idnewton Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Do Ea/Bioware have a gambling license for online play? And who controls the "fairness" of the dice roll system when it comes to the cartel packs? And is it ethical to have gambling with real money in a age 13+ game?It's a reasonable question, especially in regards to the younger end of the playerbase. But I feel I must respond to that question with a question. Is self-control so hard? I've never bought Cartel Coins, so while I have used some sub coins to buy packs and some credits to buy packs, it's not eating away at my wallet in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravanos Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 It's a reasonable question, especially in regards to the younger end of the playerbase. But I feel I must respond to that question with a question. Is self-control so hard? I've never bought Cartel Coins, so while I have used some sub coins to buy packs and some credits to buy packs, it's not eating away at my wallet in any way. Sadly I think self-control is one of the more harder aspects of life for most people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AbsolutGrndZero Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Do Ea/Bioware have a gambling license for online play? And who controls the "fairness" of the dice roll system when it comes to the cartel packs? And is it ethical to have gambling with real money in a age 13+ game? No, they don't have a license and they don't need one because they still are not dealing with real money, not from a gambling standpoint. When you buy a cartel pack, sure it's gambling but it's 'simulated gambling' in that when you put money into the game, you a digital item. The fact that it's random means nothing. The fact that I can't spend $40 on the cartel market, then get back $400 from EA is why it's not really gambling, at best it's simulated gambling, and that's nothing that requires a license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightMre Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 About the stuff that is now being offered for purchase using reputation, certs and creds, what will happen to those of us who got them through the cartel market? I mean some of the stuff I saw, I already have in my collections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravanos Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 No, they don't have a license and they don't need one because they still are not dealing with real money, not from a gambling standpoint. Its not real money per say if you save up your subscription cartel coins each month until you have enough to spend on a pack. But a if you spend 2000$ "Real money" on cartel packs, then it is gambling with real money. When you buy a cartel pack, sure it's gambling but it's 'simulated gambling' in that when you put money into the game, you a digital item. Lets call a shovel a shovel. Net poker and casinos are also "simulated gambling" The fact that it's random means nothing. Yes it means nothing to people who do not care if they are getting scammed or not The fact that I can't spend $40 on the cartel market, then get back $400 from EA is why it's not really gambling, at best it's simulated gambling The house always wins. People can spend 40$ on the cartel marked and earn millions of credits, if they buy like a black dye or some other rare stuff that are available once or a few times a year. After that they sell the item to a players who is willing to pay an insane amount cause he or she cant wait. Then they can sell their in-game credits to sites who sells and buys credits and ruin the in-game economy. and that's nothing that requires a license. It depends on what region or country you are in. In most of the civilized world where gambling is allowed the age limit is 18+ both simulated or real. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthDymond Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 (edited) Do Ea/Bioware have a gambling license for online play? And who controls the "fairness" of the dice roll system when it comes to the cartel packs? And is it ethical to have gambling with real money in a age 13+ game? BW no more needs a gambling license for its Cartel Packs than Wizards of the Coast need one for having random cards in their Magic: The Gathering card packs (feel free to replace the example with Pokemon cards depending on your generation / age). The ethical implications are also about the same - and in both cases that is a subjective, personal evaluation. If you think Cartel Packs (or Collectable Card Game packs) cross a moral line vis-a-vis gambling, don't buy them - if you're worried about your kids, don't give them access to your credit card to buy CCs with. Edited October 5, 2015 by DarthDymond Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ademnus Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 (edited) DEVS can you please address cartel certs and jawa junk etc. Are they being removed? Are their vendors being removed? Many have asked and no one has gotten a reply. Edited October 5, 2015 by ademnus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LG_XxLegacyxX Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) Just chiming in with my two cents. Unless the changed Cartel Packs are priced lower on the Cartel Market, I don't see myself buying them out directly for 250 cartel coins or more. Two items, even if guaranteed to be a Mount, Decoration, or Armor-set for the first item, and a Grade 5 companion gift, it still seems like even more of a gamble. I would also like to see this change made to each new pack. Re-posting from another user: • Armor or Mounts/Vehicles (Bronze / Silver or Gold) • Decoration or Toy/Emote. (Bronze / Silver or Gold) • Major or Minor Experience Boost. • Jawa Junk Item (Green / Blue / Purple) or Companion Gift (Grade 5 rare or artifact) Also, where are the Cartel Certificates going? I'd also like to know. Hopefully this can be addressed. Thank you. Edited October 6, 2015 by LG_XxLegacyxX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faelandaea Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) Do Ea/Bioware have a gambling license for online play? And who controls the "fairness" of the dice roll system when it comes to the cartel packs? And is it ethical to have gambling