What SL has become.

[Mrknockers]

I have some feedback about my views on Star Legends as it is since the latest patch 1.1...

First I'd like to state my playing experience in the game...

I was one of the people eagerly awaiting the release of SL in the beginning, and since I use android started pretty early in beta. I played SL constantly till maxxing out in Numa Prime, then got on sporadically all the way until maxxing out in Slouch-O. Then I kind of played around with leveling on other classes until I quit for a bit. I've also never bought any platinum as it wasn't necessary for anything truly worth it as I'll gladly take patience over price (grinding out items instead of paying).

Anyways after awhile I heard of Shipyard I thought I'd log on and check it out (I heard about it pretty late, well after there were 36's already). I was horrified at what I saw... I saw 20 or so lvl 30-36 chars just standing around, all of them had a kitty vanity floating around them, all of them with vanities whether it be halloween or bought, all of them with bought plat gear. After seeing what the new gear looked like and some of the new vanities were being sold I logged off and uninstalled the app. Here's why...

Most of the stuff in the game seemed to have become worthless. For me the best part of an MMO is grinding to get that one piece of gear you always wanted, or seeing someone else get it, rage quit, then get back on and keep grinding for it again. If the grinding/hard work is cut out then there really isn't much worth to the gear/vanity. Like the vanity pet for instance... sure a vanity kitty might be cool at a glance, but when you see every single person with a kitty floating around them no matter what level or experience they are it takes away any pleasure from obtaining that item. SL has turned into a game where as soon as the content comes out you buy exp pots, get to max lvl in a day then buy all your gear and vanities (well I suppose you can buy your vanities right away), then your left standing around unless you care about the leaderboard (though I guess I didn't check if they added a daily/weekly/overall leaderboard yet...which would be awesome if they did).

Here is an example of item worth using a very popular MMO that I currently and have always played World of Warcraft: What has more worth/what will people look at when you in a town showing off your gear? The upcoming "Life-Binder's Handmaiden" that drops from the soon to be end/"hardest" encounter in the game which will take lots of group effort, or if you like pvp getting a gladiator mount from arena for being in the top % vs paying 25$ for the Winged Guardian and having it regardless of time spent or effort put into the game.

But in the end I guess SL is just a kids MMO... as every kid I know wants instant gratification (in games and in RL).

People would hate this, but I would prefer this to be a paid app, then remove the platinum and make the best gear drops.

I guess I'll try Pocket Legends as I only ever got to level 20 in that before Star Legends came out... though from what I hear they updated a lot of the stuff in it to match Star Legends -_-

[Blind]

Well. Vanity pets are optional, no one forces you to buy them.

I have plat, but i haven't bought any.

Same with halloween vanities. There isn't anything amazing about them, let people buy them if they want to.

The best looking vanities are drops.

Best gear you can get is not from the plat store, but from bosses. I'd be using the plat set now if it was better.

The best thing about sts games is pvp, which is coming on sl. The only reason it's taking so long is because devs are trying to balance the classes.

Anyway...people will always complain no matter what happens. Someone will always be unsatisfied.

I personally enjoy playing the game and talking to the people i meet there. Can't wait for pvp btw.

Good luck.

[CanonicalKoi]

I'm sorry to hear you're not enjoying SL as much as you might. As far as drops in other MMOs (you used WoW as an example), nothing is a free drop there--you paid money that month to play, yes? So, in essence, you bought the gear indirectly. And gear in WoW is not always an indicator of a player that's been "...grinding to get that one piece of gear you always wanted, or seeing someone else get it, rage quit, then get back on and keep grinding for it again." It's frequently the sign of a player with a credit card, extra money to spend and that's found one of the bazillion sites on the 'Net selling every sort of in-game gear for real money.

Again, I'm sorry to hear you're not having fun and that's really what an MMO should be about. I hope you find what you're looking for.

[MightyMicah]

I agree on many points.

[Hans]

I agree on many points too.

its just grinding... need more quests and other stuff to do!

Hope with pvp and arenafights the game will be more interesting.

We need a bigger content and more legendary bosses which are really hard to defead.

See ya!

[Slant]

I agree completely, the miners elix has taken the fun out of, and the entire point of grinding, and the bizarre level locked drops takes out the incentive of doing bosses unless you are 35 or have loads of auction slots to sell greenz.

