Just a thought... But with bonuses being available and all..... Why not also add the option for players to buy bonus points with cash ? Like say 20 points for a dollar ? (possibly up to a preset maximum that admins determine likely wont make it impossible to win without buying bonuses)

And/or accept micropayments for other services, like extra cash, acres, population, tech points, missiles, military, stuff like that. Make the items cheaper or offer more of the item(s) as the game nears the end of its cycle.

Hm the problem is, while i would like increased revenue, it becomes "he who has the most disposable income wins"...

preset max's etc... perhaps

we were thinking about making a patron level where you just don't have to click the bonuses if you don't want, and get the equivalent points....

True.... The gains would need to be small enough to not be the deciding factor in a war or netting scenario. But given that this might be obtained by limiting what you can get, or how often or how much, it should be possible to find some sort of bonus you can charge for.

Maybe even limit it so that the bonus is inversely larger in relation to how small your country is ? This way it could be a way for later starters, or restarters to catch up ?

There is potentially a LOT of packages you can sell to people, once the right ones have been identified.

What about a pay-to-play server where the top 25 get to play in the next set for free?

@Drunck: But if the other servers are free, wouldn't we need some sort of incentive to pay to play to begin with ?

yea, I was getting there but the kids were destroying the bathroom... I guess a patron status with the whole not having to click bonuses to get points, free points, "Patron" under your name.. hell might as well make a real Patron board lol. Free 2500 acres where the 50% built rule would apply(so you'd have to have 2500 acres built to use the full bonus) extra turns available to draw from(a certain amount depending on the server you are playing on, more in FFA, less in tournament etc.) I'm sure they'll figure something out

i think a pay to play server is a great idea
with a forum restricted to players is even better
do not allow some favored players to play for free because that would only cause dissension
i think $1 a day for a high turn month long server would be profitable

however keeping known cheaters and multis off that server would be both imperative and difficult

most players play multiple servers so having one that is pay to play should not be too disruptive

the incentive to play in the server would be that mods and admins would actually pay attention to that server

I would only pay for free bonus points IF I could have the game automatically give them to me according to some box I check. Bonus points that I forget to use are worthless!

Please do this.. I'd gladly pay a reasonable fee for the amount of time i put into this game. I always feel like I receive less bonuses than anyone else due to laziness and not being able to access the bonus sites through my work's internet filter/not getting online for a day or two per week.

yeah if it were like $5 per 6 months, to not have to click links, and auto get bonus's every 22hr/24hr that would be cool

that shouldnt be for the forum bonus point one too. making ppl active on forums is a good idea IMO

patron server you mean like limited that had no ppl in it?
i mean team only has 150 people why make a server with even less

i however would play this server prolly and would pay for patron

The game is not big enough to have patron status or a patron server yet. These ideas are not currently viable with the state of the game. It needs to be nurtured until it is discovered what the game's potential is before revenue can be exploited. Adding in these features will only serve to turn off the veteran community as it stands. An influx of new players would solve that dilemma.

@Aponic: I agree, that new players would be beneficial, regardless of the revenue streams.

BUT, as it stands, I'm fairly certain that the add revenue of what ? 6-700 active players isn't enough to cover the costs of the servers, and even less so turn a profit making the admins wanting to continue developing the game.

So if we can generate alternative revenue, like for instance by selling "booster packs", bonuses, or something that wont seriously affect the game dynamics, then I think that is worth exploring.

A more developed game is also likely to attract more people. Say an android or Iphone app for the game ? I'd bet that'd attract some people. But that costs money too....

sounds like an excellent idea!

if you assume the point of bonuses is to advertise and encourage participation

then payment in lieu of that isnt a big deal

as long as the difference is convenience

really because the bonuses have to wait over 24 hours for their advertising purposes id rather have a system where there was no advantage to doing it immediately at 24

and 24-48 would be just as good

but that would reduce our competitiveness as a game compared to the others IF people are getting bonuses every single day currently

even just assuming the difference between paying and not paying is the 6/24 2/22 and 2/168

then that could add up to quite a large difference if its auto given, and if its not auto given then paying could end up worse off

@Enshula: Any way you put it, you HAVE to give whomever pays something to make it worth their while to pay, if you get nothing, then it's not payment, it's a donation.
Removal of adds is one way to go (but not a profitable one I'd wager). Auto bonus another.

The point isn't to NOT give paying players an advantage, it's to give an advantage small enough that it wont affect gameplay, and big enough that people will want to pay.

I could have sworn I suggested this a while ago.... heh ;p

I still think the "auto-bonuses" are a great idea. The "booster packs" do have the whole disposable-income-ruined-the-game stigma attached to it. If you cared to go that way, then perhaps limit it. Say, that only once per set, you could donate $5 or whatnot, and get XYZ bonus points, a chunk of land, or some other one-time boost. It'd still give them an advantage(otherwise they wouldn't buy it), but it wouldn't force people to donate in order to remain competitive.

we have many threads that speak about increased revenue. i think the general consensus is that paying for advantage wont work. it might bring in a bit of money, but i don't think thats why this game was made. i think the focus is more on quality gameplay for all who play.

Sure the game will need increased revenue as it grows. we have been thinking of ways that don't give much of an advantage in terms of ending nw, etc. some are paying for a customisable sms service, the possibility of clans paying to register a 'permanent' tag, or even players securing a 'permanent' country name. lots of other ideas, still weighing the options.

A proper method of donating/paying for ee is definitely 'on the table' just want to iron out what is going to be best for both our current playerbase and the new players we hope to bring in to make this game better than it already is.

What about a weekly lottery? Admins could use the cash generated from taxes on the market as payment so as not to give too big of a payout compared to the turns played.. Say $1/ticket and the top 5 would be paid out with the tax money

i AGREE WITH some Pay-for_bonus. But then, the bonus cannot be too excessive such that it might affect the outcome so much. a rank 25 cannot go rank 1 because of these bonus. Maybe a rank 3 can go rank 1 with the additional bonuses.

i really dont want to see anyone get a higher rank simply because they paid.

I'd probably have to register with the alberta gaming and liquor commission... and they'd take 66% off the top...