Will lack of subscription kill Elite?

[CMNDRMK]

I am really scared about ED.

I love this game, I cant even consider playing anything else, I even bought nothing, NOTHING in the steam sale. However much I love this game though, the massive scope and potential for improvement is daunting in its sheer enormity. The game is just a shell, given how much I love the shell, whats going to happen when/if the shell gets full up, which causes the angst, what happens if the shell never gets filled?

I will easily get 100+ hours of playtime from the game as is. If even 30% of the potential I see in the game is fulfilled then I can see that going north of 300 hours and change.

The problem comes from the more of that potential is met, effectively the less I have paid for the game. Yea cool I gets the free games, but no not cool because I want FD to have economic rational to keep updating the game.

I know expansions are planned, but the way the game is structured I think the market would not bear expansions that fill up the shell merely due to player expectation. How much potential should be patched in, how much should be from expansions? I think the player base rightfully expects a large amount of patching in of content.

So the only way for FD currently to raise more funds for filling the shell to 100% is from expansions. If they try and do to much through expansions the player base might feel cheated as they expected X amount via patching/updates etc and the expansions might not sell. The shell might not get filled and I will always mourn for what might have been.

Having played the game I wish FD had gone via a subscription model of some kind, Im not sure if its been done in games before (never played a mmo) but perhaps a pay per hour would be an equitable model that players would accept.

You pay an upfront fee and then pay say 5£ for every 100 hours played. This should seem fair to the playerbase as you are effectively paying for hours played, and it would incentivise adding content that kept players in world.

In short it would make sure the shell gets filled and the most awesome game in computer gaming history gets made.

 

[baael]

but perhaps a pay per hour would be an equitable model that players would accept

yes.

 

[thewzdoc]

No, they have a business model around no subscriptions and FD has been doing games for a long while now.

 

[Vasea Azure]

I would probably not go with subscription model for Elite - not enough content for me to be able to pay for it every month.
But hey - cheer up and wait for the updates after the holidays are over

 

[CMNDRMK]

No, they have a business model around no subscriptions and FD has been doing games for a long while now.

Not much meat on the bones here.

I dont see how there business model is currently sustainable and lots and lots of businesses that have been around for ages fail all the time due to mistakes.

Why do you think the current model will work?

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I would probably not go with subscription model for Elite - not enough content for me to be able to pay for it every month.
But hey - cheer up and wait for the updates after the holidays are over

Yea but it if was pay per hour you would not pay per month, did you read my post?

 

[Vasea Azure]

Worst case scenario - game will go single player with static universe. But really, game is out for like a week, stop with those pessimistic ideas.

 

[baael]

Yea but it if was pay per hour you would not pay per month, did you read my post?

You really think, that such model in game based on being human-astro-droid and time consumer will work? So if there will be any problem with money they will slows down FSD's... So fantastic idea, very similar to my country government ones.

 

[GrimThara]

Maybe i'm wrong but, I think susbscription costs are what kill most online games. No one wants to pay every month to play a game when most people can't spare the hours per day to make it worth the cost.
I've had times when I've paid monthly costs for mmorpgs and only really played maybe a few days out of the 30 I paid for.

And whilve I've enjoyed a good 70-80 hours of Elite I couldn't say I'd pay monthly for what's in the game right now. I've only just gotten my moneys worth for my beta pre-order.


I'm sure they'll figure out something. For now, those that want to support them can just buy skins from the store, gift copies for friends, get others to buy it etc or simply keep the game active by playing it.

Maybe one day they'll go down the dreaded path of premium subscriptions or cash-for-credits but, well, time will tell. For now, there's no need to panic about them running out of money just yet, so relax.

 

[Roybe]

Subscription=uninstall for myself. No matter how much I might enjoy a game, subscriptions are proof that P. T. Barnum was right.

 

[Ben Ryder]

"Will lack of subscription kill Elite?"

No way. I would not subscribe to Elite. It's broken and hasn't deliverer on it's most significant promises.

 

[CMNDRMK]

You really think, that such model in game based on being human-astro-droid and time consumer will work? So if there will be any problem with money they will slows down FSD's... So fantastic idea, very similar to my country government ones.

No one is making you pay though, if they make FSD to long or whatever people will just stop paying. But yea obviously every model will have problems, I dont see how the problems with this model outweigh the monthly model.

