Subscriptions
Thu, 10/14/2010 - 00:44
Forgive me for not being quite familiar enough with everything yet to know if this suggestion is DOA.
Will there be subscriptions?
Are the problems with a hybrid Y!PP ocean the same here too? Unlike Y!PP it seems big items here get binded to you, preventing people from evading doubloon (energy?) fees by having subscribers buy stuff for them.
Sat, 10/16/2010 - 05:14
#2
I like the option of being
I like the option of being able to both buy energy with real money and with crowns.
Most people will probably get their daily energy from buying it with crowns down the line.
Or maybe even just trading items for energy.
Tue, 10/26/2010 - 11:03
#3
Oh hey, just reviving an old
Oh hey, just reviving an old thread, don't mind me.
Call me old fashioned, but I prefer subscriptions. If there were an optional subscription fee, I'd go with that. I like the idea of subscribing and having money removed from my bank account every month without having to think about it. I'm sure I'd still buy a little extra energy here and there, but ultimately I don't like the micro-transaction Facebook model that's become so popular.
Tue, 10/26/2010 - 12:29
#4
I liked the idea of having a
I liked the idea of having a gate pass that gives you unlimited elevator rides that's purchasable with real money. Additional energy can then be purchased as needed. Perhaps there could also be a reoccurring energy purchasing option where you buy X energy on the first of every month automatically. That along with the gate pass could give folks the feeling of a subscription while still embracing the micro-payment system. It also gives parents a way to buy their kid energy on a limited basis and not have to be bothered with it each month.
Tue, 10/26/2010 - 19:02
#5
As a subscription fan I have
As a subscription fan I have to tell you that recurring energy purchases, do not give a subscription feel. I don't want to worry about how much energy I'm spending. I don't want micro-payments, I just want to pay and play.
I understand that certain things would have to be tweaked for subscribers:
- Crafted items would have to bind to them immediately. They can either pay energy up front to make it not bind, or if it has no heat allocated to it yet, unbind it after the fact.
- Resurrections would need a hard cap for subscribers. Or have their res cost cap at 25 or something and have them take it from their normal mist energy.
- Somehow prevent subscribers from helping non-subscribers avoid the guild creation energy fee.
- Energy gates still require energy.
- Mayyyyybe up a subscriber's mist energy cap a little bit.
I think it's very feasible.
Tue, 10/26/2010 - 19:59
#6
Selling energy makes more
Selling energy makes more money and is a better deal... Nuff said xP
I'm not going to get into the specifics though cause I'm lazy...
EDIT: Okay let me finish this xD
So 1 month subscriptions go by days passed, not by hours spent playing... SOOOOOoo... Something happens, you have not payed your bills, computer crashes, have to go somewhere for a week because of a family issue, working overtime, huge project at school, you get banned.... You can't get back the days lost because of inconveniences, energy never departs your energy bank unless you spend it or something... So if something happens, your energy will always be there... UNLESS you get hacked...
Wed, 10/27/2010 - 08:14
#7
You're completely
You're completely incorrect.
Buying energy is not a better deal unless subscriptions are severely over-priced. Look at Puzzle Pirates. I can pay $50 to play for a year. That's with the long-term customer bonus. Let's say I didn't have that. It would cost $75 for a year. For that, I get to play whenever I want and do whatever I want.
Now, I tried Puzzle Pirates' micro-currency model (doubloon oceans) too. I was driven off of it in a month because the costs would be astronomical. To play how I want, and not have to worry about penny pinching doubloons, I'd have to pay several times as much.
Based on Puzzle Pirates, micro-currency models tend to promote a situation where you have a few rich people buying a ton of tokens (energy, doubloons, whatever), and a ton of people who refuse to spend money on a game they play, and instead want to waste their time accumulating in-game currency to trade for tokens.
I'm neither of those people. I can spend a reasonable amount of money on the game. I can't spend a fortune on it. And I do not want to waste my time grinding crowns to trade for energy. A subscription would be best for me.
Wed, 10/27/2010 - 12:13
#8
I too would be much happier
I too would be much happier being able to buy a subscription. I feel like I alternate wildly between economizing my energy and blowing it like mad.
Wed, 10/27/2010 - 15:22
#9
fwiw i'd prefer to see either
fwiw i'd prefer to see either MUCH reduced energy costs in the final product OR a subscription model, I feel like I'm paying WAY too much for energy versus what i get out of it on the other side, and I'm not even thinking about rez costs
i do foresee ooo using both payment models for the final release, like puzzle pirates.
Thu, 10/28/2010 - 18:07
#10
YPP's balance was off because
YPP's balance was off because of a few kinds of items -- ships, furniture, housing.
The idea of pay-as-you-go isn't a bad one. You can easily balance things so that the typical player is spending between $10 and $15 per month. And, you can have a free area (which is what mist energy sounds like).
YPP failed because some things -- ships -- were made expensive based on "infinite life, shared usage", and then lots of sinking areas were added -- ruining the "infinite life" assumption. (Not to mention Crimson, which ruined the shared usage assumption).
Don't have large up-front costs like that, or housing?
Make furniture costs (or the equivalent) reasonable, based on people buying lots of them?
Then it can work.
I like the "pay as you go option", personally :)