Elements the Game Forum - Free Online Fantasy Card Game
Elements the Game => Game Suggestions and Feedback => Topic started by: Retribution on July 04, 2010, 02:08:46 am
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Out of curiosity, who here would pay to play elements?
Would you pay to play
1) Some premium features, like some cards and better spins, for example
2) Monthly pay
3) One-time pay (like buying a game)
Unfortunately, my parents don't allow me to buy anything, so I'm outta this picture.
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My personal philosophy with the internet is simple. If it ain't free, it ain't worth it.
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My personal philosophy with the internet is simple. If it ain't free, it ain't worth it.
Ditto. :)
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The few games that I consider my favorites all use this way...
3) One-time pay (like buying a game)
so this is what I would choose, as Elements is fast becoming one of my new favorite games.
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My personal philosophy with the internet is simple. If it ain't free, it ain't worth it.
This.
I'm fine with premium features aslong as they're still enough content for free members.
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I hate games that require you to pay in order to retain a competitive edge, like runescape (quit it for that reason ~5 years ago). One-time-fee games are the only acceptable main-stream ones in my opinion. I downloaded Combat Arms and played for a while, and, like in runescape, people that payed real money had an edge in everything. They could purchase all sorts of things that gave them an advantage, such as equipment that upped spead, armor, etc., and most importantly, guns that are simply better in every way than anything I could get for free. Since members played in every server/game, I was continually beaten simply for not paying for the game. Special boxes fall periodically that allow you to get an item by buying a key and opening them. Of course, the vast majority of these boxes require keys that you have to pay money for, and the boxes that don't almost always give you a crappy gun for a day or two, whereas the others give you good guns permanently.
It would be difficult to impliment "premium" features in a game like elements without pissing off all the people that don't pay. One possibility (hypothetically) would be to allow people to pay real money to upgrade cards. These cards would be marked as being upgraded through real money, and as such could only be used in a special pvp arena (if at all in pvp). This would give players that pay an edge without giving them much permanent advantage over players that don't pay. They could, at best, upgrade any deck they wanted to, but most players that regularly play elements already have a fully upgraded deck.
Giving more/better spins would be a touchy subject. I would be okay with something like the ability to purchase 20 extra spins for a dollar, one spin being added to each game you win, so fighting 20 false gods would net you 33% more spins for a dollar (something like this, math's obviously off).
Basically, aspects to the game such as rare cards, nymphs, and upgrading cards (if you can use them in pvp) should be carefully balanced in features that people have to pay money for. If a feature lets you get 1000 spins for $10, people with plenty of extra cash to blow could farm false gods and rapidly surpase other people in electrum, rares, upgraded cards, etc., giving them an unfair edge. An easy solution is to put caps on everything (you can only buy X extra spins per day, for example).
To summarize: I stick long-term to games that are all-around free and don't give competitive edges to people that pay money head-to-head against people that don't. In Soldat, for example, people that pay money get cosmetic benefits. They can change their character's appearance in more detail, change the color of their jet-cloud, get a star next to their name, etc., but in no way does paying money help them win in the game in any way. In a grindy game like Elements, it's not quite as touchy as a shooter (the nature of Soldat makes it hard to impliment features for members, anyway), since you can make it slightly easier to grind without unbalancing the game, but in general, implimenting special features that give members any sort of edge directly against non-members usually steers games into the wrong direction and ends up in me quitting them. As long as members have to fight members with the same access to advantages, and can't use those against people that don't pay, I don't care.
by the way, I'm camping, and it's pitch-dark (a few scattered lights from other campsites) as I'm writing this post, so I apologize for any errors, I can't see the keyboard.
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you typed all that without seeing the keyboard ?!? :o
How? i dont know the keyboard that much!
lets try.the wioxk brpwm foz
as you can see, unsuccessful (its meant to be the quick brown fox)
+i like games that are free. :)
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To be honest no. As stated before
"If it aint free, it aint worth it"
To true to true. I agree and as stated before combat arms and runescapes whole premium things are just stupid. Either make everyone pay or noone.
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To be honest no. As stated before
"If it aint free, it aint worth it"
To true to true. I agree and as stated before combat arms and runescapes whole premium things are just stupid. Either make everyone pay or noone.
I beg to differ, Who would pay for a game he/she didn't even try. Nobody. However, making a (small) part free helps in advertising, making more people register.
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I'd buy it, sure. Some sort of client to be able to access it via just a program rather than the browser, which could include extensive stats, chat (although I would rather just host you a channel on IRC), and other neat things. That'd be cool. The other two options are just a straight refusal for me. I loathe pay-to-play, and I don't want an unfair edge over other players because I've paid for advantages.
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True Xdude but most games offer a ten day trial or other.
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Finkel is completely correct. A few games that you play normally give players that pay an edge over the normal players that don't pay. always making them be one step forward somehow.
