Profits down or something?

[umeannothing]

I ask because frankly, Turbine is the only MMO I have ever seen that would or HAS charged players for a basic thing like putting platinum in the bank.

It really seems more of a desperation move than anything, you really think this will get more people to play/stay?

Me thinks the law of unintended consequences is going to kick in on this decision, but that's just one persons opinion.

EDIT: I mean really, just how many times are you going to make players that already purchased shared bank, purchase shared bank?

[In_Like_Flynn]

The service didn't exist before, and was added as a new feature. New features, especially those of convenience, cost money.

It sure beats EQ's system, early on, which was to drop coins on the ground, log out, log in with another character, and hope the coins were still on the ground. :)

[bashemgud]

I agree on this, bad move.

[Memnir]

I'm just happy to see it finally in the game.
But then again, I've also gone back to VIP so I get the first 50k free. Since that saves a bunch of hassle at the mailboxes, I'm cool with that.

[umeannothing]

The service didn't exist before, and was added as a new feature. New features, especially those of convenience, cost money.

It sure beats EQ's system, early on, which was to drop coins on the ground, log out, log in with another character, and hope the coins were still on the ground. :)


I already bought shared bank. Now I have to basically by shared bank again. That is how it feels, like I am a personal money pinata for Turbine.

All I can think of is Turbine profits are down, and they are getting desperate. How else would putting plat in the shared bank not come WITH the shared bank?

[Adrian99]

In an interesting side note, the existing method of mailing plat to your other toons continues to work. But pay no attention to that, there must be a profit motive if someone says that's the case :)

[danotmano1998]

I already bought shared bank. Now I have to basically by shared bank again. That is how it feels, like I am a personal money pinata for Turbine.

All I can think of is Turbine profits are down, and they are getting desperate. How else would putting plat in the shared bank not come WITH the shared bank?

Yeah, that DOES kind of suck. And it's ironic as well if you look at it that way.

Still, I'm VIP, so 50K seems great to me. It's a convenience, nothing more.
You can still mail plat, or transfer it to a friend to hold for a moment. Granted, it's not nearly as nice as being able to just keep it in the bank, but w/e.

Turbine gave us the option of purchasing more space or not. Personally I think it's a waste of money, but that's the choice we each have to make for ourselves.

[bashemgud]

The service didn't exist before, and was added as a new feature. New features, especially those of convenience, cost money.

It sure beats EQ's system, early on, which was to drop coins on the ground, log out, log in with another character, and hope the coins were still on the ground. :)

HAHAHA, good times, good times.

This along with 3 hours long corpses recovery after a raid wipe makes EQ the best MMO, for life. Couldn't get your corpse? You have 7 days to get it, or you lose all your loot ^^

[umeannothing]

In an interesting side note, the existing method of mailing plat to your other toons continues to work. But pay no attention to that, there must be a profit motive if someone says that's the case :)


SHHHHHHHH!

Why did you have to say that on the forums?

Great. Next thing you know we will have to buy stamps to send mail in game.

[katz]

better not do a Fear raid right after making 46th... give yourself at LEAST a half a level cushion. dying really sucks.. cuz then you CAN'T get your loot back :D

[Grifarr]

The free mechanism to move cash funds is still available free.
The VIPs get a small perk added to their dwindling list of perks with a free 50K shared wallet.
You have the OPTION to help fund the maintenance and development of this game buy purchasing a convenience.

No one is forcing you to buy this. It is an unnecessary convenience. Games cost money to develop and run. Free to play never meant everything for free.

[In_Like_Flynn]

HAHAHA, good times, good times.

This along with 3 hours long corpses recovery after a raid wipe makes EQ the best MMO, for life. Couldn't get your corpse? You have 7 days to get it, or you lose all your loot ^^Never raid in the 24 hours before a 10-day vacation.

[charmor]

I completely agree charging to put plat in the bank is a little too much. But on the other hand, that's how they make money with this kind of game. It's a crippleware, where something has to be 'crippled' so that they can sell the 'fix' at the store.

