Regarding the changes to our subscription plans

My own quote from Reddit.
Sorry but this is full damage control mode. To many people cancel there subscription and finally SOE start paying attention to players.

Glad that that's something you're interested in and I'll forward it up the chain.

I know there are a lot of people that play PlanetSide 2 and have no intention of playing other SOE games. We're looking out for you too, so please feel free to voice your opinions in a constructive manner. We're listening (more like reading, but hey! ).

I'll add this suggestion to my player feedback report.

He also discusses how they may remove Player Studio restrictions as that was a very vocal point from the community. I am still sending all feedback up the chain, so if there's something you'd like to see added to the Premium Membership offering and recurring membership offering, do let me know.

The discrepancies between PS4 and PC are a bit different and that's why Smed was talking about that subject. In regards to PlanetSide 2 going to PS4, we are going to be launching on PlayStation 4 this year. The major thing to note is that PlayStation has their own process and it's often the reason we separate PC and PlayStation players in our games.

What we want to do, going forward, is offer the same deals to our PS4 and PC gamers and that's what Smed was trying say.

Yes, please be constructive and send us your feedback. We are here. We are reading. We want to know what you think would add value to your Premium Membership.

If you buy an item with the 2000SC free membership item, it will be account-wide. For example, this means that if you bought a Lancer, you will be able to use the Lancer on all of your VS characters.

Weren't we told by higgles that 3x sales would never happen again?

This isn't our final communication on this subject, this is all complicated stuff. We wanted to get something out right away and this is the first bit. We'll be talking more over the next couple days and getting out more information as we can. We've gotta come to more decisions before we can share more information. Meetings are going on right now, and will continue to go well after I go home today.

My thought went more like this.

before: They sold 5,000SC for 50$. It was theirs.

after: They sell 5,000SC ... so good so far, but now they're not sure if a part belongs to a player studio artist. SOE can't say.. "hey we earned 50$", because player xXRonaldTrumpXx might say "I got 5,000 SC and i never spend any sc and now i'm gonna buy 200 different player studio camos". Now SOE has to pay the artists and lost money. I hope this makes sense. lol

Because most decent items in the game cost over 500SC, so it makes no sense that the "old" 500SC system couldnt even afford you a gun, lumifiber, helmets, or horns for vehicles. I personally think the prices of those items are absurdly high. ESPECIALLY for items that are factional specific.

I said it before I will say it again, I will buy fifteen different items at $1 EACH, spending $15 TOTAL. I REFUSE to buy an item in this game that costs $10-$20 by itself. So you will get $0 out of me at high prices OR $15 or more at low prices. Dont get me wrong, I buy stuff in this game, But i wait until double SC days, or half off items. I totally took advantage of the 1SC items during the Christmas event, and I think that was a great idea on SOE's part for generating revenue and giving players some great deals. So, Thanks for that.

I don't see an issue here, Once someone buys the SC, you have already been paid. Who cares if players decide to save up, or simply forget about it.

So create a different membership system for console players? They cannot play with PC gamers anyway, so there shouldnt be a balance issue.

Would have been nice back when I played SWG AND PS1 all the time, but honestly the other game titles suck. I hate to be harsh but that's how I feel. If you all bring back SWG that would be a dream come true, but we both know that will never happen considering Lucas Art's desire to be exclusive with SWTOR...YUCK...and shut down SWG.

Anyway, There's my thoughts. At the end of the day, SOE, planetside 2 IS a fun game, I know its rough keeping us happy, but seriosly there is so much potential in this game, I hope you all look at the best parts of PS1 for guidance. After all, what was the veteran beta test for? BTW, Im the guy who won the vet vid contest ;-).

Hmm even more curious now ..

From DCUO forums

So why the difference between DCUO and PS2 ?

1 day xp boost = 250sc, 3 day resource boost = 250sc for a total of 500sc, perfect for current plan ...... i like the sound of 2000sc but not the sound of 1 item purchase and use it or lose it at the end of the month

Hello,

To keep this short and simple: My membership is currently paid through September 2014. I am not happy with the change. Will I be able to keep my 500 SC/month for the remaining months, or will you be issuing prorated refunds (in my case that'll be 8 months * 9.99/mo = about $80)?

