It's not the nerfs! This is why I quit.

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Dartmaster01
Dartmaster01 Posts: 634 Critical Contributor
edited March 2015 in MPQ General Discussion
I just wanted to take minute to explain why I personally am upset by their actions. This is a quote strait from Demiurge-Miles:

"I think a lot of people on the forums forget that 90%+ of our players don't get these announcements ahead of time"
(from phaserhawks post-A new outlook on mpq and it's positive)

This specifically highlights their intentions.

They obviously realize these changes at least partially were not well received within the forum community. With so many calling for refunds, compensation and a few other things.

OK, so for this argument, I'll give them the benefit of doubt for now that they did not intentionally mean to screw forumites out of the covers they bought in last couple weeks. We'll call it poor foresight or bad timing or something . But the 90% he is speaking of, that don't get these announcements, are the ones that will be angry and quitting/calling for refunds in the near future.

So they dropped the ball around here but we are small part of this game, as they are so happy to point out. They could easily put an in-game popup warning of these changes in, so people aren't wasting their time/money/resources on a character they may not want after the nerfs go through. This would save so much face with the rest of the community and the only reason I can see that they don't would be cover sales.

I had an argument with I believe Arondite the other day about fraud. He convinced me there had to be "an intention to deceive".

So,there it is, their intention to deceive! Straight from the horses mouth. They still have time to fix this, let's see what happens.

P.S. I seriously hope I'm wrong about all this, I loved playing this game.
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Comments

  • SnowcaTT
    SnowcaTT Posts: 3,486 Chairperson of the Boards
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    I agree, it is deceptive. They have popping up "Ragnarok change!" in game, great.

    So 90% of their players are - today - buying 4hor covers and IF covers and happily going along, not realizing that their world is about to be brutally shaken up. Why can't they say "Character changes - see more at >link<" so folks can know?

    Because they want to get money up to the last moment: they don't WANT these folks to know. At least the forum community know not to buy over the next few weeks - they had darn well better refund anyone who buys those covers between the forum announcement time and the in-game change time.

    Sorry to see you go dartmaster. I agree that I don't like their deception - my way of showing that isn't to stop playing, but to refuse to give them any money.
  • Dartmaster01
    Dartmaster01 Posts: 634 Critical Contributor
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    I will still play dailies and keep the game for now hoping it's all just poor organization or something. icon_rolleyes.gif
  • I'm not going to try to tell you that you're wrong. I'm just going to suggest that when something triggers you emotionally, you become much more focused on it. The problem becomes bigger, nastier and more prone to be seen as malevolent and intentional. Personal.

    90% of the players (at least) don't read the forums. I'm going to hazard that the reason that 90% of the players don't read the forums is because they are not as emotionally invested in the game as we are. As such, changes are more easily adjusted to and shrugged off. I'll also hazard that (just throwing out random numbers here) 95% of that 90% don't invest much if any money into the game. They probably don't buy covers. They likely don't drop more than a few bucks here and there for a roster slot or two - if even that. The game is just a distraction, something to do, and nerfs and buffs and balances and collecting everyone and getting top 5 every tournament and all that just don't matter to them.

    They know, however, that the forums exist, if they pay attention to any of the pop-ups that link back here. They just don't care to read them because it's not a big thing. They're not invested in the game, financially or emotionally.

    The people here, on the forums, are the passionate ones. The invested ones. Time and money, sure, but absolutely an emotional investment. You could even, if you want to look at it with a cynical eye, see it as a kind of Stockholm Syndrome, but let's face it - the reason why we're here is because we want to be. We're focused on the game. We follow it avidly. We might be fans, or obsessed, or just really really like the game. As such, changes and nerfs and all that affect us much deeper on an emotional level.

    Because this is the internet and easy to vent our thoughts and feelings with a degree of comfortable anonymity, and because every single human being (self included) has a tiny spark of self importance, when something affects us emotionally, we feel well within our rights to spill out every thought and feeling that runs through our heads - often while the emotion is still running hot. This makes us look like fans in the real definition of the word - fanatics. This makes us look hostile. We're not, not really, we're just emotional creatures with a (possibly unhealthy?) attachment to the game and how we play it.