[varusso]

Having the shared coins is fine as a p2p feature. The reason why those other MMOs have it as a "free" feature is because you already PAY to play the game at all. Turbine's f2p model with alot of goodies a la carte means that features like this are going to cost some $$. And for those who will site other games with similar models -- those are mostly browser games, which also charge for a number of upgrades. The issue here isnt THAT it costs -- its how MUCH it costs. 200 TP for the first tier at 50K would be just fine. Its a reasonable cost for a reasonable return, and it would sell like crazy, making them plenty of cash, including additional upgrades.

Of course as I said in another thread, the actual shared bank purchase and upgrades should really have plat built into them (in smaller increments) with additional specific shared plat upgrades on the side.

But what do i know? Im just the player who isnt going to spend any money on something that is WAy too overpriced for its return.

[Cyr]

I completely agree charging to put plat in the bank is a little too much. But on the other hand, that's how they make money with this kind of game. It's a crippleware, where something has to be 'crippled' so that they can sell the 'fix' at the store.

This seems like an accurate way of describing Turbine's business model at the moment.

[Cauthey]

I already bought shared bank. Now I have to basically by shared bank again. That is how it feels, like I am a personal money pinata for Turbine.

Turbine Devs want to eat, too. They want to bring home a paycheck, and spend their hard earned money on nice things.

Please remember that you can sample much of their hard work; their blood, sweat, and tears for free. For FREE! :D

You don't NEED a shared bank. You don't NEED to bank your platinum. You WANT these features. And if you want them, you'll need to put in a little bread in the Dev's jar.

[In_Like_Flynn]

This seems like an accurate way of describing Turbine's business model at the moment.The opposite of this.

[umeannothing]

Turbine Devs want to eat, too. They want to bring home a paycheck, and spend their hard earned money on nice things.

Please remember that you can sample much of their hard work; their blood, sweat, and tears for free. For FREE! :D

You don't NEED a shared bank. You don't NEED to bank your platinum. You WANT these features. And if you want them, you'll need to put in a little bread in the Dev's jar.

You are right, I wanted shared bank, so I bought it, up to 40 slots.

One would think that once you have bought shared bank, let alone bought an upgrade for it, then you know, adding money to it would just sort of be part of the package if adding money to your bank was a shared bank only kind of thing.

It is a great selling point for shared banks though: "Want to transfer gear and funds among all characters on a server? Then buy the shared bank from the Turbine store for 1495 TP!!! then upgrade it to add in game platinum to share among all your alternate characters for 495 TP more!!! Click on the 'Buy Now' icon for more info.


yup, what a deal.

[somenewnoob]

You know a long time ago, I said is some long forgotten post that if they would just add a shared plat bank that would be the one change that would just make everybody SO HAPPY, because it is soething so many people want and it would be SO AWESOME. Nobody could possibly find a reason to complain about it.

I obviously.......am living in a dream world!

[umeannothing]

You know a long time ago, I said is some long forgotten post that if they would just add a shared plat bank that would be the one change that would just make everybody SO HAPPY, because it is soething so many people want and it would be SO AWESOME. Nobody could possibly find a reason to complain about it.

I obviously.......am living in a dream world!

I love the ability to share plat with my alts with the purchase of shared bank. Making people pay for it as a side dish to the shared bank I think is a mistake, and only makes Turbine look desperate to scrounge up revenue.

It could have been a major selling point to sell MORE account banks, but now it is a moot point to buying one. Nothing changes, you buy an account bank, you only get just that.


I wouldn't go buy a new car just to go have air conditioning put it in it after the fact. I would just go for the cheaper model and not have air conditioning.

[Darkrok]

better not do a Fear raid right after making 46th... give yourself at LEAST a half a level cushion. dying really sucks.. cuz then you CAN'T get your loot back :D

Bah, you CAN get your loot back.

You call in an elite force of friends that weren't in the original raid that put together a tactical strike force that does a 5-man extraction over the next 6 hours (while you level your gimp butt back to 46 of course).

Ah, the memories. :)

(Please Note: I was in the elite tactical strike force, not the gimps on the hill ;) )

[katz]

Bah, you CAN get your loot back.

