Now, without knowing the exact payment structure of other games (this is the only oneI pay to play). I can't really argue what THEY should do, and I do not have the numbers to know the extend of the problem in STT. But I see it like we have several "tiers" of spenders, each with different problems (based on what I read and talk to people about on the forums and in the community in general), and each will clog up anothers machinery if we try to solve theirs:
F2P:
Not enough free "stuff" - But we can't give too much free "stuff" away, or there is no incentive to pay.
Too difficult to compete in events for maximum rewards - But if not enough people try, then we do not generate the comunity rewards
Enjoys events with lots of "main char" crew, because he has a lot of those
Rarely plays the gauntlet, because he can't get above rank 50, so the rewards are hardly worth his time
Only plays the daily dabo spin
Cheap 2 play (like monthly rewards):
It takes a long time to save up for worthwhile "stuff" - But if we give out the card cheaper, there will be no earnings. If the gains are higher, we discourage added spending
Will always be behind on collecting "stuff". Frequently worries about this
Enjoys repeating events, so they have more time to collect the chars and rewards
Competing for rewards is no better than a F2P
Rarely plays the gauntlet, because he can't get above rank 50, so the rewards are hardly worth his time
Have shown willingness to pay for the game - So are often bombarded with offers.
Only plays the daily dabo spin
Small spenders (like the people who take a $10 or $20 deal once in a while):
These people only take a "good deal" - So it's harder to get them to spend more, unless there is a new, better offer on the table.
These people never really get their 5*s immortalized, but they have the slots to wait for the occasional random drop. Enjoys repeated events for the same reason.
It's easily possible to get a top1000 position most weeks, but rarely top 200, because they dont buy the expensive packs
Most of these people complain about the time it takes to collect honor, or cash for replications/building items
They fear the "power creep" factor, because they spend a lot of time on each char they immortalize.
Enjoys the gauntlet, because he has lots of 4* and 5* chars, and having them FF'ed doesn't matter, they are max power when they are FE'ed
Spends a lot of time in the arena, to save on having to buy schematics
Only plays the daily dabo spin - He might do the occasional 10 dil spin, as he can use the schematics
Big spenders:
These people frequently buy the weekly 5* char outright. But this provides less incentive to compete for rank.
It is easily possible to save up enough dil and chrons to get a top10 placement in a week you dont buy the 5* though.
Honor is again a big issue, because it's nearly impossible to get the extra stars on all of your chars. Because even if you are williing to spend $$$, there is no pack with the char you want/need. these are the people frequently debating "honor debt", as if this is the only real currency in the game.
They often see $$$ offers as "not worthwhile", regardless of the contents, because these offers usually only guarantees, or give access to 4* chars, which they already have too many of.
Worry that it's often possible to buy an event, but rarely do themselves.
Dont care about the power creep factor, because they get the new char if he is good.
"meeh"s the gauntlet. Because everyone else has the same chars as him. Meaning he usually has to spend dil to win.
Hates repeated events, because he probably already has the char that is offered
Only plays the daily dabo spin - He might do the occasional 10 dil spin, if there are lots of items in the lower tiers that he can use
Whales:
Dont care about costs. Will outright buy an event if it is possible, and they feel like it.
Frequently scare away "the smaller fish", but cannot and will not want to exist without the community of other players.
Have problems collecting limited chars only. Slots are not an issue, because they even freeze their 5*'s
Buys most deals, but complains that the "exchange rate" for getting what they really want, is horrible.
Ignores power creep factor, because he buys ALL new chars.
"meeh"s the gauntlet. Because everyone else has the same chars as him. Spends dil to win, untill he has the reward char, then doesn't bother anymore
Hates repeated events, because he certainly already has the char that is offered
Plays Dabo more often than others, because the Dabo wheel rewards are sometimes limited chars, even though the cost of getting one is immense
And these are just my observations based on reading the forums, and talking to people. I'm certain that DB has a lot more considerations, like profitability and cost. And it is NOT possible for all changes to make all groups happy
I'd also probably be more sympathetic if they were more active in the bug fixing and development departments...
Well, they are a small team, not Electronic Arts. Even smaller after the downsizing last year. So, guess, for the time being, things sometimes moving at snail pace is what we have to expect. Unless from investors etc. a huge revenue stream will burst open...
Perhaps they had to downsize because too many people want things for free
Fortnite, Warframe, League of Legion, Path of the Exiles and every other successful Free 2 play game out there prove you wrong.
And just to remind you, this is the internet. The mere fact you are accessing a service for 'free' creates some form of incoming. That's why Google, one of the most influential companies ever created is a titan among giants basically handing for 'free' their main products/services.
