The ARX Bamboozle - Cows to the Slaughter

[Babellon]

I never bought anything from the store. I selected a white paint job for my krait phantom and a orange one for my srv for my exploration build free with the arx I'd accumulated over time. Still not quite sure what peoples issue with arx is. I can think of a list of things far more relevant and important than some currency I get for free.

-an exploration database that lists my discoveries in real time and which I can view per location I am currently at unlike the codex which just randomly shows that other people have found some item or star as well. the ability to create an exploration flight plan which lists stars within a range of my choosing and that can be plotted to in a grid pattern allowing me a more controlled exploration experience with detailed information about each planet, sun, and all discoveries I make along the way including values of said discoveries. Including all locations of POIs found and resources on a searchable field populated by my mapping the planets I come to.

-a fully searchable database of all markets I interact with populated through my interactions with those markets. Including outfitting and shipyards which encourages me to interact with stations and markets more giving a sense of depth to the entire trade dynamic of the game.

-The ability to plot a course through galmap manually selecting my own path up to the 20k ly range currently and the option to allow the flight computer to auto plot a course for me.

-the ability to plot a route on a planet surface in my srv with marked points of my choosing with a route display on the planetary map

-the ability to mark a landing location for my ship while in my srv of my own choosing

-The ability to engineer my srv. expanded cargo space on my srv/ different types of accessories for my srv

-Improvements to the FSS to stop it from spinning out of control or jumping around when I am in the process of scanning the system I am in.

-Marking all planets/systems as undiscovered if I have not been there allowing me to properly scan them as I come to them.

-Better NPC combat scaling so I don't encounter 'godmode' ships with unbreakable shields and hull

-Those really nice looking ice planets they said they were going to do

-Fleet carriers so I can actually have all my ships in my own personal base of operations

Arx are irrelevant.
I'd like to see them break each of those packs down into individual components so I could get one item I want not 12 I don't want. I wouldn't mind seeing more interesting ship kits. I think most of the paint jobs are basic and uninteresting personally and the ship kits are limited.

 

[Masta Squidge]

If you can afford this frivolous nonsense at all and are still crying about it as though it's taking food from your children you've got really messed up priorities.

If you're basing your entire argument on one specific set of things then fdev did their job properly by raising the price because all the things I don't want are miraculously cheaper.

Ive got nearly 3000 arx and haven't purchased one single point of it.

And frankly if I'm that worried about $6 then I can't afford to buy the stuff in the first place and should probably start selling off my gaming hardware to pay the bills.

 

[monogenetic]

I'm happy with ARX as it is. I don't care what the original cost was for items in the store. I don't care that I can only earn 400 per week, and personally, I think that is a fair offer from FDev. I only care that now I can get stuff for free, and I'm thankful for it. By the time Black Friday comes I'll have about 4000 (free) ARX that I patiently saved, and can use them on (hopefully) discounted items. I'm psyched.

 

[Masta Squidge]

I'm happy with ARX as it is. I don't care what the original cost was for items in the store. I don't care that I can only earn 400 per week, and, personally, I think that is a fair offer from FDev. I only care that now I can get stuff for free, and I'm thankful for it. By the time Black Friday comes I'll have about 4000 (free) ARX that I patiently saved, and can use them on (hopefully) discounted items. I'm psyched.

HOW DARE YOU APPRECIATE FREE THINGS THAT WERE NEVER FREE BEFORE.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

If you can afford this frivolous nonsense at all and are still crying about it as though it's taking food from your children you've got really messed up priorities.

If you're basing your entire argument on one specific set of things then fdev did their job properly by raising the price because all the things I don't want are miraculously cheaper.

Ive got nearly 3000 arx and haven't purchased one single point of it.

And frankly if I'm that worried about $6 then I can't afford to buy the stuff in the first place and should probably start selling off my gaming hardware to pay the bills.

Its understandable. Its just like every other frontier feature, overly complex with rough edges (they could have obfuscated less overtly, or followed common trend and not obfuscated at all) with many possible ways to interpret the content, and of course winners and losers in the playerbase (frontier can't do win/win, its a disability of theirs).

Im somewhat positive about arx, but my initial reaction was just as strong, just as negative, and it took many weeks before i even seriously looked in the store again. If i wasn't so invested in elite i probably would have ragequit. But it turns out there's a way through thats positive for the persistent, so that's where i am again.

Just as some evidence, i do have a ps4 account and not once felt like i was being swindled by the old frontier point system. Most things divided by 50 and my wallet brain could process that. Because i now take a calculator with me into the store even though rationally you can argue otherwise, im instinctively wary about the experience even before letting my attention find something on offer.

 

[Masta Squidge]

Re: packs are stupid.

Yes. 99% of the time I only want the one color and would prefer a pack of just that color for each of my ships instead of 6 colors I'll never use for just one.

