FPS Games and Skins

[Chris]

First Player Shooters are about what you are shooting at and the team play allowed.
My first game as such was Counter Strike.

That game did have an option to force all skins clientside. This would give you an avantage on maps by removing the artic advenger skin reguardless of their choice in skin.

Anyone who has played that game should understand the advantage and disadvanges of skin choices.

So, steam being a platform that grew from such a community, I find it hard to believe that games being sold on steam, as mutiplayer only, are eventually being microtransactioned by skins.

Developers are Requesting funds for previous or future support.

However, it saddens me when develpers are given such an easy pathway to sellout. They change the image of the game and the playability of the game suggesting that it's not pay to win, while advertising very hard about the qualities of the skin.

With games not having a clear option to negate the purchasing power of peers leaves certain fans whom struggled to meet the first price in silence. While, I hate to support such games, I've already invested thousands of hours into it and love it, but now I feel only people who tollerate such will join this game and now my game is far less than what it was...

I want to convice others that my game won't get worse and that the skins won't be more extreme, but the fact is: that's probably not the case.

It would be really nice to know that these game developers were at least expected to make it common, an option, to negate skin options client-side, so those with less don't feel that they are playing at a disadvantage to those with more and more.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

I don't know a particular weapon skin gives an advantage or disadvantage to a player, but I've always wondered why people seem to be okay with CS:GO -- which is not a free-to-play game itself -- having microtransactions up the wazoo.

[Chris]

If I could simply like your comment I would, but I have to agree 100% instead.

Now, I'm reminding myself of peeps who play just to get boxes, buys keys, blah blah blah...worthless.

Now, I'm not sure which devs I hate more, CS:GO or NS2...

What are your thoughts about NS2? (natural selection 2) They are not F2P and they Microtransaction player skins, not just the weopon.

If you had to choose the lesser of the two evils, which would you choose?

[shawn20809]

I like the skins on CSGO they add a diferent side to the game.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

I haven't played either Natural Selection 2 nor CS:GO, so I really can't say. I don't normally spend much money on these sorts of things anyway.

I spent a little money on TF2 in order to get myself a premium account, and then built up value over time just from converting random drops to tradeable metal, which I used to get a few items that I really wanted -- such as my Strange Solemn Vow, Strange Medi Gun, and Botkiller Minigun. I personally don't value Vintage, Genuine, etc. items, so I don't care about those things. But apparently some people do.

I like the Strange weapons because they are like a record of how long I've played the game. And in the case of the Strange Solemn Vow, how many kills I've gotten using a really silly and absurd weapon. (Same reason I keep my Strange Homewrecker around -- even less damage against players.)

I had briefly been interested in Strange cosmetics, but decided against it because I had a different costume piece that I liked more, in its same slot. I threw that one Strange cosmetic that I had onto the market, and it actually sold a day or two ago, after a few months of waiting. (Attention potential thieves: it's was worth about 50 cents. Don't push your luck.)

Since killstreak items also have a gameplay feature, one might expect me to be interested in them, but I don't like the focus on killstreaks nor do I like broadcasting my killstreaks so I'm not interested in them for a different reason.

I haven't signed up for any of te Gun Mettle contracts.

[MeganeDamashii]

Originally posted by Quint the Robot Girl:

I've always wondered why people seem to be okay with CS:GO -- which is not a free-to-play game itself -- having microtransactions up the wazoo.

Well, first you have the group of people who are actually into the whole thing and gladly pay money to "show off" with rare skins etc.

Then there are people who wouldn't pay, but still enjoy collecting the occasional random drops they get.

And lastly, people who just want to play the game and don't care for skins can get something out of them by just putting their drops on the market to get a couple of cents (or more) for their Steam wallet.
Also, the skins are purely cosmetic and don't give any gameplay advantages. (I'm disagreeing with the OP on this one, but I don't play CS, so what do I know)

Just my thoughts on why I believe this system is accepted in CS:GO.

[Chris]

^ Fair, it is.

I hate show offs and love to buy games to avoid F2P; even when they don't have P2W...

In fact: I hate scoreboard badges that show who has the money to buy the additional support.

