[Declined] SMS incomming

[Troglodyte]

I created a BOT in R4 and one of the best features it had was in SMS incoming. It saved me heaps of sleep.

Maybe PA could make this part of the game, perhaps even make HUGE revenue out of it.

A simple check box, a SMS gateway, [some sort of Payment arrangement] and you are well on your way

[pablissimo]

This kind of idea was normally shot down because it gave an edge to those players who wanted to pay for it, creating a disparity between players who have paid the same amount initially.

Additionally people used to bring up the argument that it would benefit the less active players in the universe more than the most active, since the most active probably have systems set up with galmates to let them know what's going on with needing def anyway. However this falls on its ass too, as if you're not a very active player in the first place I don't see why you'd bother getting out of bed at night to arrange def or send fleet away just because you got a text message.

I can't seem to find the old threads on the subject though, perhaps lost in the purge.

[wakey]

The idea was something that was close to implementation back in r3 after a great call for it during r2. However when everything was in place for it to be implemented the communitry revolted and forced it to be dropped. The reason given by the initial few was that it would see people wasting peoples sms credits by launching and pulling and due to the fact most people dont bother to get the facts but rather make gut instinct calls saw everyone complain about this. Where as those who took their time to read the implementation details saw that this wasnt possible and it didnt take away the activity aspect at all and maybe even increased skill levels. You see the idea worked where you had to variables to set, eta and fleet size which would have meant it would have been a skill to set these levels as too high a eta and youd be prone to wasting credits on false launches ect but too low and you wouldnt be able to respond and with fleet sizes set it too high and youd miss some fleets that you need to know about but too low and youd leave yourself open for again false attacks using up your credits.

On the attacking pov it would have been a skill also to launch attacks that would be effective yet would be less likly to raise an alarm. In fact the feature could have gone some of the way to removing the lowbie bash problem as it would be an advantage to not trigger the sms level

The problem is it would now be unlikly to be cost effective, back then PA was a product that companies who could offer these services were falling over themselves to offer such services at a good price but it is no longer the case. Your going to see either the profit margin being such that it really doesnt make it worthwhile or too expensive so that only a small minority can affford to really use it

[Envious]

you are aware tho that fleet size limit is useless anyway, unless you want automatic scans for ship type??

[Neferti]

actually, wakey, i was opposed to sms systems on the grounds that, among other things, it would reduce activity (bad unless you're a casual player, in which case you probably wouldnt want to pay for such a system) or it would benefit only those who could afford to PAY money for it.

[mist]

before this goes any further, jolt need to say they'd agree to it. untill then, there's not a lot of point discussing

[Kal]

but jolt isn;t going to agree to it unless we can convince them it will make them money - and it will only do that if sufficent people want it and are willing to pay for it.

[Travler]

I think this is a good Idea. If yahoo can send an sms for free then how much could it cost for Jolt to offer the same thing with all its on-line games. The idea here is economies of scale. It does not make much sense for only PA to have this feature. All on-line game should have some form of sms notification. Ebay does and they don't charge you a penny for it.

As far as fleet size is concerned that seem to be overkill. The sms should not any different than the News notification you get in-game only it should be limited to 160 charachters as this is the limit for most sms. Also the sms should not be limited to just incomming. It should include completions of constructions and research.

[Kal]

yahoo is a big company jolt is a small company - its quite pricy to get the equipment and then the line rental

[Ferretus]

I remember this first time around and was opposed to it then and remain opposed ot it now.

Positives
Yes its a great idea for players to be able to be more stress free
yes it will earn Jolt more money

Negatives
Unfair advantage to those who want to pay for such a system
Potential waste of money for players as their credit is used up by txt msgs
Potential negative impact on in game morale. Both for players who refuse to use it and those who can't afford it.
Removes advantage of those players who are more active than others. (But this can be a positive too)

No brainers
Those who are online all day will remain online all day. Whether they get an SMS to say they got incoming will not change. Simple matter is, some people work and others don't. Adding this favility is not going to get people to quit their jobs or start skiving off work. In fact, if anything it will get the lazy buggers back to work!

To put it simply. This game is free elsewhere and PA is expensive in comparrison, do you really want to make it more expensive? Pay to play drastically reduced the player base, will this have the same effect?

[Judge]

Bad idea forget it.

and yes I can easily afford the cost of the sms's and have all the tech toys at hand 24/7 to use them.

[Chika]

Everyone does not have SMS capability. Thus hindering a lot of players.

[Alessio]

No sms payment will prorbly also mean No sms incomings.. or am I wrong??

I didnt like the idea anyway

[Marv]

You could have SMS payment options on credits...purchase credits with an SMS packge or with out, but with the ability to upgrade to SMS usage at a later point.

[noah02]

Just put your mobile number in galaxy forums and get your galaxy to sms ye and give them a free sms site and if there not your mates use the am in a crap galaxy get me outa here option.


Such a bad idea especially since I pay to play already and sms my galaxys when they get incoming as i get 300 free text msges So I aint spending what I dont have to.

[CrazySpoon]

Originally Posted by Marv

You could have SMS payment options on credits...purchase credits with an SMS packge or with out, but with the ability to upgrade to SMS usage at a later point.

Heh, ok. Then if I dont like someone, I launch a fleet, I recall, I launch a fleet, I recall, I launch a fleet, I recall, I launch a fleet, I recall. And poke some friends to do the same. Like that he will lose all his credits. So its pretty useless to make an SMS system people would have to pay for.

[noah02]

Originally Posted by CrazySpoon

Heh, ok. Then if I dont like someone, I launch a fleet, I recall, I launch a fleet, I recall, I launch a fleet, I recall, I launch a fleet, I recall. And poke some friends to do the same. Like that he will lose all his credits. So its pretty useless to make an SMS system people would have to pay for.

Imagine if the number 1 planet got it
He would hate planetarion
Whole of planetarion launching on the poor bugger just for a giggle.

[lokken]

Such a bad idea - doesn't reward activity and hence, straight to the bin.

[Tis]

Originally Posted by lokken

Such a bad idea -

agreed.

[Kal]

Originally Posted by lokken

Such a bad idea - doesn't reward activity and hence, straight to the bin.

i agree its a bad idea - but not for your reason - decreasing the reliance on activty and increasing the reliance on skill is important

[lokken]

I would like you to say that to every player who puts the hours in, to be honest because SMS simply encourages laziness. I think it's up to galaxies to ensure they play as a team and are always watching each other's back - that's the kind of skill and teamplaying we should be encouraging as it benefits the community, especially if you get to meet players you haven't played with yet which can only strengthen the game.

Not to mention, if someone knows players are protected by SMS, they could simply have the function turned off, and have them attacked hourly until either their bill is financially unsustainable or they are pissed off by the disturbance. There is a massive potential for abuse here.

[mist]

i'm hoping that was sarcasm

[lokken]

Edit: I've rearranged my post now, got what you meant.

My apologies. I was merely pointing out what someone extremely ruthless could get up to if they wanted to. My choice of wording was poor.

[Orion Treet]

Well, what you can do is if you have at least a few actives ingal set up and ingal msg/call system.

[Kal]

declined