ARX store inflation

[aRJay]

Maybe inflation is done in order to more quickly wipe out the current accumulation of ARXs over the years of play ?

The problem is that not all the Arx people have accumulated are the ones that came free via the game there will be a large amount of Arx that were paid for.

Actually there is a second problem with this idea I and others with accumulated Arx from both sources will be looking at the new prices wincing and saying I am not paying that much, so the stockpiled will remain.

 

[IstvaanDCIV]

Theft is acquisition of goods or value in someone else's possession by active means. Fraud is also not the case here, unless the buyer was charged a different price than was agreed on. Don't give control over the currency you buy stuff with out of you hands, that's the simple lesson everyone should have already learned 10 years or more ago.

Like I said, a practice doesn't have to break the law in order to be sleazy and for customers to be reasonably upset about it. Laws tend to be blunt instruments and they're not always fair.

 

[aRJay]

People have been saying that they expected the prices in the game store to come down following the announcement obviously I hoped that would happen but considered it unlikely I think I was expecting more of a rounding exercise with less variation in prices and maybe optional bundles being introduced.

I am not one to pay to much attention to such things or keep records but I have the impression it has been a good while since the prices were adjusted rather Than new stuff being added, these painfully large price hikes might have been avoide if they had been looked at ever year. Prices changing by up to 50% at a jump would be a reason to moan but not too bad but this much all in one go is a different matter and very depressing.

The majority of my Arx are left over from buying one of the larger packs some time ago and some ingame accumulation, there would have been less if I had convinced myself that the Void Black was worth the price when it was briefly available or I had added more of the other colours I did buy. I had been looking forward to being able to get some of the seasonal paint jobs for existing ships and some matching colours etc for the new ships due out now I am not.

 

[SergMx]

The problem is that not all the Arx people have accumulated are the ones that came free via the game there will be a large amount of Arx that were paid for.

Actually there is a second problem with this idea I and others with accumulated Arx from both sources will be looking at the new prices wincing and saying I am not paying that much, so the stockpiled will remain.

I don't quite get it.
ARXs received in the game are lying it is clear. But why buy ARXs so that they also lie ?
It's not clear to me.

Is there a procedure to reverse the exchange of ARXs for money ? I'd rather have the money.
As in steam, I see the game, transfer money and buy the game immediately, but keep money on the wallet steame I do not understand.

 

[Sayne]

This is so demoralizing.
It's been a couple years and I want to get back into the game. I just got my new Virpil gear, I was looking forward to setting it all up, getting some new skins for my Vette and diving in.

But now I just feel defeated.
I'm sure I'll get over it, but, it's just... come on. Really?! Price increases AND lame bundles? Sigh.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

Like I said, a practice doesn't have to break the law in order to be sleazy and for customers to be reasonably upset about it. Laws tend to be blunt instruments and they're not always fair.

True but that diesnt mean you can throw accusations of criminal behaviour around willy nilly

 

[IstvaanDCIV]

This is so demoralizing.
It's been a couple years and I want to get back into the game. I just got my new Virpil gear, I was looking forward to setting it all up, getting some new skins for my Vette and diving in.

But now I just feel defeated.
I'm sure I'll get over it, but, it's just... come on. Really?! Price increases AND lame bundles? Sigh.

Just make sure you alter your spending habits accordingly. I know I have. And remember this the next time FDev makes changes relating to monetisation. They've burnt a lot of goodwill from me, certainly.

 

[Three Stars]

If you buy a fast food gift card one week, and that fast food restaurant increases the prices of their hamburgers the next week, then the only guilty party is you for having bad timing. Doesn't mean it's pleasant for anyone, but it also doesn't make it illegal.

 

[aRJay]

I don't quite get it.
ARXs received in the game are lying it is clear. But why buy ARXs so that they also lie ?
It's not clear to me.

The bundles of Arx that you can buy come with an extra number of Arx if you buy a larger bundle so in theory it mades sense to buy a large bundle occasionally when you had money available and then use them in the store overtime.

Is there a procedure to reverse the exchange of ARXs for money ? I'd rather have the money.
As in steam, I see the game, transfer money and buy the game immediately, but keep money on the wallet steame I do not understand.

From what I know and have read no you can’t, Frontier don’t buy Arx back.

 

[Cmdr Mark K]

Restaurants have palpable materials worth market value. Restaurants offer different prices based on value of various services, location, staff skill level, inflation and DEMAND.

It would amaze me to see what kind of demand drove these prices up that much.
Or are they preparing for impending market crash by the simplest cash-grab imaginable?

This decision surely can't be pleasant for anyone invested in the game, even devs who I'd imagine were shocked by higher-ups decision.
I can't imagine shooting yourself in the foot three times in a row! Intentionally!!
1.) Bad Oddisey launch 2.) Cancelling console dev. 3.)This
(not to mention various let downs and game imbalances)

 

[Sashenka]

Lol, I'm being priced out of supporting the game. I also would hope that if I would buy Arx it would go directly to support ED and not a doomed to fail side project.

