Attractive sub features to lure in free players

InLor

I noticed the phrasing of Endless Journey reveals what features players don't have access to. Firstly, I think it'll be good to list the benefits of subscribing rather than the restrictions of not subscribing. Secondly, let's brainstorm new features that would lure players in!

Possible subscriber perks:

• Monthly store credit (500?) 
• Daily skill power hour (only on login, doesn't stack) that can be started manually.
• Luck bonus (250?)
• Rares lottery: every month a x subscribers get a cool rare item in their inventory.
• A stat perk per character that can be changed daily (+1 FC, FCR, etc.)
• Extra title options that display so long you're still subscribed.
• 10% discount at all player and non-player vendors in-game (UO bank pays for the difference, so you receive your full price as a seller)

I would also consider a one-time welcoming package/gifts:

• (returning veterans) Unique wearable(s) with a unique ghostly hue (transparent like ethereal called "Ghost from the past"). Perhaps a "[Name] returned on [date]" addition?
• (first time subscribers) Unique wearable(s) with a unique fresh, bright hue called "Fresh meat". Perhaps with a "[name]  at [date]".
• Titles along the lines of the above options.
• Bag of food with bonuses and potions.
• A level 5 treasure map that has a special hue and special name, with unique bonus to loot.

Captain_Lucky

Since new/returning players won't have any storage we might wanna go easy on that part

InLor

Captain_Lucky said:

Since new/returning players won't have any storage we might wanna go easy on that part

This is what you get when you subscribe, so your comment isn't relevant. These are subscriber perks and gifts. The gifts just differ based on whether it's an account that was active from 1998 to 2001 or whether it's a completely fresh EJ account.

Feigr

I just think it's odd timing with another very similar game having a recent release.

Fat

I think its funny this thread is nearly identical to the Stratics one. 

Thalon

InLor said:

Possible subscriber perks.

• 10% discount at all player and non-player vendors in-game (UO bank pays for the difference, so you receive your full price as a seller)

Abuse is way too easy.
1) Put a fish/coin/log on your vendor for 1,000,000 gold with Account#1
2) Buy the object with Account#2, 900,000 deducted from Account#2, Account#1 gains 1,000,000
3) Repeat to infinity, gaining 100,000 gold each time.

As far as your other ideas, not bad, but there are plenty of holiday/anniversary giveaways already. Also, those of us subscribing have done so for years. Whether it is Housing, Vendors, Rare Materials, PowerScrolls, there are already a variety of reasons to stay subscrbed over going F2P.  Each player can decide for themselves if a subscription is worth it.

InLor

Fat said:

I think its funny this thread is nearly identical to the Stratics one. 

That's because it's the same person posting them. Me.

I just think it's odd timing with another very similar game having a recent release.

No idea what this is about.

Thalon said:

InLor said:

Possible subscriber perks.

• 10% discount at all player and non-player vendors in-game (UO bank pays for the difference, so you receive your full price as a seller)

Abuse is way too easy.
1) Put a fish/coin/log on your vendor for 1,000,000 gold with Account#1
2) Buy the object with Account#2, 900,000 deducted from Account#2, Account#1 gains 1,000,000
3) Repeat to infinity, gaining 100,000 gold each time.

As far as your other ideas, not bad, but there are plenty of holiday/anniversary giveaways already. Also, those of us subscribing have done so for years. Whether it is Housing, Vendors, Rare Materials, PowerScrolls, there are already a variety of reasons to stay subscrbed over going F2P.  Each player can decide for themselves if a subscription is worth it.

1. 10% off abuse fix: the seller doesn't receive anything extra, or EJ accounts pay 10% extra fee on top of vendor items. 
2. I think we need more obvious and modern perks, hence this thread.

Bilbo

Without advertisement we will see very few "NEW" players, what we will see is the people that check out forums to see how UO is doing and current UO players that will reopen up old closed accounts to see what is on them and see if they may be used in game. I have some old BOD collecting accounts that I may use EJ to open because guess what they can collect BODs and give them to my paying accounts.  Current players will use EJ far more than "NEW"/returning vets and will not spend one penny on them.

