That ship has sailed. Personally I'd prefer subscription and living wage problems solves with a global guaranteed minimal wage system, but I'm the kind of socialist your mother warned you of, and, well, I really don't think Frontier has the option of changing the model now anyway. And probably not enough influence to introduce the wage thingie. Here's hoping?
Subscription model for better multiplayer experience... Would you pay for it ?
- Thread starter Jim Panse
- Start date
That ship has sailed. Personally I'd prefer subscription and living wage problems solves with a global guaranteed minimal wage system, but I'm the kind of socialist your mother warned you of, and, well, I really don't think Frontier has the option of changing the model now anyway. And probably not enough influence to introduce the wage thingie. Here's hoping?
The way I see it, Elite is focused on the Exploration and self development so players are going to go exploring and doing their own thing and if you are lucky see another player or two in passing.
So why is there a need to have a huge server processing data of all the players in the game when the likely hood is that it wont be needed.
Even in today's mmo's, day launch lots of lag, lots of fighting over mobs lots of servers lots of expense, give it a few months players spread out and with-in a year server consolidation. Even then the max number of players you see are around 100 or so..... and how many of them do you interact with. Chat is just full of cr*p.
If they had a pay model I would take it up, but it would not be for a central server but free upgrades, free cosmetics and knowing that I am keeping the development alive.
If you opt out of the pay model, then the store is where you would get the cosmetic from, and any major add-on you would pay for.
This way the player base can pick and choose based on their financial situation.
Personally I have see the networking work in private groups, and I have seen it fail in open but in time I think it will work out.
So why is there a need to have a huge server processing data of all the players in the game when the likely hood is that it wont be needed.
Even in today's mmo's, day launch lots of lag, lots of fighting over mobs lots of servers lots of expense, give it a few months players spread out and with-in a year server consolidation. Even then the max number of players you see are around 100 or so..... and how many of them do you interact with. Chat is just full of cr*p.
If they had a pay model I would take it up, but it would not be for a central server but free upgrades, free cosmetics and knowing that I am keeping the development alive.
If you opt out of the pay model, then the store is where you would get the cosmetic from, and any major add-on you would pay for.
This way the player base can pick and choose based on their financial situation.
Personally I have see the networking work in private groups, and I have seen it fail in open but in time I think it will work out.
i will happily pay for the expansions as i missed the "season pass" and paint job if i like them.
But a monthly fee is a no-go i played eve for 6 years and WOW for a year. and it always bugged me that i paid 30 days upfront not knowing how much time i will have to play.
In my situation im an business trips for 4 days a week. then i need to have some social time with friends and family that means i have about 8 hours worth of play time that i need to split between playing with non E
playing friends and E so 4 hours for 9.99 a month .. no thank you. i could afford it but i would not.
But a monthly fee is a no-go i played eve for 6 years and WOW for a year. and it always bugged me that i paid 30 days upfront not knowing how much time i will have to play.
In my situation im an business trips for 4 days a week. then i need to have some social time with friends and family that means i have about 8 hours worth of play time that i need to split between playing with non E
playing friends and E so 4 hours for 9.99 a month .. no thank you. i could afford it but i would not.
No.
I'm not (nor ever have been) into Elite for the MP. Elite has always been a SP game so far, and that is what i'm happy paying for. Keep in mind i general hate MP game experiences (unless local with a group of actual friends), so that reflects on my perspective.
Elite has been a fantastic game experience right from it's start in 1984, and that is what i invest in for ED.
I've had zero longterm positive public MP game experiences on any platform, so i will never pay for that (i should be paid for enduring the game-breaking it causes!).
I'm not (nor ever have been) into Elite for the MP. Elite has always been a SP game so far, and that is what i'm happy paying for. Keep in mind i general hate MP game experiences (unless local with a group of actual friends), so that reflects on my perspective.
Elite has been a fantastic game experience right from it's start in 1984, and that is what i invest in for ED.
I've had zero longterm positive public MP game experiences on any platform, so i will never pay for that (i should be paid for enduring the game-breaking it causes!).
Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
Sorry, I obviously didn't make myself very clear. Call me a cynic but I stand by my last sentence.
As to we have some sort of strangle hold over the devs about what goes in to the game,, and, your point ?
The pitfalls,, you mean like totally reliable multiplayer, fantastic in game comms, real power inasmuch I don't like I stop playing and go somewhere else.
I hate to say this but there is a very large ask being made here for basically not a lot of cash from the VAST MAJORITY of players.
Everyone wants it to play silky smooth as a multiplayer experience like Eve or WOW but many are not willing to pay for it...............
