Request to unlock the Cobra mk4

[Scal]

I admit the cobra mk4 was a motivation for me to pre-order horizons. I had a play around with it and it's a fun ship in many regards. I do feel now that we have had our exclusive time with the Co4, and I'd like it to be shared with everyone.

As the game matures, I'd hate to see a classic ship like this fade out of the game altogether because new players can't attain it. I'd love to know if other horizons pre-orderers would be upset if the Co4 was released to the general population?

 

[tawittle]

Don't worry, it's not like FD wants to design a ship that no one uses.

 

[Jaiotu]

As a matter of principle: NO.

I don't really care about the Mk IV but when you advertise something as exclusive it needs to be just that: Exclusive. Reversing that decision would be a breach of trust. Same goes for the 30th Anniversary Cobra Mk III wireframe skin that was sold as an exclusive for $15 prior to the game's public release. While I really hate it that a lot fans of the original game missed the opportunity to get this one... it was marketed as an exclusive.

These items are sold to us as incentives. To be honest I probably wouldn't have bought Elite: Dangerous when I did if it wasn't for the fact that I wanted the Wireframe paintjob and the only way to get it was to purchase the game (and the paintjob) while it was still in beta. That is exactly what these "perks" are meant to do ... entice hesitant buyers to go ahead and spend their money NOW rather then waiting. Once Frontier starts opening up these incentive items to those who didn't opt in when they were initially offered then the incentive goes away. Why spend my money today in order to get Exclusive Item A when I can just wait a few months and they'll give it to me anyway?

 

[Ziljan]

It's not an exclusive ship. It's a pay2play ship that is still there for the taking. All anyone that joined in Horizons has to do is buy an old copy of Elite Dangerous (pre-horizons), and then they retroactively get "exclusive" access to the Cobra 4. Pretty sure it will eventually be $5 on Steam. Not sure it's worth even 5 pennies though, even when it's empty, it's still a garbage hauler.


I think making it free would be a great idea though. That way there could never be any accusations of pay2win, and then maybe they could finally make it fun to fly.

 

[Jaiotu]

I think making it free would be a great idea though. That way there could never be any accusations of pay2win, and then maybe they could finally make it fun to fly.

Lol. The only thing that makes the Cobra Mk III fun to fly is its history as "The" ship from the original Elite. Aside from that its not particularly a great ship. The Cobra Mk IV has all the failings of the Mk III but none of the charm. It has no history. No gravitas. I own the Mk III for the sake of nostalgia. The Mk IV? Skip it. Save your money for an Asp.

 

[smiths121]

I would open it up at the end of season 2. Move from pay2play to pay for exclusive.

I actually think its a quite a nice ship but not a great ship, and there are other ships there are other ships that fill the half Asp Explorer role, which is how I have used it. If it had been more unique, better or kept the boost of the Cobra I think there would have been more of an uproar.

Simon

 

[Sugarat]

Lol. The only thing that makes the Cobra Mk III fun to fly is its history as "The" ship from the original Elite. Aside from that its not particularly a great ship. The Cobra Mk IV has all the failings of the Mk III but none of the charm. It has no history. No gravitas. I own the Mk III for the sake of nostalgia. The Mk IV? Skip it. Save your money for an Asp.

Depends on what you use it for and how you outfit it.. Cobra mkIII is a competent smuggler and explorer.. and as a step up from a Sidewinder is the best multi-role ship in it's price range..

 

[Jaiotu]

I would open it up at the end of season 2. Move from pay2play to pay for exclusive.

I actually think its a quite a nice ship but not a great ship, and there are other ships there are other ships that fill the half Asp Explorer role, which is how I have used it. If it had been more unique, better or kept the boost of the Cobra I think there would have been more of an uproar.

Simon

That's the thing about the ships released for 1.5 isn't it. Except for the two high-end Federation/Imperial ships they were all just "more of the same".

