I've waited to post in this thread until I felt I was out of "knee-jerk rage" mode and could be a bit more considered. With that in mind...
I am one of your core audience. I have played Elite since the C64. I have that 5.25" floppy in a frame on my wall. I bought every sequel that succeeded that. The only reason I wasn't a kickstart supporter is because I didn't know it was happening. I have composed music and written songs about the game and its universe.
I've stuck with ED through
I've stuck with it. When I was able, I built a gaming PC and purchased a HOTAS/Rudder rig entirely to play ED. I pre-purchased EDO. Like many in this thread, I'd buy Arx every so often as a support gesture in return for ED not being a subscription - a refreshingly customer friendly approach in an increasingly sucky gaming world. Only a happy customer spends money even when they're not getting full value in return.
- FDev first not releasing Horizons for Mac and then abandoning the platform entirely (console folks, I feel your pain, but you weren't the first)
- The horribly botched EDO release
- The introduction of the customer-hostile / dark pattern use of Arx and virtual currency bundles
- The jumping shadows, the invisible planets, and all the other weirdness.
If FDev had raised prices on Arx, I wouldn't have been thrilled, but it wouldn't have angered me, maybe just a bit pickier on specific purchases (I built a spreadsheet in 2021 to figure out exactly what things cost). I would have continued making the occasional Arx purchase to support the company, albeit maybe a lower tier package than previous.
Devaluing my existing Arx, though, was entirely the wrong move. I won't be purchasing any more "support the company" Arx because the bean counters in the company have shown that they have no regard for the loyal customers who have kept ED, a 10 year old game, in the black*. If they have no regard for me, then I no longer care that much about helping to keep them afloat.
The new pricing is ludicrous for decade-old skins or setting my laser beams to #FF0000 instead of #FFFFFF. Inflation isn't a valid argument here. There is no development cost - those were recovered or claimed as losses years ago. There is no manufacturing cost. There is no upkeep cost. There is no distribution cost. At best, there might be a QA cost when updates are released, but (snarkily) the QA costs obviously can't be that high given the general state of the game for the last several years.
Any future purchases (and those are, frankly, pretty unlikely unless this decision is reversed) will be the bare minimum I need to get the product I want. The goodwill is gone. Every time I open the Livery panel now, I get a bad taste in my mouth and pulled mentally out of the game. You've burned me.
This shouldn't be the case with a game that I and others have played in some form or another for the last 39 years. I've easily spent at least an actual year of my life (8,700+ hours) in an Elite universe of some kind. It's my favorite game series of all time. But you let some echo chamber in the marketing department undo all of that. Whoever came up with the idea is either really inexperienced, or very experienced and cynical about the value of keeping loyal customers happy and loyal. This "adjustment" should have been shot down in the first meeting - it's not difficult to predict the reaction.
If this was all because your VC or investors are griping for more revenue, this was exactly the wrong way to get it. Want more money? Do some of these things instead:
This isn't a doooooom post. I'm still playing the game and will continue to do so until you turn the lights off. I want you to thrive. But it seems you're starting to take for granted the passion that created things like Distant Worlds, the Canonn group, the databases, the guides, and all of the other player-driven emergent content that makes this amazing universe special.
- Reduce pricing or provide value bundling for older cosmetics. Bring back things like the "Vibrant Pack" or the "Ship ID" packs. Give me some reason that I can feel good about throwing money at you.
- Make new, compelling cosmetics. Price these at a slight premium for the first 6-12 months, then bring down to baseline for similar lines.
- I'm not personally interested in paying for beta access to new content or ships, but I think it's a decent strategy.
- Release (and charge for) the actual content people have been begging for over the last 10 years. This doesn't have to be an Odyssey-sized overhaul...
- Go back to thinking about value instead of just lazy quick-fixes. Admit this was a misstep, roll back the pricing on existing cosmetics.
- Host a user-created cosmetics store. If you can't/won't spend the time to make quality cosmetics, open it up to the people who are passionate about the game and take a cut. I'm not a huge fan of this approach, but Microsoft sure is making bank on Flight Simulator content created by the outside world...
- Treat your customers like they're actually important to your survival. Because we are.
You're increasingly making decisions that negatively impact your core players in the hopes of making up the difference on whales. But this isn't some "save the king" or gambling game, it's an incredibly complex semi-simulation that takes weeks to grasp and much longer to master. It requires a dedicated, motivated customer willing to invest the time and money. The kind of customer who would buy Arx simply as a thank you. Not valuing that person's time or money, and angering the people who have hundreds or thousands of hours in the game is not a great strategy long-term or short.
I hope you'll reconsider this decision.
*(no pun intended, but I'll take the shame)
ARX store inflation
- Thread starter Fnord Velkor
- Start date
I gave Elite Dangerous another chance last year after getting a monster PC and wanting something to test. I was a console player in 2017 and by 2021 I was quite eager to throw my wallet at EDO when they announced it. After release I waited a week ready to pull the trigger until I saw the filth hit the wall where it was made clear what the ED dev team & its echo chamber truly thinks of its entire player base, not just the console community. I uninstalled, came close to deleting my save data numerous times but as time passed, I sadly ended up coming back to ED after the abysmal failure of SNOREfield.
Regardless, I not only tested my new PC with ED Horizons 4.0 but I was drawn into what originally hooked me. I picked up where I left off, farmed, engineered and genuinely considered coming back fully, but stopped short because nothing was made up for 2021. ED has just been limping along. I had no incentive to upgrade to FRAUDyssey. I had no guarantees things had changed. I only saw people following the same patterns. It was only gonna be more of the same. So I continued to play solo until the thargoids.
I farmed all 3 of the titans. I got just shy of 1 BILLION worth of combat bonds on Oya alone. One of the fringe benefits was seeing my ARX balance skyrocket and saw I would soon have enough to get something nifty for my new ships. At this time I was also collecting powerplay modules so I hatched a plan.
2 weeks ago I set everything up. Parked my T9 in Harma so I can get my Cytos, so by then I would have earned enough ARX to purchase my first cosmetic ship pack. Then the scuttlebutt came down the pipe about "changes" coming to the store. The vague notions turned more focused to pricing. I thought these changes were gonna be minor to moderate and take final shape come around Summer. Boy was I wrong.
The community got less than 2 weeks notice before the sweeping implementation of the nebulous notifications. Upon login I was promptly greeted with a new interface that proved to be an advertisement eye razor assault that screamed of desperation. The new ED splash screen looks like catastrophic errors were made and then hastily cobbled together at the last minute by a devs' tween nephew. Then I went to the store and saw not only the prices were increased on ARX bundles, but the price of years old antiquated skins were also hiked. I went from being only 2 weeks from my goal purchase 600 ARX away to needing 4000. My cache of earned ARX were not only devalued but the whole system was DEPRICATED.
I parked myself. Logged out so I wouldnt have that knee-jerk reaction I've been fighting for years to immediately delete my save data. I havent logged in for 2 weeks. I don't care about getting my cytos anymore. Don't care about Hadad. What do I care?! I farmed thargoid drives and still didn't get my Chiefy skin. I'm just a 2nd class CMDR in Horizons 4.0 that will likely NEVER get a clear answer whether the Python MK2 will be available for me. But I do know Frontier made their way to console after 4 years to make sure the first change made since they swore console was being abandoned was to update the new ARX store.
But it's OK! Powerplay 2.0 is gonna get those depreciated & invalidated ARX back in your pocket! Everything is getting worse, and after FRAUDyssey that was already a low bar. We got no new content. There are only ship VARIANTS. There will be a rehashed game mechanic weaponized to play up to ego with the carrot of giving back some of the ARX value the devs have taken away. There is a term - en*SHIFT*ification. if you look up that term and correct the spelling it will resonate some truth to what has been happening as a blueprint for the Frontier roadmap. Sorry but at this point I am immune or in this case NUMBED to the Frontier weapon of choice, FOMO. What exactly would I be missing out on?
You would think that with the recent PSN debacle, someone at Frontier might have a moment of clarity. At this point I would be pleasantly pleased with even just a halfhearted attempt of dialog similar to the mealy-mouthed interview from Xbox very own, Sara Bond. As bad as things are at Xbox now, unlike Frontier, Xbox at least had some transient ground to stand on. Frontier pushes on in their typically tone deaf bluster & blunder. Do they really think it's gonna work this time?
The foundation of the community, the backbone and soul of Elite Dangeorus don't want to be used. They dont want to play politics. They don't want to play word or head games. They dont want to play the forums ganking & derailing threads instead of playing the game. Since Frontier doesn't want to course correct, commanders are certainly looking for the escape pods to other frontiers. They want to dream, wonder, wander & explore. So until Fdev and his cadre finally get that, ED might make a few inflated bux at the expense of 'true believers' but ultimately is doomed to spiral into the black hole of its own creation.
Regardless, I not only tested my new PC with ED Horizons 4.0 but I was drawn into what originally hooked me. I picked up where I left off, farmed, engineered and genuinely considered coming back fully, but stopped short because nothing was made up for 2021. ED has just been limping along. I had no incentive to upgrade to FRAUDyssey. I had no guarantees things had changed. I only saw people following the same patterns. It was only gonna be more of the same. So I continued to play solo until the thargoids.
I farmed all 3 of the titans. I got just shy of 1 BILLION worth of combat bonds on Oya alone. One of the fringe benefits was seeing my ARX balance skyrocket and saw I would soon have enough to get something nifty for my new ships. At this time I was also collecting powerplay modules so I hatched a plan.
2 weeks ago I set everything up. Parked my T9 in Harma so I can get my Cytos, so by then I would have earned enough ARX to purchase my first cosmetic ship pack. Then the scuttlebutt came down the pipe about "changes" coming to the store. The vague notions turned more focused to pricing. I thought these changes were gonna be minor to moderate and take final shape come around Summer. Boy was I wrong.
The community got less than 2 weeks notice before the sweeping implementation of the nebulous notifications. Upon login I was promptly greeted with a new interface that proved to be an advertisement eye razor assault that screamed of desperation. The new ED splash screen looks like catastrophic errors were made and then hastily cobbled together at the last minute by a devs' tween nephew. Then I went to the store and saw not only the prices were increased on ARX bundles, but the price of years old antiquated skins were also hiked. I went from being only 2 weeks from my goal purchase 600 ARX away to needing 4000. My cache of earned ARX were not only devalued but the whole system was DEPRICATED.
I parked myself. Logged out so I wouldnt have that knee-jerk reaction I've been fighting for years to immediately delete my save data. I havent logged in for 2 weeks. I don't care about getting my cytos anymore. Don't care about Hadad. What do I care?! I farmed thargoid drives and still didn't get my Chiefy skin. I'm just a 2nd class CMDR in Horizons 4.0 that will likely NEVER get a clear answer whether the Python MK2 will be available for me. But I do know Frontier made their way to console after 4 years to make sure the first change made since they swore console was being abandoned was to update the new ARX store.
But it's OK! Powerplay 2.0 is gonna get those depreciated & invalidated ARX back in your pocket! Everything is getting worse, and after FRAUDyssey that was already a low bar. We got no new content. There are only ship VARIANTS. There will be a rehashed game mechanic weaponized to play up to ego with the carrot of giving back some of the ARX value the devs have taken away. There is a term - en*SHIFT*ification. if you look up that term and correct the spelling it will resonate some truth to what has been happening as a blueprint for the Frontier roadmap. Sorry but at this point I am immune or in this case NUMBED to the Frontier weapon of choice, FOMO. What exactly would I be missing out on?
You would think that with the recent PSN debacle, someone at Frontier might have a moment of clarity. At this point I would be pleasantly pleased with even just a halfhearted attempt of dialog similar to the mealy-mouthed interview from Xbox very own, Sara Bond. As bad as things are at Xbox now, unlike Frontier, Xbox at least had some transient ground to stand on. Frontier pushes on in their typically tone deaf bluster & blunder. Do they really think it's gonna work this time?
The foundation of the community, the backbone and soul of Elite Dangeorus don't want to be used. They dont want to play politics. They don't want to play word or head games. They dont want to play the forums ganking & derailing threads instead of playing the game. Since Frontier doesn't want to course correct, commanders are certainly looking for the escape pods to other frontiers. They want to dream, wonder, wander & explore. So until Fdev and his cadre finally get that, ED might make a few inflated bux at the expense of 'true believers' but ultimately is doomed to spiral into the black hole of its own creation.
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after reading some of posts above I thought whether is even allowed to post something positive here So after I returned from family holidays I thought about new things (especially SCO travel) coming into ED and thousands of hours having fun playing this game. I decided purchase few ARX (only fragment of usual cost of family cinema visit) and got my hands on standard P2 access and one new paint for this ship. Ship kit isn’t exactly my cup of tea, but its time may come later. Fast check on stored equipment revealed some suitable and rest I slowly acquired during few engineers visit. However first thing was upgrading new SCO drive .. it is, at least for me, huge game changer because it removes long tedious travel parts where one practically can do everything except playing the game
. I then had few hours of fun including weapons field testing in hazardous res. Regarding SCO - imo they now allow much more enjoy ship piloting … I think its something (kind of) what first elite had.
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It's the best part
You can watch stars around. I always wanted to have telescope onboard for that, 4x of camera drone is too low.
However, the point of this thread is the huge increases in the cost of items in the store - especially the eye-watering increases for some things.
So, absolutely nothing to do with the "buy a ship" stuff - plenty about that elsewhere. Best take attitudes to those threads I think.
Since the ships are bought in the "eye-watered" store, I disagree with your statement. If you don't like my comments, feel free to add me to your ignore list.
I think FDEV looked at how well the weapon and suit skins sold, which were always in those high price ranges to begin with and then decided they can raise the ships/ship cosmetics to that level as well.
That’s correct, I have my criticisms to a way how was this store prices update managed in earlier post. On the other hand it is not a reason to blame game as a whole (imo) and this was one from reasons for my today's comment in this thread
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The thing is the ships are new so their prices in the store haven’t been subject to an enormous price increase also compared to some of the paint prices they are not that expensive, so they really aren’t that relevant to the topic of inflation whether they are the best or worst thing ever to happen to the game.
Yet they could be one of the reasons why the inflation happened. Heck, why do we talk about an inflation, actually? This is a complete restructuring of a market with x2 to x3 price hikes. And they did that because they need money.
Such a feature would be awesome from players' point of view, but I don't think it could be easily monetized.
Remember what happened some years ago when Steam added support for paid mods? The controversy was so huge that it even got the attention of the main gaming press, and Valve quickly reversed the feature.
Of course in the case of ED the controversy would be strictly limited to the ED community, but I'm not sure it would be any more well received.
Well the size of the price hikes along with the apparent reduction in paint jobs available has more than countered the increased availability of the seasonal ones so that in my case they may well be making less money this year.
I want them to make money! Lots of it. And if this is the future, much as l hate it, that's how it's going to be.
If it means new ships, innovative drives, and a rake of other subtle changes (dare I mention the grappling hook ) then yes it's long term a good thing.
But know this : it's a very slippery slope.
And where this leads only fdev know.
I've not bought the P2 even though I want one. Because after that other game ripped me off I promised myself I would not get sucked in.
It's going to be an interesting late 24 - 2025.
And elites fate I think rides on this era.
If it means new ships, innovative drives, and a rake of other subtle changes (dare I mention the grappling hook ) then yes it's long term a good thing.
But know this : it's a very slippery slope.
And where this leads only fdev know.
I've not bought the P2 even though I want one. Because after that other game ripped me off I promised myself I would not get sucked in.
It's going to be an interesting late 24 - 2025.
And elites fate I think rides on this era.
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I'll spend any Arx I earn playing in the store... Once the 10k or so I have in my accounts are gone they will only be topped up by play. So, worst case, it will take 3 times longer to get a shiny, such is life.
It will take something exceptional for my Arx to be boosted by real money again.
It will take something exceptional for my Arx to be boosted by real money again.
I just came back to elite around early april or so. Played for few weeks and fell in love with the game. Only played very slightly in 2020 when I first bought it but never really got into it....
I was just going to start buying arx and fitting out my ships, something I was going to do regularly. Like one big $99 pack a year or bi-annually.
But this price hike has proven to me that I will not be buying any arx at all.
Ridiculous prices now for simple cosmetics.
I hope FDev realizes they are loosing a lot more $$ by being greedy.
Thats how greed works. Greed loses.
I was just going to start buying arx and fitting out my ships, something I was going to do regularly. Like one big $99 pack a year or bi-annually.
