Vet Rewards ?

[epfarmdogg]

hello all was just wondering if there was any mention of some kinda vet rewards for will be long long time players ? place some suggestions in here ..



maybe some special mods for the ship or maybe a special skill for the BO'S or BO

[Peregrine_Falcon]

Hello, and welcome to the Star Trek Online forums!

The devs have not made any mention of any kind of a vet rewards program.

If you'd like more information about STO, you might find these threads helpful:
Ask Cryptic Blog Compilation (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=22923)
Dev Chat Transcript Compilation (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=27354)
Developer Interviews (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=12530)
Everything we know about STO (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=14535)
STO Video Consolidation (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=28328)

You might also want to go here and sign up for beta testing (http://www.startrekonline.com/) if you haven't already done so.

Welcome aboard captain!

[Forgotten-Nemesis]

Are you suggesting players who have subscribed for a certain number of years get a special reward? Then everyone would get it after they played for the same amount of time. If that's the case, why not be satisfied with flying the highest tier ship with all the modifications you'll get once your skills allow it and the other mods you'll find through exploration?

If you mean rewards for players who started the game at launch and stuck with it for a while which are not available to anyone signing up much later, then why do you feel so self entitled?

[lothic]

My hope is that if the Devs of STO decide to have a Vet Award system that they will limit it to just periodically granting us lump sums of Cryptic points that can be used at their Cryptic store.

I've been a long time player of City of Heroes so I have every Vet Award that game offers. But even I acknowledge there has been a constant long term controversy over how that game grants Vet Awards. The main gripe is that it's clearly unfair to new players having to force them to wait for years to get hard-wired awards other people have access to now.

If all bonus award items were made available via an in-game store then people would have the option to not only pick-and-choose the extras they wanted but they could either pay for them instantly (via real money) or wait until they racked up enough Vet points to get whatever they wanted for no additional cost. That would be the fairest way to do it. The idea of having "elitist" exclusive Vet Awards just doesn't sound appropriate for a Star Trek based game anyway. ;)

[Bedlam66]

Are you suggesting players who have subscribed for a certain number of years get a special reward? Then everyone would get it after they played for the same amount of time. If that's the case, why not be satisfied with flying the highest tier ship with all the modifications you'll get once your skills allow it and the other mods you'll find through exploration?

If you mean rewards for players who started the game at launch and stuck with it for a while which are not available to anyone signing up much later, then why do you feel so self entitled?
Oh calm down. It's a fine reasonable question since alot of MMO's do this sort of thing these days. That said most of them don't start these kinds of things untill at least a year in so I think it's a little early to be asking this kind of question.

[cmahecha]

It's a good questions, but I think it's also a bit early for this. I'm sure they are more focused on actually getting the game launch-worthy, and this is definitely something they can look at much later.

[lothic]

As far as "being too early" to worry about Vet Awards the proposal I just made in my last post is actually flexible enough that the Devs could add new awards to the system at any rate they choose and people would still have equal access to any of them at any time. ;)

[cmahecha]

As far as "being too early" to worry about Vet Awards the proposal I just made in my last post is actually flexible enough that the Devs could add new awards to the system at any rate they choose and people would still have equal access to any of them at any time. ;)

It would somewhat lower the sales in the store. Actually the whole idea is to have items that only some people can get if they put the money in it so they are special (special is a relative term). I mean, if everyone can have the constitution or something later on in the game, or a borg bridge officer, then those pre-sale rewards would not be so special anymore.

So no. Cryptic points would be a bad idea as a reward if you want the shop to sell well. People will less likely pay for stuff that everyone will have in a year or so.

[lothic]

It would somewhat lower the sales in the store. Actually the whole idea is to have items that only some people can get if they put the money in it so they are special (special is a relative term). I mean, if everyone can have the constitution or something later on in the game, or a borg bridge officer, then those pre-sale rewards would not be so special anymore.

