No.
Microtransactions in this game are for fluff, and they will always be for fluff. IO sets are not fluff.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Back Alley Brawler
Did you just use "casual gamer" and "purpled-out warshade" in the same sentence?
|
some of the RMT spammers are selling purple sets into the $70-90 range.
I am against microtransactions in games that have a sub fee. I'll pay for an expansion or two a year, or their little $10 item packs,but beyond that, i do not support this idea.
Leader of the NITES of DARKNESS VG
Join my fan club today!
There will never be microtransactions for anything tradable for influence especially anything that could be put on the market as that would be tantimount to paying real money for influence.
Needless to say, this suggestion would have a very bad effect on the ingame economy.
Current Published Arcs
#1 "Too Drunk to be Alcoholic" Arc #48942
#2 "To Slay Sleeping Dragons" Arc #111486
#3 "Stop Calling Me"
Not a horrible idea. I don't see the developers going for it, but the idea does have merit.
It would require a new bit of coding put in to prevent sale or trade of IOs purchased this way. With the outrageous prices of some of the higher-end IOs it would be the equivalent of NCSoft selling Influence/Infamy for real money, which isn't going to happen. With the current price of level 50 Numina's Convalescence IOs being rather high you would basically be buying 100 million or more influence for $10 if there were no sale/trade blocks on these IOs.
Also, even if this did happen, I can all but guarantee purples will not be available this way.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
[ QUOTE ]
No.
Microtransactions in this game are for fluff, and they will always be for fluff. IO sets are not fluff.
[/ QUOTE ]
This sums it up well.
I don't care if I have a costume piece (or don't) because of buying or not buying stuff. it doesn't affect gameplay. I *do* care when it comes to actual gameplay items.
Save your merits. Burn MA tickets. Or just *play the game.* But no, don't make them available via credit card.
If IOs are not fluff, what happened to the whole "You only need SOs argument?"
By claiming that IOs are not fluff, we are thereby admitting that this game has gone beyond "SOs are all you need" and that the power curve is now higher than what a normal 8 toon SO'ed team can achieve.
[ QUOTE ]
If IOs are not fluff, what happened to the whole "You only need SOs argument?"
By claiming that IOs are not fluff, we are thereby admitting that this game has gone beyond "SOs are all you need" and that the power curve is now higher than what a normal 8 toon SO'ed team can achieve.
[/ QUOTE ]
You do only need SOs to defeat everything in the game. They are what the game is balanced around.
"Fluff" has no effect. I don't complete a mission faster because I'm wearing the Baron jacket from the magic pack, or I'm wearing red instead of green. That is "fluff."
IOs increase power *beyond* what is required. That does not mean they are required to beat the game. It DOES, however, create a disparity in power based solely on bank account.
Nobody has claimed IOs are fluff. Just that the game is not balanced around them. A credit card should not be the source of undue advantage, or the basis of a level of ability.
Edit:
Plus, there's the practical concerns. Do you only sell IOs at the top of their level range? If so, what if the character has a full enhancement tray at the time? There's no "Enhancement buffer." Do you sell them at the bottom end? At the level the character is at now? How do you prevent them from affecting the market? (Related, how do you keep them from benefiting RMT organizations?)
[ QUOTE ]
If IOs are not fluff, what happened to the whole "You only need SOs argument?"
By claiming that IOs are not fluff, we are thereby admitting that this game has gone beyond "SOs are all you need" and that the power curve is now higher than what a normal 8 toon SO'ed team can achieve.
[/ QUOTE ]
That's a fallacy. Enemies are still designed with SO'd characters in mind. However, selling items via microtransactions that have palpable advantages, such as increasing stats, is much more of a slippery slope than selling costume pieces, emotes, or even respecs.
Some players argue that the current Super Booster packs are turning the game into a Korean-style game that relies on microtransactions. Currently, I believe this is a fallacy. However, your suggestion would certainly make this assertion more true.
Additionally, players looking to use the in-game economy would be at a severe disadvantage, since in-game prices would greatly increase due to a lowered supply as players simply buy IOs with RL money instead of relying on the market.
In summary, /No.
[ QUOTE ]
If IOs are not fluff, what happened to the whole "You only need SOs argument?"
By claiming that IOs are not fluff, we are thereby admitting that this game has gone beyond "SOs are all you need" and that the power curve is now higher than what a normal 8 toon SO'ed team can achieve.
[/ QUOTE ]
Even though IOs are allegedly not required for effective character building, they still have an effect on gameplay in a way that costume pieces and little temp powers do not. Therefore, IOs are not fluff.
This is precisely why I doubt microtransactions for IOs are a slippery slope.
To me IOs fall into the fluff category. SOs are all you need, devs themselves are making the assertion that in this game, all you need are SOs. If that is the requirement, everything above it is fluff isn't it?
If it is fluff, then it should have minimal impact on the game. To assert that IOs are not fluff, means it has a significant power impact on the game and that this game has grown beyond the "SOs are enough" power curve.
I would accept that IOs should never be used for microtransactions if the game has indeed grown beyond the "SOs are all you need" power curve. If not, IOs are fluff by definition isn't it?
