Shattered Kingdoms

I think adding an adjective to the Mortal / Immortal titles is the way to go. It's subtle and doesn't differentiate too much (ie, the ID still shows mortals vs immortals).

I think "Subscriber" as a noun would confuse those new to the game or those considering the game into thinking that subscription was a requirement, which is a hard mistake to fix -- since being told a game is "free" and suddenly reading about subscriptions could cause quite a bad reaction. Also, let's not forget -- it's also possible to have a Contributing Newbie !!

Should we (or are we going to) differentiate between one-time donation people and ongoing subscription people? ie, different titles for each?

Each denomination I set up would have to be another link. I was trying to keep things both simple and affordable enough to be within reach of anyone. I'd rather have many people contribute small amounts than rely on large individual donations.

The subscription is there for people, like yourself, who want to give more money over the long haul but may forget to use the button regularly. As I've said before, I prefer the subscription because it is easier to calculate the amount of money coming in the future and plan an appropriate budget.

The only problem with the subscription is that Jada and I use the same paypal. I guess I could stop being lazy and see if I can't subscribe twice.

As are as the titles go, I think contributing, donating, or generous in front of the normal title would be appropriate. I also wouldn't mind seeing generous donator. I am among those that think the current title is a little.. well, smug? I will be proud to donate to something that has literally given me thousands of hours of entertainment, but it certainly won't be something that I want to even pretend I'm holding over other people's heads. I know that some people stayed with this game because it has been so affordable, and I was even among them once.

To clarify, I started playing when I was in high school and didn't have an option to work, considering my parents caught me in a catch 22 of not being able to get my license until I got a job, my dad not wanting me to work, and not living within walking distance of anything. Thus, MMOs that cost any kind of money were out. Had this game started requiring money at any point, I (for better or worse) wouldn't be here to ramble on today, and I know I would have felt like crap if certain people had titles that made it seem like I was taking advantage of the game or was on a lower level than them because I couldn't donate.

To put it simply, it would probably be best if the title didn't make those who are able to donate look like a pompus a**.

I personally think that we should. I know from personal experience that it is easy to make a one-time donation and feel you've done your part for all time. While I appreciate a one-time donation, I want to give additional recognition to those people who are willing to support us on a consistant basis.

This is a valid point. On the one hand, I'd like people to feel a bit special for donating. On the other hand, I don't want to turn anyone off either.

How about these then:
One-time donator: Mortal Contributor, Immortal Contributor
Subscriber: Mortal Philanthropist, Immortal Philanthropist

Perhaps having contributing donator over the mortal/newbie/Immortal title for those who give one time donations and generous donator for those who subscribe?

Also, I have no idea what sort of rewards Mr. P was talking about through phbb, but they sound interesting. Perhaps they are worth a look?

EDIT:

You're too quick for me, D. Those would work really well, too.

I plan on throwing a bone your way every month. Where would people like me fall? (Not that I care, but just something for you to think about. )

sleeper

I disagree that Immortals should be labeled according to whether they have donated or not. I would prefer for Immstaff to remain completely anonymous to that degree. I have seen issues between players and administration staff on other games (including my personal LotGD game) which derived from donation status. I have seen donator players argue with AdminStaff, and the conversation ending (due to lack of arguments) to the player accusing the Imm(admin) that he has not donated while the player has, and he cannot talk/tread/punish him like this and so on...

I would stick with Immstaff's anonymity in regards to Donation for the above reasons and more.

As for players who have donated/subscribed. Here are some titles:

Donators: Why not name them after some elite NPCs that are commonly found in SK? Examples are: Fytrysk, Seraph, Elemental, -and so on-

Subscribers: Why not name those according to some elite NPCs in the game such as: Radi Kenga, GGI, Mithril Dragon etc?

This way forums will stick to IC theme using names of already existing monsters of the game and I would personaly like to be named a Fytrysk

I could not agree more.

Newbies to the site will almost certainly get confused and probably even upset about those titles. Keeping things clear and simple is important. The idea is to tag someone with a title so they can show their pride without needing an immortal to moderate them. The last thing anyone needs or wants is people asking "why is this guy Fytrysk?" and then whining about how they want the title as well and don't feel like they should have to pay for it.

It would be excellent if those who donated not using the description could have their donations tracked and be automatically given a title based on how much they have donated over the last six months-year.

It could run along the scale of contributor, generous contributor, noble contributor.

For those who are on the subscription, it would be best if you could possibly track time they have been donating? Either that, or perhaps they skip one either the first or second title, waiting for the second donation to hit before they get the noble title if they only skip the first. The point being that you don't want subscribers to decide to donate irregularly just because they want the "better title."

Perhaps if someone has been donating for a long time or has donated a set amount they can get a few special privileges such as creating their own title in place of the mortal one, but such things should be limited for the sake of efficiency.

The argument about immortals and the titles brings up a valid point. The last thing the staff needs is something to cause a further rift between them and the mortals, especially with the "heated discussions" that break out. The attitude described there could so easily be brought about here if immortals are singled out for not donating. Donations should be appreciated, not used to levy special privilege to mouth off.