I'm gonna make my position very clear from the beginning: I am not saying we should get every skin for free and that they should close the store. What I'd like Fdev to do is to make a distinction between basic cosmetic options, like plain colour paintjobs, which should come as a part of the base game, and premium skins with more elaborate designs, which would remain in the store.
First of all, why are cosmetics important?
Elite Dangerous is a sandbox, a game that encourages players to do what they feel like when they feel like doing it. We're not the protagonists of a big story, we're just citizens of the bubble, and we are supposed to draw our own path and make our stories. And the tool for that, at least until 2.3, is our ships. Our ships are an extension of ourselves that we use to interact with the world. They're not just any ship, they're our ship. An essential part to achieve this level of connection (which is a part of the experience or, some may say, immersion) is to make it visually unique. This is the case in most games, as the player gets many options to personalize their character to their liking, but we have no options like that in Elite (unless you're willing to pay). This effectively affects the gameplay experience.
Where did Frontier go wrong?
I am aware that during the Kickstarter, FDev's initial intention was to sell credits for real money, and that was later changed to microtransactions for cosmetics. All I could find about this was an old poll in which Sandro asked if putting some cosmetics in the store would be alright. The community agreed, but I don't think they imagined some meant 99% of them. Last time I checked, the total price of the cosmetics in the store was around 1500-1700€, which is A LOT by industry standards. Have they gone overboard with it? That's a matter of opinion, but many will agree they have, especially if they've played other games and know which kind of cosmetic options those games offer. I saw a comment the other day by /u/nice_usermeme on Reddit discussing cosmetic microtransactions in F2P games which I think are a good comparison to Elite's current system, even though it's not F2P.
And let's not forget that the simple block color skins are not that hard to make. Sure, you to make several maps first but once that's done it's a matter of sliders:
[video=youtube;D68e6Wts88c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D68e6Wts88c[/video]
"They don't affect gameplay"
People like to say this a lot when this matter is being discussed. As I explained above, cosmetic customization is vital in a part in a game like this, but that's not all. Having all (I repeat, all) cosmetics hidden behind a paywall removes potential gameplay from the game. Let's look at the spiky shipkit they showed in the latest trailer. Imagine that in order to get that, you had to find the hidden asteroid base of a pirate faction and do some missions for them. The shipkit would be the reward. Sounds like good gameplay, and a good reward, right? Except it's not possible with the current model. Or how about a bright green skin for becoming allied with the Alliance? Nope. Deep space paintjob when you get to Beagle Point and back in one piece, so that you can show your achievements off? Nah. All you'll get is a fatter bank account. Or how about spending 500m in that cool golden skin? You have 5b credits and own all the ships in the game, why wouldn't you? Oh, right...
You see, in many games unlockable achievements are there to provide gameplay, to give players a reward for their efforts other than mere points. Or alternatively, as money sinks for the end game folks, so they can show off their wealth. This is currently not possible in Elite.
"Frontier would make less money"
Not quite. As I explained in the beginning, I'm not saying they should remove the store. They can put premium, beautiful, well designed skins in the store like other games do, for all I care.
Giving players a "free taste" of cosmetics would be a great way to ensure they spend money in the store. The current model discourages players from buying stuff; hell, we can't even know what the paintjob looks like until we've bought it. Furthermore, the current model gives Frontier a bad image. Not only do they charge for the base game, but also for the expansion (and there will be more expansions), and yet they'll ask for 6€ if you want to paint your ship blue. It just looks bad to the eyes of new/potential players.
Frontier is not going bankrupt anytime soon. They are doing pretty well according to their latest financial report. Elite was a success, it was released on XBO and it's getting released on PS4 this year. Planet Coaster was also a success, and they are making a game based on a movie as well.
"I don't understand why some of you are so upset about the price of a meal"
Did the restaurant charge you for coming in through the door, though?
Spiraling down
The upcoming CMDR creator will open up many new options for cosmetics. With that said, despite the fact that it is a headline feature of 2.3, it has already been designed around microtransactions. There many empty boxes for accessories, and they're not shy to show the buyable cosmetics in the streams or trailers. Hell, 2.3 isn't even out yet and they already have their own trailer in their Youtube channel. This is setting a dangerous precedent, and it shows in which direction FDev is drifting into. Are they really gonna start looking for ways to monetize every new update in the most aggresive way possible? What will happen when they fix the HUD code and they can finally change the UI colours without editing the game files?
In conclussion
Constructive criticism is an essential tool for developers to improve their games and it us, the community, that must provide them with it. This is not a rant, and I'm not throwing a tantrum. I'm merely exposing what I (and many other people, for what I've seen both in this forum and in Reddit) consider to be a problem for Elite, a stone in the way. I've presented arguments for why it is a problem, how to fix it and the potential consequences if it is not fixed.
I would like to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below. Let's be civil, ok?
