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View Full Version : Adding to the premium model - character slots.


EVILPIG
2013-03-08, 11:55 AM
SOE is beefing up the premium subscription to make it more attractive. What would you all think of each tier adding 1 permanent character slot? So if you buy 3 months in advance, you get 3 slots. 6 months in advance, you get 6 more slots.

Given the number of community events across the servers and FNO, it would be nice to be able to create characters on those servers with any Alpha Squad, subscription bonuses and universal unlocks.


**Yes, these would be retro.

EVILPIG
2013-03-08, 11:56 AM
Damn, my poll option didn't work. Hamma, could you add a yes or no poll?

Assist
2013-03-08, 11:58 AM
What happens to those characters if you no longer subscribe?

ETD
2013-03-08, 11:58 AM
Nice idea. Gives some value to premium without really giving an advantage.

MrBloodworth
2013-03-08, 11:59 AM
Personally, I do not see the need. You can already have one of each faction. With unlimited certs and SC that does not really present a value cross faction.

Why would you?

Silent Thunder
2013-03-08, 12:04 PM
I would rather say they should be giving free transfers to subscribers. Maybe say biweekly to prevent abuse?

Onikieran
2013-03-08, 12:13 PM
This is a fantastic idea to be honest. I've been a member for...a month or two right now but I feel like I don't notice that I am a member sometimes. Not just character slots but maybe some more benefits for people who have taken it up to support the game by becoming a member.

I'm not saying those that aren't members don't support but I would really like some more possible stuff. Maybe exclusive decals perhaps for long term members? Or camo? Who knows really!

Westy543
2013-03-08, 12:19 PM
Personally, I do not see the need. You can already have one of each faction. With unlimited certs and SC that does not really present a value cross faction.

Why would you?

Sometimes you want to hop on a specific faction/server to play with some friends. I have a couple friends on VS Connery and TR Waterson I can't join because I have my TR on Connery and my VS on Mattherson. :)

I've got the same question as Assist; what happens if your prem runs out? Maybe just keep the slots as a lifetime "thank you" for subbing up to a certain loyalty amount?

EVILPIG
2013-03-08, 12:25 PM
What happens to those characters if you no longer subscribe?

The slots are permanent. You can earn 6 by attaining tier 6, but that is all.

PurpleOtter
2013-03-08, 12:32 PM
Since Outfit and character names are unique I would rather only ever have three characters and be able to log onto ANY server at will. I wish they had limited it to only one character slot, It would have eliminated the 4th Empire problem.

EVILPIG
2013-03-08, 12:36 PM
Since Outfit and character names are unique I would rather only ever have three characters and be able to log onto ANY server at will. I wish they had limited it to only one character slot, It would have eliminated the 4th Empire problem.

Oh, I have long asked for universal characters that could do this, but in absence of this, would you like more slots to have your bonuses and unlocks to attend other servers with when needed?

bpostal
2013-03-08, 12:56 PM
That's...actually a pretty good idea.
I bought a sub the first month because of the queues, but they've obviously calmed down since then. I'd resub for 6 months for 6 more character slots. Dunno if I'd go past that though honestly.

Athan
2013-03-08, 01:11 PM
I wish they had limited it to only one character slot, It would have eliminated the 4th Empire problem.
Apart from the ease of creating an extra account.

Sledgecrushr
2013-03-08, 01:28 PM
I like the idea of extra character slots. But I like premiums having free server transfers even better.

MrBloodworth
2013-03-08, 01:29 PM
Sometimes you want to hop on a specific faction/server to play with some friends. I have a couple friends on VS Connery and TR Waterson I can't join because I have my TR on Connery and my VS on Mattherson. :)

I've got the same question as Assist; what happens if your prem runs out? Maybe just keep the slots as a lifetime "thank you" for subbing up to a certain loyalty amount?

I Guess I could see that, doesn't mean much to me though, as all my friends on on the same server as me.

PurpleOtter
2013-03-08, 01:31 PM
Oh, I have long asked for universal characters that could do this, but in absence of this, would you like more slots to have your bonuses and unlocks to attend other servers with when needed?

