I got this discord server right, it's pretty poggies and I don't have enough boomers to fight off the weebs so… if any boomers wanna join to bolster our ranks taht would be great! https://discord.gg/67nwvZZk9z
I for one don't mind the cosmetics as long as they are discontinued at launch. I have noticed many cash shops place visual effects on their items. So if we can craft the exact armor set in game and then be able to craft partial effects on the armor, I would be ok with that. It would be the Convenience of a full set immediately from the store, or a full set made in-game taking weeks. And the in-game armor will have the maker's mark visible.
Good video but I think you spent too much time on WoW comparisons, especially when many of them weren't true. There aren't that many mounts although I do dislike them, you don't have to pay for bank tabs and so on – if you're going to make up scenarios don't use a real game as an example.
I resonate the same sort of opinion regarding the monetization and "just cosmetics" As you Narc. Before Intrepid updated the forums. I raised this issue and the amount of consumer conditioned rationalization was apparent. I also raised the issue how an ingame store with a embers* token currency leaves a crack in the door loophole for a F2P system implementation…Got flamed for that too. The old forum posts got wiped so those threads no longer exist. The gist was that if the cosmetics were implemented into the base game with quests/achievements/progression/story/lore the game would be more appealing and attract more subscribers, The counter was that without the $hop the game would be as well developed initially and therefore wont succeed. This is a Hare and Tortoise development approach. As far as i am concerned the $hop is a short term profit at the expense of long term viability and consistency. Anyway the times have changed and Whales are too profitable not to harpoon it's just as much a consumer fault as it is the developers. I can't play Gw2 anymore either.
Ashes has no box price, no expansion price, and only a subscription fee. And no pay-to-win, or pay-to-convenience either. This forces them to create a Great game to keep players logging in. I agree, Intrepid should only offer NPC, Housing, Holiday, and Spells skins after launch! NO selling player weapon, armor, mount, ship, or caravan skins after launch! I'd also like to see1 month, 3 month, 6 month, 12 month, and Lifetime subscription packages sold in the shop.
I like cosmetics but not on weapon/shield. Kinda takes out the point of grinding some awesome weapon when u can buy lv 1 cosmetic weapon fire axe of doom
I can see you have never played FFXIV, otherwise you'd know that those cash shop sets sell like crazy and people flex them every time a new one gets released. They don't look bland either, they look pretty cool imo, not sure at what you were looking… to each their own I guess. Anyway, the difference between cash shop sets and ingame sets is simple, cash shop = casual stylized clothes, ingame = mostly equipment for battle. It's a good system imo.
I cannot agree with the point regarding asking players about their cool equipment, while I agree it used to work like that, it was also during different times, when wowhead and similar webs didn't exist, or were not as well known. The access to information about items is on a completely different level these days, not to mention the phone apps etc. we have now. There's no need to ask anyone anything anymore. And honestly, people excessively asking about stuff instead of using Google are not very popular either. Times have changed.
Also, to my knowledge Steven has always said store sets will be on the same level as ingame items, not worse. As long as they don't look better than ingame obtainable items I don't think the impact on the game is all that big.
What however I agree with 100% is the fact that a cash shop in a game with a mandatory monthly fee is questionable to say the least, but I suppose where is demand there is supply.
As much you would like to dream there was many options cosmetic armor/weapons just dwarf everything else. Instead of trying to fix cosmetics why not just fix the problem instead. The immersion of seeing people with sick gear and mounts is what most people say so here's my solution to it.
Games can add a no cosmetic option so that you view people's actual armor in game and not the shop modified one. This would allow them to make godly looking armor that is flashy as hell but it's for the user to see and enjoy mostly(for those who like that anyways). This would make it so people can grind with their fancy armor but also still care about gear progression looks.
I agree with your sentiments on cash for cosmetics but will tolerate them because I don't know what else to put on a cash shop that we all know isn't going away. The only thing I would personally sell on a cash shop should I ever be blessed enough to finish making a game is game wide boosts. My logic would be "If everybody wins, no one can".
