We have shiny badges, but why can't we show them?

Discussion in 'Backers Lounge (Read-only)' started by stonewood1612, September 6, 2014.

  1. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    As an alpha participant, I have supported the game for over a year and spent 70$ somewhere in August 2013.

    PA has become an epicly awesome game, thanks to all of us, the early backers.


    For buying alpha access I get : Theta commander, alpha & beta badge, digital artbook (which has yet to come) and winter & autumn sale commanders (which have yet to be implemented). That's quite a bit, and I'm pleased with what I got.

    Unfortunately, the only thing I can show to other people right now is the Theta. And the Theta doesn't tell much about my support for this game. All it tells us is that I pre-ordered the game. That could have been a year ago, that could have been two days before release. I'm sure you get my point by now. I barely use the Theta anyway, and I'm not going to keep using the same commander over and over again.


    So we have these shiny badges, but nobody can see them? That kinda makes them a bit pointless.

    So what I suggest is that you can select a badge you own to show off in the lobby as a small icon next to your name, in a similar way of how you can select a commander in the armory. Of course you would be able to display nothing if you don't want to show your title in public.

    Another idea that could be done (but needs more thoughts) is having player names display in a different color, depending on what badge you selected. That could be an additional option too. It would be visible in the chat/lobby, like this:

    --Player: Insert text here--


    Why? Because there have been complaints about alpha and beta users wanting more separation from Gamma and regular players. Because we supported and spent money on the game before it was even playable, so we do deserve a bit of title to separate ourselves from people who bought the game just now, no? ;)

    So it's a minor addition that doesn't really require 'new things', because we already own badges, we just need to be able to show them.

    What does Uber and the backer community think? :)

    Cheers everyone!

    Last edited: September 7, 2014
  2. Shwyx

    Shwyx Well-Known Member

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    Badges - yes. Color change - no. A visual distinction is one thing; a visible segregation of players doesn't exactly help the community in any way, shape or form.

    I realize you're saying this partly in jest (at least I hope so), but please don't start another discussion about what early backers "deserve". Everyone payed for their support of the game and is entitled to whatever they purchased at that point. Nothing more, nothing less.
  3. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    The problem is that there is no difference between alpha, beta and gamma. At least not with things you can show, like commanders. Some people also have illegal commanders due to a bug on the uberstore which is unfair for people who purchased later when it was fixed (for the same price).

    The colours was a quick idea I got today, badges was something I was thinking about months ago. I'm also not very sure about the colour thing anyway, it might get messy, because there are so many tiers.

    I also should have mentioned it only changes your name, not your text in chat. Like this:

    --Player: this game is epic!--

    And no I do not want to start a discussion about what rewards backers get. That's not what this is about to be clear.
  4. Shwyx

    Shwyx Well-Known Member

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    Alpha players got the Progenitor, Alpha and Delta commanders besides alpha and beta access. Beta players got earlier access to the beta ... and that's it. If you're an alpha backer and can't access your commanders, contact Uber support. If you're a Beta player you've never been entitled to anything else other than beta and retail access.

    This isn't better and will still segregate players in-game. No thanks.
    corteks likes this.
  5. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    Okay, I will contact them. But I already did once and they (UberGaf and mkrater) said alpha players weren't supposed to have those commanders. edit: their official support site says no.

    And colours, it should be an additional option (global, either you see all people's colour or you don't). Options are the most fair thing to do. :)
    Last edited: September 6, 2014
  6. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    You know I had to look up the definition of the word 'segregation' to know exactly what you meant with it.

    So you're saying that differentiating players with some simple colours is a bad idea? In this very forum moderators have a green label, Uber has a red one, vanguards used to have a light blue one,... So you're saying that is a bad idea too? Maybe it doesn't quite fit for a game like this, that could be a point, since this isn't a game were you can have over 20 people on one server or something... (semi-sarcastic)

    I'm just saying it would be nice to know immediately if you encounter an Uber dev or someone else who's special. Without having to ask them in chat, which is the perfect trolling and lying place. So nobody would believe anyone who just says 'im this person' or someone who puts '[UBER]' in their name. Because anyone could do that. While people who actually have the badges are the only ones who can display them.

    I dunno. Believe what you want to believe. Now let's keep being nice and move on please.
  7. Shwyx

    Shwyx Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, I actually believe giving certain groups of players separate colors is a bad idea. Also, please don't kid yourself: This isn't about highlighting Uber devs. You said it yourself: You wish for backers to stand out because "alpha and beta players are special".

    Yes, early backers, both on KS and during the pre-release phase are important: They made the game happen. And they already got rewarded for it: They got to play the game earlier, they got special commanders, the soundtrack, the art book and various other goodies. But that's just fluff. Everyone who bought pre-release did so (or should have done so) to support the game, not to get some fancy pre-order.

    We've had countless ugly discussions here on the forum where entitled KS backers or alpha players threw a tantrum because they felt they had to get everything that would ever be released (extra commanders etc.). Your suggestion goes in a similar direction by making certain tiers of players stand out more than others.

    TL;DR: Showing badges is cool. Segregating players by color "because they're special" is not. Backers and Early Access players already got goodies and extra game time, no need to pamper them further.
  8. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    You explained your point and reasons. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Thank you.
    Shwyx likes this.
  9. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    Edited OP a bit. More focus on the actual suggestion of displaying badges to other people, less on the color idea. :)
  10. christer1966

    christer1966 Member

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    What if our badges appeared on our commanders. This would show people that we were backers no matter what commander we used.
    stonewood1612 likes this.
  11. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    Ah, yes that is pretty much the decal idea I had in mind. I was going to make a thread on that soon. I was first thinking of unique logos or icons displayed on each commander, for example the Alpha would have a big "A" on his chest, the Delta would have a triangle-thingy somewhere. And so each of them would have something unique.

    The idea of showing badges as a decal on commanders is actually pretty cool, never thought of that. That would be very nice!

    It could also be put on large structures, but that might be overkill if badges were used as decals.
  12. christer1966

    christer1966 Member

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    Fixed that for you. :p
  13. stonewood1612

    stonewood1612 Well-Known Member

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    Oh you would just do that. :eek::rolleyes:

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