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[Kirian]

Base Set Heroes™

...with cards in his eyes...

[Stealth Tomato]

Base Set Heroes™

...with cards in his eyes...

Well, that's now stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Thanks.

[Mic Qsenoch]

Base Set Heroes™

...with cards in his eyes...

Well, that's now stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Thanks.

I hope your thanks are sincere, because I can't imagine a better song to have stuck in your head all day. That's a song to achieve dreams with.

[nutki]

Not being able to set a default name for your games is a pain. That's why I usually don't do this (I have all the sets though)

I noticed that too, it is annoying when you want to control my victory point counter with table name hashtags. So I extended my script to use the name of the last game as the default name. It will actually use the name of the previous game, not the previous game _you hosted_, but I think this is much better anyway (and probably can be fixed, it just takes time to figure out).

[ashersky]

I agree that it is annoying to join a pro game and have to stare at Thief, Workshop, Adventurer, etc.  But as a joiner, it is so hard to find a pro game at all, I will just suffer through it, as mentioned.  I refuse to host games because I refuse to do that to someone.

I and others have said this elsewhere, but I think the solution is a monthly sub.  If you already bought cards, they just credit you with as many months as your payment will cover.  Then Automatch, etc. will work fine.

[Stealth Tomato]

I agree that it is annoying to join a pro game and have to stare at Thief, Workshop, Adventurer, etc.  But as a joiner, it is so hard to find a pro game at all, I will just suffer through it, as mentioned.  I refuse to host games because I refuse to do that to someone.

I and others have said this elsewhere, but I think the solution is a monthly sub.  If you already bought cards, they just credit you with as many months as your payment will cover.  Then Automatch, etc. will work fine.

I think they'll piss off a lot of people by turning their permanent subscription (buying all cards) into a temporary one. They'd have to either grandfather those people in or offer a lifetime subscription tier. They'd also have problems picking up new players without a free intro period, and a free intro period long enough to hook beginners would also be gamed by people who just rotate through accounts in order to get a perpetual free lunch.

Honestly, I think their current pay model is very good. You pay for the experience you want. Devoted players will tend to buy everything; mid-tier players will pay for the cards they want (or refuse to pay, and get sub-optimal waiting times in return); new players get a chance to get their feet wet with the basic cards before diving into the entire pool.

It will obviously never be as good as a free-play system, but again, a free-play system just isn't economically sustainable.

[ashersky]

The funnier thing (funny sad not funny ha-ha) is that I (and many others, I think) would gladly pay 5 bucks a month for a long as they survive as a company that offers online Dominion, but currently don't have enough consumer confidence in them to believe that what they are offering s "permanent."  They'd get more money from me starting at around the ten month mark into forever if they are successful, and still get some money from me if they're not.

Instead, they aren't getting anything, and they will eventually run out of paying players.  If WoW was pay once forever, Blizzard would have a much harder time making money.

[WanderingWinder]

The funnier thing (funny sad not funny ha-ha) is that I (and many others, I think) would gladly pay 5 bucks a month for a long as they survive as a company that offers online Dominion, but currently don't have enough consumer confidence in them to believe that what they are offering s "permanent."  They'd get more money from me starting at around the ten month mark into forever if they are successful, and still get some money from me if they're not.

Instead, they aren't getting anything, and they will eventually run out of paying players.  If WoW was pay once forever, Blizzard would have a much harder time making money.

I don't mean to disagree with your points, but your last line... I think blizzard would be absolutely fine if WoW were all one time payments. I mean, less profitable, sure, but even if WoW were just a money pit, they have Diablo and Starcraft - (cough cough, example of how one time payment models can work, at least in the abstract)

[DG]

If WoW was pay once forever, Blizzard would have a much harder time making money.

I think you're behind the times there. Microtransactions can provide a revenue stream after the customer has a product, so a single purchase fee or 'free' products can work.