The Keelback is just a souped-up Type 6.
The Cobra Mk IV is too similar to the Mk III just like the Viper Mk IV is too much like the Mk III.

Sometimes I forget that Elite: Dangerous has as many ships in it as it does simply because too many of them are just too similar to each other.

 

[Mephane]

It's not an exclusive ship. It's a pay2play ship that is still there for the taking. All anyone that joined in Horizons has to do is buy an old copy of Elite Dangerous (pre-horizons), and then they retroactively get "exclusive" access to the Cobra 4. Pretty sure it will eventually be $5 on Steam. Not sure it's worth even 5 pennies though, even when it's empty, it's still a garbage hauler.


I think making it free would be a great idea though. That way there could never be any accusations of pay2win, and then maybe they could finally make it fun to fly.

This is not true. When FD switch to the base game + season pass model, they turned off the Cobra MK IV opportunity.

As a matter of principle: NO.

As a matter of principles: YES.

The very concept of exclusivity is that the quality of an item or experience is supposed to be increased by shutting other people out, even when it is of no practical consequence for owners if it weren't exclusive. I suppose it is a natural human trait so seek exlusivity and to deny things to others, but that doesn't make it right. And marketing using it all the time, everywhere, doesn't make it better; it's one of many shady marketing tactics that abuses human psychology for profit at the expense of those who are literally "excluded".

And specifically in the area of gaming, it has become so rampant that it has become the norm rather the exception that you can't even just go and buy "the game" and have the complete package. From multiple editions one more "deluxe" and exclusive than the other, to preorder-only items or content - have all the nopes, gaming industry.

Also, the Wireframe paintjobs is a cosmetic thing, in a place where there are lots of other good cosmetics to choose from. That is a far cry from denying an entire ship to those who simply arrived too late.

 

[askavir]

The Cobra 3 is a lot of ship for buck.

Its an extremely versatile, very fast, fun ship to fly. And for a real bargain.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Im 50/50 on this.

I think the Cobra Mk 4 should remain exclusive but be be offered to buyers of the Lifetime pass and/or anyone who upgrades. That way after a few years virtually everyone will have it but everyone still thinks it's exclusive. Everyone wins <- Yeah I know, I'm dreaming here

 

[hanks01]

The very concept of exclusivity is that the quality of an item or experience is supposed to be increased by shutting other people out, even when it is of no practical consequence for owners if it weren't exclusive. I suppose it is a natural human trait so seek exlusivity and to deny things to others, but that doesn't make it right. And marketing using it all the time, everywhere, doesn't make it better; it's one of many shady marketing tactics that abuses human psychology for profit at the expense of those who are literally "excluded".

And specifically in the area of gaming, it has become so rampant that it has become the norm rather the exception that you can't even just go and buy "the game" and have the complete package. From multiple editions one more "deluxe" and exclusive than the other, to preorder-only items or content - have all the nopes, gaming industry.

Also, the Wireframe paintjobs is a cosmetic thing, in a place where there are lots of other good cosmetics to choose from. That is a far cry from denying an entire ship to those who simply arrived too late.

Totally agree with this. It's a shame that FD decided to go down the "triple A" EA kind of route where content is gated off and carved up for pre-order bonuses and exclusives. Like you say, cosmetics is one thing but when major content has been bannered off for those that got in early it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm yet to get Horizons for financial reasons but when I do, whilst I'm sure that there's plenty of decent content there, it's going to nag at me that I can't get every ship or miss out on certain aspects. Hopefully they don't take the same route with further expansions, otherwise we'll be entering the Ubisoft esque pre-order cross section diagrams to work out what version get what content.

So to FD, my fellow space brothers and sisters, if you look at the business practises of EA, Konami, Ubisoft etc and think "hmm... that's a good idea" then step away from the sauce and just say no, because it isn't.

 

[Ziljan]

This is not true. When FD switch to the base game + season pass model, they turned off the Cobra MK IV opportunity.