You call in an elite force of friends that weren't in the original raid that put together a tactical strike force that does a 5-man extraction over the next 6 hours (while you level your gimp butt back to 46 of course).

Ah, the memories. :)

(Please Note: I was in the elite tactical strike force, not the gimps on the hill ;) )


true... true... but then again... if you weren't well connected, your chances of such things were somewhere between zilch and nil.

me, i never experienced that particular brand of horror. i always made sure i was at least 47th first. :D

[bashemgud]

I want to play Everquest now. It's only 20$ on steam for the original game and the 16 or 17 expansions along with it.

Do they keep your data for a long period of time? I stopped playing like 8 years ago, I wonder if my Dark-night Troll is sill alive.

Btw Cazic Thule in the Plane of Fear was my favorite god and raid. He'd shout a random player name and you would just simply die. No save, nothing. How cool is that.

[Jandric]

I ask because frankly, Turbine is the only MMO I have ever seen that would or HAS charged players for a basic thing like putting platinum in the bank.

It really seems more of a desperation move than anything, you really think this will get more people to play/stay?

Me thinks the law of unintended consequences is going to kick in on this decision, but that's just one persons opinion.

EDIT: I mean really, just how many times are you going to make players that already purchased shared bank, purchase shared bank?

Soooo.... You'd have been happier if they had never made the change at all? You can still mail Plat just like you always used to.

[umeannothing]

Soooo.... You'd have been happier if they had never made the change at all? You can still mail Plat just like you always used to.



Would you spend TP on this if you already bought the shared bank? No, I will not buy this, Yes it would have been a GREAT selling point to sell more shared banks.

Mail works just peachy for me, until they start charging TP to send mail.

[somenewnoob]

snip..... until they start charging TP to send mail.

Can a Dev move this to the suggestions forum? ;)

I like it!

[Jandric]

Would you spend TP on this if you already bought the shared bank? No, I will not buy this, Yes it would have been a GREAT selling point to sell more shared banks.

Mail works just peachy for me, until they start charging TP to send mail.

I wouldn't buy it, but I wouldn't begrudge others from doing or Turbine from making some money on it. VIPs will get 50K for free, which is a nice little perk for a group of people that were feeling a bit left out. And hey- you or I wouldn't buy it, but some people will. That will pay for the coding effort and hopefully keep the game going a bit longer. That's a win-win.

[varusso]

Can a Dev move this to the suggestions forum? ;)

I like it!

I almost neg-repped you for this, but I am afraid it might end up costing me too much TP.


Oh and for the record, turbine: I own a shared bank, and i have no intention of paying this ridiculous amount of TP for such a small amount of JUST PLAT transfer. Drop the price on the plat bank SIGNIFICANTLY and add a smaller-amount-per-slot (10K or so) of plat sharing to the item-sharing bank as part of the purchase. Overpricing leads to fewer sales. If you sell more widgets at a lower cost (especially something in virtual land) then you make more than you would if you gouge too much and sell few or no widgets.

As one of my old bosses used to say: "Volume takes care of everything".

[umeannothing]

Can a Dev move this to the suggestions forum? ;)

I like it!

I have no doubt they have already thought of this, lol, call me a cynic.


Don't sweat it, I am sure next Update will be "You can now purchase account mail options in the DDO Store, access all your mail across all characters on the same server fpr only 1995 Turbine Points!"

I would likely buy the account mail option if it was there, (using earned not purchased TP of course) but when you already have a shared bank, I just do not see this as a good plan for the frugal player, such as me to have them spend more to store plat that is easily mailed for 1 silver.

on the flip side, like I said before, having used it as a selling point to sell more shared banks on the whole would have made more sense, "Shared bank now has the ability to store 25,000 platinum, with the ability to purchase higher storage amounts from the DDO store" would have been a good selling point as well, then you are buying more space, just like shared bank +10 slot upgrades.

Just one mans opinion.

