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Subscription + Item Mall?
Soldarith
Member Posts: 184
I am just curious, especially from those who have already or plan on subscribing to the game: Do you feel that you going to be "cheated" out of your subscription dollars since there will be an item mall in the game? It just seems, to me, that it is contradictory to have an item mall in a game that is subscription based; unless the game developer is ultimately planning for the game to go F2P with an item mall.
I, for one, felt that perhaps the 2-character slots seemed to be VERY low-end for accounts -- for any MMO. Perhaps this will be the first item mall item? Would you expect extra slots be available, free-of-charge, to subscribers? How would you feel if everyone, including subscribers, had to purchase extra character slots?
There just seems to be a lot of questions regarding the game's ultimate business model, yet very little answers. I, for one, am very confused at this.
I, for one, felt that perhaps the 2-character slots seemed to be VERY low-end for accounts -- for any MMO. Perhaps this will be the first item mall item? Would you expect extra slots be available, free-of-charge, to subscribers? How would you feel if everyone, including subscribers, had to purchase extra character slots?
There just seems to be a lot of questions regarding the game's ultimate business model, yet very little answers. I, for one, am very confused at this.
Comments
I was very weary of that myself. As long as it's just for cosmetic stuff I don't care. I've never been one to collect trinkets in the first place. But if it turns into something major that is the reason for me losing in PVP, then it will be an issue for me and I'll stop playing.
Currently Playing: World of Warcraft
Yeah, so long as they don't sell things like better ships (Constitution class), better BOFFs (liberated borg BOFF), or artificially limit character slots to put long term sub and item shop purchases (only 3 character slots in regular sub). So long as they don't do those things who cares about their item shop, I mean what would they do - sell a playable race, and iconic race, a race with substantial bonuses to racial traits over every other race (borg race) - so long as they don't do any of those things. Oh wait, they did all those things and more?!?!?
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It's just cosmetic stuff, really. Also, nobody's forcing you to buy any of it. They really can't 'cheat' you out of your subscription dollars imho, because you don't need to spend any more than the subscription.
That being said, I probably will buy stuff from the C-store anyways, lol.
But not to worry, it'll all be cosmetic and account-type stuff. Anything that can affect gameplay will also be available in-game.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
Well, given that they did the exact same thing in Champions Online it's hardly a shocker. However, when it was implemented in CO the only thing you could buy were in game pets that served no purpose but to have some fun. I'm not sure if that has now changed but I really don't mind them charging for stuff that's not useful in the game. It's when they cross the line and require folks to buy items/buffs/extra toon slots and things of that nature where I start getting fed up.
In Final Fantasy you get one slot for a character with the subscription. If you want more you pay for each slot per month.
We shall see where this game goes. Lots of possibilities. Huge IP.
Personally I would like to play the Borg and assimilate other players and NPCs.
Almost every MMO I've played for the past 12 years or so has had additional services or items available for additional fees and it hasn't really bothered me, especially in the ones where I'm just playing the PvE. STO will be no different.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
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Btw, your information is wrong here. They're not "selling" the TOS Connie, that's free to anyone who preorders (cost of which goes toward your final price of the game). Same with the borg boff, free to anyone who preorders from amazon.
Also, the Liberated Borg playable race does NOT get 'substantial bonuses' over anyone else. In fact, they get approximately the same traits as other races available in game. Regular Trill get a similar regeneration trait. Unknowns and some other races can get the Efficiency trait. The Neural Blast is only useful on the ground and then really only useful in pvp, and even then I wouldn't say it's all that useful. So in reality, the Liberated Borg race is mostly just for show.
