Is anyone keeping up with steam charts? Lethal Company is still near the top and its developed by 1 person. I mean its a shame that CCP has turned into a bureaucracy and they prioritize that by raising the price and sell out the IP in order to keep 200 people employed instead of making some changes that allow for a lower subscription price or even make the game 100% free to play and still be able to make money and improve the game. Sad
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I think multiple levels of subscription would be a bit silly. However, I could see individual “beta access” microtransactions in a similar way that Elder Scrolls Online works. Basically, every ship, module, skill, item, etc. would have a “beta activation price” attached to it for permanent unlock even while playing as Alpha status. Example:
Beta access skill unlocks cost a one time purchase of $10 * the skill training time multiplier. The amount is divided by the number of levels being unlocked if being used to fully unlock a partial-alpha skill. Unlocking a skill only makes it available for training and injection, and does not immediately grant any skill points:
- Amarr Battleship V - Unlock for $16 ($10 times 8 training time multiplier, divided by 5 because you only unlock 1 out of 5 ranks).
- Heavy Assault Cruisers - Unlock for $60 for skill and unlock spaceship command V for an additional $2.
Ship unlocks cost a flat amount per ship based on the ship category, probably doubling in price per size category ($10 for a small hull, $20 for a medium hull, $40 for a large hull, $80 for a capital hull):
- retribution - Unlock for $10 for the hull and assault frigate skill unlock for an additional $40. Once assault frigate skill is unlocked, additional assault frigates can be unlocked for the standard $10 price.
- Erebus - Unlock for $80 for the hull, $160 for Gallente Titan, $140 for Jump Portal Generation, $50 for Jump Drive Operation, $2 for Science V, $2 for Navigation V, $4 for Warp Drive Operation IV & V, $12 for Astrometrics IV & V, $4 for Leadership IV & V, $140 for Capital Ships, $50 for Advanced Spaceship Command.
Total cost to permanently unlock Erebus for Alpha flight, assuming the account already has or can earn the required skill points: $644 (other titans would then simply cost the required empire titan skill book and hull price, ie $240 each)
Module unlock costs would likely just be attached to the skill requirement unlock to use them, since charging per module/ammo type would probably seem like a bit too much. If you did go this route, though, perhaps something like $1 per small module/charge, $2 per medium module/charge, $3 per large module/charge, $5 per capital module/charge.
Level 4 missions and similar omega content should probably stay omega only in order to mitigate potential inflation, since the long term effects of Beta access unlocking level 4 missions would be a permanent massive increase to ISK earning potential.
I think this method (while it may seem predatory to some) would greatly encourage Alpha players who don’t like the idea of “renting” access to omega items and losing access later, but are OK with the idea of permanently buying access to certain things. It could also potentially save money for long-term players that only ever fly a certain ship and are willing to inject a large sum of money immediately in order to save money a few years from now by going Alpha status, and all of these unlock prices could also be paid by using the equivalent amount of PLEX instead of standard purchase costs, enabling Alpha players to eventually be able to earn access to all of these things through standard gameplay without ever spending a dime (while I’m sure PLEX sellers would be delighted).
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You can have shitty monetization but if game is good people will put up with it. I dont think you can have good monetization and a bad game, that wont work? But EVE online is reaching a point where the game is bad and the monetization model is bad tho. The trifecta-1
Not a fan of a per $ price for unlocking certain types of ship hulls. $ will end up being PLEX and then it will end up being abused by veterans.
PLEX seller are keeping the servers online.
Yes, but if you can buy the hulls for PLEX (and not $) - it will just be abused by anyone that has tons of ISK.
If you have a ton of isk… why wouldn’t you just buy the hulls with isk rather than PLEX?
Oh… nvm… I see what you’re saying.
Technically CCP, makes more money off of PLEX than equivalent direct sales. So it could be the same for the ship unlocks. Which of course would make PLEX prices shoot through the roof.
Exactly. Ships would need to be purchasable as a “pack” for actual doggie dollars - otherwise we’d see the price of PLEX go through the roof.
Yeah, I don’t know how that would play out exactly.
With PLEX, you’d get a big influx of demand, but you might see demand taper off as people unlock their chosen ships and skills. Also, as mentioned earlier in the thread, the higher the sale price, the more potential sellers are incentivized to sell PLEX for isk.
You can always re-sell the ships in-game for ISK (or on contract for ISK or PLEX).
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you’re making the same mistake I made when I responded to you before.
Zeokran’s suggestion was about unlocking Omega ships and skills for your Alpha account (at least that’s how I understood it) by way of a one time PLEX or direct sale.
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Probably, lol. I’m not sure how a one-time unlock for ships and/or skills would work for Alphas. Unless these were entirely different ships from those in-game I suspect it would be more problematic implementing than it would be worth.
Yeah, there are a lot of variables that go into it… and I think it would be more difficult to project the impact than a simple intermediary subscription level.
The other aspect of it, is if you do unlocks… you’re kind of stuck with that… unless you give refunds. Where as with the op’s original concept, you can always just discontinue the clone state.
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