If Bio/EA used microtransactions, what do you want/not want to see?

[-Pi-]

I'll buy anything that helps me skip the grind.

[Overtone]

I dont want there to be any MT, but I would think they would just take the Legacy system and make all that MT.

[Vlaxitov]

'Quest Packs' come included if you just buy the expansions, which most regular players would. I played LOTRO for quite a long time, so yes, I DO know what I am talking about.

 

Out of all the time I played, I spent 10 bucks maybe.. and that was spent on a boost pack and some clothing, as far as I recall.

 

I'm open to hearing how you think it 'went wild', as you say.

 

EDIT: Notice how I didn't automatically dismiss your opinion out of ignorance? Funny how that works.

 

Yeah its real funny how it works because you have to leave out how legendary weapons in LOTRO works for anything you say to hold water. You can either farm for longer than it would take before they raise level cap for a good legendary weapon, win the legendary weapon lottery, or buy it for real cash directly from them.

 

I played LOTRO for a long time too and the state that the game is in now thanks to their cash shop is the reason I won't ever return. If you spent ten dollars, you spent ten dollars more ontop of the months if not years of sub you paid for texture work that should have been focused on content you're already getting for the monthly stipen.

 

LOTRO takes it way further than cosmetics. Player experience, deeds and skills, raw stats, travel expense, best in slot weapons, all for sale via their cash shop. Don't even pretend that isn't the case.

[illgot]

how many players threaten to quit if a nerf goes through or if something is not changed immediately... exactly.

 

I can easily spend 25 dollars a week on items (my weekly budget for games). Mostly I would purchase outfits and mounts though. Even if a few people quit, people like me would more than make up for 4 or 5 other players.

 

Items I would like to see:

 

 

• Character Make Overs
  
• Character Renames
  
• Character Transfers
  
• Extra Character Slots
  
• Legacy Bank
  
• Legacy Rename
  
• Ship Skins (classic Star Wars ships)
  
• Ship Recall Scrolls
  
• Ship Decorations (droid going around doing repairs or holo chess table)
  
• Unique Colour Crystals
  
• Unique Social Armor
  
• Unique Mounts
  
• Unique Orange Weapon Models
  
• Unique Pets
  

 

Edited May 10, 2012 by illgot

[DarthScruffy]

Dropboxes that give away Ferengi ships. /bitter sarcasm

 

Seriously, the problem with MTs is that eventually programming teams focus on shiny new objects for that to the exclusion of everything else since it is the most direct way to make money.

[illgot]

Dropboxes that give away Ferengi ships. /bitter sarcasm

 

Seriously, the problem with MTs is that eventually programming teams focus on shiny new objects for that to the exclusion of everything else since it is the most direct way to make money.

 

Yes, this happens. Why? Because they have a lot more income and can hire a new team just for micro-transactions.

 

If a crappy game can thrive with a micro-transaction model, why do you think a subscription based game with the additional of a cash shop can not work? Look at World of Warcraft. Blizzard made over 2.5 million dollars the first four hours their account based Celestial Steed was released. Do you think the revenue a cash shop brings in only goes to the development of more cash shop items?

 

The regular content does not suffer. It actually improves due to the additional revenue from the micro-transactions. But those exclusive items only sold on the cash shop are developed by a WHOLE NEW TEAM they hired just to work on micro-transactions. This team is made up of marketing professionals as well as program and design professionals. Bioware would not just take Joe and Beth off the standard design team and tell them to develop new items just for the cash shop.

Edited May 10, 2012 by illgot

[DarthSublimitas]

Of course EA will put microtransactions in this game; that will be the ONLY thing, beside F2P, that will save it. Like everything else, it's all a matter of time... Edited May 10, 2012 by DarthSublimitas

[DarthScruffy]

Yes, this happens. Why? Because they have a lot more income and can hire a new team just for micro-transactions.