The questions of spins would be obviously hard to do, and it would have to be capped - as finkel said, people with a lot of money to pay would have about 1000 spins per day (donating 10 dollars) and it would already give them a big advantage. --- obviously, some people that pay is necessary to keep the game up and running - it's just that giving the people that pay things that clearly give them a way better performance at the game against a few people that don't have - or can't, as it is in my case - pay;
and also, elements already have a small gift to those who donate - 5 dollars = a code that gives you most likely a nymph or mark.
since a game most likely needs people to pay to keep it running, it's obvious that the person who pay is doing a favor and therefore should be gifted with something. it's just bad when the gift, however, is .. well, just kind of ruins the game for those who can't pay.
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I think that the optimal system would be where everyone could play for free, but players with less time (and more cash) could buy booster packs.
These $5 booster packs would contain 12 random cards, one per element. Every 10th pack would have a rare weapon. Every 100th pack would have a Nymph. Something like that.
That would be hands down the best solution because everyone would get what they want. Poor hardcore gamers could get all the cards by grinding, rich casual players could get cards without having to grind 10 hours a day. And the best part would be that more cash would go to the development of Elements.
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I think that the optimal system would be where everyone could play for free, but players with less time (and more cash) could buy booster packs.
I think that would work well as long as poor casual players that get enough electrum could buy them. at a reasonable price.
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I agree. Booster packs should be available to buy with electrum, especially if there are upgraded cards, rare weapons, and nymphs up for grabs. $500 bucks for a nymph? O.o I suppose if you're willing, I can't complain, lol.
I like the idea of booster packs, but I think they should be structure more like real-life booster packs. 1 rare weapon, 1-2 upgraded cards, and the rest random cards, 1 per element, each with a slight chance to be upgraded, and a very small chance to be a nymph. Even with the very high cost, I don't think you should be guaranteed a nymph. Indeed, making something like a .5%-1% chance per card besides the rare and upgraded ones would balance it out since you could by 100 packs and get no nymphs, and people that buy them with electrum (should cost a significantly unbalanced amount, erring highly on the side of too expensive) have a chance to get a nymph as well.
I'm focusing on nymphs here, but if there are upgraded/rare cards, they should cost enough in electrum/money that they're definitely a luxury item, so people with massive amounts of electrum would be better off upgrading cards/grinding to get them than blowing their money on boosters.
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I wouldnt object boosts... Lots of free and "free" games have those, and while everything is obtainable by good ol fashioned grind, I would be happy to see people pay for boosts (if that means better game for us all of course).
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I wouldn't object to giving further bonuses, but it should stay "motivated donationware". If the game's good enough and has a future (e.g. Dwarf Fortress, this), then people will pay for it. Paying for electrum or booster packs would work, but all in all, motivated donationware is great. Anything you can get from paying should be earnable through grinding, though.
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Already mentioned, but:
$500 to get a nymph? :o
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I wouldn't mind paying something for an extra Oracle spin
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Perhaps, for elements to make some money, make us watch an ad to spin oracle :P
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"Donationware", 1 extra spin per game for life if you pay a one off fee (not stackable) and oracle ads are the best ideas IMO.
EDIT: Missed the boosters idea. Boosters shouldn't be buyable with electrum IMO as that would reduce the incentive to buy them with cash. Add a foil animation to all rares and nymphs obtained this way please (non-nymph foils would also be available through spins after beating foil users and would be no different to the regulars apart from the awesome shine).
If you really want the cards, either pay or get them the regular way. Boosters shouldn't be free. After all, it's not as if they contain new cards.
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Ooh, shinies are a good idea. Especially if you include some shines with alternate graphics. But since it's just a cosmetic change, if people win against someone using them, they should get the normal card. They should be just for people that donate, since they don't have any advantage other than people being blinded by their awesome glory.
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I have a question. Why is this in game suggestions and feedback?
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I have a question. Why is this in game suggestions and feedback?
If you have questions about moderation, please PM Global Moderators (or me).
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"Donationware", 1 extra spin per game for life if you pay a one off fee (not stackable) and oracle ads are the best ideas IMO.
EDIT: Missed the boosters idea. Boosters shouldn't be buyable with electrum IMO as that would reduce the incentive to buy them with cash. Add a foil animation to all rares and nymphs obtained this way please (non-nymph foils would also be available through spins after beating foil users and would be no different to the regulars apart from the awesome shine).
If you really want the cards, either pay or get them the regular way. Boosters shouldn't be free. After all, it's not as if they contain new cards.
Extra spins are not a good idea imo. They would completely ruin the rareness of nymphs, and anyone that donated would have on average 2x the normal amount of nymphs.
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Personally, I think that booster packs are a great idea, but you should be able to pay $5 for an unupgraded booster pack or maybe $25 for an upgraded one (available in the Quests window after you've completed the 500-point quest). That would keep people like me donating pretty significant amounts well into their first year of playing Elements. :)
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I would also love to donate to this game, but Paypal and I do not get along.
I stopped dealing with them around 4 years ago after a bizarre transaction occured htat they did not help me with at all... anyways... if there was another way>>> I would.
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i wouldn't pay.
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i wouldnt, or should i say i couldnt. im poor as hell :P
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i wouldnt, or should i say i couldnt. im poor as hell :P
i have a dect of 150 to my mom :)
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Extra spins are not a good idea imo. They would completely ruin the rareness of nymphs, and anyone that donated would have on average 2x the normal amount of nymphs.
I, for one, didn't mean oracle spins.
blarg: