CAPTAIN'S BLOG
Blog History

- + 2016
- + June
- + May
- + April
- + March
- + February
- + January
- + 2015
- + December
- + November
- + October
- + September
- + August
- + July
- + June
- + May
- + April
- + March
- + February
- + January
- + 2014
- + December
- + November
- + October
- + September
- + August
- + July
- + June
- + May
- + April
- + March
- + February
- + January
- + 2013
- + December
- + November
- + October
- + September
- + August
- + July
- + June
- + May
- + April
- + March
- + February
- + January
- + 2012
- + December
- + November
- + October
- + September
- + August
- + July
- + June
- + May
- + April
- + March
- + February
- + January
- + 2011
- + December
- + November
- + October
- + September
- + August
- + July
- + June
- + May
- + April
- + March
- + February
- + January
- + 2010
Pay to Win
Captain's Blog Stardate 89264.09
I need to talk about a topic that has been on my nerves for a while now. Its this whole "Pay to Win" debate that has been going on in the STO forums. Basically people are upset about the new Rhode Island Refit that was put on the C-Store. The complaint is that the ship is overpowered and people who purchase it are stronger than those who don't. Essentially they are paying real money in order to have a stronger ship. Supposedly a whole line of these ships will be coming out. While you are reading this keep in mind that I agree 100% with the fact that people shouldn't be able to pay real money in order to get stronger equipment and have a significant advantage over those who don't buy it or can't afford to. What I don't agree with is people who are getting extremely mad about this one little ship. For the sake of this discussion I am going to lump this people into two classes: those who are jealous and those who are genuinely upset. Those that are jealous are the ones who can't afford to buy from the C-Store but really want a ship. They won't admit they are jealous (which is fine) but they don't help the situation. They also get mad at the store for other reasons as well and complain because they want the Targ pet but can't buy it. People who are genuinely upset have every right to be. They make valid arguments and sometimes propose solutions. I'm here to say to everyone on every side of this argument to relax, there won't be any Pay to Win and I can prove it. First of all Dan Stahl stated multiple times since he took control of Star Trek Online that all C-Store ships will be available in the game through some method, and for the most part he has kept his word. The in-game method of getting these items usually comes out a few weeks after the ship is released on the C-Store. That's fair enough. Secondly, Stahl mentioned that marks, badges, honor, and emblems will be combined into a new currency most likely called Dilithium. This currency can be gained from missions. Also you'll be able to trade Dilithium for C-Points with other players. Which means that anyone can get any item from the C-Store simply by trading Dilithium for C-Points. Doesn't this mean that anyone will be able to get any item from the C-Store? I think it does. All assumptions and arguments that the C-Store is unfair and that Cryptc is creating a "Pay to Win" scenario are invalid. Changes are coming to the in-game economy (supposedly at the end of September) that will fix all this. This will essentially make every item available to every person. So sit back, relax, and let the good times roll. No need to blow a nacelle. For those who are interested, here is Dan Stahl's post on the Dilithium http://forums.startrekonline.com/showpost.php?p=3707832&postcount=94.Written by Attilio on August 29, 2011 at 08:19 am
Comments
August 29, 2011 at 02:59 pm
Complaining about the Rhode Island as a Pay to Win ship is a little silly, given that it is a tier two ship that comes with low grade tier one weapons and equipment. Sure, you can load it up with higher tier stuff if you are at a high enough rank to do so, but at that point you might as well invest in a ship of the same tier as your captain if your goal is to have the most powerful ship you can have.
Yes, the Rhode Island is a nice ship and its holographic decoy feature is a fun gadget (though it backfired on me the first time I tried to use it), but it isn't going to turn a mediocre player into Conan the Destroyer.
As long as Cryptic needs to make money, there will be an incentive for them to sell neat sounding stuff to those of us who play the game. Letting them make money is how we keep the game going, and that's good for all of us.
Live long and prosper,
Warburton1881
August 30, 2011 at 09:00 am
Agreed. The fact of the matter is that if they go F2P they'll need the C-Store to make money because a lot of people may switch over to free accounts.
Reply to AttilioSeptember 04, 2011 at 12:59 am
I listen to this interview on sto. Idon't think we should have any thing to worry about F2P.
Computer Ed Interviews Dan Stahl
Computer Ed talks Perfect World and more with Executive Producer Dan Stahl. Give it a listen here.
http://computered.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/daniel-stahl-sto-goes-f2p-cryptic-and-perfect-world-and-more/
November 03, 2011 at 01:24 am
So with the Path to F2P dev blog #10 confirming that not only is there a whole slew of new C-Store only ships, but all said ships are more powerful than anything you can get in game, are you still sticking with your original thought that STO is not going Pay2Win? Cause it sure looks that way from this angle.
Reply to iuerasNovember 03, 2011 at 08:21 am
It all depends on your view of the ships. Personally, I believe that these "+1" ships which are slightly stronger than other ships of the same tier aren't going to win all the time. If you take a Tier 1 against a Tier 5 then the Tier 5 should win every time. However a Tier 1 vs a Tier 1 "+1", I think they'll have an equal number of wins.
So to answer your question, yes I am sticking with my original thought. Until someone gives me solid proof that these "+1" ships will dominate PvP my thought will not change.
May 02, 2016 at 08:03 pm
What it's a game not some real life concept come on don't play if you'er that stuck up, damn i swear people put to much into nothing you pay cable, for food, clothes, all for your own pleasure
Paying for things in a game is nothing but fun don't like it don't play and shut it...don't waste all your time writing useless dibble on none sense topic like pay to win
May 02, 2016 at 10:37 pm
You're a few years late to the party lol. Honestly I don't think this topic is as big of a deal as it was back in 2011. At the time all ships were free, and then Cryptic slowly began to release additional ships to the store that were stronger. Some people were understandably upset about it, especially since at the time this was a game that had a monthly fee.
Reply to Attilio