Subscription vs Seasons: there are many reasons why Frontier should switch methods

Mengy

Mengy
Agony_Aunt said:
But you would prefer to force those on limited budgets to keep paying even if money is short when they could instead still play without paying?
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No, I wouldn't prefer it, I generally hate subscription models for games, but what I really want is Elite to be developed better than it currently is. I want point updates that flesh out existing core game mechanics, and I really don't want Frontier to feel like they need to include a huge new feature with every single update in order to justify the season and mark off check boxes for the marketing team. I'd trade every Power Play and CQC for fully featured and fleshed out trading, exploration, piracy, mining, and bounty hunting.

I just feel like Frontier's current way of selling Elite is hurting the potential of the game, that their very own monetization scheme for the game is what's forcing it down the current road. So many people keep saying that a season of core foundation improvements would not sell because there isn't anything to market in that, the reason for that perception is the seasonal expansion method of selling the game, so without said expansion routine that limitation goes away.

I think something needs to change so that Frontier can adjust their roadmap to focus on the core of the game, because they just aren't doing it right now, and it really seems like they have no intentions of it anytime soon.
 
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stormyuk

Volunteer Moderator
stormyuk
If it became subscription I would not play it, been there, done that. Leave it as it is. Pay for if you want the expansions, or don't. I personally don't think the game would survive, it doesn't have that many players now does it? That would just reduce.
 

Sardu

S
I've played lots of MMOs and would gladly pay the $15 a month if I had faith that FDEV could deliver deep gameplay and frequent updates. However, I've been here over a year and do not feel that they have the ability for whatever reason. So I'm happy to sit here with my wallet closed (yeah not buying anything from the store) until I see major improvements.
 
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Tarman

Tarman
Mengy said:
No, I wouldn't prefer it, I generally hate subscription models for games, but what I really want is Elite to be developed better than it currently is. I want point updates that flesh out existing core game mechanics, and I really don't want Frontier to feel like they need to include a huge new feature with every single update in order to justify the season and mark off check boxes for the marketing team. I'd trade every Power Play and CQC for fully featured and fleshed out trading, exploration, piracy, mining, and bounty hunting.

I just feel like Frontier's current way of selling Elite is hurting the potential of the game, that their very own monetization scheme for the game is what's forcing it down the current road. So many people keep saying that a season of core foundation improvements would not sell because there isn't anything to market in that, the reason for that perception is the seasonal expansion method of selling the game, so without said expansion routine that limitation goes away.

I think something needs to change so that Frontier can adjust their roadmap to focus on the core of the game, because they just aren't doing it right now, and it really seems like they have no intentions of it anytime soon.
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Something may need to change, but this angle ain't it. Introducing subs does nothing to assist the development side of the game. It could alienate a large majority of players and cause an unrecoverable PR nightmare though. The model to feed us game phases can change if it needs to but not the way we give money to Frontier for it at such a fundamental level.

When subs and change are mentioned in gaming in the modern era it's generally about moving away from any currently-existing subbed model (yes EVE still does it, but you can also make enough real money playing EVE to pay for your sub plus extra so that's a whole other ball of fish). I see modern subs marketed much more as voluntary patronage providing frivolous exclusives for paid players rather than the "pay or don't play" lockout concepts as in days past. ESO used this concept when they dropped their failing sub model; the existing subbed players were provided fancier accounts and easier access to goodies if they wished to continue paying.

Whalegravy on tap is fine; FD just needs to turbocharge their store and get someone in there, that is NOT their current Marketing team, who actually understands how to sell things to us as a playerbase. On that point I agree with you; their Marketing team is the least talented entity in the entire FD outfit apart from that spellchecker guy. I mean really, I honestly do not believe a single one of them has read ANYTHING in this forum since before 2014. The programmers and other FD folks who show up here have cause to be proud that they actually do listen to us most of the time. Marketing however must think they're the cat's butt because this forum has been filled with Frymeme-grade ways for us to hand them our monies for years.
 

[VR] Enexemander

[VR] Enexemander
Subscription is a dead business model. You pull in *less* money doing that. This is why most MMOs are pay to play but not sub, or free to play and lean heavily on cosmetics. Look at SWTOR. Do you think EA went F2P out of the goodness of their hearts? Hearty laugh.
 

MrFailfactory

MrFailfactory
The price of the sub would be the cost for a season/12? That's cute. Perhaps you should look at what the current standard subscription model's monthly price is, since it seems you are not aware.

While you are looking at that, you might also want to look at every expansion for World of Warcraft, and see whether or not each of those (without exception) has some kind of headline new feature. Most of the updates/patches during the expansions contain these as well. On top of this, you might want to look at the timing of Blizzard's new content releases - you know, that company that is arguably the best in the business? They don't spend an expansion just fixing and fleshing out things, so I'm really not sure why you would expect Frontier to focus on these things to the exclusion of all else.

I'll wait.







Now that you hopefully realize that you are woefully incorrect on those assumptions, please tell me again how a subscription model would benefit this game, or really change anything at all, other than how much it costs us to play it per year, and how much extra it costs Frontier to operate this game. Indeed, a subscription model comes with a higher set of expectations, most of which are very reasonable, and have already been mentioned in this thread so far. These expectations increase the cost of operating the game by a significant margin. Our cost to play the game would double, at the very least.

Riôt
 
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Ian Skippy

Ian Skippy
No. I want people like this to keep playing even if they cant pay their sub. I dont care if I pay $60 per expansion or x/month, but for others being locked out without monthly payments is terrible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgR_f_RYBJY

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MrFailfactory said:
The price of the sub would be the cost for a season/12? That's cute. Perhaps you should look at what the current standard subscription model's monthly price is, since it seems you are not aware.
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Yeah. we're getting massive bang for our buck, Horizons would have cost +-$150 with a normal sub system.

