Collector's Edition, one of the online Deluxe Editions, LTS, and maybe $50 for ships I think. Also grabbed one of the early ship skins they tried selling but I forget how much those went for. That would be uh...around $520 or so over 6 years. I forget exactly how much I paid for the CE and Deluxe, but I think it's somewhere around there.
People are so ashamed of how much they spend on something they (hopefully) enjoy. It's cute.
I've spent exactly $21 on this game, and I've been playing since around the time the fleet tribbles were given out for beta testing.
$1 when the Leeta bridge officer promo was going on.
$20 a few days ago.
Prior to these, I've been about as silver as they get.
Actually for me I don't answer these questions as I am ever so slightly paranoid and not ashamed. I only see three reasons why people would ask this question:
1. They are trying to justify spending a bit more money which can happen if they see people have spent a lot more.
2. They are building a case for a future 'this game is Pay 2 Win' argument
3. Or they are trying to find which accounts are worth the effort to try and hack.
Social engineering is rife but it is unfortunate how many people do not seem to undestand how it works.
From 2010 to today (Including my LTS that I bought the first day it was offered because at that time STO was subscription-based, and I thought I'd spend more than 4 years playing over the life of the game - AND including the $60 I spent for the retail copy at launch too) - I'd say I've about spent $600 which averages out to $100 per year to date. If I divide that over 72 months that's about $8.33 a month up to today.
Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012 PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
Roughly $40. Bought a retail copy of the game (for the free month of sub + avoiding some download) and then 20-30ish in zen. Everything since then (half a dozen character slots, lots of account bank, ship/boff/doff/outfit slots, some outfits, several thousand lobi in lockbox keys, a dozen or so ships) has been via the Dil exchange. Though to be honest, I don't spend much Dil on anything but the exchange.
edit: can't find any info in account history, since all my PWE/Cryptic transactions are from before several server migrations, and long lost.
You forgot to include "None of your business" as an option.
Since there's no mandatory requirement to vote in this poll, anyone who thinks that way just doesn't need to participate in said poll and can just view the results.
Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012 PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
Enough, the exact amount is classified, TOP GODDAMN SECRET !
It's not something I'd choose to disclose to my wife, otherwise she'd be libel to go out and and one up me in shoe purchases, "(she has a closet full of shoes she never wears !). Or maybe she'd loose total impulse control on wayfair buying a TRIBBLE ton of pillows, throws, or something asinine like that.
Clothes for the family, food, the occasional frivolous Victoria's Secret purchase, I'm totally fine with. I mean, I don't spend money on the game every week, but boy does it add up!
My wife's just not that invested in Star Trek like I am and tolerates Star Trek and my little STO habit only in small doses, NEVER to be spoken about in front of company!
I envy guys who play the game with their wives !
I became friends with a mayor of a Player City, back in the days of Star Wars Galaxies. It was a RP city (though I wasn't into RPing at the time, and honestly it was a rude awakening when some of them tried to sweep me up in their games...), and the mayor married (in game and in Real Life) not too long before he invited me there.
Eventually, he got bored of having to stick around the city all the time (the turmoil from wacky RPing was also a strain), so he decided to quit being a mayor there. And the marriage with his wife fell apart at the same time (she apparently was more invested in the city and all it entailed).
So for some, it's great. For others, not so great.
Response to basic failure to communicate: if you don't want to answer the poll )*$^(&ing DON'T. That's intrinsic in the very nature of the poll. Duh.
Technically, isn't asking "why should I answer" communicating?
Technically, yes. However, in application, communication is a 2 way process. The person who seemed to think the OP is not entitled to that information doesn't seem to comprehend the incredibly simple point that answering this thread or poll is a completely voluntary process. Hence, the person asking that question seems to be failing at their end of the communication process, when it comes to basic comprehension of the situation.
Technically, isn't asking "why should I answer" communicating?
Personally I find it alarming anyone with a credit card needs to have "because you choose to" explained to them.
