Belgium’s gambling regulators goes to war against RNG

[Stigbob]

But a change could give you a choice of an upgrade path. Sure you won't have the same surprise and reaction but I would prefer having influence over what happens to a mod rather than the current setup where hours of gathering can be wasted.

For myself I love planning it builds and I sometimes need specific rolls for that. I'm fairly sure that no one has a courier quite like mine, and even with sliders that would continue. A meta would probably only be followed by those chasing min/max like serious PvP'ers, the rest of us would tweak away for the fun.
The way the stacked rng can effectively waste a player's time is horrible design that we have no influence over. IMO that needs to change.

I'm OK taking the rough with the smooth, which is probably the main reason I like engineers as they are.

Having said that, if they change their approach and add sliders I'd also be OK with that as it seems to bother a lot of players and it's not a big deal for me.

I suspect people will grind and complain just as much however, it's not the game it's how you approach it that makes the difference.

 

[Variform]

It would get refined to the best options, and then everyone would set up their ship the exact same way. It would greatly reduce variations in ships.

But I just argued with examples that it wouldn't. It is statistically improbable. You have not given any reason or argument as to why you believe it would greatly reduce variations in ships.

Take Selene Jean and her Armor modifications. First you have to decide what type you want. That is 5 choices. Then, you have to decide how far you are willing to go. Do you want max grade? At the expense of max increase in mass? E.g. a Heavy Duty mod... Or do you take it to level 3 for a more generic variance. And what percentage do you want that mass to be higher? And would you decide that based on what? Perhaps other modules already have increased mass and you can't use more mass in your boat.

And then, what role do you play. A bountyhunter may care less about systems power and wants more in weapons power or recharge. Depending on the boat he may want to accept a high mass from that armor. But he will use a mod on the thrusters that is lightweight because he uses several turreted weapons and doesn't need to turn all that fast.

There is no optimum mod for any specific boat. It all depends on all these variables and personal choices.

 

[Gully Foyle]

"Peter Naessens, says that if your ability to succeed in the game is dependent on random outcomes [...] then the commission will have to consider it a game of chance."

https://www.pcgamesn.com/star-wars-...2-loot-box-gambling-belgium-gaming-commission

Might be worth considering alternative options for Engineers - sliders perhaps; because, as everyone knows, Elite is all about having the top notch random rolls.

I think Naessens is confusing gambling, which pays you money if you win, to gaming's P2W option that makes grinding/earning unnecessary.

 

[Backer42]

I think Naessens is confusing gambling, which pays you money if you win, to gaming's P2W option that makes grinding/earning unnecessary.

The option to win money is not a necessary precondition for all gambling laws.

For many gambling laws material prizes (that includes digital items) based on money stakes are good enough to qualify a game as gambling.

 

[Neo-ST]

Belgium says loot boxes are gambling, wants them banned in Europe

 

[YinYin]

- Any RPG works on random chance
- Purchasing an online RPG with cash or MMO with a subscription COULD count the entire game as a game of chance due to sheer mechanics.

It cannot. You are buying and getting the entire game.

You are not buying a black box and hope the game you want might be in there, just to buy another when it isn't.

The definition for gambling is pretty simple and it's surprising that micro transactions with random results have gone uncontrolled for that long.

Arguably, when I buy a train ticket I'm gambling on a train arriving, and getting me to my destination.

You get a refund in these cases, because the paid service wasn't delivered.

You don't get a refund for buying something random to begin with.

 

[Requiem Mortis]

Belgium says loot boxes are gambling, wants them banned in Europe

That's not what the linked article actually says....a line further into the article...

"It seems a bit odd that the Justice Minister would comment on the matter and call for a ban before the investigation was completed".

With regards to ...STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II

My personal view of the use of Loot Boxes within the game....The initial implementation was a cynical means of gouging more money from the players by gating access to the 'Heroes' behind a progression grind wall that could be cicurmvented by paying for the loot boxes instead. And yes it's gambling because your paying for the 'chance' of getting the cards you need to unlock them. From what I've read the progression system is borked big time, and the cards you get from the loot boxes could be for characters you don't have and or don't want. I will be following the news closely for this game as it's one my 13 year old son wants with a passion and I would like to play too. But as it stands I will not be purchasing until I get more news on what EA are going to do following the 'Temporary' removal of the purchasing of 'Crystals' the ingame currency used to buy the Loot Boxes.

I hope the gaming industry as a whole is taking notice and that loot boxes purchasable for real money (whether that be via a purchase of ingame currency first or not) will be used for cosmetic enhancements only, otherwise it's 'Pay to Win' and I for one will not go that route.