MechWarrior Online's Founder's Program Highly Successful
MechWarrior Online's Founder's Program has been extremely successful.
Though MechWarrior Online is still in closed beta, with an expected release date targeting somewhere at the end of 2012, its ingenious preorder deal, dubbed the Founder's Program, has already managed to rake in a pile of cash.
Said pile of cash is a figure hovering somewhere around $5 million.
The Founder's Program allows players to pay for different packs of in-game goodies, ranking from Veteran ($30) to Legendary ($120). These packs include MCs unique from the other in-game currency C-bills in that they can be earned exclusively through real currency exchange. Dropping money on the Founder's Program endows players with other benefits, including special forum tags, Founder's Mechs, and access to the closed beta.
Though the Founder's Program was an unconventional way to raise capital to support MechWarrior Online, it's managed to make MechWarrior Online somewhat unique from other free-to-play titles.
Infinite Game, MechWarrior Online's publisher, will used the funding to continue supporting MechWarrior Online.
If you're interested in hearing more about MechWarrior Online, check out our preview.
Idiot.
The 2 things special about those mechs are 25% more credit gain, and a unique look.
They are not uber at all.
I have a feeling you are the type of player that cries when a type 59 kills them in World of Tanks.
Mechwarrior: Living Legends is also very good.
That said, I've been having a great time so far in the game.
edit: For what it's worth, the founders mechs don't give you a tremendous in game advantage. They follow the same rules as normal mechs, except you get a little extra 'play' money, and I believe the mounting points are unique. The biggest advantage to founders is getting to skip the grind through the trial mechs, and jump straight to your own mech that you can configure how you want.
Thing is, at $5 Million, I am hoping that this is a good indicator for another game developer I also plan on contributing too, Chris Robert's Star Citizen/Squadron 42. It follows the same course of the more you pay the more perks, but it doesn't seem that it is game changing.
Also as for the Founders Mechs, the mechs themselves offer no advantage in so far as special abilities or weapon placements. As others have said, they grant you a percentage in credits. The other advantage, depending on the founder level you start at you will already have a mech in a certain weight class and don't need to save up for it. Legendary founder gives you 1 Mech in each of the 4 weight classes.
Nope, the hardpoints and locations are identical to any matching non-founders 'mech.
The only advantage they give is a 25% C-Bill boost in matches played with one.
Well, that and not having to grind trial mechs in order to purchase your first owned 'mech (which may be changed to 1 free 'mech of choice on joining anyways).
Anyways, glad to hear the Founders Program was able to infuse some much needed capital.
The MWO devs are excellent, IMO, and have a very high level of interaction with the community; in part I am sure because of the group funding nature of this game.
I am really looking forward to the 23rd and promises of much new content with the patch
From Gamasutra
The money IGP has picked up from the Founder's Program preorders will go toward Piranha's efforts developing MechWarrior Online and supporting it post-launch. The independent publisher has two other free-to-play titles it intends to launch open betas for later this year: MechWarrior Tactics and Sins of a Dark Age.
this is not a case of people getting uber mechs for cash , the founder mechs are exactly thesame as one of the regular mech variants the only difference is it's camo.