anecdotal evidence, to support the accusation but instead they have decided to dance around the issue meaning they have nothing, but do no want to admit they have been caught out in their nonsense...
The entitlement is strong in these forums...
0
rattler2Member, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58,577Community Moderator
edited April 2015
As an extreme stretch, and I do mean EXTREEEEEEEEEAM, specialist capable ships could be seen as a bit of an exploit as in order to use space BOff specialist powers we do need a ship with the appropriate seat.
HOWEVER
Alternate means are available to us for getting some of said specialist ships.
Available methods are:
Outright buy with real cashy money from C-Store
Grind Dilithium and trade for Zen to buy from C-Store
Play the Lockbox
Use Lobi earned from Lockboxes to buy Lobi ships
Use Energy Credits to buy off the Exchange
Trade with another player
Gift another player
Events
Granted gifting is probably not likely unless you've got friends, but still... that is SEVERAL ways to get specialist capable ships. Faction specific ones are tied to the C-Store, but if you're not opposed to playing crossfaction, then you have more options.
Also... we are not required to use said specialist BOff powers at all. We can do just fine with the standard department abilities. Heck, I don't really use Intel powers on my Intel capable ships at all!
Say wha? :eek:
Dang... that game just gets worse and worse just from what I hear.
Mandatory internet connection
Buildings for real money
I'll stick with the free copy of Sim City 2000 that I got off Origin.
It didn't go that far. There were more freebies building DLCs, but the game went into maintenance soon after the Cities of Tomorrow Expansion was released and the Devs were non-existent after the release of offline mode to the point that they didn't even bother to update their website for the majority of 2014.
Cause you buy what you want. Not once they are forcing you or tricking you into buying it. There is several ships I want, services, lobi stuff, etc. However they are not forcing me to buy. I buy it when I want to buy it.
A basless accusation that Cryptic are exploiting players and that 'there is no way around it', indicating players are forced into CStore purchases, which could not be further from the truth...
You said in black and white that there is no way to avoid an exploitative market... In other words, players are being exploited via the CStore in a coercive manner, as there 'is no way around it'...
I can think of three interpretations of cidstorm's statement that "there's no way around it":
(a) Players are forced to participate in an exploitative market.
(b) The only viable business model for Cryptic is an exploitative market.
(c) There's no denying that Cryptic's market is exploitative.
This is just a reminder that sentences aren't always as clear and unambiguous as one thinks they are.
gotta love how iamruined schooled cidstorm on the last 2 pages!
what I find funny is, that cidstorm sees cryptic as an exploitative company, yet continues to play? Srsly? That's like a **** victim asking for some more!
Nobody forces you to play this freaking game in the first place, you are not a slave! (If you are just say so or answer with three dots.
Have you ever tried NOT spending anything and playing? I mean, the gaming experiance is actually not really any different.
If you have or still do it, then your whole "exploitation" argument just crumbled, and even you should see it.
I can think of three interpretations of cidstorm's statement that "there's no way around it":
(a) Players are forced to participate in an exploitative market.
(b) The only viable business model for Cryptic is an exploitative market.
(c) There's no denying that Cryptic's market is exploitative. (d) cidstorm has no idea what he is talking about
had to add (d) since you left out the most obvious one.
I can think of three interpretations of cidstorm's statement that "there's no way around it":
(a) Players are forced to participate in an exploitative market.
(b) The only viable business model for Cryptic is an exploitative market.
(c) There's no denying that Cryptic's market is exploitative.
This is just a reminder that sentences aren't always as clear and unambiguous as one thinks they are.
And that's the crux of the statement, now matter how the statement is interpreted, each interpretation boils down to 2 fundamental points...
1. Cryptic are using an exploitative sales model...
2. Players are in some way coerced into purchasing items...
Neither of these statements are true in even the most remote sense...
He's had plenty of opportunity to clarify his statements, or correct himself and explain what he truely meant, instead he has danced around trying to deflect from being caught out in a rather underhanded, and unsubstantiated swipe at Cryptic...
