Microtransaction Idea: Community Store

[Sha3es]

There

To draw a final conclusion about this suggestion. Lecic thinks it´s a good idea and everyone else hates it. I think we can let this thread die.

I can agree that this thread does need to die... there is no productive purpose of this thread... just saying

 

[Lecic]

You know what? Fine. You're all clearly steeped in the idea that microtransactions are endorsed by Satan and completely irredeemable, despite having... basically no evidence saying this form of microtransaction would be bad. Time to drop the subject. We're clearly not getting anywhere when all people can say is "b-buh muh microtransaction hate..."

 

[hzzzln]

In my eyes, the only games that successfully pulled microtransactions off are Dota 2 and CS:GO, and for these games, they are purely cosmetical. And since blueprints are (in my eyes) one of the central points of Starmade, I'm against monetizing them in any way. More global skin slots is cosmetical, so I could live with that.

 

[Master1398]

In my eyes, the only games that successfully pulled microtransactions off are Dota 2 and CS:GO, and for these games, they are purely cosmetical. And since blueprints are (in my eyes) one of the central points of Starmade, I'm against monetizing them in any way. More global skin slots is cosmetical, so I could live with that.

^That's what i'm saying.
Let's pretend the most popular shipbuilders (aint saying any names here) decide to make their blueprints buyable the free content section would become quite a uncreative mess. People check out StarMade. Check content they can get for free to learn a few building tricks. They don't find good stuff. Don't want to "waste" money on ships. They don't get any creative ideas. They leave StarMade and tell all of their friends how bad StarMade is. Basic process of a sandbox game going down after introducing buyable builds.

 

[Blaza612]

You know what? Fine. You're all clearly steeped in the idea that microtransactions are endorsed by Satan and completely irredeemable, despite having... basically no evidence saying this form of microtransaction would be bad. Time to drop the subject. We're clearly not getting anywhere when all people can say is "b-buh muh microtransaction hate..."

Lecic for fucks sake I explained it already. I just couldn't be bothered continuing this argument because it's fucking stupid.

You're trying to make a PRODUCT of gameplay cost money. You're adding cost to things for literally the sake of making them cost. Making them cost adds NO benefit to the gameplay, and is an extremely stingy way for Schine to earn money. If microtransactions are to be done, then they need to be something that adds value, or something that can't simply be made in the game, such as cosmetics and DLC.

And above all things, remember what happened to Evolve? It got obliterated for something purely cosmetic WHICH WASN'T A PRODUCT OF GAMEPLAY, it was something that added to the game in terms of value. Imagine how people'll react when they see Starmade having a community market for ships. You've already seen what's happening, it only gets worse.

And lets not go into detail about how much of a bunch of cunts lawyers are. You know it, I know it, if a ship looks similar to one, and the ship owner hires a lawyer, all hell will break loose. People are VERY stingy, especially with lawyers. If you slightly bump someone's car accidentally, then they'll sue the shit out of you. You're only hope'll be to live in China, create knockoffs of the ships and you're golden.

 

[starhaiden]

advertisement would be better.

 

[Lecic]

Lecic for fucks sake I explained it already. I just couldn't be bothered continuing this argument because it's fucking stupid.

You're trying to make a PRODUCT of gameplay cost money. You're adding cost to things for literally the sake of making them cost. Making them cost adds NO benefit to the gameplay, and is an extremely stingy way for Schine to earn money. If microtransactions are to be done, then they need to be something that adds value, or something that can't simply be made in the game, such as cosmetics and DLC.

And above all things, remember what happened to Evolve? It got obliterated for something purely cosmetic WHICH WASN'T A PRODUCT OF GAMEPLAY, it was something that added to the game in terms of value. Imagine how people'll react when they see Starmade having a community market for ships. You've already seen what's happening, it only gets worse.

And lets not go into detail about how much of a bunch of cunts lawyers are. You know it, I know it, if a ship looks similar to one, and the ship owner hires a lawyer, all hell will break loose. People are VERY stingy, especially with lawyers. If you slightly bump someone's car accidentally, then they'll sue the shit out of you. You're only hope'll be to live in China, create knockoffs of the ships and you're golden.

b-buh muh microtransaction hate...

