Review [Issue 43] Premium Accounts

[sonofchrysalis3 3,719]

 

Finally, after the Tanki community has chomped its fingernails to a row of nubs, the premium accounts have been released for sale! Those developers have been working their fingers to nubs, too, finessing the premium product to make it as excellent as we had hoped it would be.

 

When I logged onto my account on the day of the free-trial promotion, I was elated to find that red ribbon gracing my rank symbol. Time to try this thing out! I immediately went into battle and tested all the benefits of being premium.

 

During my free trial, I also noticed room for improvement. Everything could use some improvement, especially greyat’s writing, so I’ll offer up my notes along with the analysis.

 

1.) The paint.

 

 

The premium paint, which looks like a really expensive version of the Africa paint, positively dazzled me. I have been wearing my purple Best Helper paint since I received it, but I quickly shed that stuff on seeing this new gold-colored coat.

 

As I compared the two paints, I noticed that the premium paint is not too far off from the Best Helper paint in terms of its protection. Best Helper takes eighteen damage points off of each shot, and Premium takes fifteen off. Premium is the closest thing the average player can have to the Best Helper paint.

 

In game, the paint looks absolutely stunning. I mean, really, the whole downtown was yellin’ out “WHO DAT IS?!”

 

Well, they would’ve been, had they not been wearing the paint themselves, but even so, the paint was beautiful.

 

It also seemed to have no effect on my enemies’ shots.

 

Of course, that may have been due to the fact that I was playing in a Polygon XP/BP with a bunch of generalissimos. Best Helper paint gives a small boost in battles with players using M2s, but the M3 turrets laughed at my paint.

 

So here’s my first suggestion:

 

Give the paint variable protection based on the player’s rank.

 

The premium paint is nice for low-rankers, but the upper rankers have loads of options that are much more protective – and they need it if they are going to sling M3 lead. A graduated system of protective attributes would be a nice modification to the paint.

 

Beyond that, I noticed one other happy fact about the paint: it cured my gold madness. Normally, when a Gold Box is about to drop, I get all flustered and frantic (and usually get the hiccups). The mere sight of gold is enough to drive me over the edge, which is exactly why the paint is so awesome. For Pete’s sake, I’m DRIVING IN A GOLD BOX!

 

2.) 100% bonus crystals and 50% experience points

 

 

Non-premiums have probably noticed the little crown next to their battlefund dividends after the update. Well, if they had a premium account, they would see a number instead of that crown. That number would be the bonus crystal amount, which would total up to equal their share of he battlefund dividend.

 

Receive 1000 crystals at the end of a battle and you’ll pocket 1000 bonus crystals as a gift. Those bonus crystals aren’t subtracted from the battlefund either; they are actually generated especially for you. The better you play, the richer you become!

 

Premium accounts also come with a 50% score multiplier pass, which normally cost 5000 crystals. That’s a nice touch, but it leads right into my second suggestion:

 

Bring back the 30% and 50% score multiplier pass.

 

Not quite sure why these were removed. I rarely used score multiplier passes; I think they speed up the game too much, but there honestly was no reason to remove them, especially 30% pass. I mean, it couldn't have been an economical reason, as the passes were one of the best-selling items in the garage. If they were hurting the economy, the prices would've been changed.

 

 

HOWEVER, the 100% passes were removed for good reason, as our forum friend @BuriedSky very wisely said:

 

"Along with the release of the premium accounts, it was realised that the 100% SMP made people rank up too fast, which was neither intended by the players nor by the system...

 

So as to bring balance, the 100% SMP got removed...

If you're a non buyer, you would realize that ts better now...the 100% SMP made you rank up so fast that you did not have any crystals to buy a good garage, and hence move around with M2+ equipment in M4 drug wars..now, it's nothing such..you rank up and earn crystals equally, while at the same time, you have an option to buy the 50% SMP if you still want to rush up with your rankup... "

 

 

3.) Ability to purchase XT equipment without needing a Daily Mission.

 

 

I AM SO PSYCHED about this. I hope and beg that Tanki won’t remove the premium accounts, at least not until I can rank up to Generalissimo and buy those XT items. Up until now, players have needed to work long and hard to get these elusive M3 hulls and turrets, but now, Tanki has made it exponentially easier. Plus, you don’t have to be a Generalissimo in order to get them. You can purchase the XT items as soon as you unlock the traditional M3 counterpart at whatever rank that may be. Power to the low-rankers!

 

4.) Pro Battle access

 

 

So you can spend 5000 crystals (about 2.5€) on a pro pass, or you can spend 10€ on a premium account and get the pro pass plus a snazzy paint worth around 15000 crystals (about 8€ without bonus crystals), a 50% score multiplier pass (another 2.5€), a priceless 100% battlefund bonus pass, and access to XT items without needing the impossible-to-find missions.

