Bag space

[Banzai]

I know it's fairly common for f2p games to make money on "convenience" items, but the bag space in this game is really quite minimal without paying extra. Out of 6 avaiable bag spots, only two of them are available to non paying customers (and even the paid ones expire after a certain duration). When you consider the number of implements needed for crafting various things, those 2 bags filled up within an hour or so of playing. Which results in constantly deleting items you spend time collecting, and may need again later. I can completely understand the need to make a profit on a f2p game, but in my opinion you guys have gone *way* too far in the cash grab direction here. I wouldn't be surprised if many people started playing the game, only to quickly quit due to the extremely hassling bag space issues. What's the point of playing a gathering/crafting game if you don't even have enough room to store your materials?

[Elegant Caveman]

I'd like to add something here, but I'm not sure what... I agree, and you've put it quite well.

Two things I'll note, though:

Aside from the highly-grindy and cash-grabby format, the game's fairly good for what it is, with a couple of things which stand out (gnogmenting and villages) as fairly neat.

The other thing is that the devs seem to genuinely care about the game and the community, and are willing to listen to player feedback. I've read something about them reworking the inventory, though I don't know what they're planning or when.

Is this enough to make the game worthwhile as it is now? Your mileage may vary. But it's something to keep in mind, and to those that like the game but get frustrated, I'd suggest letting the devs know (on the official site) and/or coming back to it later, in the hope that things have changed.

[Banzai]

That's actually the frustrating part, I really enjoy this game in just about everyway. But the bag limitations just ruin the experience. If I had adequate bag space I could see myself playing this game for a long time. As it is, I doubt i'll be playing for long.

[Banzai]

During in an in game chat, someone suggested that you can get increased bag space from a quest. Has anybody confirmed this is true, and where would I find that quest?

[Elegant Caveman]

Understandable.

Perhaps consider one of the DLC packs? Each comes with an extra 50 of bag space. 10$ isn't too much if you like the game, especially if you think you might keep at it a while.

The ingame shop also has sales pretty often. There's been two since I started playing bit less than a week ago. Maybe there'll be a sale on storage soon.

Alternatively, wait to see what the devs have planned. Found the thing I'd read:

Originally posted by Diet:

We are in the middle of revising our energy system, you can see the current conversation over here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/263540/discussions/0/558754259471996874/

We are also looking into easing the inventory restrictions as well, but no final word on that quite yet.

I'm not sure what that means, though. You can also wait and hope for a Steam sale, though that might be a while. I don't know if FLC for F2P games goes on sale, but, just a thought.

Originally posted by - luascriptz -:

During in an in game chat, someone suggested that you can get increased bag space from a quest. Has anybody confirmed this is true, and where would I find that quest?

Definitely true, you get an extra bag for 30 days. I forget what quest, though. It's one of the really early ones. Did you do everything in the starting zone?

I -think- it's in the loot bag you get for killing the wolf boss there. Maybe.

[Banzai]

Originally posted by Elegant Caveman:

Understandable.
Perhaps consider one of the DLC packs?

I'd have to disagree here. A reasonable Inventory is one of the most basic aspects of these kinds of games. If you need to buy DLC with real cash to have a basic ability to store items then the game has taken their monetization scheme just a little too far. If they're going to do that route, just make it a pay to play game with a full inventory. Aain, I realize companies are in this to make a profit, but they can shoot themselves in the foot while doing so.

[Elegant Caveman]

I was merely pointing out that the Steam packs do come with extra inventory, in case you didn't know. If you don't think they're worth buying, then don't.

Don't get me wrong, I completely agree with you. I think that VnH has a lot of potential, but their pricing scheme is ridiculous. Then again, I think that of most F2P games, so I can't say I'm surprised.

I was drawn to this one by the Village aspect/mechanic, which intrigued me. I discovered gnogmenting, which I really enjoy. Considering the time I've already put into this game, I wouldn't mind supporting the devs a bit, but I don't approve of their monetization scheme. So for now, I'm holding off. We'll see if it keeps my interest long enough for me to actually give them money.

