Custom Hair Styles: Three New Alternate Implementation to Increase Sales

[Annex]

As we all know, custom Hair Styles from the Game Store do not persist through any form of 'Reincarnation'. For that reason, many players completely forgo such things and I suspect custom Hair Styles sell very poorly.

In the past, I have suggested turning all Game Store Hair Styles into permanent items that slot into a new Cosmetic Hair Style slot on the Player Character Paper Doll. Upon reflection, that suggestion probably requires a good deal of developer time and so will never happen.

I would like to propose three new ways to deliver custom Hair Styles.

Method One (least preferred): Sell custom Hair Styles in the Game Store in stacks of 100 for 10 times the current cost. While not permanent, one hundred uses of a custom Hair Style should last a character a very long time. These items would remain Bound to Character and stack to a size of 100.

Method Two: Sell custom Hair Style 'Clickies' in the Game store for 10 times the current cost. A custom Hair Style 'Clickie' works exactly like the current item but does not disappear upon use. Instead, it works like a 'Clickie' with one use per rest. These items would remain Bound to Character and stack to a size of 1.
Optional: For much more player convenience, make custom Hair Style 'Clickies' Bound to Account to alleviate storage problems.

Method Three (most preferred): For each custom Hair Style, create a learning Tome that allows a character to obtain that custom Hair Style as a Toggle Feat, available for 10 limes the current cost. Using a Tome of Hair Styling: [Hair Style Name] causes the character to gain a new Feat, Hair Styling [Hair Style Name]. The player may drag the corresponding Icon to a Hot Bar and activate it like any other Feat toggle. Gender and Race restrictions remain in effect.

Methods Two and Three turn custom Hair Styles from rarely purchased ephemeral items into collectable luxury items. By converting all available game Hair Styles into 'Clickies' or Feats, players gain a new class of item to collect and developers gain a much improved source of revenue, all without introducing any 'Power Creep'.

All three options use existing custom Hair Style logic without need to modify the Character Sheet. Options Two and Three require more developer time but also create far more sales potential.

Edit: All products outlined above would coexist with currently available, single use Hair Style items from the Game Store.

Thank you for your consideration!

[Aelonwy]

Method One (least preferred):

Method Two:

Method Three (most preferred):

Well Method One is clearly out. Cosmetic hairstyles are BtA currently and anything that made it function less conveniently for me just wouldn't get purchased. Same goes if 2 remains BtC otherwise Method Two is okay but it would eat up more inventory space (but as long as its BtA I would probably get them all). Method Three has its own inconvenience in that you would be maybe not forced but funneled into purchasing more than one per character if you change your mind about how they should look.

So 2 comes with inventory occupation but the convenience of rapid-mind-changing (according to my hubby ALL females have this trait) and 3 takes no inventory but you have to be more decisive or end up paying more if you have lots of characters. I vote for Method 2 (as long as BtA) but if they felt it would make them more $ they will probably go with 3.

I'm of the mind that anything cosmetic should NOT be BtC. BtC cosmetics only work for players that focus on a single Super character. But if you play a lot of alts, you might experience the game as I do - not sure from one day to another which character you will be playing and because you might go months between playing any particular character your vision of that character may undergo fluctuations. Thus BtC cosmetics end up being a source of sometimes dissatisfaction.

I would hope that no matter what future course they choose the ability to temporarily view it on your character before purchase is in the works. I'm sure that deficiency alone causes fewer cosmetic hairstyle purchases. I took some of my characters over to Lammania to try out hairstyles because 1) the cute little drawn hair style icons don't perfectly reflect how they will look on your character, 2) they fit each race differently and rather poorly on most halforcs, 3) hair color can alter how well each particular style looks either by delineating details you like or loosing those details in a too dark or faded color.

[Annex]

Thank you for taking the time to review this suggestion, Aelonwy.

I presumed that all three options outlined above would coexist with Hair Styles already available from the Game Store.

If Option 1 were implemented, the Game Store might look something like this:

Hair Style 1, Single Use; 75 DDO Points; Description... (Includes one use of Hair Style 1; Bound to Account)
Hair Style 1, 100 Pack; 750 DDO Points; Description... (Includes 100 uses of Hair Style 1; Bound to Character)

If Option 2 were implemented, the Game Store might look something like this:

Hair Style 1, Single Use; 75 DDO Points; Description... (Includes one use of Hair Style 1; Bound to Account)
Hair Style 1, Reusable Enchanted Brush; 750 DDO Points; Description... (Includes one reusable Enchanted Brush of Hair Style 1; Bound to Character)

If Option 3 were implemented, the Game Store might look something like this:

Hair Style 1, Single Use; 75 DDO Points; Description... (Includes one use of Hair Style 1; Bound to Account)
Hair Style 1, Tome of Learning; 750 DDO Points; Description... (Includes one Tome of Learning Hair Style 1; Bound to Account)

Options 2 and 3 would allow a player to change Hair Style at will, within limits of Gender and Race. I suggested making Option 2 items Bound to Character as a method of increasing sales. I would far prefer Bound to Account for Option 2 but that may not please the powers that be.

Mainly, I want something that persists through 'Reincarnation' as spending 75 DDO Points for a couple days of Hair Style X makes absolutely no sense to me.

I agree the Game Store would greatly benefit from a Hair Stye preview function.