More agresive monetization please!

[Ruderali]

So I bought this game on sale a while back but never really got around to properly playing it. I'm following the Star Citizen exodus of people disapointed with the direction of that game, I've played the shit out of X4 recently and I want to support the development. I've already bought a couple of my orgmates a copy and short of also buying them joysticks or just spamming people with steam keys I'm not going to reach my goal of spending on other games what I would normally spend on Star Citizen. Please sell me additional ship skins, pilot cosmetics and engine colors. Please let me pre-order all planned 2025 DLC. I've already unlocked the Astrid in game, but just for lols, please sell us a $600 game package for a custom gamestart where you can start with the Astrid and have it respawn if it dies with zero in lore explanation for how you have one or how it gets replaced.

I'm genuinely not even being facetious, Egosoft have a window here to capture an audience of a lot of disafected space sim fans who are used to dropping $200+ on fake spaceships. If you announce a multiplayer DLC or that X5 will have multiplayer support they could throw it up on kickstarter or wefunder to fund the extra headcount they'd need. And with CIG refocusing on it's Manchester office, ther'll be quite a few space sim devs in Frankfurt who don't want to move to a 3rd world country that Egosoft could snap up.

[The Q]

You've come to the wrong place! (For that request at least! )

Egosoft is known for long supporting their games with free updates rather than throwing out DLC after DLC for nonsensical amounts of money. I'd wager that many people would like to stay it that way. Also, I feel it is kind of contradictory to be disappointed by the development of one game after having spent lots of money, and then wanting to do the same on a different game. Like someone (maybe Einstein) said: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Having said that, if you really want to spend some money there's the X Universe - Anniversary Collection with all games, DLCs and soundtracks for 380 € (currently discounted for about 300 €). Meanwhile sharing news about the X Games and current developments, helping with beta testing, writing guides or simply being an active and helpful member of the community are less expensive (certainly more time intensive) ways to support Egosoft, which surely are also greatly appreciated.

[Y-llian]

Yeah, I agree with The Q here…. We don’t want those levels of aggressive monetisation here. Ego has worked decades to build their reputation and is one of the most community focused developers I know. The quickest way to destroy all that goodwill would be treat us like cash cows.

[Ruderali]

You've come to the wrong place! (For that request at least! )

Egosoft is known for long supporting their games with free updates rather than throwing out DLC after DLC for nonsensical amounts of money. I'd wager that many people would like to stay it that way. Also, I feel it is kind of contradictory to be disappointed by the development of one game after having spent lots of money, and then wanting to do the same on a different game. Like someone (maybe Einstein) said: Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Having said that, if you really want to spend some money there's the X Universe - Anniversary Collection with all games, DLCs and soundtracks for 380 € (currently discounted for about 300 €). Meanwhile sharing news about the X Games and current developments, helping with beta testing, writing guides or simply being an active and helpful member of the community are less expensive (certainly more time intensive) ways to support Egosoft, which surely are also greatly appreciated.

Yeah, I certainly apreciate that they're doing the right thing by their customers. Not sure how things are internally, but I'd be interested to see what they could do with an increaesd headcount or a bit more confidence on how long they can keep X5 in the oven for. Just feels like there is quite a lot of money floating about at the moment from disgruntled SC backers with no real way to capture it. I know most of my org already owns the community of planets collectors edition but then bounced off the game for various reasons (lack of MP, flight system, art style). Some of us are giving it a proper go and really liking it and want to buy into It's future. Seriously, a kickstarter for X5 that's pretty much X4 with a fresh coat of paint, fps combat, and some locally hosted multiplayer elements would crush it right now, even if it was kinda a 'this will probably take 10 years to build' vibe.

I stand by selling a "Stellar Resident" package for $250 that just adds a custom start where you get a cool ship with a big disclaimer that you shouldn't buy it and it's a terrible deal

[Buzz2005]

OT but what happened with Star Citizen? what changed

[Y-llian]

OT but what happened with Star Citizen? what changed

This video from Obsidianant (who I find quite a balanced commentator) might help to explain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0icgOELUuI

Best
Y.

[Raptor34]

OT but what happened with Star Citizen? what changed

This video from Obsidianant (who I find quite a balanced commentator) might help to explain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0icgOELUuI

Best
Y.

Heh, that's just MMO and with added FPS, X4.
Also reading between the lines and going by my experience with X4, it sounds like CIG realized that having decent AI that also runs well on your PC is a little more difficult than they anticipated.

[Rei Ayanami]

No, I don't want X to become a cash shop game/series. I don't know a single game where such a business model did not harm the game quality and/or user experience in one way or another. What's next, a demand for a Gacha/loot box system?