 

[monogenetic]

This was the exact scenario that made the whole thing backfire on frontier as far as arx was concerned. I wanted a type 7 paint -> Thought it was a bit stupid -> Previewed military sand -> Realised i could get that for free in 2 weeks -> Decided that to my deal loving eyes, military sand for free was a far sexier paint job than one of these -> Convinced myself i didn't want it. -> Decided to apply the trick for every other ship.

Point is you don't have to be a slaughterable cow. In the past they just slaughtered us politely (and respectfully because they also used to patch the game and earn their pay...).

Those military paint jobs are quite nice actually, and for 600 ARX they are perfect.

 

[Stealthie]

So, how many of you have purchased the Krait Phantom salvage paint jobs with these awesome new ARX? I bought this pack back in May of this year, and it cost me a whopping $4. If you add them all up in the store post ARX, you're spending $10.60 for the same thing!

White knights, justify this, please. What exactly has changed with this paint pack to justify a 2.5X increase in price? Oh, and this isn't the only paint pack that has drastically increased in price. Almost everything has gone up significantly since the introduction of ARX. Luckily I have my purchase history because I'm already starting to forget what things used to actually cost.

I'm not surprised there aren't more threads about this topic because the purpose of ARX seems to be working perfectly. No one knows what they pay for anything anymore, and obfuscation is working so well, they don't even care. Why is the community OK with this? FDev can't get fleet carriers out the door in over two years, but by God, they'll get this new money-making scam out the door without delay! No matter how badly it effs up the actual game, ARX and the new store were there right on time! And everyone is super cool with this behavior and will always defend it? Madness!

Before you come back with the predictable "Yea, getting stuff for FREE now is way worse than before," you're kidding yourself. It would take you six weeks to earn ONE of those paint jobs and a grand total of 36 weeks to earn all of them. If that is "FREE" to you, then you must severely undervalue your time. 400 ARX a week is a joke. It's a sample of a drug to get you hooked so that you buy more.

As consumers, we should demand more transparency on what we are purchasing. I don't mind paying for things, but trying to bamboozle me by hiding costs is the quickest way to lose me as a customer.

We should be demanding that the actual cost of something in ARX is represented in real currency by the highest cost/ARX ratio, so we at least have a slight idea of what we are paying. I know I can whip out a calculator and figure it out, but that's not the point, and I obviously did that for this post. You shouldn't need to do that to figure out what you're paying for something, and with a tiny amount of effort, FDev could do it for you next to each item in the store. But, they won't unless we make them.

You know, cows never resist going to the slaughterhouse because they're too dumb to know what's going on around them. I guess that's what this community has become, a bunch of oblivious cows from which money is harvested. You can either choose to moo on or take a stand against dishonest business practices and demand more transparency. I'm taking that stand and refuse to purchase anything further from the store until it begins to demonstrate more honest business practices. I'm not asking for ARX to go away, I'm asking that we know what we are paying for something in real currency through the store.

I don't think you're telling people anything they don't already know.

Even FDev conceded that some things are cheaper and some things are more expensive.

The way I see it, if you're buying a paint pack for a specific paint-job (such as buying the "Vibrant" paint pack solely for the industrial-looking yellow paint or buying the "Tactical" pack solely for the white/graphite paint) the new system is better but if you plan on using every paint-job in a pack (such as using all the paints in a "Horus" pack) on different ships then the new system is more expensive.

 

[monogenetic]

Re: packs are stupid.

Yes. 99% of the time I only want the one color and would prefer a pack of just that color for each of my ships instead of 6 colors I'll never use for just one.

I agree, I usually just use one or two colors from a pack. Better just to be able to buy each separately. I like the idea of being able to use a color across all ships in my fleet.

 

[GoryDamnPixie]

Just to check, you do understand that if you choose not to spend any actual cash on Arx, then the free Arx is in fact completely free, right? Because you're not spending any actual money at all.

Hehe, and how many people do you think "choose" not to spend cash on Arx once they have a paint job or two. Monetization is generally successful because the average Joe cannot control themselves. Frontier know this, and that's why arxs exists, because its easy money. Arx being free is also subjective, you are in fact exchanging your valuable time for the arx after all.

And frankly if I'm that worried about $6 then I can't afford to buy the stuff in the first place and should probably start selling off my gaming hardware to pay the bills.

Just because you can afford to buy something doesn't mean its okay for that thing to be over priced.

 

[Masta Squidge]

Hehe, and how many people do you think "choose" not to spend cash on Arx once they have a paint job or two. Monetization is generally successful because the average Joe cannot control themselves. Frontier know this, and that's why arxs exists, because its easy money. Arx being free is also subjective, you are in fact exchanging your valuable time for the arx after all.



Just because you can afford to buy something doesn't mean its okay for that thing to be over priced.

Just because you can't afford it doesn't mean it's overpriced.

Especially when it has absolutely no effect on your gameplay.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

Those military paint jobs are quite nice actually, and for 600 ARX they are perfect.