Something that makes your character LOOK more appealing = fluff, and $ for it makes sense.
Something that changes the way your character PLAYS =/= fluff, and therefore should only ever be earnable within the game itself.
Why? To keep little rich kids from flaunting their 'abilities'.
Please read my FEAR/Portal/HalfLife Fan Fiction!
Repurposed
No, they are not fluff by any definition. Sorry. You will not be allowed to use your money to increase your character's abilities in the game. ONLY to improve or change their APPEARANCE and get small perks that do NOT imbalance GAME PLAY.
Get with it. That's all that needs to be said. You can try and redefine it all you want, but the fact is that if you change how a character PLAYS in the game, you are imbalancing things for those who cannot AFFORD to do so.
Please read my FEAR/Portal/HalfLife Fan Fiction!
Repurposed
You're wrong.
IOs are not 'Fluff'
Fluff has no impact whatsoever on game statistics. Fluff is the flavor text at the bottom of a Magic Card, or the detailed history of a videogame. Or an extra costume piece that, while attractive, does nothing for your character.
TOs, DOs, SOs, HOs, and IOs are all grit. They have a defined effect on the characters overall power. Ergo they are not 'Fluff.'
-Rachel-
The only way I would support this idea is with extreme restrictions.
The IOs purchased this way would not be tradable, and you could not sell them in the in-game market.
You'd get a window like Mid's has that has your current stock of IOs in it. Once you place a real money purchased IO in a power it is there permanently.
No moving the IO to a different power, no moving it to your enhancement tray. And if you respec while it is slotted, it is just plain gone.
Make sure all these things are explained thoroughly in the purchase screen and that refunds are not available for these purchases. Probably make them expensive as well, don't sell them in sets, sell them as single IOs.
If it were just "you pay real money and have an IO in your tray when you log in" then I'm gonna have to say no way.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
The real objection I have to the definition of fluff as just "looks" with no effects on gameplay are the following.
1. Self Destruction
2. Mystic Fortune
3. Mission Transporter
4. Pocket D VIP Pass
5. Jump Pack
6. LKT-1700 Rocket Pack
7. Sex change (coming?)
And many of those powers have significant impacts on power choices, builds and game play.
[ QUOTE ]
The real objection I have to the definition of fluff as just "looks" with no effects on gameplay are the following.
1. Self Destruction
[/ QUOTE ]
1 hour recharge time, does not benefit from +Acc or +Recharge, immediately kills player.
[ QUOTE ]
2. Mystic Fortune
[/ QUOTE ]
Only usable on other players.
[ QUOTE ]
3. Mission Transporter
[/ QUOTE ]
2 hour recharge time.
[ QUOTE ]
4. Pocket D VIP Pass
[/ QUOTE ]
Can't be used in combat (has interrupt period), long recharge time, does nothing but take you to Pocket D.
[ QUOTE ]
5. Jump Pack
[/ QUOTE ]
Only buffs Jump Height and Fly Speed, not Jump Speed or Run Speed, and doesn't change any powers or the nature of combat. At most, it allows you to temporarily evade an ambush or fight by leaping up and not coming back down until the buff expires.
[ QUOTE ]
6. LKT-1700 Rocket Pack
[/ QUOTE ]
Jet packs are already widely available in the game, with no additional cost in real money.
[ QUOTE ]
7. Sex change (coming?)
[/ QUOTE ]
Has no impact on stats, powers or combat.
[ QUOTE ]
And many of those powers have significant impacts on power choices, builds and game play.
[/ QUOTE ]
None of those powers have any significant impact on power selections, builds or game play. You're not going to solo AVs with Self Destruct, or a jet pack, or the Jump Jet, or by teleporting to Pocket D, et cetera.
Your suggestion is poorly thought out, and something that the developers will never implement. You aren't going to be given a chance to buy IOs with real money. Accept it, let it go, move on.
I just read that Story Arc slots are now for sale.
And to me there is a link(however tenious) between additional MA slots bought and IOs.
Simply put, more story arc slots, more ticket rewards. More tickets = IOs. Aided by the credit card.
Aren't we already on the slope?
"Significant?" No.
Minor? Yes.
I don't hit harder, live longer, etc. because I have any of those. I won't hit harder because my character's male (or huge) instead of female. Self destruction is one use *per hour* and you end up dead. The jump pack is purely vertical movement - yes, YOU can move horizontally but it's not a travel power. The little mystic fortune buffs are minor and unstackable.
Compare that to adding recharge - many times over (to the point of perma-ing powers that without IO set bonuses could not be,) or capping defense (again, without IO bonuses, difficult if not impossible) or the like. Those are certainly NOT "fluff." There's a huge order of difference between the little temp powers and what IOs can do.
Trying to pass the bonuses you can get from using an IO set - or purchasing the same - as "fluff" is, frankly, either showing a lack of understanding of the differences or ... well, intentionally or not, deceptive.
[ QUOTE ]
I just read that Story Arc slots are now for sale.