If he had ever intended anything beyond his original implications, why not simply come out and say so? In short, because he can't without acknowledging his statements were completely fraudulent and wrong...
And that's the crux of the statement, now matter how the statement is interpreted, each interpretation boils down to 2 fundamental points...
1. Cryptic are using an exploitative sales model...
2. Players are in some way coerced into purchasing items...
Neither of these statements are true in even the most remote sense...
He's had plenty of opportunity to clarify his statements, or correct himself and explain what he truely meant, instead he has danced around trying to deflect from being caught out in a rather underhanded, and unsubstantiated swipe at Cryptic...
If he had ever intended anything beyond his original implications, why not simply come out and say so? In short, because he can't without acknowledging his statements were completely fraudulent and wrong...
How about they MAKE you WANT to spend money.... we can agree on that for the most part, ya?
Nope, I'm perfectly happy with STO's micro transactions, granted they can be viewed as pay to win to an extent, but the fact that you can trade ingame currency for zen and how easy it is to farm that currency far outweighs the pay to win aspect.
you buy things "seemingly mandatory" for two reasons:
you are lazy or impatient. (pay or play model)
or you are addicted (lockbox neeeeeeed, epic neeeeeed)
everything alse is fine. the rythm in which ships are realeased is so slow, you can basically play for them and yet upgrade your toon to mk xiv (if you dont addict for epic)
so the solution for the problems some players feel to have is in their mind and heart, not in cryptic/pwes model.
just get yourself some psychological education backround and get some self-control.
i spent 50 dollars the last 2 years. ive got 9 toons full mk xiv and im enjoying the game. none uses epics and yet im capable of doing the most things (elite excluded, but im adv player)
so basically what you feel "need" or "exploiting" is just your own weakness cryptic "triggers". but in the end its up to YOU if you
Fleet shipyard retrofits. There are a number of early-tier ships with retrofit versions, and with a tier 3 fleet shipyard they only cost 200k Fleet Credits, no FSM required.
Honestly didn't know that. I assumed all fleet ships in end game cost 4 (or 1) FSM's.
That said, I did drop 20 on Zen for a pathfinder, I ain't doing much else gaming wise this month and its pwetty.
Just got to grind the DIL for the last 60 zen now.
good lord ,man ! You get dilithium thrown at you almost all the time ( without doing anything , just the doff-assignements already give you the stuff ) .
If there's one thing STO nailed it's the f2p aspect of the MMO .It's near perfection with regard to that . I'm all for voicing grievances ( do it myself all the time ) ,provided it's about the right stuff . This isn't one of them ...
I don't consider full game retail prices for ingame items "micro" to be honest...
EDIT: Great thread example of missing the point, btw. First posting derailed it into the usual F2P hooray vs boo discussion, only a few posters stayed on topic - microtransactions.
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1. Cryptic are using an exploitative sales model...
I'm not sure I'd use the word "exploitative", but I do think it's poor business ethics to not publish the chances of winning lockbox items. In my opinion, they should explicitly state the chance of winning each item from a lockbox. I wonder if we'll eventually see regulation in this area.
I'm not sure I'd use the word "exploitative", but I do think it's poor business ethics to not publish the chances of winning lockbox items. In my opinion, they should explicitly state the chance of winning each item from a lockbox. I wonder if we'll eventually see regulation in this area.
I wouldn't blame cryptic. I blame people.
Gambling with real money for a low percentage of winning a fake object just shows that people do not deserve the money they have.
Cryptic is just unethically providing a service to people who do not deserve money.
I'm not sure I'd use the word "exploitative", but I do think it's poor business ethics to not publish the chances of winning lockbox items. In my opinion, they should explicitly state the chance of winning each item from a lockbox. I wonder if we'll eventually see regulation in this area.
I didn't originally use the term 'exploitative', I was challenging the assertion in fact and still am...
I wouldn't even call lockbox chances unethical or exploitation as such, as Cryptic never promise anyone will win, only that they have a chance... Though I do agree, it wouldn't hurt their position to be a little more transparent as to the chances of winning a ship and so forth...
