Topic: Comments:Chaos Empire introduces more value for members

[mastermike]

humm ... I cant find information about how high the (monthly, yearly?) membership fee actually is, can anybody tell me? Or should we donate some Euros without a (minimum) limit for now?

thx, Mike

[Fenris]

first post

Caclulation July 2006
100 Members á 30€ = 3000€ / 12 month = 250€ per month = rent of main server (3 virtual game servers)
(I still will need to pay on top, cause the per user ratio is surely not 30€)

so 30€ a year or 7.50€ each 4 months

[Phoenix]

Because one year has only 12 instead of 16 month you should pay 7,50 € per 3 month

[DrowElf]

And if you want to donate some more Euro, you can name a friendaccount if he isn´t able to donate himself or Chaos will use this more Money to reduce his own cost.

The 30,- Euro per year are needed, any Euro above will help, too.

[Fenris]

Because one year has only 12 instead of 16 month you should pay 7,50 € per 3 month

yeah i meant 3 not 4 month^^

[symfora]

Hi,

I don't feel comfortable with the split up into two realms, mainly because the free public realm could become as laggy as blizzard's bnet, a huge reason why so many people have joined CCC recently. Future CE newbies will play on a laggy server with huge queues or no games to finish quests, with only those that didn't move to the new realm. This will certainly not be very stimulating for people new to CE, and based on these conditions they are less likely to become members. (in fact you just created 4 realms: 2 SC and 2 HC realms, which fragments the community even more.)

• During the last couple of days I lost items on several occasions. I lost a SOE that I traded, ~119 perfect sapphires (empty bag in inventory), a casket with 90 souls (all of these dissappeard from NuxV character) and on at least 5 (five!) occassions I lost hours and hours of gambling simply because the character or mule didn't have the items after joining another game (several high end items).
The shared stash in single player mode, with many pages, would not have wasted my time.

• This week I witnessed two server crashes, which made it impossible to use the character for hours.

• I think the membership fee of 30 euros is quite steep compared to the 1 euro per month suggested before, especially since many of the current people will start paying now, just to play on the new realm.

• Most of the people I used to play with, or talk to, already moved to the new realm, or consider doing so.

• A donator should not have to play on a laggy server to continue using his characters on the public realm.

All of this has made me quite frustrated and on the brink of quiting online CE gaming.

Personally I would prefer this alternative: allow people to play for two months for free on a single realm, freeze their account after two months unless or until they contribute a donation. This way everyone in the CE community gets to interact, allowing new users to play on relatively lagfree servers, along with more seasoned players. I believe that two months will be enough for anyone to evaluate the game, gameplay, community and encourage them to contribute if they want to continue playing. Also the continued arrival of new users will be more interesting for the older bunch. A closed realm without fresh blood may turn out to be rather short lived.

Please reconsider.

Last but not least, I expect that donators will be able to create and use multiple accounts on the new realm?

[DrowElf]

...
• During the last couple of days I lost items on several occasions. I lost a SOE that I traded, ~119 perfect sapphires (empty bag in inventory), a casket with 90 souls (all of these dissappeard from NuxV character) and on at least 5 (five!) occassions I lost hours and hours of gambling simply because the character or mule didn't have the items after joining another game (several high end items).
The shared stash in single player mode, with many pages, would not have wasted my time.
...
Last but not least, I expect that donators will be able to create and use multiple accounts on the new realm?

The loss of items after gambling is mostly depending on the Diablo2 hardcoded max. savegame size. You can get problems in singleplayer modus, too, if the charsize get to big.

For the Online-Players the max. file size is 8k, you can check if you come close to these size everytime with these link: http://chaosempire.info/8k.txt

And no, Donators are not allowed to create multilpe accounts on the new Realm. They can use one on the public Realm (like before) and the new one for the Donator Realm.

[webwalker]

I don't feel comfortable with the split up into two realms, mainly because the free public realm could become as laggy as blizzard's bnet

This point is addressed by the existence of the pay-to-play donator's realm.  Lag on the free server is a self-imposed grief.  5 Euro/month is about what Runescape costs, it is about what other good pay-to-play realms cost; if free D2LOD is better than free CE, then play on blizzards' net.  If CE is better, then play free with "freeloader lag" (it's NOT "not enough servers" lag, it's "freeloader lag"), or donate and play on the donator's server.

a huge reason why so many people have joined CCC recently.

If blizzard players came to CE because the freeloading is better, they'll be disappointed.  However, I think your assertion is in error from the ground up: People come here because of the BEHAVIOR (attitude) of the blizzard-net players, and because of the QUALITY of the CE MOD.

Future CE newbies will play on a laggy server with huge queues or no games to finish quests, with only those that didn't move to the new realm.

Donators can have two accounts: one of the free server and one on the Donator's server. So you'll met donators everywhere.

This will certainly not be very stimulating for people new to CE, and based on these conditions they are less likely to become members. (in fact you just created 4 realms: 2 SC and 2 HC realms, which fragments the community even more.)