The only answer I have is "I don't know". I have three characters now, but I don't use two of them, they are place holders to camp names. I don't Empire hop....

PurpleOtter
2013-03-08, 01:57 PM
Apart from the ease of creating an extra account.

I wish I had an answer, I really do. We may not get a solution to this until they implement an Internet wide "Digital Persona" system where a "credit score" is created by tying your identity to specific features such as an email account/credit card/address ect. How much you tie to it is voluntary. Then, institutions set a minimum score that's needed to be met to access their content. In this case, to create an account with SOE, you need an Internet Persona Score of at last "X"...

Your Internet Identity then becomes something you value and want to protect/nurture..Get banned for cheating in an SOE game and your score plummets...

Rat
2013-03-08, 02:09 PM
I dont think it would be a good subscription option, because like what was said above. subscriptions can be cancelled, I do however think that it would be a awesome station cash purchase.

EVILPIG
2013-03-08, 02:27 PM
I dont think it would be a good subscription option, because like what was said above. subscriptions can be cancelled, I do however think that it would be a awesome station cash purchase.

Each slot is a permanent, one time award for each subscription tier you reach. Cancellation would have no effect on this. You do not get your money back when you cancel.

Slots most certainly should be sold at some point.

Calisai
2013-03-08, 02:53 PM
Personally, It wouldn't affect me much. I only ever play one char.. The other two are on different servers and factions just in case (grabbing a little passive cert every once and awhile). Mostly however, I only play one at a time.


That said, I could see it being a good incentive for premium... and a good money stream eventually for SC. I just wouldn't use it.



I would be afraid of being able to login to any server... I think we'd have huge population swings as the 4th empire started server hopping instead of faction hopping.... I'm not fully against it, just afraid of the possible ramifications of it...

Ghoest9
2013-03-08, 03:02 PM
umm...... WHY?

I have a 6 month premium sub - this would offer nothing useful to me.
I have a NC a TR and Vanu character and play the NC 95% of the time.

Why would I want a second character per faction in a game where there is no diminishing returns for xp.
This the type of premium feature that just annoys people because the majority of premium players will get no use from it.

Ruffdog
2013-03-08, 03:06 PM
Personally I'd rather have extra loadout slots. Three doesn't do it for me anymore, what with camos, weapons and suit variations.

PurpleOtter
2013-03-08, 03:12 PM
Personally I'd rather have extra loadout slots. Three doesn't do it for me anymore, what with camos, weapons and suit variations.

What about Load out by continent? If you switch continents, your three load outs change.....

Maidere
2013-03-08, 04:55 PM
I realy dont think this will make membership more attractive.

SternLX
2013-03-08, 06:10 PM
Honestly, if I wanted to attend an event on another server besides my home server I would just fire up one of my other accounts and create a character there. I don't really see any other reason why more than 3 per account would be needed since I'd say 90% of the active players now only play with one character on a regular basis.

I'm not saying I wouldn't like to see an addition made the Premium package however. 2 that have crossed my mind is Reduced Spawn Timer and Reduced SC Cost on Depot items. We Premium subscribers are already paying for essentially just a Passive Cert and XP bonus(Queue's just don't happen anymore) so why not a discount on Depot items?

typhaon
2013-03-08, 06:34 PM
I'm a 6 mo. subscriber. More slots isn't a bad thing, but it really does nothing for me in terms of feeling like I'm getting more value.

You want to make me feel like I'm getting more value? Give me more stuff.

Give me a special cosmetic or two, each month.

Bunk
2013-03-08, 08:31 PM
More loadout slots and the ability to set some loadouts as primary would be nice.

EVILPIG
2013-03-08, 08:37 PM
Honestly, if I wanted to attend an event on another server besides my home server I would just fire up one of my other accounts and create a character there. I don't really see any other reason why more than 3 per account would be needed since I'd say 90% of the active players now only play with one character on a regular basis.

