Please Consider Other Super Science Power Ideas!

QR

While I agree that it would be better if it were given to us free, objecting to it because the price is "too much for some people to afford" is just ridiculous.

If you can afford to pay $180 per year to play the game, you can come up with $10.

If you can come up with the larger upfront amount to pay in advance, you can come up with $10.

If your parents (or someone else) are paying for your subscription, then just ask them if you may purchase this expansion when it comes out, for $10.

If they object, then ask them what you can do to earn the $10.

Or do something to come up with the money yourself. Take some old games you don't play to a game store. Take a bunch of old comics to the comic store. Rinse and save the cans and bottles from the soda/whatever you drink at home, and redeem them/recycle them. Collect the family newspapers for a couple months, and take them to a recycling center. Have a yard sale (if you're a kid, approach your parents, first, of course).

Nowadays, $10 just isn't that much.

Tripp is right.

Also, I'm far from swayed by the argument that this feature is so sought after that it shouldn't be in a booster. If anything, frequently requested features with absolutely no gameplay impact strike me as ideal booster contents. Presumably, you'll sell a lot of them because the feature is so popular, but you won't disadvantage the players that opt not to.

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I like CoH as much as the next person and will most likely buy the booster and the expansion, but if NCSoft is determined to charge us at every turn while providing less and less content for free then I think they run the risk of losing a lot of their market when other superhero MMOs begin to surface.

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Micro transactions have been verified as being in CO and probably DCUO (since it's SONY, and they LOVE MT), so it seems like this is the new way of the MMO market.

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Microtransactions have been here since the addition of the wedding pack. I have NO problem with that as most other people have no issue with it.

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I think they started with the GvE additions. It had some in game stuff that you could buy. DVD edition also had some stuff.

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Actually... didn't the CoH Pre-order version have a prestige sprint? Particle Slide, or whatever it was called?

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QR

While I agree that it would be better if it were given to us free, objecting to it because the price is "too much for some people to afford" is just ridiculous.

If you can afford to pay $180 per year to play the game, you can come up with $10.

If you can come up with the larger upfront amount to pay in advance, you can come up with $10.

If your parents (or someone else) are paying for your subscription, then just ask them if you may purchase this expansion when it comes out, for $10.

If they object, then ask them what you can do to earn the $10.

Or do something to come up with the money yourself. Take some old games you don't play to a game store. Take a bunch of old comics to the comic store. Rinse and save the cans and bottles from the soda/whatever you drink at home, and redeem them/recycle them. Collect the family newspapers for a couple months, and take them to a recycling center. Have a yard sale (if you're a kid, approach your parents, first, of course).

Nowadays, $10 just isn't that much.

[/ QUOTE ] this is true. 10 dollars is by no means a large ammount, that's not even 2 hours work at minimum wage. and if you need the money from your parents or something, earning it by doing some form of work is not bad or even hard.
And about getting mad that they are charging us for these, that's ridiculous. they don't HAVE to make these things at all, and they use the money they get from it to be able to afford other things for the game. they are first and foremost a business in a tricky economy and needs to be able to stay afloat.
if $10 from me can help that, I'll pay it gladly.

this should have been added years ago to the game... period...

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Actually... didn't the CoH Pre-order version have a prestige sprint? Particle Slide, or whatever it was called?

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There are five prestige sprints. Four were for the pre-order (depending on where you got the pre-order you received a different sprint.)

However, those were never sold as a part of ANY micro-transaction (they were a free part of the free pre-order).

Then there is Prestige Power Slide - which was part of the CoH DVD edition released after the initial launch - and they had a goodie pack for the extras. However, it is no longer for sale (wasn't available for long) because it included all the extras including a hero-clix figure of Capeless Statesman. So it wasn't a pure-digital thing like the Wedding pack forward.

$10 is not a micropayment. Buying 1000 credits for $10, and spending 200 credits for a respec, 10 credits for use of a mission teleporter temp power on demand, 5 credits per in-game email recipient, etc. -- that's a micropayment scheme. (Ah, if only the game weren't loaded with nonexchangeable currencies already!)

Also, Issue 15 plus this booster pack plus Going Rogue on the horizon, taken together, really tips the balance of extra-cost goodies to "free" (included) goodies. I know not many people are going to be spooked and/or annoyed and/or rationally critical of a rising dollar-per-goodie cost enough to slow their spending, either by taking a month off or passing on the booster pack or expansion, but I know at least one person is. Economics happens at the margin, and everyone has a different price point; price creep leaks sales a bit at a time, doesn't lose it all in a sudden flood.

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However, those were never sold as a part of ANY micro-transaction (they were a free part of the free pre-order).