But if you really want to get down to fundamentals of social behavior being spelled out long form: because you might want to share information to help a peer group understand itself better, to lower your guard to feel more connected to those peers, possibly to assert your position in a loose hierarchy amongst those individuals (though whether a low value spent or a high value spent being at the top tends to be based on which end you fall toward -- in other words almost everyone thinks they're the ones doing it right). Could be to affirm to yourself that you're not embarrassed by the amount you've spent amongst a relatively forgiving audience.
...Or maybe just to chit-chat with folk who have a shared interest .
Honestly, if people are unclear on any of that, they need to get out more.
Actually for me I don't answer these questions as I am ever so slightly paranoid and not ashamed. I only see three reasons why people would ask this question:
1. They are trying to justify spending a bit more money which can happen if they see people have spent a lot more.
2. They are building a case for a future 'this game is Pay 2 Win' argument
3. Or they are trying to find which accounts are worth the effort to try and hack.
Social engineering is rife but it is unfortunate how many people do not seem to undestand how it works.
I approve of due caution, but the poll is anonymous: the only people who can correlate categories and screen names already have your full billing record. I wouldn't encourage people to elaborate in text for exactly the reason you describe, but the search for understanding isn't always malicious .
(how is there any 'it's not P2W' argument? The most powerful tools in the game are flatly purchased, either directly with or by trading with others willing to put in real money to create that zen. There is to my knowledge not a single scimitar or t6 in the game that didn't ultimately arise from Arc issuing it in exchange for cash)
I've been playing this game since February of last year and I've spent over $3,000 on STO. That is a shocking number to some, especially given how long I've been playing this game, but since STO is really the only recreational activity I really spend money on outside of the occasional movie or stage performance/concert I don't find it to be too bad. Really though, you can get pretty much anything and everything in this game if you put enough time or money into it. Being able to convert ZEN into nearly every currency in the game (specifically EC, Dilithium, Fleet Credits, Lobi) to some degree helps with this immensely.
$200 of that amount was my lifetime subscription, while probably around 50% of the rest was just C-Store ship purchases. $20-$30 a pop starts to add up over time, even when you buy them in bundles at a discount. After that I'd say maybe another 20-30% was Master Key/Promotional Pack purchases, either for me to use myself or sell for EC on the Exchange. The rest of it likely put into ZEN->Dilithium conversions, mostly to get Fleet Credits for Fleet items/perks and such. Dilithium isn't the most efficient way to get Fleet Credits, but there are always tons of projects in need of Dilithium.
As an aside, I would like to see the return on Dilithium donations to Fleets/Armadas be increased. The current 1:1 ratio isn't exactly forgiving since a good amount of projects require hundreds of thousands of Dilithium to fill and Dilithium takes a lot of time to stockpile. A 2:1 or 3:1 ratio would be better, and give people more incentive to donate Dilithium.
People are so ashamed of how much they spend on something they (hopefully) enjoy. It's cute.
I've spent exactly $21 on this game, and I've been playing since around the time the fleet tribbles were given out for beta testing.
$1 when the Leeta bridge officer promo was going on.
$20 a few days ago.
Prior to these, I've been about as silver as they get.
Actually for me I don't answer these questions as I am ever so slightly paranoid and not ashamed. I only see three reasons why people would ask this question:
1. They are trying to justify spending a bit more money which can happen if they see people have spent a lot more.
2. They are building a case for a future 'this game is Pay 2 Win' argument
3. Or they are trying to find which accounts are worth the effort to try and hack.
Social engineering is rife but it is unfortunate how many people do not seem to undestand how it works.
This is pretty obvious, but only a problem for those who have spent thousands (I feel sorry for you all, assuming they know the account name, that is)
Otherwise, it's just useless fishing.
"Intelligence is finite, stupidity is infinite" -- Umberto Eco
Response to basic failure to communicate: if you don't want to answer the poll )*$^(&ing DON'T. That's intrinsic in the very nature of the poll. Duh.
Technically, isn't asking "why should I answer" communicating?