I'm not saying I wouldn't like to see an addition made the Premium package however. 2 that have crossed my mind is Reduced Spawn Timer and Reduced SC Cost on Depot items. We Premium subscribers are already paying for essentially just a Passive Cert and XP bonus(Queue's just don't happen anymore) so why not a discount on Depot items?

Technically, you're sort of already getting a discount, since you get free sC each month.

Hamma
2013-03-08, 09:32 PM
Definitely need more character slots.

KodanBlack
2013-03-13, 11:32 AM
It would have eliminated the 4th Empire problem.

What "problem"?

What is wrong with people, who enjoy playing the game, playing in multiple factions? It certainly gives me some added insight into arguments of whether or thnot something should be nerfed or buffed, as I can actually bring experience into play from both using and being used by the game element in question. Do I have some kind of "loyalty" to a faction? You bet I do. The faction I'm playing at the time.

I mainly roll VS, as that is the faction I enjoy most of all. I like their back story, their style of play and even their super-hero style uniforms. Hell, I even like their cheesy guns. They look like something out of old science fiction. Fun stuff! I created an outfit and love the guys and gals in the outfit. We have a heck of a lot of fun together. I would say that I spend upwards of 80% of my time playing VS.

That said, I also play an NC character with a good friend of mine, all the while going after the "Barnies" and having a great time doing it. My NC character is fun to play, and I like the change in play style and using new weapons. I've even invested a good amount of SC on him, though not NEARLY as much as my VS character.

I even played TR for a good deal of time, but I didn't have as much fun with it. Personal preferences in play styles, and I can't stand those dorky goggles they wear (and, they talk about VS "spandex" - LOL). I deleted that account in favor of a second VS account. :-)

What "problem" are we seeing with this?

Chaff
2013-03-13, 12:13 PM
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Frankly, it's a great idea. There's likely no downside. The fact that perhpas a very small percentage will utilize it is actually a positive.

I can't see many using it, but there's no harm in it - so why not add it ?

Yes, more loadouts are needed. I need to be able to set what class & loadout I (re)spawn in. I always spawn as a LA .... and I HATE not auto-spawing as what I want. At certain points in hotly contested fights .... having to pause to reconfig your loadout is bad, and perhpas enough to cause an unnecessary death.

Of course, I'd much prefer unlimited server jumping. I doubt I'd use it much, but I'd like the option. Sony needs to look to add features to help deter or prevent the game from growing or feeling stale to players.

What I like best about this thread - besides no reason for anyone to flame on this one - is the impetus it provides to improving content. I guess Premium (Auramium?) Level subscribers do deserve some perks. The F2P crowd can cry on that one, but it's how the World works ..... and us PAYING players are why games exist.
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PurpleOtter
2013-03-13, 12:50 PM
You appear to use the multiple character/faction per account as it was intended, to allow access to all the content. The "Problem" with the 4th Empire are those that switch sides in the middle of a battle to the winning side because they want "easymode" (overwhelming odds in their favor) or to facilitate griefing. This seems to be less if an issue in PS2 than PS1. With the lattice system in PS1 funneling most of the players into large scale battles that lasted hours/days, it made all the difference in the world. The griefing will never be fixed....

Chaff
2013-03-13, 01:08 PM
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If cross-server Zerging ever became an issue, Sony would have to make appropriate changes.

I would definitley be in favor of a filter that prevented Outfits from Server jumping.

I think Sony could structure universal Server access, yet put some safeguards in to prevent mass asshattery between different server populations.

On PS1, I was mostly Markov. I went to Werner once every Blue Moon. The lag was pretty brutal back then. In general, I tend to feel a natural loyalty to stick with my primary server in my time zone (PST). Don't know why. Still, I'd like to see how other folks play on other servers.

Some Euros talk funny. They feel the same about our verbage. Entertaining to hear perverse male banter in a language you can't comprehend. You can often tell the cursing & debauchery apart from the "OMG a Reaver". Japanese & Chinese players ? I have a tougher time reading their intangible language inflectionary tea leaves....
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Gatekeeper
2013-03-13, 01:40 PM
Honestly I don't see any advantage to this, and it wouldn't make me any more likely to subscribe. I suspect the vast majority of players would feel the same way.

