As would I. Ive bought two copies myself, and gleam club and money on cubits once…
I myself wouldnt mind the change to f2p. It’s not me im concerned about in this case. Its the other people who may have just purchased or parents who purchased it that im thinking of. IF this were to change to f2p the number of poor reviews would probably be a bit worse than what we have now. For clarity this is mere speculation, but I’ve got more 15 years dealing with consumers and i kind of understand their mindset.
Edit: Is this the same thread? I feel like ive been waaaay off topic… sorry about that…
From the start I have loved the game’s concept and art style. I still feel the same.
I did not like that I just paid full retail price for a game then, during the tutorial, was instructed to open what looked to be a loot crate. “Here we go again.” After playing and seeing that the crates contained predetermined quantities of cubits per level I did not mind the system as much. I am still disappointed that plots are purchasable - but leveling for plots is enough to get by without spending IRL $.
There are mentally unwell people living in the streets, raisins in cookies, and murderers in our neighborhoods.This is terrible logic to justify anything’s existence. Just because something is, doesn’t mean it has to be. Plenty of games do not have micro-transactions in any way, shape, or form. They survive based on the quality of their game and sticker price alone.
What is the purpose of the crates / why not remove the crates and give us the cubits and xp as we receive it? I am 550 hours into this game and still do not understand the need for crates.
Firstly to give my definition of terms.
Lootbox - Implies RNG (gambling). May or may not get what you want.
Store - Stuff for currency. Always get what you want.
P2W - Provides in game advantage, purchasable with out of game resources.
Cosmetics - Esthetic only, provide no in game advantage.
Micros in order of least to most acceptable in my opinion:
Lootbox, P2W - These are damaging to game integrity. Lootboxes are gambling and gambling does not belong in video games. They never should have came into existence.
Store, P2W - These are scummy and do not belong in video games. If you suck at a game, you should not be able to steal a seat on the high-scores from a person that earned it just because you have a fat wallet. But hey, at least you always get what you pay for.
Lootbox; Cosmetics - If you are of legal age to gamble in your region, I am personally okay with the micros from this point down. Cosmetics allow you to express yourself while supporting the game. They require minimal dev time and can be pumped out quickly/cheaply.
Store, Cosmetics - I like these micros in my video games. I understand the growing costs associated with running a company. These do not alter game integrity while allowing a revenue path to support the games you love.
The current micro-transactions function as a Cosmetic and P2W Store. You pick what you get - so its a store. You can gain advantage - so its P2W. Paying for plots lets the wealthy dominate the map if they so choose to. Gleam club nullifies regeneration risks - in the long run netting higher prestige.
These are game changing advantages that are purchased with out of game wealth. Does it make the game unplayable as a F2P character? Not in the slightest. But paying does provide an advantage.
I’m glad you kept playing, my fear is that most people stop there, as seen by steam reviews.
I totally agree, though depending on the business model it can be acceptable. Also, raisin cookies and pineapple pizza is good.
No crates are needed at all, but I’m trying to meet the devs halfway and say, “Hey, at least remove the loot boxy animations.” Baby steps, yanno?
I agree.
I feel like what they need to do is make cubits tradable and then players can sell things for cubits to buy plots and such with, rather than waiting to level up or spend money, it would add a second layer to the economy I feel, kinda like how Warframe does it.
I disagree… coming from a P2W game where the RPG in the loot boxes was worse than a cheap casino on the Vegas Strip… the boxes in this game are not random…
Leave the boxes alone. It makes you feel like you earned something… but it’s not a roll of random.
But why do you need a box to feel like you earned something? For many many years all was well with just, “Congratulations! You levelled up! Here’s 100c and 2 skill points” or “Congratulations you’ve completed the quest! Here’s 100c and 2 skill points!” I feel more when i see the notification that i did x thing, like levelling up, than when i open the box, and most of the time i forget about the box until “Wait didnt i level? Wheres my 2 skill points? Ohhhhhh yeahhhh i should go and open the box(es)”
I’ve put right around 1000 PC hours in this game and still forget to open my Umbris level coffers or whatever they’re called.
I came back after the 1.0 launch to see what the game is like now, one of the first things the objectives told me was to open that exchange box. I almost uninstalled the game because of that, it was so close in representation to other games that have actual lootboxes in them I thought I don’t want to touch this again.
So I agree, the representation can give a bad first impression and would like to see this changed a bit.
Ditto @majorvex I too play/played games with lootboxes and participated in them. However there is a rhibg to be said for the appearence of such things even when it isn’t there. I do like the little box shaking animation, makes me smile.
Exactly this. There are not many fully priced, unfinished, games monetizing this broadly. It is more common for games to flesh out most aspects of the game then start monetization.
Everyone knows the Minecraft story…
Rocket league for a more niche example… the sticker price has always been lower than average, going on sale often. They added a cosmetics store and cosmetics lootbox system to a fully functioning game.
Years after release they came out with a season pass that provides cosmetics. It costs $10 in keys(their cubits) however you get back the keys you spent unlocking it from leveling up/playing. So if you play enough, it’s a 1 time fee of about $10 and future season are unlock from playing consistently. You could trade crates/items for keys but in the end somebody else spent the IRL$ on the game.
I am 550 hours into the game. I still do not have enough plots to build an aesthetically pleasing base large enough for sorted storage and the required machines. I have a plethora of blocks to place, but nowhere to put them. I cannot gain prestige at my base without building some random cube of ■■■■. If I tossed a few hundred dollars at the game I could start building immediately. Which leads to prestige and ultimately footfall. Buyable plots is 100% a P2W feature.
Edit: it is news to me that the word for that starts with a c is a bad word
Yeah, my poor freedom of speech feels all py, now.
Pay to win is a bit too much, sure. But you’re totally paying to get something which is not cosmetic, hergo, it does fall into the category of a P2W.
The only reason I’m not 100% sure about it is that there would be a risk to start seeing far less big updates like the farming one, and just more content added to the store. That wouldn’t be the best for the game or the community.
When I was really young, I used to buy packs of baseball cards. Even a full box of packs of baseball cards from time to time. As I got a bit older, my money was dumped on penny candies and magic the gathering cards and boxes.
At eight years old, I spent money on a bright package, or a shiny box, that I had no idea what was in there…till after it, or everything was opened…
(Yes, its purposely written to be open to various topics in this post)
It could be bad or it could be good and the same argument could be made now. A lot of ppl see the initial cost and won’t even start playing. If there was some sort of demo lush one planet they could play for a bit or something, it might be different. A lot of large, healthy MMOs let you play to a certain level for free - you get hooked, then you buy in to access the rest - or you don’t and you continue to play for free. That’s why they do so well and have tons of players.
But there are infinite planets & plots. How does one dominate infinity?
Uh. That’s a pretty cool idea. Like how WoW let’s you play to level 20… maybe like a server with a set number of T1>T3 worlds made only for F2P players, and they can’t cross portals/warp leading out of that F2P server unless they pay for the game. They couldn’t either trade with players or join guilds.
No and no. There are 50(?) planets right now that are 576 plots by 576 plots. Large does not equal infinite. I meant prime spots on new planets can be quickly gobbled up by people who purchase plots.
Yes 331,776 plots is an exorbitant amount of plots but is there a limit to how many plots you can buy? If we get some billionaire up in here they could buy all of the free spots on planets .
I’m sure someone would do it at some point lol They’ll make the front page of Kotaku or something
The devs have said the system will keep popping out new planets as the others are filled up. So yes, infinite.
that starts with a c is a bad word 
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