I was browsing through PC Gamer website and read up on an article they got, saw the Spiral Knights screenshot and was like, heyyy....i remember that game.
as ex-forumer, i have an obligation to alert! Spiral Alert Spiral Alert!
Spiral Knight in PC Gamer article about Transactions
Sat, 10/04/2014 - 18:16
Sun, 10/05/2014 - 02:23
#2
gods ain't gonna help you, son.
note: the article shows exaclty 1 screenshot of the game and does not mention its name. also, the screenshot is attached to a paragraph on how energy system restrictions are bad, while the game has been out of that for more than a year.
Sun, 10/05/2014 - 06:41
#3
right
And the article was published in November 2013, four months after energy restrictions were removed.
The article is not especially well-written or insightful, so I don't recommend it. But it does survey a bunch of micro-transaction strategies used by games nowadays. It discusses whether each one is friendly to players and ethically sound.
Spiral Knights uses a few of these strategies, including selling cosmetic accessories (player-friendly and ethical) and gambling (pretty dubious).
Mon, 10/06/2014 - 13:11
#4
/disagree
SK is 1 of the very few games that:
1. Allows unlimited playing without having to wait for energy/power/whatever to recharge and
2. Allows buying the special resource for the normal in-game resource.
So SK is in my opinion one of the most fun F2P games when it comes to freemium stuff.
Mon, 10/06/2014 - 15:13
#5
IMO SK has one of the best F2P systems you can have, but there are 2 big problems:
-Radiants
and
-Mixmaster
Radiants don't really have a place atm; they make it overly awkward to advance for F2P players, which would normally be a sign of P2W/Pay-to-advance-much-faster, but instead it's just as awkward for P2Pers. And Mixmaster is the only truly unique weapon that is pay-gated, since OCH became CE-purchaseable.
Tue, 10/07/2014 - 06:42
#6
F2P
1 single weapon that cannot be obtained without paying is not such a problem, in a lot of games almost every item has to be paid for. There is probably no one who has got every single weapon.
And the radiants are not really required to advance, since 5* equipment cannot be upcrafted any further, and although doing so provides a nice extra bonus, it's easily possible to beat everything with un-heated 5* equipment or even with 4*. Glowing and shining crystals are technically required to advance, but they are not such as rare.
The only things that are both hard to find, expensive AND required to advance are orbs. However, it's absolutely necessary to make sure there is still a good use for energy, since else nobody would buy it and then the supply depot would "run out of stock".
Tue, 10/07/2014 - 08:03
#7
but the point
I agree that Overcharged Mixmaster's exclusivity is not a disaster for the game. But I think that a lot of players are worried that it is just the first step toward a game with lots of exclusive content.
Tue, 10/07/2014 - 08:08
#8
It chills my lightless heart.
lets not forget about the celestial blade, although this one barely offers anything new its still better than its standard version.
Tue, 10/07/2014 - 08:19
#9
right
Right. Celestial Blade is also worrisome. Stun on roughly 25% of charges is not a joke. And while we're at it, there's also Power Mitt (and Celestial Shield?). They may not be as powerful as Overcharged Mixmaster, but they suggest a worrisome trend.
Ha ha ha energy bar restrictions ha ha ha.
I would love to start an immense discussion on the goods and bads of it, but I'm too lazy.