Let's hope some real good content follow that price hike because it looks like I am doomed to stock Ship and Suit skins for a while.

 

[Evazan]

I was honestly expecting the prices of the cosmetics to be lower when the change was announced.

I've bought loads of ship kits paintjobs and bobbleheads over the years but I always balked at the price of the Aloe plant and Succulent plant (they dont even move!) even though I wanted them.

Now I'd be better off buying real ones from the market and just putting them on the computer desk & in front of my monitor. Absolutely crazy decision by FDev.

P.S. The Python mkII 'non contrived delay access' should come with the shipkit and a paintjob for 16000, if they want 32000+ for the prebuild. As it is, it feels like a ripoff. Please reconsider the pricing structure FDev.

 

[Razzerman]

Please reconsider the pricing structure FDev

Although unpopular, I think they should have headed for a subscription model, with options. E.g. £1, 2, 5 or 10 a month, and you get your chosen amount x1000 back in arx. I don’t really want a subscription, but they have to have money coming in at some point.

 

[Fizzatron]

So Frontiers strategy is "lay people off, increase prices". Genius. When it backfires it'll be someone else's fault, probably.

"If we increase microtransactions by 300% then profit will increase 300%" - someone at Frontier, probably

First I also think it's too much, but also to be fair, the currency that people have been paying for these ship kits has also lost worth since they were released and AFAIR I don't think there's been a price increase for cosmetics since launch in 2015? Inflation calculator shows that £10 in 2015 is worth £7.51 today, which is definitely not 300%, before anyone replies, but I can only imagine and hope that ingame Arx rewards are going up to offset that to a degree. @Paul_Crowther - could you please confirm this to be correct or not?

 

[Rainbro]

First I also think it's too much, but also to be fair, the currency that people have been paying for these ship kits has also lost worth since they were released and AFAIR I don't think there's been a price increase for cosmetics since launch in 2015? Inflation calculator shows that £10 in 2015 is worth £7.51 today, which is definitely not 300%, before anyone replies, but I can only imagine and hope that ingame Arx rewards are going up to offset that to a degree. @Paul_Crowther - could you please confirm this to be correct or not?

If ingame Arx was going up they could have saved themselves a lot of trouble and just increased the cost of buying Arx directly, rather than require a game update and manual tweaking of every price on the site.

 

[andrewg_oz]

Frontier could have chosen to increase the purchase price of the Arx bundles. Or they could have reduced the size of the purchasable Arx bundles while keeping the price the same. Or both. And reduced the cap on free Arx earnings. Any of these would not have affected the value of Arx already earned or purchased.

Instead, Frontier have chosen to reduce the value of said Arx by increasing store prices. I know that if I had recently purchased Arx I would feel that Frontier had reached into my pocket and taken back half the stuff I bought. It may not be theft in a legal sense, but it is exactly how I would feel.

I do not understand how Frontier can make such poor decisions, burning customer goodwill, when they had multiple alternatives available.

 

[aRJay]

Lol, I'm being priced out of supporting the game. I also would hope that if I would buy Arx it would go directly to support ED and not a doomed to fail side project.

Let's hope some real good content follow that price hike because it looks like I am doomed to stock Ship and Suit skins for a while.

Actually the cost of buying Arx hasn't changed so the cost of supporting the game hasn't changed , it is just that you will get fewer pretties to show for that support.

 

[SergMx]

I remember the PP2.0 video, the cosmetic changes around the force. Maybe the existing paints don't comply with PP2.0 rules ?

 

[pFVD]

When they said adjustments, I figured things would both go up and down, not just up so dramatically. I honestly thought all the gun skins would go down. I can't imagine they sell many of them at the prices they were/are asking for them. I'm very much willing to believe I am way off base about that, perhaps they are big sellers, but they've always seemed wildly overpriced to me? Surely if something is not selling well you lower the price to entice more purchases, not raise them so I guess I must be wrong.

Interesting/kinda funny actually; I thought the prices of ship paint jobs were reasonable, and bought many of them and a ship kits too with purchased arx even tho I rarely see them. But the gun skins and commander suits cost way too much even at the old prices IMO, and even tho I see them in game way more often than my ship paints, I only bought a couple of suits and no gun skins at all because of the price.

 

[robbyp]

Bit crazy arx->£ pricing

85000/£44.99 = 1889 arx/£
51000/£24.99 = 2040 arx/£
25500/£12.99 = 1963 arx/£
16000/£9.59 = 1751 arx/£
8500/£4.99 = 1683 arx/£
5000/£2.99 = 1672 arx/£

They must be taking their lead from Tesco (etc) with the 85000 figure.. You have to watch Tesco like hawks trying to get you to buy a bigger pack but with a higher £/quantity figure.

A 6000 ARX weapon customisation is £2.94 pounds minimum, or £3.58 worse case. Thats nearly a pint of beer!

I think i'll stick with the stock product thank you very much.