Point being, if you want more space right now, the 10$ Steam back is probably your best bet. That's a simple fact, regardless of if it's right or wrong.

If you feel like it, I invite you to check out my What is "Pay To Win? (a civil discussion) thread, which discusses some of these things. I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on the subject, if you feel up to it (warning: walls of text).

Speaking of, I owe that thread some replies. I think I'll go do that now.

[Banzai]

Originally posted by Elegant Caveman:

I was merely pointing out that the Steam packs do come with extra inventory, in case you didn't know. If you don't think they're worth buying, then don't.

I hope I didn't come off as confrontational, I just have a general dislike of the recent trend to take traditional aspects of games and repackage them as dlc and "optional content". I'm a developer myself, and increasingly it seems like i'm watching one of my favourite things in the world being ripped apart and sold as seperate items by suits and beancounters who care nothing for the industry.

[Elegant Caveman]

No worries, just clarifying.

I just didn't want you thinking that I was defending their pricing. ;)

[daimheach]

1. you can get a 30 day rental on a 3rd bag when you open yor lvl bags...
2. you get a vault for free and when you get a house, you'll get a 2nd...

This is NOT ideal - I would like to see more ingame options, but wanted to be sure that you knew that all of that was there....you can put stuff in the vault instead of tossing away. But, just like bags - they fill up quickly.

3. There are 2 types of bags and vaults in shop...There are the rentals, that expire after a set amount of time, and there are permanent ones. So, you CAN purchase permanent ones.

I saw a suggestion on another thread that they add rentals for ingame gold - I think this is an EXCELLENT idea - and, would help them to move closer to the F2P category.

I also know that they are taking energy out of the item shop and making that more available ingame.

[daimheach]

For the 30 day rental bag - You have to complete all of the quests that Shandri (in Oak Hollow) gives you. At the end, after you beat the wolf, you will be given a badge. Directly after you portal to Ardent, you will see Cheery with a star over her head. She will give you a 'lvl 1 bag' which will contain some things, and a lvl 2 bag....continue opening hte bags until you get to the end - you will need like 7-8 inventory spots I think to get through them all. At the end will be a little pouch with a clock looking thing on it. Double click that and it will start your 30 day rental for bag 3.

[Gavener]

Backpack = free
Pouch = free
Vault1 = free
House Locker = free

if you want to Horde gonna have to rent or buy, or mail to another character.
Cashshop items even the daily log in ones can sit in the cashshop bag as well i leave all my stuff in there.

[Banzai]

What makes this so silly is, they're bags. Not some high tech expensive cyclopean feat of engineering, they're cloth bags. The fact that one of the major limiting factor to enjoyable gameplay (unless you're willing to "rent" bags for real cash) is something as simple and cheap to produce as bag space is just ludicrous. Look at just about any other established mmo out there and you can buy as much bag space as you want, using in game currency, not cash. People in WoW have been complaining about "bag creep" for years now. Micromanaging bag space so you can fit a drop you just found, and then repeating the process the next time you find an item is.... frustrating and not good for the game IMO.

[Gavener]

Marketing my good sir

[Banzai]

Originally posted by Gavener:

Marketing my good sir

Marketing is one thing, limiting gameplay to being needlessly frustrating in order to spur sales is another thing entirely. I'm a developer myself with over 10 years in the industry. I'm constantly trying to find a good balance between fair sales techniques and outright exploitave sales techniques. At the the end of the day, the customer has to be happy, or they will walk away from your expensively developed game. One the one hand, it's a business and you need to make money, on the other side of things, manipulative sales tactics are underhanded and hurt the entire industry in the long run. It's tough admittedly, but I personally think they've gone too far with this title. What's frustrating is, seperate from this one nagging issue, I quite enjoy the game.

My suggestion would be to focus more on vanity items and non gameplay effecting items, versus limiting gameplay. Worked for valve and very many other companies. Make a game a joy to play and people will line up in droves. Make it an obvious cash cow masquerading as a game will only fade you into obscurity like so many dying p2w games before it.

[Gavener]

oh i do agree i just play a lot of F2P gams and its always the limit on play that freaks people out, but i do agree i wish they could make money and we could play for ever