Hi, this is my first post; and while I have not been active in this game for very long I hope that I can express some suggestions to possibly help the game grow.
I have seen many amazing games fail (or not succeed) because of a business model. Games like Shattered Galaxy, a beautifully amazing game that in it’s time was the pinnacle of “fun” for me destroyed because of the business.
Other games succeed because of a business model, DDO for instance; a poor game during it’s P2P period that finally succeed because of a new business model.
As far as Star Conflict goes, it is a very enjoyable game. I am loving the gameplay, the graphics, everything seems solid especially for a F2P. But I feel like the overall business model could use some work to gain popularity, as if this game is more popular then it can expand much faster (see World of Tanks; arguably the closest game in “feel” to this).
Now, somewhere back in the early stages of development, some people sat in a room and discussed the model and what directions they would take to make the game profitable, since in the end that is all that matters. From an actual experienced player’s standpoint, and one that is an entrepreneur in many tech startups himself I can offer some suggestions to possibly keep this game growing as I myself am enjoying it and wish it to continue to expand rather than taper off and fail.
Many of these suggestions may have already been made, or variations thereof. But I’ll iterate my own thoughts and if others have made them before as well then it just helps to reinforce the suggestions.
License: I believe starting people off with a free 7 days of license was a mistake. It got the players “used to” the rewards of having a license and as soon as it expired and they realized how much different it was many of them quit. This is evident for the first week of being on Steam with a population of 5000 dropping to the 1000 range afterwards. Now, this method also earned money, as some people were hooked; but in the long run this could be detrimental.
Better to have players get used to the lower rewards and then let them buy what they want (many Free-to-play business models have very little benefit for paying customers but still manage to earn very large amounts income, see Team Fortress 2 for example). And perhaps the lower rewards could be modified slightly. Make no license holders still able to have squads of four (squads of two is a huge turn-off for many people) and increase the rewards just a bit from battle (perhaps leave the 5 loot and increase base income by ~20%). Then make license holders have slightly less reward so they still get increased income, but not astronomically increased income. Maybe even throw in the 6th loot for free (like the Steam DLC), or give them an extra if they do get the Steam DLC for the full 7 chances.
As it is now, going from license to no license feels like punishment to many people, and was instantly reflected in a drop of population. Remove the punishment, and instead create incentive to buy without being restricted if you don’t buy.
Another new player “turn-off” I believe exists is the day or two day (I don’t know the exact length) +45 resist boost. This hand holding just makes the game way more difficult for players that rely on it that are brand new. Most of us playing this game are probably older gamers that love a challenge and are used to difficult space sims and MMOs (EVE Online, X series, etc). There is no reason to have this hand holding.
Again, I know the developers behind this game already sat in a room and probably had countless arguments about how the business model would be implemented; but I can’t help but express that you aren’t quite catering towards your customer. If your player base was pre-teen and they could go whine to their parents when their license expired and needs that extra couple day handicap then I would say it fits. But games like this tend to cater towards those of us that grew up with Tie Fighter, Wing Commander. That puts us in our 20s and early 30s (maybe even older). Catering towards that age group instead would be far more profitable and help the game grow.
All of this is in my honest opinion of course. I hope that perhaps someone will get a good idea out of at least part of it as I would really enjoy seeing this game become big.