Facts please.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
The game will be just a paid beta after release with all the bugged content and even without the bugs the quality and content is closer to a guild wars type of game not an mmorpg. But since its cryptic we are getting a 50$+subscription+item mall. Thats so just like them. Speaking of the bugs a game where
- you spawn as a ship avatar on planets,stations and you cant move till the game figures out "oh wait you cant beam down as a ship avatar for ground combat or space station, oops daisy" after a minute
- away missions and just stations are so laggy and choppy its unplayable
-around 20-30% of the missions are bugged and those are just the missions of type go find 5 items, i mean wtf how hard is to not screw up these very simple and boring missions
-Game disconnects you every so often
-You get a "You cant login at this time" or "Login is not possible" or "Server is too busy" or 10 other messages when you try to login 20 times in a row , did i mention you get disconnected a lot already ?
is not even ready for open beta nor release. The game is so crappy they are already dishing out lifetime subs and preorders with some very heavy bonuses. The list of bonuses for preorder is so long i have to scroll down my screen while reading it. Well they know the game wont last a long time so better to squish out as much cash as you can in the shortest time.
Well, given that they did the exact same thing in Champions Online it's hardly a shocker. However, when it was implemented in CO the only thing you could buy were in game pets that served no purpose but to have some fun. I'm not sure if that has now changed but I really don't mind them charging for stuff that's not useful in the game. It's when they cross the line and require folks to buy items/buffs/extra toon slots and things of that nature where I start getting fed up.
Yes thats changed lol. You now buy extra char slots as well as retcons off of the item mall in CO. From how things sound STO will be done the same way. Limited to 2 char slots and get a 3rd when you unlock the Klingons. Meaning if you want more than 3 chars you will be buying off of the item mall.
Secondly with a skill cap you are pretty much setup for the same thing CO was setup to promote, the retcons on the item mall.
Basically your best bet is to hope that they do not add more items that they could "encourage" you to purchase in STO.
Playing devil's advocate, you have no idea for how long this will remain true. Or if it's even true now (I haven't been in the STO store and don't know if it is open yet).
The one thing that can be said in my view is that if they are willing to run with a subscription + Item Mall revenue model then there are no "moral" obligations that are going to prevent them from introducing non cosmetic/account item for purchase in the mall. It only boils down to a matter of when they believe they can do it and not cause the biggest uproar.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
Yeah right. Once they have an "official" item mall all bets are off. They'll do whatever they think is necessary to maximize the cash flow.
And I am saying this as someone who would easily cough of cash in an item mall - provided it is valuable enough. Would not bother with "cosmetic" things - so I am representing a segment that would only pay for valuable things - I think there are plenty of us.
Btw, your information is wrong here. They're not "selling" the TOS Connie, that's free to anyone who preorders (cost of which goes toward your final price of the game). Same with the borg boff, free to anyone who preorders from amazon.
Also, the Liberated Borg playable race does NOT get 'substantial bonuses' over anyone else. In fact, they get approximately the same traits as other races available in game. Regular Trill get a similar regeneration trait. Unknowns and some other races can get the Efficiency trait. The Neural Blast is only useful on the ground and then really only useful in pvp, and even then I wouldn't say it's all that useful. So in reality, the Liberated Borg race is mostly just for show.
Facts please.
The amazone pre order gets you a Bridge Officer Liberated borg just some standard pre order everyone has a shot at getting sort of deal but if you pay 240 something dollars for a life time subscription you can actually PLAY as a Liberated Borg. As in its not a Bridge officer but a Race you can select from that no one else has access too. That right there says they're going to sell stuff besides just cosmetics. To me a Player Race is NOT a cosmetic thats part of the content and that sort of sucks
While it won't affect anything it IS a rather big like hahahhaha that a entire race is cut off unless you pay. Oh and last I looked the traits that are for the Liberated Borg for a player race...they DO have some that NONE of the otheres have just as others have some that none of the others have. You can either pick a trait everyone else has..or the borg.
While champions store is fairly harmless they are now selling the Halloween Costume Items that everyone had to grind in order to get so don't expect anything that you grind hard for to remain sacred. They also did this with several of the costume unlocks from the Achievement system. Of course players kinda thought it was dumb in the first place they were achievement unlocks that only worked on that character instead of the entire account. Apprently if you want it for the whole account you have to pay money.