Having said that, I don't see it any differently to any other promotion where you have a chance of winning a prize, from your local raffle, all the way through to a national lottery...
If you go into the competition expecting to win a major prize, not only are you an absolute fool, but you're almost certain to come out with nothing, which is a fact of any 'game of chance', irrespective of who is holding it...
I actually work at a casino, and despite the fact no one is ever forced to spend their money, I hear much the same rants...
"The casino stole my money!"
"They tricked me into maxing out my credit card!"
"I was exploited by being offered big payouts!"
They all boil down to the person in question refusing to accept responsibility for their own lack of self-control...
I've heard these same arguments on the forums in relation to not only lockboxes, but Cryptics' entire CStore and entire approach to garnering revenue...
Having said that, I don't see it any differently to any other promotion where you have a chance of winning a prize, from your local raffle, all the way through to a national lottery...
...
I actually work at a casino, and despite the fact no one is ever forced to spend their money, I hear much the same rants...
For lotteries and casino games, the probabilities are derivable from the structure of the games. One may not be mathematically competent enough to compute those probabilities, but they are available before one even plays the game. For lockboxes, the probabilities are unknown beforehand. You have to open many lockboxes in order to arrive at reasonable estimates. I think a casino game where the odds are hidden like that would draw the scrutiny of regulators.
I don't mind there being micro-transactions, just about any MMO has them these days. My issue with this game is how the devs are constantly trying to find ways to keep the Dil Exchange going up instead of just focusing on content and bug fixes! Seriously, we don't need more ships than we already have in the ZEN store. There's more than enough ships in there (PLUS the Lockboxes) for there to be something that suits just about anyone. How about making sure the game is working for a change!? I still see bugs that are over a year old and it's pissing me off!
Another issue I have is how most of the services are only once per character unlocked and not Account wide. You mean to tell me if I want additional ship slots, inventory space, etc for 9 different characters, I have to buy it 9 times just to do that instead of once!? That's stupid! I even have to pay ZEN just to rename a character when there are games that just have you send in a support ticket if you want your name changed!
For lotteries and casino games, the probabilities are derivable from the structure of the games. One may not be mathematically competent enough to compute those probabilities, but they are available before one even plays the game. For lockboxes, the probabilities are unknown beforehand. You have to open many lockboxes in order to arrive at reasonable estimates. I think a casino game where the odds are hidden like that would draw the scrutiny of regulators.
It would indeed... Which is also why I do feel Cryptic making 'drop percentages' known ahead of time, or simply working off some sort of fixed and established percentage table, which is publicly available, would not hurt them in any way... It would in fact work in their favour as they can then refer such complaints to the table...
Having said that, there's a well established history with lockboxes and to presume that your chances of winning the major prize are better than around 1-2%, at most, is niave and commonly available with a quick google search on lock boxes chances...
However, even when people know that around 90 cents out of every 1 dollar (as is the regulation here in Australia) will go to the casino on average, it still does not stop people blaming the casino for their own poor choices when they lose...
Hell, Cryptic introduce a new line of ships and there's almost always at least one person bemoaning the 'fact' that they 'absolutely must buy' the new ship, coz: reasons...
Cryptic's approach is in no way exploitative or unethical... It could indeed be more transparent, but even if it was, it is unlikely to deter the typical conspiracy theorists who are always so ready to attack them for trying to turn a profit...
...personally, I've never understood the "but I want to know the odds!" thing. I know the odds: stupidly low. :P
(Which is why I've never opened lockboxes with the intent of getting The Rare Prize! I open them for fun and/or to get almost anything they drop. If I did get the rare prize, I'd be happy. But since I open them for whatever they happen to drop, I'm generally ok with the results. Sure, it was a bit of a shame when I got a run of, say, the smallest DOFF boxes, but nothing to actually get upset about. /shrug)
...probably also helps that I only ever spent actual $ on keys once, waaaaay back the first month I started the game. Every key since then has been bought with EC or Dil>Zen. Mostly, I just open 10-20 boxes when a new one is released. Hit a jackpot once with a rare DOFF that I sold for 150m EC. Never gotten the Big Prize. And I've gotten enough lobi along the way to grab two interesting ships from the store. All in all, I'm happy with it. But, then, I go in with reasonable expectations.)
