Impact of large gifts of influence

[Bionic_Flea]

6 hours ago, GraspingVileTerror said:

Someone informed me that SCoRE gives 2 billion Inf to each account, if you ask, apparently?

Any of you SCoRErs able to confirm that?  Any of you seen any kind of indication of a negative impact to player retention there that isn't more easily attributed to Homecoming having the larger and more stable population?

[Ironblade]

21 hours ago, GraspingVileTerror said:

Someone informed me that SCoRE gives 2 billion Inf to each account, if you ask, apparently?

Isn't that the 'secret server'?  And didn't it shut down shortly after its existence was revealed?

[Sakai]

6 hours ago, Ironblade said:

Isn't that the 'secret server'?  And didn't it shut down shortly after its existence was revealed?

I always assumed it evolved into us. Occasionally I see people reference their participation on SCORE here. 

[Meph]

Look up “contrafreeloading”, even animals prefer to work for their reward.

[1stsgtstudios]

On 7/18/2021 at 8:41 AM, Ukase said:

So, there's a proverb that states many counsels assure victory...so before I do something that I think is a good thing, I'm going to ask here what everyone's thoughts are about it. 

I have a lot of influence. More than enough to make my next 300 characters, unless prices go way higher than they are now. Possibly even the next 500 characters, depending on whether I wanted to buy now, or craft IOs instead. 

I've seen a name of what must be a newer player based on the questions I've seen asked in these forums, and I'm just tickled pink to see the questions as it means 1) newer player and 2) smart enough to ask for help without begging someone to just do it for them. So, I thought about gifting them 500M or even a billion..but what impact would that have on their enthusiasm to play? 

Anecdotally, I've had mixed results with large gifts. I gave an entire build to what I think is a genuinely hard working person, a parent of a small child. I know they didn't have time to sit in front of the computer and reset farms - they had to commute to work and put the time in. So, I hooked them up for a new build. Still haven't seen this controller they were supposed to make, but I gave it freely with no strings. Even so, they might come on once a month to play, if that. Before the gift, I saw them 3-4 times a week. Could be a coincidence. 

Another time, I spent a good hour answering questions via tells after some answers I gave on the help channel. Hooked them up with the requisite sets of Winter-Os so they could make their own farmer. After about 6 months, they emailed me 500M because they were feeling guilty about all the inf they were earning. I never saw it as a loan, but as a gift, but they repaid me (and overpaid), which earned them some solid credit with me. 

I've given away a couple of winter sets that someone needed to finish their build and 200M - after a week, they stopped playing. 
I've seen this happen at least a dozen times, where I'll give away some inf - and these players just seem to disappear and stop playing. It's not a real big deal, not at all sweating the influence. What I am sweating is if I am ruining their fun by taking away the inherent "carrots" the game has to offer. 

I mean, if the game were simply the beta server where I could go insta-50, immediately get my characters t-4 incarnate..I doubt I would play beyond just testing the character out in a market crash or Apex/Tin Mage. Am I spoiling things by giving things away? Is the gift too large? 
 

How much is too much? 

This is how the old COH/COV was bk in the day it was just fun. I would hold costume contests or just give it away at 50 you just make a ton of inf and do not need it. Well now I get to start over it would make it easy to have the inf but it is just as fun without.. I am just psyched it is bk.... 

[Bionic_Flea]

On 7/18/2021 at 9:41 AM, Ukase said:

Am I spoiling things by giving things away? Is the gift too large? 

 

You could just give it all to me and not worry your pretty little head over the silly details.  I'll take care of everything for you.

[Troo]

On 7/18/2021 at 11:46 AM, Snarky said:

We have a new person in our SG. I am not social but they did not seem crazy or dumb. We ended up chatting as they asked the beginner questions of CoH and they listened and asked creative questions to my responses 

 

They were respeccing madly even as we discussed the intricacies of CoH. Lamenting buying attuned purples. All the standard stuff.  I ended up dropping 200 mil on them.  Then the next day ran their 50 through a out 2 hours of AE to PL some vet levels ( where i made a good chunk of that 200 back 🙂 )

 

Question: Is the player you spoke of above still playing? (folks come and go. this is only an anecdotal data point)

Since @BF resuscitated this thread,

 

 

 

[Snarky]

1 minute ago, Troo said:

 

Question: Is the player you spoke of above still playing? (folks come and go. this is only an anecdotal data point)

Since @BF resuscitated this thread,

 

 

 

You really expect me to remember a player i (purposefully) never identified 3 years later?

 

I know vampires cannot die, but memories are linked to data.  Data which when i wrote this 3 years ago i may have been hazy on (the player/alt name).  
 

How many people playing 3 years ago are playing now?   Would that gift have extended or shortened their interest in the game.  Better questions, and also ones unanswered based on our data

 

[Ukase]

27 minutes ago, Troo said:

 

Question: Is the player you spoke of above still playing? (folks come and go. this is only an anecdotal data point)

Since @BF resuscitated this thread,

 

I know precisely the new player Snarky referred to, and he came back for ...a brief moment to find our SG is not even a shadow of it's former self. They very much enjoyed the super feeling of farming, and I think they thought using certain powers was hilarious and a lot of fun, but they didn't really care for challenge; in my few discussions with him, this was a time to pretend the npc was his boss. He came to blow off steam, not to get involved in the delicate, sometimes complicated (for some anyway) math.
He may yet return, but I suspect if he does, it'll just be for a moment. 

He was funny, I'll give him that. In the early morning hours, he'd bring on a 2nd account and literally have chats with himself, no doubt teasing the shy (or otherwise busy or rude) folks who couldn't be bothered to return his "Good morning" greeting. 

And I know this because I would return to my afk farmer and see the dialogue two hours after it took place. 

[lemming]

I was wondering if that post last night was kinda bot like, but it wasn't clear.  Just an odd post on an old thread.

[Scarlet Shocker]

[shortguy on indom]

• IT CAUSED INFLATION...  😏

[Ukase]

On 7/27/2021 at 4:35 PM, Clave Dark 5 said:

If you really have that much,, then really so what?  Not giving anything out because you worry the person might not use it well denies the "good players".

The concern then, and now is that if a gift takes away motivation to grab the carrot, then they may simply quit. 

It's kind of like giving your kids a fat inheritance. Are they going to withdraw from opportunities to grow because now they are wealthy? It's not that I insist they farm or I insist they don't farm. Or insist on anything. I just wanted to be helpful; but if it's more of a hand out than a hand up, it might be too much. 

[Hedgefund3]

I would be interested to hear of even one instance of someone quitting the game because they reached some influence threshold, whether "earned" or not.  I suspect not.

[Bionic_Flea]

I will be your tiny guinea pig!  Give me your outrageous sums of money and start the timer to see how long I stay.

 

What?

 

[Hedgefund3]

You could never leave Flea, this game is your Hotel California.

[Bionic_Flea]

20 hours ago, Hedgefund3 said:

You could never leave Flea, this game is your Hotel California.

 

Such a lovely place.

 

What most people didn't realize is that the Hotel California was really a Roach Motel.  Roaches check in but they can't check out = You can check out any time you like but you can never leave (cue guitar solo)

[Yomo Kimyata]

On 6/30/2024 at 3:31 PM, Hedgefund3 said:

I would be interested to hear of even one instance of someone quitting the game because they reached some influence threshold, whether "earned" or not.  I suspect not.

 

I considered it at 999,999,999,999 but that didn't break the game or turn over the odometer.  Shame.  Maybe if I get to zero.

[Seed22]

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