I'm happy with the way it currently is, with mid-to-large expansion packs every now and then. That being said, I wouldn't mind paying more for the expansions because I'm really happy with the amount of content of each expansion and the free updates and I'm happy to support Egosoft. But a cash shop with Star Citizen-like ship selling? No!

If you want to support them and really have that much money to spare, why not ask them whether you can donate money to them? Or create a topic on the forums here and on the Steam forums where you can offer to give game away for free for anyone interested?

[Raptor34]

Although I'll note that the upcoming mini-DLC is selling a ship. With some bells and whistles attached to it and not just spawning a ship in your inventory or whatever.
I'm not against that, but such DLCs always have the risk of what if you just dislike it's aesthetics. Like if people like it and Egosoft made a profit on it it's all good, but there would always be that thought in the back of my mind that you spent dev time on this shit? But well, I guess it's the same even for bigger DLCs after all, and those would take much more effort. For me the only bomb ship wise is ToA, but at least Astrid redeems it and I guess there are people who likes the non-symmetrical junk aesthetic, but the selfish part of me wishes it wasn't this way.

[azaghal]

I almost wonder if the sole purpose of this post is to troll people. In which case - well played, sir, well played

But that aside, using Star Citizen as any kind of role model for development and financing sounds like an absolutely horrible idea. Both from the perspective of what is getting implemented, and from the perspective of consumer rights. The only thing that shocks me is that there is some content being put out for Star Citizen - since I really expected the people involved would grab the money and make a run instead.

As for the in-game monetisation, specifically as described by the original post... For me that would probably mean never paying a dime to the developer ever again. Even the current situation with X4 where important parts of the game are behind the faction-specific DLCs is (for me, personally) a bit tacky, given that those factions have been the part of universe in previous games from the get-go - correct me if I'm mistaken on this one (and I have and intend to only purchase the DLCs when discounted). But... I can have some sympathy and understanding given that Egosoft is not backed by a big publisher etc. And, at the very least, the game has been receiving big updates even if you do not play with DLCs.

As for the desire to give more money to the developers, they could offer some kind of fancy (physical) apparel instead, but that brings along messing with a lot of logistics etc. They could set-up donations as well, but... That is not really a sustainable source of income (and probably comes with its own set of issues around accounting/taxes etc). Personally, I think the best way to bring in more income would be to expand the user base by making the game more accessible for newer players. Things like polished interface, how information is presented to the player etc.

At the end of the day, though... It does not look to me like Egosoft is in any kind of financial issues. They seem to be doing well, and are able to sustain continued development, even with somewhat more invasive changes to the gameplay etc. And they have done so for something like 3 decades at this point? And, even if they were able to get a metric crapton more of money - that would not necessarily translate into massively better game. Case in point - Star Citizen (or even No Man's Sky in its early days).

Best regards,
Branko

[JurchiX]

If you want to support them and really have that much money to spare, why not ask them whether you can donate money to them? Or create a topic on the forums here and on the Steam forums where you can offer to give game away for free for anyone interested?

I would also tip a coffee or a pizza for the office if they had any of those donation options.
Ego have been providing thousands of hours of entertainment - I feel they have earned a tip from me

[adeine]

I almost wonder if the sole purpose of this post is to troll people. In which case - well played, sir, well played

No, it's real Stockholm syndrome.

[NightIntruder]

I almost wonder if the sole purpose of this post is to troll people. In which case - well played, sir, well played

As adeine said - Stockholm syndrom might be the case here, indeed

The only thing that shocks me is that there is some content being put out for Star Citizen - since I really expected the people involved would grab the money and make a run instead.

I was expecting the same, mate. NOW, I am expecting the other side running, after first couple of serwer resets and wipeouts, as development of SC looks to be the case of never-ending story. Only those who spent too much to quit (as such, wipeouts won't hurt them), will stay But, oh well, I already made mistake with the first assumption so time will tell, I guess

As for the in-game monetisation, specifically as described by the original post...

Big NO from myself. I'd rather support EA phase of some X4/X5-related project, be it some DLC or expansion of mechanics/features that would become an optional thing.

[thedavid]

I don't think we need to talk about Star Citizen. It is not a released product and probably never will be. X4 is an actual game released to the public. X4 has a Linux build. X4 is single player with no need for an online connection.

So X4 is already so far ahead of either Star Citizen and Elite Dangerous that I don't think the others can even catch up.

That said, some players who really like this game might be wanting to spend more on it. We certainly feel like we've gotten more out of the game than we spent on it.

But let's keep it reasonable.

When I first got X4 I was sceptical. Can I really have fun with just the base game or is this a trap to suck money away from my family? But I got the game with no DLCs and I had a lot of fun. So I got all of the DLCs. Then I got all of the previous games in the series. I only play X4 but I bought the previous ones. I even got the Yasur.