Technically, yes. However, in application, communication is a 2 way process. The person who seemed to think the OP is not entitled to that information doesn't seem to comprehend the incredibly simple point that answering this thread or poll is a completely voluntary process. Hence, the person asking that question seems to be failing at their end of the communication process, when it comes to basic comprehension of the situation.
Why is it so often, the discussions around here end up being about who's doing the discussing, instead of the discussion itself?
What a Typical STO Forum Discussion seems like...
STO Member since February 2009. I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born! Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
(how is there any 'it's not P2W' argument? The most powerful tools in the game are flatly purchased, either directly with or by trading with others willing to put in real money to create that zen. There is to my knowledge not a single scimitar or t6 in the game that didn't ultimately arise from Arc issuing it in exchange for cash)
I generally only consider things "P2W" when you can only get them by personally laying out cash. Like "don't lose your gear when you die insurance!" items in free-for-all PvP MMOs. Or "keep you gear from being destroyed when you fail an enchant" consumables. Considering how relatively easy it is to get zen from dil in this game? I would never consider it P2W. Anyone can get the stuff (except for things like 1000-day vet ships) with a little work.
(like I said earlier, I've spent maybe $40 on the game. Over four years ago. Since then, I've probably spent at least 20k-30k zen in the zen shop. All from the dil exchange.)
...come to think of it, there's very little PvP in this game, and it doesn't give meaningful PvP-only rewards. What exactly is there to "win" over other players?
Rough estimate would be in the $500 range, could well be a bit higher. Been here since F2P started, got one T5U or T6 as the primary ship on each character (14 now, but some use Event or Giveaway ships), handful of unlocks and "Space Barbie" stuff, then there's buying Zen from time to time to throw into Fleet projects.
Certainly adds up, but it's a lot less than I've spent over a comparable period for several of my other pastimes. Which is even scarier
I haven’t counted. I spend money for STO when I feel like it and not if I don’t. I take it out of my s*x, d*ugs and rock’n roll budget which does not have an influential part on my living or general outcome.
If I have fun I play and pay, If not the money is easily lost elsewhere.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
spent around or close to 400-500 pounds in my time on this game.
sub costs before f2p: for a number of months at least, to sub a month at the time.
missed most of 2011 when f2p came in, i was not a fan of it back then. in 2013 i spent a lot of money on LTS and rom starter pack. i also remember buying c points and zen in between this.
T6 Miranda Hero Ship FTW. Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
Actually for me I don't answer these questions as I am ever so slightly paranoid and not ashamed. I only see three reasons why people would ask this question:
1. They are trying to justify spending a bit more money which can happen if they see people have spent a lot more.
2. They are building a case for a future 'this game is Pay 2 Win' argument
3. Or they are trying to find which accounts are worth the effort to try and hack.
Social engineering is rife but it is unfortunate how many people do not seem to undestand how it works.
I approve of due caution, but the poll is anonymous: the only people who can correlate categories and screen names already have your full billing record. I wouldn't encourage people to elaborate in text for exactly the reason you describe, but the search for understanding isn't always malicious .
(how is there any 'it's not P2W' argument? The most powerful tools in the game are flatly purchased, either directly with or by trading with others willing to put in real money to create that zen. There is to my knowledge not a single scimitar or t6 in the game that didn't ultimately arise from Arc issuing it in exchange for cash)
One critical aspect associated wit Pay-To-Win is that it creates a two-class system. There are things you cannot possibly get without spending money, and it will be "in your face" all the time. That is a key critique against P2W - because it means your game is basically just pretending to be free to play, it's only the people that pay get all the fun. It is particularly nasty when your game is PvP focused.
Imagine there wasn't a Zen/Dilithium exchange for a moment, and all lockbox/promo ships were bound to account. it would be impossible for you to get a ton of ships. No matter how much you grind, you'll never fly a T6 Oddysee or Valiant. You'd be limited to the special event ships.
You are a second-class citizen in a P2W game when you don't spend money.