It would indeed... Which is also why I do feel Cryptic making 'drop percentages' known ahead of time, or simply working off some sort of fixed and established percentage table, which is publicly available, would not hurt them in any way... It would in fact work in their favour as they can then refer such complaints to the table...
Having said that, there's a well established history with lockboxes and to presume that your chances of winning the major prize are better than around 1-2%, at most, is niave and commonly available with a quick google search on lock boxes chances...
It's not a question of whether the information is available elsewhere, but whether Cryptic has done its part to make the information public. The fact that they haven't makes them appear shady.
Hell, Cryptic introduce a new line of ships and there's almost always at least one person bemoaning the 'fact' that they 'absolutely must buy' the new ship, coz: reasons...
I don't really have a problem with C-Store ships. You know what you're getting and what you're paying. The only legitimate complaint is when something about the ship is broken.
I've grind for dilithium, but most of the time when I've wanted something I've brought it. I have no problem in putting money into the game. Since I joined early last year, I've brought 4 C-store ships, and many keys, and other stuff. I see no problem with how things are done.
I don't mind there being micro-transactions, just about any MMO has them these days. My issue with this game is how the devs are constantly trying to find ways to keep the Dil Exchange going up instead of just focusing on content and bug fixes! Seriously, we don't need more ships than we already have in the ZEN store. There's more than enough ships in there (PLUS the Lockboxes) for there to be something that suits just about anyone. How about making sure the game is working for a change!? I still see bugs that are over a year old and it's pissing me off!
If I can interject a question to you, exactly where do you think Cryptic's income comes from?
They do not charge you to play the game - no Subscription fee.
They do not charge you to play all the Content in the game - all Content is available for everyone.
They do not charge you for Expansions - every Expansion Pack is free.
That means their monthly income needs to come from ships, cosmetics, and services.
Since not every player buys every ship you need a huge variety of ships for everyone to choose from - the guy who wants the Escort can find one he likes; ditto for Cruisers, etc. Not everyone wants to fly a Galaxy Class, so you cannot just sell a T6 Galaxy and assume that is going to make you all the money you need to pay all your monthly expenses for years. The multitude of alien ships you see in this game tells you how broad the fan-bases' interest in doing something different really are.
Now on the plus side, you can play STO and never need to buy a ship, or a cosmetic, or even a Service like additional Boff Slots, and that is great for you. But do not assume that Cryptic does not want to make money. The employees do not work for free just because they love Star Trek. CBS does not give Cryptic the license for free because they love Star Trek. Paramount does not make movies because they love Star Trek. It is a business, in it for the money.
That is not saying this game does not need bug fixes and a huge balance pass, but they cannot stop making money either. They need to keep making ships, and costumes, and everything else so that people will spend money. No one is going to pay Cryptic $30.00 to fix a bug.
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.
They are not very micro are they? Then again I don't care, the game is free but has to be funded and it's the mugs that use those "micro"transactions that keep the server hamsters fed.
It's not a question of whether the information is available elsewhere, but whether Cryptic has done its part to make the information public. The fact that they haven't makes them appear shady.
Its also avoiding a very serious problem: people generally don't know how statistics work. Show someone the odds of winning a lock box ship are, say 1% and they may run through 100 boxes without their top prize to show for it. They'll still complain like they've just been fleeced (where's my damn ship cryptic, I bought 100 lock boxes!) without any understanding that deviating from the expected probabilities is increasingly likely with smaller samples sizes (such as what one is capable of putting into the lock box system.)
Then they may buy 100 more, and still have the same outcome, because despite the fact that 200 boxes were bought their effort in the first case does not bias the outcomes in the second. The probabilities are independent.