 

The regular content does not suffer. It actually improves due to the additional revenue from the micro-transactions. But those exclusive items only sold on the cash shop are developed by a WHOLE NEW TEAM they hired just to work on micro-transactions. This team is made up of marketing professionals as well as program and design professionals. Bioware would not just take Joe and Beth off the standard design team and tell them to develop new items just for the cash shop.

 

Star Trek Online proceeded exactly as described.

[Zmidponk]

Star Trek Online proceeded exactly as described.

 

Correct. I actually preordered STO and even shelled out for a lifetime subscription, which meant I never paid any subscription fee beyond that initial charge, even when it was on a subscription model, and, now it's F2P+MT, I am a 'gold' subscriber for life, with a monthly stipend of points. Despite this, I have utterly lost interest in it because, by and large, any real additional content is either released via the cash shop, or has a significant tie-in with the cash shop. About the only thing that is in any way interesting is the Foundry that allows players to create missions that other players can play, but even with that, I found the gems get lost in the pile of crap, and it's not really interesting for me to play missions I have made myself. That's why I want a cast-iron promise, if they do go the MT route with SWTOR, the free parts of the game won't suffer as a result.

[NoTomorrow]

Just give me some good looking orange armor like agent columi field medic chest.

[Deyjarl]

A proper microtransaction based game can be played fully for free

 

No they cannot. There are required purchases, like packages content, or game mechanics made so horrible that to not use the store would be insane (LotRO).

 

You would be excluded from things that would be automatically available to you through a subscription.

 

I've tried many so called Free to Play games, and not one of them lived up to that name.

[illgot]

Correct. I actually preordered STO and even shelled out for a lifetime subscription, which meant I never paid any subscription fee beyond that initial charge, even when it was on a subscription model, and, now it's F2P+MT, I am a 'gold' subscriber for life, with a monthly stipend of points. Despite this, I have utterly lost interest in it because, by and large, any real additional content is either released via the cash shop, or has a significant tie-in with the cash shop. About the only thing that is in any way interesting is the Foundry that allows players to create missions that other players can play, but even with that, I found the gems get lost in the pile of crap, and it's not really interesting for me to play missions I have made myself. That's why I want a cast-iron promise, if they do go the MT route with SWTOR, the free parts of the game won't suffer as a result.

 

What you are talking about are expansions to the game. Free to play games often release small expansions packs more frequently than subscription based games which save up content and release large expansions for sale in stores.

 

No matter what model a game follows, expect to pay for expanded content.

[Deyjarl]

What you are talking about are expansions to the game. Free to play games often release small expansions packs more frequently than subscription based games which save up content and release large expansions for sale in stores.

 

Wrong, they break down "expansion" and what would normally be free content upgrades for subscriptions, and sell them. STO does this, LotRO does this, D&D online does this, etc. etc.

[Zmidponk]

What you are talking about are expansions to the game.

 

No. I am not. Even including the stuff released via the cash shop, there has been nothing that could even remotely be called an 'expansion' released for STO since it went F2P+MT. What I am talking about is things like they introduce a new loot dynamic which allows you to get some really funky stuff dropping from mobs - which are locked inside lockboxes, with keys on sale in the cash shop. Or they come up with a new flagship for each of the main two factions - which you get from the cash shop. Or they come up with a new ship, which comes with a console installed that gives you a highly useful ability - which, you guessed it, you buy from the cash shop. Meanwhile, the content offered for free is 'episode reruns' of previous missions.

 

Free to play games often release small expansions packs more frequently than subscription based games which save up content and release large expansions for sale in stores.

 

No matter what model a game follows, expect to pay for expanded content.

 

With subscription models, you tend to only have to pay extra if the content is worth it - such as the Jump to Lightspeed expansion in Star Wars Galaxies, which more or less created a fully-fledged MMO space shooter within the existing MMORPG framework, or the expansions to WoW, which added craploads of quests, added races and added entire new areas. This, I have no problem with. If F2P+MT is abused, however, you end up paying much more for less content, and have no real choice but to do so, or else you can't really play the game.