Oh and if you want a suggestion as to what would be satisfactory, then make the change to allow "any amount of items with total cost up to 2000 SC per month", not just one item per month.

i dont want player studio gone. its helping you. you dont have to work and you dont have to pay others for that same labor.

I honestly have no issue with this change. $5 in SC for me isn't anything. The resource boost is way more important to me than a reskined weapon. Access to all the games for the same price is just a bonus.

If there really are so many people complaining about it in this way, and the 2000 SC voucher solves their complaint, why not make it optional? Let us choose which benefit we prefer.

This looks like a pile of... corporate double talk. *WHY* is it a problem that people accrue SC that never gets used? You say yourself that they don't play and don't spend it. It's $15-$20 in your pocket and they don't exist otherwise. Not seeing the problem here...

I dare speak for everyone on PC when I say... boo hoo, the console players miss out on a promotion for choosing an inferior platform for almost every game in your library.

Why is this being "considered"? Just *DO* it. I pay $20 for All Access, $15 a month instead and losing the stipend of $5 SC... $20-$5=$15, right? Instead of having to spin some crap about "increased value for our customers", you're giving them equal value (somewhat increased for anyone not already on All Access!), and you wouldn't be bleeding subscriptions right now.

That's not the interesting question. The interesting question is "Why do people accrue SC that never gets used?", and the answer is that, by and large, people do not think it is good value to spend $10 on a cosmetic item, so they hoard SC for sales. This is why there has been so much moaning about the lack of multiple SC sales. People might hoard less of the stuff if items weren't such a damn ripoff, but rather than reduce prices they've opted for "have one free thing a month".

If they were worried about people subscribing and then not logging in then that's easy to solve: force people to log in to claim the SC, or even force them to play for a certain amount of time before receiving it.

I do not care ONE HOOT about how consoles are an overhead for you. Do we look like console players? I have literally got most of my friends and (gaming) family members signed up to PS2 over the last year...now they look to me and say, "Thanks for making me take out a membership, ya tool!" -.- (actual quote)

Once again I need to ask myself this: Why are you making things that are external and unrelated to us, the PS2 players, our problem? Please don't force games I care nothing about down my throat. OBVIOUSLY (judging from the huge outcry you have received from all this) it was working well for your PAYING members...ie. they were HAPPY. Isn't it a good idea to keep it that way?

I won't be renewing my membership. Sorry.

I think this is an okay way to go about this. Rather than sitting on SC for a month or two to buy a bigger item I can get one a month, and that's not too bad for me.

My first concern: I'm running out of stuff to buy.
I've already purchased a lot of the bigger ticket items. I'll easily be able to acquire new content barring restrictions, which is great, but there's likely not going to be something I want every month, unless I'm just grabbing things for the sake of completion, but that's not really my style.

I'm hoping that there will be the addition of longer duration boosts (maybe even month long) for either XP or Resource Gain (depending on the resource overhaul) to spend my monthly purchase on if there's nothing else I want, even if the magnitude was less than a standard boost.

My second concern: Implants
My understanding of these would be limited duration consumables that would be purchasable with certs or SC to get additional in game perks. This would ultimately eliminate my first concern because I'd always have something to acquire each month. My plan HAD been to spend my monthly SC grant on them, but with this change that complicates things. This might be looking too far ahead but I'd hate to think of my entire monthly item acquisition on a single short instance of an implant.

I would suggest that with this change to the membership going through that when these features become available in packages or bulk sales in the members section of the store to allow us to get a bit more mileage and value out of this monthly purchase. Player's choice would be best, but even something pre-selected would be fine.

But those are my only hang-ups on the idea, other than that I feel like this should be an okay change-up in my subscription. Honestly, I'm blown away at the possibility of my membership extending to other SoE games. That's just awesome right there, since I'm looking forward to EQ NEXT. But right now I'm just thinking Planetside 2.

I have always used the 500 SC from membership to buy multiple items when they were 50% off, giving me "1000 SC worth of value on as many items as I please" The new membership perk would need to be at least as good or I lose value and start reconsidering my subscription. As it stands, there are only a couple items that I am still interested in buying that would be equivalent in value, and none with greater value.