So no. Cryptic points would be a bad idea as a reward if you want the shop to sell well. People will less likely pay for stuff that everyone will have in a year or so.

Obviously I'm not talking about mixing pre-sale rewards in with the Cryptic store.

My point was that the store would have enough interesting different things that you could have a bunch of them if you A) choose to spend a lot of extra money or B) choose to wait enough years to rack up enough Vet points.

The "reward" for being a Vet is that you could avoid microtransactions with real money. By that point Cryptic would already have plenty of real money out of you from years of monthiy subscription fees. Why would they care at that point whether you've spent a bunch of real money at the in-game store or not? ;)

[cmahecha]

Obviously I'm not talking about mixing pre-sale rewards in with the Cryptic store.

My point was that the store would have enough interesting different things that you could have a bunch of them if you A) choose to spend a lot of extra money or B) choose to wait enough years to rack up enough Vet points.

The "reward" for being a Vet is that you could avoid microtransactions with real money. By that point Cryptic would already have plenty of real money out of you from years of monthiy subscription fees. Why would they care at that point whether you've spent a bunch of real money at the in-game store or not? ;)

It's not a good business decision to give ways to avoid microtransactions. The microtransactions have a single purpose, to get money. So all the stuff there has to appeal to players enough that they are willing to dish out the money. If not, or there are other ways to get it, the appeal goes down. So I still think it's not a good idea.

Remember Cryptic is making this game to make money. They are not being nice, or want to reward trek fans or anything like that. This is a gold mine they are trying to get up and running. MTs are one part of it, so no point in undermining it.

They'll probably do something like world of warcraft. Every year, you get a unique pet if your account is active during the anniversaries. And that's plenty of reward. If you have been with them for 2-3 years, you'll have 2-3 unique pets, or other fluff stuff that no one else can get (unless they where there). That is plenty reward for people, and it does not cost them more than a couple of hours of developers time.

[lothic]

Again as a person who has every Vet Award City of Heroes offers I know the pros and cons of the type of Vet System you are suggesting STO should have. My proposal solves all the problems that kind of system suffers from.

I don't think you are seeing the bigger picture here. The type of Vet system you are proposing would give players a free "pet" or some such just for time played. Players would be getting them essentially for free (or at least at no extra cost beyond the monthly fees). How is that really any different than giving players periodic Vet points to "buy" these things for free?

Instead under my proposal players would have two options. They could either be impatient and buy everything instantly OR wait some years to get them for free. Under my system the very LEAST amount of money Cryptic could get from a player would be the amount your idea would be limited to. But my system also allows a player to microtransaction for everything instantly AND play for years as well. Under that scenario Cryptic ultimately would make MORE more from that player than your scheme would allow for.

You have to remember that relatively few people play these games for many years much less many months. There are going to be plenty of people out there who will be willing to microtransaction for everything up front, play for 6 months, then be done with the game. This again is why the most valuable reward to a Vet would be being able to get things like future retcons or character slots for free. Vets at this level will have already paid Cryptic many years worth of subscription fees so Cryptic has made their money from them regardless. At that point I think Vets would rather be able to pick and choose whether they want extra character slots versus "pets" or vice versa. Basically hard-coded pre-defined Vet awards end up being too inflexible for their own good and make it hard for new players to have the things they want when they want them.

[cmahecha]

Again as a person who has every Vet Award City of Heroes offers I know the pros and cons of the type of Vet System you are suggesting STO should have. My proposal solves all the problems that kind of system suffers from.

I don't think you are seeing the bigger picture here. The type of Vet system you are proposing would give players a free "pet" or some such just for time played. Players would be getting them essentially for free (or at least at no extra cost beyond the monthly fees). How is that really any different than giving players periodic Vet points to "buy" these things for free?