    There's no intent to deceive here though, I'm sorry. The reason? Any player of an online game on a level more than severely casual knows that online games go through changes, adjustments, balances, revamps, improvements, evolutions, nerfs, buffs, whatever words you want to use for it. They know it, and should expect it (especially when they have played the game for more than a month, they can see change happening regularly) and should not be surprised and outraged by it. Since we know that the time, effort (money?) and whatever else we put into our characters can be adjusted, we should not cry foul when it happens.

    It is, of course, okay to feel upset about it. For a little while. Then make some decisions (stay? go? be F2P? whatever) and move on. This is a game. It's a good game. I like this game. I'm emotionally invested in it. I'll get irritated at it sometimes, naturally. But the moment that it makes me furious? I'll walk away then. That moment has not yet come, because I expect these changes to happen and have done so from the moment I picked up the game.

    When people have moved past their anger and made their more reasonably-minded decisions, I hope to see them here still - and in the game as well. If not, well, online gaming is fluid and constantly changing - not just the game itself, but the people who play it. Whatever happens, I hope you all do well with what you decide.

    Regards,
    Bluey
  • rixmith
    rixmith Posts: 707 Critical Contributor
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    Heck, I'd be willing to bet that most of the players who have a covered and leveled 4Thor are on the forums. If you are interested enough in the game to be buying covers at 2500 HP a pop and dropping that kind of ISO, you've probably found the forums by now.

    And, I don't think there is some large scale desire to deceive players or cheat them out of their money. I think the devs are trying to make the best game they can given time and resources they have. There are tens of thousands of players playing this game, many of whom are strongly motivated to find exploits and advantages in the game. Is it surprising that 10,000 players will come up with combinations that 10 developers won't think of?

    That said, I do think that it would be wiser for the dev team to post proposed abilities for newly released characters a little earlier so they could react to forumites feedback so that things like the Iron Fist change could be done pre-release.
  • Dartmaster01
    Dartmaster01 Posts: 634 Critical Contributor
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    dearbluey wrote:
    I'm not going to try to tell you that you're wrong. I'm just going to suggest that when something triggers you emotionally, you become much more focused on it. The problem becomes bigger, nastier and more prone to be seen as malevolent and intentional. Personal.

    90% of the players (at least) don't read the forums. I'm going to hazard that the reason that 90% of the players don't read the forums is because they are not as emotionally invested in the game as we are. As such, changes are more easily adjusted to and shrugged off. I'll also hazard that (just throwing out random numbers here) 95% of that 90% don't invest much if any money into the game. They probably don't buy covers. They likely don't drop more than a few bucks here and there for a roster slot or two - if even that. The game is just a distraction, something to do, and nerfs and buffs and balances and collecting everyone and getting top 5 every tournament and all that just don't matter to them.

    They know, however, that the forums exist, if they pay attention to any of the pop-ups that link back here. They just don't care to read them because it's not a big thing. They're not invested in the game, financially or emotionally.

    The people here, on the forums, are the passionate ones. The invested ones. Time and money, sure, but absolutely an emotional investment. You could even, if you want to look at it with a cynical eye, see it as a kind of Stockholm Syndrome, but let's face it - the reason why we're here is because we want to be. We're focused on the game. We follow it avidly. We might be fans, or obsessed, or just really really like the game. As such, changes and nerfs and all that affect us much deeper on an emotional level.

    Because this is the internet and easy to vent our thoughts and feelings with a degree of comfortable anonymity, and because every single human being (self included) has a tiny spark of self importance, when something affects us emotionally, we feel well within our rights to spill out every thought and feeling that runs through our heads - often while the emotion is still running hot. This makes us look like fans in the real definition of the word - fanatics. This makes us look hostile. We're not, not really, we're just emotional creatures with a (possibly unhealthy?) attachment to the game and how we play it.

    There's no intent to deceive here though, I'm sorry. The reason? Any player of an online game on a level more than severely casual knows that online games go through changes, adjustments, balances, revamps, improvements, evolutions, nerfs, buffs, whatever words you want to use for it. They know it, and should expect it (especially when they have played the game for more than a month, they can see change happening regularly) and should not be surprised and outraged by it. Since we know that the time, effort (money?) and whatever else we put into our characters can be adjusted, we should not cry foul when it happens.