 

Tally all that up and you’ll find at least a 5€ savings, but it is certainly more than that, since you can’t exactly put a price tag on bigger battlefunds and easy XTs.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

The Premium Account Update is packed with free gifts and discounts, but, as with all updates, its arrival generates a pack of myths, misconceptions, and plain old misinformation. Let me take a moment to knock those out:

 

1.) THIS UPDATE ONLY HELPS THE BUYERS!

 

Oh, come on, that’s the most ridiculous-.

 

Err, wait. That’s correct.

 

Make it possible to get Premium access without needing to pay real money.

 

This is the only product Tanki offers that cannot be acquired without paying real money. You don’t need money to get crystals: you can just play to get those. You don’t need money to get XT items: you just have to complete a challenging daily mission. So why is a free-to-play game offering a product that you can only get if you dig into your wallet?

 

Don’t look at me, I'm not a community manager.

 

This discrepancy can be remedied by offering a premium account pass in the garage, just like pro passes or score multiplier passes, and sell it for an appropriate amount of crystals. Let’s see... 30 days of premium account access is 10€, and 6000 crystals is about 3€, so an appropriate crystal price for 30 days of the premium account would be about 20,000 crystals. Of course, that total will need to be adjusted for the sake of game balance, but hey, I already did the first step of math for you.

 

Ah, and that leads right into the next myth:

 

2.) “THIS WILL IMBALANCE THE GAME!”

 

You are incorrectly assuming that A.) enough players will buy the premium account pass to imbalance the game, and B.) every player who buys is good at the game.

 

The first one is obviously not true, and the second one SHOULD be just as obvious. Tanki can give you all the passes and boosters in the world, but if you play as badly as I do in a Smoky duel against the indestructible @Darren4Turbo, none of that is going to help.

 

3.) “SOME OF US WORKED REALLY HARD TO GET THOSE XT ITEMS, AND NOW TANKI IS JUST GIVING THEM AWAY?!”

 

Puh-leeze. You griped and complained about how hard it was to get and complete the XT missions. You made topics in the off-topic discussion section about how horrible that nasty old Tankionline is because they forced your finger to mash the “Change” button a hundred times and waste hundreds of thousands of crystals in a futile attempt to get the XT missions. But now that Tanki is making it easier to get the missions, you respond by griping and complaining!

 

MAKE UP YOUR FREAKING MIND!

 

4.) “IT’S TOO EXPENSIVE!”

 

So it’s okay for you to pay 500€ for a gaming console, dozens of games for 50€ apiece, and an untold amount on a monthly online subscription, but NOOOO, 10€ is FAAAAAR too much for a month of what you already buy at a higher price!

 

Maybe you haven’t bought that console, but what do you do when you go into a gaming store? You stand at the counter, nose to the glass, gazing lustfully at that sleek black box of sheer videogaming rapture. You plot and plan and dream of buying it, even though it costs as much as a month’s rent.

 

It’s fine if you don’t want to buy the premium account subscription, but don’t go around flaunting your unsightly double standard.

 

 

* * * * * * * *

 

The Premium Account Update is yet another way Tanki is making strides to improve the tanker’s experience and make the game less expensive. And while it may have a few less-than-perfect elements that need to be ironed out, it does, above all else, have one fundamental virtue: the new and the low-ranked will be introduced to our game with all the best features and commodities that many of us upper-rankers wish we had back then. No one can say that Tanki is coddling the Generalissimos anymore.

 

Tankionline is getting better and more balanced with every update.

 

Well, it will be, as soon as they start selling these things for crystals, too.

 

Edited July 29, 2017 by Hexed

[Quarks 2,255]

Well written, giving the two sides to an argument, even if there was a bias.

[Cor7y 13,862]

I just hope that premium accounts will be available to purchase via Mobile Payments/SMS :(

[dragonssk1 334]

Yea the Premuim Account purchases are very limited. I need the options that pays directly via bank account. Good Article

[Mr.Hater 737]

I want premuim acc or pruiamm paint by free :D

[Ambitious 2,084]

*Notices a premium tanker far away in Stadium*

*Not sure if it's the premium paint or Africa*

[KillerGnat 3,135]

Because all of Stratus's articles have to have haters, I take it upon myself to argue against this. So without further ado, my argument:

 

 

Why were you saying the premium accounts are actually not op? You actually had the nerve to tell us that premiums aren't all evil millionaires hoping to destroy our lives. Stratus, you are a biased freak, only writing things extolling the devs. I'll never agree with anything you say

 

 

 

Seriously though, good article :).

