Isn`t just vanity. Is 2 diferent experiences and thats why is bad.

[Alexander_Dragonfang]

The mayor issue with the free and premium weddings is that, it divides a single experience into a "free" one, which feels cheap, watered down and uncomplete, and the complete one, the one that "should have been" and makes it premium, behind a paywall. And that is TERRIBLE.

Having 2 diferent levels of game experiences separated by gamer`s wallet is bad, period. That is bad even on F2P games when they make really diferent for free accounts from premium accounts (the first model of the F2P SWTOR which charged you for skills bars as an example) is even worse on a P2P where you are, no matter what white knights try to say, paying for the experience.

----

Many of you like to argument: Is cosmetic, is not necesary, is "optional content". Well no, it isn`t just that, for a big chunk of players, is this side content where the meat of the game is, not raids, not PvP, but things like hunts, sightseeing, housing, now marriage and tomorrow gold saucer and triple triad. Yet, our experience, what we look, is already looked down as "optional", where for some of us is far more important to have a house and role play a couple than beat T9. Is for us that this experiences are being or badly delivered (hunts, sightseeing, housing) or being "divided" like "weddings" and possibly "gold saucer".

And this not only hurts us. It also hurts even cash shop supporters, cause what you guys are buying and getting sold isn`t even exclusive cash shop items, but things that should be in the game in the first place. Instead of being sold and buy cool unique premium mounts that truly show your support to the game, you only get things that pass the marketing team as "yeah, thats a cool feature, lets put it behind a paywall".

There is nothing good on the cash shop and probably never will if things keeps like this.

Thats why, this Cash Shop is bad for us. Is not about being a cash Shop, if it actually sold really premium mounts like for example, Could`s Fenrir Bike. But the cash shop will always sell regular, supposed to be on the game anyway, items removed and put behind a paywall. Thats why is bad, because isn`t even a true Cash Shop.

In an image, this is what is happening and this SHOUNDT happen on a subscription based game.

[Mardel]

Like many people have said before; you have no proof that it would have been added in without the pay wall. They likely wouldn't have added in the "premium" weddings at all and everything would have been basic or not even implemented. Be happy they put in a ceremony and not just a bracelet exchange quest.

So this thread I give you this award. (For doing what many others have done before you.)

[Alexander_Dragonfang]

Like many people have said before; you have no proof that it would have been added in without the pay wall. They likely wouldn't have added in the "premium" weddings at all and everything would have been basic or not even implemented. Be happy they put in a ceremony and not just a bracelet exchange quest.

Slepnir mount was on databases before the cash shop was even told to be added, back in the time when yoshida said it wasn`t going to be one. Slepnir mount was probably a possible Odin`s Mantle reward but then was probably reconsidered as Trial Mount reward and then, crap, Cash Shop becomes something, quickly grab something to put in there! and there you go. And something similar must have happend to minions and probably will happen from now on, as you will see, the cash shop filling with items that are in no way special and have no reason at all to be in the game in the first place.

A regular, even for all wedding would be perfect. Far better than having 2 divided experiences by wallet in a P2P game.

[MeiUshu]

I have a question for you all...seriously I would like to hear whatpeople have to say.

I understand is important for some of you to RP which I would like to do too but I am not good enough, anyway, I understand as well that some of you want to *get married* either because of RP or because is something you want to transpose from reality to virtuality fine by me...but frankly...do you really need a ceremony to formalize this? you know buying a house can be done independent of the marriage, it can be done with money one of you buy and you both live there, you can share the same house, share things as ify ou were married you can organize even a ceremony where you invite people you dont need it to be under the *marriage* thing that the game will propose.

Seriously, you all want this because of the perks for no other reasons you all complain bcause of the perks, because NOTHING prevents anyone from doing the marriage as it is today or live together or organize ceremonies, meetings or what not.

So why the hell is cash shop such a problem since you can have the same without paying ?

Ohh you want the horse and etc etc etc..why ? because is cool? why do you find such a crime because the others can have it and not you??? jealous ?

No seriously why making a big fuss over something so trivial ?

Nothing prevents you to RP a married couple as it is today....so?

Mei

[Mardel]

Slepnir mount was on databases before the cash shop was even told to be added, back in the time when yoshida said it wasn`t going to be one. Slepnir mount was probably a possible Odin`s Mantle reward but then was probably reconsidered as Trial Mount reward and then, crap, Cash Shop becomes something, quickly grab something to put in there! and there you go. And something similar must have happend to minions and probably will happen from now on, as you will see, the cash shop filling with items that are in no way special and have no reason at all to be in the game in the first place.