with real money in a age 13+ game? And here, everyone, we have yet ANOTHER example of a totally irresponsible outlook of, "The game needs to watch our kids for us, because I do not want to be a responsible parent." A RESPONSIBLE parent would be guiding their kids through anything they do online, and the parent should be also monitoring their kids' spending. It is not BW's responsibility to raise your kids for you. It's the same stupid, idiotic argument made by complete morons all over the US (I say US because in no other country has anyone been stupid enough to make the following argument): A kid shoots up a school, so it HAS to be the fault of music, a game, some fashion trend, some TV show, but hey it is NEVER EVER the parents' fault. it is ALWAYS the fault of someone else. Parents are ALWAYS the victim when their kids do something stupid. NEVER can a parent be selfish or so self-involved that they could care less about their kid. Most RESPONSIBLE parents raise their kids to also be responsible, and to make decisions. My kids personally will never receive a credit card or free reign for online spending until they are old enough to drive. And even then I'll be watching, closely, and helping to guide them on all of their decisions. They'll only have a small allowance from me unless they go get their own job, and I'll do my best to help them learn that once that money is spent, they can't get more just because they regret what they bought and found something else they like. If they get a job, I'll help them with budgeting and still try to steer them on the path of responsible spending. If my kids then decide to buy cartel packs and waste their money, I won't blame BW. I'll blame myself for somehow failing to get the message across, because it is MY responsibility as their father to steer them right. And you know what? If that ever happens, then instead of suing BW and blaming them for having an available feature or cash shop item, I'll instead get them off the game, sit down with them and - oh I dunno - COMMMUNICATE with them about where I failed and how we can all learn from this. I don't mind people having issues with RNG, and debating it here. I'll join the debate right beside you. But the whole "The game is rated 13+ so I expect to have BW raise my kids so I don't have to" argument is just a HUGE bloody time bomb just waiting to be set off. Seriously. Log the f__k out of your stupid game and go raise your kids already, because you obviously aren't mature enough to be in the game yourself. Better yet, go give your kids to social services because if you expect BW to be responsible for your kids then you are in no position to be a parent - ever. EDIT: I wanted to add a special thank you to MY parents for raising me right, apparently, because I apparently do not have the issue of compulsively buying cartel packs, using all my cash, then whining about it for hours on here that BW has something wrong with them when in actuality I am just a compulsive gambler. Yeah, I buy packs once in a while, just for kicks. I also buy the occasional lottery ticket. But I have a budget, and a set small amount of that budget is for gaming, and I never go over that budget. And if i don;t feel like popping a few bucks on a crate, I just hit the GTN to buy whatever I want, because pretty much everything from the packs ends up on the GTN anyway. And since it is so easy to make credits in this game, I have never been unable to afford something I really want on the GTN. That's probably because I also treat my credits like I do with real life money - I save it unless there is something I really want to buy and can afford. BW no more needs a gambling license for its Cartel Packs than Wizards of the Coast need one for having random cards in their Magic: The Gathering card packs (feel free to replace the example with Pokemon cards depending on your generation / age). The ethical implications are also about the same - and in both cases that is a subjective, personal evaluation. If you think Cartel Packs (or Collectable Card Game packs) cross a moral line vis-a-vis gambling, don't buy them - if you're worried about your kids, don't give them access to your credit card to buy CCs with. You absolutely will NOT get through to that guy. Right now he's calling like 50 lawyers trying to find a way to sue you and me for slander because we pointed out something realistic. It's the American way, y'know? But first he has to count up all his gambling money to see if he even has enough. Edited October 6, 2015 by Faelandaea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarleysRule Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) Do Ea/Bioware have a gambling license for online play? And who controls the "fairness" of the dice roll system when it comes to the cartel packs? And is it ethical to have gambling with real money in a age 13+ game? I think packs are a total scam, but technically not gambling. You are buying cartel coins, and what you do with them (buying cosmetic gear or packs) is your business. Also, items in packs have no real world value. IIRC people tried to say the lockboxes in other games were illegal because of gambling, but it never sticks, and I'm guessing EA has a few high priced lawyers that assured them packs are not legally considered gambling. Edited October 6, 2015 by HarleysRule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyVix Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 CM changes are largely useless unless BioWare stops people from spamming in-game chat to "recruit" people. I'm not adverse to the referral system, but sick of the general chat spammers being rewarded with more than those of us who actually drag friends over from competing games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarleysRule Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 EVE Online has a referral system that, AFAIK, is restricted to the forums in a stickied thread. BW should do this if for no other reason than to cut down on chat spam. Then again, I'm still waiting for them to let you auto ignore anyone you report for credit spamming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venomlash Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 It's only gambling if you can get currency out of it. What you get for your cartel coins is dependent on