You're right! It's gone from the Frontier store. I distinctly remember reading that players who had the base game could purchase the Mk4 at any time by upgrading to horizons. I also spoke with support extensively about this and am quite surprised that the offer has apparently been rescinded. Well in any case, the Cobra Mk4 is nothing to cry over. If it ever gets love, then I hope FD does make it available to everyone.


@ Askavir, agree 100%. The Cobra is probably the most fun ship to fly in the game. Mostly because of that juicy speed. The cockpit eyecandy doesn't hurt either

 

[Jaiotu]

As a matter of principles: YES.

I don't disagree with you materially. The problem is that once someone has put down their money for something that has been marketed as an "Exclusive" then ... that's it. You can't just go back on that because you've changed your mind.

Personally I don't think the Mk IV should have ever been marketed the way it was. Any ship in the game should be available to anyone regardless of what they've paid outside of the game. I can understand having some ships that are exclusive to a particular "season" but I don't like the idea of "buy now" or lose any opportunity to own in the future. As far as the Wireframe skin ... that was another mistake on Frontier's part. Should have never made that a limited time thing. They'd still be making a killing off those sales if it were still in the store.

But ... as a matter of principle Frontier should NOT change access to anything retroactively. Once they've sold something with any hint or promise of exclusivity they should stick to it. Its not about being fair its about keeping your word.

 

[Mephane]

But ... as a matter of principle Frontier should NOT change access to anything retroactively. Once they've sold something with any hint or promise of exclusivity they should stick to it. Its not about being fair its about keeping your word.

Well, on that matter I value fairness above keeping one's word, plus for me it was never a "promise of exclusivity" but more like a "threat of exclusivity", so changing their minds on would for me always be a positive thing not a "broken promise" but withdrawing a thread.

 

[Cmdr Eran Mintor]

It's already pay to win, just look at synthesis and engineers. The cobra iv isn't all that great though it has a ton of internals for a ship that size. I wouldn't be upset if it was released to the public but a good point was made that it was stated as exclusive and making it public is going against ones word. The way around that would've been to say "exclusive for a certain time" or something similar.

Anyways I don't really care, it's a cobra mkiv

 

[Ziljan]

Well, on that matter I value fairness above keeping one's word, plus for me it was never a "promise of exclusivity" but more like a "threat of exclusivity", so changing their minds on would for me always be a positive thing not a "broken promise" but withdrawing a thread.

This exactly. What other people have or don't have has nothing to do with me. That is between Frontier and the individual customer. It's a video game, not a country club.

 

[Jaiotu]

Well, on that matter I value fairness above keeping one's word, plus for me it was never a "promise of exclusivity" but more like a "threat of exclusivity", so changing their minds on would for me always be a positive thing not a "broken promise" but withdrawing a thread.

It also isn't fair to sell something to someone as an exclusive and then turn around and give the same thing to everyone else.

- - - - - Additional Content Posted / Auto Merge - - - - -

This exactly. What other people have or don't have has nothing to do with me. That is between Frontier and the individual customer. It's a video game, not a country club.

So you don't mind that some people have the Cobra Mk IV and some people don't. So basically don't change anything, right?

 

[CMDR Pugwash]

It's already pay to win, just look at synthesis and engineers. The cobra iv isn't all that great though it has a ton of internals for a ship that size. I wouldn't be upset if it was released to the public but a good point was made that it was stated as exclusive and making it public is going against ones word. The way around that would've been to say "exclusive for a certain time" or something similar.

Anyways I don't really care, it's a cobra mkiv

[/Yoda] Pay to Win, say you ? There is no win, only is there is [/Yoda]

 

[lysan]

I'm torn here, from a matter of principles I believe that when a company say something, whatever that may be, they should stick to it.
They can only flip flop so many times before the customers start to react.

That is why any company should think hard about what they say or do in any sales campaign.