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Still, a lot of people actually bought the stuff for the little extra goodie, even though it wasn't necessary.

It basically made them into "one month of play + some minor goodies" for 30ish$. When compared to the current boosters, they give a lot more for less.

Damn, I was hoping this would be thread complaining about how all the costume pieces are for scientists and none are for the scientists' experiments.

admittedly.. when you bought the pre-order or DVD editions of CoH or CoV.. you were buying the GAME.. the Hero PAck was like $5.. and it gave you a Cape and a Badge for in-game stuff..

I honestly don't get what has the panties in a twist of all the people complaining about the Booster packs. If you like what they offer.. buy 'em. Show your support for the game. Because sales of the Boosters only help the game in both the short term and long run. If you don't.. then don't buy it, no one is forcing you to buy it.

The discussion isn't really about buying or not buying. Most people in this thread stated they'd buy the pack no matter what, but they felt the scaling options were more appropiate for a general release instead of a super booster.

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The discussion isn't really about buying or not buying. Most people in this thread stated they'd buy the pack no matter what, but they felt the scaling options were more appropiate for a general release instead of a super booster.

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They were wrong.
Oh well!
Time to move on to the next entitlement whine.

How about "side switching should be free with I16 cuz everyone really wants it and how dare you charge for it!"

I agree that the sliding scale SHOULD be available to all, and I hope / suspect that the Science Booster may be included with purchase of the GOING ROGUE box set, just as the MA edition comes with either Magic or Cyborg. I didn't have to buy a new edition to the game to get the Mission Architect stuff; it was a free issue. The big changes are not charged for; the nice-to-have add-ons are all I've had to buy since starting. If I didn't have the money to buy boosters, I'd much rather miss out on things like mission teleporters and sliding scales than not be able to use the AE building or get access to the side-switching aspects of Praetorian's Earth.

QR
And I'll reiterate CO and DC are both giving this sort of slider/bodytype ability for free with their games.

Very interesting the only counter-arguments I'm hearing here are ad homs about whining and entitlement. How does keeping up with the competition strike you as an argument in favor of sliders for everyone? Pretty good one, I'd say.

WARNING: I bold names.

How about having global height/body type change available
to all at tailor, leaving the per-costume height/body type
change available as Science Booster Pack power?

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However, those were never sold as a part of ANY micro-transaction (they were a free part of the free pre-order).



[/ QUOTE ]Pretty sure they were. There was a pack you could buy that just cave the cape and sprints from the DVD edition of CoH. And they weren't a pre-order incentive, they came in the box.

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They were wrong.

[/ QUOTE ] Opinion, not fact. Just because you believe it, doesn't make it so. I think you are quite wrong. It is character customization and should be included with Issue 16, which seems to be all about customization. Instead we get bilked for more money.

The way things are going, all the good stuff will be extra charges it seems. I'm quite surprised that the power color customization wasn't held off for Going Rogue. Entitlement my [censored]. I'm not willing to give the Devs a free pass, as so many boot lickers do, just because I like this game. They've done a lot of cool stuff, but things seem to be heading down a road I'm not particularly fond of.

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QR
And I'll reiterate CO and DC are both giving this sort of slider/bodytype ability for free with their games.

Very interesting the only counter-arguments I'm hearing here are ad homs about whining and entitlement. How does keeping up with the competition strike you as an argument in favor of sliders for everyone? Pretty good one, I'd say.

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You have no clue what DCUO will offer other then what the early press hype has told you they're going to have.. as for Champions, I could really care less what they offer. Nothing about Champions has made me say "Wow.. I wanna play that!" So the argument that either of these games does something doesn't hold water.

Given how much free content the Devs have given people over the years.. expecting people to pay for a minor perk isn't to much to ask..

Actually, economics says it is too much to ask -- for every player who opts not to purchase the pack, or compares the pack to Issue 15 and decides that their $15 per month, still among the highest monthly subscription rates in the industry, isn't getting them enough new "free" content to continue subscribing.

Also, don't forget long-term effects of this business strategy. Some people like MMORPGs with clear haves and have-nots. Some people like MMORPGs where everyone is on more level ground. This business strategy changes City of Heroes to appeal more to one and less to the other than it has in the past.

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P.S. Shenanigans on NetherGoat for calling the players buying the pack and wanting to share part of it with everyone else "entitlement whiners".

One more time. If you have read what I said before, or other folks in the first 4-6 posts...then you probably don't want to read this again. Its the exact same thing.








I have no problem buying the super science booster pack. I had plans to purchase it before I ever knew what might be in it.

Why?

Because I love the costume parts in the ones before it and am addicted.