    It is, of course, okay to feel upset about it. For a little while. Then make some decisions (stay? go? be F2P? whatever) and move on. This is a game. It's a good game. I like this game. I'm emotionally invested in it. I'll get irritated at it sometimes, naturally. But the moment that it makes me furious? I'll walk away then. That moment has not yet come, because I expect these changes to happen and have done so from the moment I picked up the game.

    When people have moved past their anger and made their more reasonably-minded decisions, I hope to see them here still - and in the game as well. If not, well, online gaming is fluid and constantly changing - not just the game itself, but the people who play it. Whatever happens, I hope you all do well with what you decide.

    Regards,
    Bluey

    You make very good points, but I still disagree. It's in the title, that it's not about the changes themselves. Nor am I angry or venting, I'm in perfect control of my mental faculties (at least for the moment). They could do things differently to not look deceitful, but they choose not to. Why? I don't know. I'm merely pointing it out. I do respect your opinion though but please, no one else blame my state for this unless you know me personally. It's sidestepping the issue.
  • radav
    radav Posts: 117 Tile Toppler
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    You make very good points, but I still disagree. It's in the title, that it's not about the changes themselves. Nor am I angry or venting, I'm in perfect control of my mental faculties (at least for the moment). They could do things differently to not look deceitful, but they choose not to. Why? I don't know. I'm merely pointing it out. I do respect your opinion though but please, no one else blame my state for this unless you know me personally. It's sidestepping the issue.

    I feel like it's pretty obvious why they say nothing about the changes in game knowing full well that a large majority of players don't come here. They can continue taking their money for a couple weeks just like they have for the last 2 weeks (in IF's case or 6 months in 4hors) knowing full well they're going to nerf the character and devalue something that people went ahead and paid money for because of the value they found in it. It's a slimey practice at best and any real game developer would NEVER be able to get away with it but since this is a mobile that has a smaller population it gets by. Do you think EA, Blizzard, or Square could get away with doing something like this? Not a chance.

  • You make very good points, but I still disagree. It's in the title, that it's not about the changes themselves. Nor am I angry or venting, I'm in perfect control of my mental faculties (at least for the moment). They could do things differently to not look deceitful, but they choose not to. Why? I don't know. I'm merely pointing it out. I do respect your opinion though but please, no one else blame my state for this unless you know me personally. It's sidestepping the issue.

    Dart, my post was not an attack on your mental faculties. It was an ovservation on fanbases as a whole. It was also pointing out that emotion colours behavior.

    However, now that you've brought it up...of course you're upset. Your recent post history shows that clearly. And that's okay. Just understand that it's assisting you in percieving the situation in a certain way. We're all human, after all. I mean, heck, you've stated multiple times that you quit (including in the title of this post) only to turn around and say that you'll still be playing. It's cool either way man, but don't fool yourself. icon_e_smile.gif

    Now, if D3 had said "we will not change Thor" and then do so...that is a deception. They dont have to ask our permission or even notify us to changes though - it's their game. It's also not deception by omission, because anyone reasonable or with the slightest experience in online gaming knows that changes occur.

    We've been given almost 2 weeks notification. That's a kindness, not an obligation.
  • Unknown
    edited March 2015
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    dearbluey wrote:
    ...

    90% of the players (at least) don't read the forums. I'm going to hazard that the reason that 90% of the players don't read the forums is because they are not as emotionally invested in the game as we are. As such, changes are more easily adjusted to and shrugged off. I'll also hazard that (just throwing out random numbers here) 95% of that 90% don't invest much if any money into the game. They probably don't buy covers. They likely don't drop more than a few bucks here and there for a roster slot or two - if even that. The game is just a distraction, something to do, and nerfs and buffs and balances and collecting everyone and getting top 5 every tournament and all that just don't matter to them.
    ...