But STO has the Exchange and Dilithium Exchange, so without spending any money yourself, you can get everything. Yes, someone that takes a lot of money in his hand might be able to get it faster, but fundamentally, you have access to the same stuff. Everyone can try to climb to the top of the DPS ladder (or the top PvPer), if that's what you're after, the limitation is not your willingness to spend money, but your own skill level and dedication.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Comments
KDF: Dahar Master Kan (Borg Klingon Tactical)::Dahar Master Torc (Alien Science)::Dahar Master Sisteric (Gorn Engineer)
RR-Fed: Citizen Sirroc (Romulan Science)::Fleet Admiral Grell (Alien Engineer)
RR-KDF: Fleet Admiral Zemo (Reman Tactical)::Fleet Admiral Xinatek (Reman Science)::Fleet Admiral Bel (Alien Engineer)
TOS-Fed: Fleet Admiral Katem (Andorian Tactical)::Lieutenant Commander Straad (Vulcan Engineer)
Dom-Fed: Dan'Tar (Jem'Hadar Science)
Dom-KDF: Kamtana'Solan (Jem'Hadar Science)
CoHost of Tribbles in Ecstasy (Zombee)
I've spent exactly $21 on this game, and I've been playing since around the time the fleet tribbles were given out for beta testing.
$1 when the Leeta bridge officer promo was going on.
$20 a few days ago.
Prior to these, I've been about as silver as they get.
Mine Trap Supporter
Actually for me I don't answer these questions as I am ever so slightly paranoid and not ashamed. I only see three reasons why people would ask this question:
1. They are trying to justify spending a bit more money which can happen if they see people have spent a lot more.
2. They are building a case for a future 'this game is Pay 2 Win' argument
3. Or they are trying to find which accounts are worth the effort to try and hack.
Social engineering is rife but it is unfortunate how many people do not seem to undestand how it works.
Still waiting to be able to use forum titles
Response to basic failure to communicate: if you don't want to answer the poll )*$^(&ing DON'T. That's intrinsic in the very nature of the poll. Duh.
^^^ this
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
Roughly $40. Bought a retail copy of the game (for the free month of sub + avoiding some download) and then 20-30ish in zen. Everything since then (half a dozen character slots, lots of account bank, ship/boff/doff/outfit slots, some outfits, several thousand lobi in lockbox keys, a dozen or so ships) has been via the Dil exchange. Though to be honest, I don't spend much Dil on anything but the exchange.
edit: can't find any info in account history, since all my PWE/Cryptic transactions are from before several server migrations, and long lost.
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
I became friends with a mayor of a Player City, back in the days of Star Wars Galaxies. It was a RP city (though I wasn't into RPing at the time, and honestly it was a rude awakening when some of them tried to sweep me up in their games...), and the mayor married (in game and in Real Life) not too long before he invited me there.
Eventually, he got bored of having to stick around the city all the time (the turmoil from wacky RPing was also a strain), so he decided to quit being a mayor there. And the marriage with his wife fell apart at the same time (she apparently was more invested in the city and all it entailed).
So for some, it's great. For others, not so great.
Technically, yes. However, in application, communication is a 2 way process. The person who seemed to think the OP is not entitled to that information doesn't seem to comprehend the incredibly simple point that answering this thread or poll is a completely voluntary process. Hence, the person asking that question seems to be failing at their end of the communication process, when it comes to basic comprehension of the situation.
The-Grand-Nagus
Join Date: Sep 2008
Personally I find it alarming anyone with a credit card needs to have "because you choose to" explained to them.
But if you really want to get down to fundamentals of social behavior being spelled out long form: because you might want to share information to help a peer group understand itself better, to lower your guard to feel more connected to those peers, possibly to assert your position in a loose hierarchy amongst those individuals (though whether a low value spent or a high value spent being at the top tends to be based on which end you fall toward -- in other words almost everyone thinks they're the ones doing it right). Could be to affirm to yourself that you're not embarrassed by the amount you've spent amongst a relatively forgiving audience.
...Or maybe just to chit-chat with folk who have a shared interest
Honestly, if people are unclear on any of that, they need to get out more.
"If this will be our end, then I will have them make SUCH an end as to be worthy of rememberance! Out of torpedos you say?! Find me the ferengi!".
