I don't oppose this, but at the same time if they implement account sell/transfer option it would serve the same effect for the players but more revenue for the devs. Account transfer/ name change is one of the best moves eve did to make the new player feel like they can work their way up.

In this game you cannot level up in a week.

You need patience to play this game.

These two concepts form part of the core business model. My preference is they dont change.
In fact in regards to the current EP allowances I think they need to change it for starting players.

The current 20k starting EP plus the 20k bonus EP and added to the additional 20 160 EP a new player can earn over the course of his/her 2 week trial allows a new player to essentially step into a heavy mech within their first month of gameplay. While the train of thought seems to be more EP = happier and more skilled = sub for game, I think in reality it has backfired completely.

What is happening is new players rush into mechs and heavies because of the "bigger is better" mentality and completely skip the light and assault bots. This results in a player sitting in a mech and heavy with absolutely minimal supplemental skills and unable to do anything effectively, resulting in a very frustrated new player who is unlikely to remain in game.

In short, too much EP upfront harms the player. This isn't a simple game. Players need to play and learn the basics and tactics before getting better.

I propose a different system. Start with 20k EP. Sub, and at the date your character is 3 months old, recieve a retention "bonus" of 60k EP. This way a new player has played the game for a few months, actually understands and have practiced the basic techniques, and has an appreciation of what EP is, its frequency, and where to spend it.

Do this at Steam launch.

Because this (in total) extra 20k EP would be given to new players but not vets, give them the same 20k EP bonus as a "thanks for being loyal" bonus and as "quit *** other dudes got free EP and you didn't stfu".

A far better system IMO ... Most companies today offer retention bonuses in tight labour markets to their employees if they stay a set period of time, rarely do they offer a bonus up front with no strings attached because the recipient can simply leave ... This logic also works for this game.

More content I fear will just frustrate new players with less EP even more unless you're making it low EP content.  If so, what is this content?  is it quick to program in?  will it cause balancing issues?  These are all questions that have to be answered.  It also doesn't deal with the huge gap that never lessens for new players. 

I don't think this is a viable solution.  In fact this solution is basically saying "let's continue as is" because the game is going to continue to add more content anyways.  The game has quite a bit of content.  New players just have to wait (too long for most people) for the EP to actually use the content effectively.

Finally, developing new content is considerably more programmatically intensive than just changing the rate that an account would gain EP at.  So it's defiantly not a faster solution.

Cassius

I agree with much of what you said.  While your system might deal with the issue right now (I'm not entirely convinced though) It doesn't scale into the future when EP of veterans continues to grow.  It would have to be updated all the time.

Personally I found getting quite a few extensions all at once then dropping to such a slow rate of EP gain was very frustrating.  Maybe this isn't true for everyone.  Ultimately though we both are talking about increased EP for newer accounts.  You suggest a total of about 210,000 EP for an account of 3 months old.  Mine is sitting considerably higher at almost 400,000 EP.  However I also suggested upping the low level extensions requirement a bit.  Also you could use 2x or 1.5x system but I don't think that would be enough to really entice new players.

Finally, your system doesn't address this huge numerical gap that new players see.  As burial said, "been gone over many times".  It's something that is seriously considered by people and isn't a non-issue.

This would be another way of dealing with the issue also but only if there were enough people selling to make the prices reasonable.  With the STEAM release, I'm not sure that would be the case.  Also people like the feeling of personal achievement.  If you start an account at 0 EP and work it up from there there's a sense of achievement that isn't quite the same as paying 200$ for an account that has more EP.

On the other hand, being the realist I am, I realize that more veterans this system more acceptable and it would provide another source of income for the Dev's.  I would consider this an acceptable compromise.  I just want the issue dealt with.

Actually a group of many, will always kill a group of a few.

This comes down to leaders, and how players choose to fit.

I dont mean to point back at STC, but we have been running just assaults and ewars against mechs, and heavy's, and we win, and lose.

A even larger force could do this with even more effectiveness.

40K EP at the start is quite a bit of EP.  You can get into any heavy that you wish, and you can get into any Mech, with ok support skills.  IF you know what your doing.  This is a gap of knowledge not of EP.

