Discussion: PAX- Seattle Aug 29-31st
By
4_Thirty_5,
Posted on: 2008-04-25 17:46 in News, Events and Announcement Discussion
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You know? I'd like to know if these things are ever going to be available to those of us who are barely able to afford to keep our accounts online.
I know I'm going to sound like I'm whining, but I'm on a fixed income, and honestly, I can't afford to go to Germany to pick up a pass to give me this.
Is there EVER going to be a "costume parts collection" expansion pack? Cause it gets a bit on my nerves when I see things that could be available to all, or unlocked through actualy gameplay be made available because you were able to flaunt your ability to pay for a ticket.
I am going to get SO flamed on this.....
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The answer is simple, and very easy to implement. The Devs create a single, quick Halloween mission similar to the Christmas mission, and the first time you complete it you get to pick a single permanent costume power form the list of temporary ones that are available.
The Freakshow boss and PPD Hardsuit aren't on the list, cos that might be unfair to the convention people.
Everyone happy. The End. 
The Widow's Dark Hand - leader of Faux Pas
Champion Server
Tee Hee!
I'm still disappointed that there's absolutely no way, at all, ever for me to have access to this power. I'm not arguing or complaining, just expressing disappointment. 
(To be clear, I realize there are permanent things that are difficult to obtain, or cost money. I spent the $10 each on the GvE pack and the Wedding pack. Gold titles are rare and hard to get, but at least there are contests every once in a while that allow people to try to get them. Making something available only to people who already live out on the west coast, or have the money to fly out there for a convention, does seem a little unfair. Oh well.)
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Alright, then how about for $9.95 make it so we can get ALL the Halloween costumes as permanent temp powers? They're allready in the game.
I have never liked in-game items being given as rewards. Maybe it's because I live in the midwest and will NEVER have any of the stuff, so Im just bitter, but when World of Warcraft does it every year, it annoys me because I can't afford to go to Blizzcon, I will never have a murloc pet, a murloc costume, or I think their new thing this year is a Polar Bear Mount.
So, give it away for free to the convention goers, sure... but let those of us willing to purchase it do so.
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Vehemently seconded. I'd pay. I don't even have the $10 to spare, but I'd pay. I can go without eating for a day! 
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Does this latest stunt really shock anybody...i13 late...Nerf City...now this.I tried to get mad,but now I just laugh and wait for the next one.
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QT
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Yeah, it's not going to change my gameplay that I can't get this, but it's annoying. I'm another Aussie and it's fairly clear that if you don't live in the States or mainland Europe then NCSoft doesn't consider you worth attention.
It's not like we pay the same amount for our gametime - oh wait, we do!
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As an Australian, just let me say to all those who go to the events and get the passes: enjoy them. Have fun at the events!
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As a NewZealander these things will always be out of my reach so its kinda a "meh" thing to me, but to those that get them, enjoy them and the events surrounding them.
Peace out
Unit 609-1231 mk VII lvl 50 Stalker claws/EA
BlazingWing lvl 50 Blaster Fire/Fire/Fire
Thanks NCsoft. I always enjoy knowing when someone else is getting more bang for their subscription dollars than I am.
While we're at it, are there any more "perks" you care to announce that 99.9% of your paying customers will not have access to?
Perhaps a new special power pool for everyone whose middle name starts with a "P" and whose birthday falls on August 14th?
That way, whenever they see someone else with the power in-game, they can think to themselves "oh-yeah, he's cool like I am".
What, have you guys been reading "How to rid yourself of unwanted subscribers" again?
No matter what you create for folks who come out, you'll annoy the people who can't. I'd have thought you'd have learned that lesson from veteran rewards already.
I don't think it would be so bad except that the ability to wear a hardsuit like that has been something that players have wanted for some time, and I suspect they feel it is unjust that only those people who can go to Seattle will be able to get it.
I would suggest not to limit it to Seattle, but to give it out at all conventions where you make an appearance for the next year or so. That will at least make it feel a little more fair, while still keeping the specialness of it in reserve for people who meet you live.
