The Weapon Sales Problem, and my opinion.

[Mox]

The moment SOE announced that they will sell weapons i knew this game will be p2w.
But we have to look at it the other way around....
I think they dont release more than 2 or 3 weapons per month which are OP and therefore we have to buy it. Thats about 1400 to 2100 SC per month. If you buy at a double or triple SC day that about 5 to ten bucks per month. So you are able to patricipate in a p2w-game for less money then a sub-based game would cost. Not too bad imo.

[p0intman]

Originally Posted by leifnielsen

Are you freaking kidding me?! This is such a joke. I know (and so do you but you don't want to admit it because it would invalidate your point) that even if Planetside 2 was the shit and you loved everything about it, you would still pre-order Watch Dogs and Grid 2, you would still buy Farcry 3, Assassin's Creed 3, EVE...really the only thing you MIGHT not have done is backed a Kickstarter with $65.

Why? Because obviously you're a gamer, and all gamers know that you DO NOT pull funds from other games you're itching to play. Instead, You eat less, you skimp on gas, you turn down friends that want to go to the bar or out to restaurants, you use the credit card more, you hold off on paying your bills on time... You do whatever you have to do to pay for the games you're looking forward to.

How much cash are the most expensive weapons in the game? $7.00?

firstly, you assume I have no other priorities.
and do you know what I can do with 7 bucks? Fucking awesome deli sandwiches.

[moosepoop]

Originally Posted by Mox

The moment SOE announced that they will sell weapons i knew this game will be p2w.
But we have to look at it the other way around....
I think they dont release more than 2 or 3 weapons per month which are OP and therefore we have to buy it. Thats about 1400 to 2100 SC per month. If you buy at a double or triple SC day that about 5 to ten bucks per month. So you are able to patricipate in a p2w-game for less money then a sub-based game would cost. Not too bad imo.

i think SOE is improving on their strategy.

its only been 3 days since new MAX weapons are out, and they are already getting nerfed. they are trimming the time limit down for temporary pay2win, and now its just right.

[Sturmhardt]

I think there are just too many weapons. Who needs 50 different weapons for each faction? It's just weapon spam and there are many many weapons who just feel the same copypasta with different visuals. Less is more in that field, but I guess it's already too late. Older shooters never had more than 10-20 Guns and that was perfectly fine because then they could all have their unique place. Who needs 5 different shotguns? I need an automatic and a pump action shotgun and THAT'S IT. All the other shotguns just add noise. PS2 has too many weapons to fill too few roles.

I predict 20 more weapons per faction by the end of 2013...

[megashades]

Personally, I kind of wished the game remained in some sort of beta stage for about another 6 months or so before they released. The game feels more like an open beta with the ability to purchase items before it's "released".

If I was to pay 7$ for a new weapon, I'd like it to at least have some new aesthetics to them instead of being part of the same 6-10 interchangeable modular parts that make up the same weapons. Balance is a whole different issue, but why can't we at least get totally new models, sounds, and animations instead of just being recycled off the current ones already put in the game? Even the SMG animations borrow the first 15-30 frames of the reload animation from the carbines. Though, the revolvers are at least a nice recent change.

Unfortunately, for the most part, we're practically spending cash on numerical values changed in a script file.

[Osskscosco]

Far cry 3 and AC3? hahahahaha.

[AThreatToYou]

Originally Posted by megashades

Personally, I kind of wished the game remained in some sort of beta stage for about another 6 months or so before they released. The game feels more like an open beta with the ability to purchase items before it's "released".

If I was to pay 7$ for a new weapon, I'd like it to at least have some new aesthetics to them instead of being part of the same 6-10 interchangeable modular parts that make up the same weapons. Balance is a whole different issue, but why can't we at least get totally new models, sounds, and animations instead of just being recycled off the current ones already put in the game? Even the SMG animations borrow the first 15-30 frames of the reload animation from the carbines. Though, the revolvers are at least a nice recent change.

Unfortunately, for the most part, we're practically spending cash on numerical values changed in a script file.

The SMGs, pump actions, New HA AV weapons, New MAX AV weapons, revolvers have been more or less unique weapons. Though I certainly agree we should have much more quality and diversity in new content.

