A Pain in the Arx...

[JesusRocks1988]

Actually I'd love to have the ability to buy all stuff I am not able to unlock in game.

Unlocking the thargoid bobblehead was a pain, I had to return from Colonia, refit a Corvette for AX,
relearn again how to kill Aliens, and then do the unlock fly-arounds. Sometimes buying things is nice.
The II decal I was two days late for example.

That way I can at least decide if I can haz stuffz.
Sure, you can argue for and against that, but I'd wager if we get a super duper unique unlock in Colonia, a lot of people
would become very salty

I think the trick is to put enough unlockables in the game that nobody really minds where they are. If you have plentiful choices that make sense to the lore, then people might be happier to unlock the ones near them first, and maybe think about venturing out to Colonia, or back to the bubble from Colonia to unlock more.

I'd take any cosmetic I could get ingame on top of getting the ARX, as long as it makes sense in the simulation. I would have trouble describing how much I'd hate to see achievements in Elite...

I wouldn't think of these as achievements, they're more like the rewards that come with RPG-style optional challenges.
Achievements mean next to nothing, and you can't do anything with them, but unlockable customisations that help to immerse you in the world more (best example from my OP being unlocking the so-far NPC-exclusive S&R paint job for doing a lot of salvage work) would be sweet.

Not unrelated stuff like "you landed on a planet 250 times, here's a random pink paint job" though. I agree with you, they've got to make sense in the lore of the game - like if you're constantly ridding the system of pirates, they give you a system security paint job. Even better to that effect would be adding the gameplay to allow us to sign up to be system security and undertake specialised missions to that effect, to go along with the paint job.

 

[Stephen Benedetti]

So, we all know the rub now; the current discourse being the impending update and hitherto uncertain mechanics of earning Arx.
Now, I'm not against earning Arx in-game, and I personally fall into the camp of being okay with the rate of accumulation (Frontier gotta keep their cosmetics store lucrative somehow, right? Give away all their cosmetics through Arx within a month and they might as well just make it all free and cut out the middleman).

But that's not what I'm making this thread about (because there are plenty already).
My gripe, however, is at the manner in which Frontier seems to have interpreted "earning cosmetics in-game". When I hear that phrase, I think old-school and think about unlocking cosmetics directly for performing certain activities in the game - not accumulating a premium currency to spend in a store.

That's not to pooh-pooh Frontier's historic generosity: countless rare skin giveaways and competitions, charity work with cosmetic rewards, decal rewards for CGs and Trophies for Squadron Leaderboards. Most recently they gave us the Thargoid bobblehead unlock, and I am over the moon with that ability; that's exactly what I want, and I want more of it.

But, and I must stress, this is in addition to the current Arx accumulation thing.
Travel to Hutton Orbital? Get a mug desk ornament.
Reach the final tier of the PowerPlay merits system? Get a paintjob.
Turn in x-amount of salvage to the Search & Rescue agent? Get that sweet search and rescue paintjob.

And so on, and so forth... and these would be separate from the store, non purchasable, and only unlockable through gameplay.

Please Frontier, you started something with a lot of potential with the Thargoid Bobblehead. Please continue.
Ignore people who complain about it being grinding. Of course it is, but it doesn't have to be.

(Also, yes, I did just want to make a thread with this title...)

We look forward to opportunities to reward players with ARX, but also to directly reward players with Game Extras just as we did with the Thargoid Bobblehead. We will continue to provide Game Extras in future competitions and activities!

 

[Nutter]

We look forward to opportunities to reward players with ARX, but also to directly reward players with Game Extras just as we did with the Thargoid Bobblehead. We will continue to provide Game Extras in future competitions and activities!

Excellent! - Enjoying your communications Stephen - Keep up the good work

 

[JesusRocks1988]

We look forward to opportunities to reward players with ARX, but also to directly reward players with Game Extras just as we did with the Thargoid Bobblehead. We will continue to provide Game Extras in future competitions and activities!

Thanks for the response, Stephen. I am encouraged by your words.

 

[Sunyavadin]

The Hutton dashboard mug is probably the most asked-for cosmetic item in the history of the game.

 

[JesusRocks1988]

The Hutton dashboard mug is probably the most asked-for cosmetic item in the history of the game.

We mustn't let up, for one day we might get it

 

[Scoob]

I'm actually surprised how long it's taken for ARX, and more importantly earning them in-game, to become a reality.

I don't know if people remember it, but there was a very early video in which David Braben talks about the potential of purchasable cosmetic items. He went on to say that anything you might buy in the store could also be earnt through gameplay, so the store was just a shortcut.

This never materialised, until now, and there were a few posts on the subject - one from me too - after the game launched questioning how could I earn a paint job through gameplay. It was a little tongue in cheek at the time, I knew I couldn't earn that paint job through gameplay, but it was referencing the video where he said that's how it'd work.

I must admit, at the time I assumed we'd be earning certain cosmetics through events / milestones - get this paint job for aiding in a CG, earn this ship kit for pirating 100 ships - go given actions and / or play styles might grant certain items. This never materialised however. Of course things change, and we' cannot really hold David to everything he said while excited about his pet project, so I'm fine with it

I am pleased it's coming to the game. For most people I guess it means they'll get a discount off a cosmetic they'd have purchased anyway based on the time they've played. For others I expect simply doing what they've always done will allow them to claim some free cosmetics from time to time. Yet others might get the urge to "top up" their earnt ARX with real money, just to get that next cosmetic. This can have both positive and negative connotations based on the phycological profile of that individual I guess. Maybe it's an easy low-impact spend from their disposable income pot that enhances their enjoyment of the game. Cool. Or it's a trigger for "problem" spending as they must have something now and cannot wait...and that top tier ARX pack offer the best value so they have to buy that one... you see how this can go.

Scoob.