chance, but you can't get cartel coins out of it. You can get stuff out, but you can't get your money back. I thought everyone knew this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Spc Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Would like to know about these items please: REP will be universal now? Meaning all them combined and we max out no matter what REP we get? . That would be nice, since those reputation items will no longer drop in new packs.. Edited October 7, 2015 by -Spc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faelandaea Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) It's only gambling if you can get currency out of it. What you get for your cartel coins is dependent on chance, but you can't get cartel coins out of it. You can get stuff out, but you can't get your money back. I thought everyone knew this. they do know this. They are just trolling. Though I fed the trolls above - in depth, I still recognize they were trolling. But yes that is true - currency for chance of currency is gambling. Currency for chance at getting a prize = gaming. It's the same as if people go up to one of those arcade machines with the stuffed animals. They insert their quarters, and then they try to use the crane to snag a stuffed animal. Those machines do not need a gambling license. But it's okay, because some people will try to sue anyway because they didn't get their little stuffed toy on the first try. Edited October 7, 2015 by Faelandaea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldsailor Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Can someone explain this to me. First they are changing the contents per pack, (which is fine...but) Two items per pack – Each pack now only has two items in it. One item will be from the bullet above, a mount or some other “bigger” item. The other item slot will be a Grade 5 rare or artifact level Companion gift. http://www.swtor.com/info/news/blog/20151001 Then in another post they say: Affection is being changed to Influence to coincide with your Character's Alliance. ie Companion Affection Achievements in Fallen Empire thread So in affect BW is changing packs to include one item and one totally useless item. (If affection is going away, what is the use of companion gifts?) I don't understand how that works? Do the dev teams even speak to each other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthDymond Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Can someone explain this to me. First they are changing the contents per pack, (which is fine...but) Two items per pack – Each pack now only has two items in it. One item will be from the bullet above, a mount or some other “bigger” item. The other item slot will be a Grade 5 rare or artifact level Companion gift. http://www.swtor.com/info/news/blog/20151001 Then in another post they say: Affection is being changed to Influence to coincide with your Character's Alliance. ie Companion Affection Achievements in Fallen Empire thread So in affect BW is changing packs to include one item and one totally useless item. (If affection is going away, what is the use of companion gifts?) I don't understand how that works? Do the dev teams even speak to each other? My understanding is that the Companion Gifts will still work - they just provide 'influence' now instead of 'affection'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khevar Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 My understanding is that the Companion Gifts will still work - they just provide 'influence' now instead of 'affection'. I'm banking on it. I've got a cargo hold full of companion gifts I hope to sell for big bucks. /crossfingers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaSiLinLaoBei Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Will this changes affect all old packs/hypercrates which people already bought but not open yet ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheaterLL Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Will this changes affect all old packs/hypercrates which people already bought but not open yet ? They said a few pages back that all packs that are already bought remain the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masterlorak Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 As always, will just have to wait and see how this changes the gameplay dynamic. But I'm sure it will be fine either way, never found too much fault with the way devs handle this game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaSiLinLaoBei Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 They said a few pages back that all packs that are already bought remain the same. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Themanthatisi Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Maybe I missed in reading the posts, but I am still NOT clear on the Cartel Certificates and if that vender will still be available. Will certs still drop or going away? I would at least want the chance to spend what I have if they are going away.... Thanks for any reply to these questions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord_Iurus Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Apologies if it's been answered before (this is a fairly long thread and I'm tight on time), but how will these changes influence obtaining new reputation with Cartel vendors? For instance, I am saving up to buy an Explorer's Hypercrate from either GTN or CM in order to get enough reputation for the HK customization, and I don't think I'm going to do so before October 20 unless I completely blow off all my classes. Does this mean it is very likely that I will never, ever, ever have the option to purchase items from the Esstran Exports vendor that I do not already have the reputation for? Or will these become available in some other way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eartharioch Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 From the previous dev responses, it look like: o Reputation vendors will remain o Previous packs that had rep items / certs will continue to do so o New shipments will not have vendors, rep, or certs (new packs will have two items -- the Rare/Super-rare and a Companion Gift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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