[ninjaduck]

My only problem is when i freeze xp i also freeze kills :"(

[Xaphan Fox]

I grow tired of the only responce to player complaints is, "you don't have to buy plat" or "other games sell stuff to get by".

That isnt the point, and never has been.

Being able to buy almost anything you need makes the game hollow. Makes accomplishments meaningless.

Plat gear is not deficient to custom gear. You want that dodge heavy set: plat. Oh yeah, you want that pink shield for that set bonus: plat. Have fun in pvp without that set bonus with any future gear they release.

Futhermore: although I do not need to buy vanity, have you ever met a human being that wasnt just a widdle ocd. Who really wants that kitty. Fair enough, you want that item, pay for it.

But why are so many more vanity items available for purchase than drop? Shipyard added no new vanity. Oh wait, yeah it did. Just plat only.

Enjoy the movie/acting themed vanity that drops in a shipyard.

Yes you can buy items in wow. Course its illegal sites that blizzard spends considerable time trying to police and shut down. In the process locking accounts and banning numerous players on both buyer and seller sides.

The point isn't just what is plat and what isn't, its the pattern that emerges. Looking at the changes in game design and item implementation from pocket legends to star legends, this game is like they learned from PL how to bring in more money.

Which is fine, to a degree. When a game is, with each new expansion, more geared towards influencing the bottom line than in giving *new game content* and not just similar_dungeon_v5.26, I begin to have an issue.

Yes I know pvp is coming. I'm tired of hearing that. There are multiple game modes (survival, race, etc...) that could come out with a minimum of class balance compared to full out pvp.

How about quests that aren't pointless. I remember a quest in beta, the end of a long chain, that ended with you getting a back slot. The only way to get that back slot for your set. Pretty awesome. I played with purpose.

Where has that gone?

I will end on this:

I love this game. Ive wanted a portable mmo since everquest 13 years ago. I pay for this game. I've payed a dev's rent more than once these last few months. I'll do what I want with my money etc...

But, when I see a 500 plat pet... It isn't that high to be coveted or rare. It was the first pet. It was high to see if they could. They could and did. Make it really expensive, release deal of day at half price, oh what a deal!!!, cash in on the ocd to an almost extortionist degree, release future pets at normal prices, damage already done.

Bestbuy marking up something 20% before placing it on sale for 15% isn't a deal.

Releasing the first of something in a game that has a long downtime with nothing to do but collect stuff, at dumb high price, just to mark it down so people flood purchase it before it jumps back to 500... Isn't a deal.

It's maneuvering. Maneuvering me from my money. And I'll have none if it.

I support this game, and as such, I have a right to be critical of it. Otherwise I'll better deal this game the second its competition is released. I'd much rather stay here though, in a game I have a vested interest in.

Don't like a community that cares? Don't like complaint threads? Might wanna stay out of the suggestions forum where people air their thoughts.

Woof...



Testament - Foxy Engineer
Sparkling Pwnies

[Xaphan Fox]

Also:

I am sure that in game micro transactions are used cause either the Apple or Droid store doesn't have a viable means to support month to month pay programs. Or is downright not allowed if you want them to host your game on the market.

I get it. I really do.

Why not have every plat item also attainable through in game means? So those who chose to want it now, chose to support you, or don't have the time, can get their items.

...and those who want to play the game for their swag, can.


...or perhaps I am completely wrong and woefully ignorant of how this all works and what keeps sts financially afloat.


Testament - Foxy Engineer
Sparkling Pwnies

[ninjaduck]

I grow tired of the only responce to player complaints is, "you don't have to buy plat" or "other games sell stuff to get by".

That isnt the point, and never has been.

Being able to buy almost anything you need makes the game hollow. Makes accomplishments meaningless.

Plat gear is not deficient to custom gear. You want that dodge heavy set: plat. Oh yeah, you want that pink shield for that set bonus: plat. Have fun in pvp without that set bonus with any future gear they release.

Futhermore: although I do not need to buy vanity, have you ever met a human being that wasnt just a widdle ocd. Who really wants that kitty. Fair enough, you want that item, pay for it.

But why are so many more vanity items available for purchase than drop? Shipyard added no new vanity. Oh wait, yeah it did. Just plat only.

Enjoy the movie/acting themed vanity that drops in a shipyard.

Yes you can buy items in wow. Course its illegal sites that blizzard spends considerable time trying to police and shut down.

The point isn't just what is plat and what isn't, its the pattern that emerges. Looking at the changes in game design and item implementation from pocket legends to star legends, this game is like they learned from PL how to bring in more money.