The sub fee has been proven to be WAY LESS profit than f2p + cash shop. If I recall correctly I think F2P market is triple the P2P market. This is why I hate that AoC will have a sub. It's already going to be a barrier to entry for a game that REQUIRES huge population numbers for it to work. Anyway, back to the cash shop. Cosmetic npc's are still cosmetic. Freeholds are still a matter of visual progression. This is particularly important since (I think) they will be out in the world for all to see.
Here are some things I would personally want in a cash shop: – server wide xp boost – server wide drop rate boosts – crowd funded world boss summon (with a price cap so it require number of players instead of amount spent) – crowd funded time limited gear unlocks (like how tech is researched in starcraft) – like a special weapon gets sold by npc's for 1 week if it gets enough "support" from the cash shop.
Narc, you are by far the best. Watching your vids has become the highlight of my day. They're funny but we can tell you put a lot of thought into them. I hope this channel keeps growing cause you deserve it dude.
Appreciate the much increased length of todays video bruv. Although I dislike cash shop anythings I understand the business need to boost profits and you raise some very valid points. Hopefully Intrepid won't go overboard with cosmetics as it could ruin all the effort players put into certain professions. If I spent months becoming a master 'insert profession name here', I wouldn't like players having store bought items that look similar to my 'unique looking only I can make and repair' items.
Ah but you leave out the toxic "elitist gaming guild" problem altogether bullshit that turns more player away from games than the actual cosmetic items in the shop. You should cover both angles to be legit, not only from a fanboi perspective.
For example, no one should be subjected to a stupid "frat boy system" where you literally lick the dirt off the boots of the guild your trying to get into to get that armor and progression to further your progressing bullshit.
Normaly who Cares for cosmetics are the PvE players, if you play pvx/pvp MMORPG people don't give a shit , they just want the best gear in class to fight, and go to war, for example in Albion almost every use the option to hide cosmetics…
Hey, I have the perfect solution: Equip the cosmetic-shop armor/weapon/mount in their specific slots, so that they change the appearance but not the stats of the also-equipped in-game-acquired armor/weapon/mount… and then give each player the option to display or not display cosmetics. I would display cosmetics because I want to enjoy looking at my avatar, except in PvP where I want to clearly see the equipment stats of the people I encounter. And Narc would never display cosmetics except perhaps in town to scoff at the vain show-offs. Problem solved for everyone! You're welcome, @Steven!!
I feel it’s a small price to pay. Visual progression is only relevant if it’s in the game design. What i mean by that is in a basic mmo if you get some raid gear from a particular raid then yea it’s obvious you got some cool gear but ashes is going to have loads of different sets and stats. It’s not really part of the game design and there will be other more obvious forms of progression to see than just visual. IMO it won’t be so relevant as that’s from an mmo game design where the main objective is to grind the best gear from raids whilst ashes has a whole world to fight over like running a castle, node mayor, religious ranks, raid leaderboards etc are the progression points
So I got the Ice Mage Cosmetics Next I'll grind for the Ice Magic Emblems
New People getting into AoC that see me and ask how are just going to get the /shrug Sucks but people supporting the game early get prestige and people coming in latter get what??
Would rather see the game selling NFT cosmetics so players can set up a business around it, but it wont happen because it takes power away from AoC and puts it into the players hands. Most the players who would wield that power are sick human beings.
NARC I LOVE YOU!!!
1. noice
Okay Dooooooood
Good one DooD
I got this discord server right, it's pretty poggies and I don't have enough boomers to fight off the weebs so… if any boomers wanna join to bolster our ranks taht would be great!
https://discord.gg/67nwvZZk9z
You're complaining about items in a free to play game that doesn't sell pay to win items. You can also buy all the gem items with gold.
The editing has improved, I just wish you would do one of those intros every now and then!
shit you might even get not only a like but a sub from me for this vid as well homie!