And in a couple of years, give it out as a vet reward.
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No matter what you create for folks who come out, you'll annoy the people who can't. I'd have thought you'd have learned that lesson from veteran rewards already.
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I understand the gripe about vet rewards, because it can alienate your newest subscribers, and that is NEVER a good idea.
But at least with vet rewards, there is a correlation between the reward and how long the player has been a COX customer. That makes sense to me, rewarding the customers who have been the most faithful to your brand (not to mention the players who have payed the most in subscription fees).
But this... this is the opposite of that.
It's the sort of thing they tell you NOT to do in Business 101, and everyone laughs because it seems so obvious. Wait a sec, you guys weren't bought out by Dunder Mifflin, were you? OH NOES, now all the developers are going to have to keep a straight face whenever the boss walks by!
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...the inherent "Dev Whim" feel of Bug Hunter?...
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Point of order - while they've never used the WORD whim, they have (basically) admitted it. Case in point - at the last minute in this last patch they snuck in a fix for an exploit I had reported when bases FIRST came out.
I made the mistake of joking about Bug Hunter in the post and the reaction I got was nothing short of hostile. But yea - Bug Hunter is another example of a BIMM: "BAD IDEA MADE MANIFEST"
-sigh- another thing I'll have to miss. I signed up for massively.com's freakshow contest, but they STILL have not announced the winner! Just hope this one has a costume contest online too.
You know what would solve this?
DEMO PACKS ... for sale to the organisers of Meet-and-Greet events. Some CoX-appropriate decorations, etc; some "in-game special" code cards; and so on. Better, a wide range of differing packs, allowing each M&G to tailor their giveaways (and resales) to the size and budget of their group.
NC^2 could sell these at break-even point (including shipping, packing, etc, etc), or even at a slight profit ... but still keep them very affordable to the fanbase.
The M&G organiser(s) could then either just hand the stuff out ... or take a collection ... or sell various components at a rate that'd cover their total costs (Demo Pack(s), gathering place, food/drink, etc). Or a combination of two or three of those things.
AND EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, WOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THE SAME SORT OF IN-GAME STUFF ... maybe not identical things, but the same SORT of stuff. East coast, west coast, Australia, Timbuktu ... everywhere ... everyone ... getting a fair chance.
PPD Suit. Want. WTF?
Announcements like this give me mixed feelings. I like the incentive for being involved in the community. But knowing these events are something I won't be able to go to does bring about some resentment.
Can this not be turned into another costume pack in the next couple of months? Rewarding those at the event with an early FREE costume pack is easier to accept, knowing I can still get it later for the usual costume pack price.
Besides... more money for development (and more importantly profit)
@Rylas
Kill 'em all. Let XP sort 'em out.
best solution I can think of:
- Make the halloween costume prizes occasionally give out a 13 hour use costume instead of a 13 day real time costume. Or if that's too much, a 1 hour 13 minute use (to stay with the numerical theme). Then everyone will have a costume or two if they want it but the people who go to the show can use it all the time/all characters, everyone else it's only per character/temporary - but usable year round if you save it.
Good idea?
I don't particularly have a problem with items like this being made available at conventions, but it really is frustrating that the places where these have been/will be available are all on the West Coast.
And, of course, we have "Hero-Con '08" coming up too. What kind of good stuff will be made available there?
I would hope that the CoH/NCNC/NCSoft folks would consider having a presence at:
New York ComicCon
Gen Con
Orlando MegaCon
I live in Massachusetts, and going to San Diego, Seattle, or Santa Clara would cost me a significant amount of money and time to attend any of these events.
It would be really nice to see the NCFolks in my time zone, or maybe just one away....
Covention specific exclusives are, IMO, a bad idea unless they end up being purchaseable a few months down the line.
Espcially when they're region locked convention exclusives, so say, Euro's playing on US accounts can't use them even if they go to the Euro convention.
#2409 - The Mystery of the MAGI vaults. Azuria has contacted you to help her stop the thefts from the MAGI vaults.
