Subscription fee?
Printed From: Illyriad
Category: Miscellaneous
Forum Name: Suggestions & Game Enhancements
Forum Description: Got a great idea? A feature you'd like to see? Share it here!
URL: http://forum.illyriad.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=5629
Printed Date: 17 Apr 2022 at 13:44
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Subscription fee?
Posted By: Rill
Subject: Subscription fee?
Date Posted: 01 Jun 2014 at 21:45
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I can imagine that I will be vilified for even bringing this up, but it seems to me that Illyriad might benefit from charging a modest subscription fee -- perhaps $5 a month. Perhaps it could be free to play in the beginning, with a fee charged beginning in the third or fourth month of the account life. I can see some negatives about this: Some people might not even begin playing a game that was not free. I might have hesitated to do so myself. I'm sure there are other negatives I don't perceive; I haven't played a subscription game like WoW myself, so I'd be interested to hear what some of the other negatives are. I see the following possible benefits: 1) Steady and predictable income stream for developers -- this could also make it easier and cheaper for them to get financing, once they've established a track record with it. 2) Discourages multi-accounting since the fee would be charged for each account. 3) Eliminates problem with perma-sat accounts, if only account holders are able to pay subscription fees. Perhaps the subscription fee could come with x amount of prestige per month. I'm proposing this as a person who doesn't spend all that much on Illy (or any game) but does want to support the game and see it stay healthy. A big part of the reason I don't buy prestige is because there's nothing I really care about using it on. Having a regular subscription fee would get folks like myself contributing to the game monetarily more regularly. Perhaps this is a complete no-go from the perspective of the developers in any case, but I think the benefits I've identified above, particularly 2 and 3, are compelling arguments in its favor.
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Replies:
Posted By: Flavius Aetius
Date Posted: 01 Jun 2014 at 22:07
How much money will be gained when portions of the community leave to another free to play game? ------------- Cry havoc and let slip the eagles of freedom - The Raven King |
Rill wrote:Posted By: Rill
Date Posted: 01 Jun 2014 at 22:11
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That would depend on how much money that portion of the community is currently spending and how many of them leave. I would be more concerned about losing diversity of community members than money; it would be my prediction that most Illyrians would be willing to pay a modest fee to play. The point of the fee, in my mind, would not necessarily be to substantially increase the amount of money collected (although it might). Rather, it would be to help address some of the other issues, like multi-accounting and perma-sitting. It wouldn't be a panacea for that (especially not multi-accounting), but it might help.
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Posted By: Captain Kindly
Date Posted: 01 Jun 2014 at 22:17
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I think you are overestimating the situation, Rill. A lot of people I know are only staying here for the community, and regardless of that still buy prestige. I think having your credit card charged on a monthly basis (even for 'only' $3) would make many of them stop out of principle. EDIT: speaking of principles, I don't see why the community would have to be charged in solving the multi-accounting/permasitting problem.
------------- http://elgea.illyriad.co.uk/a/p/60249" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: Flavius Aetius
Date Posted: 01 Jun 2014 at 22:19
It could decrease the number of instances of perma-sitting. If someone was dedicated to their perma-sits enough, couldn't they be willing to pay out of the few dollars a month to gain a numerical edge over their opponents? ------------- Cry havoc and let slip the eagles of freedom - The Raven King |
Posted By: Artefore
Date Posted: 01 Jun 2014 at 22:44
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How about have the cost of playing optionally be prestige? Have the daily bonus for prestige upgraded to 2 prestige and then charge say 20 prestige per month to play? That way it would still be free and also put a strain on permasitting, as the daily bonus can't be claimed by a sitter. Also, people could simply pay a subscription fee instead of using prestige, if they wanted the extra daily bonus. I really don't think any amount of money over £.50 is a reasonable amount to charge based on Illy's current business model.