That level of rage then will feature on the forums with claims of definite fraud and number tweaking, when their situation is only expressing the 14% probability that across a total of 200 lock boxes (and a 1% success rate) they'll still end up with nothing (and a 36% chance of total failure in viewing only the second group of 100 lock boxes after the first 100 failures.) And even though those probabilities are relatively unlikely, among a large enough cohort its reasonable to expect someone to find them.
Better then to avoid the problem of numbers and keep them out of the hands of those who would abuse them (to justify against evidence/reason that they are still the most special person in all the universe).
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Comments
Oh, I don't know... Perhaps when you said :
You said in black and white that there is no way to avoid an exploitative market... In other words, players are being exploited via the CStore in a coercive manner, as there 'is no way around it'...
Now, you can keep trying to spin those words how you wish... You're merely fencing over semantics, having been called out on your bull****, and are now refusing to support your statments, instead resorting to strawman arguments, even implying I am detached from reality...
Let's not neglect that you omit the bulk of my previous response, as it does not suit your stance :
I've asked them to provide some form of example, or even anecdotal evidence, to support the accusation but instead they have decided to dance around the issue meaning they have nothing, but do no want to admit they have been caught out in their nonsense...
HOWEVER
Alternate means are available to us for getting some of said specialist ships.
Available methods are:
Granted gifting is probably not likely unless you've got friends, but still... that is SEVERAL ways to get specialist capable ships. Faction specific ones are tied to the C-Store, but if you're not opposed to playing crossfaction, then you have more options.
Also... we are not required to use said specialist BOff powers at all. We can do just fine with the standard department abilities. Heck, I don't really use Intel powers on my Intel capable ships at all!
It didn't go that far. There were more freebies building DLCs, but the game went into maintenance soon after the Cities of Tomorrow Expansion was released and the Devs were non-existent after the release of offline mode to the point that they didn't even bother to update their website for the majority of 2014.
I can think of three interpretations of cidstorm's statement that "there's no way around it":
(a) Players are forced to participate in an exploitative market.
(b) The only viable business model for Cryptic is an exploitative market.
(c) There's no denying that Cryptic's market is exploitative.
This is just a reminder that sentences aren't always as clear and unambiguous as one thinks they are.
what I find funny is, that cidstorm sees cryptic as an exploitative company, yet continues to play? Srsly? That's like a **** victim asking for some more!
Nobody forces you to play this freaking game in the first place, you are not a slave! (If you are just say so or answer with three dots.
Have you ever tried NOT spending anything and playing? I mean, the gaming experiance is actually not really any different.
If you have or still do it, then your whole "exploitation" argument just crumbled, and even you should see it.
had to add (d) since you left out the most obvious one.
And that's the crux of the statement, now matter how the statement is interpreted, each interpretation boils down to 2 fundamental points...
1. Cryptic are using an exploitative sales model...
2. Players are in some way coerced into purchasing items...
Neither of these statements are true in even the most remote sense...
He's had plenty of opportunity to clarify his statements, or correct himself and explain what he truely meant, instead he has danced around trying to deflect from being caught out in a rather underhanded, and unsubstantiated swipe at Cryptic...
If he had ever intended anything beyond his original implications, why not simply come out and say so? In short, because he can't without acknowledging his statements were completely fraudulent and wrong...
How about they MAKE you WANT to spend money.... we can agree on that for the most part, ya?
No dispute there, as that's pretty much how I perceive the CStore as it is...
Shiney things people want, but nothing people absolutely need...
That said... I can live with what we have.
you buy things "seemingly mandatory" for two reasons:
you are lazy or impatient. (pay or play model)
or you are addicted (lockbox neeeeeeed, epic neeeeeed)
everything alse is fine. the rythm in which ships are realeased is so slow, you can basically play for them and yet upgrade your toon to mk xiv (if you dont addict for epic)
so the solution for the problems some players feel to have is in their mind and heart, not in cryptic/pwes model.
just get yourself some psychological education backround and get some self-control.
i spent 50 dollars the last 2 years. ive got 9 toons full mk xiv and im enjoying the game. none uses epics and yet im capable of doing the most things (elite excluded, but im adv player)
so basically what you feel "need" or "exploiting" is just your own weakness cryptic "triggers". but in the end its up to YOU if you
pay
or
play.