Which is fine, to a degree. When a game is, with each new expansion, more geared towards influencing the bottom line than in giving *new game content* and not just similar_dungeon_v5.26, I begin to have an issue.

Yes I know pvp is coming. I'm tired of hearing that. There are multiple game modes (survival, race, etc...) that could come out with a minimum of class balance compared to full out pvp.

How about quests that aren't pointless. I remember a quest in beta, the end of a long chain, that ended with you getting a back slot. The only way to get that back slot for your set. Pretty awesome. I played with purpose.

Where has that gone?

I will end on this:

I love this game. Ive wanted a portable mmo since everquest 13 years ago. I pay for this game. I've payed a dev's rent more than once these last few months. I'll do what I want with my money etc...

But, when I see a 500 plat pet... It isn't that high to be coveted or rare. It was the first pet. It was high to see if they could. They could and did. Make it really expensive, release deal of day at half price, oh what a deal!!!, cash in on the ocd to an almost extortionist degree, release future pets at normal prices, damage already done.

Bestbuy marking up something 20% before placing it on sale for 15% isn't a deal.

Releasing the first of something in a game that has a long downtime with nothing to do but collect stuff, at dumb high price, just to mark it down so people flood purchase it before it jumps back to 500... Isn't a deal.

It's maneuvering. Maneuvering me from my money. And I'll have none if it.

I support this game, and as such, I have a right to be critical of it. Otherwise I'll better deal this game the second its competition is released. I'd much rather stay here though, in a game I have a vested interest in.

Don't like a community that cares? Don't like complaint threads? Might wanna stay out of the suggestions forum where proletarian air their thoughts.

Woof...



Testament - Foxy Engineer
Sparkling Pwnies

Although I would love to disagree, I must say very very well said Xaphan. I cant stand to think you can complete the game in about 3-4 days if you buy enough platinum. It is very saddening

[Kahlua]

Test that was one of the best response to a thread I have ever read. I'd really like to see someone dispute anything written above with something other than the "you don't need to buy plat items!!1" argument. I've said it before sure, but it was used in the way you'd write a persuasive essay; you know, that paragraph where you say something the other side might argue with, then prove why it's wrong.

Games like WoW charge you per month...but that's it. You pay like, what $15 a month for unlimited gameplay? For LOADS of content? One order of plat can range up to as much as $90. 2000 plat goes by a LOT faster than some of you might think, especially with vanity items . I agree with the original poster on the fact that I'd rather pay a monthly fee and get more content than grind away towards one goal. It's addicting reaching goals, and for people like me who don't have time or the attention span to play for hours a day, we need to reach those goals the expensive way. Saying you don't need to buy elixirs and stuff to reach a goal on time is like saying you don't have human emotions and drive. The need to succeed outweighs a lot of things.

Lastly, I'll agree heavily on what testament said about the quests being pointless now. Doing quests that link together to get a certain item in the end is a great way to encourage people to do quests. I see more and more maxed players with like...3/63 quests done; a lot have 0. With no goal in mind for quests other than a few credits, well I just don't see the point to do them. Challenge me. Make me think to complete a quest. A puzzle, even. I'd prefer content getting released a month later if it meant spending more time on the overall gameplay and not just "who can spend money the fastest to get to the cap?" levels.

*waits for someone to come in the with "I'm just going to repeat everyones defenses and say you don't need to buy plat or just stop complaining and be happy about x"*

[Xaphan Fox]

And to prove I am not just a doomsayer:

The bombs in shipyard are fantastic.

The fact that who I run with tend to not disarm them, but rather frogger through them, is incredible fun.

It can be razor's edge to time it sometimes, people always disarm with face from time to time.

Brilliant.

Next dungeon, id love to see similiarly timed traps that perhaps can't be disarmed.

Anything that promotes this unsafe gameplay is great!

Woof...

[CanonicalKoi]

Don't like a community that cares? Don't like complaint threads? Might wanna stay out of the suggestions forum where proletarian air their thoughts.

Woof...



Testament - Foxy Engineer
Sparkling Pwnies

**checks pockets* Yup, still got my official Proletariat ID card. I wrote out a big ol' point by point and I may post it yet, but what it comes down to is:

Some people like buying stuff rather than grinding.
Others like grinding and don't like taking shortcuts.
Both sides are having fun playing the way they play.
Who's being harmed?