Well imho that aint gonna happen.
Biggest reason. Do you think the people who are creating this wonderful experience are doing it for totally altruistic reasons... Or maybe if not, they should ?
Am not sure what to call that, the answers range through naive, stupid, or just plain selfish.
Am sorry for the insults but for me it is stating the obvious as it appears some are trying to conflate the issue by arguing it would somehow "taint" and invite badness into the game.
All it does is cost more in cash terms and I for one would personally prefer paying that way than in the constant hassle that will be our lot over the coming months/years.
And it will..
Indeed, it is total conjecture at this point.
Allowing some players (the shouty ones who team up) to hold sway over the developers is probably not a good idea - it has happened in at least one game to very mixed reviews from those who have experience of it.
Pitfalls as in the possible player influence mentioned above, the fact that even at £5 per month a player would in effect be paying for the game one-and-a-half times a year (based on the present retail price).
Not everyone is particularly interested in the multi-player game - that much has been clear from the outset as evidenced by the solo-offline mode that has been added.
Frontier are creating the game to make money, of course - that is what companies do. They are not a charity. Opting for a buy-to-play with paid expansions model rather than subscription model allows Frontier to retain control of the development of the game and prioritise expansions as they choose.
The late introduction of subs would without doubt taint the perception of a large proportion of the c.140k backers who have already bought into the game. Being required to pay over-and-over for a game already paid for is not going to appeal to all players (or potential players).
Again, your expectation of constant hassle is an expectation based on your opinion - it has yet to come to fruition.
![[VR] Mad Mike](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/27/27910.jpg?1553527108){kind=avatar}
imo the only way this game could become subs based without offending a huge percentage of the early backers, who pledged based partly on the promise of it being free to play, once the game was purchased, would be to announce the game was going subs based for everyone who purchases from [insert future date here]
That way all current backers get what they were promised and only new people would have to pay.
"fart in an elevator" springs to mind as to how well that would go down however
it is moot anyway, as from what we know so far, FD are still fully happy with the existing idea and are confident of it getting ironed out in beta/gamma.
That way all current backers get what they were promised and only new people would have to pay.
"fart in an elevator" springs to mind as to how well that would go down however
it is moot anyway, as from what we know so far, FD are still fully happy with the existing idea and are confident of it getting ironed out in beta/gamma.
no!
If i have to pay a monthly fee I'm out. I already payed for a full price game and there will be expansions which will cost rougly the same i think. so no.
I don't think it's a good idea to divide the community. The players with a sub will have other expectations than the rest. Also it will feel like a huge ripoff anyway.
If i have to pay a monthly fee I'm out. I already payed for a full price game and there will be expansions which will cost rougly the same i think. so no.
I don't think it's a good idea to divide the community. The players with a sub will have other expectations than the rest. Also it will feel like a huge ripoff anyway.
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.... would throwing money at the issue solve the issue?
MorkFromOrk
Banned
Absolutely YES!
Providing it was not the only one way to play the game.
PvP would be one reason for this but having highly organised events (from FD) that would work best using a server model would make this fantastic. P2P will severely limit what they can offer but having an optional server mode to provide additional content types might be worth subscribing to.
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Not in the corporate software world it isn't. Heard of the cloud?
Providing it was not the only one way to play the game.
PvP would be one reason for this but having highly organised events (from FD) that would work best using a server model would make this fantastic. P2P will severely limit what they can offer but having an optional server mode to provide additional content types might be worth subscribing to.
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Not in the corporate software world it isn't. Heard of the cloud?
Yeah man
You said it. Why would people ask to pay MORE money??? Have a premium server for people who what it. If a monthly bill was required i would ask for a refund. I have already spent good part of £100 on this game.
You said it. Why would people ask to pay MORE money??? Have a premium server for people who what it. If a monthly bill was required i would ask for a refund. I have already spent good part of £100 on this game.
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Oh If I could RENT a server (e.g. As a signed AMI on Amazon), I would rent like three of them. So when I leave an island other players could still enjoy the benefits of the spare server hosting their game.
I agree, I think the whole subs idea is dead in the water and not even up for consideration imo, if that was the model FD wanted they should/would have said so in the KS. They didn't and now for better or for worse (I think for better) we have what we have.
Its just that is the "least" bad way I could see it happening, and its not without precident. My old credit card, I got in at the start and there was no fee. A fee was eventually introduced, but only for newcomers. We both got exactly the same product only I didn't pay the .... £1 or £2 a month for the card. I am not suggesting splitting the community, just that early backers would not have to pay.