Honestly didn't know that. I assumed all fleet ships in end game cost 4 (or 1) FSM's.
That said, I did drop 20 on Zen for a pathfinder, I ain't doing much else gaming wise this month and its pwetty.
Just got to grind the DIL for the last 60 zen now.
If there's one thing STO nailed it's the f2p aspect of the MMO .It's near perfection with regard to that . I'm all for voicing grievances ( do it myself all the time ) ,provided it's about the right stuff . This isn't one of them ...
Yeah, I know. I used to play TOR and you cannot really play it without a sub.
I still go back and sub from time to time, but my time is limited these days.
While I dislike microtransactions that aren't really micro, I respect that there are some that are happy to pay out for them.
I will never find Lockbox or Lobi ships/items worth the money they require to obtain, but I will buy them off the exchange, from someone that did.
I am still helping Cryptic, even if I no longer put money into the game... :cool:
EDIT: Great thread example of missing the point, btw. First posting derailed it into the usual F2P hooray vs boo discussion, only a few posters stayed on topic - microtransactions.
Get the Forums Enhancement Extension!
I'm not sure I'd use the word "exploitative", but I do think it's poor business ethics to not publish the chances of winning lockbox items. In my opinion, they should explicitly state the chance of winning each item from a lockbox. I wonder if we'll eventually see regulation in this area.
I wouldn't blame cryptic. I blame people.
Gambling with real money for a low percentage of winning a fake object just shows that people do not deserve the money they have.
Cryptic is just unethically providing a service to people who do not deserve money.
I didn't originally use the term 'exploitative', I was challenging the assertion in fact and still am...
I wouldn't even call lockbox chances unethical or exploitation as such, as Cryptic never promise anyone will win, only that they have a chance... Though I do agree, it wouldn't hurt their position to be a little more transparent as to the chances of winning a ship and so forth...
Having said that, I don't see it any differently to any other promotion where you have a chance of winning a prize, from your local raffle, all the way through to a national lottery...
If you go into the competition expecting to win a major prize, not only are you an absolute fool, but you're almost certain to come out with nothing, which is a fact of any 'game of chance', irrespective of who is holding it...
I actually work at a casino, and despite the fact no one is ever forced to spend their money, I hear much the same rants...
"The casino stole my money!"
"They tricked me into maxing out my credit card!"
"I was exploited by being offered big payouts!"
They all boil down to the person in question refusing to accept responsibility for their own lack of self-control...
I've heard these same arguments on the forums in relation to not only lockboxes, but Cryptics' entire CStore and entire approach to garnering revenue...
Not a word of it has ever been true...
For lotteries and casino games, the probabilities are derivable from the structure of the games. One may not be mathematically competent enough to compute those probabilities, but they are available before one even plays the game. For lockboxes, the probabilities are unknown beforehand. You have to open many lockboxes in order to arrive at reasonable estimates. I think a casino game where the odds are hidden like that would draw the scrutiny of regulators.
Another issue I have is how most of the services are only once per character unlocked and not Account wide. You mean to tell me if I want additional ship slots, inventory space, etc for 9 different characters, I have to buy it 9 times just to do that instead of once!? That's stupid! I even have to pay ZEN just to rename a character when there are games that just have you send in a support ticket if you want your name changed!
It would indeed... Which is also why I do feel Cryptic making 'drop percentages' known ahead of time, or simply working off some sort of fixed and established percentage table, which is publicly available, would not hurt them in any way... It would in fact work in their favour as they can then refer such complaints to the table...
Having said that, there's a well established history with lockboxes and to presume that your chances of winning the major prize are better than around 1-2%, at most, is niave and commonly available with a quick google search on lock boxes chances...
However, even when people know that around 90 cents out of every 1 dollar (as is the regulation here in Australia) will go to the casino on average, it still does not stop people blaming the casino for their own poor choices when they lose...