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Posted By: Arctic55
Date Posted: 01 Jun 2014 at 23:40
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I would personally have to leave illyriad if this gets implemented. My family has a strict "No paying to play games" rule out of money tightness. That's why I pay people in-game to buy prestige for me. ------------- I'm pressed but not crushed. Persecuted but not abandoned. Struck down but not destroyed. |
Posted By: Dragonwort
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2014 at 00:04
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NEVER..NEVER...NEVER AND RILL, CONSIDER YOURSELF VILIFIED.... Now ask me how I really feel....lol  Dragonwort------------- Just another wrench in the works.. |
Posted By: Detritus
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2014 at 01:02
...hm, I don't even have a credit card, so that might be a problem... never needed one so far...  And I really can't see how that would help against permasats better than a "only sit 90 days and then Finito!" rule? Can't see any problems with that one suggested by SC.... I might buy some few prestige as soon as I get a regular income... but being forced to pay a regular fee out of principle would drive me out of the game. The optionality of prestige is the big point Illy has, and it would be dumb to loose that. Oh, and Rill, no vilification from me at all, notice
 . It's an important point to discuss, even if only to clarify the stance of the community... mines AGAINST. |
Posted By: Hiei
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2014 at 01:05
| Disagree with this, regardless of any reasons. |
Posted By: Sheza
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2014 at 01:12
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Some Cant do that . My friend from another country cant do even that . Not every one lives in USA . Kids playing cant . Parents wont. Not a good Idea want to raise money . get a shop with boosts we can buy . I dont know what kind for Illy speed ups for research maybe . some thing to make walls stronger against attack . truces so you cant be his. IDK that pay to play No way . ------------- If Horses don't go to Heaven when they die. then I want to go where they go. |
Posted By: Ancient Nightowl
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2014 at 01:30
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Prestige is a fee I willingly pay if I want to boost my development rate. The current model will work just fine as long as there is something that needs a boost - BL in its original format being a case in point - a perceived need for rapid development to gain a foothold in a new land with many new gaming challenges. That original BL idea has been flagged so we are back to the same old routine and rapidly decreasing need to spend prestige as the accounts mature. Stagnation and a subscription will kill it off even faster. My vote is AGAINST too.
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Posted By: abstractdream
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2014 at 02:24
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I don't think this will fly. Not with the players nor with the Devs. However, I want to add that I would be willing to pay such a nominal fee. On the other hand, if it had been so from the beginning, I would probably had tried Illyriad and maybe even started paying when the fee kicked in (after a few months, as Rill suggested) but I doubt I would still be here with my current accounts. I probably would have abandoned sometime in the middle of 2012 due to the boredom which set in back then and started over a little while later because I missed my friends. Anyway, it's an interesting thought but I think Prestige is the best way to fund Illyriad. ------------- |
Posted By: DaniSuper
Date Posted: 02 Jun 2014 at 03:12
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Well it will totally and fully change the *Free to Play* value of game, there are many who might not be able to pay the subscription fees, not everyone has means :) Personally I cannot do Pay To play, plus the mere tag, might cause many people to stay away at a safe distance from game :) So yep in disagreement here ! |
Posted By: Rancor
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2014 at 06:44
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Lets be realistic about this for a moment. Right now I can log into my steam account and pull down free to play games and have over 100 titles to pick from. Then there are kabam and big fish with hundreds if not thousands of games for younger players that are free to play. Syfy games has free to play games. Kongergate has free to play games. I lost track of all the German browser sites that have free to play games. I understand that the developers made this game and they need to pay for the servers and staff. Nothing is free in life. I also understand that once you add a subscription charge no matter how big or small you will lose a huge chunk of players simply because there is so much out there that is free to play. Also there are many who can not do it IE children and students and people without credit cards. I used up all of my prestige already the first few hours of playing because all the kind players sent me stuff and told me to keep upgrading my storehouse to hold it all and use prestige. Almost all of them told me that there was not much else to use prestige on. So the one extra prestige a day does not influence me either way at this time. When I played Lords of Ultima for 7 years I bought all 4 of the ministers for about $20 a month so that I could automate my 100 city empire. There was real value to me and anyone who was serious and had more then 4 cities bought them. I don't know enough about the game yet for me to decide what I need to buy with prestige yet. When I do I will buy what I can afford. As soon as you add a cash shop where you can buy something that a free to play player can not get then it becomes pay to win and players will leave as well. I do know that a monthly subscription is not the way to go and not a good idea. |
