Spiral Knights - Crystal energy prices tend to sky-rocket in high prices way too much.

Crystal energy prices tend to sky-rocket in high prices way too much.

18 replies [Last post]

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 07:53

Teringjantje

Yes, just ANOTHER crystal energy topic.

I always decide to buy crystal energy with crowns. Using real-life currency to buy 'em is out of the question, however the price with cash is always frozen.
If you buy 'em with crowns you're guaranteed to have switching prices way too much - why is that?
Because players are greedy. That's why. A week ago you had to pay 5200 crowns, and it's nearly 6000 today. 800 crowns in a week is quite a difference.
What's even more ridiculous is that the price for cystal energy with real cash never changes, but crowns do.
I can sort of understand the model of players chosing the prices, but it really is just painstakingly annoying.

Just throwing this out there.

It's obvious the developers are open to suggestions, and I realise the mind of one person won't change much. I just think something has to be done, and more players seem to have a nick with this whole crystal energy system. I know the devs have to take a share (I'm ok with being able to pay real cash as an option to get energy quicker, TF2 does this very well too), which I don't mind.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 07:55

Shoebox

EVERYBODY SELLING ENERGY IS GREEDY FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

It's RIDICULOUS that people ask for IN-GAME currency generated from THIN AIR in exchange for stuff they PAID REAL MONEY FOR.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 08:00

Shoebox

. I would sell energy for

. I would sell energy for crowns any day of the week to get crowns quick just as easy

Says the guy who has never purchased Crystal Energy.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 08:03

Agrimony

^The only reason it has to be

^The only reason it has to be like this is because the devs designed the game to work that way. It is slightly ridiculous if you ask me. F2P completely relying on the P2P population is quite strange and, in the end, makes for a bad experience when playing. However, it's how they make their money, and because the system is working so well for them there's obviously not going to be a change.

F2P will always whine, which in turn makes P2P whine. It's an unappealing cycle and it's too bad a game such as this has to succumb to a marketing ploy.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 08:13

Shoebox

Only a very small portion of

Only a very small portion of entitled morons who think they should get everything for free whine.
This group of entitled morons considers everybody not willing to give them what they want for the price they want 'greedy and brand the game 'unfair'.

At which point, they usually threaten to never spend money on the game they were never intending on spending money on anyway, as a last ditch effort to annoy everybody in sight before handing over the cash and actually enjoying themselves.

Funny thing is, this business model actually works the opposite way you would expect to, because people are rewarded for playing the game in a way where they feel rewarded, without having to grind.
The only restriction is the amount of time they can play a day, which depends on their skill.

Which I consider much better than most free to play games, which are just trials of games that never actually get any better as you progress, but statistically cost you more money the more you continue buying into them.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 08:28

Kitten-Box

i demand free money

I keep seeing all these threads and I really have to wonder if it's so hard to get a checking account, keep a minimum balance on it and throw five dollars at Three Rings whenever you're feeling charitable.

The only "players" who have "a nick" with the market are ones who are impatient/don't know what a free to play game entails/failed econ in high school [or god forbid haven't taken it yet]/are generally not contributing members of society, and the market isn't going to bend to them now, or ever. Everyone else sees it for what it is: a necessity.

And also, the power surge weekend is the reason why OH HOLY MOTHER OF [expletive] CE IS GOING THROUGH THE ROOF SELL YOUR STOCK OH MY [expletive]. For every action, a reaction, friend.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 08:35

Agrimony

I would have to agree

The business model in reality only restricts T1 and T2 players as it seems. I've noticed an exponential-esque growth in the income I make as I receive more and more higher tier items. It's acceptable, but it creates unrest in the community, as you've stated. I've seen terrible F2P games and, in comparison, this game is a haven. Simply put, it's an alright model and it only indirectly sells power for cash.