MrFailfactory said:
They don't spend an expansion just fixing and fleshing out things, so I'm really not sure why you would expect Frontier to focus on these things to the exclusion of all else.
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Its called 'being naive and unreasonable'. Many here are still stuck with the idea that FD has some moral obligation to make their dreams come true, regardless of technical and economical feasibility.
 
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Kaocraft

Kaocraft
Not even gonna read your whole post because it's insane. How many MMOs (with way more mainstream appeal than Elite) are out there? How many of them have successfully managed to pull off the monthly subscription model before inevitably going F2P? And you think that Frontier will have *more* money at their disposal by using a subscription model? The vast majority of players will drop Elite the moment it starts charging a subscription fee, and an even larger majority of potential players will *never* touch the game or even consider giving it a try if it has a subscription fee. Trust me, if Frontier thought for even a second that they could get away with charging a monthly fee, they absolutely would be doing it already.
 

maxpayne

M
Once this game is going for subscription mode, it will be dead.

even a content rich game like GTA V doesn't go with subscription. A shallow game like ED will lose its player.

I will be the first to leave it if it goes that way
 

Itaki

Itaki
Subscriptions aren't working that great for Eve Online. It was nice when they started their free-to-play Alpha accounts..but I only played once or twice. I don't think subscriptions will work very well for ED unless it opens up some premium content that wasn't already promised to us in the buy-to-play model. Subscriptions are old-school as the shift in online games seems to be towards buy-to-play + cash shop.

I like spending money in cash shops because it seems more like my choice. Subscription games make me feel like I'm tied down to playing that game to 'get my money's worth' and ultimately I get fed up and cancel it.

Right now I don't subscribe to any games. But I do spend a fair amount in cash shops.
 

Manticore

Manticore
Kaocraft said:
The vast majority of players will drop Elite the moment it starts charging a subscription fee, and an even larger majority of potential players will *never* touch the game or even consider giving it a try if it has a subscription fee.
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.............and I'll be in that number.

Kaocraft said:
Trust me, if Frontier thought for even a second that they could get away with charging a monthly fee, they absolutely would be doing it already.
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Absolutely, well said and thank you for an entirely logical argument.

FD have longevity in the games industry and the history that goes with it; an industry that's rife with failures, broken promises to investors and gamers and uncountable fly-by-night studios that have folded. They have obviously succeeded so far and I'm sure, as a successful enterprise, they thought through everything when they planned this, or any other game release.
 

Kyennamo

K
I wish untold pain and misery on anyone and everyone who suggest Elite be a subscription model.

Subscription-based games, and their degenerate hellspawn free to play games, have ruined the landscape of the gaming industry over the course of the last decade. Frankly, it's disgusting. The only thing worse is when a company intentionally holds back content from the games release to make you pay for it later as DLC

Anyone who supports this business model, both company and consumer, should be publicly flogged
 

Faybs

Faybs
Some of us can only play as little as an hour a week, while others have the free time to do 20 hours+ a week. Those who play the least consume the fewest server resources since they're not logged on too long or too often, and similarly and those that play the most would naturally also consume the most. Put those two together, and the result is that with a subscription model those of us that have the least rewards in the game because we can't spend that much time playing it, end up subsidizing those flying around in the rank-locked, heavily engineered ships. Talk about adding insult to injury. That's why subscriptions are very unlikely to become popular in a game like ED. It would actually be much fairer to have cash for credits, since the people who don't have that much time to play typically do have some spare cash, while the people who do have tons of free time usually don't.
 
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Agony_Aunt

Agony_Aunt
Mengy said:
No, I wouldn't prefer it, I generally hate subscription models for games, but what I really want is Elite to be developed better than it currently is. I want point updates that flesh out existing core game mechanics, and I really don't want Frontier to feel like they need to include a huge new feature with every single update in order to justify the season and mark off check boxes for the marketing team. I'd trade every Power Play and CQC for fully featured and fleshed out trading, exploration, piracy, mining, and bounty hunting.

I just feel like Frontier's current way of selling Elite is hurting the potential of the game, that their very own monetization scheme for the game is what's forcing it down the current road. So many people keep saying that a season of core foundation improvements would not sell because there isn't anything to market in that, the reason for that perception is the seasonal expansion method of selling the game, so without said expansion routine that limitation goes away.

I think something needs to change so that Frontier can adjust their roadmap to focus on the core of the game, because they just aren't doing it right now, and it really seems like they have no intentions of it anytime soon.
Click to expand...

Even with subscription FD would still have to keep adding flashy new content as they flesh out existing content (which is what they do now, although i understand the pace isn't satisfactory for everyone). People keep playing because of flashy new features just as much as backfilling, and at the end of the day, they want to increase player numbers, not just sit static with what they have.

You are unfortunately justs assuming that FD would change how they develop due to to a change in how they generate income. There is zero proof they would.
 

GTwannabe

GTwannabe
How about no? If Frontier wants to make more money, they can hire a graphics artist to create one new ship paintjob per week. I'd buy an urban camo Corvette or dazzle pattern Type-9.
 

khaos526

khaos526
If someone wants an MMO then there are a ton of subscription games where you can play that sort of thing. Jump from quest giver to quest giver and raid along with your 25 man guild and crap if you want. This is not that. Why would a good population of the game who only play Solo mode and have no desire to ever play with others want the same deal a MMO is? It not only would alienate a large chunk of the user base, but also turn the entire environment of Elite Dangerous into a do this, now do that set up. It's not what this is all about...
 
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