What stimulated me was the improved quality of the MOD, and the improved quality of the members.

• I think the membership fee of 30 euros is quite steep compared to the 1 euro per month suggested before, especially since many of the current people will start paying now, just to play on the new realm.

The price of 30 euro/year (2.5 euro/month) won't chase away anybody that didn't donate 1/month before, so nothing is lost there.  You're asserting that the 2.5 euro/month price will chace away some who could afford 1/month but can't afford 2.5/month.  Somebody THAT pinched for cash needs to get working, and stop crying about the price of playing games!

• Most of the people I used to play with, or talk to, already moved to the new realm, or consider doing so.

Is Joe's efforts (and his paying out of his pocket so you can enjoy the fruit of his skull-sweat) worth a few beers a month?  I don't drink, so I send money (5 Euro/month) to support the realm.  There is no drug in the world as cheap and as addicting as this game.  Send 5 Euro/month and get on the Donator's server.  The free server is then a "try before you buy" place.

• A donator should not have to play on a laggy server to continue using his characters on the public realm.

Play hardcore for a while, and the notion of restarting characters won't bother you so much.

All of this has made me quite frustrated and on the brink of quiting online CE gaming.

Frustration arises from ont getting what you want from a person over whom you don't have authority.
Play offline for a while, come back and re-check the online world.

Personally I would prefer this alternative: allow people to play for two months for free on a single realm, freeze their account after two months unless or until they contribute a donation. This way everyone in the CE community gets to interact, allowing new users to play on relatively lagfree servers, along with more seasoned players. I believe that two months will be enough for anyone to evaluate the game, gameplay, community and encourage them to contribute if they want to continue playing. Also the continued arrival of new users will be more interesting for the older bunch. A closed realm without fresh blood may turn out to be rather short lived.

This notion is that there is only one realm, the pay-to-play realm, with "guest memberships" for newbies.  I like it.
I'd add a suggestion to make the characters ALL ladder characters, and dump hardcore (change death penalty in softcore to be more intense), so that we're more likely to interact.  This suggestion comes from my American location: I play alone when online almost all the time because there aren't other games, let alone games that I could join and complete quests.

Last but not least, I expect that donators will be able to create and use multiple accounts on the new realm?

1 account (18 characters) suffices.

[Fingerpicker]

Theres an easy way do avoid lags:
Dont make Games like "asdasd" because no one knows what will happen in this game and no one will ever enter such a Game.
Dont make 10 Games named "Mule", and try to enter games to quest in party. (which is a basic part of CE)
If there are average ~5 Poeple in one game it wont be laggy...

And last not least: Why should we use more than one account???

[rallemod]

Hi Joe,
ich habe jetzt einen Dauerauftrag eingerichtet und einen kleinen Betrag sofort überwiesen. Ich möchte jetzt hier nicht reinschreiben, wie viel ich als Dauerauftrag eingerichtet habe.
Kann ich dann wieder ein Spiel erstellen oder muss ich weiterhin in andere Games gehen? Die wenigsten in HC sind glücklich darüber, wenn man in ihr CGS- Game einsteigt, wenn dann überhaupt ein CGS spiel besteht.
Das bedeutet für mich, ich spende, kann aber nicht spielen.
Was muss ich also als nächstes machen, damit das weitergeht?
Danke
Rallemod

[DrowElf]

Hi Joe,
ich habe jetzt einen Dauerauftrag eingerichtet und einen kleinen Betrag sofort überwiesen. Ich möchte jetzt hier nicht reinschreiben, wie viel ich als Dauerauftrag eingerichtet habe.
Kann ich dann wieder ein Spiel erstellen oder muss ich weiterhin in andere Games gehen? Die wenigsten in HC sind glücklich darüber, wenn man in ihr CGS- Game einsteigt, wenn dann überhaupt ein CGS spiel besteht.
Das bedeutet für mich, ich spende, kann aber nicht spielen.
Was muss ich also als nächstes machen, damit das weitergeht?
Danke
Rallemod

Translation:
I have started a monthly payment and directly transfered some Euros. I don´t want to write the detailed values here, how much I monthly pay.
Can I now again open a new game or enter existing games in the future, too? Only little players in HC are happy, when you enter there CgS game, if a CgS game even exist. This means to me, I donate, but can´t play.
What should I do next, to support that it goes on?
Thanks
Rallemod

Answer:
If some CgS game exist and you can do your quest there with supporting the other players or without disturbing them, please play together. This is a part of the multiplayer system.
If no CgS game exist, you can open a new one.

Wenn ein CgS Spiel existiert und du dort questen kannst während du die anderen unterstützt oder ohne sie beim Questen zu stören, spielt bitte zusammen. Das ist ein Teil des Mehrspielermodus.
Wenn kein CgS Spiel existiert, darfst du natürlich ein Spiel öffnen.