[brian14]

It sure beats EQ's system, early on, which was to drop coins on the ground, log out, log in with another character, and hope the coins were still on the ground. :)[/COLOR]
In case you do not know, during last Crystal Cove there was a (non-WAI) way to take Healing Torches out of the Cove and save them for the next run. If you logged out before using the torches, they dropped onto ground and anyone could pick them up.

[Cauthey]

You are right, I wanted shared bank, so I bought it, up to 40 slots.

One would think that once you have bought shared bank, let alone bought an upgrade for it, then you know, adding money to it would just sort of be part of the package if adding money to your bank was a shared bank only kind of thing.

It is a great selling point for shared banks though: "Want to transfer gear and funds among all characters on a server? Then buy the shared bank from the Turbine store for 1495 TP!!! then upgrade it to add in game platinum to share among all your alternate characters for 495 TP more!!! Click on the 'Buy Now' icon for more info.


yup, what a deal.

One would think? One would think...

One would think that buying a copy of Windows 3.11 would entitle them to free upgrades for life. Even if those upgrades cost time and money to develop. One would think...

One would think that that one time when I bought 4 new tires for my car, I shouldn't have to ever buy them again. One would think...

One would think that they'd bring me a free appetizer and a free dessert since I graced them with my presence and went to all of the trouble to order a meal off of their menu. One would think...

One would think that I shouldn't have to work or pay for the stuff I want. I should just get it. One would think...

There is NOTHING clandestine or bait and switch with Turbine's model here. They simply want to continue to provide an incredible game AND be paid for their hard work. And in my book, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. At least, that's what this one would think.

Are your personal profits down, or something? Because based on your OP, that would be the only justification for you getting out of bed and going to work tomorrow. One would think...

[Chai]

I want to play Everquest now. It's only 20$ on steam for the original game and the 16 or 17 expansions along with it.

Do they keep your data for a long period of time? I stopped playing like 8 years ago, I wonder if my Dark-night Troll is sill alive.

Btw Cazic Thule in the Plane of Fear was my favorite god and raid. He'd shout a random player name and you would just simply die. No save, nothing. How cool is that.

Yeap, that was awesome. Harm touch, instant death. We used to call it the bug zapper.

Everyone would stand way far back, and the sacrificial tank would attack, get bug zapped, and the real tank was right behind that person ready to take aggro. They both had to be tanks because he could zap the other player and now your sacrificial lamb has to tank. :p

After that it was completely random, as heals and buffs all added you to the aggro list.

[umeannothing]

One would think? One would think...

One would think that buying a copy of Windows 3.11 would entitle them to free upgrades for life. Even if those upgrades cost time and money to develop. One would think...

One would think that that one time when I bought 4 new tires for my car, I shouldn't have to ever buy them again. One would think...

One would think that they'd bring me a free appetizer and a free dessert since I graced them with my presence and went to all of the trouble to order a meal off of their menu. One would think...

One would think that I shouldn't have to work or pay for the stuff I want. I should just get it. One would think...

There is NOTHING clandestine or bait and switch with Turbine's model here. They simply want to continue to provide an incredible game AND be paid for their hard work. And in my book, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. At least, that's what this one would think.

Are your personal profits down, or something? Because based on your OP, that would be the only justification for you getting out of bed and going to work tomorrow. One would think...

There is a really good business model that Costco foods uses, and that is simply, free taste tests. It has been proven to increase sales on the products they offer it on, and has grown into a weekend sales pitch more or less.

In offering even a base of the 11k you can mail as a basic substance to the shared bank, and offering upgrades to that amount in the DDO store even if in only 10k stacks, those people that got the "taste" test would be more apt to buy the upgrades. That is marketing 101. People that have no idea what they are missing, and especially in this instance, where this is fluff and frills that is easily bypassed by using the mail (as I will do), those people are less likley to waste real life money, or earned TP (earned how ever you want to look at it, earned by paying $10 a month, earned through favor)

Having said that, now, had I gotten this basic taste of the shared plat bank, even at 11k, and I used it, and then had to run to the mail to get more, I would be roughly 500 times more likely to eventually upgrade the shared plat storage because of the PITA that doing both (running to the bank, and then, depending on the zone, across the zone for the mail) would be. Marketing 101. You offer a service, give a small taste of it, and make the consumer want more. You do test drive a car before you buy it right? Generally speaking, from that test drive one adds upgrades: CD player, A/C, Sunroof, Custom Wheels, etc. etc. Same concept, different model.


