[Feedback] Dev Diary: Premium Accounts!

[bunnyX]

Ah, well. I'll just stop playing. They can't get any money from an empty server....

[Sto_Helit]

There's no PVP, so where is the mysterious competitive element that makes this so unfair? Like worrying all the time that your neighbour has a better car, your mate has a cuter girlfriend. This game is solitaire with a chat feature. Those who pay get shiny things quicker, those who don't have to work at it a bit harder. I don't have a problem with that - it's how the world works.

Very much agree with that - the premium account basically gives a few more resources and xp, so premium players will level up a bit quicker. I'm not worried about that, I'll work for them and wait.

[Adalbert_I]

Very good idea, BB. I like it a lot!!

EDIT:

I have seen that some people complain that it is P2W.

IMO, rather not.

We do not have PVP so far, so players are not fighting each other.

Also, all people get free gems for logging, levelling, some quests and events (only from those sources I collected in last weeks 2k gems) and those premium accounts will be traded in trade office, so anyone can get it, not only the ones who pay real money for gems.

Idea is great and I have already decided to keep for premium buffs these 2 k free gems that I collected.

[Tripi]

I think this might actually benefit the game even though it does seem a little p2w...

• Fast track to lvl 50 - which should ensure BB devote more time to catering for the already 50's
• Most of the payer-players I have met are quite generous, so the friend buffs (and gift VIP) might be seen quite often
• Lootspots likely sold faster as people try to get full benefit from a week VIP
• Nobody complained at certain players reaching lvl 50 in under 6 months by buying Nords in TO and working hard, so they should not really complain if someone can now do that in 4 months with VIP

Remember too, that with the new geologist gold sciences the income obtain by BB from parrot buyers might be falling a bit, so perhaps VIP will cover that gap.

Only 2 pertinent questions really (when the information becomes available):
How much for VIP?
Will the 50's get 50% extra star coins in lieu of xp?

[King-Fero]

While Pay-to-Win gets me a bit defensive, this is actually quite essential for the game and thus a necessary evil if we want to enjoy the game in the future. So far it's beneficial for new players to spend gems, for there is a number of advantages to be gained:

-Building licenses: Incredible boost to your economy
-Veteran general: Incredible troop savings on adventures
-Noble residences: A must for coping with bigger adventures without sacrificing production buildings
-Selling gemstuff: Allows to quickly build up resources to get your buildings to a decent level

As can be seen here, all of the above translate to similar pay-to-Win end result. They either increase resource income, or in the vet's case, reduce resource loss. So Pay-to-Win items already exist in TSO. When a player is settled with their booming economy, they start craving for another big batch of gems for:

-Watermills & Silos: Getting rid of rebuilding stuff, what a chore!
-Jolly geos & Deerstalkers: Refilling is a chore too
-Savage scouts: Since the improved economy allows for much more frequent adventure playing, you'll need something to play too

Alas, investing in gems has created a self-sufficient TSO tycoon who has little to worry. The player has more or less automated production, allowing smooth gamepay and focusing mostly on adventuring and interacting with their fellow gamers. The question arises: What's he missing?

Nothing. That's the problem. So far gems are essentially a one-time investment and unless you are stupid about it, there's little need to buy more once you've got the above necessities covered. Nice for a player, but bad for business. The premium account gives perks that are very much to a high lv player's liking: The buff bonus is most substantial when lots of buffs are used, and the building levels are high (I'm assuming mutual premium buffs here). Same goes for 50% bigger loots. High lv players are capable of playing more advs, making them earn more within the premium buff's duration. So there's incentive for a player to keep spending gems for the whole duration of their TSO 'career', not just to give a boost start. For those who have made an oath not to ever spend a penny on browser games, note that the Dev diary mentions the premium buff to be tradeable, so just like many free players still have noble deeds and jollies purchased from other players, these will also be acquirable via in-game trade. Regardless of who's bank account is subtracted for the purchase of these buffs, the important part is creating a sustained cash flow to BB. It's free to play but not free to develop & maintain folks. As long as the game company sees the game as a source of revenue rather than a source of cost, efforts will be made to keep players interested and we'll see the game develop further and further. That future looks much brighter than the alternative, even for those who view Pay-to-Win features unfair.

There are of course a few things that BB needs to be vary about when bringing this live. Obviously there's the matter of cost to the player. Too cheap and there'll be a ton of infuriated free players, which hurts the community and reputation of the game. Too expensive and the goal of creating a sustained cash flow will not be achieved when only a few devoted individuals are willing to pay for it. Finally, BB needs to show commitment to the game's future so that players are willing to invest money to the game. The ever-postponed PvP and infinitely unfixable locked zone bug are things that make at least me, personally, think twice before purchasing more gems.

[Iolanthe]

It looks like the Premium content is due to be added to the Test server today, the server is about to go down (belatedly) for:

Update & Maintenance August 1st
Dear testers,
today we'll deploy an update. Meanwhile the server will be offline.
Start: Aprox 12:00 CEST
End: Aprox. 18:00 CEST [this may also change]
NEW FEATURES
• Premium Accounts (See local dev's diary for details)
• Collectible items

While things on the Test aren't set in stone it's still nice to get an idea of what's coming.

As an aside, here's hoping some of the bug fixes mentioned make their way to us before too long as well:

FIXES
• A problem with buffing friend’s buildings was fixed
• Icon for new mail on login is back
• Keyboard shortcut for Mayor's house was fixed
• Quest "Other islands" was locked for some players
• etc.

If you'd like to take a look when the server is back online it can be found here: http://www.tsotesting.com

[Kavoan]

Cool!

[Driller7]

Here is the cost for premium accounts: 7 days 800gems, 30days 2,500gems, 180 days 12,000gems, 360days 20,000gems.

In addition there are new items that can be bought with collectables or gems!

The only two worth buying are

1. x3 buff for barracks for 12h 258gems(or bunch of collectibles)

2. x3 buff for 12h for 384gems(or bunch of collectibles)

If you think long term 20k gems can be bought at a time where there is 100% gift gems and if you buy the big package that gives 48k gems for 100euro that means the 12months premium will cost you only 42euros which is 3.5 euro/month.

Not bad at all!

[Thejollyone]

OK... Test server offers only 25% extra loot, 25% extra xp and only 1 extra quest a day. http://prntscr.com/1is7w1

Prices as follows:

7 days - 800 gems
30 days 2.5k gems
180 days 12k gems
360 days 20k gems

I know none of it is finalised, but why reduce the %-ages on test server when its already been advertised as 50%? Dont make sense lol

Ah then when i activated one it states this http://prntscr.com/1is7ok

So not sure if we get 50% or 25% cos the pages are conflicting

[ZkilfinG]

This is looking too much like "pay 2 win" for me.