Instead under my proposal players would have two options. They could either be impatient and buy everything instantly OR wait some years to get them for free. Under my system the very LEAST amount of money Cryptic could get from a player would be the amount your idea would be limited to. But my system also allows a player to microtransaction for everything instantly AND play for years as well. Under that scenario Cryptic ultimately would make MORE more from that player than your scheme would allow for.

You have to remember that relatively few people play these games for many years much less many months. There are going to be plenty of people out there who will be willing to microtransaction for everything up front, play for 6 months, then be done with the game. This again is why the most valuable reward to a Vet would be being able to get things like future retcons or character slots for free. Vets at this level will have already paid Cryptic many years worth of subscription fees so Cryptic has made their money from them regardless. At that point I think Vets would rather be able to pick and choose whether they want extra character slots versus "pets" or vice versa. Basically hard-coded pre-defined Vet awards end up being too inflexible for their own good and make it hard for new players to have the things they want when they want them.

Ok, lets say that 1000 people buy from the store every month. However, if you give out points to buy from that store, lets say 200 of those 1000 people will decide to wait for the points instead of purchasing with cash. What happens to the actual money income to the store? Giving out points will not attract more buyers. In the contrary, it will reduce buyers.

It all comes down to money. A free pet that reward people for staying in the game for 1 year, is much better than giving out $ to the players. A free pet is a free pet. Both for the player and the company (minus a couple of developer hours, which is probably not much). Giving out store points, you are actually giving out $, because those store points cost $.

The idea may sound good, but when it all comes down to the potential profits, the idea is not good. It can potentially lower the profit margin of the store.

[lothic]

What you are failing to take into account is that all the items that would be available to buy in the in-game store and as separate Vet Awards would BOTH take a certain amount of development time to produce. By proposing that some of these things ONLY be available as Vet Awards you are forcing the Devs into never being able to potentially earn extra money for those things in the store.

My proposal does away with the artifical distinction of calling some things Vet Awards and other things not Vet Awards. If all of these collective "things" were based in the in-game store you would be providing players more opportunity to buy any of these things with real money whenever they want. Newer players could "catch up" to older players and not feel perpetually behind the old timers.

Ultimately the only thing my Vet system would do is to allow money that we've already paid to Cryptic via monthly fees be turned into PLAYER CHOSEABLE Vet Awards. With this we would not be forced to accept Vet Award A, B and C in a fixed scheme after a preset amount of time. My system is truly killing two birds with one stone and providing a method for Cryptic to earn more money more quickly at the same time.

[cmahecha]

And that brings another problem. People want to feel special. If I have been in the game for 10 years, and suddenly a new player comes in and buys from the store all the stuff I have colledcted over 10 years... Well, that stuff would not be so special anymore would it?

I would 10 times prefer to have a 1st year anniversary pet that only the people that were there on the 1st year can have, than some points to buy some stuff that absolutely anyone can have. The items would not be special anymore, the appeal would go down.

Same for the people buying from the store. Why would I pay for a pet, or some other cosmetic item that everyone can have if they wait a little while? It loses the special appeal to it.

That idea would just cut into the profit margins of the store, and would not give people something to feel special about. You would not be able to tell a player that has been in the game for 10 years, over a player who joined yesterday and purchased the items from the store.

I would prefer to invest a little with the devs to make something special and permanent to reward players with. That will make people a lot happier, and keep the store completely separate.

If everyone is special, no one is.

[lothic]

And thus my point about being a person that already has 66 months worth of Vet Awards in City of Heroes. I can actually speak from experience in saying that I for one do not need to have an elitest Vet System to "prove" that I am special in that game. If I could change that game's system into one that does not impose an elitist "I'm better than you are" vibe over the whole thing I would do it in an instant.

I plan to be a long time player of STO so ultimately it probably won't matter to me if it has system such as you desire. But I have read countless City of Heroes forum posts from 100s of people over the years as to how unfair and annoying your kind of system is to people who have not been "special" enough to have been playing for 5+ years like I have.

