[2023] Discussion Topic - 2022/9 - War Chests (aka Battle Passes) | Stormgate Dev Tracker

almost 2 years ago - /u/FrostGiant_Studios - Direct link

Hello to all friends and future defenders (or invaders) of Earth!

It’s time for another discussion topic where you can help us shape the future of Stormgate.

In our last discussion, we covered a wide variety of topics related to our overall launch plans. Our vision is to support ongoing development of Stormgate for years to come, and to regularly release new stories, maps, units, and more. To help make that plan a success, we’re asking you to share your thoughts on the in-game rewards systems known as battle passes – you may know them as the War Chests in StarCraft II.

A few facts before we begin

Stormgate will be free-to-play
We’re adamantly opposed to pay-to-win systems

We know what works

We aren’t starting from scratch here – we learned a lot from the SC2 War Chest, which was received very positively by players overall. You’d purchase a War Chest and complete seasonal objectives to earn cosmetic rewards. Players could choose from different War Chests for each race and the rewards were all pre-determined, so you always knew what you were paying for. Importantly, a portion of proceeds went directly towards supporting esports.

Recently, some other games have been harshly criticized for their battle passes. These criticisms include earning too little experience for playing the game or even gating new playable characters behind an excessive grind. Some battle passes make it nearly impossible to make significant progress without directly purchasing levels, or they may include pay-to-win rewards that make the game feel unfair. We’ve also seen the popularization of gacha or gambling-style mechanics, which make the rewards you can earn and your chances of earning them unclear.

Let’s make them even better

We are leaning towards having some form of War Chest-style battle pass in Stormgate. We want to be as transparent as possible to players about what rewards can be earned, how to earn them and how long it takes. We believe that building upon the foundation of what we’ve done before, when combined with your feedback, will empower us to get it right.

This is where you come in. We’d love to hear your thoughts on a number of key areas related to War Chests, but please feel free to share anything that you believe would be helpful.

We are looking at army skins for each race as a primary cosmetic reward. What additional cosmetic rewards would you like to see?
Do you like the idea of War Chest progression rewarding you for playing other races besides your primary race?
Do you like the idea of a War Chest encouraging you to try different play modes (e.g., co-op, ladder, campaign) to earn progression? Or would you prefer sticking to your favorite mode?
What do you think of having challenges or achievements that need to be completed in order to make progress in the War Chest? Or do you prefer a more straightforward experience-based system that doesn’t change the way you play the game?
Are you in favor of exclusive cosmetic rewards that can only be earned during that season, or do you want the ability to purchase a specific reward again in the future?
Do you think players should be allowed to purchase the remaining rewards of their War Chest if they were unable to finish it in time before the end of the season? Is this unfair to those who earned their rewards?
What do you think of social rewards, like party-based progression or rewards for gifting stuff to your friends?
Do you like the idea of infinite progression in a War Chest, providing extra value for the most active players, or do you want to be able to “complete it” and obtain all possible rewards before season’s end?
Do you like the idea of supporting esports prize pools and operations with a portion of War Chest proceeds?

As always, we appreciate you joining us on this journey.

-The Frost Giant Team

Previous Discussion Topics:

Previous Responses:

External link →

almost 2 years ago - /u/FrostGiant_Studios - Direct link

Hello to all friends and future defenders (or invaders) of Earth!

It’s time for another discussion topic where you can help us shape the future of Stormgate.

In our last discussion, we covered a wide variety of topics related to our overall launch plans. Our vision is to support ongoing development of Stormgate for years to come, and to regularly release new stories, maps, units, and more. To help make that plan a success, we’re asking you to share your thoughts on the in-game rewards systems known as battle passes – you may know them as the War Chests in StarCraft II.

A few facts before we begin

Stormgate will be free-to-play
We’re adamantly opposed to pay-to-win systems

We know what works

We aren’t starting from scratch here – we learned a lot from the SC2 War Chest, which was received very positively by players overall. You’d purchase a War Chest and complete seasonal objectives to earn cosmetic rewards. Players could choose from different War Chests for each race and the rewards were all pre-determined, so you always knew what you were paying for. Importantly, a portion of proceeds went directly towards supporting esports.

Recently, some other games have been harshly criticized for their battle passes. These criticisms include earning too little experience for playing the game or even gating new playable characters behind an excessive grind. Some battle passes make it nearly impossible to make significant progress without directly purchasing levels, or they may include pay-to-win rewards that make the game feel unfair. We’ve also seen the popularization of gacha or gambling-style mechanics, which make the rewards you can earn and your chances of earning them unclear.

Let’s make them even better

We are leaning towards having some form of War Chest-style battle pass in Stormgate. We want to be as transparent as possible to players about what rewards can be earned, how to earn them and how long it takes. We believe that building upon the foundation of what we’ve done before, when combined with your feedback, will empower us to get it right.

This is where you come in. We’d love to hear your thoughts on a number of key areas related to War Chests, but please feel free to share anything that you believe would be helpful.

We are looking at army skins for each race as a primary cosmetic reward. What additional cosmetic rewards would you like to see?
Do you like the idea of War Chest progression rewarding you for playing other races besides your primary race?
Do you like the idea of a War Chest encouraging you to try different play modes (e.g., co-op, ladder, campaign) to earn progression? Or would you prefer sticking to your favorite mode?
What do you think of having challenges or achievements that need to be completed in order to make progress in the War Chest? Or do you prefer a more straightforward experience-based system that doesn’t change the way you play the game?
Are you in favor of exclusive cosmetic rewards that can only be earned during that season, or do you want the ability to purchase a specific reward again in the future?
Do you think players should be allowed to purchase the remaining rewards of their War Chest if they were unable to finish it in time before the end of the season? Is this unfair to those who earned their rewards?
What do you think of social rewards, like party-based progression or rewards for gifting stuff to your friends?
Do you like the idea of infinite progression in a War Chest, providing extra value for the most active players, or do you want to be able to “complete it” and obtain all possible rewards before season’s end?
Do you like the idea of supporting esports prize pools and operations with a portion of War Chest proceeds?

As always, we appreciate you joining us on this journey.

-The Frost Giant Team

Previous Discussion Topics:

Previous Responses:

External link →

over 1 year ago - /u/FrostGiant_Studios - Direct link

Originally posted by BrbSoaking

metacomment: i think its easier getting feedback upvoted (and thus rated) if you encourage people to focus on less questions in one post. just an option for the future in case 120 comments are too much to tackle.

metacomment: i think its easier getting feedback upvoted (and thus rated) if you encourage people to focus on less questions in one post. just an option for the future in case 120 comments are too much to tackle.

Appreciate the feedback!

[2023] Discussion Topic - 2022/9 - War Chests (aka Battle Passes)

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