But this price hike has proven to me that I will not be buying any arx at all.
Ridiculous prices now for simple cosmetics.
I hope FDev realizes they are loosing a lot more $$ by being greedy.
Thats how greed works. Greed loses.
The problem is that by removing a lot of the simpler designs, such as vibrant and tactical colours, they've got rid of a lot of the ones I'd actually buy, even if they were more expensive than previously. Why would I buy ARX to pay for stuff I can no longer buy? Now there's only a handful of slightly pricier items left on my wish list that I want, like the cockpit plants, but am in no hurry to get ARX for them because once that's done I'm back to the previous point, so might as well earn the ARX rather than paying for them.
The fact that "store changes" meant price hikes I predicted, expected and wasn't surprised by. The severity of the hike in a lot cases did surprise me. The removal of items I wanted and was picking away at month by month, was a massive blow. They've done nothing but burn my good will with these changes. I want to support the game, I want to give money for things, and will do so for ships as they come out. I'd spend more if they reintroduced everything they removed and expanded design portfolios to include all ships.
The fact that "store changes" meant price hikes I predicted, expected and wasn't surprised by. The severity of the hike in a lot cases did surprise me. The removal of items I wanted and was picking away at month by month, was a massive blow. They've done nothing but burn my good will with these changes. I want to support the game, I want to give money for things, and will do so for ships as they come out. I'd spend more if they reintroduced everything they removed and expanded design portfolios to include all ships.
No offense, but I think they don't give a dime on you as a customer.
I'll repeat it, although it might have been the reason why my last post about that was removed: it looks like they are not interested in the old and loyal players anymore, but want to generate more income from newer and younger players, where the attention span is usually shorter. Of course this means a different market strategy, and all the changes I've seen are better suited for this IMHO. Yes, this includes the higher prices.
All the "I'll quit, I won't give you anymore money" statements by the older player base will consequentially not change anything at all, then. Only reduced income will, but this seems not to be the case, so they "won". They can't realize loosing by being greedy if that never happened. And since them "winning" means a continued hosting of the game, those of us discouraged enough to already be happy with servers not been shut down for good kind of "won" as well.
![[VR] Mad Mike](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/27/27910.jpg?1553527108){kind=avatar}
even if all the above is true.... and maybe i am naive but i don't think not caring about their core fanbase is true tbh
but even if it is true, end of the day this is the game forum and is the correct place to post your gripes if you dont like where they are going. FD in the past HAVE shown with enough feedback they will sometimes reverse ferret on decisions.
Also Elite isnt FDs only game. Now i am not one to cut off my nose to spite my face, so i am not going to say i will boycott other games by FD if i do not like their monetization strategy, if they build it (and i like it) I will come!
however the way in which i buy the game will definitely be reflected if i do not support the companies monetizing. ...... it will be the difference from me buying day 1 from an official source like steam (or in the case of Elite direct from FD themselves) vs buying many months later from a grey key company like cdkeys or what ever in a deep discount sale - still legal but not likely to generate as much income for FD..
but even if it is true, end of the day this is the game forum and is the correct place to post your gripes if you dont like where they are going. FD in the past HAVE shown with enough feedback they will sometimes reverse ferret on decisions.
Also Elite isnt FDs only game. Now i am not one to cut off my nose to spite my face, so i am not going to say i will boycott other games by FD if i do not like their monetization strategy, if they build it (and i like it) I will come!
however the way in which i buy the game will definitely be reflected if i do not support the companies monetizing. ...... it will be the difference from me buying day 1 from an official source like steam (or in the case of Elite direct from FD themselves) vs buying many months later from a grey key company like cdkeys or what ever in a deep discount sale - still legal but not likely to generate as much income for FD..
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Yet the forums are suspiciously the last to see the news, usually outpaced by website or social media in the later days. I think we have to realize that forums are not exactly the new-gen place to be, and I think FDev knows that. And I agree that they listened to feedback. Past tense. That's why I wrote it seems like a change in strategy to adjust for a changed market. Which is not the worst business move, I might add.
The thing is, Elite is not played by younger players, because they want some FPS game where they can matchmake and jump into a fight at any time, not an MMO with lots of travelling.
But since fdev is a public company, I guess the people making these decisions don't know that.