Good evening everyone,
I would like to start by saying that I have been tracking CoE for a long time and chose to support during the kickstarter because I love some of the concepts behind the game. I would really love to see this game succeed.
I have thought long and hard about posting. I would not be posting if I had already written this game off. My hope is that the comments will be considered by the devs and that we will see some related and significant changes. This is the last topic I plan to draft on the subject. I know I will be flamed and downvoted, but I don’t care. If there is any chance that my suggestions could become reality, it’s worth it.
I welcome direct and specific responses. I know I do not have all the information that other may have and I know that I may have missed something along the way. I am going to quote some of Caspian’s response and specifically address various portions. Please point out if I have completely misunderstood or misread something.
I’ll summarize my main concern in that in the response post I was hoping to see Caspian respond that he was doing everything he could to eradicate the idea that the game was p2w, but I never saw Caspian say that the game was not going to be pay for an advantage and there were some general terms that left room for advantages. Why couldn’t the approach be to nearly eliminate in-game advantages. Give people basic buildings for expo. Offer the headstart. Have a plethora of cosmetic offerings. Just don’t give advantages that could affect a single player facing another single player.
As for the specific responses:
>“As you know, relics are typically ancient items that have some mystical properties. However, activating those properties first requires you to determine how to do so. The idea was that if people purchased one of the 'mystical' items it would be provided with a collection of non-relics, with no indication of which item was the relic, and no information about what the relic actually did. The receiver would be forced to go on a quest - or a series of quests - to discover which was the relic, and how to activate it. Much like we do with the custom relic design experiences. This process was intended to take months to accomplish. So it wasn't an immediate insta-relic.”
Just because it may take time to activate, the person who purchased it still has the item, which is an advantage. Is it being implied that someone who finds one of these items later on in game will NOT have to unlock it? I doubt that and if that’s not what is implied, I see the only reason to mention it is to point out the non “insta-relic,” which is irrelevant as they still have the item.
When speaking of equipment
>“…where the differences between quality of items - even large quality differences are relatively small, and are even then very situational.” … They… “but generally aren't significant character-building tools.”
Caspian is saying that there IS a difference. Labeling the difference as small doesn’t negate that there is a difference. I also note the use of the word “generally.” Saying they aren’t generally significant implies that they sometimes are significant.
>Caspian said “blueprints tended to be more complex and interesting as they increased in rarity and quality. Complex and interesting doesn't mean more powerful.” And “Mastering a single individual pattern or technique before launch? Sure. That gives them the ability to train others. But mastery of a single technique or pattern does not make someone a master or grandmaster over-all. This shouldn't be a concern for anyone.”
Why does the term “tended” have to be used? Why can’t it simply say they are ONLY more complex and interesting. This still leaves a gray area. And why does anyone have to start off as a master? Why can’t the skills be learned through practice? It IS a concern that someone starts off with additional skill over a base character. Also, is there a mechanic that will only allow a person to master one skill? What if someone wants to purchase more than one?
>“whether we're "Pay-to-Win" or not, what matters is the perception people have. And he's right.”
Yes, yes, and yes. It’s perception. Why couldn’t the response to the community be that pay to win concepts were going to be removed or severely limited. I understand that early access can be considered p2w, but that is one that most people accept. Having access to base buildings would also be one many would accept. But the game offers more than that and the devs did nothing to say they were going to backtrack. There are a lot of gamers who will not touch a game if they perceive its p2w, so why not make a huge effort to dispel that perception?
>“it's imperative that the topic of conversation isn't about whether we're P2W or not. If that becomes the conversation, we've likely already lost the battle - regardless of whether it's true or not.”
Correct
>“So the goal going forward can't be about trying to convince people we’re not P2W, the focus going forward needs to be on changing the conversation.”
NOOO, you need to address the issues that people have concerns about and eliminate most of them!
>“Consider this: If we're able to reach our minimum goal of 200,000 players, then the couple thousand gentry, aristocracy, and nobility that exists across all our servers is as little as 5% of our total player-base. That means those people at launch who care about exposition or our EP store is extremely small!”
Again: NOOOOOO. Anyone playing the game is butterfly effect affected by anyone in the game getting an advantage. If I go to play cornhole with nineteen other people and one person gets to stand closer than everyone else you can’t say that the advantage only affects one person. It affects the entire game for everyone. It doesn’t matter that only 5% get an advantage; it’s still an advantage. And usually, in a p2w game, it’s only a small percentage of people who are considered whales and have the advantages…that’s the problem!
>“They're never going to know, and never going to care."
Sorry, but no: it’s already public information. People do care or you wouldn’t see so many posts about it. And keep in mind that the majority of the forum viewers are die-hard fans…you need more than die-hard fans.
>“They're entering a world which was built and customized by players and that's all they should care about.”
You can’t expect the community to prioritize the same way as you. Remember, you said yourself that it’s perception that matters. The gaming community will decide on an individual basis what it “should care about.”
>“As we make forward progress expect to see less and less about things that affect only the gentry, aristocracy, and nobility, and more about things that effect everyone.”
Maybe it was bad timing, but right after this was said, the sales came out for MORE items that could be purchased with real money for in game advantages.
>“When our focus is on what the player experience is going to be like for the other 90%”
You can’t separate the 10% that get advantages without putting them on a separate server (which I would LOVE).
In summary, it seems that there is a disconnect between the devs and the gaming community. To say that it doesn’t or shouldn’t matter if a small percentage of players get an advantage shows the lack of understanding of current perceptions in the gaming community. We have been burned by games turning into p2w and it’s made many of us skittish.
I would again offer the suggestion to have at least one server that did not allow any additional EP purchases beyond what the base packages offer and only let that EP be used for community building, not gear purchases and only base quality. Then you could say “hey gaming community, we heard you and we are going to have the option to avoid any kind of p2w other than a head start and pre-existing titles that can be lost.”
I hope my suggestions are at least viewed by the devs and that this game turns out great. I’m not bashing the game. I tried to offered reasoned and constructive feedback.
![[EU] The Town of Farwatch](https://i.imgur.com/iIxA5AR.png)