I’m a new player, although I’ve trialed the game many times, I’ve found it very odd that players can use Battleships at Alpha level and yet comparably in every other area their abilities are hamstrung.
And then I was told this was a recent change, and previously, Alphas could only fly Frigates? I fail to see how changing this limit would affect new players opinions of the game. After flying frigates and doing level 1 security missions and combat anomalies, I have a pretty good idea how Lvl 4 security missions and combat anomalies are going to be. After flying my Venture I had a pretty good idea how mining works. Do I need an Alpha flying an Orca to figure it out? No.
I just have no idea why’d they’d make that change. And then I was told this CSM player group was largely to thank for it? Who was asking for it? Why? Do the CSM represent the playerbase at large? Or some sort of special interest group? That change is so bizzare and uneccessary it makes no sense to me as a new player that this idea is supposedly for.
Blockquote Being an Alpha is often described more like an infinite trial period than a true free experience, and our data seems to back that up. New players decide if the game is right for them very quickly, then either leave or subscribe rather than playing as an Alpha long term. Of course, more Omegas is fantastic but we think many of the players who leave might be willing to stay around if subscription didn’t feel like a requirement.
So from what I’m reading they just want more people just flying around doing PVE content than actually paying? Is it just for optics?
Basically, they are limiting Alphas to being consumers.
The industry and mining ability of alphas is frankly crap. So they can’t do all that much to contribute to the “supply” side of anything in the eve economy. They can buy things though. Ships and fittings for running missions, doing faction warfare or other PvP. That creates demand for Omegas who can do industry to fill.
It also gives them a goal to hang around longer for (Fly that shiny battleship). We’ll see if it leads to more subs or not.
All the reasons. Actually alphas always wanted to make use of their skills they aquired as omega, or have possibility to cross train to different faction for various reasons. Also trial was always in this spirit that you could train every faction, and previous alpha skillset diminished options.
Think of any PvP centric game… How fun is Call of Duty when you can’t find a match? How many parts of DUST were limited because there simply weren’t enough active people choosing to play that match type. Go load up the original HALO and see if you can find a good match.
PvP games need people. You need warm bodies out there to make conflict. A fleet of alphas may be just alphas but to 2 omega cruisers it’s a challenge. Alpha clones are there to help fill the universe.
Best example I can think of… I play a game on my phone War Robots. During an event, I won a top of the line bot and the equipment for it. I spent money and I wondered why the developer would make this possible. The reason… They want me in the game even if I am not paying because I provide content to those who do pay. And by giving me better equipment, I can be content for higher teired players.
First there was a 14-day trial, then there was an unlimited trial, but CCP realized there were ways to make money other than just a subscription. EvE used to be a subscription game, now it is a F2P game with a subscription option. But it also has other ways you can pay (injectors, SKINs, PLEX for ISK) and so the idea is to make Alpha fully playable, so that Alphas can spend small amounts of cash on those things instead of felling like a subscription is the only option.
Also consider that alpha players are not always new players. Letting returning players have access to more of thier SP is a nice carrot. Many returning players still have social ties to the game. Even for those players whose friends are no longer here, the experience and SP edge they have over brand new players can allow them to integrate more efficiently into the (you guessed it) social side of the game. CCP’s data show that being active in the social aspects of the game is the prime predictor of subscribing to EVE.
Alpha isnt just about giving new players more time to get a feel for the game.
Second, because BS take more investment in time and ultimately money.
The more time a player is on, alpha or not, the more ‘content’ for all. The more ISK and resources are burned up, which equals scarcity… scarcity makes costs rise. rising costs = players more likely to buy PLEX with IRL $$$ or spend more time online doing bounties or mining which equals more content…