#68054 - Out of the gutters. Left for dead, you swore that you were through with being a victim (alt villain beginning story)
I'll be there. Unfortunately I'll be WORKING I'll be locked into the Wizards of the Coast booth answering questions about Dungeons and Dragons or Magic The Gathering.
Feel pity for me guys! Save a costume for me! I have a Policewoman Hero (Tetra Volt) on Liberty who would LOVE this costume!!
Oh for heavan's sake, it's a stupid costume. Does it make you character fly faster? Does it make a Blaster shoot farther? Does it make a Brutes muscles shinier? No
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Alright, then how about for $9.95 make it so we can get ALL the Halloween costumes as permanent temp powers? They're allready in the game.
I have never liked in-game items being given as rewards. Maybe it's because I live in the midwest and will NEVER have any of the stuff, so Im just bitter, but when World of Warcraft does it every year, it annoys me because I can't afford to go to Blizzcon, I will never have a murloc pet, a murloc costume, or I think their new thing this year is a Polar Bear Mount.
So, give it away for free to the convention goers, sure... but let those of us willing to purchase it do so.
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Vehemently seconded. I'd pay. I don't even have the $10 to spare, but I'd pay. I can go without eating for a day!
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I remember when the Wedding pack was released and Posi made a statement along the lines of we were able to get VEATs in i12 because of all the extra money that came in. They were initially coming with i13 (my Search Fu is weak. I don't feel like looking). I don't know how true that was but anywho, I don't think they see how much money they're losing out on. Then again...maybe they do?... There are plenty of people willing to pay YOU for the costume but instead you'd allow someone to sell something YOU gave them for FREE for a ridiculous amount of money. Sounds like bad business to me (if these items will never be available to everyone else who plays). Maybe you all are just trying to get people to come out to justify showing up at these events in the first place? Meh...
I'd pay for the costume.
Oh and that was QFT.
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I'll be there. Unfortunately I'll be WORKING I'll be locked into the Wizards of the Coast booth answering questions about Dungeons and Dragons or Magic The Gathering.
Feel pity for me guys! Save a costume for me! I have a Policewoman Hero (Tetra Volt) on Liberty who would LOVE this costume!!
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You know, it occurs to me that I don't have any cop or detective type heroes. Maybe I need one just for this costume. Runs off to create new alt...
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Thanks NCsoft. I always enjoy knowing when someone else is getting more bang for their subscription dollars than I am.
While we're at it, are there any more "perks" you care to announce that 99.9% of your paying customers will not have access to?
Perhaps a new special power pool for everyone whose middle name starts with a "P" and whose birthday falls on August 14th?
That way, whenever they see someone else with the power in-game, they can think to themselves "oh-yeah, he's cool like I am".
What, have you guys been reading "How to rid yourself of unwanted subscribers" again?
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This is exactly how I feel. You can argue all day long with whether or not it is justified, but in the end its how the customer feels that determines how a dollar is spent. Obviously not saying that there will be a mass exodus due to this, but eventually the straws add up to the camel so to speak.
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Oh for heavan's sake, it's a stupid costume. Does it make you character fly faster? Does it make a Blaster shoot farther? Does it make a Brutes muscles shinier? No, so quite %^&ching or stop playing.
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Thank god it doesn't. I don't like WoW.
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It is not a set of player costume pieces and it required very very little time to create as the PPD Hardsuit was already made and the power to change you into it was already made for the Halloween event.
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Ok. I'm fine with this then if it's a perm version of a temp power.
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In the end we wanted to create a special gift for those folks that come out to our booth and show us love.
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You get my love once a year with my annual subscription, every year since CoH went live.
Sheesh.
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Yeah, it's not going to change my gameplay that I can't get this, but it's annoying. I'm another Aussie and it's fairly clear that if you don't live in the States or mainland Europe then NCSoft doesn't consider you worth attention.
It's not like we pay the same amount for our gametime - oh wait, we do!
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As an Australian, just let me say to all those who go to the events and get the passes: enjoy them. Have fun at the events!