I for one don't mind the cosmetics as long as they are discontinued at launch. I have noticed many cash shops place visual effects on their items. So if we can craft the exact armor set in game and then be able to craft partial effects on the armor, I would be ok with that. It would be the Convenience of a full set immediately from the store, or a full set made in-game taking weeks. And the in-game armor will have the maker's mark visible.
POGGY VID BRO
Cosmetic items make literally no difference.
HI asmonbald
Good video but I think you spent too much time on WoW comparisons, especially when many of them weren't true. There aren't that many mounts although I do dislike them, you don't have to pay for bank tabs and so on – if you're going to make up scenarios don't use a real game as an example.
Keep up the good videos
i think we should allow cosmetics for only holiday stuff like Christmas outfit, but nothing that looks cool
I resonate the same sort of opinion regarding the monetization and "just cosmetics" As you Narc. Before Intrepid updated the forums. I raised this issue and the amount of consumer conditioned rationalization was apparent. I also raised the issue how an ingame store with a embers* token currency leaves a crack in the door loophole for a F2P system implementation…Got flamed for that too. The old forum posts got wiped so those threads no longer exist. The gist was that if the cosmetics were implemented into the base game with quests/achievements/progression/story/lore the game would be more appealing and attract more subscribers, The counter was that without the $hop the game would be as well developed initially and therefore wont succeed.
This is a Hare and Tortoise development approach. As far as i am concerned the $hop is a short term profit at the expense of long term viability and consistency.
Anyway the times have changed and Whales are too profitable not to harpoon it's just as much a consumer fault as it is the developers. I can't play Gw2 anymore either.
Ashes has no box price, no expansion price, and only a subscription fee. And no pay-to-win, or pay-to-convenience either.
This forces them to create a Great game to keep players logging in. I agree, Intrepid should only offer NPC, Housing, Holiday, and Spells skins after launch! NO selling player weapon, armor, mount, ship, or caravan skins after launch! I'd also like to see1 month, 3 month, 6 month, 12 month, and Lifetime subscription packages sold in the shop.
Another amazing video narc, i love to see your channel growing you totally deserved it .
ps:what program do you use for editing your videos?
Great video! Thank you for not blindly following the hype and actually talking critically about the Ashes!
I like cosmetics but not on weapon/shield. Kinda takes out the point of grinding some awesome weapon when u can buy lv 1 cosmetic weapon fire axe of doom
I can see you have never played FFXIV, otherwise you'd know that those cash shop sets sell like crazy and people flex them every time a new one gets released. They don't look bland either, they look pretty cool imo, not sure at what you were looking… to each their own I guess. Anyway, the difference between cash shop sets and ingame sets is simple, cash shop = casual stylized clothes, ingame = mostly equipment for battle. It's a good system imo.
I cannot agree with the point regarding asking players about their cool equipment, while I agree it used to work like that, it was also during different times, when wowhead and similar webs didn't exist, or were not as well known. The access to information about items is on a completely different level these days, not to mention the phone apps etc. we have now. There's no need to ask anyone anything anymore. And honestly, people excessively asking about stuff instead of using Google are not very popular either. Times have changed.
Also, to my knowledge Steven has always said store sets will be on the same level as ingame items, not worse. As long as they don't look better than ingame obtainable items I don't think the impact on the game is all that big.
What however I agree with 100% is the fact that a cash shop in a game with a mandatory monthly fee is questionable to say the least, but I suppose where is demand there is supply.
Just sell us the game and monthly subs and make everything obtainable in-game!
As much you would like to dream there was many options cosmetic armor/weapons just dwarf everything else. Instead of trying to fix cosmetics why not just fix the problem instead. The immersion of seeing people with sick gear and mounts is what most people say so here's my solution to it.
Games can add a no cosmetic option so that you view people's actual armor in game and not the shop modified one. This would allow them to make godly looking armor that is flashy as hell but it's for the user to see and enjoy mostly(for those who like that anyways). This would make it so people can grind with their fancy armor but also still care about gear progression looks.