    Regards,
    Bluey

    I am a strictly f2p player , but not because I am cheap. I bought a game a couple of days ago (Ori and the Blind Forest) in a heartbeat because the game is gorgeous. A month ago I bought "Hand of Fate" on Steam because it was equally great. For the same amount (20 euros) I get a 4* cover or 2x3*. Yey. icon_e_sad.gif And yet, there are players who buy covers as soon as a new hero comes out. These are the players who keep all f2p games alive. Imo, many of these players use the forums to ask for advice and to make the best decisions that is possible. Having invested in the game already they are also the most likely candidates to do it again in the future.

    Saying the forumites are only 10% of the total player base (so their opinion doesn't matter a lot) doesn't say much on its own without knowing the distribution of the paying customers. It would be like a political party dismissing a poll results before an election just because it doesn't cover 50+% of the voters. Only this is exactly how polls work. They take the input of a small sample and predict how the whole will react. If the forumites were a representative sample of the player base, then based on their feedback about these changes, I'd say the reaction of the player base is negative. So what happens if the % of paying customers in the forumites is larger than it is in the remaining 90% of the players base? Wouldn't it be safe to assume that the overall "quiet" acceptance of the changes would be even lower than the devs expect? I find this kind of attitude frightening coming from the devs of a rather successful game and it makes me worry about the future of the game. It certainly doesn't inspire confidence in their decision making skills. Unless of course the devs have data which show that those who spend a lot don't visit the forums. Or they just feel confident about these changes because they were tested in a test server for a long time before going public. LOL. Now how many of you feel this last part has any chance of being true?

    The changes don't affect me one bit; I'm just trying to find the logic behind their thinking.
  • As far as I can tell the most common source of information for a game comes from in game communication, e.g. "Did you hear Thor is going to be nerfed?!?!". Since in game communication in this game is practically unusable, it'd not surprise me that most people have no idea what's about to happen. The guys who go to forum for information are a tiny minority in any game and I really doubt they seriously made the chat horrible just because so that nobody can find out these things. The chat is probably horrible because... well, it just is.
  • Dartmaster01
    Dartmaster01 Posts: 634 Critical Contributor
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    dearbluey wrote:

    You make very good points, but I still disagree. It's in the title, that it's not about the changes themselves. Nor am I angry or venting, I'm in perfect control of my mental faculties (at least for the moment). They could do things differently to not look deceitful, but they choose not to. Why? I don't know. I'm merely pointing it out. I do respect your opinion though but please, no one else blame my state for this unless you know me personally. It's sidestepping the issue.

    Dart, my post was not an attack on your mental faculties. It was an ovservation on fanbases as a whole. It was also pointing out that emotion colours behavior.

    However, now that you've brought it up...of course you're upset. Your recent post history shows that clearly. And that's okay. Just understand that it's assisting you in percieving the situation in a certain way. We're all human, after all. I mean, heck, you've stated multiple times that you quit (including in the title of this post) only to turn around and say that you'll still be playing. It's cool either way man, but don't fool yourself. icon_e_smile.gif

    Now, if D3 had said "we will not change Thor" and then do so...that is a deception. They dont have to ask our permission or even notify us to changes though - it's their game. It's also not deception by omission, because anyone reasonable or with the slightest experience in online gaming knows that changes occur.

    We've been given almost 2 weeks notification. That's a kindness, not an obligation.

    You are right, they don't have to but letting people know before you charge them real money is all anyone is asking. Not to mention this has been the situation since long before the recent changes. I for one bought IF covers last week and don't care about the change to him, but the trust of buying anything from D3 is gone now. All I'm trying to get across is that they are about to lose the trust of all the other people out there that are buying covers now. And that they still have time to correct it. Do they have? No. But typing a few sentences to possibly avoid this happening to larger group of people doesn't seem like a lot of trouble to me. I guess you see this as an attack on D3 for some reason but won't pretend to tell I know why you feel that way.

