Donator Status Denotations

[Michelle]

Currently the Donator Status is wonderful, but I feel it is lacking something crucial. Recognition. A typical perk of being a supporter, is making it known to the community in some form that you also contribute. While this is only visual, it also serves to gather more supporters. Below are just a few ideas for how this could be acheived.

 

Exclusive Cosmetic Changes:

Donator Status unlocks the usage of unique cosmetic changes, but only while donator status is active. For example, a few additional eye types or 'emotes' could be selected that are only visible through donator status.

 

Unique Chat/Overhead Tag Prefix:

Similar to CM/GM/SGM/DEV, donators would receive a far more subtle and less colorful tag before their name.

 

Unique Overhead Name Color:

Give players with Donator Status a unique coloring for their name, nothing too jarring, just a near-white yellow, etc.

 

Saving Vanity Outfits:

Players with donator status can save/change outfits on the fly, allowing for some unique interactions and a nice QoL reward for supporters.

 

These are just some ideas, though I would be happy with something like this in any form. Thanks for reading!

[justme1306]

i agree with you and i would also add extra money from trainers battles since most people who have donator status also do gym reruns 

[Michelle]

2 hours ago, justme1306 said:

i agree with you and i would also add extra money from trainers battles since most people who have donator status also do gym reruns 

This suggestion is about a visual indicator, not so much how donator status benefits supporters, thanks for the input regardless. 🙂

[hamizoss]

i like it , great suggestion !

[MightyMichele]

Hi Michelle,

 

I read carefully this post with ideas to improve the PokeMMO game experience, and while I appreciate your suggestions, I have to respectfully disagree with your proposal for a unique chat/overhead tag prefix for Donator Status players.

 

I think it's important to promote equality among all players in the game, regardless of whether or not they donate. While I understand that players who donate can already purchase exclusive cosmetics to make themselves stand out, adding a prefix tag for Donator Status players would further differentiate them from other players.

 

Instead, I would suggest exploring other ways to recognize and reward players who support the game, such as exclusive in-game events or early access to new content.

 

Thank you for sharing your ideas with the community, and I hope we can continue to have a constructive discussion about how to improve the game experience for all players.

 

Cheers,

MightyMichele 

[Michelle]

52 minutes ago, MightyMichele said:

I think it's important to promote equality among all players in the game, regardless of whether or not they donate. While I understand that players who donate can already purchase exclusive cosmetics to make themselves stand out, adding a prefix tag for Donator Status players would further differentiate them from other players.

The general idea is to easily differentiate players that donate, from players that don't. This is not just limited to the prefix tag suggestion. While I appreciate your angle on equality, the suggestions itself is far more simple than the ideas I'd laid out above, and could easily be accomplished without a prefix tag(such as the additional emotes/saved outfits ideas).

 

1 hour ago, MightyMichele said:

Instead, I would suggest exploring other ways to recognize and reward players who support the game, such as exclusive in-game events or early access to new content.

I don't personally view exclusive events as a reward, considering the likelihood of winning, many people would leave with nothing. This would also put additional and consistent strain on the staff team. A similar thing to be said for accessing new content, considering a selling point for donator status would now be linked with new content.

The hope behind something like this would be to inspire players that may not have considered supporting PokeMMO, to look into it further and possibly become a donator.

[cult]

i think this would be very cool! 

[papa6R0]

Great idea OT!!!

[AcidChrist]

Really cool idea. Would like to see the team consider some of your ideas such as changing your name to a blue or pink, perhaps access to a donator shiny emote? Fun could be had with this haha

[MightyMichele]

19 hours ago, Michelle said:

The general idea is to easily differentiate players that donate, from players that don't. This is not just limited to the prefix tag suggestion. While I appreciate your angle on equality, the suggestions itself is far more simple than the ideas I'd laid out above, and could easily be accomplished without a prefix tag(such as the additional emotes/saved outfits ideas).

I think your ideas for additional emotes and saved outfits are worth considering as they provide a tangible benefit to supporters without creating too much inequality among players.

19 hours ago, Michelle said:

I don't personally view exclusive events as a reward, considering the likelihood of winning, many people would leave with nothing. This would also put additional and consistent strain on the staff team. A similar thing to be said for accessing new content, considering a selling point for donator status would now be linked with new content.