Don't expect items that make you Uber in PVP but expect there to be items and prices that do piss you off on the C Store.
Oh and expect their Customer Service to be good one day and inconsistantly crap the rest of the days. Long Long long long long wait times on GM tickets, insane times on repairs...I mean hell they Broke One of the Zones (and there's already so few and its the only one really for 30 - 40) it took them 4 days to realize people were sending in reports and making posts..and its now on day 8 with no resolve.
Let me copy past the full list of preorder bonus just to be clear what do you get.
NX Prefix
This renowned ship registration prefix designates a special prototype vessel. Players can attach this prefix to the title of any of their ships.
Targ/Tribble
A Targ is a cosmetic pet for Klingon characters only that a player can summon and dismiss at will. The Tribble when summoned increases a Federation character’s healing rate, though it cannot be summoned during combat. A character will take out his Tribble and pet it.
Borg Bridge Officer
Each character created receives a reclaimed Borg Bridge Officer to assist him in space and on the ground. The Borg Bridge Officer possesses unique abilities not otherwise available to players. Bridge Officers can serve with the players for the entire game experience. These special Officers are not customizable.
Constitution Class Ship
Shortly after the tutorial, a player assumes command of a ship. A player can choose either a standard Miranda class or this exclusive, the Constitution class ship. Players fly around in a non-customizable replica of the TOS ship beloved for decades (the textures and components cannot be altered like other ships). Players control this ship for roughly 20 hours before being promoted into the next class of ship.
Skill Points
Each character created receives an additional 500 skill points at the beginning of gameplay. That’s a 38 percent increase over what players normally receive through the tutorial.
Joined Trill
At character creation, a player can select Trill as a race. This unlocks special exclusive traits that enhance the character’s abilities. Note that the special abilities are the only exclusive aspect; players are still able to create Trills in the game. However, they will lack the Trill abilities.
DS9 Costumes
Players can clothe their Federation characters in the uniforms made famous in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine TV series. Players can freely change the colors of the uniform.
TOS Costumes
Players can clothe their Federation characters in the uniforms made famous by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy in the classic Star Trek: The Original Series. Players can freely change the colors of the uniform. Also note: The TOS costumes do include mini-skirts!
Chromodynamic Armor
This ground item goes into a character’s body armor slot. Based on technology brought back from the Delta Quadrant by U.S.S. Voyager, this personal body armor improves the damage and critical hits of a player’s ground energy weapons.
Multi-spatial Personal Shield
This ground item slots into a character’s shield slot. This advanced personal shield system is based on Borg technology and constantly regenerates itself and even a character’s health.
TR-116
A player equips this phaser rifle into one of his two ground weapon slots. The TR-116 is a rare projectile weapon is used in dampening fields and other challenging environments, it is also modified with a micro-transporter which beams the fired projectiles to targets at close range so that a user can fire without a direct line of sight.
Red Matter Capacitor
A unique item slotted into a ship device slot that charges up and delivers extra energy to all of your ship’s equipment for a short time. The Capacitor has a long recharge.
Automated Defense Battery
This ship item slots into the Tactical Console slot. Tactical Module that grants the ship a passive 360 arc attack power with a short range.
KKKHHHHAAAANNN Emote
Players will be able to do the famous Kirk Khan yell from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Bloodwine Toast Emote
This gesture is known throughout the galaxy as a hallmark of Klingon society.
source: http://www.startrekonline.com/exclusives
Nice list and ouch some of that is pushing the line a bit to much oO. An extra 500 skill points? The fluff is fine and expected but a lot of that is a bit more than fluff lol.
Item malls are here to stay, expect most new subscription games in the future to have some form of RMT in addition to the sub fee.
Get used to it folks, its the future.