There will be beggars and whiners even though F2P players STILL are able to get everything in the game though. It is this animosity of certain groups towards other certain groups which is the only noticeable con to the business model.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 08:35

Algol-Sixty

the power surge weekend is

the power surge weekend is the reason why OH HOLY MOTHER OF [expletive] CE IS GOING THROUGH THE ROOF

Except that most of the increase that the OP noticed occurred before the power surge weekend was even announced. I suspect that the vast majority of the exchange rate increase is due to the rose regalia offer expiring and people no longer buying way more CE than they need, just to get a costume.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 08:38

Kitten-Box

@algol

You know, I hadn't considered that fully. Thanks for bringing that up.

Welp, better buckle up, OP, things could get... ~400 crowns more expensive.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 09:46

Flash-Bang

I'm a F2P player and I've

I'm a F2P player and I've never had a problem with CE prices. Sure, it was 3k when I started, and it's doubled since then. Doesn't bother me much as it usually takes me a couple hours to spend my free mist energy each day, which is more than enough time spent playing on a normal day. It took a little time, but now I'm able to easily make 7-10k crown per my 100 ME each day (probably more if I cared to venture into T3 more often, but I'm still collecting jelly/bark), which enables me to purchase enough CE to keep my equipment upgrading constantly.

Sure, there's days I'd like to play a lot longer, but if you're a smart, safe player you can get a lot of play time out of your free energy. It's when you get stupid and die/revive constantly that makes CE a huge issue for most.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 09:50

#10

Darktuga

Does everyone like bitching

Does everyone like bitching about ce? really? Last WEEK you pay 5000 ce now this week you pay 6000, But last week you have to spend 10 ce per lvl this WEEK u have 5. If u think about it ur paying like 3000 CE to pay 10 lvls. So stop crying about ce

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 10:11

#11

Mejezfeld

Well... if anything the

Well...

if anything the economy here looks somewhat better than the last F2P MMO I remember playing (and I could tell it was poor from all the threads people wouldn't stop making about it and it was kind of blatantly obvious to anyone who was playing)...

Not dropping the name but if the CE scenario got worse and Paying players got EVEN MORE advantages over non-paying to the point that SK's "F2P" label becomes facetious... the only thing separating SK from that other game would be that in SK, you cannot play as a panda with an axe (not yet anyway).

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 10:16

#12

Thoranhippo

Ah "sky-rocketing" is trendy

Ah "sky-rocketing" is trendy again!!!!!!!!!!!

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 11:58

#13

Volebamus

I'm waiting when

I'm waiting when down-rocketing becomes cool again.

Much more likely than other things people wish for, like 70s fashion coming back.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 13:56

#14

Tarnrazar

Its been a problem for me

Its been a problem for me too

OFF TOPIC: how do i get an avatar?

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 14:52

#15

Bopp

I play for free, for multiple hours per day

In the past I have spent money on this game, but nowadays I am playing for free. I play for multiple hours each day, and am stockpiling crowns and energy, and slowly acquiring new items. I can't imagine what I could complain about. Three Rings has given me many hundreds of hours of entertainment for free. They owe me nothing, but have given me so much. Thank you, Three Rings!

Agrimony: "F2P completely relying on the P2P population is quite strange..."

No, it is the opposite of strange. If there were no P2P population, then the business would die.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 14:55

#16

Agrimony

I was referring to the nature

I was referring to the nature of the business model itself; not just a simple statement without understanding or retrospect to how the model works.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 15:25

#17

Bopp

Well, that's better

Agrimony: I'm glad to hear that you're living in reality. Your other posts reflect this, now that I read them more carefully. Sorry.

The worry is that F2Pers will be turned off the game, because they resent the P2Pers for advancing more rapidly? I wonder how much of a problem it really is. Upon closer inspection, only three people on this thread are actually complaining --- Teringjantje, Mejezfeld, and Tarnrazar --- and the latter two only half-heartedly. I'm done here. Ciao.

Sat, 09/24/2011 - 18:24

#18

Richy

What Buri/Shoebox said.

Search

Crystal energy prices tend to sky-rocket in high prices way too much.