[Schneau]

The funnier thing (funny sad not funny ha-ha) is that I (and many others, I think) would gladly pay 5 bucks a month for a long as they survive as a company that offers online Dominion, but currently don't have enough consumer confidence in them to believe that what they are offering s "permanent."  They'd get more money from me starting at around the ten month mark into forever if they are successful, and still get some money from me if they're not.

Instead, they aren't getting anything, and they will eventually run out of paying players.  If WoW was pay once forever, Blizzard would have a much harder time making money.

Why don't you just pay 5 bucks a month to get a mini-expansion, and after 8 months or so you'll have paid the same amount per month but can stop paying? I guess there's an argument that if it were subscription-based, you would get all the cards right off the bat, but in my book that's mostly negated by not having to pay anymore after 8 months.

[yuma]

The funnier thing (funny sad not funny ha-ha) is that I (and many others, I think) would gladly pay 5 bucks a month for a long as they survive as a company that offers online Dominion, but currently don't have enough consumer confidence in them to believe that what they are offering s "permanent."  They'd get more money from me starting at around the ten month mark into forever if they are successful, and still get some money from me if they're not.

Instead, they aren't getting anything, and they will eventually run out of paying players.  If WoW was pay once forever, Blizzard would have a much harder time making money.

Why don't you just pay 5 bucks a month to get a mini-expansion, and after 8 months or so you'll have paid the same amount per month but can stop paying? I guess there's an argument that if it were subscription-based, you would get all the cards right off the bat, but in my book that's mostly negated by not having to pay anymore after 8 months.

The problem with this is the assumption, and at this point both ash and I aren't willing to make the assumption, is that Goko might not be around long enough for us to get our money out of the cards. We both think there is a good chance Goko will collapse and we will be out the money.

If we paid by the month and Goko went down at the end of the month we wouldn't be out any money.

[yuma]

but ultimately I don't care what the pay model is. I just want Goko to improve enough to the point that I feel like my purchase is worth the money that I would be spending on.

Right now I wouldn't pay $5 a month for Goko and I certainly am not going to risk $50 or whatever it is for all the sets for an unspecified amount of time.

[Schneau]

The funnier thing (funny sad not funny ha-ha) is that I (and many others, I think) would gladly pay 5 bucks a month for a long as they survive as a company that offers online Dominion, but currently don't have enough consumer confidence in them to believe that what they are offering s "permanent."  They'd get more money from me starting at around the ten month mark into forever if they are successful, and still get some money from me if they're not.

Instead, they aren't getting anything, and they will eventually run out of paying players.  If WoW was pay once forever, Blizzard would have a much harder time making money.

Why don't you just pay 5 bucks a month to get a mini-expansion, and after 8 months or so you'll have paid the same amount per month but can stop paying? I guess there's an argument that if it were subscription-based, you would get all the cards right off the bat, but in my book that's mostly negated by not having to pay anymore after 8 months.

The problem with this is the assumption, and at this point both ash and I aren't willing to make the assumption, is that Goko might not be around long enough for us to get our money out of the cards. We both think there is a good chance Goko will collapse and we will be out the money.

If we paid by the month and Goko went down at the end of the month we wouldn't be out any money.

This isn't logical. You'd be out the same amount of money both ways.

but ultimately I don't care what the pay model is. I just want Goko to improve enough to the point that I feel like my purchase is worth the money that I would be spending on.

Right now I wouldn't pay $5 a month for Goko and I certainly am not going to risk $50 or whatever it is for all the sets for an unspecified amount of time.

This is logical, and is more in line with why I myself haven't purchased cards on Goko yet.

[WanderingWinder]

The funnier thing (funny sad not funny ha-ha) is that I (and many others, I think) would gladly pay 5 bucks a month for a long as they survive as a company that offers online Dominion, but currently don't have enough consumer confidence in them to believe that what they are offering s "permanent."  They'd get more money from me starting at around the ten month mark into forever if they are successful, and still get some money from me if they're not.