I also agree that exclusive events and early access to new content may not be the best rewards for supporters, as they could potentially create additional strain on the staff team and may not be accessible to all supporters equally.

 

Thank you for your response and for sharing your thoughts on the matter. I look forward to seeing how the PokeMMO staff will take these ideas into consideration.

 

[Strodex]

I think a big thing that keeps people hooked in-game is how effectively donator status is actually handled. A new player can't automatically see who donates, there are QOL things in the donator status that don't make the game marginally easy. Obviously these are all visual things aside from early access, but I think that the only thing it really does is create a divide that ruins a lot of MMOs, which is the one between donator and non-donator. A different coloured name would turn from novelty to the norm within a few weeks of the update, and I think that it'd be very easy to see a bit of a divide coming in.

 

Also people can buy donator status and wouldn't get these rewards. There's definitely something good about supporting the game, but I honestly do think that donations have been handled incredibly well up until this point and it's something that shouldn't really be tweaked too much, if at all. Tags can clog up chat a bit more too, and of course you could say "oh we can add an option in chat settings to turn that off", but that doesn't stop a new players first impressions. These things you're suggesting can be added in the donator tabs as vanities, and saving outfits shouldn't be locked behind a paywall as a QOL change that is visual. I think it'd just create a bit too much fuss from the community, and create a lot of unnecessary discourse between f2p and donators. That's my take on it

[Michelle]

9 hours ago, Strodex said:

I think a big thing that keeps people hooked in-game is how effectively donator status is actually handled.

I'm really not sure how the donator status would play a large part in keeping people playing. I'm confident I could ask hundreds of people what keeps them playing, and not one of them would answer: "I'm still hooked because of how they handle donator status."

9 hours ago, Strodex said:

A new player can't automatically see who donates, there are QOL things in the donator status that don't make the game marginally easy. Obviously these are all visual things aside from early access, but I think that the only thing it really does is create a divide that ruins a lot of MMOs, which is the one between donator and non-donator. A different coloured name would turn from novelty to the norm within a few weeks of the update, and I think that it'd be very easy to see a bit of a divide coming in.

Could you point to any examples of this? Personally I've experienced the very opposite, in games like Maplestory, Habbo Hotel, Runescape, World of Warcraft, etc. Supporters are often thanked for supporting the game, and as a result, allow players that cannot donate to experience a longer-lasting game with additional free content funded by donations.

 

9 hours ago, Strodex said:

Also people can buy donator status and wouldn't get these rewards.

This is already the case with donator status.

9 hours ago, Strodex said:

These things you're suggesting can be added in the donator tabs as vanities, and saving outfits shouldn't be locked behind a paywall as a QOL change that is visual. I think it'd just create a bit too much fuss from the community, and create a lot of unnecessary discourse between f2p and donators. That's my take on it

Saving outfits has precedence for being a donator exclusive option, many games have utilized this to benefit not only the players, but the additional server load saving outfits would require. Hampering the amount of players able to do such a thing is a realistic approach to the QoL mechanic, that could also stand to benefit the developers- as it would be a draw for supporting the game. You can also think of it as, 'contributing to the additional server load costs required to save your outfits.' Though keep in mind, I am just extrapolating upon an idea within the suggestion, and just presenting the reasoning why I submitted it as an option to begin with. Not invalidating your claims, just presenting past instances where it was proven beneficial.

While I agree the PokeMMO community can be fussy at times, I've yet to see anyone discourage supporting PokeMMO. Considering the GTL allows for mostly anything purchased with real money to cycle back into the community & be purchased through in-game currency, it would be very strange to take such a stance, even when acting selfishly.

Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective, and to be clear I will not say you're wrong to say any of these things, we may just have some different viewpoints and experiences. 😄❤️ 

[Strodex]

19 minutes ago, Michelle said:

I'm really not sure how the donator status would play a large part in keeping people playing. I'm confident I could ask hundreds of people what keeps them playing, and not one of them would answer: "I'm still hooked because of how they handle donator status."

