Alteil October 2012 Financial Report

[Callonia]

Wasn't there supposed to be a November Financial Report too?

Yup, overdue it is.

[MysteryMan]

Crap, that's right! We'll have that for you in a little over a week.

[AqvasFire2]

Also, I'd like to make a request.

MM/Logress--the whole "X % was spent on this, Y% on that" really doesn't fly. We can add up the numbers and press A1/sum(A1:A12) to get percentages. Would it be out of the question to at least give us a ballpark of the actual dollar amounts we're talking about?

[AngelicDeath]

Yeah DG,

Good luck getting that info. I expect that set 12 is being worked on. The monetization system has been talked about but I doubt anything has been changed or will be. I was involved with what seemed to be quite a productive chat with MM in game about a week back regarding the pricing. In my opinion something has to give. Expecting 220 USD per set is crazy but that is the current model give or take ( even at 100% recycle rate set 12 is 115 usd ). With this pricing model I am not sure how you can expect growth. I would not be surprised if this model instead causes a gradual erosion of paying players over time.

Personally, I would like to see many options available. Too often the "rules of the system" seem to punish those who it should reward-the long time supporting paying player base that without which this game does not exist unless by philanthropic means. Case in point is selling the new cards (EX, new sets) at top dollar pricing then selling them for half down the road in specials and the like. Why the hell would anyone do a 1500 gran single card random 5 star lotto if they knew they could get a random 5 star in black friday event for 300 gran?

1). Subscription model: Set at 5-10 usd per month. If 5 usd then player gets (x) pt cards (current value roughly 20 cents a piece) and a full set of that months EX card (would rotate by sphere per month) which is exclusive to subscribers and would separate from the normal monthly EX but would be in the EX lotto so others had a chance to get it also. If 10 usd this would be doubled. It really depends on how fast and well the card development team could do cards. At a full Ex a month you are looking at 8 new cards plus 3 or 6 on the 5- 10 model. You guys should import all the avatar options from alteil 2 and throw in 1 a month also.

2). Set spending cap. Like the EX box you can buy a full set for (x) dollars.

3). Reduction in cost per content. Bring this game in line with your competitors pricing. This can be achieved without changes in current recycle values. It requires a substantial increase in the amount of gran given per month but this can be handled via participation and MM etc. i am a little sketchy on details about how to go about this though as I haven't figured out what would work. It would look something like this. Say for instance Apocoplay says we want to make 75 usd per full set but the recycle rate is 115/set12. We cannot sell a box for 75 and have it recycle for 115 or we lose big. No you sell it for 115 and mitigate the costs by providing gran at roughly 1300 gran/month. That is a substantial increase over the current 70 gran/week but it has many benefits. Say you have an EX a month and a set every 3 months. A free player who meets all the conditions for the 1300 gran at the end of 3 months time will have 3900 gran. in that same time frame there would have been 2 EX releases (more with subscription model) and a full set release. Now he has many options- get some EX (maybe a full box), get a gold box, continue saving, use the lotto, etc. A free player would not be left behind by an accelerated release because he would have means to get cards every month.
Your typical high spender will have paid 75/set plus the subscriptions plus 2 EX. Assuming prices don't change that would be 90 usd for 2 EX sets plus 75 usd for the full set ( mitigated by him receiving 3900 gran participation stuff) plus say 5 / month subscription costs. In 3 months time you will have received 175 usd per high spender. If you cannot make ends meet on this then I think you guys have serious problems going forward.

Everything boils down to what you guys (Apocoplay) feels is a fair price for a full set of cards. We have already seen what you think it is for 8 new EX.

cheers,
AD

[Romdeau]

I don't understand the wall of text if you had a productive chat less than a week ago.

[AngelicDeath]

Well Rom,

It could be because he asked me to put it in writing. I could just send it to him direct but that is not my style. I prefer the open air the forum allows even if it does involve all the bickering and worthless posts that accompany it.


No one forces you to read it. I always feel a need to provide examples else it gets taken out of context or a minor point critiqued in a negative manner in a vain attempt to derail.

Answer your question?
AD

[wakka9ca]

Well according to MysteryMan, auction house might be possible. That kind of stuff might be just what collectors also need.

Of course, some extra resources need to be used to monitor potential cheating of the system.

[AngelicDeath]

Thanks W.

I just noticed his post so hopefully that is a step inthe right direction. I am a bit worried about manipulation myself but it is indeed a step forward.

Thanks,
AD

[Peralisc9001]

I wonder how loose the system will be in that regard. Free players will also want to be able to sell buy. I have an alt that I intend to keep for now for it's prebuilt.

[MysteryMan]

Well according to MysteryMan, auction house might be possible. That kind of stuff might be just what collectors also need.

Of course, some extra resources need to be used to monitor potential cheating of the system.

The auction house most likely replacing the file editor as the big task next sprint.

The coding is simple and legal gave the thumbs up - it's just a matter of working out the fine details from a gameplay perspective. This will be on a trial basis, of course.