Posted By: Maccam
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2014 at 17:33
| I don't like this idea at all as it will exclude many existing players and discourage many new players from joining - not good for the future of the game. |
Posted By: Bomshanka
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2014 at 18:29
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I think that imposing a subscription model for a F2P browser game is an oxymoronic gesture that will kill the game in short order, not least by scaring away new players before they even sign up. Another option would be to introduce a voluntary monthly supporter option, give 3 different levels for 3$/£, 5$/£ and 10$/£. The benefits of doing this could be a monthly equivalent prestige amount and an honorary badge - ie. a medal in respectively bronze, silver and gold, stating the number of months the player had subscribed to the Illyriad supporter system. This way, loyal (and wealthy) members of the community could both ensure a steady income for Illyriad Games Ltd. while being able to exhibit their undying support for the game in fashion. I have no idea if this is even viable, but I think it might be the best compromise if you want subscription.
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Posted By: Aurordan
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2014 at 18:45
| Well, two months ago when this topic was started, the point was largely to cut down on inactive permasats and multi-accounting, and it is, actually, probably the most effective thing that could be done to stop that. I think it would probably be unworkable from a business perspective, but it would undoubtedly deal with perma-sats. |
Posted By: Ficho
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2014 at 20:31
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As i said on one other topic about same isuse. We Croats say: Dog does not bark because of the village, the dog barks for its own sake. So we here, as someone said, a drum in the blank. Developers hold the scissors, and tailoring the game to suit them (the game must make a profit). We are all in crapitalism. In my humble opinion a very bad they sewed and game bursting at the seams I will continue to support the game of my modest abilities, but as I am personally concerned, never, literally never will "keep one's account. Twice I left the game, and believe me, nothing hurts. The first time I left the game with seven cities across 60 k pop and ranking among the top 400, I did not even know that there is the possibility of "active sitting". Another time, I was leave just my "main" account to sitter, and I know for sure that it is not used in a way that is now used these accounts. An alternative account I simply left to the air. These kinds of accounts are becoming a key prevail in all aspects of the game, regardless of the restrictions set for these accounts. And in the end, everything remains the owners of the game. Free to play, and maybe, fair play. Sincerely Ficho ------------- “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live.” Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Dungshoveleux
Date Posted: 02 Sep 2014 at 20:56
| I would be in favour of a system that charged prestige for sitting accounts for more than a certain period of time. |
Posted By: Ficho
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2014 at 09:16
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Appreciated gentlemen, fellow gamers! Do not throw your words in the wind. The topic was opened three months ago. A few topics on the forum opened to the same goal. Have you read at least one review on all this with the developers or those who feel that way? You are not. They catch "dirty" words and punish the children who gave themselves a little more freedom in the chat. For everything else, and so far, will take the players themselves. If it is really necessary to go to war and we will work these bills. And in war, we know, selling prestige crown still going well. Sincerely Ficho 336 players online ------------- “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live.” Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Angrim
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2014 at 17:55
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Posted By: Dungshoveleux
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2014 at 19:29
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If people hate sat accounts then charging prestige for time limited sitting would be the answer IMHO. People moan about the lack of development and praise the lack of a pay-to-win ethos, but sadly these two things are linked. Paying money will increase the development activity beyond bug fixes.