The ability to freely move my character between servers might be nice, but then all my friends play on the same server as me - so that only works if I can move back and forth without delay or if I could persuade them to all subscribe too.

Honestly the thing that puts me off subscribing is that the basic package feels like pretty terrible value for money - after six months it's ok, but having to sub for that long before the sub actually becomes worth it just makes those first six months feel like a rip-off. So if I was going to suggest a change, it would be to give the Auraxium level sub benefits from the get-go, rather than scaling up to it gradually.

Or just add some more actual content - more SC or some free toys - something to make it feel like better value.

TBH I think all the paid content in PS2 is pitched too expensive - it puts me off giving them any money, despite the fact that I love the game and play it all the time. I'd have no problem paying a sub or giving them a one-time chunk of money equivalent to a full game purchase - so long as I felt like I was getting decent value for money. As it stands, it just doesn't seem worth it.

Figment
2013-03-13, 01:46 PM
What's the point of more character slots as long as characters themselves aren't restricted to specific certs?

Now, if you could have a PS1esque cert system and share research between all your characters on the same empire, that'd be a whole different story: alt characters on the same account would all of a sudden be invaluable in comparison to new accounts and throw away characters.

Chaff
2013-03-13, 02:25 PM
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I hear y' on that Figgy. There would need to be a delay between swtiching between alts. I like the idea of being able to have a Super-Sniper, but who's decent at a couple other things.

Then repeat this for half a dozen alts. So I could snipe & hack for a few hours, but once I swithced to a different alt - I couldn't return to my Super-Snipe for a while (2 hr min ?)

Empire hopping on the same server ? Once you leave your current Empire for the night, you have a 4 hour min until you can rejoin that Empire. Heck, make it 12 hours before you can go back to that Empire.

If ALL of your ALTS get free passive Cert gain .... you could concentrate Certs into a more spcecialized toon. On this subject, the Auraxium Level enrollment should yield a far grater passive Cert gaiin. In one month, you get less than 600 Passive Certs ? Ya can't hardly buy a pistol for that. Or, it's no more than a level or two in the Hunter Cloak branch. That Level of passive Cert gain doesn't represent any benefit. Not enough for the $$$$.

Passive Cert Gain sounds nice. For the money, it's not enough to keep me paying. Not even close. XP gains are the only reason I will choose to keep paying at any membership level. Passive Cert Gain is an area that they can buff to retain and/or add more Memberships (Premium). Sony is really missing the boat here.

To my eyes, if you PAY to get Premium membership, you should give them Premium benefits. Passive Cert gain should be 150/day on all non-played alts. Whatever Alt you play that day - only gets 50 passive Certs/day.

Guys can play thier main character. Wait a few months, then Cert up your ALTS; ....... LA, an Infiltrator, HA, ....... then experiment with different loadouts.

The PS1 model was far simpler. You could uncert everything, then rebuild. You had a limit (time delay) to how often you could do this. It prevented unfair manipulation of these game mechanics, but allowed one to keep some variety & experimentation alive in your gaming experience.
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Hamma
2013-03-13, 08:51 PM
Honestly the whole 4th empire thing mentioned on the lats page is kind of a pointless issue now. Game is F2P, just need multiple station accounts.

EVILPIG
2013-04-02, 01:36 PM
Bazinga?

bpostal
2013-04-02, 01:47 PM
The slots are permanent. You can earn 6 by attaining tier 6, but that is all.

Provided you are correct and the slots are permanent, I'd resub if only for a month or two. I've got friends all over the place and It'd be nice to play with 'em and still have my unlocks.

EVILPIG
2013-04-02, 02:05 PM
Provided you are correct and the slots are permanent, I'd resub if only for a month or two. I've got friends all over the place and It'd be nice to play with 'em and still have my unlocks.

There will be 3 additional slots added to Premiums in G06.