STO Lifetime Perks

I’ve never been so anticipatorially hung up on a game that I really felt the yen for a lifetime sub (which would have SO paid off with CoX, and been SUCH a waste with CO, so I guess it’s a wash).

STO just announced (or re-announced, or firmly established) the perks for lifetime members. It’s worth a comment or two on what works and what doesn’t. Of course, this is just for me — your ego-boo mileage will certainly vary.

Greetings Lifetime Members!
We just wanted to thank you again for purchasing a Lifetime Subscription from us. As you already know, this entitles you to play the game without paying a monthly fee. But, that’s not where it ends. Later this month, we’ll be releasing special perks for you, just to show our appreciation. Here’s some of what we’re working on, exclusive to Lifetime Subscribers:

Exclusive In-Game Chat Channel:
Talk shop with other Lifetime Subscribers. Share thoughts and ideas about the game, or anything else.

Okay, this is pretty easy and straightforward to do — but are any folks (or any significant number) really going to take advantage of this? Is it worth all that and a bag of chips? The chance to chat with, well, other folks so obsessed about Star Trek and so willing to drop a chunk of money?

Folks who like chat will find this the sort of perk they like.

Front-of-Queue Support
Waiting isn’t fun, and we don’t think you should have to do it. Any time the server is queued, you’ll go to the front of it.

Now this is a very, very cool perk. It’s not life-changing, but it’s very appropriate for a lifetime sub.

In-Game Title
Visibly show off your support.

Some people will think this cool. Other people will find it abhorrent.

In-Game VIP Lounge
Spend time in an exclusive area inside the game. This social area is limited to Lifetime Subscribers only.

From what I was reading (and Tweeting) yesterday, this is the Captain’s Table (as in the ST book series). The question is, just like the chat channel, how many people will actually make use of this?

A Unique Costume Piece
Show off that fancy new title in style.

Without knowing what this is, it’s hard to say, but a very cool costume piece is an appropriate thing to have in this game.

So, some stuff that is pretty nice, some stuff mixed, some social stuff that I really don’t see being used all that much (social interaction is most likely to be based on common interests; the intersection of “social players” and “lifetime subscribers” and “folks who are going to want to socialize with other lifetime subscribers” is, I suspect, fairly small.

Queue-jumping is pretty damned cool, though. Getting high priority on support requests / bug reports would also be along those same lines.

I’m not a lifetime subscriber to STO, and am not likely to be, but I think those who are should get some measure of reward to make their lives easier or nicer without giving them an unfair advantage in the game.  Most of these things provide just that.  Nicely done, Cryptic.