Recently Steam sent me a really weird message and got me thinking that some guy at valve hopped up on too much authority and not enough sleep would be able to take X4 away from me. So I went to GOG and bought X4 again. (It runs better on GOG if anyone is wondering. Steam only successfully launched 25% of the time.)

Now I have 2 yasurs and even more paint mods. I'm very happy about that. Especially since the pack to get the Yasur is very reasonably priced.

So if there is more monitization then we see how it could be done. Let players buy the Yasur pack as many times as they want. More DLC that the player can live without but will probably buy because it is worth it. Let players buy a pack with some ships or paint mods. Maybe add a pack that gives us new default paint options at game start without rep.

Quality DLC
Paint mod packs (and can buy as many of the same one as we want)
Inventory item packs
Blueprint packs
Ship packs (and can buy as many of the same one as we want)
Station pack (if possible)

Then we have a system where the base game is great (cause it is great already) and a player can spend maybe 10 or 20 dollars extra to get a nice starter ship they can rely on having at game start every time they have to start over. The extras are reasonably priced and players can choose which ones they want. It also tells the devs what players see value in because players vote with their wallets. You want a Syn at game start, well no but you can get this other L size ship in this pack. You like the Yasur but want it to look better, here is a similar ship but it looks like a Takoba.

Right now, after some work, I can start a new game with the eirlking fully upgraded, Raven, xshuttle, dart, and two yasurs. That's not bad but if I had the option to buy more ships I might do it. Maybe I want to start the game with an L size mining ship. Or a mining fleet. Maybe I want a ship like the Eirlking but looks more Terran and I don't want to go hunt it down every time.

We have budget game start and that is great but if I can get more I might want to do it. It has to be reasonably priced though. No 300 dollar thing. 5 to 10 dollars and let it go on sale from time to time. I think players would appreciate that.

[Nanook]

...
Right now, after some work, I can start a new game with the eirlking fully upgraded, Raven, xshuttle, dart, and two yasurs. That's not bad but if I had the option to buy more ships I might do it. Maybe I want to start the game with an L size mining ship. Or a mining fleet. Maybe I want a ship like the Eirlking but looks more Terran and I don't want to go hunt it down every time. ...

Then play the Creative Custom start, not the Budgeted Start. In CC, you can have as much or as little as you wish, including all the plots completed, if that's what you want.

[thedavid]

...
Right now, after some work, I can start a new game with the eirlking fully upgraded, Raven, xshuttle, dart, and two yasurs. That's not bad but if I had the option to buy more ships I might do it. Maybe I want to start the game with an L size mining ship. Or a mining fleet. Maybe I want a ship like the Eirlking but looks more Terran and I don't want to go hunt it down every time. ...

Then play the Creative Custom start, not the Budgeted Start. In CC, you can have as much or as little as you wish, including all the plots completed, if that's what you want.

Thanks for the suggestion. However I don't like the modified tag and I do like to work my way up. I'm just pointing out if Egosoft sold a couple more packs with ships or paint mods then I just might want to buy them. Not for the kind of money OP is talking about but something smaller, sure. I really like this game.

[Nanook]

...
Right now, after some work, I can start a new game with the eirlking fully upgraded, Raven, xshuttle, dart, and two yasurs. That's not bad but if I had the option to buy more ships I might do it. Maybe I want to start the game with an L size mining ship. Or a mining fleet. Maybe I want a ship like the Eirlking but looks more Terran and I don't want to go hunt it down every time. ...

Then play the Creative Custom start, not the Budgeted Start. In CC, you can have as much or as little as you wish, including all the plots completed, if that's what you want.

... I do like to work my way up. ...

You can work all the way up from just your spacesuit, if you want.

[Y-llian]

Heh, that's just MMO and with added FPS, X4.
Also reading between the lines and going by my experience with X4, it sounds like CIG realized that having decent AI that also runs well on your PC is a little more difficult than they anticipated.

Yup, agree. It’s been interesting to see how the promises to raise money has started to clash with the realities of delivering a functional game. I’ve always been impressed with how Ego manages to give us a living economy, where NPC ships have purpose and not just eye candy. It’s one of the many reasons I love this game…

[thedavid]

Then play the Creative Custom start, not the Budgeted Start. In CC, you can have as much or as little as you wish, including all the plots completed, if that's what you want.

... I do like to work my way up. ...

You can work all the way up from just your spacesuit, if you want.

I've done it. Pretty good times hitching rides on random ships while I save up to get a ship of my own. But the Xenon always wreck the party.

[af_2017]

I've played the shit out of X4 recently and I want to support the development.

God bless you, sir.
Go to Egosoft Shop and buy tons of CD/DVDs.
Don't be grateful.
Have a good life!