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"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Btw, your information is wrong here. They're not "selling" the TOS Connie, that's free to anyone who preorders (cost of which goes toward your final price of the game). Same with the borg boff, free to anyone who preorders from amazon.
Also, the Liberated Borg playable race does NOT get 'substantial bonuses' over anyone else. In fact, they get approximately the same traits as other races available in game. Regular Trill get a similar regeneration trait. Unknowns and some other races can get the Efficiency trait. The Neural Blast is only useful on the ground and then really only useful in pvp, and even then I wouldn't say it's all that useful. So in reality, the Liberated Borg race is mostly just for show.
Facts please.
The amazone pre order gets you a Bridge Officer Liberated borg just some standard pre order everyone has a shot at getting sort of deal but if you pay 240 something dollars for a life time subscription you can actually PLAY as a Liberated Borg. As in its not a Bridge officer but a Race you can select from that no one else has access too. That right there says they're going to sell stuff besides just cosmetics. To me a Player Race is NOT a cosmetic thats part of the content and that sort of sucks
While it won't affect anything it IS a rather big like hahahhaha that a entire race is cut off unless you pay. Oh and last I looked the traits that are for the Liberated Borg for a player race...they DO have some that NONE of the otheres have just as others have some that none of the others have. You can either pick a trait everyone else has..or the borg.
While champions store is fairly harmless they are now selling the Halloween Costume Items that everyone had to grind in order to get so don't expect anything that you grind hard for to remain sacred. They also did this with several of the costume unlocks from the Achievement system. Of course players kinda thought it was dumb in the first place they were achievement unlocks that only worked on that character instead of the entire account. Apprently if you want it for the whole account you have to pay money.
Don't expect items that make you Uber in PVP but expect there to be items and prices that do piss you off on the C Store.
Oh and expect their Customer Service to be good one day and inconsistantly crap the rest of the days. Long Long long long long wait times on GM tickets, insane times on repairs...I mean hell they Broke One of the Zones (and there's already so few and its the only one really for 30 - 40) it took them 4 days to realize people were sending in reports and making posts..and its now on day 8 with no resolve.
You do realize that 240 bucks is a HUGE chunk of change to lay down for an MMO right? While I didn't even realize the borg race came with the lifetime sub when I ordered it, I do think it was nice of them to offer us something for wanting to lay down that much money on a game. And I fully expect that the borg race will be in the game to unlock either by achievements or maybe even the store. If you really think about it, I seriously doubt they are going to have anything in the store that is going to really be much more than cosmetic. Even when you look at races, the racial bonus's really don't mean crap in the big scheme of things. Really, the only thing I could see that would be bad is if they started selling weapons and such in the store. I really don't think they will though. Their track record has been pretty good when it comes to store items. The great thing about the store though, Nobody has to use it if they don't want to. So I really don't see what the big deal is about complaining that they even have a store.
Nice list and ouch some of that is pushing the line a bit to much oO. An extra 500 skill points? The fluff is fine and expected but a lot of that is a bit more than fluff lol.
500 skill points only really equates to 5 levels of skill increase which isn't a whole lot. It's certainly not enough to give you any noticeable 'edge' on anyone else. As for the rest of the stuff... yeah, it's pretty much all fluff.
Bren
while(horse==dead)
{
beat();
}
Nice list and ouch some of that is pushing the line a bit to much oO. An extra 500 skill points? The fluff is fine and expected but a lot of that is a bit more than fluff lol.
500 skill points only really equates to 5 levels of skill increase which isn't a whole lot. It's certainly not enough to give you any noticeable 'edge' on anyone else. As for the rest of the stuff... yeah, it's pretty much all fluff.
Bren
lol... not going to agree with you sorry. To me some of that pushes the line and some of it clearly crosses it.
Your welcome to disagree but it's not going to change anything lol.