Below is a list of items that are not Player Studio or Bundles that I don't currently own that cost 1000 SC or more:
-Golden Commissioner, Underboss, NS7 PDW (2,000)
-Black Commissioner, Underboss, NS7 PDW (1,400)
-Grey Scales Weapon Camo, Dark Digital Camos (1000)
-Retracted Foreman Helmet, Djinn Mask (1000)
-Flash Deluxe Bracer Guard, Flash Deluxe Rail Guard, Vanguard Deluxe Paneled Trim (1000)

I could care less about the black and gold versions of weapons, as I will always be using camouflage on them. All three dark digital camos are lighter than the grey scales camos that I have already, and the grey scales weapon camo itself is lighter than most weapons would be without camo applied. The retracted version of the foreman helmet looks like garbage compared to the closed version, which SOE doesn't want members to purchase for some reason. And the Vanguard Deluxe Trim goes in the same slot as lumifiber, which I will be keeping empty until they release the blue lumifiber that I am certain they already have patterns for.

So, with those items excluded for the above reasons, I am left with a choice between 3 items: a mediocre helmet and two flash cosmetics (lol who uses the flash) that both take up the same slot so I will never possibly purchase both.



SOE, if this change goes through, you have 2 months worth of membership left from me. Maybe less.



Things that could increase the potential value for membership:
-One Month resource & exp boots for 1750-2000 SC
-Player Studio items included
-Bundles included
-Able to purchase up to TWO items worth 1000 SC each instead

My strong preference would be for PS items to be included and allowing the 2,000 SC token to be split into two 1,000 SC tokens.

Thanks for explaining the change, for the record i think it's great you're starting to explain your thought process (see last patch notes as another example), a business decision is a business decision and what's right for the company/product isn't always popular with the customer, at least you're trying to engage the community and get a replacement that is a best fit.

Honestly though you need to start giving members more accrued value, at least IMO. Something I get, that's mine to keep, that is based on how long I've been subbed, the exp is nice but isn't that VIP niceness that we'd like to see. Give us some non-gameplay affecting exclusivity. The early item access is under-utilized for example, a simpler system would be to give members a weeks/fortnights head start on everything in the store, a week wont hurt anybody but it will get people drooling over an item they can see but have to wait for. Maybe a whole section of the store that's members only, like titles per-say (not really what I'd pick but it's the one I can think of right now), expensive and membership exclusive, with the higher tiers requiring a longer time period to be available, so the desirable titles are only there for people who've hit the 6 month+ mark.

The freebie a month is fine, please put a large blinking light somewhere where I'll see it though when it's unclaimed, I will forget otherwise.

Also, guys, they get the point about the SC maths, stop parroting it, they know one freebie a month comes to potentially less items than the 500 a month might buy overall, they get it, this smacks of a business decision that isn't something that can be negotiated, engage over what we get instead and you can help steer the boat, wail about the unfairness and you're nothing more than dead weight, you don't like it then stop subbing if it no longer has enough value for you. (sighs, sits back and waits for the badly spelled recriminations)

If you cancel your membership, you forfeit your recurring membership bonus (the 500SC). As per Smed, we are offering refunds for the remainder of your subscriptions, see below:

sinistral_83 32 points 1 hour ago

Will you be offering refunds for the remainder of our subscriptions for those of us who do not prefer the new system?

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[–]j_smedley[S] [score hidden] 1 hour ago

yes.

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No one has said anything about Player Studio going away. Not sure where you got that from. What Smed had stated was that they may allow players to purchase Player Studio items with their free 2000SC recurring membership bonus.

I'll forward this along. Thank you for the feedback!

Thanks for the feedback KodiakBlack. I'll add your suggestions to my player feedback report.

But what happen if I just want a Composite Armor on Heavy? Now I whait 2 months And buy for all 3 faction, and have SC left. Witch you change I will havve to whait 3 months, and have nothing left. People buy not only a Expensive stuff. Tha same analogy can be put to any other cheap object in you depot. What If you client Whatn to buy bigger ammount of cheaper stuff?