While i admit im a subset case with what i already have, if you can limit yourself to the classic default paint packs free arx can work as a new gameplay progression system. Only realised that a few weeks ago.

 

[Masta Squidge]

If I were fdev I'd sell a hideous paint pack with with one paint job for every ship that says "BUYING PAINT IS SPECIFICALLY TO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT!" In neon yellow letters on both top and bottom of each ship.

And sell it for $100.

And tell everyone who whines to read what the paint job says.

And boy will people whine.

 

[GoryDamnPixie]

Just because you can't afford it doesn't mean it's overpriced.

Especially when it has absolutely no effect on your gameplay.

No one is saying that they can't afford it, so your reply is pointless.
I'll assume you haven't read Op's post.
The price of these paint jobs has increased with arx therefore it's over priced.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

Monetization is generally successful because the average Joe cannot control themselves.

Id be interested to armchair why people in elite do microtransactions.. its a little bit different i think because the triggers in game to need arx are actually really weak. Other games drop loot boxes that you need money to open etc, or in actual multiplayer games other players are walking advertisements of something shiny. For me, it went like:

• Was happy with elite so tried one of the cheapest ones because its not cultural to spend money in elite dangerous. What does that do.
• Addict to elite (just the game) so wanted to make my ship experience even better (still anchored on the ship and the game, no meta).
• Happy with frontier's support of the game, so bought thankyou cosmetics along the way.
• Limited edition sales had better than standard offering paints, so bought those only because they were leagues better than average offerings.

Now that frontier suck, i have a real hard time buying paints. If frontier filled their shoes im sure the thankyou stream would keep going. Newer players roll on frontiers past work so are cheaper for them technically as they go through phase one and two without any additional input from frontier.. that makes sense.

The uncontrollable phase was actually short for me before the thankyou mode kicked in.

 

[Red Anders]

Hehe, and how many people do you think "choose" not to spend cash on Arx once they have a paint job or two. Monetization is generally successful because the average Joe cannot control themselves. Frontier know this, and that's why arxs exists, because its easy money. Arx being free is also subjective, you are in fact exchanging your valuable time for the arx after all.

Nope, I'm spending my time playing a game and doing it in exactly the same way as I was before Arx existed. I receive entertainment in exchange for my time, same as I always do when playing games; Arx is incidental. You can tell that because I started playing in October 2015 and Arx didn't exist until earlier this year.

As for how many people will 'choose' not to spend cash on Arx, I can only tell you that I won't. Frankly, other people's lack of self control isn't really my concern and I assume that if people do choose to spend money on Arx it's because they've done a rudimentary cost/benefit analysis and worked out that for them, it's favourable. Just like any other purchasing decision they make. You shouldn't have bothered adding inverted commas to 'choose', the only things that I don't choose to spend my money on are rent, utility bills, transport to work and food.

In short, your objections seem to be largely based on your perception that the game is full of helpless sheeple just waiting to get fleeced because they are powerless in the face of FDev's evil marketing strategy. You'd probably be better off finding someone who is actually spending money they can't afford on in-game cosmetics and who bitterly regrets their purchases and help them out. I'm just peachy thanks.

Also have to point out that your perception of whether things in the shop are overpriced is exactly that; your perception. You're not making some sort of grand pronouncement there, any more than I was when I said I thought ship kits were overpriced. You're just saying that for you, the cost is excessive compared to whatever enjoyment you would derive from the product, which is totally fine but is a decision that we each make for ourselves.

 

[M00ka]

Just had a thought: I really hope that anyone who is complaining about Arxs, especially about how it is evil and is going to send us all broke because we apparently lack the willpower to say no, haven't purchased anything to do with Star Citizen. You know, the game were you buy a lot of jpegs masquerading as ships for a lot (and I mean a lot) of real money.

 

[Red Anders]

No one is saying that they can't afford it, so your reply is pointless.
I'll assume you haven't read Op's post.
The price of these paint jobs has increased with arx therefore it's over priced.

Oh dear. Is this really what passes for logic now?

I don't know how long you've been playing but in 2015, paint packs cost £5, so say about $6.50 (for the benefit of OP). They were then reduced to I think £3 and were at that level for some time before Arx. So here's the question. What makes you say they're overpriced now, rather than being underpriced before? If it's your subjective opinion of how much enjoyment you derive from a paintjob compared to what it costs you, see my last paragraph above. If it's something else, feel free to enlighten me although I probably won't see it until tomorrow because I'm off to bed.

 

[Tikanderoga]

If I were fdev I'd sell a hideous paint pack

Uhm... that's been the case for the past 11 months. Not one decent paint job.
They all looked like something a 5yo did in MS Paint.

 

[Masta Squidge]

No one is saying that they can't afford it, so your reply is pointless.
I'll assume you haven't read Op's post.
The price of these paint jobs has increased with arx therefore it's over priced.

The price of some paint jobs*

Many have gone down.

And when you factor in the free arx it's even cheaper.