 

[QueenSeraphina 407]

I got a unrelated question, Mr. Stratus: What's does the  'cutie mark' at the end of the article symbolizes?

 

Nice article, Mr. Pony.

[FillTheWorldWithLove 345]

waaw

[I.WalkAlone 548]

I agree with all except the console part. If you are to count the cost of consoles, then you should also count the cost of the PC you play tanki on. And in the long run, you end up playing a lot less for console games with free DLC and no micro-transactions as it's a one time cost unlike the huge amount you have to pay in tanki if you don't want to grind through to get new equipment. Also, most of the games are available on PC as well barring a few exclusives like Halo or Star Wars. They also tend to have better performances and graphics on PC as compared to that on consoles (For example, GTA V). So, your argument about tanki costing less than console games is invalid.

 

Anyway, kudos for maintaining a balanced view point this time and making valid points from the sides of both the devs and the players.

Edited November 14, 2015 by I.WalkAlone

[I.Devastation 2,053]

The Premium Account was most likely released to fix their mistake. They revealed unity too early and facts that made it uncertain whether our account would be transferred or not so less people started buying stuff. Releasing premium account gives people an excuse to buy it because its new n all so that so they still make income.

[Bluebird13 95]

I think I agreed with every single point, except the game console/monthly subscription one. I don't tend to desire games/consoles as much as you pointed out.

I really want Tanki to bring back those score multiplier passes. I never tended to use them, but recently I decided to buy one, and it was a great help. At the moment, I especially need them, because I want to rank before Christmas. I think I may be able to rank in time, but it won't be very easy. Again, great article.

[Cor7y 13,862]

Okay, Mr.Pony, you make me disagree with our articles every time. Now, how aren't premium accounts overpowered ? They get a freaking 2x fund, meaning that they will PERMANENTLY get a 2x battle fund, not counting the Gold box drop chance. And the premium paint at lower ranks, not OP ?

 

(Facepalms)

[Amateur 829]

Excellent Article! You convinced me that introducing premium accounts was a good move by Tanki. Continue writing more articles!

[Reaper 992]

Excellent Article! You convinced me that introducing premium accounts was a good move by Tanki. Continue writing more articles!

nah it was a bad move

[sonofchrysalis3 3,719]

I agree with all except the console part. If you are to count the cost of consoles, then you should also count the cost of the PC you play tanki on. And in the long run, you end up playing a lot less for console games with free DLC and no micro-transactions as it's a one time cost unlike the huge amount you have to pay in tanki if you don't want to grind through to get new equipment. Also, most of the games are available on PC as well barring a few exclusives like Halo or Star Wars. They also tend to have better performances and graphics on PC as compared to that on consoles (For example, GTA V). So, your argument about tanki costing less than console games is invalid.

You do not count the cost of the PC because a computer is a multi-functional device that is used for internet browsing, media editing, research, financial transactions, and more. A console is just for gaming. And since the overwhelming majority of tankers are young adults living with their parents, the tankers usually are not the ones to buy the family computer, but they will blow what money they have on gaming equipment.

 

And the statement "tanki costs more than console games" is utterly laughable. I honestly cannot believe this has to be explained. Sure, some people do spend hundreds of euros on their tank, but most don't, and most who stick with the game, play smart, spend wisely, and don't spend all their time whining about what they don't have will wind up Gismos with M3 garages, having never spent a coin on Tanki.

 

So, your rebuttal is invalid.

 

nah it was a bad move

Then why do you have a premium account? 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2015 by sonofchrysalis3

[sonofchrysalis3 3,719]

Okay, Mr.Pony, you make me disagree with our articles every time. Now, how aren't premium accounts overpowered ? They get a freaking 2x fund, meaning that they will PERMANENTLY get a 2x battle fund, not counting the Gold box drop chance. And the premium paint at lower ranks, not OP ?

 

(Facepalms)

So what? You could acquire the same amount of crystals if you'd actually play the game.

 

Any equipment upgrade at any rank is considerably "OP". That's what makes it an upgrade.

Edited November 15, 2015 by sonofchrysalis3

[II.BOSS 221]

T

R 

U 

E +1

[Cor7y 13,862]

So what? You could acquire the same amount of crystals if you'd actually play the game.

Oh, really ? So you're basically saying that Tanki should increase the battle fund 2x times ? Now wouldn't that be a 'change in game balance' ? Get your facts right, mate, and stop being such a suck-up to the devs.

[swede1 1,726]

Tanki did not address the issues that this update would cause, and has led to a bunch of updates that are hurting the game even, more. A Pandoras box of sorts.

This is nothing new in tanki, the developers don't think about the cause and effect of their updates and in turn makes them do mudification to offset the damage to the economics by their updates.