Unless you want to argue that a game has some sort of inherent integrity that is somehow damaged by people playing it their own (non-ToS-violating) way, I don't see anyone getting hurt. And for that matter, why stop at plat gear? How about people that buy gear from the auction--aren't they avoiding grinding? How someone obtains their gear or what type of gear they have effects me not. I honestly don't even notice what gear people are using. Look around Blackstar one day and what do you see? Couple RIVETS, a few cats, maybe a hover turkey and someone in plat gear. Who's getting all the questions? The guy over there in the X-Ray Visor--because one way or another, either by grinding the heck out of Numa or grinding like a maniac to make credits to buy one, he put a lot of time in the game to get it and X-Ray's are a rarity.

Until PvP gets here and we can see how it's going to play out and whether or not there's going to be any plat gear/"elite" reward gear restrictions or what bonuses might be an advantage, I really don't care what people are using. I'm not going to start yelping until I get bit. If you (general you) know how to play with the gear you've got, you're aces in my book. If you (general you) don't know how to play, I don't care if you bought every plat item in the store and had it plated in actual platinum, it's not going to help you. Maybe if we all spent more time getting better at what we do with what we have and less time worrying about what someone else has or how they got it, we'd all be better off.

[Jugernugett]

I think they should stop making pets so high priced, I really want one of them. For christmas they should make about 10 platinum. They have to stop. Being so high priced XD.

[Slant]

Others like grinding and don't like taking shortcuts.

these people are harmed coz their hardwork cant be at par with those who boost stuff, which wasnt the case till the recent round of updates. it was previously possible to get 10 auction slots (premium char) with tapjoy offers, and make tons of credits in game without using plat. being a merch without using miners elix now is a joke. end result: those with plat swim in credits as well as in game gear. those without get nada.

[Xaphan Fox]

I believe you missed my point entirely.

Some people like buying stuff rather than grinding.
Others like grinding and don't like taking shortcuts.
Both sides are having fun playing the way they play.
Who's being harmed?

Unless you want to argue that a game has some sort of inherent integrity that is somehow damaged by people playing it their own (non-ToS-violating) way, I don't see anyone getting hurt.

People being able to do this is exactly what I am arguing *for*. The problem is that it isn't even. Yes you can get by never putting a dime into this game, but you are at a disadvantage whether it affects your ultimate success in a dungeon or not: things aren't even. Plat doesn't stop at vanities.

Until PvP gets here and we can see how it's going to play out and whether or not there's going to be any plat gear/"elite" reward gear restrictions or what bonuses might be an advantage, I really don't care what people are using.

Agree. We don't know what pvp has in store for us. But, the game designs they implement now, the good or bad money it brings, will/does effect what they allow into pvp. I see zero issue in raising a personal concern over a pattern I see arising in this game. My concerns extend to pvp, and any and all future content that comes out. A company culture effects everything.

Maybe if we all spent more time getting better at what we do with what we have and less time worrying about what someone else has or how they got it, we'd all be better off.

Naw id rather fight for a game I invest both my time and money into. I am not worrying about how much time a person plays or how much money he spends to to get x. That's his/her deal. But I do care when the company I support provides those advantages/game designs in a way that I feel is detrimental.

I know its a small game with a small entrepreneurial staff trying to make ends meet while breaking into a relatively new game genre. It just seems more thought is put into the 3 new vanity we can buy in the plat store each expansion than the love and effort that goes into simple things, like skill descriptions that make sense and aren't containing typos/misinformation or a skill button cooldown timer you can actually see. Ya know... obvious stuff that if you play this game, should be a no-brainer. Stuff that I have seen mentioned ad nauseam on these very forums; brilliant ideas that were mentioned in PL, let alone SL. Not sweeping game mechanic changing things. Simple aesthetic things mostly. But lets recolor the mechanical man helm.

I mean cmon man... Thanksgiving... the thanks and giving holiday. We get a request for 5 bucks via a hover turkey that flies half way into the ground. A free and plat item would have been great. I see a pattern, and I dun care for it.

woof...


Testament - Foxy Engineer
Sparkling Pwnies

[Ellyidol]

I wouldn't use WoW's subscription fee as basis for unlimited play. It's really just on the surface. As far as I can tell, they try to limit your play as much as possible through lockouts and weekly limits. It was pointed out to me that as a P2P game, their goal is to have less people play at any given time - they've paid already anyway. On the other hand, a F2P game does the opposite - it tries to make you play more than ever to spend more too.