[p0intman]

Originally Posted by Osskscosco

Far cry 3 and AC3? hahahahaha.

this will sting: They're both more fun than PS2 atm.

[moosepoop]

Originally Posted by p0intman

this will sting: They're both more fun than PS2 atm.

planetside 2 is fun. but only for 30 min a day.

the cert system requires you to farm certs up to 2 hours a day for any real progress. it makes free players fatigued from endless frantic shooting. too much action + exhaustive grind is not a good option.

[Timealude]

Originally Posted by p0intman

this will sting: They're both more fun than PS2 atm.

i dont know about you but i got tired of AC3 faster then any game I have played recently.

[leifnielsen]

Yeah AC2: Revelations has been the best one so far in my opinion, but man...Burning the drug fields in Farcry 3 was one of the coolest moments I've seen in video games lately.

[bpostal]

Originally Posted by moosepoop

planetside 2 is fun. but only for 30 min a day.

the cert system requires you to farm certs up to 2 hours a day for any real progress. it makes free players fatigued from endless frantic shooting. too much action + exhaustive grind is not a good option.

I added some emphasis to the quote to point out that I also feel the same way. I want to be able to play this game for longer without either getting bored or pissed off at the innumerable little nitpicks I have (that end up killing the experience and leaving a bitter taste in my mouth) but it just isn't so.

[AThreatToYou]

Originally Posted by moosepoop

planetside 2 is fun. but only for 30 min a day.

the cert system requires you to farm certs up to 2 hours a day for any real progress. it makes free players fatigued from endless frantic shooting. too much action + exhaustive grind is not a good option.

After you make so much progress, though, you can sit on 2k certs and be like "what do i do with this?"

and this is me playing 30 minutes to an hour every day. Then again, the average player is [not that good], and they probably cap out at getting 20-30 certs an hour with most of those coming from base capture awards and assists.

[Nur]

Originally Posted by moosepoop

planetside 2 is fun. but only for 30 min a day.

the cert system requires you to farm certs up to 2 hours a day for any real progress. it makes free players fatigued from endless frantic shooting. too much action + exhaustive grind is not a good option.

The progress is playing better not farming K/D, ribbons and XPs.

You will need to understand this soon guys, as the "progress" is how you play in situations.

Truly, farming in PS2 has NO SENSE.

[Emperor Newt]

Originally Posted by Nur

The progress is playing better not farming K/D, ribbons and XPs.

You will need to understand this soon guys, as the "progress" is how you play in situations.

Truly, farming in PS2 has NO SENSE.

This "argument" is moot once you have a progression system where upgrades are hidden behind a "playtime wall". And that's the case in PS2. They have stated that cert stuff are upgrades in the magnitude of approx 20%. That's a deliberate design decision. PS2 is not going the "soft monetization" route, so that's a system that's going to stick with it.

Once you have that, people are required to farm. Playing only for the fun of it is mostly out of the equation as long as people have the feeling that there is stuff they are required to get.This is a design decision and a psychologial trick. It's not the players fault if he feels the need to farm.
You don't want people to farm? Then don't make them to. There is no other way around it.

But they want you to farm. They don't want you to play just for the fun of it. Simply because they want you to keep playing and sell you boosts. If you would not feel the need to get more certs, you wouldn't buy those.
A progression system is able to keep people playing although they do not enjoy the game and would have dropped it otherwise. It's a strange system, but it seems to work (although I haven't seen very convincing data on that yet).

That's the only reason progression systems exists. Being it in MMOs or normal arena shooters, the basic reason is the same. To keep you playing. Designers have the strange fear that once you loose your feeling of progression you will stop playing. Individual skill, for some strange reason, is no longer a reason to play. At least that's what recent game design tells us. The "old" idea died when MMORPGs became mainstream.
For me that sounds like designers not having enough faith in their own skills in making a fun game... but well.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that you are wrong on a personal standpoint and it's good that players can shut those progression system out of their enjoyment they have with a game. But many if not most players cant. And it's the designers fault if people complain about that, not the players.