Access VIP by "pointscription".

[Falco_Easts]

How about customised VIP.

Shared bank $3 per month (pm)
Open on hard $2pm
Open on elite $4pm
All adventure packs lvls 1-10 $4pm
All adventure packs lvls 11-15 $4pm
All adventure packs lvls 16-20 $4pm
Warforged $2pm

Etc...

[umeannothing]

How about customised VIP.

Shared bank $3 per month (pm)
Open on hard $2pm
Open on elite $4pm
All adventure packs lvls 1-10 $4pm
All adventure packs lvls 11-15 $4pm
All adventure packs lvls 16-20 $4pm
Warforged $2pm

Etc...

This is an excellent compromise, but of course here is the flip side...........


How about also making all of these possible using Turbine points? It is the minority of players that farm for the free points in my opinion (I have no figures to base my opinions on), but in general I think most humans are the 'pay for convenience' type when possible.

And then you have those people that in these current worldwide economically bad times that JUST. CANNOT. AFFORD. a single red cent to spare as well.


I do however think you have an excellent compromise here.

[umeannothing]

It was also stated before. A VIP could exploit this. Go VIP and use the extra TP each month to extend VIP sub. Therefor breaking the value of a VIP sub.

Like trying to buy adventure packs in the store while you are a current VIP.....It doesn't work.

Simple enough to lock out buying VIP with TP while you are currently a VIP.

Just means save up your points. I personally think 1250 TP for 1 month VIP is a good pricing area, and a current VIP would have to pay for 3 months (not including anything they get per 100/favor) to get the 4th month free.

[Musouka]

Like trying to buy adventure packs in the store while you are a current VIP.....It doesn't work.

Simple enough to lock out buying VIP with TP while you are currently a VIP.

Just means save up your points. I personally think 1250 TP for 1 month VIP is a good pricing area, and a current VIP would have to pay for 3 months (not including anything they get per 100/favor) to get the 4th month free.

So a VIP could technically get 3 months free per year? Right... like that's not impeding Turbine's Income.

It's very easy to let a VIP lapse, and on the day it dies, go to the store and buy the free month.

[umeannothing]

So a VIP could technically get 3 months free per year? Right... like that's not impeding Turbine's Income.

It's very easy to let a VIP lapse, and on the day it dies, go to the store and buy the free month.

Exactly, the same way they do it to buy adventure packs with the 500 bonus TP.

What is the difference other than buying the packs with the 500 bonus TP is permanent, but using that same 500 bonus TP to get a single month VIP is temporary?

[Chaos000]

Stick the pricepoint for a month of TP bought VIP month at 3495.

Of course a TP bought VIP sub does not include the 500 tp.

[Musouka]

Exactly, the same way they do it to buy adventure packs with the 500 bonus TP.

What is the difference other than buying the packs with the 500 bonus TP is permanent, but using that same 500 bonus TP to get a single month VIP is temporary?

Because 500 TP for 3 months doesn't allow you to buy every single pack/shared bank/p2p classes. Nor does 500 TP for 12 months.

[umeannothing]

Stick the pricepoint for a month of TP bought VIP month at 3495.

Of course a TP bought VIP sub does not include the 500 tp.

I tend to think that pricing it at an outrageous price would do more to discourage the sales of TP for the service rather than encourage it. Could just be me though.

I think keeping it in line with what you can purchase from the DDOstore in TP's (Right now it is 1250 TP for 19.99 that does not include the 350 bonus TP) would be reasonable. The average player would still buy in, and hey, if they don't like the VIP perks (in no way should they get the VIP 500 TP bonus either for a non sub VIP) then they will never waste TP on it again.

But take it from one that dearly misses his elite unlocks. Most will buy back in with the TP. The bigest and best thing about being able to do VIP this way to me, is the ability to use PayPal to make the transaction.

Let me say this clearly, Turbine will never again get my Credit Card info. EVER, so if I could use Paypal, and buy points, I would be all over it and just pay $19.99 per month. But that is just me p[ersoanlly, hey, VIP can gripe all they want of the suggestion, but it certainly has merit, and from a marketing standpoint................ Ask yourself why they offer free taste testers at Costco.

[Yetzederixx]

I have no idea what a reasonable price for a pointscription would be, this should probably analyzed indeed. Why 10,000? Is that an arbitrary value?

Oh and by the way, as I've said, I don't "argue a case" here, as I'm not saying it is a good or bad idea -- it is a suggestion to be discussed.

A subscription is 9.99/mth if purchased by the quarter and 15ish if done month by month. TP are just about 0.01/point if purchased in a $50 pack (5kTP for 49.99), so 10kTP would run you $100... just get a 3 month'er for 30, get 1.5kTP with it, and farm all that lowbie **** for TP that you'll never run again... Why would anyone pay more than $15, worth of TP that took far more time to farm than it would take them to mow the neighbor's grass, for a month of service is beyond me.