One would THINK that using this model, Turbine would have increased sales of BOTH shared bank, AND shared plat bank upgrades, maybe I am the only one to understand basic marketing. I could be wrong, but based on the worlds current economy right now, I would imagine the number of players that are budgeting in money to this game far exceeds those that can just dump $$$ anytime, and those are the players this shared bank is aimed at as far as sales go in my opinion, why would they be targeting this at the VIP when it comes free for you?

And, I bet with that "free" taste of 25k plat you can store/transfer, you want to upgrade to hold more, if not you directly, then many others do, perhaps maybe only as many as 20%. But without knowing what you are missing out on, you would likely save your TP for other things you want more than what you can do already for 1 silver per mailing.

[red_cardinal]

I'm just happy to see it finally in the game.
But then again, I've also gone back to VIP so I get the first 50k free. Since that saves a bunch of hassle at the mailboxes, I'm cool with that.

Yeah, but that feature had to be sooner implemented as it's more like "core", than optional. Also, considering mailboxes - they're pretty inferior. Mail one item and 9999 plat? Bah! You should be able to attach up to 10 items, put up to 100000 plat and be able to delete multiple messages.

[SilkofDrasnia]

personally i dont care its not something i will purchase i just dont see this as being worth it LOL

i mean i have 2 pcs so why would i need this, and seriously most peeps nowa days have more than one pc im guessing, 1 pc laptop or 2 pcs etc

i just think it pretty ridiculous to have to pay for this lol dont even mention that u have to buy multiple "upgrades"

but i can see how it COULD be helpful for those few that cant log on 2 toons at the same time

[whomhead]

Nobody could possibly find a reason to complain about it.

On the internet, this statement has always been and will always prove to be incorrect.

That said, I like the shared bank and might even buy a tier or two of it.

[Clankex]

There is a really good business model that Costco foods uses, and that is simply, free taste tests. It has been proven to increase sales on the products they offer it on, and has grown into a weekend sales pitch more or less.

Isn't using a membership-club, like Costco, as an example more appropriate to why VIPs should get this perk for free but not everyone else?

[umeannothing]

My bad, post misread.

Yes Clank, your analogy would be fitting as well, after I read it the second time.

[Morgueman]

Well as a self proclaimed "Alt-O-Holic" and a VIP I got the 50k free.
But this was far from good enough for me. So I had a few extra tp's laying around and boosted that to 250k plat.

Best thing I've bought with my TP in ages (recent Arti and FVS buys aside).


TL;DR:
Don't like it?
Don't buy it.

[Shade]

Yea u12 does seem like a huge money grab..

1500 points for a pack that imo, is one of the smallest updates ddos ever had. It's 4 dungeons. Sure theres some variation and replay value, but its still.. 4 dungeons. 2 of which are just modified clones of crystal cove, 1 a revamped old area (kobold island was an area removed from the game some time back) and the other really the only new one - and i will say its a fairly nice original map.

I mean the token option is nice, but the fact you can also waste tokens, and a dozen other things in the challenges for very meeger gains is another money grab.

The droprate on the ddo store stuff is abysmally low, and for some challenges its actaully REQUIRED to get the stars (im looking at you disruptor, 10 canons active? thats 125+ turbine poonts REQUIRED per attempt)

[Vormaerin]

Its ridiculous to claim that this is "crippleware" or that its core functionality considering that the game has functioned just fine for six years without it.

If its not worth it to you, don't buy it. Its not even like you have to use real money. 200TP is pretty quick to earn if you've got slots for new characters and a tolerance for some favor grinding.

[Xionanx]

I suggested while I was still on lama that the price for the plat shared bank was too much. I also suggested that they add a "Basic" level to those who have already bought the shared bank, something like 50k PP as the standard shared bank package.

