Player Features and Ideas Discussion

"Limited" Accounts.

Note: This is NOT F2P, I'm tired of the comments whining and QQing about F2P, this is LIMITED accounts. Its different. Any F2P crying will be ignored as its obvious you did not read whats below.

Secondly, nobody has given any intelligent comment or feed back apart from F2P QQing. Sorry for the rash response, but quite honestly its annoying that I cant get any intelligent feed back. I dont care if you dont agree, just use intelligent responses, and use my below post as an outline to explain why it wouldnt work. Its not to tough for anyone who has any intelligence. -.-

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(This is open to discussion, changes, alterations, etc. Any ideas to improve the idea or make it more balanced for something CCP might consider I'm all ears. Please just dont troll, flame, insult, or give responses which does nothing for the topic at hand. Also, I shouldnt have to say this, but I know I have too... -READ IT ALL- before commenting..)

Now before you go "omg another "F2P" gamer wanting everything for free" I'm with you. P2P games are, better, imo. The gamers take it more seriously, and the game evolves, and expands better.

I am also fully aware of the problems with "Limited" or "free trial indefinetly" accounts. You could just pay for 1, then have have 50 alts mining/researching, etc. and it'd throw the entire economy out the window. I'm Completely with you.

However, the EVE community is stagnant, especially with today's economy not being the best, people are going to F2P games, including myself because of hard times.

My aim with the below criteria is to allow players who enjoy EVE to play it, to still get somewhere in it, and maybe even obtain a PLEX slowly, or over time, to get a month, while still making it fair for those who do pay monthly, while minimizing any possible way to abuse the system.

I dont feel the bad economy, or people who simply cannot pay but really enjoy the game should remove EVE from growing, But what we need is balance still.

The Aim to a "limited" account, should be several things:

1) Allow a player to play virtually free, even if time is limited in the game, with fair restrictions, which allows them to pay for a premium for a month, here and there, and still benefit from it, while not feeling cheated when it runs out.

2) Not allow the limited accounts to have the ability to be abused.

There are a few ideas that come to mind, but of course, they also offer problems themselves.

However here is what I've come up with, to combat many problems others have said in the past, and ones I've thought of myself.

Limited Account: (Different from Free Trial)
*A limited account cannot be "dual boxed" with another account of any type. If a "Limited" account is marked as "Limited."

Reason: This would limit "dual boxers" of getting a free hauler for mining, etc. or doing any other side stuff, which could be abused with multiple accounts. The IP would be tracked as well, So even if you were to be going through 2 internets with different IP's you'd still be limited to only 2 accounts, 1 premium, 1 limited, and no others.

*A limited account is restricted to "Trial Account" skills. However, any other skills already trained while the account was premium, is still active, and can be trained further.

Reason: Should be kind of obvious, It would give "Limited" accounts to much freedom for not having to pay anything, However, It would also be cheap, and turn people off to EVE, if your earned skills you bought and trained while you were paying, got turned off.

I also dont think people could abuse it, even if they made an alt account for 1 month, and spent millions buying high grade Skills. Many of those skills you need other skills at level IV anyway, and would take up most of that months time to train, in which case at the end of the month you still have a bunch of wasted ISK on skills you cannot inject because you are now "Limited" account again.

*A limited account Cannot fly Titans/Dreadnoughts/Super Carriers, or Tier 3 ships.

*A limited account is restricted in which BPO's they can use, and research

*A limited account is restricted in how many industrial slots they can have running at once.
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With these restrictions I think a "Limited" account, would offer and restrict in a fair give/take relationship.

Now I'm sure some players are like "oh well with Limited account, I could make enough for a PLEX anyway", which negates your whole argument since your probably doing that anyway with full accounts, therefore your out of the equation anyway as your paying nothing already but with full gains. So your argument is null and void to begin with.

This would allow players who have either been laid off, have money troubles, cannot get a job for whatever reason, or is unable to pay anymore, to continue to enjoy EVE, without feeling cheated, and to continue helping their corp, alliance.

The restrictions also make you want to get a premium, -when you can pay for it-, but doesnt feel like your getting a root canal without medication while waiting for that premium account. Its a nice balance between here and there, that makes a player want to pay for premium when they can, but is content in Limited Account, when it happens, which makes them continue playing.

Unlimited play for T1 Frigate and Cruiser pilots and allowing entry level combat skills would be great for EvE. It might even fill up Lowsec with people. Sort of a Freemeium model. Beyond that you've really got to be careful.

not trying to troll or flame here, but that is the worst idea.
The second I hear that EVE officially goes ftp in any way (aside from in game currency because that is neat) I will leave.
ftp games are for poor people and I am not poor...