InLor

Let's focus this thread on coming up with cool perks to convince people to subscribe instead of predictions about who will do what and why. Advertising is a different issue. 

Bilbo

Without storage who besides current players are going to keep EJ accounts open to see what UO is all about, nobody.  How about we FIX EJ and we FIX all the bugs in UO before we add more stuff in.  All your suggestions benefit current players or is that what you are really trying for, MORE, MORE and MORE.  FIX WHAT IS BROKE FIRST.  Your thread title should read "Lets see what we can get out of UO for the paying accounts".  It is nothing about attracting NEW player to UO.

Feigr

Just feel like instead of luring players with stuff, more people need to slum it and play with them in content they can do.

Bilbo

How is this luring EJ players with stuff?  All your STUFF is for paying accounts not EJ accounts.  This is just like the we need more stuff for FEL to lure more people there.  An EJ player isn't going to log in and say OMG I better pay for an account before they even play the game.  Make thier game fun and then they just might buy stuff or open an account but if they can't even play then what is the use of EJ.  People with active accounts that already have storage solutions will open more EJ accounts than anybody else.

InLor

Lure them in to subscribe, obviously. The point of this thread is to list ideas of how we can make subscribing more attractive.

Margrette

Dark Age of Camelot, another EA game run by Broadsword, is working on their own version of Endless Journey, to be called Endless Conquest.  When it's ready, why not give Dark Age of Camelot and Ultima Online subscribers a two-for-one deal so that paying a subscription to one game gives you access to the other one as well?

Lady_Storm

Nice idea but it wont fly with EA... they like their pocket change...

InLor

The idea would be to provide actual cool stuff to subscribers while being positive for EA's bottom line..

cobb

-a monthly stipend of Sovereigns
-one transfer token per month
-new hairstyles only available to subscribers 

Bilbo

$10 / 30 days = $0.333333 a day and you want EA to thrown in more goodies.

Starbucks the average cup of plain coffee is about $1.85.

McDonalds coffee prices from $1.95 to $2.20.

1 week of coffee for the 1 cup a day folks = 1 month of UO, for some of us that is a 1 day cost for coffee and you seriously want more for your $10.  LOL

Kirthag

1 - explain why a new player wants to join the game
2 - explain why that new player wants to pay for the game

That would be good marketing.

sometimes i wonder if they even know what a SWOT is...

Arroth_Thaiel

Kirthag said:

1 - explain why a new player wants to join the game
2 - explain why that new player wants to pay for the game

That would be good marketing.

sometimes i wonder if they even know what a SWOT is...

That is at least the second time someone has used SWOT on this forum in a few weeks! I remember the first use only because the terminology makes me chuckle. The first use answers your question as well.

From this thread,

https://forum.uo.com/discussion/comment/1663/#Comment_1663

"As far as feature requests, this is what comes up most often at meet & greets and via e-mail and usually go along the lines of "I want X new thing or I think Y should work this way".  Those too get logged into our system and when we plan out future publishes we take those requests into consideration while debating the strengths, weakness, opportunities, and risks of such a change or feature.  If you want to learn more about SWOT analysis you can check out the HBO series Silicon Valley's hilarious rendition!"

JCtheBuilder

Look at all the benefits from a monthly subscription there are already:

• Housing
• Bank Box
• Boats
• Veteran Rewards
• Holiday Gifts
• 2x Felucca gathering bonus and exotic materials
• Bag of Sending
• Commodity Deeds
• Power Scrolls, artifacts, event item drops
• Access to 3 additional character slots per shard

There are already a lot of perks. Maybe some can be added. But they should be carefully thought out not to so as to not turn this into just another pay to win game.

Bilbo

@JCtheBuilder ;

InLor

Bilbo said:

$10 / 30 days = $0.333333 a day and you want EA to thrown in more goodies.

Starbucks the average cup of plain coffee is about $1.85.

McDonalds coffee prices from $1.95 to $2.20.