But hey, I'm just some ******* who gets his posts deleted by the devs and moderators for speaking his mind about the direction this game is going.

Sometimes I feel like the game is the Titanic and I'm the guy on the deck screaming there is an Iceburg ahead... only the captain is busy sticking his fingers in his ears and humming.:rolleyes:

[BOgre]

Yet another reason to shell out the measly $8/mo for VIP. Best move I made. Thanks for the great deal Turbine. :) Love the new perks. Glad to pay.

[Vormaerin]

*laughs* That was my thought exactly. I have the same thought about the whinging over the plat bank. Base level free and the upgrades can easily come out of this month's included points.

Massive convenience is well worth the small monthly cost to me.

[Healsavant]

I'm just happy to see it finally in the game.
But then again, I've also gone back to VIP so I get the first 50k free. Since that saves a bunch of hassle at the mailboxes, I'm cool with that.

How do you figure it saves time IF you need more than 50k? I can mail 500k from one toon to another, yes it takes time but i get pretty quick after about the third mailoff lol........if you are only doing 50k a pop in bank then u gotta log that other toon off and on 10 times to do the same amount...I dont see a time saver unless you need to transfer a measly 50k or less.

[BOgre]

It's not about transferring for me, it's about banking. If i want to transfer big dollars, I have friends and guildies. This plat bank is different. First thing I did is log my richest toon, and drop 50k in the bank. Now it can just sit there as my little rainy day fund, for when I'm on an alt that finds something nice on the AH or broker, and is a little short. Or if my Barb needs pots or a hire, or I roll an alt that needs some half decent lvl4 starting twinkage. All those things can be done for 50k easy, and I'll just top it up whenever it gets low. It's a savings account. There when I need it, saving the hassle of logging out, logging my sugardaddy, transfering, logging back to my alt. Instead I can just walk up to the nearest ATM. :)
And as a $99 VIP that 50k slot is free, so yet again, YAY VIP :)
Time to pony up that ONE 6-PackOfBeer/month boys.

[Flintsen]

I ask because frankly, Turbine is the only MMO I have ever seen that would or HAS charged players for a basic thing like putting platinum in the bank.

It really seems more of a desperation move than anything, you really think this will get more people to play/stay?

Me thinks the law of unintended consequences is going to kick in on this decision, but that's just one persons opinion.

EDIT: I mean really, just how many times are you going to make players that already purchased shared bank, purchase shared bank?

Very simple solution just keep 200k PP on each of your 20 toons and you don't need to ever transfer money

[umeannothing]

It's not about transferring for me, it's about banking. If i want to transfer big dollars, I have friends and guildies. This plat bank is different. First thing I did is log my richest toon, and drop 50k in the bank. Now it can just sit there as my little rainy day fund, for when I'm on an alt that finds something nice on the AH or broker, and is a little short. Or if my Barb needs pots or a hire, or I roll an alt that needs some half decent lvl4 starting twinkage. All those things can be done for 50k easy, and I'll just top it up whenever it gets low. It's a savings account. There when I need it, saving the hassle of logging out, logging my sugardaddy, transfering, logging back to my alt. Instead I can just walk up to the nearest ATM. :)
And as a $99 VIP that 50k slot is free, so yet again, YAY VIP :)
Time to pony up that ONE 6-PackOfBeer/month boys.


Why? I know what I am missing if I give up my 6 pack. But, since I never had the plat bank before, I see no reason to give up my yummy, refreshing, sleepy time inducing BEER.

Beer in one hand, or using the mail system in the other...........................beer...........mai l myself money............beer............money, mail, me....................



Nope, I am keeping my beer.

[umeannothing]

Very simple solution just keep 200k PP on each of your 20 toons and you don't need to ever transfer money


Exactly. Or simply mail oneself the money using the 1 silver per mailing in game mail system, same as always. And I find I only needed the 5 character slots, 5 per server is just peachy for me.

[GermanicusMaximus]

Very simple solution just keep 200k PP on each of your 20 toons and you don't need to ever transfer money

Agreed, but plat capping those toons works even better :-)