Also Nikk, you are right, the game is about playerbase, therefore promoting the use of alts and introvert styles does not seem very on point with the reason you made the suggestion.

How is it not? to allow players in this terrible economy of today to be able to play EVE, while not taking away from players who do pay monthly, while at the asme time allowing those players to contribute to the universe of EVE?

You act as if its a normal F2P.. It wont be, as my example of how the "limited" account works. There will be no "store" to buy items from with real money like other F2P games. Their main income will still be from people who pay monthly.

I even explain how it still works out that way, and my idea in no way takes away from monthly payment players.

I suggest you read the whole post, because I even said myself, that I hold P2P games much higher than F2P games.

On a side note: I may quit SWTOR because its going F2P, I hate that royally. I hate it because of how F2P games are setup generally, and how it destroys the devs ability to properly give the game love.

Which my idea will eliminate that usual F2P crap, and still allow the devs to put their full time and effort into the game as they have been, while allowing the player base to grow.

Because the game is stagnant, thats why.

Also, thats the point of a bad economy, you can work ur butt off, and still not have enough, does that mean you shouldnt be able to have fun? I dont really think so.

I also dont think that EVE should be completely shut down for these type of people either. You can sit there and pretend like money is a simple hting, and it comes and goes simply, but crap happens, people get laid off, bills or unexpected expenses come up, when you could afford that 50 cents a day, but cant anymore suddenly.

My idea would allow these people to continue playing, and continue taking part in the community of EVE, in a limited but fair way.

Its not easy to restart EVE, knowing you lost your corporation, have to re learn everything, or rebuild your corp, having to re learn things, refine your skills you lost, etc. Most people dont come back because of this. With my idea, it will keep them here in some way, while being fair, and keeping the community and population of EVE high.

Ontop of that, if you were paying 50 cents a day, literally it'd be alot easier to pay for EVE, than dishing out 15$ at the end of the month, its easier for that 15$ to disappear than 50 cents daily.

Its never simple, dry and cut with it comes to expenses, and money in general.

and I normally agree with you, but EVE is different, the gameplay is different, even as semi F2P is tough, challenging, etc. How many people play and stay in EVE? Not many. "Limited" accounts would benefit players such as you, and me, who run into hard times, including other players who can contribute intelligently to the game, but cannot afford it every month.

This being said, again EVE works differently, those usual idiots who turn it into a pile of molten crap, wont effect you like they do in normal MMO's, normal MMO's, they ruin party's, ruin the economy by selling stuff super cheap for no reason, ruin, everything due to stupidity.

In EVE, you can play them, in EVE you can capitalize on their stupidity in so many ways that you cant in other semi F2P games.

I dont see what the issue is to be honest.

If you think outside the box, it could actually mean MORE money for CCP with this setup as well.

Think of it. say we have 100k players who pay monthly for EVE now, now say they impliment my idea, and another 100k, to 200k, or more people join to play for "Limited" accounts..

Now say just 25% of those players decide to pay for a month, here and there.

Thats more money in CCP's pocket than they would have without.

That means more money for htem to spend towards the game,

which means perhaps more stuff for the players, more people they can hire, etc.

idk, I just think the stain of ftp games will never leave my tongue...it just tasted so bad.
Doubt I'll ever get over it.

Honestly f2p generally gives me a bad taste too, but I love EVE, and I also see EVE being stagnant community.

My idea is to try to not make it feel F2P in anyway, while still allowing it in a limited form, while not taking away from the monthly payment players either.

And EVE is a wonderfully beautifully setup game where you can literally do virtually anything you want, but heres the thing. Not everyone wants to rat in nullsec, or take part in the political bs of nullsec. Some people want to enjoy the game in other ways, and that doesnt always lead to obtaining PLEX easily, or at all.

Unless your trying to ignorantly say that everyone should have to play like you to obtain a PLEX (which is the easiest way to do it, and quickest), then I dont see what your point is, when the game developers promote EVE as you being able to do whatever you want, when you want, in a sand box type setup.

With my idea, it again, lets you play EVE how the developers intended you to play it.... however you want, while keeping it fair for those who do pay monthly, or who do get PLEX's on their own, while promoting the game to those who dont have all the time in the world, or who are having troubles financially, without taking away from the player base thats already there by implimenting cheap "F2P" mechanics that are in other games.

Edit: Sorry my Ignorant line came off a little pompous, I wasnt calling you Ignorant, merely pointing out a fact, that the game is an open sand box.

Ok, I just did it for you.

http://www.freemmorpglist.com/index-1.html

And here is the kicker: most of the F2P games on that list look so generic that they are copies of WoW copies.
CCP, has the right idea and I think most players will agree: we pay for quality. That list has nothing that looks like quality.