With limited play time I have zero interest in a sub Some months I may play for a couple of hrs if that!.. IF the game had been free to play - ie no upfront cost - I would have gotten behind a "pay for blocks of time".... ie you pay for 20hrs play for a set amount, which maybe does not expire for 6 months......
but I wont even support that now as I would feel it would be double dipping without having warning us of it upfront.
The p2p multiplayer experience is really bad atm and I don't know if it can be fixed without dedicated servers.
But a full on subscription would be rather much I think since the game doesn't really have an "end game". Something like 2€ per month maybe.
I would welcome an open source dedicated server model which would greatly reduce the cost, so anybody with a server can install, run and help with the network. Maybe simply as bigger nodes in the P2P network.
But a full on subscription would be rather much I think since the game doesn't really have an "end game". Something like 2€ per month maybe.
I would welcome an open source dedicated server model which would greatly reduce the cost, so anybody with a server can install, run and help with the network. Maybe simply as bigger nodes in the P2P network.
Legally that would be a Breach of Contract.. although I have to admit I think it would be the first time in history a game from Free-to-play to subscription after release.
You idea (albeit was a valid concept) would run afoul of legal obligations because anyone that bought it, it says on the cover that it is free-to-play. Anyone who buys it would suddenly get 'No, we changed our mind'. False advertising lawsuit heaven.
Do people understand the great benefits of a subscription based system?
The devs get a constant secure income and can keep evolving, expanding and servecing the game without having to trick us into buying payware dlc, skins, expansions etc, all those things would be available for "free".
They do have to worry about keeping playercounts, and that is done by evolving the game and adding to ita content.
People pay subscription costs for internet, tv, sports broadcasts, music, training/sports facilities, but when it comes to gaming, apperently its not worthwhile? Wth?
However, since ED is hardly a multiplayer heavy game (yet) i wouldnt be prepared to pay for it, at least not yet.
The devs get a constant secure income and can keep evolving, expanding and servecing the game without having to trick us into buying payware dlc, skins, expansions etc, all those things would be available for "free".
They do have to worry about keeping playercounts, and that is done by evolving the game and adding to ita content.
People pay subscription costs for internet, tv, sports broadcasts, music, training/sports facilities, but when it comes to gaming, apperently its not worthwhile? Wth?
However, since ED is hardly a multiplayer heavy game (yet) i wouldnt be prepared to pay for it, at least not yet.
Greetings Commanders & Frontier Team,
i don´t know if this was discussed already but i´ve had it on my mind for longer now. To be honest, i´m not pleased with the actual networking system. I know its beta but the instancing dosen´t work very well. So my question to you all out there and Frontier:
"Would you pay a monthly fee if there would be a change at the networking system ?"
I would definitly do it. Everyone is talking about the multiplayer experience... but the actual system dosen´t give it to us. 10 bucks/Euro/dollar/whatever would be fine from my side.
What are your ideas or suggestions ?
Hope to read a lot
Cmdr. Jim Panse
Short answer: No
Weeelll ...
On the one hand I'm so anxious for this game to be a resounding success that I'd be willing to fly from Australia to the UK and personally shower David Braben with my money
... but to be sensible, even though I was an early backer if the devs thought subs were in, then I'd pay up regardless of prior promises etc. However, I realize that many others aren't able to afford to do that and would consider it a betrayal of the original game pitch. So for that reason I'd have to say, on reflection, no - stay with monetization through microtransactios, but keep them to vanity items.
One thing that has surprised me, in connection to this, is the lack of merchandising. I REALLY don't get why FD aren't already shovelling T-shirts, mugs and other paraphenalia out the door, both as a source of income and a source of publicity.
That's the real lost opportunity.
^ This x 1,000 ^
Where's my Elite mug for coffee/tea? Where's my Sidewinder/Cobra/Viper etc build-it-yourself scale model kit? Where's my ship specific t-shirts? Where's my plinth mounted space station model? Where's my Elite etched beer/cider/wine glass?
The list is practically endless regarding income streams and that's without in-game cosmetic/vanity items. Maybe these things are coming when the game is sorted or maybe not. Whatever, it's a missed opportunity to generate significant funds now.
As for subscriptions I would have to say no, I'm not interested. My circumstances have changed enough since PB that I could probably stretch to it but I wouldn't really want to. I generally play in a group, occasionally in open but I'm not a fanatic online player by any stretch. Single player offline would suit me fine so that's what I'd do if it ever became sub based.
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So you're quite happy to exclude all those players who cannot afford a subscription service? Nice.