    Quit my alliance, quit the Hunt and was #1 when I did so, skipped pvp completely . Played one daily since thursday and have no plans to do anything more than check in once and while to see if anything has gotten better. I just didn't delete the game, so yeah I definitely quit.
  • KrazyKeylime
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    I would also disagree with bluey. i was totally emotionally invested in the game i only found the forum cause i felt the need to tell the devs how much the true healing change disrupted my game play and and made me play the game in a manner i didn't and still don't, but most importantly how upset this game change made me feel. I didn't bother to check for a forum because i liked to investigate the different heroes play styles and come up with combos on my own. the reason most people are heated is that the pricing for MPQ is way too high of a burden for normal players $100 dollars can get at least a new console game maybe 2 with so much new exciting game play, or can go to the bargain bin or steam sale and go town with 8 or nine different WHOLE games. What does the same amount get you here? 20,000 hp is that even enough to max covers on a 4*?s close... but nope can't even get your a full top tier character, but people go with it because they like the concept of the game so much. it is cause the investment is so high that people as so fumed. for some people it might be their entire entertainment budget for a couple months they decided to invest just to take a hit. if they lowered how much it cost you wouldn't have so many people complaining with minor changes.
  • The fact that it costs $100 real world dollars to buy up a 4star, and then Miles is saying don't worry....it's still fun.

    What a joke. What a slap in the face. Anyone adult enough to spend money on a game needs to realize from the on-set that it is a fools "investment". That's cool. But don't drop the ball MPQ. You dropped the ball.

    MPQ is not really that much fun. I have entirely quit PVE when I could get #1. Top PVE alliances are about to quit PVE. MPQ is dying, customers have 0 ZERO confidence in the team and decision making behind this game.
  • dearbluey wrote:
    Any player of an online game on a level more than severely casual knows that online games go through changes, adjustments, balances, revamps, improvements, evolutions, nerfs, buffs, whatever words you want to use for it. They know it, and should expect it (especially when they have played the game for more than a month, they can see change happening regularly) and should not be surprised and outraged by it. Since we know that the time, effort (money?) and whatever else we put into our characters can be adjusted, we should not cry foul when it happens.
    You're making very good points, but you're forgetting something quite big here: money. Lots and lots of money for some as the prices are beyond steep in MPQ.
    For me this changes everything.
    A dev would publishes a game for 40 bucks and then changes stuff at his leisure and against the will of his clients is A-OK in my book. It sucks big time, but that's how things work. Karma is going to strike back on this dev for his next game as he has lost most of the player base from his first opus.
    But MPQ is not sold in exchange of an up-front fee, it constantly feeds from in-game purchases. Shouldn't that mean that managing the goodwill of their playing player base is paramount ?
  • puppychow
    puppychow Posts: 1,453
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    With all due respect to Miles and his explanation, in my view Goddess was changed because she is causing a revenue drop from players who can simply use their max GT and not spend on any other characters beyond minimal amount of iso to level up a newly released character. It's all about the money. Same deal w/ the infinite combos.

    The question now is whether the whales who supported MPQ (by buying covers/iso/etc.) will continue to do so, or quit the game entirely.
  • dearbluey wrote:

    You make very good points, but I still disagree. It's in the title, that it's not about the changes themselves. Nor am I angry or venting, I'm in perfect control of my mental faculties (at least for the moment). They could do things differently to not look deceitful, but they choose not to. Why? I don't know. I'm merely pointing it out. I do respect your opinion though but please, no one else blame my state for this unless you know me personally. It's sidestepping the issue.

    Dart, my post was not an attack on your mental faculties. It was an ovservation on fanbases as a whole. It was also pointing out that emotion colours behavior.

    However, now that you've brought it up...of course you're upset. Your recent post history shows that clearly. And that's okay. Just understand that it's assisting you in percieving the situation in a certain way. We're all human, after all. I mean, heck, you've stated multiple times that you quit (including in the title of this post) only to turn around and say that you'll still be playing. It's cool either way man, but don't fool yourself. icon_e_smile.gif

    Now, if D3 had said "we will not change Thor" and then do so...that is a deception. They dont have to ask our permission or even notify us to changes though - it's their game. It's also not deception by omission, because anyone reasonable or with the slightest experience in online gaming knows that changes occur.

    We've been given almost 2 weeks notification. That's a kindness, not an obligation.

