Microtransactions
Microtransactions are a proposed system in which SimuCoins could be spent on upgrades to both characters and accounts.
Foremost, it has been said that account prices will not change due to this system, nor will any abilities be removed. It will be an optional way to add on to existing accounts, eventually letting basic subscribers purchase select perks of the Premium accounts. It has also been mention that this will not impact the availability of items available via in-game means, such as auctions and quests.
It has been mentioned that some SimuCoins will likely be given out to continuous subscribers of DragonRealms, though none will be awarded for status prior to the system's introduction.
This would not replace the Premium LTB system, but instead parallel it.
The base system with limited selection is expected to go live in early January of 2013.
Items
Note that some are all of these may require ongoing costs, rather than one time purchases. It may be based on time, or number of uses, or some other metric.
It is expected that many of these items will be transferrable to allow selling of them for in-game currency.
Items Proposed
- Quests, allowing some or all of the price to be offset by SimuCoins. This would also allow last minute additions to quests, as there would be no need to go through a third party financial system.
- Jump Jewelry, allowing access to customized teleportation items.
- House storage items with tens of slots for items.
- Forge wands that summon forging equipment (and likely other crafts eventually).
- Crafting storage vaults.
- Additional blocks of vault storage space.
- Golem type assistants that perform a variety of functions such as carrying, item repair, healing, or other tasks.
- Refreshing draught that would boost stamina, mana or other pools.
- Choosing a specific birthday (not age).
- Skillset boosters. This one has been highly controversial on the forums and SimuTronics has yet to release any details beyond that it would function much like a skillset specific RPA. Whether there would be any limitations or other moderators has not been discussed by staff.
Items Under Consideration
- Custom character LOOKs.
- Name changes (would be heavily monitored to prevent abuse).
- Freeing up a name from a cancelled account for personal use.
- Character portraits, either from a SimuTronics contracted artist, or possibly allowing third party art.
- Limited use crafting blueprints.
Free to Play
One of the proposed systems that may eventually accompany the microtransaction system will be a free account method. This account will be highly limited, with caps on most major systems, to discourage the creation of mule accounts.
The proposed limits are lesser learning rates, circle and/or skill caps, exclusion from areas except P1, limits on vaults and bank accounts, and no access to signiature guild abilities, such as ressurection and moongating.
Under this system, some or all of these limitations could be lifted with the appropriate purchase, though it is intended that a basic subscription would be cheaper than purchasing separately.
Purchasable limitations reduction would include:
- Experience boosts (to basic subscriber level)
- "Normal" Bank Account
- Vault access
- Homes
- Provincial Passports
- Increasing your circle cap
- Access passes to certain hunting areas
- EXP Drain while logged out
- Access to global chat (once available)