I, however, do not think that the Super Tailor feature is suitable as a temp. power that would be on par with the other two.

Self Destruction
Mission Teleporter


Super Tailor is more than a costume part, and more than a temp. power.

Super Tailor should be a basic game feature. Not something to be purchased. It is something that people have been asking for since early on in this game.

Make a post suggesting it, and you get the obligatory "This post/suggestion has been made numerous times" replies.


As far as the argument that we have gotten so much free content that we should just hand our money over to NcSoft without so much as a complaint is ludicrous.

While CoX is great for their free content, they make their money too. ex: City of Villains, Going Rogue, boosters, char. slots, etc.

There is nothing wrong with that, I would not have bought every one of them if it were wrong.

But they are the ones that set the path, they trailblazed it. And putting the Super Tailor Feature in a booster pack and making people pay to have it is wrong.

Sorry. For you folks who have the

TLR syndrome let me sum it back up.

I will buy this booster pack.

The Super Tailor is a feature and not a temporary power.

I will buy this booster pack.

The Super Tailor (unlike Self Destruction & Mission Teleporter) is a change that people have wanted for some time and can be used to draw in more subs as an implemented game feature for all.

I will be buying the Super Science Booster pack.

If this were guild wars or some other free to play MMO, I could see charging for features such as this. But it is not free.




So....stop saying "$10 isn't much" "We have had so much for free just ante up"

It isn't about money.

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QR
And I'll reiterate CO and DC are both giving this sort of slider/bodytype ability for free with their games.

Very interesting the only counter-arguments I'm hearing here are ad homs about whining and entitlement. How does keeping up with the competition strike you as an argument in favor of sliders for everyone? Pretty good one, I'd say.

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Except CO devs have styated there WILL be 'micro-transactions' in Champions On-Line just like there are in CoX currently.

Now, while I too think that slider customization should be part of the basic game, obviously the Devs think differently, but ALSO given that CO won't be released until September (unleed they decide to more the date again); and that DCUO is still in ALPHA, it's a bit early to claim the competition iis 'offering more'. Hell, for all we know CO could charge real money for a respec; and until it's out we woon't know what comes with the game, and what you need to pay extra for.

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However, those were never sold as a part of ANY micro-transaction (they were a free part of the free pre-order).



[/ QUOTE ]Pretty sure they were. There was a pack you could buy that just cave the cape and sprints from the DVD edition of CoH. And they weren't a pre-order incentive, they came in the box.




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Um, No.

The Preorder CoH gave you prestige sprints, 1 of 4 depending on where you got them. You now get them all for free with the 12 month Vet rewards.

The CoH DVD gave you a translucent cape of the 4 winds and the Presige Power Slide along with a hero click and a mini comic (very funny) along with the game. They sold the plain brown box of stuff for those who had the game for $19. I got one. Then I purchased the DVD from e-bay for $60 for my nephew. Then Big Lots had a CoX sale, where I picked up enough CoH DVD for all of my and my friends accounts for $10 each. They promised never to give away the cape and the slide since people had to pay for it.

Pre CoV were free and came with 1 helmet of 4 depending on where you got it. The $5 you paid was taken off the CoV program when you picked it up at the same store. Best Buy sold them for 1 cent each after CoV was released. I got 2 and was disappointed that they were the same. I found 2 from different stores on e-bay. The shipping cost more than the box and code. They are given free with the 51 month Vet Award.

CoV DVD came with 7 click figures (unless you got a buggy box that only came with 6, usually missing Ghost widow), and a deck of the CoH CCG, and a Stateman's card that was less than usefull since it didn't come with the cards for his powers. In game you got an Aracnos Cape and insignia and Hmmm... Maybe the Stealth and Exproto outfits. They were so cheap at Amazon (17), everyone got one right away, that I forget. Again, since you were paying for "stuff" the promise not to give them for free.

GvE gave you the Jet Pack and Pocket D pass. This was available online for $9.99, saving me bucks from my obsessive compulsive behavior. This is the first pack that has a power everyone wants/needs. The jet pack makes Superspeed viable without another movement power. Talk about QoL.

Wedding pack was online only. No powers, but costumes and emotes I use.

As was Cyborg Pack. It comes with the power where you can explode over everyone, and some costumes I don't use. I like the robot dance though.

Though I don't own a mac, every account I manage now has the mission transporter as well as the Valkery wings, cape & kilt.

The Magic Pack was awesome. The tarot power is cool, and some of the best costume parts I have seen. A few of my guys now juggle.

And as soon as the science pack is on sale each of my accounts will get to change size. It's better than them giving it to us free as, say, the 63rd month Vet reward.

