We were as bamboozled as you were about the All Points Bulletin pricing system, the in-game economy and these strange new RealTime Worlds points thingys.
But fear not, we demanded clarification and we got it. Put the kettle on, here's the deal:
We already know that once you buy the APB game itself you get 50 hours of gameplay for £34.99.
After that all dealings are done in RealTime World (RTW) points, which are priced like this:
200 RTW points package - £3.99
400 RTW points package - £7.99
600 RTW points package - £11.99
1400 RTW points package - £27.99
2600 RTW points package - £51.99
APB game time top ups are then split into two options to suit different game playing habits. Purchasing 'Gametime Hours' allows players to dip in and out of the game with only the hours they play being consumed.
'Gametime Unlimited' packages give unlimited online access to the 'Action District' over a certain period of days, for those who are going to be playing regular, extended, hardcore sessions.
They're priced like this:
Gametime 20 Hours - 280 RTW points
Unlimited 30 Days - 400 RTW points
Unlimited 90 Days - 1140 RTW points
Unlimited 180 Days - 2160 RTW points
On the question many people are asking, "Why do I have to pay ongoing costs?" RealTime Worlds have given this response:
"APB is a persistent, online game with servers hosted by Realtime Worlds out of state-of-the-art datacenters to ensure the highest quality experience for all players - no inconsistent peer-to-peer hardware or networking issues."
"Your ongoing purchases go towards the costs of maintaining this high quality service and help fund additional development for ongoing content and gameplay additions."
If you don't want to pay additional costs once you've bought the actual game, you will still have free access to the 'Social Districts', which include the Customisation studio and the Marketplace.
Now comes the bit about the online economy, making your own items and selling them on.
Players are able to create items and sell them to other players for RTW points or in-game currency via the Marketplace. You set the price of your item but selling it does cost you a few more RTW points as a 'Manufacturing cost'. Ready for another pricing scheme?
All vehicles - 10
Clothing - Major (head, torso, legs) - 5
Clothing - Minor (accessories, underwear, and footwear) - 2
Theme / Song - 2
Symbol - 2
Why are these costs in place? RealTime Worlds wants to put off people making junk and basically filling the world with rubbish.
Guess what, you'll also get charged commission for a successful auction listing. You won't get charged a listing fee though or at all if you don't manage to sell your item. That's generous isn't it?
Wait, where do you think you're going? We have most costs to go through. Sit back down.
If you use or wear your item before you try to sell it, you need to pay a 'Refurbishment' cost because the item becomes 'worn', despite the fact that this is a virtual world and it's not like pixels diminish in quality over time.
The best way to give you this is straight from the developer's mouth:
This Refurbishment cost is charged in the same currency as the original item.
For example, if you wear a customized shirt that you purchased from the Marketplace - the Refurbishment fee would be in RTW Points as that shirt would require a Manufacturing fee before it could be traded or sold.
However, if you purchased an N-Tec Assault Rifle from a Contact, equipped it, and then decided to trade it to another player - the Refurbishment fee would be in in-game currency because the item was originally purchased in the same fashion.
Simple rule: if the item was originally a customized item - such as clothing or a vehicle - Refurbishment would cost RTW Points; otherwise, if it was purchased from a Contact -
Refurbishment would cost in-game currency.
The following Refurbishment costs will be present at release:
All vehicles - 10
Clothing - Major (head, torso, legs) - 5
Clothing - Minor (accessories, underwear, and footwear) - 2
Theme / Song - 2
Symbol - 2
That's it, class dismissed, you can go and cry now.