[Chaos000]

I tend to think that pricing it at an outrageous price would do more to discourage the sales of TP for the service rather than encourage it. Could just be me though.

I figured the cost of a +3 supreme ability tome vs. a month of subscription kind of balanced out in terms of opportunity cost.

In any case the cost in TP really should be in calculation of of how much TP (from previously un-acessible content) could be farmed by someone dedicated in a months time.

If it's too restrictive, it would make sense to lower the cost to a reasonable amount but at the opportunity cost of any content accessed but unpurchased does not result in tp received to prevent exploitative farming.

[umeannothing]

I figured the cost of a +3 supreme ability tome vs. a month of subscription kind of balanced out in terms of opportunity cost.

In any case the cost in TP really should be in calculation of of how much TP (from previously un-acessible content) could be farmed by someone dedicated in a months time.

If it's too restrictive, it would make sense to lower the cost to a reasonable amount but at the opportunity cost of any content accessed but unpurchased does not result in tp received to prevent exploitative farming.

No matter how many times they transfer servers to farm plat, they can only farm 1st time server bonuses once per account.

Even if that is what they do, let them waste their TP on the VIP sub, and then they will be stuck farming the 25TP/100 favor on that account forever. As a person that is currently doing a F2P account experiment, specifically seeing how long it will take me playing nothing but F2P on an F2P account to buy the game. I will have a much more objective opinion in a month or 6 I think on this whole subject.

One thing Turbine could do to allay some fears such as what you express is to stop first time server bonuses until a cash purchase is made in the store once a person tries the VIP. Or, they can offer us a way to buy VIP through the store using Paypal/CC/Debit Cards, or they could even allow a one month free vip per account every 6 months or something, even once per lifetime of the account(EDIT: based on a TP spend of course). Really, anything so that new players can get a taste of what they are missing and WANT to spend money to get some of those perks back.

Like I said before, they can either never spend money on the game because they have no idea what they are missing, or they can know what they are missing and want to spend money on the game.

[umeannothing]

I figured the cost of a +3 supreme ability tome vs. a month of subscription kind of balanced out in terms of opportunity cost.

In any case the cost in TP really should be in calculation of of how much TP (from previously un-acessible content) could be farmed by someone dedicated in a months time.

If it's too restrictive, it would make sense to lower the cost to a reasonable amount but at the opportunity cost of any content accessed but unpurchased does not result in tp received to prevent exploitative farming.

No matter how many times they transfer servers to farm [TP], they can only farm 1st time server bonuses once per account.

Even if that is what they do, let them waste their TP on the VIP sub, and then they will be stuck farming the 25TP/100 favor on that account forever. As a person that is currently doing a F2P account experiment, specifically seeing how long it will take me playing nothing but F2P on an F2P account to buy the game. I will have a much more objective opinion in a month or 6 I think on this whole subject.

One thing Turbine could do to allay some fears such as what you express is to stop first time server bonuses until a cash purchase is made in the store once a person tries the VIP. Or, they can offer us a way to buy VIP through the store using Paypal/CC/Debit Cards, or they could even allow a one month <TP purchased> (I had stated free, but it is counter productive in retrospect) vip per account every 6 months or something, even once per lifetime of the account. Really, anything so that new players can get a taste of what they are missing and WANT to spend money to get some of those perks back.

Like I said before, they can either never spend money on the game because they have no idea what they are missing, or they can know what they are missing and want to spend money on the game.

[Chaos000]

Even if that is what they do, let them waste their TP on the VIP sub, and then they will be stuck farming the 25TP/100 favor on that account forever. As a person that is currently doing a F2P account experiment, specifically seeing how long it will take me playing nothing but F2P on an F2P account to buy the game. I will have a much more objective opinion in a month or 6 I think on this whole subject.

If a f2p player could spend turbine points to buy guest passes for themselves, this could actually do exactly what you're proposing.

They just need to add a *try out a race/class for a week* option.

[umeannothing]

If a f2p player could spend turbine points to buy guest passes for themselves, this could actually do exactly what you're proposing.

They just need to add a *try out a race/class for a week* option.

I agree on both of the points you are making, 100%.

My point is simply that even getting the guest passes for yourself, it doe not let you experience things like the glory of shared bank, being able to walk away from the machine for 1/2 or more if real life happens and coming back without having to restart the client (minor, but very nice), unlimited plat (which of course would have to be reduced to cap when sub runs out until re-applied) opening on hard/elite (without buying the overpriced openers), enjoying seeing 10 character slots (even if 8 get locked out if you have not *ever* spent money on the game when the temp VIP runs out).....I would add more, but the beer is going down much faster now than it was 2 hours ago for some reason and I think it is muddling my mind somehow.

Yeah, it must be, just look at that wall above ^^.

EDIT: there are just some things a F2P player will never miss if not given the chance to miss them I feel.

[Chaos000]

Instead of a full month of vip why not shorter a duration?

*Sample DDO as a VIP* 1 week unlimited access for X turbine pts.

or 1000 mins as a VIP for X turbine pts