[WidowMaker]

I understand why Ce split the servers, they are certainly not free ,and it wasnt fair for Hans to shoulder the cost for all of us to play..He just asked for everyone to donate 1 euro a month,which wasnt to much to ask,,,,we donated even before he asked for donations,,and we always donated more than he asked for because we are addicted to  this mod lol :)and we want it to continue but the community has more than tripled since then and that means need for many more servers and way more cost ...I hate to see the servers split but I understand his reason for doing so;) I hope we will all  be back on one server in the future, and that the community continues to grow,and someday I hope it goes world wide !!!!!! look forward to seeing you all on the new ladder ,and the new challenges should be interesting LOL !!! Deb

[sheeper]

If blizzard players came to CE because the freeloading is better, they'll be disappointed.  However, I think your assertion is in error from the ground up: People come here because of the BEHAVIOR (attitude) of the blizzard-net players, and because of the QUALITY of the CE MOD.

Well i disagree. I m one of the players that came here cause of the laggy b.net. Shure now that i know the mod and the community a bit better i like the rest too but how should i hav known before? And i met some people who tried CE for the same reason.

Donators can have two accounts: one of the free server and one on the Donator's server. So you'll met donators everywhere.

While thats good in theory, why should a donator play on the non donators realm? It s more laggy, in the future it will hav less features (as Chaos announced) u cant transfer nothing to the donators realm/acc and the only players he ll find there r newbies or non donators.
It s like playin a non ladder account on b.net while u could use a ladder one with more features - who do that?

What stimulated me was the improved quality of the MOD, and the improved quality of the members.The price of 30 euro/year (2.5 euro/month) won't chase away anybody that didn't donate 1/month before, so nothing is lost there.  You're asserting that the 2.5 euro/month price will chace away some who could afford 1/month but can't afford 2.5/month. 

Ok if u donated before than a little wore wont be the problem.

Somebody THAT pinched for cash needs to get working, and stop crying about the price of playing games!Is Joe's efforts (and his paying out of his pocket so you can enjoy the fruit of his skull-sweat) worth a few beers a month?  I don't drink, so I send money (5 Euro/month) to support the realm.  There is no drug in the world as cheap and as addicting as this game.  Send 5 Euro/month and get on the Donator's server.

Hmm i hope this wont be the start for a who donates more discussion... and who therefor is a "more valuable player".

Frustration arises from ont getting what you want from a person over whom you don't have authority.

nice quote - who said that?

Play offline for a while, come back and re-check the online world.This notion is that there is only one realm, the pay-to-play realm, with "guest memberships" for newbies.  I like it.
I'd add a suggestion to make the characters ALL ladder characters, and dump hardcore (change death penalty in softcore to be more intense), so that we're more likely to interact.  This suggestion comes from my American location: I play alone when online almost all the time because there aren't other games, let alone games that I could join and complete quests.1 account (18 characters) suffices.

The guest membership on the donators server is common to most online games (i remeber wow for example). I too think this is a better alternative for all players the new ones and the pros ;-) .
As i said before why should i play non ladder (non donator) if its more compforable to play ladder (donator). This way u split the knowing from the newbies and i remeber when i started i needed a lot of help - ingame! Cause the forum is just too unstructured.

Please dont missunderstand. I know a server costs money and we cant call Chaos to pay them for us. But i think splitting the commutiy is far the worst thing that could happen to CE. I m realy new to CE but all i know is the announcement from Julia "please pay" but no qualified discussion before the server split. Otherwise proposals like the one from symfora could hab been made earlier.
I hope the community will one day be united for it is much more fun to play with all people :-| .

Last but not least:
The more i get used to CE the more i like it. Its realy a great deal of work.
But u realy need to reoganize the web side^^

[satye]

Nice job Webwalker and DrowElf. Well said on All of it. I totally agree! Me and wife (widowmaker) have donated ever since we first started playing. It is well worth it and the games is great fun and the friends we have made are very good folks. We spend alot of time shootin the breeze and laughing and just relaxing. That is a very big plus for us!

Another point for you guys that seem to be upset over the LITTLE money that is ask of you! I dont see yall working to keep the Servers up and running, with all the headaches and long hours. We do have some guys that help out in that department and they are very appreciated.. But for you to complain over the small amount ask of you is ridiculous!! Hell dont eat a hamber and fries for one day, or give up your beer for a day, I mean come on, grow up people!!

Everyone the Realm is rockin, and I look to run with yall as usal

                                                                                                    Satye

[Shadowskip]

also wenn ich das jetzt richtig verstanden habe ist der donator realm wie nen ladder reset für die leute die 30/year bezahlen...

wohin und bis wann muss ich denn die 2.50euro/month bezahlen wenn ich auf den weitgehend lagfreien servern spielen möchte und was muss ich zusätzlich angeben

und zu guter letz möcht ich wissen ob ich ne mail bekomme dass ich freigeschaltet werde