Notice ARX and Frontier Points Conversion

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

My highly speculative guess is that marketing felt revenue from cash sales was dropping, and it was time to go freemium. Why else the September Update ARX Massacre?

That would imply frontier are not frontier.

To me arx feels like every other feature they've done.. board level brainstorming meeting -> approved idea -> developed in isolation from every possible qualitative interest / feedback, all communication between humans done via business requirements document annotations and uml diagrams every few months.

No more, no less.

 

[Ezren]

My highly speculative guess is that marketing felt revenue from cash sales was dropping, and it was time to go freemium. Why else the September Update ARX Massacre?

You know the consoles have been operating on a similar currency system since they were released? It basically was unifying the whole system, overhauled to allow us to earn the currency to fill the gaps (or buy cool sunglasses).

It's a more manageable model; all currency conversions are frontloaded. It's also kind of industry standard at this point. It was going to happen sooner or later.

 

[Sunleader]

I am still not sure what to think of this.

1.
The Stuff to Buy in the Shop is not really Different from Before. Its just that you have to go the extra way of Buying Arx First. Which is a Hassle but not really Importand.
I dont expect to get stuff for Free. I bought the Game, The Expansion and also several Ship Kits and other Stuff.

I would Prefer just having the Cash Price in Shop as it makes it easier for me to See what I am actually Paying. But oh well who Cares.


2.
The Free Arx Stuff is a Joke. No Offense. But Guys lets be Serious here. You can Earn a Maximum of 400 Arx per Week. Which if you Compared it to the Cheapest Arx Pack to Buy would be Worth 8 Cents.
And that is assuming you actually Earn that Much. Because with Regular Ingame Activities its Pretty Certain you wont really reach that Cap unless your basicly Spending 100 Hours in that Game each Week.
I know there was or maybe still are some Exploits that allow you to get the Cap in 10 Minutes. But I do consider it an Exploit and thus count it. (Assuming it has not been Fixed already anyways)

So Effectively. The Whole Free Arx thing is just a Cheap method of luring People in by having them think they can get the Cool Stuff for Free before they Realize that getting that Stuff they want would basicly take them 2000 Hours of Playtime and about 1 Year in the Game Playing it every Day.


3.
I have seen Youtubers and Forumers really Rain on this as a Scam and Freemium etc etc.
Now so far I can somehow Understand that Reaction. Because the Free Arx System really is a Joke.
On the other Hand I also consider the Response over the top. As yeah. Its not Free Stuff after all. And the way of Earning Premium Currency reminds me of old Asia Grind Titles where you effectively got Quests to Kill 5000 Mobs each of which took you about 30 Seconds of Combat to Earn Premium Currency in the Value of something around 3 Cents.
But its Cosmetics. And on Cosmetics I am Generally Pretty Lenient and dont care at all if they are Unvailable without Spending Cash on it.

Something I do understand tough is that this is a Game People Paid for.
Its not a Free to Play Title. So I do think Players should at least get some Free Arx each Month or maybe as a One Time Payment simply for Owning the Game.
After all they Paid Good Money for the Game.
This is not a Free to Play Title where a Cashshop can be Explained by saying "Well you got the Game for Free. We need to Cover Dev Costs somehow"


4.
Something I do however Dread is Rumors on the Cashshop Possibly getting non Cosmetic Items in the Future.
This would clearly be Against the Rules in my Book.



Well.
Just my 2 Cents.
Maybe both sides should Tune it down a Nodge or Two.

 

[dreampage]

1. I would Prefer just having the Cash Price in Shop as it makes it easier for me to See what I am actually Paying. But oh well who Cares.

This actually is very important. You should care. The point of virtual currencies is that in the long run you lose track of how much you actually spend, because you don't buy items directly with your money. You pre-pay packs of currency and then spend that. This way you both spend more (real money) than you actually would and you don't count how much that is exactly. Maybe for the first few items, but then all you see is your virtual balance, the virtual prices and you just click. It's easier to spend this way. Market research shows people spend more (and more easily) when virtual currency is in play compared to when they have to directly spend money from their bank account. So this point actually is quite meaningful.

 

[Lunchmoney]

It's easier to spend this way

It's almost like they are a business and want our money.

 

[Sunyavadin]

This actually is very important. You should care. The point of virtual currencies is that in the long run you lose track of how much you actually spend, because you don't buy items directly with your money. You pre-pay packs of currency and then spend that. This way you both spend more (real money) than you actually would and you don't count how much that is exactly.

This is why I have a spreadsheet converting arx prices into real world money and also comparing them to pre-september store prices.

