maybe the dev’s could build in a spend limit to protect the weak
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This is a good thread , it looks like there’s a lot of people that want to throw money at the game but are limited to options of what to buy, it’s hard to spend alot on a game with basically only one item to purchase (plots), should open up the options and take the money while people want to throw money on the game imo, no need to reinvent the wheel, just copy what works in other games and apply it towards this one, instead of saying purchase use the word donation and depending on the size of donation get x amount of reward, so the pay2win players can’t complain, that’s how we did it on Ultima online on private servers. And it worked
Anything that labels is considered derogatory nomenclature these days…it literally only depends on your tone of voice
Call them hobbyists…wow. that slideshow was a terrible justification for not calling a big spender a whale.
In fact it didn’t go over how most p2w games restrict your ability to earn items and provide a monetary way to earn more. Even if there was no restriction the gap stays the same between the playerbase
It quotes pvp as the biggest driver for spending - which is the most blatant use of driving a sale up by using competitive nature of People against each other.
Then she quotes herself as a big spender in ice skating…seriously nobody cares how anyone spends their own money. It’s how providing the opportunity to spend money in a game for major QOL improvements and items you can’t get otherwise creates a major gap in non spenders and spenders ability to compete.
Like I can’t even believe that her justification is gaming is a hobby that you should be allowed to spend your extra money to improve your skills and not be labeled “negatively” for spending a lot of money on. Seriously, if my brother went and spent $50k on football equipment, played for a little while then quit, i would see it as the same kind of waste if it was in a video game. At least in a video game he would have gotten an advantage, and that’s what people complain about.
If I bought a hand me down set of decent skates and someone else bought a brand new top of the line set of skates, the skill comes down to who is the better skater. If I could buy a set of skates that made me do a perfect figure 8 and not get tired then the person with normal skates would be seriously disadvantaged unless they also bought the skates I bought. My skates would be banned by the official skating league if I wanted to be competitive as they don’t promote skill, they promote “cheating”, and rewarding “cheating” over hard work is a great way to create big 'ol societal gaps
These things happen though and there’s no stopping them. Trying to change words changes nothing. People will always have a derogatory version of a descriptor.
I use the phrase “as hell” in my conversations with friends, and someone would probably be pissed at me if I described something in a positive light using hell as a positive emphasis on what I’m labelling
An example would be “This food is bomb as hell” to describe a delicious dish of fine cuisine. This would be seen as a derogatory remark because it is a nonsensical and disgraceful use of the English language to someone, while my friends would wildly agree with my statement.
I could then say “this food is as terrible as hell” and it would be seen as a much more universally acceptable use of my words.
/Rant
The Tl;Dr of this is that slideshow was the least compelling set of images I’ve ever read to change a word or justify spending money in a game when it provides “skill” boosts
It sure is nice to see who spends money and how to Target them though
The dynamic of F2P games can be skewed in a couple of ways. Let’s look at two games from the same studio as examples:
First, Star Trek Online. While there are definite benefits to putting money into the game, it is indeed entirely possible to have fun playing without a big spend. You will probably drop a few bucks here and there but no major spend and you’re still going to get a ton of enjoyment out of your experience. On the other hand, spending money does allow many to have fun in different ways. Different ships, with some advantages but not many in the overall scheme of things; different costumes; earlier access to loot that drops in lockboxes, etc. The good news is that these items eventually do end up on the in-game auction house and can be bought for the in-game currency (which takes some grinding but not an insane amount). Also, once you unlock a ship or other major purchase, ALL characters on your account that could possibly use it can claim that item for free. Some items like clothing don’t follow that rule, but they’re the exception. Finally, while their Zen currency can be converted into dilithium (a secondary currency) it cannot be directly converted into Energy Credits (the main game currency). This keeps inflation to a reasonable minimum.
So, while you can do more if you invest real-world money, you can still have a whole lot of fun without doing it. I personally do spend - probably more than I should - because I want to keep the game going and I am fortunate to be able to afford it. Most who spend larger amounts in STO would echo that statement.
Now, conversely, let’s look at Neverwinter. Want to do more than a couple of dungeons a day? Pay them for dungeon keys. Want to get any decent loot? Pay them for lockbox keys. Want to stand a chance of actually hitting the leaderboards? You’re gonna need better gear and better companions so… pay them by buying these items in the cash shop. While many items end up in the auction house, prices are insane because you can directly convert the real-world currency item into the primary in-game trading currency. Also, if you happen to accidentally equip an item (easy to do on consoles) then it becomes bound and you can’t sell it. None of the direct-buy merchandise in their cash-store equivalent are tradable except between characters on the same account. Most aren’t even permitted that luxury. The rare exception is the Class Packs, which were claimable on every character but have now been discontinued - and I suspect I know why.
Here, as well, it’s possible to play without paying, but nowhere near as much fun as STO is at the free level; with a massive grind and insane time-sink required to do it.
Both games, however, are doing quite well. This is mainly because their tied to a massive Intellectual Property set (Star Trek and Dungeons and Dragons) that will always attract paying customers. But there is much less complaining about “Pay to Win” in STO than there is in Neverwinter. Unless either stops making money, there’s no reason for them to change either game.
“Whales” in STO pay because they want the prestige of the items or (more often) because they’re supporting the game platform. I have not seen any numbers, but I’d say that it’s closer to their top 10% providing 75% of the revenue. They have advantages, but none that are significant compared to a solid player who knows ship builds and is part of a Fleet (which gives them more powerful ships and items as part of the game mechanics). "Whales in Neverwinter spend an ungodly amount of money, and the top 1% probably does make up 75% of the revenue - because they want to be the best and have the best gear and they know it’s not available any other way.
Boundless could go either way. My hope is that they’ll take the STO path. Slightly better stuff (especially cosmetics) if you hand over a larger amount of money, but nothing that breaks the game for those who cannot afford to cough up tons of cash.
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I really just want more stuff to buy in Boundless… more options. If buying a cosmetic allowed all your characters to equip it, I’d buy them all. If gleam club offered more than emojis and colored text I’d be a member. If there were decorative items you had to buy the recipe for I’d probably get most of them. Not complaining at all, but this is how to get more money from me.
Could leave cubit cosmetics as is but if you pay actual money for a cosmetic all 10 chars can wear it.
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