And to me there is a link(however tenious) between additional MA slots bought and IOs.
Simply put, more story arc slots, more ticket rewards. More tickets = IOs. Aided by the credit card.
Aren't we already on the slope?
[/ QUOTE ]
My writing an arc does not not fill me out with IOs. My writing arcs does not improve any character's performance in game.
So, no. Your link is worse than tenuous.
How about the ability to buy a level 50? Or unlock Epic ATs with a card swipe?
The more I think about it, the less I like the idea of buying IOs with real money.
You can already get a level 50 character within 3 days using AE farms (they aren't going away any time soon, either)
If you could then spend $30 IOing out your PLed character instantly, why even bother to play the game?
Getting your character IOed out is one of the rewards for playing the game. Everyone can do it equally if they are patient or play often enough. Having a character that is more powerful than the next guy's for the sole reason that your wallet it fatter is just unfair.
And that link isn't tenuous, it's gossamer. The amount of MA slots you have has nothing to do with the rate at which you earn tickets because you can still only play one arc at a time, no matter how many you have published.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
I am honestly not trying to be deceptive or dishonest here.
The whole premise of power balance has always been "SOs are all you need". That is where I am coming from.
Above that is fluff isn't it? I do understand that IOs do impact gameplay. If it is significant and that IOs represent the new SOs, then won't the game be balanced around IOs then?
If the game isn't going to be balanced around IOs, then IOs are by definition still flavor, aren't they?
I am not arguing here, I am asking a genuine question.
The difference between IOs and the fluff items already mentioned is that IOs have a tangible effect on your character's gameplay.
An SR scrapper with IOs helping him to get to the soft cap will survive longer than one who is not soft-capped.
The ability to blow yourself up does not add survivability, in fact, it negates it completely.
Being able to wear a wedding dress doesn't make your powers recharge faster.
Having a High Collar cape at level 1 doesn't add a chance for extra damage to your attacks.
And so on.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
I think I just have a different definition of fluff. Alright, nevermind, agree to disagree.
I won't be investing much more time on this suggestion. It is something I came up with while playing and then finding myself rather disgusted as I decided to trawl through the I13-15 notes and decided that later issues are quite lacking. I then thought of the wedding pack and then added 1 and 1. I think I added to 2, but many of you feel I concluded 3. Agree to disagree. 
[ QUOTE ]
The whole premise of power balance has always been "SOs are all you need". That is where I am coming from.
Above that is fluff isn't it?
[/ QUOTE ]
No. And I think that's what you're not getting. Fluff is things that don't impact gameplay to any large extent. IOs affect gameplay to a very large extent. As such, they are not fluff.
Just because the game isn't balanced around them doesn't make them fluff. The game was not balanced around HOs, either, but those were not fluff.
Let me explain it as a metaphor:
Basketball players can currently play basketball now. Pro players play it really well now, being able to school you or I. We're people without enhancements, they have SOs slotted. You've got two teams of pros that you're looking at.
If one team decides to change the color of their uniforms, that's fluff. They still play just as well as they did before, they're just wearing a different color.
Now, give that same team performance enhancing drugs. Is that fluff? They were still able to play the game very well before, but now they can take down any other team they play no contest. Before, the games were pretty even. Now, they win them all. Are the drugs fluff in this instance, just because the players were fine before?
Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
"I was just the one with the most unsolicited sombrero." - Traegus
Short version : Let's have microtransactions for IO sets. 1 Numina's Convalescence set for $9.99. 1 Thunderstrike set for $2.99. Blapper special, 1 Thunderstrike and 1 Crushing Impact for $4.99!
Long version : I think by now everyone should have heard of this phrase "Microtransactions". My suggestion is this. Sell IO sets for real currency through the NCSoft store. I truly believe that there are enough people with money to spare but not the time to collect IOs and thus will be willing to trade money for time. Since we all know time = money, this is just it.
Now the reason I am suggesting this isn't because I am some lame player who cannot afford IOs from WW/BM. I have my toons IO'ed out and would hardly be interested in this microtransactions. However I do know many people who are struggling to IO even their first toon and this would be a rather expensive instant quick fix.
Furthermore, remember the wedding pack? That was probably the first of the microtransactions for this game, didn't give a whole lot of value but people paid for it. That money helped pay for a lot of development work. As someone who works in IT anyway, I do understand the need for developers to be funded for work. If we looked at the most recent issues, can we say we are truly satisfied with the content rolled out? With microtransactions, we are allowing players to help fund improved development of more content.
Are there negatives to this plan? Naturally. There might be some rumblings from flippers who flip the most expensive IOs, because eventually someone might find a relationship between real world $ to influence/infamy.
We might get an influx of a new generation of $mewbs. Mewbs who are $-charged to IOdom. How is this different from the current mewbs anyway? At least they are a little higher on the power curve and might be a little more useful.
What about the status quo regarding drops, merits and tickets? Keep them. They will remain as they are.
As to the pricing, well, by now the Devs should know which sets are popular and which are not. They can use the data they have to set the prices. I can imagine purple sets costing $29.99 already.