 

[Crazy Joe]

This actually is very important. You should care. The point of virtual currencies is that in the long run you lose track of how much you actually spend, because you don't buy items directly with your money. You pre-pay packs of currency and then spend that. This way you both spend more (real money) than you actually would and you don't count how much that is exactly. Maybe for the first few items, but then all you see is your virtual balance, the virtual prices and you just click. It's easier to spend this way. Market research shows people spend more (and more easily) when virtual currency is in play compared to when they have to directly spend money from their bank account. So this point actually is quite meaningful.

Nobody is forcing you to buy cosmetics. If you are incapable of controlling your buying impulses, it doesn't matter whether you are using Arx of money directly: You will spent the required credits either way.
If you are playing the game just for the free Arx then you are in need of impulse control anyway. See the free Arx for what they are: an enticement to spend your own money in the cosmetics shop. Just resist the urge, let the free Arx accumulate and just check the level once in a while to see what it has brought you. If you want to seriously invest in cosmetics the free Arx are just a drop in the bucket anyway, you'll have to spent your own money to seriously buy anything in the long run.

The important message is: Don't buy things you don't need or can't afford, whether you are paying with actual or virtual currency.

 

[dreampage]

The important message is: Don't buy things you don't need or can't afford, whether you are paying with actual or virtual currency.

This is obviously true but marketing and the consumer society wouldn't work if it was that easy (or obvious) for everyone. Tempting people to buy things is an industry and science in itself, ranging from brain research to psychology. And virtual currency is part of this process. It's simply proven that VC tempts people to buy more easily, and it's harder to control the amount of real money with them. It doesn't necessarily apply to (hard)core gamers or individuals but in the grand sceme of things it matters. I'm sure this played a part in why Frontier introduced Arx, but also I'm sure it had more technical reasons as well, mostly streamlining and putting all platforms on common grounds.

 

[Riverside]

People generally pick up on pushy marketing, it's a balancing act to pitch a product to the target audience.

 

[Sunleader]

This actually is very important. You should care. The point of virtual currencies is that in the long run you lose track of how much you actually spend, because you don't buy items directly with your money. You pre-pay packs of currency and then spend that. This way you both spend more (real money) than you actually would and you don't count how much that is exactly. Maybe for the first few items, but then all you see is your virtual balance, the virtual prices and you just click. It's easier to spend this way. Market research shows people spend more (and more easily) when virtual currency is in play compared to when they have to directly spend money from their bank account. So this point actually is quite meaningful.

I dont doubt that. But this is Basic Psychology. I Generally dont Condemn or Critic that.
Trying to make Customers Spend more is a Staple in pretty much any Business or Supermarket.
Or do you Complain about every Shop which Prices its Items as 2.99 instead of 3.00 Euro ?
Because Studies Showed that this as well makes you Spend more because your Brain Recognizes the First Number as much more Importand and when the Price is 3.00 Euro People actually Buy it less often because the Consider the First Number being a 3. While with 2.99 they mostly Focus on the 2 Part. Even tough its just 1 Cent Difference.

I am the Type of Person who will on a Regular Basis Check if the Big Package is Really Cheaper per Gram than 2 Smaller Packages. (And Actually for Crisps it often isnt. Companies are Relying on it that most People believe the Bigger Package is Cheaper and thus often try to Trick you by making the Big Package more Expensive to get more Profit from you)

So I just dont really care for this. I will Check the Prices anyways. The only way this makes me Buy more is because I have to Buy a Set Amount which I then have. Thus if I want something for 3k Arx I have to buy 5k.
But thats something that Supermarkets have been doing for Ages now. You cant just Buy Half a Bag of Crisps. You have to Buy a Full Bag. And you can only Buy in the Incremation of Bags.
So even on this I really dont see much Reason to Complain.
Especially because I do know very well that using certain Services will Incur Cost. And if as a Company each Sale of an Item Costs you 10 Cents for the Transaction then you might Realize why they rather Sell you a Bag for 3 Euros than have you constantly Buy Stuff for 50 Cents each.


And I guess this is actually a Positive. Because back then. Frontier Solved this Problem by Forcing you to Buy whole Packages of Items rather than allowing you to Buy just 1 Item out of that Package.
Now however you can actually buy alot of these as a Single Item. Because they dont pay for each Transaction thats done by their own Virtual Currency.


Well. Ultimately as I said. This Part I just dont really care about.
The only thing annoying me is that they are trying to make it look like you can get this stuff for Free from Gameplay. Which is just not True from a Realistic Perspective.
As getting a Bigger Item from Free Arx would effectively mean to Play this Game like a Full Time Job for Several Years.