    Cool discussion here. I hope no one wants to attack each other here. I'm curious what if they did go against what they said? Would anyone even agree or understand that this would be enough to sue them? That's sorta where that other point was leading right? Even so under those certain circumstances it still seems unlikely that you could win if you tried. Still unsure if that's where the discussion was headed? It seems very safe for D3 and Demiurge that they could really get away with most anything, unless some larger company went after them. icon_e_geek.gif
  • Dartmaster01
    Dartmaster01 Posts: 634 Critical Contributor
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    Hoopa wrote:
    dearbluey wrote:

    You make very good points, but I still disagree. It's in the title, that it's not about the changes themselves. Nor am I angry or venting, I'm in perfect control of my mental faculties (at least for the moment). They could do things differently to not look deceitful, but they choose not to. Why? I don't know. I'm merely pointing it out. I do respect your opinion though but please, no one else blame my state for this unless you know me personally. It's sidestepping the issue.

    Dart, my post was not an attack on your mental faculties. It was an ovservation on fanbases as a whole. It was also pointing out that emotion colours behavior.

    However, now that you've brought it up...of course you're upset. Your recent post history shows that clearly. And that's okay. Just understand that it's assisting you in percieving the situation in a certain way. We're all human, after all. I mean, heck, you've stated multiple times that you quit (including in the title of this post) only to turn around and say that you'll still be playing. It's cool either way man, but don't fool yourself. icon_e_smile.gif

    Now, if D3 had said "we will not change Thor" and then do so...that is a deception. They dont have to ask our permission or even notify us to changes though - it's their game. It's also not deception by omission, because anyone reasonable or with the slightest experience in online gaming knows that changes occur.

    We've been given almost 2 weeks notification. That's a kindness, not an obligation.

    Cool discussion here. I hope no one wants to attack each other here. I'm curious what if they did go against what they said? Would anyone even agree or understand that this would be enough to sue them? That's sorta where that other point was leading right? Even so under those certain circumstances it still seems unlikely that you could win if you tried. Still unsure if that's where the discussion was headed? It seems very safe for D3 and Demiurge that they could really get away with most anything, unless some larger company went after them. icon_e_geek.gif

    I'm certainly not advising anyone pursue any legal actions. Just that they should do the right thing and warn that 90% of the community he was speaking of, that they know have no idea this is going to happen. If you run your business ethically, taking legal actions would never even pop into most peoples' head.
  • SnowcaTT
    SnowcaTT Posts: 3,486 Chairperson of the Boards
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    Switchman wrote:
    Top PVE alliances are about to quit PVE.

    Our PVE's in 2015 (not "top in PVE" exactly, but not shabby. Often took one merc per event, thanks to those).
    The Hulk #60
    Deadpool #56
    Oscorp (SG intro) #34
    The Hunt #65
    ISO-8 (Cyc intro) #51
    Enemy of the State #66
    Prodigal Sun (IF intro, no mercs taken) #91

    Season XII - Done. We quit PVE. I'll post it elsewhere at some other point, but it had burned out members in the past, it was burning out members in the present, the push for new characters constantly was dreadful, the push for new 4*'s was worse, the grind was terrible, the scaling was worse, and the payoffs were limited at best.

    And we carried all twenty members into PVP only with that decision (which is more than I can say for Thursdays announcement). Some were heavy PVE folks, and they were happy with going to only PVP. PVE in the current form may be good in early-game, but can only burn out players in the long run.
  • Vitalbird
    Vitalbird Posts: 35
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    This is a good discussion with lots of good points all around. Let me offer my take. D3 cares about their bottom line above everything else. They care about the money they are making and the player participation in the game. They have made big changes to the game numerous times, which have incensed numerous members on the forum. People have threatened to quit and kept playing and people have actually quit over things they were upset about. People have said they were done making purchases. I am not sure if they stuck to that or not, but frankly it doesn't matter. Every time they have made a radical change or nerf, it has not affected their bottom line enough to matter. Until enough people walk away from the game or quit spending money, they might listen to concerns, but they will not change in a meaningful way. It is like telling my kids that if they keep cooking meth, I am going to give them a timeout next time. If I never do it, why should they believe me?
  • ronin_san
    ronin_san Posts: 980 Critical Contributor
    edited March 2015
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    Narkon wrote:
    I am a strictly f2p player , but not because I am cheap. I bought a game a couple of days ago (Ori and the Blind Forest) in a heartbeat because the game is gorgeous. A month ago I bought "Hand of Fate" on Steam because it was equally great. For the same amount (20 euros) I get a 4* cover or 2x3*. Yey. icon_e_sad.gif And yet, there are players who buy covers as soon as a new hero comes out.