You are looking at the Vets, who are basically running out of stuff to train and saying "I want to be there."

In three years you will be , we had to go through the same growing pains as you did.

Acc Transfer is always a good idea, Name change is NEVER A GOOD IDEA, NEVER.

Transfer should be no more then 15 USD.

All this gap topic to me seems to just be a matter of perception. You guys keep saying that new players wont want to continue playing a game because they are SEEMINGLY at a permanent disadvantage. Just make a little blurb in the tutorial explaining the cost of extensions and how they rise dramatically at higher levels and how this helps to even the so called ep gap. Everything you want to do is just a way of making players feel like they are catching up, when in reality it has very little to do with their ability to be competitive.

Curious if after all these years EVE has new players starting? That seems like an  even bigger disadvantage there.

The extension costs here are set up in such a way that they cost the vets way more for smaller increases than it does new players in the beginning. So a new player makes extension gains much quicker and more effectively than vets. This system is actually the same system you are proposing, just done from a different direction.

So you want to make new players not only earn ep faster but ALSO have much cheaper and more effective extensions as well? This seems like too much to me. I dont think it helps anything long term, it just makes them feel the effect of 1 ep/min even more when they get to that point. Plus it gives them that much more ep that they are gonna blow on useless skills that they didn't know any better to not train... I am almost with Cassius that new players get too much too soon and spend it having no clue what they are doing.

Any veteran worth his salt could create a character today and wipe the floor with vets and newbs alike. Strictly because of the knowledge they have on how to do so, its not the lack of ep.

Please don't think this is me not wanting new players to catch up or whatever. We all want to increase player retention etc. I just am not convinced that doing such a thing would help with it, in fact it might make things worse.

Finibhire .. I wonder a few things.

If new players were given the maximum amount of EP to enter the game with equaling many of the Veteran players do you think they would have more or less fun in the first 6 months of playing? My vote is less fun

If the Ep system is designed to only benefit new players then why would a new player stay around after finding out that the mechanic will no longer benefit him at a specific point and then only benefit someone else who started playing after he did?  << you  will not attract new players I assure you. 

I do not mean to be dismissive but why should new players get any benefit over players that have been here longer?

As a "Veteran player" continuing to pay and play this game why should some one just coming into the game be able to catch up to me in Experience Points ( assuming we both put the same level of time into the game)?

What you are asking for will not be balanced / fair / or good for the game in the long run. People who want to grind to level 80 in a few weeks are not made for this game so what should the Devs even consider accommodating them?

Trust me when I say many of the Vets still around have had it WAY worse than new players have it today so i think that is enough of a bonus to them, they only need patients to realize their dreams and ambitions.

Did ya even read what I wrote?

This isnt a EP problem this is a human/not enough stuff in the game problem.

Cass summed it all up greatly.

Perp has always had a time progression. Not sure if your argument that it will be a turn off to new players is valid.. EvE has a time progression system, doesn't seem to put off new players in that game. I think there are other things that would deter a new player from sticking with the game rather than time based progression.

Cassius sums it up pretty well..

Tux:

Agreed.  I made this very point when responding to an alternative system where buying/selling of accounts could be done though Avatar Creations directly.  It's not fun to buy all your EP at once.  It's fun to build it up over time which my system does.

GEPS does not "only benifit new players".  In fact I showed that Veterans will maintain their EP advantage regardless.  This is not the case for most games.  Most games there is a "max level" where only skill separates players.  GEPS still gives the EP advantage to Veterans.

They don't!  They still have less EP than a Veteran?  How is this an advantage to the new player?  Also, even if this was true, I answered it already.  We want more new players in the game.  I have never once suggested my system was fair to Veterans, just that it is acceptable cost to bring in new blood.

I feel like I'm talking to a wall... look up, 3 years to get 75% of the EP of a veteran.  How is this even remotely close to "grind to level 80 in a few weeks"?  I get tired of hearing this argument.  And your opinion about how it wouldn't be fair to (veterans?) if we used GEPS is not supported by any facts, or well-though theories that I've been made aware of.