I approve of due caution, but the poll is anonymous: the only people who can correlate categories and screen names already have your full billing record. I wouldn't encourage people to elaborate in text for exactly the reason you describe, but the search for understanding isn't always malicious
(how is there any 'it's not P2W' argument? The most powerful tools in the game are flatly purchased, either directly with or by trading with others willing to put in real money to create that zen. There is to my knowledge not a single scimitar or t6 in the game that didn't ultimately arise from Arc issuing it in exchange for cash)
$200 of that amount was my lifetime subscription, while probably around 50% of the rest was just C-Store ship purchases. $20-$30 a pop starts to add up over time, even when you buy them in bundles at a discount. After that I'd say maybe another 20-30% was Master Key/Promotional Pack purchases, either for me to use myself or sell for EC on the Exchange. The rest of it likely put into ZEN->Dilithium conversions, mostly to get Fleet Credits for Fleet items/perks and such. Dilithium isn't the most efficient way to get Fleet Credits, but there are always tons of projects in need of Dilithium.
As an aside, I would like to see the return on Dilithium donations to Fleets/Armadas be increased. The current 1:1 ratio isn't exactly forgiving since a good amount of projects require hundreds of thousands of Dilithium to fill and Dilithium takes a lot of time to stockpile. A 2:1 or 3:1 ratio would be better, and give people more incentive to donate Dilithium.
Fleet leader Nova Elite
Fleet Leader House of Nova elite
@ren_larreck
This is pretty obvious, but only a problem for those who have spent thousands (I feel sorry for you all, assuming they know the account name, that is)
Otherwise, it's just useless fishing.
What a Typical STO Forum Discussion seems like...
I Was A Trekkie Before It Was Cool ... Sept. 8th, 1966 ... Not To Mention Before Most Folks Around Here Were Born!
Forever a STO Veteran-Minion
I generally only consider things "P2W" when you can only get them by personally laying out cash. Like "don't lose your gear when you die insurance!" items in free-for-all PvP MMOs. Or "keep you gear from being destroyed when you fail an enchant" consumables. Considering how relatively easy it is to get zen from dil in this game? I would never consider it P2W. Anyone can get the stuff (except for things like 1000-day vet ships) with a little work.
(like I said earlier, I've spent maybe $40 on the game. Over four years ago. Since then, I've probably spent at least 20k-30k zen in the zen shop. All from the dil exchange.)
...come to think of it, there's very little PvP in this game, and it doesn't give meaningful PvP-only rewards. What exactly is there to "win" over other players?
Certainly adds up, but it's a lot less than I've spent over a comparable period for several of my other pastimes. Which is even scarier
If I have fun I play and pay, If not the money is easily lost elsewhere.
Looking for a fun PvE fleet? Join us at Omega Combat Division today.
sub costs before f2p: for a number of months at least, to sub a month at the time.
missed most of 2011 when f2p came in, i was not a fan of it back then. in 2013 i spent a lot of money on LTS and rom starter pack. i also remember buying c points and zen in between this.
Been around since Dec 2010 on STO and bought LTS in Apr 2013 for STO.
One critical aspect associated wit Pay-To-Win is that it creates a two-class system. There are things you cannot possibly get without spending money, and it will be "in your face" all the time. That is a key critique against P2W - because it means your game is basically just pretending to be free to play, it's only the people that pay get all the fun. It is particularly nasty when your game is PvP focused.
Imagine there wasn't a Zen/Dilithium exchange for a moment, and all lockbox/promo ships were bound to account. it would be impossible for you to get a ton of ships. No matter how much you grind, you'll never fly a T6 Oddysee or Valiant. You'd be limited to the special event ships.
You are a second-class citizen in a P2W game when you don't spend money.
But STO has the Exchange and Dilithium Exchange, so without spending any money yourself, you can get everything. Yes, someone that takes a lot of money in his hand might be able to get it faster, but fundamentally, you have access to the same stuff. Everyone can try to climb to the top of the DPS ladder (or the top PvPer), if that's what you're after, the limitation is not your willingness to spend money, but your own skill level and dedication.