Instead, they aren't getting anything, and they will eventually run out of paying players.  If WoW was pay once forever, Blizzard would have a much harder time making money.

Why don't you just pay 5 bucks a month to get a mini-expansion, and after 8 months or so you'll have paid the same amount per month but can stop paying? I guess there's an argument that if it were subscription-based, you would get all the cards right off the bat, but in my book that's mostly negated by not having to pay anymore after 8 months.

The problem with this is the assumption, and at this point both ash and I aren't willing to make the assumption, is that Goko might not be around long enough for us to get our money out of the cards. We both think there is a good chance Goko will collapse and we will be out the money.

If we paid by the month and Goko went down at the end of the month we wouldn't be out any money.

This isn't logical. You'd be out the same amount of money both ways.

Of course it's logical - he isn't getting nearly the same product for the intervening 8 months, and I would guess he doesn't have high confidence that the site will be around 8 months from now.

[Kirian]

The funnier thing (funny sad not funny ha-ha) is that I (and many others, I think) would gladly pay 5 bucks a month for a long as they survive as a company that offers online Dominion, but currently don't have enough consumer confidence in them to believe that what they are offering s "permanent."  They'd get more money from me starting at around the ten month mark into forever if they are successful, and still get some money from me if they're not.

Instead, they aren't getting anything, and they will eventually run out of paying players.  If WoW was pay once forever, Blizzard would have a much harder time making money.

Why don't you just pay 5 bucks a month to get a mini-expansion, and after 8 months or so you'll have paid the same amount per month but can stop paying? I guess there's an argument that if it were subscription-based, you would get all the cards right off the bat, but in my book that's mostly negated by not having to pay anymore after 8 months.

The problem with this is the assumption, and at this point both ash and I aren't willing to make the assumption, is that Goko might not be around long enough for us to get our money out of the cards. We both think there is a good chance Goko will collapse and we will be out the money.

If we paid by the month and Goko went down at the end of the month we wouldn't be out any money.

This isn't logical. You'd be out the same amount of money both ways.

Of course it's logical - he isn't getting nearly the same product for the intervening 8 months, and I would guess he doesn't have high confidence that the site will be around 8 months from now.

Man, if Goko offered a monthly fee for those who want it, and let anyone who wants to just go in for a "lifetime" membership at normal price when/if they decide to, I bet they'd double their revenue stream.

[Watno]

It will obviously never be as good as a free-play system, but again, a free-play system just isn't economically sustainable.

I'm pretty sure it is.

[greatexpectations]

looking back i wonder if goko would have been better off closing isotropic a month or two earlier and just letting everyone play for free in that span. early complaints were a higher than desired cost and a lack of players/difficulty finding a game. attempting to build a user base and hook them could have worked well, and it probably would not have cost them much. they could even use that as a way of stringing people along. start with free play for a month then take away say dark ages but leave the rest free for a few weeks. the hardcore fans will buy it all anyway, and the more casual fans might be more willing to pay for the sets they liked that are no longer free.

to me, developing a massive user base should have been the first and only goal, as it seems that a large user base is key for the long term future of the company. it makes other games more attractive, but it also makes other forms of income (tournaments, bonuses, whatever) more viable.

[Beyond Awesome]

Good points, but the bigger problem is that Goko hasn't even launched any other games aside from Dominion. Those two small games don't count. They have all these licenses, and they haven't done anything with them. That's sad.

[michaeljb]

I've been accepted to Catan World beta, and there is a smaller beta for Race for the Galaxy that I've applied to, I think I saw someone else here say they're in. So that's got to count as some progress, right?

[ashersky]

I've been accepted to Catan World beta, and there is a smaller beta for Race for the Galaxy that I've applied to, I think I saw someone else here say they're in. So that's got to count as some progress, right?

For sure.  The Dominion beta was amazing, after all.