Is all about good business decisions and not stuck to 'how to milk users for dummies' and copy/paste every bad practice and lame excuse to not make your product friendly and reliable in the long-term.
I’m not worried about all those other games. I play this one. The comparisons mean nothing to me as I’ve never even heard of them
You obviously do not play PC games. That's ok, if you did play Warframe, you would be spoiled. I know exactly what OP is saying. I've played that game for years, the developers have real communication with players, have an awesome business model that is not pay to win, been in business over 5 years and still outputting quality material, etc.
Compared to a franchise with automatic fans, there is no excuse. STT is setup like most mobile games - a Skinner box of additction versus making a fun game people love. I do not get the feeling they care to be in business for years. They are not making a legacy to say I was a part of that games development. They are making a fast buck and fix only what the community will absolutely not put up with to save costs. As soon as the money stops, they will be out. They would never try to restructure and survive.
People put up with sub-par service because they are addicted / invested, not because the game is so much fun. I see things as developers will either try to make:
1) a good game people will always remember
2) an addictive (not nessesarily fun) game people spend money on
Look up Skinner box video game developing tactics and tell me that DB is not working on #2 above.
Yes, in the end, all boils down if STT is here to stay or is just a cash grab game and then why invest in quality and community goodwill? And based on how mobile games are done the later is probably the case.
In a game where some players, proudly big spenders, have the nerve to mock you when you ask for quality and for the company to act in a more ethical way to the community, only shows how is easy to make people spend money even when your production standards are low and getting lower every day, generally speaking. No wonder major devs/publishers are moving to the 'live service' model that is simply this. A persistent content with a **tsk tsk** of microtransactions behind every possible corner of the game. Profits are at an all-time high and quality and overall perception, both from customers and specialized media and even to some extent the governments is that games have become something that exists only to justify some sort of gambling/addiction inducing behavior and nothing more for the sake of easy earns.
I'd also probably be more sympathetic if they were more active in the bug fixing and development departments...
Well, they are a small team, not Electronic Arts. Even smaller after the downsizing last year. So, guess, for the time being, things sometimes moving at snail pace is what we have to expect. Unless from investors etc. a huge revenue stream will burst open...
Perhaps they had to downsize because too many people want things for free
Fortnite, Warframe, League of Legion, Path of the Exiles and every other successful Free 2 play game out there prove you wrong.
And just to remind you, this is the internet. The mere fact you are accessing a service for 'free' creates some form of incoming. That's why Google, one of the most influential companies ever created is a titan among giants basically handing for 'free' their main products/services.
Is all about good business decisions and not stuck to 'how to milk users for dummies' and copy/paste every bad practice and lame excuse to not make your product friendly and reliable in the long-term.
I’m not worried about all those other games. I play this one. The comparisons mean nothing to me as I’ve never even heard of them
You obviously do not play PC games. That's ok, if you did play Warframe, you would be spoiled. I know exactly what OP is saying. I've played that game for years, the developers have real communication with players, have an awesome business model that is not pay to win, been in business over 5 years and still outputting quality material, etc.
Compared to a franchise with automatic fans, there is no excuse. STT is setup like most mobile games - a Skinner box of additction versus making a fun game people love. I do not get the feeling they care to be in business for years. They are not making a legacy to say I was a part of that games development. They are making a fast buck and fix only what the community will absolutely not put up with to save costs. As soon as the money stops, they will be out. They would never try to restructure and survive.
People put up with sub-par service because they are addicted / invested, not because the game is so much fun. I see things as developers will either try to make:
1) a good game people will always remember
2) an addictive (not nessesarily fun) game people spend money on
Look up Skinner box video game developing tactics and tell me that DB is not working on #2 above.
Yes, in the end, all boils down if STT is here to stay or is just a cash grab game and then why invest in quality and community goodwill? And based on how mobile games are done the later is probably the case.
In a game where some players, proudly big spenders, have the nerve to mock you when you ask for quality and for the company to act in a more ethical way to the community, only shows how is easy to make people spend money even when your production standards are low and getting lower every day, generally speaking. No wonder major devs/publishers are moving to the 'live service' model that is simply this. A persistent content with a *Vegan Poutine* of microtransactions behind every possible corner of the game. Profits are at an all-time high and quality and overall perception, both from customers and specialized media and even to some extent the governments is that games have become something that exists only to justify some sort of gambling/addiction inducing behavior and nothing more for the sake of easy earns.