 

[Captain Willard]

What a load of garbage people are posting on here.
If you don't know what you are spending you have no business having a check book, credit or debit card.
No subliminal messages, impulse shopping scams or psychology can alter what I think or spend.
I've already picked up one item with free arx, working on a second.
I wasn't going to spend cash on either.
Your choice. No one else's.

 

[Sunyavadin]

I'm reminded of the bell curve of information security, and how as you get to the highest extreme of self-confidence in one's security practices online, you start to see an uptick in the number of those people who fall prey to certain forms of phishing and the like, as these people do not second-guess themselves enough and make slipups from overconfidence.

 

[sollisb]

What a load of garbage people are posting on here.
If you don't know what you are spending you have no business having a check book, credit or debit card.
No subliminal messages, impulse shopping scams or psychology can alter what I think or spend.
I've already picked up one item with free arx, working on a second.
I wasn't going to spend cash on either.
Your choice. No one else's.

In my view, your attitude is the correct one. How-ever, there are many others who will simply buy packs, and even the higher priced packs, not understanding they are buying a uncontrolled virtual currency with absolutely no guarantee that the virtual currency will have the same value in the future, and worse, if the virtual currency will even exist in the future.

Go read the T&C, there is no mention of Arx, or any guarantee on it. This means, Frontier could decide on Friday they are discontueing Arx and returning to a normal cash shop. Arx at that point will be worth a grand total of Zero, while Frontier are sat smiling happy in the knowledge that they have your cash in their bank.

 

[XW_Ziggy]

5000 ARX - 2.99 GBP / 3.49 EUR / 3.99 USD

400 for max amount of playtime per week

with about 3 GBP like cheapest paint job

so for a simple painttjob it would be around 12,5 weeks ?

motivating ? to me not

Your weekly earnings cap is 24 pence.
Ouch.

 

[Ezren]

In my view, your attitude is the correct one. How-ever, there are many others who will simply buy packs, and even the higher priced packs, not understanding they are buying a uncontrolled virtual currency with absolutely no guarantee that the virtual currency will have the same value in the future, and worse, if the virtual currency will even exist in the future.

Go read the T&C, there is no mention of Arx, or any guarantee on it. This means, Frontier could decide on Friday they are discontueing Arx and returning to a normal cash shop. Arx at that point will be worth a grand total of Zero, while Frontier are sat smiling happy in the knowledge that they have your cash in their bank.

Did you read the T&C? How about... § 6? Nah? Just because the word "ARX" doesn't show up doesn't mean anything.

You sure do love to invent scenarios where Frontier does an evil thing out of the blue and pretend that it proves a point, though. What if Frontier set off a Nuclear bomb in a children's hospital? What if Frontier punched your gram in the face? What if Frontier drove a bus full of orphans and puppies into a volcano?

In other unrealistic scenarios, what if sollisb knew what he was talking about?

 

[HASIYA JIYATY]

At least some of those numbers must be wrong - 2 x 51,000 is cheaper than 85,000 in GBP.

Currently the cheapest packs are 50p which equates to about 100ARX. Can't see there being 4 free paint jobs a week

 

[Soron Silin]

The cheapest paint jobs (620 Arx) cost between 28p and 37p depending on which Arx pack you buy them with.

400 Arx is worth 24p if you're comparing it to the 5000 Arx pack or 18p if you're comparing it to the 100,000 Arx pack.

There is between 1672 and 2223 Arx per £. Or between 16.7 and 22.2 Arx per penny. Or between 4p and 6p per 100 Arx.

Arx

Arx Arx Calculator,GBP,Copyright © R Urwin Sept 2019 CC-BY-NC Description,Arx,Price,Hours,2.99,4.99,9.59,12.99,24.99,44.99,purchase,0,5000,8820,17700,26800,54000,100000 Decal Commercial,50,Arx,5000,8400,16800,25500,51000,85000,0,50,-4950,-8770,-17650,-26750,-53950,-99950 ----,0,Bonus,0,420,900,1300

docs.google.com

 

[Soron Silin]

Currently the cheapest packs are 50p which equates to about 100ARX. Can't see there being 4 free paint jobs a week

How on Earth (or anywhere else in the galaxy) do you get these figures?
50p is nowhere near 100ARX, and paint jobs start at 620 Arx, which is not 50p either.
The cheapest purchase is a basic decal, which costs 50Arx, and that is between 2p and 3p, depending on how you buy your Arx.

 

[metatheurgist]

Actually the cheapest paints start at 380 which are the basics for the small ships. So you can get one of those each week for free.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

Actually the cheapest paints start at 380 which are the basics for the small ships. So you can get one of those each week for free.

Unfortunately, I had already purchased those when the shop was cash.