Nice list and ouch some of that is pushing the line a bit to much oO. An extra 500 skill points? The fluff is fine and expected but a lot of that is a bit more than fluff lol.
500 skill points only really equates to 5 levels of skill increase which isn't a whole lot. It's certainly not enough to give you any noticeable 'edge' on anyone else. As for the rest of the stuff... yeah, it's pretty much all fluff.
Bren
lol... not going to agree with you sorry. To me some of that pushes the line and some of it clearly crosses it.
Your welcome to disagree but it's not going to change anything lol.
Nothing listed there is going to give you any advantage over stuff that is readily available in the game. All it has going for it is a 'coolness' factor. Yeah, it's all fluff. Sorry you don't agree but maybe if you played the game without your hate blinders on you may see it too.
Bren
while(horse==dead)
{
beat();
}
If most games can make do on an item mall or subscription then logically shouldn't STO be twice as good as any of them?
I'm guessing you haven't actually played the game. 500 skill points is nothing really. It takes 1200 points or so to get to level 2, and quests give like 250 points.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
Also, last I checked, Cryptic still only offers cosmetic items in the C-store, and stuff that can be earned in-game.
People freaked out about this stuff before Champions launched, and it's fine. No reason to panic now.
In addition: As I posted above, the Liberated Borg character race is primarily for show.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
Nice list and ouch some of that is pushing the line a bit to much oO. An extra 500 skill points? The fluff is fine and expected but a lot of that is a bit more than fluff lol.
500 skill points only really equates to 5 levels of skill increase which isn't a whole lot. It's certainly not enough to give you any noticeable 'edge' on anyone else. As for the rest of the stuff... yeah, it's pretty much all fluff.
Bren
lol... not going to agree with you sorry. To me some of that pushes the line and some of it clearly crosses it.
Your welcome to disagree but it's not going to change anything lol.
Yes. The definition of "cosmetic" some people here have leaves something to be desired. Oh, 500 skill points isn't anything. It's all cosmetic! Borg with a unique combination of traits for sale! That's cosmetic!
Correct me if I'm wrong. But if your a paying subscriber for an MMO isn't new content cosmetic or non cosmetic to be expected as included in the subscription cost. Regardless if it affects gameplay or not, every other Subscription MMO out there doesn't charge extra for cosmetic content, it comes in updates! The bitter irony is charging for cosmetic content when the base content of the game itself is apparently severely lacking.
Character transfers etc are acceptable to charge for.
Nice list and ouch some of that is pushing the line a bit to much oO. An extra 500 skill points? The fluff is fine and expected but a lot of that is a bit more than fluff lol.
500 skill points only really equates to 5 levels of skill increase which isn't a whole lot. It's certainly not enough to give you any noticeable 'edge' on anyone else. As for the rest of the stuff... yeah, it's pretty much all fluff.
Bren
lol... not going to agree with you sorry. To me some of that pushes the line and some of it clearly crosses it.
Your welcome to disagree but it's not going to change anything lol.
Yes. The definition of "cosmetic" some people here have leaves something to be desired. Oh, 500 skill points isn't anything. It's all cosmetic! Borg with a unique combination of traits for sale! That's cosmetic!
No it's not cosmetic, it's fluff. When the stuff they are giving people give no advantage over stuff you can readily get in game except for a 'coolness' factor it's fluff. That BO does have some interesting skills... just like every other BO in the game. All of the items in the preorders will be totally useless by level 10 when you hit tier 2 and although they are different they are no better than the in game items you get just by playing. The only thing that makes them unique is the Epreen factor that you had to preorder to get them. Same goes for the player Borg character... The in game races are just as good. Having the ability to play a borg character just gives you something to show that you are a lifetime member and nothing more. It won't give you any edge over any of the other races. This is all just people making mountains out of molehills yet again. If you actually played the game with your eyes and mind open you'd see that what I'm saying is fact.
Bren
while(horse==dead)
{
beat();
}