[Xaphan Fox]

I wouldn't use WoW's subscription fee as basis for unlimited play. It's really just on the surface. As far as I can tell, they try to limit your play as much as possible through lockouts and weekly limits. It was pointed out to me that as a P2P game, their goal is to have less people play at any given time - they've paid already anyway. On the other hand, a F2P game does the opposite - it tries to make you play more than ever to spend more too.

The reason they do that is so super guilds dont complete in 4 days what took a team of 100+ a year to create. That and other sanctions they place on players is, for the most part, there to encourage healthy playing behavior.

[Hiei]

I'll be a little more happier once pvp comes out.

[Mrknockers]

Just thought I'd see how this thread turned out and I'm glad I'm not the only one... and I love all the opinions and ideas

I started Star Legends again (mainly because I finally noticed a Chrome beta and the graphics are beautiful when not on my crappy LG phone or tablet) and I'm just trying to forget how all my grinding/killing is totally pointless in the long run... and again I'll state why.

When we all play games we want to be the best... personally I seek games with some sort of weekly leaderboard for this reason. Star Legends in a sense tries to grasp that with their leaderboard (may be my opinion but the Star Legends leaderboard really doesn't mean as much as it does in other games, though it will mean a little more once PvP comes out). It's kind of broken though because it ONLY has all time, so whoever has played longer and grinded easy levels (first area of each zone) over and over by themselves will be on top... well except for the deaths chart. Though I'm sure there might be some actual good people up there but I'm speaking from my experience of when I was way on the top before I quit and grinding the first zone of each sector was my strategy. But I digress.

My point is that it appears that SL is trying to capture that competitiveness with a leaderboard, and another part of the competitiveness is showing off gear, stats, and power. Currently gear(vanites and functional) and stats are it as there is no PvP at the moment. Well if I choose not to pay and grind to get gear and the limited vanities I am still not going to be as good or cool as someone who pays...

Little kid sitting in Blackstar with all their kewl plat gears says: "well then pay if you want leet gears n' pretty kitties"

...Ok so I pay and finish the game/max out in a day or two and I feel like I've achieved nothing really as I walk around showing off my kittens and cool shields... as again I didn't really do the grinding aspect that comes with most MMO's

Little kid sitting in Blackstar with all their kewl plat gears says: "well then don't pay if you don't like it"

... Well now I'm back where I was.

So I find there is nothing for me to really strive for as when I played for free I could never hope of being the best, and when I paid I wasn't really playing the game or working for my gear. Well unless you want to add how you make your money into the mix, then I guess there is some grinding involved :P (doesn't apply to kids who use allowance or charge parents cell bill or just flat out beg their parents).

At the moment the leaderboard is unaffected by plat gear being easier to obtain and better than free gear as the leaderboard is mainly just time spent at the moment. Once PvP comes out this will definitely change as obviously having better gear will make you win.

This and many other reasons are why free to pay games are incredibly broken. Like Kahlua said about paying subscription vs free to pay games. If you pay subscription you pay that flat out reoccuring fee to be at the same level as everybody else, so working harder will get you rewarded. Where in a free to pay game like this or Zynga games or many other games out there you can end up 2000$ in the hole in a day if your addiction leads you that far. These free to pay games really aren't helping their game communities as they are made to exploit off of our gaming addictions. They make it so you can never not gain from spending money... you can always buy a consumable AS THEY ARE CONSUMED it's a never ending cost just finding some poor sap to pay it. The original title of my thread was what Star Legends has become but I'm realizing now it's what Star Legends is and always was. I find the people paying the vast amounts of cash for plat in free to pay games often aren't rich/successful they are just addicted and really can't afford to pay as much as they do. I'm somewhat successful and I pay the least amount I can to play this game and somewhat enjoy it (I got successful by not throwing away my monies). Unfortunately though free to pay is the only choice I have for my mobile MMO needs... though it's an industry I despise.

I'm really tired so none of this might have turned out what I wanted it to be, but hopefully people get the point and hopefully I didn't break any rules I just have some strong opinions and maybe in some cases assumptions :/

FYI I bash the kids a little in this and sorry for that though I come across a lot in the game... btw I'm 19 so if any of you kids want to stereotype me with statements about me playing a kids game or not having a life go ahead... you'll be my age eventually > : D