Why do people like boosters so much? - Page 3

maradine · 2012-06-29, 02:20 PM

I'll be lucky if I can scavenge an hour a night to play. I appreciate that Sony will allow me to plop some ducats down on the bar to stretch that into an effective horribly game breaking 90 minutes.

Snark aside, I could see myself being pissy if I had 18 hours a day to play, a big epeen, and no money - and some guy with both is getting an effective 27 hours a day. Hell, that sucks even without the 'peen in play.

Without a firm understanding of how Sony's structuring it, this is all speculation.

UnDeAdKiTtY · 2012-06-29, 02:21 PM

Is there anyone here with the more positive mindset that I like this game and I want to see it stay around and I also get rewarded for "donating" to something I enjoy.

God everyone is so cheap and rude about it.

Edit: For those talking about the psychological model you guys are getting it wrong. The mental incentives of the brain don't work like "I wish I was bigger".

Its the simple concept of "Pay to Play" I have to pay to get into something I am not sure about and have to pay to not loose what I have been working on, This is a negative incentive. If you don't blank I will take away blank, the mind rationalizes why would I want to get involved in something like that thus scaring customers away.

"Free to Play" I can try it with minimal overhead but my time and computer power. "Hey this is fun! but I wish I could progress faster". Game makers say, "hey I see you want to move along faster If you buy something from us you will be rewarded more and better!" wow thats a nice offer". Basically If I give blank I get blank and if I can't get it now I can get blank later.

wOOtbEEr · 2012-06-29, 02:47 PM

Boosters come down to one simple equation that is true for the vast majority of people in the world. Time = Money. If you have more time than money then I hope you enjoy the extra game time you get. I'll see you online 1 or 2 days a week and I'll have my booster.

The other reason everyone should be happy about the boosters in the game is this. I can only pay SOE for the gold spinning rims on my prowler once (hint hint) . But I will be buying that booster week after week along with everyone else with a day job and kids. So if you have the time to play multiple days a week, do your part by keeping the pops up and helping the game stay awesome. The rest of us will be doing our part by making sure the awesome people that made it get paid.

ChipMHazard · 2012-06-29, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by Figment

Indeed.

Btw, if I gave you your arm back, what would you do with it?

I’d terrorize Auraxis! I’d torture the New Conglomerate! I’d demolish the… er… What I meant to write was, I’d use it to pet Vanus.

Flaropri · 2012-06-29, 06:33 PM

Originally Posted by Tooterfish

I'm not asking rhetorically here, I'm genuinely curious as to why Boosters are considered to improve the game-play experience by so many people. I may be going out on a limb here in assuming as such, but I've rarely seen any real complaint toward it.

They don't directly. Though I can understand unlock-mania where people want to unlock as much as they can in as short a time as possible.

Indirectly they are a respectable source of revenue, as such, I'm all for them, even if I don't plan to use them (I intend to contribute in far more meaningless ways such as skins and hood ornaments).

Sirisian · 2012-06-29, 06:46 PM

Originally Posted by vVRedOctoberVv

I hate grinding. In any game. I don't feel "accomplished" that it took me six weeks to do something. I feel annoyed. My sense of accomplishment comes from playing the game, not wasting time so I can get a slightly bigger pew-pew stick.

This exactly. I feel nothing from the normal upgrade model in games. I don't gain enjoyment from playing MMORPG games for that very reason and literally can't enjoy them outside of exploring. I just gave my character the best gear (when you could do that) in D2 and beat the game once and stopped playing.

If I could just unlock everything day 1 and just play I probably would.

That and time constraints and other hobbies.

SixShooter · 2012-06-29, 06:51 PM

2003 and 2004 I was laid off for large parts of the year and had all the time in the world to dedicate to PS1. Now I work 45 hours a week and also have 3 kids so a booster is definitly going to be a plus for me since my playtime is going to be limited.

Karrade · 2012-06-29, 06:54 PM

OP - People find different things fun and/or rewarding. On top of that, people play games for different reasons.

See the bartle test for a very basic breakdown.

Blue · 2012-06-29, 07:14 PM

I am consumed with work and RL bullsh*t all week and even on the weekends, but honestly I love the grind. It DOES make me feel more accomplished. I played planetside very sporadically at times, and was never a xpwhore. I finally got to BR25 a couple weeks ago, and it was the best feeling in the world.

I understand why they are being implemented, and quite frankly I don't have a problem with it. Skill is skill. Isn't it more gratifying to kill someone of higher rank than you 5 times in a row, than to use your "side-grades" to frag some noob?

That's my 2cents ;]

kaffis · 2012-06-30, 12:19 AM

People who have more time than money will play without boosters.

People who have more money than time will play with them.

Both of them will, through their chosen mode of play, achieve their goals in game with regards to setting themselves up with certifications and customizing their gameplay to suit them and enjoy themselves more.

I call that a win.

Policenaut · 2012-06-30, 12:22 AM

Originally Posted by kaffis

People who have more time than money will play without boosters.

People who have more money than time will play with them.

Both of them will, through their chosen mode of play, achieve their goals in game with regards to setting themselves up with certifications and customizing their gameplay to suit them and enjoy themselves more.

I call that a win.

But I have money AND time

Dougnifico · 2012-06-30, 12:23 AM

I would like to point out a major downside to boosters... Unfair advantage for lottery winners...

StumpyTheOzzie · 2012-06-30, 01:25 AM

In my new job I farm out all the "Grindy" parts to contractors or underlings. I only do the fun and/or hard stuff.

I like that I can do this in-game. Skip the boring details to get to the cool things. And it only costs money, which I have plenty of. With a wife and a kid I'm not interested in the grind.

Pepsi · 2012-06-30, 01:42 AM

Originally Posted by Policenaut

But I have money AND time

I think that's worth mentioning too. We all are looking at the gamer who has a job/family who can't play that much and boosters positively affect them, but all of the best players are going to be using boosters as well. I wonder if it will have the effect of separating the gap between the elite and the masses more than a normal paid game.

noxious · 2012-06-30, 01:58 AM

Boosters won't be the huge, balancing breaking factor some of you guys are expecting. The skill system is very much like EVE Online, where you can max out a specific role in a relatively short amount of time. In EVE, a new player can generally pick a role and fill it as well as the oldest characters in the game after a few months. What the old characters have over the new players is flexibility; they have the skills to perform many roles very well.

From what we've seen of PlanetSide 2's certification system, this is how things will work here as well. Old/boosted characters will be more flexible than young/non-boosted characters, but the cert-ceiling will ensure that people on either side of the fence can fill some role perfectly, even if the latter group can't fill many roles perfectly.