Hell, Cryptic introduce a new line of ships and there's almost always at least one person bemoaning the 'fact' that they 'absolutely must buy' the new ship, coz: reasons...
Cryptic's approach is in no way exploitative or unethical... It could indeed be more transparent, but even if it was, it is unlikely to deter the typical conspiracy theorists who are always so ready to attack them for trying to turn a profit...
(Which is why I've never opened lockboxes with the intent of getting The Rare Prize! I open them for fun and/or to get almost anything they drop. If I did get the rare prize, I'd be happy. But since I open them for whatever they happen to drop, I'm generally ok with the results. Sure, it was a bit of a shame when I got a run of, say, the smallest DOFF boxes, but nothing to actually get upset about. /shrug)
...probably also helps that I only ever spent actual $ on keys once, waaaaay back the first month I started the game. Every key since then has been bought with EC or Dil>Zen. Mostly, I just open 10-20 boxes when a new one is released. Hit a jackpot once with a rare DOFF that I sold for 150m EC. Never gotten the Big Prize. And I've gotten enough lobi along the way to grab two interesting ships from the store. All in all, I'm happy with it. But, then, I go in with reasonable expectations.)
It's not a question of whether the information is available elsewhere, but whether Cryptic has done its part to make the information public. The fact that they haven't makes them appear shady.
I don't really have a problem with C-Store ships. You know what you're getting and what you're paying. The only legitimate complaint is when something about the ship is broken.
They do not charge you to play the game - no Subscription fee.
They do not charge you to play all the Content in the game - all Content is available for everyone.
They do not charge you for Expansions - every Expansion Pack is free.
That means their monthly income needs to come from ships, cosmetics, and services.
Since not every player buys every ship you need a huge variety of ships for everyone to choose from - the guy who wants the Escort can find one he likes; ditto for Cruisers, etc. Not everyone wants to fly a Galaxy Class, so you cannot just sell a T6 Galaxy and assume that is going to make you all the money you need to pay all your monthly expenses for years. The multitude of alien ships you see in this game tells you how broad the fan-bases' interest in doing something different really are.
Now on the plus side, you can play STO and never need to buy a ship, or a cosmetic, or even a Service like additional Boff Slots, and that is great for you. But do not assume that Cryptic does not want to make money. The employees do not work for free just because they love Star Trek. CBS does not give Cryptic the license for free because they love Star Trek. Paramount does not make movies because they love Star Trek. It is a business, in it for the money.
That is not saying this game does not need bug fixes and a huge balance pass, but they cannot stop making money either. They need to keep making ships, and costumes, and everything else so that people will spend money. No one is going to pay Cryptic $30.00 to fix a bug.
Its also avoiding a very serious problem: people generally don't know how statistics work. Show someone the odds of winning a lock box ship are, say 1% and they may run through 100 boxes without their top prize to show for it. They'll still complain like they've just been fleeced (where's my damn ship cryptic, I bought 100 lock boxes!) without any understanding that deviating from the expected probabilities is increasingly likely with smaller samples sizes (such as what one is capable of putting into the lock box system.)
Then they may buy 100 more, and still have the same outcome, because despite the fact that 200 boxes were bought their effort in the first case does not bias the outcomes in the second. The probabilities are independent.
That level of rage then will feature on the forums with claims of definite fraud and number tweaking, when their situation is only expressing the 14% probability that across a total of 200 lock boxes (and a 1% success rate) they'll still end up with nothing (and a 36% chance of total failure in viewing only the second group of 100 lock boxes after the first 100 failures.) And even though those probabilities are relatively unlikely, among a large enough cohort its reasonable to expect someone to find them.
Better then to avoid the problem of numbers and keep them out of the hands of those who would abuse them (to justify against evidence/reason that they are still the most special person in all the universe).
Notable missions: Apex [AEI], Gemini [SSF], Trident [AEI], Evolution's Smile [SSF], Transcendence
Looking for something new to play? I've started building Foundry missions again in visual novel form!