Alpha 2 Keys

I heard a lot of talk about a2 keys being cheaper than normal.

i personally believe this is a horrible idea. 1 you mess up with people who purchased it before.

just release the a2 packs for sale again, for the people who missed them.
no need to punish the people who bough them early. and no need to cater to people who bought them late.

release them full price. and it's the only way to go.

or you could make them cheaper and make a bunch of A2 buyers very upset. Or you could make them same price but without skins and make new players upset.

but if you release them same price as before same pack....no issues.

thoughts?

personally. if we cater to people that are late now.... we'll expect this in the future as well and maybe even hope to take advantage of it.

what do you guys think?

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Comments

Ripteye

Blip wrote: »

I don't often care about these things, but I got the Alpha 2 pack just so I could help test.The FOMO was real. Now they turn around and say, "Hey, we're going to give you access on the cheap."Can't help but be annoyed at best and pissed at worst.Feel like Intrepid is giving us the middle finger here.

I understand the annoyance but that is how free markets work, and to be fair they stated that they may open them back up.

I have learned to be ok with my decision when purchasing anything. I have learned to understand that a company can sell their products at different prices anytime they so wish to. You made the choice to buy when you did, regardless of what tactics the seller may or may not have used to entice you into buying.

Ripteye

I am more irritated with how they sell embers and them not being a 1 to 1 value, doing math to figure out the exact dollar value of an item is rather irritating to me. With that being said I still am responsible for if I purchase them or not.

Noaani

Ripteye wrote: »

I am more irritated with how they sell embers and them not being a 1 to 1 value

They kind of are though.

You get 1000 embers for $10 - so an ember costs 1 cent.

From there, they just have bonuses if you buy more at one time.

My main issue with embers and other such currencies is that some companies will put up a $10 pack for 1000 of their currency, but then sell items for 1200.

There should be an option to top up a purchase with the exact amount of embers needed (ie, 1 cent per ember) to finsh off any purchase in a way where there are no embers left in the wallet.

Ripteye

Noaani wrote: »

Ripteye wrote: »

I am more irritated with how they sell embers and them not being a 1 to 1 value

They kind of are though.

You get 1000 embers for $10 - so an ember costs 1 cent.

From there, they just have bonuses if you buy more at one time.

My main issue with embers and other such currencies is that some companies will put up a $10 pack for 1000 of their currency, but then sell items for 1200.

There should be an option to top up a purchase with the exact amount of embers needed (ie, 1 cent per ember) to finsh off any purchase in a way where there are no embers left in the wallet.

Still requires math, and in a game where minors will be spending their allowance, I believe this to be predatory. Like I said consumers responsibility, it is something I just feel should not be legal. At the very least they should show the whole dollar amount at checkout.

Texas

novercalis wrote: »

But adding more A2 keys is a slap in the face for many who bought into it via FOMO because we were told there wont be more.

We were pretty explicitly told there would be more. About a hundred times Steven said they would sell more keys as needed.

Aszkalon

Srixun wrote: »

Didnt they also say it would just be an access key ? so no perks, no nothing just A2 access ?

I think yes. Kinda got it like this is as well.

Otr wrote: »

The end of alpha 2 sale was advertised for a long time as if it was the last chance.
They created a FOMO feeling and took advantage of it.

While i like this very critical Approach to the whole Topic, i think Ravicus' Answer to your Comment is a very good Point.

Quite a few Times, it was mentioned that Intrepid upgrades and improves it's Technology for the Game every few Months, right ?

And recently i heard them saying for the first Time, that Intrepid "as a Company" was even created in the first Place, to CREATE this improved Technology for MMO's to host massive Numbers of People being able to move in the very same Spots and Areas without huge Lag-Spikes that can even disconnect People from the Servers.

So i don't think it was FOMO. But You can be sure as hell that People are already excited for the Game, when an Alpha Two gets treated as an Object of FOMO.

Ashes is already great in it's own Way, before it is even completed ... ... ...

Chicago

In all honesty, who cares, we are all here to support a game that we want to succeed, if you had 250$ to spend on A2 access then you are definitely not short on cash, and if someone that couldn't afford it at that price tag gets the opportunity to play with us then I'm all for it

At the end of the day A2 was never 250$, it was the bundle that made it that price, you will make the money back with game time and the cosmetics, no one held a gun to your head and told you to spend the money, infact intrepid blatantly said not to buy the alpha packs unless you want to support the game.

The more testers the faster we hit a live launch, be happy that this is happening

Sengarden

Ripteye wrote: »

Noaani wrote: »

Ripteye wrote: »

I am more irritated with how they sell embers and them not being a 1 to 1 value

They kind of are though.

You get 1000 embers for $10 - so an ember costs 1 cent.

From there, they just have bonuses if you buy more at one time.

My main issue with embers and other such currencies is that some companies will put up a $10 pack for 1000 of their currency, but then sell items for 1200.

There should be an option to top up a purchase with the exact amount of embers needed (ie, 1 cent per ember) to finsh off any purchase in a way where there are no embers left in the wallet.

Still requires math, and in a game where minors will be spending their allowance, I believe this to be predatory. Like I said consumers responsibility, it is something I just feel should not be legal. At the very least they should show the whole dollar amount at checkout.