 

[Edymnion]

Yeah, just goes to show how completely poisoned the microtransaction well has become at this point.

 

[mindlord0013]

If you're a highly skilled shipbuilder or skinner and you want to charge people a commission fee for high quality work, that's one thing. It's also fair enough, assuming you have the skill to make it of high enough quality.

Microtransactions built into StarMade (or almost any game that isn't running a F2P model, in which case it's pay for cosmetics only) is a bad idea. Full stop. End of story.

 

[Edymnion]

Microtransactions built into StarMade (or almost any game that isn't running a F2P model, in which case it's pay for cosmetics only) is a bad idea. Full stop. End of story.

What people don't seem to realize is that ongoing development requires ongoing funding.

If you want regular updates, you have to PAY for regular updates one way or another.

If you want to say the base price of the game is the only thing you should ever pay, then they are going to be forced to go the route of expansion packs that you have to buy.

To have constant ongoing development after the initial release, some form of constant ongoing income is required. That could be a monthly subscription fee (not going to happen, that model is already basically dead even in MMO's), or you need microtransactions of some kind.

Those are really the only options. Either have microtransactions and good support, or don't have it and have no support, or only very limited support who's updates are few and far between.

 

[mindlord0013]

What people don't seem to realize is that ongoing development requires ongoing funding.

If you want regular updates, you have to PAY for regular updates one way or another.

If you want to say the base price of the game is the only thing you should ever pay, then they are going to be forced to go the route of expansion packs that you have to buy.

To have constant ongoing development after the initial release, some form of constant ongoing income is required. That could be a monthly subscription fee (not going to happen, that model is already basically dead even in MMO's), or you need microtransactions of some kind.

Those are really the only options. Either have microtransactions and good support, or don't have it and have no support, or only very limited support who's updates are few and far between.

If they're short on money, they can up the cost of the game. There is no reason to have micro-transactions in a buy-to-play game. I've already brought the game twice so far to support the devs. I would be happy to do so again. I think you're sorely misinformed about business models.

1. Micro-transactions in a buy-to-play game is a bad idea. It's because micro-transactions usually come at the cost of content that should be available in the base game for free. StarMade isn't a F2P or online multiplayer only game. In those games, micro-transactions for cosmetic items are understandable because they need to pay for servers to support the playerbase, and they're doing it in a way that doesn't impact on your gameplay if you have no money to spare.

2. Get more players. More players = more people playing for the game. If they go the route that you pay for an account, that's a form of soft DRM. Make it that unpaid accounts can't post on the forums (except for the support forums), can't upload / download community content, and can't connect to any public or private (non-LAN) servers. It makes "unlocked" copies of the game practically useless, and unless people are real scumbags and share details of an account so people can get "full access" for "free", there are no workarounds.

3. It is possible to have a self-sufficient development process through the base game only. You want the closest possible comparison? Minecraft. No micro-transactions. No paid DLC. One full game, one price to pay for life. StarMade has arguably more content and potential than Minecraft, and I predict it will have greater financial success in the future. If it was on the stock market, I would be buying shares ASAP. Which leads me to...

4. If Schine really needed the money, there are a number of ways they could get it that wouldn't make people angry. They could get a big name sponsor, but this is highly unlikely. They could create real world items purchasable in a store (think t-shirts, mugs with Schine logo, Schema plushies). It's not reducing the value of the base game, and is something that people are interested in (especially those Schema plushies). They could also release shares for the company on the stock market. You buy (for arguments sake) a 0.001% share of Schine for $1 US. Assuming they limit the amount of shares you can buy to 10 per person, and keep 50% of the shares for the devs themselves, they could make $50,000 US.

5. If they were really desperate for money, they could do a fundraiser of some kind. They would easily find the money from their devout fans.