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Posted By: Captain Kindly
Date Posted: 03 Sep 2014 at 21:05
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Angrim's suggestion is a better one, Dung. The bigger part of the alliances benefiting from permasats are sitting on a huge load of alliance prestige, which can be allocated to and used by the sitters. The sittees (is that a word? If not it is now
) do not have that benefit.------------- http://elgea.illyriad.co.uk/a/p/60249" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: Zakathan
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2014 at 01:07
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What if you made the subscription bring along with it some benefits? I've seen other MMOs give a certain amount of virtual currency when you subscribe. How about 25% more prestige than what the comparable amount in cash would be, along with making the account already have prestige status. That way, it's still technically F2P, but there is added incentive for those that do use prestige to spend on a more consistent basis. I also agree that perhaps more "automated" (but obviously not Pay-to-Win) features needed to be added to Prestige accounts (so people like Rill pay up Wink). Perma-sitting accounts need to be dealt with separately. Personally, I think there should be a limit to how many times someone can login using the sitter function (something like 90 days or 90 logins whichever comes first) before the account becomes abandoned. But that is another discussion.
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Posted By: Ficho
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2014 at 08:18
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In my opinion (Mr. Riko likes it when I say this) in Illy is more accounts managed by another hand than regular ones. Broken Lands are the result of such a situation. Accounts are talking about, and they are left to care for more than 45 days to be deleted, and the cities belonging to bid for prestige to interested alliances (only place). Suggestion-New rule: "Player could not leave the account to sitter as a member of any alliance" Sitting ACC, as well as the option of the game should be eliminated from the game, and at the worse allow for a period of 45 days. Leaving the account does not hurt, believe me. 365 players online
------------- “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live.” Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Ficho
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2014 at 12:59
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Yesterday I sent 300 vans on harvesting (64 on sov. spots and almost of rest in 7 spot around city zone). I usually did same every week.
Circle is about 400 spots around my cities. No interrupting, no bumping. Mr. Rikoo (or who is concerned), could you be so kind and make one review. Thanks in advance. Sincerely Ficho 407 players online WOW! ------------- “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live.” Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Brandmeister
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2014 at 15:07
| Ficho, nobody harvests with caravans. And many people switch off GC. |
Posted By: Ficho
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2014 at 15:27
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Brandmeister, i am not Greenhorn, as is noticed in my forum avatar. :) ------------- “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live.” Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Hora
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2014 at 17:53
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We know you have some experiance,... but so do other players. I only do harvest, when my cities are really small, and the way to the next town is extremly long. In all the bigger towns harvesting is simply unnecessary, when the storage is overflowing anyway =) As this is off topic, I'll make a try to do a return: I really hope for some regulations based on a simple time limit for sitting. With no further excuses via buying prestige. Yes I know about players having returned after lots of time, but as Ficho stated: rebuilding isn't too dramatic. |
Posted By: Angrim
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2014 at 22:32
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if Ficho is measuring server activity by how much interference his vans encounter and is disappointed by the results, perhaps we should treat that as a challenge to make ourselves felt. ;) |
Posted By: Brandmeister
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2014 at 23:22
| Maybe everyone who reads this thread should send a scout to his capital. =) |
Posted By: Dungshoveleux
Date Posted: 04 Sep 2014 at 23:44
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That was what I was suggesting! I just didn't make it clear that the account being sat would be charged. There is no mechanism to charge other accounts for logging on to sit anyway.
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Posted By: Ficho
Date Posted: 05 Sep 2014 at 08:01
Try it. You can send a siege engines also. For me the best diplo tools. In expressing my own opinion nothing will stop me. I have to react when someone is lying for free. 309 players online.
------------- “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live.” Charles Bukowski |
Posted By: Ficho
Date Posted: 05 Sep 2014 at 08:53
If you are using sovs only for food this story about harvesting, and no harvesting, keep water. If u have not alt this story also keep water. But if u are playing using all aspects of game, and playing alliance tournaments, and have rising alt acc, harvesting is required. And if u planing to exodusing to Broken Lands next two years, or about two years (month more ore less, who cares?) with all cities, because you have not more patient and faith to wait on long ago promised "new improvements" , harvesting is my way to survive. About this topic, I said all. Accounts which are discussed in this topic are pure scam (with honor exceptions) 307 players online.
------------- “Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must live.” Charles Bukowski |