TL;DR: There is no TL;DR. Read all of it or you won't get what I'm trying to say.
EDIT: /u/tfaddy made some good points about other Pay to play games on Reddit:
First of all, why are cosmetics important?
Elite Dangerous is a sandbox, a game that encourages players to do what they feel like when they feel like doing it. We're not the protagonists of a big story, we're just citizens of the bubble, and we are supposed to draw our own path and make our stories. And the tool for that, at least until 2.3, is our ships. Our ships are an extension of ourselves that we use to interact with the world. They're not just any ship, they're our ship. An essential part to achieve this level of connection (which is a part of the experience or, some may say, immersion) is to make it visually unique. This is the case in most games, as the player gets many options to personalize their character to their liking, but we have no options like that in Elite (unless you're willing to pay). This effectively affects the gameplay experience.
Where did Frontier go wrong?
I am aware that during the Kickstarter, FDev's initial intention was to sell credits for real money, and that was later changed to microtransactions for cosmetics. All I could find about this was an old poll in which Sandro asked if putting some cosmetics in the store would be alright. The community agreed, but I don't think they imagined some meant 99% of them. Last time I checked, the total price of the cosmetics in the store was around 1500-1700€, which is A LOT by industry standards. Have they gone overboard with it? That's a matter of opinion, but many will agree they have, especially if they've played other games and know which kind of cosmetic options those games offer. I saw a comment the other day by /u/nice_usermeme on Reddit discussing cosmetic microtransactions in F2P games which I think are a good comparison to Elite's current system, even though it's not F2P.
And let's not forget that the simple block color skins are not that hard to make. Sure, you to make several maps first but once that's done it's a matter of sliders:
[video=youtube;D68e6Wts88c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D68e6Wts88c[/video]
"They don't affect gameplay"
People like to say this a lot when this matter is being discussed. As I explained above, cosmetic customization is vital in a part in a game like this, but that's not all. Having all (I repeat, all) cosmetics hidden behind a paywall removes potential gameplay from the game. Let's look at the spiky shipkit they showed in the latest trailer. Imagine that in order to get that, you had to find the hidden asteroid base of a pirate faction and do some missions for them. The shipkit would be the reward. Sounds like good gameplay, and a good reward, right? Except it's not possible with the current model. Or how about a bright green skin for becoming allied with the Alliance? Nope. Deep space paintjob when you get to Beagle Point and back in one piece, so that you can show your achievements off? Nah. All you'll get is a fatter bank account. Or how about spending 500m in that cool golden skin? You have 5b credits and own all the ships in the game, why wouldn't you? Oh, right...
You see, in many games unlockable achievements are there to provide gameplay, to give players a reward for their efforts other than mere points. Or alternatively, as money sinks for the end game folks, so they can show off their wealth. This is currently not possible in Elite.
"Frontier would make less money"
Not quite. As I explained in the beginning, I'm not saying they should remove the store. They can put premium, beautiful, well designed skins in the store like other games do, for all I care.
Giving players a "free taste" of cosmetics would be a great way to ensure they spend money in the store. The current model discourages players from buying stuff; hell, we can't even know what the paintjob looks like until we've bought it. Furthermore, the current model gives Frontier a bad image. Not only do they charge for the base game, but also for the expansion (and there will be more expansions), and yet they'll ask for 6€ if you want to paint your ship blue. It just looks bad to the eyes of new/potential players.
Frontier is not going bankrupt anytime soon. They are doing pretty well according to their latest financial report. Elite was a success, it was released on XBO and it's getting released on PS4 this year. Planet Coaster was also a success, and they are making a game based on a movie as well.
"I don't understand why some of you are so upset about the price of a meal"
Did the restaurant charge you for coming in through the door, though?
Spiraling down
The upcoming CMDR creator will open up many new options for cosmetics. With that said, despite the fact that it is a headline feature of 2.3, it has already been designed around microtransactions. There many empty boxes for accessories, and they're not shy to show the buyable cosmetics in the streams or trailers. Hell, 2.3 isn't even out yet and they already have their own trailer in their Youtube channel. This is setting a dangerous precedent, and it shows in which direction FDev is drifting into. Are they really gonna start looking for ways to monetize every new update in the most aggresive way possible? What will happen when they fix the HUD code and they can finally change the UI colours without editing the game files?
In conclussion
Constructive criticism is an essential tool for developers to improve their games and it us, the community, that must provide them with it. This is not a rant, and I'm not throwing a tantrum. I'm merely exposing what I (and many other people, for what I've seen both in this forum and in Reddit) consider to be a problem for Elite, a stone in the way. I've presented arguments for why it is a problem, how to fix it and the potential consequences if it is not fixed.
I would like to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below. Let's be civil, ok?
TL;DR: There is no TL;DR. Read all of it or you won't get what I'm trying to say.
EDIT: /u/tfaddy made some good points about other Pay to play games on Reddit:
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