[Colyer]

Speeders, pets, stat-less orange gear. Legacy Unlocks for the most part, though I'd prefer they didn't on the Ship upgrades.

[illgot]

Subscription games: you pay 15 dollars a month for small content updates and pay extra for large expansions.

 

Free to Play games: you buy new content in the cash shop and purchase large expansions in the cash shop.

 

Yes, you have to buy most content in a cash shop for FTP games. How else are companies that do use a subscription program suppose to earn their revenue?

[MrLeee]

if swtor goes pay to win, i'll be done with the game.

 

qft!!!!

[Sequiturian]

Microtransations.. what would I like to see? None

 

If MTs are implemented (subscription or not) I'm cancelling, deinstalling, and cleaning SW:TOR bookmarks. If I wanted to pay to win I'd have gone with the numerous models of that already out there.

[illgot]

Microtransations.. what would I like to see? None

 

If MTs are implemented (subscription or not) I'm cancelling, deinstalling, and cleaning SW:TOR bookmarks. If I wanted to pay to win I'd have gone with the numerous models of that already out there.

 

You do know that name changes, server transfers, and character make overs are micro-transactions? Enjoy the next two months before they roll out paid server transfers and you quit.

 

Anything a person pays above the normal subscription fee is a micro-transaction. Do not let game companies fool you into thinking that paid services are anything more than a micro-transaction.

Edited May 11, 2012 by illgot

[terminova]

Mostly crafting schematics, materials, credits, mods, stuff that gives you more experience per kill, and stuff that increases a specific stat by 1 for $2.00 US, so if you want to raise, say, endurance by 50 it'd set you back $100 though content would and should still be balanced around non-microtransaction stats.

 

That's called "Pay to Win" and creates an unbalanced player environment.

[Zmidponk]

Subscription games: you pay 15 dollars a month for small content updates and pay extra for large expansions.

 

Free to Play games: you buy new content in the cash shop and purchase large expansions in the cash shop.

 

Yes, you have to buy most content in a cash shop for FTP games. How else are companies that do use a subscription program suppose to earn their revenue?

 

Through optional and funky things being sold via the cash shop. If you're saying that a game is free to play, then that means there is no significant part of the game that requires payment. If that is not the case, what you're actually providing is a 'trial' or 'demo', or simply something that isn't completely free.

 

EDIT:And I should point out that this is straying from the original point - that what has happened with STO shows that a game going F2P risks development being focused mostly or solely on things that can be sold via the cash shop - which you indicated wouldn't happen when you said:

 

The regular content does not suffer. It actually improves due to the additional revenue from the micro-transactions. But those exclusive items only sold on the cash shop are developed by a WHOLE NEW TEAM they hired just to work on micro-transactions. This team is made up of marketing professionals as well as program and design professionals. Bioware would not just take Joe and Beth off the standard design team and tell them to develop new items just for the cash shop.

Edited May 11, 2012 by Zmidponk

[Revenaught]

IF Microtransactions are brought into The Old Republic, what do you want to see in the store?

What do you not want to see in the store?

 

The exit because I won't be hangin around.

[pairadox]

The exit because I won't be hangin around.

 

Amen.

 

No game with an MT shop has ever been worth playing.

 

Argue all you want.

[GalacticKegger]

I wouldn't mind µxactions but only if sub packages were also available because I wouldn't use them except maybe for cosmetic upgrades. Paying real money for unlocks to advanced leveling, advanced crafting, epic quest chains, dungeon/instance privileges, cosmetics, additional bag & bank space and end game access will easily add up to cost more than a monthly sub does. The day an MMO grants unlocks that are exclusive to µxactions is the day I find another game to play. I love this game, but µxaction-exclusive deals would ruin it for me.

[Kilikaa]

The exit because I won't be hangin around.

 

This right here. Microtransactions are a stupid idea. In the long run many people spend more money buying things this way than they would with a monthly subscription. No microtransactions, thank you.