The point is, Schine have many options if they find they're running low on money. Micro-transactions of the type you're suggesting are a bad idea in almost any game, StarMade is no exception

 

[Edymnion]

both of you have your own heads shoved so far up your asses that you can't see the fact that we're actually stating facts as to WHY they're bad in this situation.

Then come up with something better. Least some of us are TRYING.

Don't like the idea? Fine, ignore it or just say you don't agree. This kind of personal insult trash is IMO unacceptable in a forum who's entire stated purpose for existing is to throw crap at the wall to see what sticks and what doesn't.

 

[CyberTao]

Then come up with something better. Least some of us are TRYING.

Trying for What?

Who even said we needed DLC or Micro-transactions? The only reason that other thread by Web even exists is because they figured some people would want more than 3 skins, and they needed a plan to handle that. If they choose to NOT gives more than 3 slots, then there isnt even a problem, since 3 slots is the baseline that they were offering for FREE.

Remember, Schine is made of 2 halfs; The Devs that make the game, and the Devs that manage the site and databases.

The half that would need to pay for the database for skins is the Webteam part, and they have enough revenue from ads and the like that they can afford to hire people (too many people in some opinions). They also pay and handle the registry afaik. This is the side that might have money issues.

Buying the game and any related expansions? That money would go to Schema and his team, where it is used to make sure the team can afford to work on the game.


You're looking for a solution to a problem that doesnt exists, or was not stated anywhere as of yet. Remember, not everyone buys their games on day 1, and major updates after release draw back attention of some people who almost bought it but didnt. Christ, look at Terraria and how long that game went on with updates and new content for FREE. Games like that and this dont have much "ongoing" costs aside from Dev time. No servers to worry about, no massive rewrites or remaking of the engine. If there IS a need for concern, the Devs would state that, but they didnt.

 

[Nauvran]

Then come up with something better. Least some of us are TRYING.

Don't like the idea? Fine, ignore it or just say you don't agree. This kind of personal insult trash is IMO unacceptable in a forum who's entire stated purpose for existing is to throw crap at the wall to see what sticks and what doesn't.

I love how you just completely ignore that long detailed post on why we shouldn't get micro-transactions that mindlord wrote.
Great job man, great job.

 

[spunkiethefirst]

Even if they don't need money, the schema plushie is still a great idea.

 

[doubleminus0]

Please someone explain why we need microtransactions in starmade.

 

[wedtm]

Please someone explain why we need microtransactions in starmade.

Because we want to keep making StarMade for a long time. If we could do that for free, we most certainly would. The reality is, we can't. We have servers to pay for, and kitty food for Schema.

While right now, StarMade is still unknown to quite a few people. Those people will hopefully see how awesome StarMade is, and pick up a copy. That will provide enough income for Schine to continue for quite some time, but not forever.

If we want to see StarMade become the game we want it to become, we have to find a way to provide a lasting value to you guys. Often times, lasting value == lasting costs. We are trying to find plenty of ways that we can provide replay-ability without costing the players anything in return. However, it would be short-sighted of us to not at least investigate options that are exciting and unique, but would require us to recoup costs from the players in order to stay alive as a company.

These are hard problems to figure out, for sure. However, that doesn't mean we're not going to try. We are probably going to mess up quite a few times in the process, and we hope that you as a community can recognize those mistakes for what they truly are when/if those times come.

In the end, rest assured that I and the rest of the Schine team are *painfully* aware how touchy the subject of micro-transactions and monetization in general are in the game community. We want to involve the community as much as we can in providing input for these decisions, and we welcome these kinds of debates. We do read them

 

[Lecic]

They could create real world items purchasable in a store (think t-shirts, mugs with Schine logo, Schema plushies).

You know what? I change my mind. I'd rather have this, plus a 3D printing service like Space Engineers has.

 

[gamesaucer]

advertisement would be better.

I like this idea. Having ads on-site showcasing community content is a much better way for Schine to earn money than mircrotransactions imo.

 

[jorgekorke]

I return from the shadows just for this thread.
If the creation of microtransaction stuff involved the idea of supplying an official schine server for the game to be played on, I'd fully support it.