Like the person I agreed with, I think we feel microtransactions do not belong in games that aren't F2P...

http://unknownworlds.com/ns2/files/2013/09/BlackSkulk.jpg

THIS skin belongs to Natural Selection 2, which was a "reinforcement" release that costed 3x the price of the original game when it dropped. The excuses were to pay for past and future improvements of the 'indie' game. I tried to call them out and got banned from their game's steam forum.

Do you believe this is P2W?

I understand you may not have played the game, but at what point do we get to call foul? While I understand we don't ever get our money back, but as a community we gotta step up for our purchases and expectations.


I'm afraid there's probably historical facts surounding TF2 that the devs of ns2 emulated, but I didn't keep up with the release to now of TF2. I'm older than many with a short steam ID, and I guess my mind may hold very little majority thought.

[Black Blade]

Well i think CS:GO may have been free, if not for the simple problem of too many "Hackers" in the game
The payment to get in, takes that number down, as for someone to do it, they have to pay for the game each time

And i think its fine to have microtransactions as long as its just for the looks, or dose not really give any real advantage for who can pay, just maybe a better look

[Chris]

^ Would you be upset if the other players had an option to disable your skins?

[Smokey]

Why do you react so hard to something there only are visual ???
if i could choose then csgo would get full modding as cs 1.6 /css/tf2 got
but that would be very problematic to do now with all the money people use on skins

edit: can custom skins/models give a advantage (sure they can)
you can make a water or ice skin (animated) but you could also make a transparent skin or use a small model to make it more easy to see enemies

but most custom models/skins are only made with the visual aspect in mind
just look at the css grenade section on gamebanana http://css.gamebanana.com/skins/cats/63

[Black Blade]

Originally posted by Chris:

^ Would you be upset if the other players had an option to disable your skins?

Not really why? i mean its for my own sake if i have any, i dont care who see them or not

[Shades ツ]

I like the skins, adds a social and economic element to it.

[Chris]

Originally posted by Niels:

I like the skins, adds a social and economic element to it.

I feel cheated mostly though:

I like to buy games, not marketplaces.

Adding a social/economic element to the game just injects the reality I like to avoid when I play videogames...

I buy a game when the price can be met and everyone is a peer.

The game loses alot of class for those with alot less money, by pandering to people who can afford more well after the prices were set and met.

[Smokey]

Originally posted by Chris:

Originally posted by Niels:

I like the skins, adds a social and economic element to it.

I feel cheated mostly though:

I like to buy games, not marketplaces.

Adding a social/economic element to the game just injects the reality I like to avoid when I play videogames...

I buy a game when the price can be met and everyone is a peer.

The game loses alot of class for those with alot less money, by pandering to people who can afford more well after the prices were set and met.

Do you also feel cheated in rpg games when some gets a drop you not get ?
do not understand you at all since csgo skins only are visual they do not change anything!

Note: its the community there set market prices not steam.

edit: you also talked about Natural selection 2 and the drop system in that game are 100% random & again none of those skins give a advantage over other players, how you can call these games for pay2win are beyond me

[Chris]

Originally posted by Smokey:

Do you also feel cheated in rpg games when some gets a drop you not get ?
do not understand you at all since csgo skins only are visual they do not change anything!

Drops are part of rpg games.

Originally posted by Smokey:

Note: its the community there set market prices not steam.

I want to buy games and NOT market places that sell skins.

Originally posted by Smokey:

edit: you also talked about Natural selection 2 and the drop system in that game are 100% random & again none of those skins give a advantage over other players, how you can call these games for pay2win are beyond me

Drop system? No, You purchase the skins and I disagree about the advantage. A darker skin is harder to see in the shadows. In NS2, it is not just gun models being swapped: It is the whole player. You can't even see the skin you purchased in a FPS, only other players.

Even if it wasn't pay to win:
The market wasn't there. Players who have that extra money, spend to showboat and set themselves apart from their peers. These kind of games are reasons to avoid F2P.

Yet, I bought such game as Pay to Play...Pay once! as the price had be set.

To add a marketplace after the fact, to sell skins to the playerbase gained is ugly. Now the player base is crap...