 

[vonvonbraun]

Just so you wait until they drop cosmetics and similar, that is what sells

 

[Han Yolo]

is this guy serious?

mate, if nobody plays the game it means the game is just bad. Different pay models wont help and game-subs are just a big scam anyway.

Also i've already payed 60€ for beta so to hell with your not very smart idea of introducing some kind of subscription model.

And no matter if they run out of money or if they lack motivation: if FD doesn't deliver promised stuff there will be a reckoning!

 

[TargetLost]

Subscription wouldn't work.
I wouldn't pay and I think very many more would simple leave. Despite it's too late. They can't change from kickstarter/backer and life expansion pass to subscription suddently.
However they plan on expansions and other things.
For some things even I would still pay. Not for paintings but say for something that fills the empty copckpit seat as example...
I guess they know what they do. Don't worry.
Even Egosoft is still alive and they really shot themself deep into the foot.

 

[baael]

No one is making you pay though, if they make FSD to long or whatever people will just stop paying. But yea obviously every model will have problems, I dont see how the problems with this model outweigh the monthly model.

Because people who are playing more will need to pay more, they will stop playing.
Second problem is that any business with such model is not predictable, so you cannot invest anything, because there maybe months with no cash, and no bank will trust in such model.

 

[TUXER]

it will not kill the game (people are so extreme)

but it will hurt it for two reasons.
1. less income to maintain and expand
2. everyone is thinking MMO even though its not so they will be expected to live up to MMO

 

[Knightshark]

I think this game need a vanity view for the ships when docked, more paintjobs, and a lot of accessorizes to buy for the cockpit.
A really good tablet app could also be very lucrative, i'm thinking of some companion app for traders that helps to find and store routes, system data etc. As loog as they don't ban the third party tools i would even happily buy functionality in the tablet app as IAPs. And i agree, this game must not die, and i also didn't buy anything in the steam deals, didn't even check.

 

[thewzdoc]

Not much meat on the bones here.

I dont see how there business model is currently sustainable and lots and lots of businesses that have been around for ages fail all the time due to mistakes.

Why do you think the current model will work?

Their sustainment model is based on selling goodies in the online store, the game itself, and future expansion packs (this is where the meat is, most likely). Recall that a lot of the development costs were burdened by the kickstarter campaign funds (not all mind you). If they are convinced by internal or external forces to go down the subscription for service route then they better provide some kind of benefit to the overall user base and substational benifit to those that backed the game (large discounts on the sub fees, for example). I will not be one of those that says the game will "die" if this is done or that isn't done...I simply don't know enough about the business model to make an informed conclusion.

 

[CMNDRMK]

Maybe i'm wrong but, I think susbscription costs are what kill most online games. No one wants to pay every month to play a game when most people can't spare the hours per day to make it worth the cost.
I've had times when I've paid monthly costs for mmorpgs and only really played maybe a few days out of the 30 I paid for.

And whilve I've enjoyed a good 70-80 hours of Elite I couldn't say I'd pay monthly for what's in the game right now. I've only just gotten my moneys worth for my beta pre-order.


I'm sure they'll figure out something. For now, those that want to support them can just buy skins from the store, gift copies for friends, get others to buy it etc or simply keep the game active by playing it.

Maybe one day they'll go down the dreaded path of premium subscriptions or cash-for-credits but, well, time will tell. For now, there's no need to panic about them running out of money just yet, so relax.

is this guy serious?

mate, if nobody plays the game it means the game is just bad. Different pay models wont help and game-subs are just a big scam anyway.

Also i've already payed 60€ for beta so to hell with your not very smart idea of introducing some kind of subscription model.

And no matter if they ran out of money or if they lack motivation: if FD doesn't deliver promised stuff there will be a reckoning!

Not eveyone will like the game, not every one has to pay subscription after the initial amount of time you get with the purchase.

Lots and lots of people like the game as it is now and want to see its potential met.

I just dont see how they can provide 1000 of hours of content (which the game shell can do easily) for just 40 quid.

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Because people who are playing more will need to pay more, they will stop playing.

If they like the game why wont they pay £5 for 100 hours of play, much cheaper than most games.

 

[Malkurn]

I would only consider subscribing if they offered a more traditional multiplayer server with full guild support and player owned systems. I would subscribe in a heartbeat if they offered that.