A regular, even for all wedding would be perfect. Far better than having 2 divided experiences by wallet in a P2P game.

1. Just because something is in the database doesn't mean we will get it.
2. Your opinion about the wedding service is simply that, an opinion. (Just like mine.)
3. I haven't bought anything from the cash shop. (Before someone labels me as "supporter".)
4. Titan was in the database in 1.0 for over a year. Guess what? We didn't get until 2.0 lol.
5. There may be another Odin mount that we get. (With a super dark glow and smoke coming from it via primal fight.)
6. None of these will change your, or our opinion so there is no real point in this thread.

[Alexander_Dragonfang]

I have a question for you all...seriously I would like to hear whatpeople have to say.

I understand is important for some of you to RP whihc I would like to do too but I am not good enough, anyway, I understand as well that some of you want to *get married* either because of RP or because is something you want to transpose from reality to virtuality fine by me...but frankly...do you really need a ceremony to formalize this? you know buying a house can be done independent of the marriage, it can be done with money one of you buy and you both live there, you can share the same house, share things as ify ou were married you can organize even a ceremony where you invite people you dont need it to be under the *marriage* thing that the game will propose.

Is how the experience is being delivered really. Thats the whole point here... On that argument of if really marriage is needed here... I could say, damn, we better move to a game with better and free marriage? (which are in the thousands btw). So, that actually doesn`t cover the point. The thing is, marriage, the eternal bond is an experience, and as a normal marriage, the dress, the decoration, the transport, is all part of the experience. If this was real life, i would accept i can`t have the 500.000 dollars wedding with VIP coming at it. But this is a game, and is exactly why this is bad.

The experience here should be the same for everyone. Not be divided by wallet.

1. Just because something is in the database doesn't mean we will get it.
2. Your opinion about the wedding service is simply that, an opinion. (Just like mine.)
3. I haven't bought anything from the cash shop. (Before someone labels me as "supporter".)
4. Titan was in the database in 1.0 for over a year. Guess what? We didn't get until 2.0 lol.
5. There may be another Odin mount that we get. (With a super dark glow and smoke coming from it via primal fight.)
6. None of these will change your, or our opinion so there is no real point in this thread.

1.- Actually, no, but it means it was meant to be in game and for some reason isn`t, like, the hundreds of materials just for example.
2.- My opinion is actually based on the fact that, no one wants to play watered down experiences, which is what the "free" wedding is.
3.- I have bought retainer services. IM A TOTAL SUPPORTER OF A TRUE AND GOOD CASH SHOP, NOT THE ONE WE HAVE.
4.- As most materials, damn, there is maybe even Heavensward things on the data bases already. Lots of content doesn`t make it to the game.
5.- I hope it does, the ideal would be that everything on the cash shop was be able to be got in game too and the other way too, like the nightmare mounts.
6.- It might, and even if there is just 1 person between all the thousands that will read this thread and "meh" about it, that alone makest it worth every single keystroke.

[Riepah]

Guess we have no proof they'll ever add higher ilvl stuff in the game, so if they make high end gear cash shop only from now on, it'll be fine, because it was surely intended as such all along.

[lololink]

I have a question for you all...seriously I would like to hear whatpeople have to say.


Mei

If your goal is to gather all the minions and mounts you don't want to be gated because of a cash shop, would you want your favorite activity to be gated by a cash shop ?

[Ultimatecalibur]

Slepnir mount was on databases before the cash shop was even told to be added, back in the time when yoshida said it wasn`t going to be one. Slepnir mount was probably a possible Odin`s Mantle reward but then was probably reconsidered as Trial Mount reward and then, crap, Cash Shop becomes something, quickly grab something to put in there!

That is mostly speculation.
The Slepnir mount, Zantetsuken, Hjalmr, Herklaedi and the unnamed shield models only exist due to the mechanics of the Odin FATE. They could have designed Odin as a single unchanging figure, but decided to have him change based on his killer. To keep things simple they created the armor as 2 pieces (head and body) instead of 5, and equip the killers model with the 4 Odin pieces and mount him on Sleipnir. The Sleipnir Barding is the only thing that can be confirmed to be designed as a player reward.