They saw with the Magic Pack that something cool will get us to buy in droves (we crashed the server the store was on) so it is in thier interest to put something cool like costume model change in a booster pack.

I came to the boards today because I was actually thinking about this very thing myself. As you can probably see from my reg date/post count, I don't post around here for just anything, but I feel pretty strongly that the model change ability is bigger than a booster. This is a huge costume feature that's been requested forever, and I can think of several reasons not to attach it to the Science Booster, just off the top of my head.
<ul type="square"> [*]Thematic Inconsistency: The Cyborg and Magic Boosters both offered very thematically tied powers for their origins. The ability to change bodies, however, is not exclusive to Science - not even close. In fact, the first things I think of when I think of body swapping are Icubi/Succubi and Werewolves, both of which are magical/natural.[*]Content Inconsistency: The previous two Boosters both offered quite useful combat-oriented powers. The body swap tailor is 100% cosmetic. This is a drastic design shift, and it's not a good idea - unless you're planning to make Power Customization a booster - NOTE: TERRIBLE IDEA - you will never be able to match this costume feature in another Booster, and if this is where you set the bar on the costume===power spectrum, it will come back to haunt you.[*]Community Perception: There are many in the community who feel that the new spree of Boosters heralds the death of high-quality costume content as an inherent part of the game's Issue releases. I previously dismissed this mindset as conspiratorial, but after seeing body swap tailor added to a booster, and the... underwhelming costume content of Issue 15, my faith has been shaken. The community could use a little reassurance, and, again, this feature is bigger than a booster should be anyway.[/list]Numerous great ideas have been offered up or a real Science Booster power, more than a few of them are pretty solid. I myself like the OP's Serum concept, personally. This is a sincere request from one more long-time fan: Please reconsider this choice. Such an improtant costume feature should not be tied up in a micro-transaction.

I24 Proc Chance = (Enhanced Recharge + Activation Time) * (Current PPM * 1.25) / 60*(1 + .75*(.15*Radius - 0.011*Radius*(360-Arc)/30))
Single Target Radius = 0. AoE Non-Cone Arc = 360.

I don't think this is a feature that everyone needs. But there is a feature that the devs should add that would be a good compromise: cosmetic surgery tokens. Similar to tailor tokens, these would let you go to the cosmetic surgeon once and change your body type or height.

These tokens could be given out as vet rewards, or as the result of doing a special mission for a tailor contact, or dropped during the next Halloween event, or a new kind of costume recipe drop.

The first costume change emotes came in the Magic pack, and in I15 we got several costume change emotes for free. Given that history, I wouldn't put it past the devs to have my above suggestion implemented by Halloween.

As much as I like the ability to change gender, body type and shape, it's not a necessity. It is a frill, and those who do not have it will in no way be second-class citizens.

It reminds me of the fly pose emotes. I remember how people moaned and groaned about not having them. Now we have them, and I never see anyone using them.

In terms of convenience, the mission teleporter is a much better perk than the body change option. The jump pack and Pocket D teleporters are better perks (note that we all have access to the Ouroboros portal for free, which is better than the Pocket D teleporter I had to pay for).

Like the fly poses, people will use this a few times and the novelty will wear off, and that will be that. The few characters whose concepts are based on this will use it, and everyone else will forget about it.

There might be some accounting guys at NCSoft who think that microtransactions are the way to go. But the guys who actually implement all this stuff think like we do, and they usually manage to get this development work to all of us for no extra cost some way or other.

You know I've worked for a few companies that thought "free" was a great business model. They are all closed now. Even if the devs never added another costume set to the game COX still has more customizable costume choices than any other mmo out there. It's the one reason I don't like playing other mmo's.

At the end of the day our friends at NC soft are running a business. There are bills, salaries, and countless other expenses to pay. And oh yah they have to show a profit to stay in business. This means they will sometimes charge for extra things in the game. That's how it works folks, welcome to capitalism. $9.99 and its still the cheapest bit of entertainment out there. A heck of a lot cheaper then a night at the movies.

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You know I've worked for a few companies that thought "free" was a great business model. They are all closed now. Even if the devs never added another costume set to the game COX still has more customizable costume choices than any other mmo out there. It's the one reason I don't like playing other mmo's.

At the end of the day our friends at NC soft are running a business. There are bills, salaries, and countless other expenses to pay. And oh yah they have to show a profit to stay in business. This means they will sometimes charge for extra things in the game. That's how it works folks, welcome to capitalism. $9.99 and its still the cheapest bit of entertainment out there. A heck of a lot cheaper then a night at the movies.

[/ QUOTE ]We already pay a monthly fee, this is really just double dipping.