Just don't add mounts.
Truth!!!!
I agree with your sentiments on cash for cosmetics but will tolerate them because I don't know what else to put on a cash shop that we all know isn't going away. The only thing I would personally sell on a cash shop should I ever be blessed enough to finish making a game is game wide boosts. My logic would be "If everybody wins, no one can".
The sub fee has been proven to be WAY LESS profit than f2p + cash shop. If I recall correctly I think F2P market is triple the P2P market. This is why I hate that AoC will have a sub. It's already going to be a barrier to entry for a game that REQUIRES huge population numbers for it to work. Anyway, back to the cash shop. Cosmetic npc's are still cosmetic. Freeholds are still a matter of visual progression. This is particularly important since (I think) they will be out in the world for all to see.
Here are some things I would personally want in a cash shop:
– server wide xp boost
– server wide drop rate boosts
– crowd funded world boss summon (with a price cap so it require number of players instead of amount spent)
– crowd funded time limited gear unlocks (like how tech is researched in starcraft) – like a special weapon gets sold by npc's for 1 week if it gets enough "support" from the cash shop.
Let's get Asmongold reacts to this so it could be further spread the word
Narc, you are by far the best. Watching your vids has become the highlight of my day. They're funny but we can tell you put a lot of thought into them. I hope this channel keeps growing cause you deserve it dude.
you think wow did it right, try eq classic on project 1999. Way better.
Appreciate the much increased length of todays video bruv.
Although I dislike cash shop anythings I understand the business need to boost profits and you raise some very valid points. Hopefully Intrepid won't go overboard with cosmetics as it could ruin all the effort players put into certain professions. If I spent months becoming a master 'insert profession name here', I wouldn't like players having store bought items that look similar to my 'unique looking only I can make and repair' items.
great video ! 20 mins passed quickly
Ah but you leave out the toxic "elitist gaming guild" problem altogether bullshit that turns more player away from games than the actual cosmetic items in the shop. You should cover both angles to be legit, not only from a fanboi perspective.
For example, no one should be subjected to a stupid "frat boy system" where you literally lick the dirt off the boots of the guild your trying to get into to get that armor and progression to further your progressing bullshit.
Normaly who Cares for cosmetics are the PvE players, if you play pvx/pvp MMORPG people don't give a shit , they just want the best gear in class to fight, and go to war, for example in Albion almost every use the option to hide cosmetics…
Even pantheon will have cosmetics. I have lost hope.
Hey, I have the perfect solution: Equip the cosmetic-shop armor/weapon/mount in their specific slots, so that they change the appearance but not the stats of the also-equipped in-game-acquired armor/weapon/mount… and then give each player the option to display or not display cosmetics. I would display cosmetics because I want to enjoy looking at my avatar, except in PvP where I want to clearly see the equipment stats of the people I encounter. And Narc would never display cosmetics except perhaps in town to scoff at the vain show-offs. Problem solved for everyone! You're welcome, @Steven!!
I feel it’s a small price to pay. Visual progression is only relevant if it’s in the game design. What i mean by that is in a basic mmo if you get some raid gear from a particular raid then yea it’s obvious you got some cool gear but ashes is going to have loads of different sets and stats. It’s not really part of the game design and there will be other more obvious forms of progression to see than just visual. IMO it won’t be so relevant as that’s from an mmo game design where the main objective is to grind the best gear from raids whilst ashes has a whole world to fight over like running a castle, node mayor, religious ranks, raid leaderboards etc are the progression points
So I got the Ice Mage Cosmetics
Next I'll grind for the Ice Magic Emblems
New People getting into AoC that see me and ask how are just going to get the /shrug
Sucks but people supporting the game early get prestige and people coming in latter get what??
Would rather see the game selling NFT cosmetics so players can set up a business around it, but it wont happen because it takes power away from AoC and puts it into the players hands. Most the players who would wield that power are sick human beings.