[Themis]

Slepnir mount was on databases before the cash shop was even told to be added, back in the time when yoshida said it wasn`t going to be one. Slepnir mount was probably a possible Odin`s Mantle reward but then was probably reconsidered as Trial Mount reward and then, crap, Cash Shop becomes something, quickly grab something to put in there! and there you go. And something similar must have happend to minions and probably will happen from now on, as you will see, the cash shop filling with items that are in no way special and have no reason at all to be in the game in the first place.

A regular, even for all wedding would be perfect. Far better than having 2 divided experiences by wallet in a P2P game.

(Not that I'd expect it to be fully read, I just like to write).

Firstly, I'm fairly sure reading the data in the game can be considered against the ToS. It isn't something that should be done. The community have even been asked not to mine the files but they do it anyway.

Secondly, you have no proof of what the decision path was. Now I may be wrong, but I don't recall being told that Sleipnir Mount wouldn't be paid for via a cash shop. I don't even recall it being mentioned to be a thing until people discovered it by data mining.

It could have been decided to have been a cash shop item since day 1. It is only through data mining that the community speculated that the mount would come from the Odin Challenge. There was no proof that was the case, though. It was just speculation (which turned out to be wrong - and is one reason why dat mining is not encouraged).

Thirdly, more money being made by providing additional, optional services and items into the game, allows more money to be invested into the game itself (eg, by allowing more staff to be employed, or by providing better hardware for running the game on). Unless all of that money goes to outside sources, which have no bearing on the game at all (and would be a terrible thing to do), having extra avenues of income is not a bad thing. Even if only a percentage of the income goes back into the game (a considerable percentage, of course), it all helps improve the experience we have and allows that to happen at a faster rate.

Or can you not see that?

As an additional, regarding the P2P and the "but I pay a sub fee and that means I get access to all the content" comments that are always seen: This is not true at all. Your sub fee does not give you the right to have access to all of the content or an equal experience as every other player.

It lets you have unlimited access to the servers to start playing the game, and in the case of XIV it also gives you your character slots and two retainers for free. Once your on the servers, though, what content is available for free or not has nothing to do with your subscription fee. That's just how it is. This "sub fee only gives you access to the servers" is quite plainly evidenced by the fact that you often have to pay for the base game, or an expansion pack, to unlock the content that comes with it. "Oh, but that's different" I've heard said before. But no, it isn't. When you purchase the registration code for the game that code unlocks the content for you. And that content, even in the base game, is paid for content. That content did not come with your sub fee; it was actually a separate cost (though a lot of games offer a 30 day free trial out of courtesy and because it's a great marketing strategy).

When it comes to the optional services and items you can purchase via the Mog Station, this is simply extra things. Additional paid for content for the game.

In the User Agreement (which we all agree to when we install the game, and sign off on when we attach our registration codes to our accounts and log in), it is clearly stated what you get for your money. You'll find it all under Section 4 of the UA.

I'll throw them in here for easier viewing, emphasis mine:

In order to access SQUARE ENIX’s servers to play the Game, you must agree to a recurring subscription package (“Subscription”) with a minimum subscription period of 30 days and pay a recurring subscription fee (“FINAL FANTASY XIV Subscription Fee”), which includes the fees for one or more playable character(s) (“Playable Character(s)”) plus two free non-playable characters (“Retainer Character(s)”).

That's what your subscription fee actually lets you have. Server access, a number of character slots depending on the fee paid and 2 retainers. Everything else falls under the "Additional Purchases" clause in the following section.

If your goal is to gather all the minions and mounts you don't want to be gated because of a cash shop, would you want your favorite activity to be gated by a cash shop ?

This is actually a fair question.

You could phrase it as:

"How would you feel if X Raid was gated by the Paid For optional service via the Mog Station?"

And my answer would be:

Would I prefer it to be freely available as part of the content that is unlocked via the registration codes I purchase? Sure. I think we all would.

Would it be unfair to gate it behind a monetary gate? No. That's up to the people behind the game, ultimately. It may be that many people don't buy it, which might lead to reduced subs and less money. That's called a "business decision". In the case it lost SE money, it would be a bad decision. If it gained them money, then from a business perspective it was successful. Simple as that, really, because it means people actually did pay for it and didn't mind doing so (they're pretty bad consumers if they buy something they disagree with).

If it was worth the money, then I'd pay for it. If I don't think it is worth it, then I won't. That's how I treat the current cash shop. Does having an Odin mount change my experience of the game enough to warrant purchasing it? No, it doesn't. So I have not.