    I grew up in arcades. There were tons around when I was a kid. Malibu Grands Prix. Northgate. Tri-County. Gold Circle Mall. Forest Fair Mall. Dayton Mall. Then came D&B and Gameworks, etc. I spent time working in an arcade. I loved working on games; would love to own a Midnight Resistance, Forgotten Worlds, Strider, Initial D 3rd Stage, or ESPECIALLY a PGA Tour Golf. I TOTALLY GET MONETIZATION from an arcade standpoint. It's not just a pay-to-play or pay-to-win. It's social interaction. And you could get the game fixed if it was broken!

    But the fact I have no ownership of my characters, or this game (or games of this type), really stops me dead in my tracks. I spent $$ once to buy roster slots, just to help my friends grow us from 6-10 members. We all chipped in. And when roster slots went 20-all, I was reimbursed my Fiver or whatever.

    At least with Steam, I can transfer my game across platforms, lend it to a friend, get ROCKING DEALS on games, and play fantastic games on what Apple now calls "Pay once". I did that for D3's Puzzle games. I LOVE their puzzle games, even Galactrix.


    The problem I have with their monetization model not only comes from their absolutely atrocious pricing, but also their lack of fairness in their character balance and design. Spider-Man can lift freaking 10 tonnes or more. How is it he doesn't get a single attack, and is relegated to riot shielding and bandaging? That's not him. NOT. AT. ALL.

    Sentry is bonkers powerful in the comics. And yes, he's clumsy and doesn't care if he hurts the "lessers" around him. But he got wheelchaired. Invisible Woman and XFW should never have been released in their first iteration. They were shoddily created, tested, and released. And people paid REAL money for them. It's not the buyers that I feel bad about. It's the sellers. There's no regulation in this pay-to-win market. The whales have absolutely zero recourse when they take back the skills, abilities, and hamper investments.

    Investments. For the whales, it's an investment. And when IF gets nerfed (slightly, and modestly I grant you), you are shooting your shareholders / alumni association in the foot. You're then not offering so much as a bandage. In your mind, devs, "they ran just fine before they were shot, so why should we care"?

    That is what infuriates me. That is why I feel cemented in my F2P or nothing philosophy. Bagneto wasn't breaking the game. Mystique wasn't breaking the game.

    The dumbasses at D3 were WILLINGLY releasing broken characters in full knowledge that people would pay for that advantage. That should be poo-poo'd. It isn't. There's zero regal recourse. And because Marvel held up the Comic Code, it feels dishonest that these guys are ****-and-pillaging Marvel's fanbase.

    TL;DR ranting. arcades made sense. Pay-to-win doesn't because there's no legal recourse when the publisher renegs.
  • Vankysher
    Vankysher Posts: 324 Mover and Shaker
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    http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/26/only-0-15-of-mobile-gamers-account-for-50-percent-of-all-in-game-revenue-exclusive/

    Stumbled across this interesting article regarding the mobile gaming market and everything I'm rambling about can be viewed as tin-foil hat material.

    While the firm that produced this white paper is selling a service to help these gaming companies maximize their in-app revenue, it is still very interesting to see that whales are an extremely small subset of the most passionate gamers.
    If that is true and if forumites, who could be classified as the most passionate, are only a small percentage of overall users - forumites probably represent the greater proportion of whales.

    Based on this information only a fraction of the casual, non-forum gamer could be classified as whales but the vast majority would probably be F2P and maybe occasionally spend a small amount of real money here and there. The character changes they announce only truly affect us crazy forum dwellers in a disproportionate manner compared to true casuals. The in game announcement, if you note the wording, is primarily to generate interest in the reworked Ragnarok only; it's an ad to try and generate future revenue from that small whale population found in the casuals. The revenue from casuals is probably so irregular that it cannot be counted on except for a spike here and there when a new character comes out.