T O R R E N T is a forbindden word here? Fascinating. Because is what I wrote and got substituted by 'Vegan Poutine'
Comments
F2P:
Not enough free "stuff" - But we can't give too much free "stuff" away, or there is no incentive to pay.
Too difficult to compete in events for maximum rewards - But if not enough people try, then we do not generate the comunity rewards
Enjoys events with lots of "main char" crew, because he has a lot of those
Rarely plays the gauntlet, because he can't get above rank 50, so the rewards are hardly worth his time
Only plays the daily dabo spin
Cheap 2 play (like monthly rewards):
It takes a long time to save up for worthwhile "stuff" - But if we give out the card cheaper, there will be no earnings. If the gains are higher, we discourage added spending
Will always be behind on collecting "stuff". Frequently worries about this
Enjoys repeating events, so they have more time to collect the chars and rewards
Competing for rewards is no better than a F2P
Rarely plays the gauntlet, because he can't get above rank 50, so the rewards are hardly worth his time
Have shown willingness to pay for the game - So are often bombarded with offers.
Only plays the daily dabo spin
Small spenders (like the people who take a $10 or $20 deal once in a while):
These people only take a "good deal" - So it's harder to get them to spend more, unless there is a new, better offer on the table.
These people never really get their 5*s immortalized, but they have the slots to wait for the occasional random drop. Enjoys repeated events for the same reason.
It's easily possible to get a top1000 position most weeks, but rarely top 200, because they dont buy the expensive packs
Most of these people complain about the time it takes to collect honor, or cash for replications/building items
They fear the "power creep" factor, because they spend a lot of time on each char they immortalize.
Enjoys the gauntlet, because he has lots of 4* and 5* chars, and having them FF'ed doesn't matter, they are max power when they are FE'ed
Spends a lot of time in the arena, to save on having to buy schematics
Only plays the daily dabo spin - He might do the occasional 10 dil spin, as he can use the schematics
Big spenders:
These people frequently buy the weekly 5* char outright. But this provides less incentive to compete for rank.
It is easily possible to save up enough dil and chrons to get a top10 placement in a week you dont buy the 5* though.
Honor is again a big issue, because it's nearly impossible to get the extra stars on all of your chars. Because even if you are williing to spend $$$, there is no pack with the char you want/need. these are the people frequently debating "honor debt", as if this is the only real currency in the game.
They often see $$$ offers as "not worthwhile", regardless of the contents, because these offers usually only guarantees, or give access to 4* chars, which they already have too many of.
Worry that it's often possible to buy an event, but rarely do themselves.
Dont care about the power creep factor, because they get the new char if he is good.
"meeh"s the gauntlet. Because everyone else has the same chars as him. Meaning he usually has to spend dil to win.
Hates repeated events, because he probably already has the char that is offered
Only plays the daily dabo spin - He might do the occasional 10 dil spin, if there are lots of items in the lower tiers that he can use
Whales:
Dont care about costs. Will outright buy an event if it is possible, and they feel like it.
Frequently scare away "the smaller fish", but cannot and will not want to exist without the community of other players.
Have problems collecting limited chars only. Slots are not an issue, because they even freeze their 5*'s
Buys most deals, but complains that the "exchange rate" for getting what they really want, is horrible.
Ignores power creep factor, because he buys ALL new chars.
"meeh"s the gauntlet. Because everyone else has the same chars as him. Spends dil to win, untill he has the reward char, then doesn't bother anymore
Hates repeated events, because he certainly already has the char that is offered
Plays Dabo more often than others, because the Dabo wheel rewards are sometimes limited chars, even though the cost of getting one is immense
And these are just my observations based on reading the forums, and talking to people. I'm certain that DB has a lot more considerations, like profitability and cost. And it is NOT possible for all changes to make all groups happy
Yes, in the end, all boils down if STT is here to stay or is just a cash grab game and then why invest in quality and community goodwill? And based on how mobile games are done the later is probably the case.
In a game where some players, proudly big spenders, have the nerve to mock you when you ask for quality and for the company to act in a more ethical way to the community, only shows how is easy to make people spend money even when your production standards are low and getting lower every day, generally speaking. No wonder major devs/publishers are moving to the 'live service' model that is simply this. A persistent content with a **tsk tsk** of microtransactions behind every possible corner of the game. Profits are at an all-time high and quality and overall perception, both from customers and specialized media and even to some extent the governments is that games have become something that exists only to justify some sort of gambling/addiction inducing behavior and nothing more for the sake of easy earns.
T O R R E N T is a forbindden word here? Fascinating. Because is what I wrote and got substituted by 'Vegan Poutine'
You’ve written the last three entries. It’s not nice to bump your own thread