premium faction

[Kayvon]

yes but why is this being restricted.

Because the publisher chose to allow the game to be played for free by anyone in the world. Instead of requiring some huge payment, they just gate a few factions behind a measely $3.50/month paywall. That subscription even opens up other options. Shouldn't the publisher be allowed some financial benefit from their own game?

it makes it seem like bga is just trying to make money off of people who want to play twilight imperium. they are saying twilight imperium is non premium... as long as you do not play with the good factions.

No, BGA isn't. This is a publisher decision, not a decision made by BGA.

[GTSchemer]

No, BGA isn't. This is a publisher decision, not a decision made by BGA.

I am not sure this is the case.

[Kayvon]

I stand corrected, then.

I've developed lots of games for BGA. For each of them, it's always been the publisher that initiated the premium request. If this is different, that's new to me.

Thanks for correcting me.

[GTSchemer]

I don't know all the details. I am just the programmer, and can't make those kind of decisions.

[Jellby]

Even if the publisher requested it, BGA agreed to that and introduced a workaround/backdoor. I think BGA should have some basic principles publishers must accept regarding how the platform works and what is and isn't allowed. And I believe "equal treatment of all players" should be one of them.

But, on second thought, I believe this is not the first time it happens. If I'm not mistaken, Altered allows you to buy cards and customize your deck, which ends up with the same result: different players getting different in-game opportunities. The difference is that this is not linked to BGA premium status. I would be more comfortable if the premium factions were linked to some account/subscription outside BGA.

[joshuakingrams]

just make the entire game premium then.

[Tisaac]

Even if the publisher requested it, BGA agreed to that and introduced a workaround/backdoor. I think BGA should have some basic principles publishers must accept regarding how the platform works and what is and isn't allowed. And I believe "equal treatment of all players" should be one of them.

But, on second thought, I believe this is not the first time it happens. If I'm not mistaken, Altered allows you to buy cards and customize your deck, which ends up with the same result: different players getting different in-game opportunities. The difference is that this is not linked to BGA premium status. I would be more comfortable if the premium factions were linked to some account/subscription outside BGA.

I am curious, why would that make you more comfortable ? In both cases (Altered and TI), you are paying money to get a different in-game opportunities, what difference does it make where you are actually paying that extra money ?

[Jellby]

I don't know. I think it's because in one case (a separate account) it's creating a "new" thing that you have to acquire separately and that only those really interested would get. In the other cose (BGA premium) it's using an existing feature to do something it was not intended for (no mention of "in-game advantages" in https://boardgamearena.com/premium), it looks more like an unsuspected and unfair side-effect. My feeling is that BGA stance should be: "we treat all players equally, if you want special content or perks, go get it elsewhere" (be it paying accounts, browser extensions or cheating software).

[joshuakingrams]

I agree. bga should not be restricting the game to non-premium players

[Elzo]

I am curious, why would that make you more comfortable ? In both cases (Altered and TI), you are paying money to get a different in-game opportunities, what difference does it make where you are actually paying that extra money ?

I my opinion, it creates unfair balance on the table. If in random faction table it's a bit more mitigated, then in Pick faction is can make or break your game. You can see the table, as see that people picked certain factions. And you need to pick XYZ to stay competetive or you're toast. Or that you're playing premade and you know that this position will not work unless you pick on the XYZ factions. Z is the only 'base' faction. Z gets picked. You're screwed from the start of the game. Can you outplay? Get lucky? Sure. But it still makes you fight against the odds.