The score multipliers do not work because players were able to jump up to high rank and purchase M3s directly for M0, double crystal multiplier creates hyperinflation in the game which in turn requires them to increase the costs of everything even though only the premium users were reaping the benifit. This has made the game economy to costly for f2p players to advance.

The design do not seem to have the knowledge of how virtual economies work, theit actions have shown that the fundamental economics are broken and in a runaway state, further running out of control as player base declines.

Over 150 game platforms shut down every year because of lack of education of devs in the area of virtual economies.

[sonofchrysalis3 3,719]

Oh, really ? So you're basically saying that Tanki should increase the battle fund 2x times ? Now wouldn't that be a 'change in game balance' ? Get your facts right, mate, and stop being such a suck-up to the devs.

No, I'm saying you should actually try playing Tanki sometime. It's quite fun.

 

It is not a problem that some tankers get more crystals when they play.

 

Get your logic straight, and quit being impossible to please.

[sonofchrysalis3 3,719]

double crystal multiplier creates hyperinflation in the game which in turn requires them to increase the costs of everything even though only the premium users were reaping the benifit. This has made the game economy to costly for f2p players to advance.

The design do not seem to have the knowledge of how virtual economies work, theit actions have shown that the fundamental economics are broken and in a runaway state, further running out of control as player base declines.

Over 150 game platforms shut down every year because of lack of education of devs in the area of virtual economies.

I challenge you to provide numbers from the Tanki garage that prove this statement.

 

And, as I've said a million times to a dozen tankers, if the game is withering away like a plastic bottle in a furnace, then please don't torture yourself by continuing to play.

Edited November 15, 2015 by sonofchrysalis3

[Cor7y 13,862]

No, I'm saying you should actually try playing Tanki sometime. It's quite fun.

 

It is not a problem that some tankers get more crystals when they play.

I do play Tanki, so you can shut up now.

 

Oh, so why not give EVERYONE double battle funds, huh ? Buying + Receiving double the crystals at the end of a battle ? Seems OP, doesn't it ? Well, you staff members will never understand our concern, as you are hooked up to a nice salary every month.

[HichigoShiiro 4,378]

 

... do you even maths? 

 

18% is not 18HP. 

Edited November 15, 2015 by HichigoShiiro

[swede1 1,726]

I challenge you to provide numbers from the Tanki garage that prove this statement.

 

And, as I've said a million times to a dozen tankers, if the game is withering away like a plastic bottle in a furnace, then please don't torture yourself by continuing to play.

I don't need hard numbers to see whats happening to the game, I have been researching MMOGs for 3 years, I have read thousands of articles, follow dozens of blogs of industry pros, streamed cofrences, Ted talks, psychology research, UX professionals, and producers (yes most producers are very open in discussing their platforms).

 

It is very clear that Tanki is starting to understand how all of their past discounts, extra funds, and prizes have hurt the game economy, and why they continually need to devalue the crystal and increase the costs to the point that tankers can no longer progress in the game.

 

Semyon gave a hint about this issue here: http://en.tankiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=289674&do=findComment&comment=5070632

 

Hazel also speaks of it briefly in this post: http://en.tankiforum.com/index.php?showtopic=290798&page=38&do=findComment&comment=5125737

 

You have to be completely blind to see that this game has gotten more expensive to play each yr, this is because they have had to increase the cost every month to cover the gifts they were giving players every month. 3 yrs ago, you could buy the entire garage for 3.5 million crystals earning exeactly the same you do now +;- a few % but now a full garage has a whopping cost of around 15 million crystals.

 

Economic Imbalance

Problems with the fundamental economic model of the game are typically observed as a continuous decline in the valuation of the game currency. Often the problem can be traced back to those running the game, who have set up a policy to give away the game currency to its members as a game function, with little to no way to actually remove money from the economy. This policy causes an ever-increasing amount of game currency in circulation and a subsequent decline in value.

 

Removal of currency from circulation is substantially harder than introducing it as a reward for player actions. Players actively pursue awards and tend to accumulate them; the currency reward will only be given up if there is sufficient reason or something of higher value to be gained.

 

While removal of currency is more difficult than addition, more focus has been given to it than to regulating currency sources. The primary tool for removal of currency is to add money sinks, or features designed to remove money from the game.

 

in my opinion Unity isn't so much a jump in graphics a snazzy gameplay, but their ONLY option to get out of the mess they have created in the last several yrs to this platform.

 

The mudification they have been doing to this game since last Christmas is only to extend the life support this game is in till they have a working Unity version for everyone to start back from 0, and hopefully they have learned the lessons and create a F2P MMO that can be sustainable and enjoyable for both free to play users and premium players.

Edited November 16, 2015 by swede1