When i said this, i probably should've clarified. I didn't really mean it as a direct statement, I meant it more as a "i think the way that donator status is handled makes people feel that the game is more fair than it seems", I think some things like tags or different name colours might make people feel as though there's a greater difference between f2p and donators, even though that might not be the case given your suggestions. Hopefully that makes a bit more sense, although it's okay if u disagree ^^

19 minutes ago, Michelle said:

Could you point to any examples of this? Personally I've experienced the very opposite, in games like Maplestory, Habbo Hotel, Runescape, World of Warcraft, etc. Supporters are often thanked for supporting the game, and as a result, allow players that cannot donate to experience a longer-lasting game with additional free content funded by donations.

I've not played WoW or Maplestory, but I think Habbo Hotel definitely had a gap between donators and paying players that people did get upset with. The reason it was handled decently though is because the membership benefits could be shared with other players due to the fact that you could visit other homes in the hotels. Funny enough you just made me wanna replay habbo though lol. Runescape I think was handled pretty well, I think it's sort of the best case scenario.

There are some games like digimon masters online or, and I can't believe I'm using this as an example, Club Penguin. DMO is p2w so I'm willing to concede that it's probably a terrible example as the donation system in that game is fundamentally busted. Club Penguin on the other hand, definitely had a huge divide. Partially because of kids, but vanities locked behind paywalls are a hard one. I think that of course with your vanity idea, this could be mitigated if the things were tradeable. That being said, I think that defeats the purpose of having them come with donator status.

19 minutes ago, Michelle said:

This is already the case with donator status.

Saving outfits has precedence for being a donator exclusive option, many games have utilized this to benefit not only the players, but the additional server load saving outfits would require. Hampering the amount of players able to do such a thing is a realistic approach to the QoL mechanic, that could also stand to benefit the developers- as it would be a draw for supporting the game. You can also think of it as, 'contributing to the additional server load costs required to save your outfits.' Though keep in mind, I am just extrapolating upon an idea within the suggestion, and just presenting the reasoning why I submitted it as an option to begin with. Not invalidating your claims, just presenting past instances where it was proven beneficial.

While I agree the PokeMMO community can be fussy at times, I've yet to see anyone discourage supporting PokeMMO. Considering the GTL allows for mostly anything purchased with real money to cycle back into the community & be purchased through in-game currency, it would be very strange to take such a stance, even when acting selfishly.

Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective, and to be clear I will not say you're wrong to say any of these things, we may just have some different viewpoints and experiences. 😄❤️ 

I have no experience or knowledge on how much a saving costume system would detriment server loading times, so I can't really agree or disagree on that one. I think maybe having it as an option but allowing donators to expand that option could be a better way of handling that. A lot of your suggestions are good, but I think where I fundamentally disagree is that they should be a part of donator status if that makes sense ^^

 

I suppose my greatest issue is that a lot of these things can be added separate to donator status and with less backlash from the community by doing so, but I think this concern is definitely just a matter of perspective. I appreciate this discussion though

[Necroka]

If it was something people could opt into, then sure, I guess. Why not. It would be interesting for those who care to show off, but I don't think everyone who supports PokeMMO should be forced to have some indicator everyone can see. That can be alienating and uncomfortable for some, who just wanted to privately support something they like and enjoy. I know people who have been made very uncomfortable by similar things in games, and eventually stopped playing them due to the unintended effects they can have, such as being befriended by someone who just wants to see if the person who donated/supported the game will also buy something for them.

[Michelle]

On 4/20/2023 at 12:25 AM, Necroka said:

If it was something people could opt into, then sure, I guess. Why not. It would be interesting for those who care to show off

The idea is not based around showing off, but rather showing support.

On 4/20/2023 at 12:25 AM, Necroka said:

I don't think everyone who supports PokeMMO should be forced to have some indicator everyone can see. That can be alienating and uncomfortable for some, who just wanted to privately support something they like and enjoy.

There are already plenty of alienating factors in PokeMMO, but they are mostly celebrated and I have seen little to no instances of someone being uncomfortable because of any of these factors. It seems to work the other way, in which people would request to see a link of the rare pokemon/vanity/etc. and it often results in discussions about these items and how they work/are acquired.

On 4/20/2023 at 12:25 AM, Necroka said:

I know people who have been made very uncomfortable by similar things in games, and eventually stopped playing them due to the unintended effects they can have, such as being befriended by someone who just wants to see if the person who donated/supported the game will also buy something for them.

