What Is the Monetization Strategy of This Game?

[Schrobes]

I see an option to shop for in-game currency, of which i have no idea what it is for.

Do i get in the game then suddenly see a shop button selling everything needed to have an enjoyable experience?

[Freyar]

You will see, on the launcher, ads for MTX. They are small and fairly easy to ignore. (Limited contrasting colors).

Starting your game after getting through the tutorials will present a "Select your starting kit." There are roughly 8 or so now, with the default one being orange (the main theme of the UI and the paid-for-ones showing blue.

When docked at stations, smaller buttons for Pre-built ships and "livery" are present but are colored in line with the UI. Easily ignorable.

On the main menu, you will be reminded of how many Arx you have on your account, along with how much you've earned for the week up to a cap of 400/wk.

[Schrobes]

Originally posted by Freyar:

You will see, on the launcher, ads for MTX. They are small and fairly easy to ignore. (Limited contrasting colors).

Starting your game after getting through the tutorials will present a "Select your starting kit." There are roughly 8 or so now, with the default one being orange (the main theme of the UI and the paid-for-ones showing blue.

When docked at stations, smaller buttons for Pre-built ships and "livery" are present but are colored in line with the UI. Easily ignorable.

On the main menu, you will be reminded of how many Arx you have on your account, along with how much you've earned for the week up to a cap of 400/wk.

So all the stuff for sale is cosmetics?

[KrazyKrackA]

No, they have prebuilt ships you can buy besides that i think everything else is cosmetics. Once your ingame you dont really see the paid shop inless you want to.

[Freyar]

Pre-built ships are available for purchase, as well as early access to some ship hulls that will eventually be released to buy in the normal course of gameplay. I think the wait time is 3 months from the date those ships are released.

[Schrobes]

in your honest opinions, how "bad" are the practices? Are we looking at 1000's of hours saved with a 100 dollar "coin" purchase?

[Freyar]

Originally posted by Schrobes:

in your honest opinions, how "bad" are the practices? Are we looking at 1000's of hours saved with a 100 dollar "coin" purchase?

Prebuilt ships are about US$20 to $30, hulls are $10 to $20. It's not hard at all to earn enough money to buy the hulls outright (if they're released for purchase with game progress), but fitting can be expensive as well as engineering (modifying gear on your ship) taking a decent amount of time.

Ultimately, I don't like this method, but it's not the worst.

[Sighman]

Originally posted by Schrobes:

in your honest opinions, how "bad" are the practices? Are we looking at 1000's of hours saved with a 100 dollar "coin" purchase?

No, if you enjoy the game and have the time to play it fully (not just mindlessly grinding away), those prebuilt ships won't even be the radar.

If you just want credits to buy them, you could team up with another player and share bounty mission rewards, and you'd have hundreds of millions in a couple of hours.

So even if you're time-poor, they're not necessary.

But some people like to start the game, buy a ship which does what they want (e.g. combat/mining/exploration) and start playing, rather than doing other gameplay to earn it.

Also, the prebuilts include cosmetics (ship kit/paint) which are about the same price as the prebuilt ship anyway.