I think some countries are already talking about making this illegal, or already outlawed it? The cosmetic shops need to have real dollar prices and no fake currencies. It's absolutely value obscuring, and takes advantage of the consumer by enticing them with bulk-value currency pricing and setting cosmetic prices slightly higher than any one currency bundle amount.

Aszkalon

Chicago wrote: »

In all honesty, who cares, we are all here to support a game that we want to succeed

Amen. 😌👌

Zakheaka

I see myself as a business angel and spend money to make me happy, that's it

unknown

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Harlow

If I could go back and do it all over again, I would still spend the same amount of money because of the free game time/cash shop $/other non-freehold skins. I would do nothing differently except buy in earlier at the pricier A1 price. Unfortunately, I just didn't know about the game in time to buy A1.

The more people that can test alpha 2, the better for the game. More realistic player numbers help in balancing which in turn will produce a better product.

Those thoughts aside, an alternative to releasing more keys for purchase is to give the content creators some keys to give away. That's a win for Intrepid AND the content creator program. (Note: I am not a content creator, I would have no skin in such a program).

Ripteye

I hope they ignore the complaints, there is no logical reason they should even address them from a business standpoint.

StickyRubb

I think selling cheaper access to A2 is very unfair to the people that bought A2 access years ago. Back then the ONLY way to get into A2 was by spending a minimum of 250 dollars. For me, it's close to unacceptable.

Taleof2Cities

Ripteye wrote: »

I hope they ignore the complaints, there is no logical reason they should even address them from a business standpoint.

I think it was already mentioned in a few replies, but let’s wait and see what the next round of pricing is on the A2 keys and what’s included … before we get too carried away with speculation and how Intrepid should run their business.

GoodSheperd

StickyRubb wrote: »

I think selling cheaper access to A2 is very unfair to the people that bought A2 access years ago. Back then the ONLY way to get into A2 was by spending a minimum of 250 dollars. For me, it's close to unacceptable.

Good thing it isn't up to you and is instead up to intrepid to run their business.

2 years ago when you bought your pack you were supporting the funding for the game itself and A2 access was simply a perk that came along with that choice.

If you are upset about spending the money then you simply shouldn't have spent it in the first place.

Bring as many people as possible into A2!

StickyRubb

Hey,
I've been a loyal AoC follower for 4 years now. I've watched every livestream and watch all the creators on YouTube and I trust Intrepid studios in their decision-making.

BUT

Selling cheaper access to A2 when A2 is right around the corner is unfair to the people that bought A2 access years ago. Back then the ONLY way to get into A2 was by spending a minimum of 250 dollars. Now they're stripping the package of its skins, Embers and subscription time and start selling just the A2 keys. Many people don't care about the cosmetics that much and would've rather bought just the key, and you can't convince me that Intrepid doesn't realize this.

I understand that game development is unpredictable and that they hadn't anticipated the progress in their server capabilities, but this doesn't force a studio to sell access for a lower price. This move just makes it seem like the original A2 buyers were squeezed to fund the project to where it is now, so that Intrepid can now sell access for a more reasonable price tag.

My suggestion (besides refunds), which I think is reasonable to all parties, is the following:
Let new A2 buyers in at a later date.

The 100k+ people that already bought A2 access set foot in Verra at the end of September.
The new buyers join the adventure... a month late? Two weeks late?
It doesn't have to be a significant amount of time, but it would definitely give us older backers a feeling that we've gotten our money's worth out of our larger purchase. We can start molding the world to our heart's content while new buyers have to watch from the sideline for a minute. Intrepid could even do a server wipe before the new A2 buyers get access, if that'd make it more fair to them.

They've said that they'll try to be fair in their pricing, so we'll have to wait and see what the price will be.
All in all I hope Intrepid keeps being an open and honest studio, as this is the first time I've felt disappointed in them, and may it hopefully be the last.

Thoughts?

StickyRubb

GoodSheperd wrote: »

Good thing it isn't up to you and is instead up to intrepid to run their business.

2 years ago when you bought your pack you were supporting the funding for the game itself and A2 access was simply a perk that came along with that choice.

If you are upset about spending the money then you simply shouldn't have spent it in the first place.

Bring as many people as possible into A2!

I spent that money 4 years ago because it was the only way to get access to the game in the foreseeable future. Yes, I also spent it because I wanted to support the company, but that doesn't make it right to strip the package from all its parts except for the key, and then sell it for less money under the guise of; 'but there are no skins included!'. It's just coming across as disingenuous, and I shouldn't have to tell you this.

Ripteye

There is a thread on this already, and Intrepid does not owe you anything. You chose to purchase when you did regardless of the tactics Intrepid may or may not have used.

Ripteye

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

Ripteye wrote: »

I hope they ignore the complaints, there is no logical reason they should even address them from a business standpoint.

I think it was already mentioned in a few replies, but let’s wait and see what the next round of pricing is on the A2 keys and what’s included … before we get too carried away with speculation and how Intrepid should run their business.

Fare enough. It was only an opinion. And if it was me I would sell the last pack as it previously was with cosmetics. Even though it will upset people. This is a new IP do not cater to the Loud Minority.

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