It's a terrible thing to not reward good people for what a few bad people have done. These approaches are also already very possible given the visual indicators already present in-game.

 

I also would like to remind again that the visual indicators are a suggestion within the main idea, and while your point might be valid, it pertains to something outside of the actual idea laid out originally. I invite you to consider your own way of denoting a donator status, perhaps your perspective could offer a unique idea.

[Rychell]

I like the idea but it feels like pay to win somehow, and I dont have a buck

[Soul]

Chicanerous.

[Michelle]

9 hours ago, Rychell said:

I like the idea but it feels like pay to win somehow, and I dont have a buck

I understand that stance, but I also have seen such a situation result in being gifted more often by friends. Should someone visibly be without a donator status, you might receive a random piece of mail from a friend that can afford it, through in-game currency or real currency.

 

Ultimately the only thing resembling 'pay to win' here is the social/mental implications that can have an effect on interactions. There are far more direct examples of 'pay to win' already existing in the Gift Shop, especially considering you can quickly convert real money to pokeyen with vouchers and the GTL. So I don't think that's much of a factor here. Thanks for the feedback, your point was certainly something I hadn't considered.

[Darkoure]

I don't mind if the people who are willing to donate to the game get a little extra to their character like a name symbol or chat color, emojis or time limited outfit - Ive seen that in other games as well.

You always get Special Stuff in all sort of games if you are willing to pay more e.g.

In WOW, you can buy Limited editions that get you something special

In LoL, you can get Items and currency through the event pass

In Rocket league, you can get special items through battle pass

Fortnite, Dead by Daylight, Genshin, ToF and 1000 other games they integrated battle passes as sort of donation, you give something you get something back. Implemented to hook the player to keep playing the game, and that's IMO a great Idea for a Company

 

I also wouldn't say that's pay2win, I´ve never won Catch or Hide and Seek events, x)) you also don't have to pay real life money to buy donator status-you can win or earn RP through Pve/Pvp Events, farming, or maybe community events from player or even your own Team.

Since I'm spamming month by month the D-status for the shiny hunts, and I'm obviously always successful kappa, I really would appreciate more than 10% faster eggs 10% SRIF or 25% EXP.

[Poufilou]

L idea + idk why you would want to keep saving outfit QoL behind paywall 

 

Don't ruin others suggestions with dumb shit like that pls ty

[Darkoure]

3 minutes ago, Poufilou said:

L idea + idk why you would want to keep saving outfit QoL behind paywall 

 

Don't ruin others suggestions with dumb shit like that pls ty

Why is it bad getting a time limited Cosmetic while using the donator ?

Saving outfits behind a paypal? did you check Gift shop? 

[BrokenJoker]

Very interesting idea.

 

A poll would have been a great way to test (on a small scale) if this suggestion would significantly split the playerbase.

 

Numbers don't lie.

 

[CanadaSorry]

2 hours ago, Darkoure said:

Why is it bad getting a time limited Cosmetic while using the donator ?

Saving outfits behind a paypal? did you check Gift shop? 

 

 

I can think of maybe one reason why.....xD

 

Its the behind a "pay wall" issue

 

 

 

https://forums.pokemmo.com/index.php?/topic/131982-character-customization-save-an-outfit-combination/

Edited April 26, 2023 by CanadaSorry

[Darkoure]

59 minutes ago, CanadaSorry said:

 

 

I can think of maybe one reason why.....xD

 

Its the behind a "pay wall" issue

 

 

 

https://forums.pokemmo.com/index.php?/topic/131982-character-customization-save-an-outfit-combination/

come on.. you´ve to pay for a 10% extra shiny chance.. you´ve to pay for changing ur name or changing hair color.. whats so bad about adding extras functions or cosmetics to a donator status that you´re going to buy anyway- ? 

[Aidenjc]

Donator only chat tab would also be cool.

[CanadaSorry]

2 hours ago, Darkoure said:

come on.. you´ve to pay for a 10% extra shiny chance.. you´ve to pay for changing ur name or changing hair color.. whats so bad about adding extras functions or cosmetics to a donator status that you´re going to buy anyway- ? 

Nothing at all, thats why its funny calling it a pay wall 

1 hour ago, Aidenjc said:

Donator only chat tab would also be cool.

Agreed