At least I have sympathy for all the "downsides" of what you are proposing to shackle this game with and it'd be unfortunate if Cryptic decided to repeat the mistake of the past instead of learning from it.

[cmahecha]

If having a pet or some other cosmetic makes you "l33t" or gives you a feeling of superity, or nor having it gives you a sense of inferiority, then I'm not so sure this kind of game is for you.

People want to be acknowledged for their accomplishments in the games. And that is something people can strive for. If there are no unique rewards for doing X, or Y, or for staying in the game for some time, then what should people strive for? That is just another handle to keep the people in the game.

A pet does not make someone better than anyone else, and if you think that way, then the only elitist person here is you. To me, a pet or cosmetic item is just that. Do I feel jelous when someone rides by in World of Warcraft with an Amani Warbear (which cannot be acquired anymore)? not at all. I think "cool for them, nice bear" and move on.

[lothic]

You yourself just said you want something to make you "feel special" in this game as a Vet then you turn right around and contradict yourself by trying to dismiss the idea that these things would in fact make you "stand out" and be "acknowledged" amongst other players who are only different from you in how many months you've been paying Cryptic.

You can't have this thing both ways. ;)

I understand the aluring idea that having Vet Status in a MMO is a "cool" thing to contemplate. But as I keep trying to tell you it actually has a downside that (speaking as a top vet in another Cryptic based game) is not really all that it's cracked up to be. I have found far more to do in that game to keep me going than to worry about being "acknowledged" as a top vet I can assure you. :)

[cmahecha]

You yourself just said you want something to make you "feel special" in this game as a Vet then you turn right around and contradict yourself by trying to dismiss the idea that these things would in fact make you "stand out" and be "acknowledged" amongst other players who are only different from you in how many months you've been paying Cryptic.

You can't have this thing both ways. ;)

I understand the aluring idea that having Vet Status in a MMO is a "cool" thing to contemplate. But as I keep trying to tell you it actually has a downside that (speaking as a top vet in another Cryptic based game) is not really all that it's cracked up to be. I have found far more to do in that game to keep me going than to worry about being "acknowledged" as a top vet I can assure you. :)

Haha! yeah, we are going round in circles. But you can have cake and eat it too you know. There are ways to make everyone feel special in different ways, and not the same way at the same time. That is the trick.

Most of those fluff items are for your own. And just that, fluff. Making someone feel special does not mean, that everyone else has to feel inferior (and if someone feels inferior because I have X pet, it is really their problem). I can feel special myself without the need of rubbing it in everyones face. Just having my tabbard from the event when the world of warcraft burning crusade expansion launched back in 2008 makes me feel special. Do I wear the tabbard? never, it's in my bank, but I see it and feel that I was there, and it was a one time thing. No one in the game knows I was there for launch, but I still feel special.

Having unique items can make you feel special, simply because they are unique. But I see we have a very different point of view on the importance of that stuff (your point of view is completely opposite I guess, and that's cool. We are all different), so I guess its up to Cryptic to decide what they want to do.

[Dext]

hello all was just wondering if there was any mention of some kinda vet rewards for will be long long time players ? place some suggestions in here ..



maybe some special mods for the ship or maybe a special skill for the BO'S or BO

This would be nice. They did it in SWG but for the most part was just house items an did not add to your stats

Hello, and welcome to the Star Trek Online forums!

The devs have not made any mention of any kind of a vet rewards program.

If you'd like more information about STO, you might find these threads helpful:
Ask Cryptic Blog Compilation (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=22923)
Dev Chat Transcript Compilation (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=27354)
Developer Interviews (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=12530)
Everything we know about STO (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=14535)
STO Video Consolidation (http://forums.startrekonline.com/showthread.php?t=28328)

You might also want to go here and sign up for beta testing (http://www.startrekonline.com/) if you haven't already done so.

Welcome aboard captain!

An you is not new an was not asking a noob question so there is no need for you to try as act like he is.