1 week of coffee for the 1 cup a day folks = 1 month of UO, for some of us that is a 1 day cost for coffee and you seriously want more for your $10.  LOL

It's $12,95 if you pay per month, and more if you are in Europe and pay VAT (extra tax). However, the point is to make subscribing more attractive in the modern MMORPG sense. What I and others have proposed in this thread is similar to what other MMO's offer. 

InLor

JCtheBuilder said:

Look at all the benefits from a monthly subscription there are already:

• Housing
• Bank Box
• Boats
• Veteran Rewards
• Holiday Gifts
• 2x Felucca gathering bonus and exotic materials
• Bag of Sending
• Commodity Deeds
• Power Scrolls, artifacts, event item drops
• Access to 3 additional character slots per shard

There are already a lot of perks. Maybe some can be added. But they should be carefully thought out not to so as to not turn this into just another pay to win game.

Housing is cool, but banking, for example, is like advertising that you have salt as a restaurant in the current market. Gifts and rewards take a long time to materialize, it's not really a perk in the modern sense. I think none of what I proposed makes it pay2win. It's just a more enticing and clear set of perks for subscribers. I think my suggestions are significant enough to reel in subscribers, but not such that they would mess up the game balance. 

Bilbo

InLor said:

Bilbo said:

$10 / 30 days = $0.333333 a day and you want EA to thrown in more goodies.

Starbucks the average cup of plain coffee is about $1.85.

McDonalds coffee prices from $1.95 to $2.20.

1 week of coffee for the 1 cup a day folks = 1 month of UO, for some of us that is a 1 day cost for coffee and you seriously want more for your $10.  LOL

It's $12,95 if you pay per month, and more if you are in Europe and pay VAT (extra tax). However, the point is to make subscribing more attractive in the modern MMORPG sense. What I and others have proposed in this thread is similar to what other MMO's offer. 

Sorry you are overpaying try buying a 6 mo code.  Good luck getting this all approved with EA, BS controls no purse strings.  EA owns UO/DAoc, Accounts management and Origin where you buy Tokens and Expansions with real money.  And if you think EA will allow BS to give us anything for free that will cut into their bottom line, well good luck with that it will never happen.  sorry reality checks hurt so much.

InLor

This is both about making players happier and improving the bottom line, obviously. The list is just one of suggestions. The sovereigns can be removed entirely, for example. It's a question of tuning. I do think some of these modern sub perks should be added for both player happiness and the bottom line.

Captain_Lucky

InLor said:

Captain_Lucky said:

Since new/returning players won't have any storage we might wanna go easy on that part

This is what you get when you subscribe, so your comment isn't relevant. These are subscriber perks and gifts. The gifts just differ based on whether it's an account that was active from 1998 to 2001 or whether it's a completely fresh EJ account.

Without storage there will be about zero free players so how do you get them to subscribe if they don't exist?

Trismegistos

I would prefer a get-only bank box for EJ player instead of having none. Some of them may put their soulstones in the bank before they left.

InLor

I agree EJ players should just have a limited bank box. Broadsword already said they're looking into it. In the meantime, they can cheaply rent storage. I don't think there well be zero free players, sigh.. 

KHAN

In my opinion, This is a lot of time and effort spent over nothing. Because let's be honest. Does ANYONE really believe that EJ is really going to bring in NEW players? Not me. I believe what we end up with is very few truly new players and a bit more "returnee's". Who will stick around for maybe a month. I suspect the majority of the EJ players will be people who CLOSE PAYING ACCOUNTS! How will that help EA/BS/UO's bottom line? Not to mention the players who will just leave when they see the abuse/scripting/multiboxxing/etc... from the EJ accounts. (I hope I am wrong here but I'm not holding my breath). 

I love this game, with all of it's faults, and I sure hope I am wrong here. But, I have a REALLY bad feeling that EJ is a "last ditch" effort to keep the game going, and when it fails, it could be the end of UO. 

The only saving grace would be that I can take solace in the fact that the RMT people (of which there are more than people think, and some SURPRISING well known names) will be out of a job! 

Bilbo

@KHAN we really need a like button.