VM Pro

FC Sunnyvale wrote:

In general, do you think it is a good idea to have some kind of ad-free subscription?

I think being ad-free should be added to the cost and benefits of the existing premium.

I don't think being ad-free is a particular selling point to me, I run ad-blockers everywhere, but I also wouldn't be offended if the price of premium is increased a little as part of offsetting your decision to move away from ads for as much revenue as possible (which I think is a completely valid - smart, even - decision).

That said, I think premium being ad-free should be intended as just another of many benefits, never really intended as a strong selling point- so "we try to treat our premium users great, so we won't show you ads" rather than "if you don't get premium you're going to have to suffer through a bunch of annoying ads". Not suggesting you were ever implying the latter, but it's a pretty prominent "dark" pattern for games.

FC Sunnyvale wrote:

What do you say to the idea of ​​letting youth squads become part of the subscription?

I think it depends on how vital a part of the game you see it being- if it's gonna be fundamental then I definitely don't think it should be restricted, but if it's more of just a side-game that you can ignore if you're not interested in it then I think it makes sense to make it part of premium.

Since creating youth players is part of premium too it kind of makes sense for youth teams to also be, but if there won't be any way to keep youth moral up without the use of youth teams making it premium will make it hard for newer managers to experiment with youth.

One thing you might consider doing if you do make youth teams part of premium (or even if you don't) is to offset that by increasing the size of the stadium and level of the training ground you can have without premium. You can't really get too far without premium with the stadium and training grounds capped so low, so it might be a nice bone to toss to new managers to allow them to achieve something like single gold-star training and a 20k stadium without premium.

Similarly, allowing a small amount of staff without premium might be another way to make the game more playable without premium but still limiting things in such a way that people are likely to want to get premium.

FC Sunnyvale wrote:

Do you think people will buy the ad-free subscription if it doesn't contain anything "extra"? Would you?

Kind of answered this above, but I wouldn't buy just an ad-free subscription, though I don't think it should be separate from premium anyway. It should just be an additional feature of premium that increases the cost a little.

FC Sunnyvale wrote:

If you don't think that youth squads should be part of the ad-free subscription, do you have any ideas for other things we could add to the subscription instead?

The immediate thing that jumps to mind is a stipend of VM tickets per month/year. Not enough to do something like ensure training for the entire duration, but enough so users can get a taste of how nice the assurances are and get a little safety from contract expiration, missed trainings, etc.

Providing a small stipend like this is something I've seen work well for games with in-game purchases like tickets provide.

Other than that, I think premium should continue to receive a steady stream of quality of life improvements that aren't vital for game-play but which make things a little easier.

I have no idea what these may be but there are lots of little things that could be done in this area: maybe a first-come-first-served list that gets created each day automatically showing 20 available trainers with at least 20-20 in youth and keeper/outfield, maybe a list of 10 players currently on auction that have at least 15 bids, maybe a list of the top 10 most profitable trades of the day, etc. Not really vital stuff, just conveniences and interesting info.

I still think that multiple clubs would be a good thing - so long as there are blocks to prevent trading and entering the same League & Cups,
and I've always thought that creating youth players - with the chance of gaining a substantial benefit if you're lucky enough to get a SuperYouth (or two!) - is as close as you should be to "only selling opportunities; not results".
As they have no bearing whatsoever on "daiiy play" I would have them in the Pro subscription - for sure.

1.In general, do you think it is a good idea to have some kind of ad-free subscription?

I think this depends if you play mainly on mobile or on desktop as for desktop the ad-blockers are more prevalent. You could also add a script to check for the presence of ad-blockers and block access to the site if you actually decide to implement the ad-free subscription. I personally disabled the ad-block on this site since the ads are not intrusive and the screen size big enough to not impact functionality and allowing me to support the game financially in addition to paying for the VM Premium without an extra personal cost.


2.What do you say to the idea of ​​letting youth squads become part of the subscription?

I agree as it is an extra burden on the server and the development investment seems to have been quite large. But for the VM Premium and not for VM Pro/ad-free.


3.Do you think people will buy the ad-free subscription if it doesn't contain anything "extra"? Would you?

I think mobile users will be the most likely buyers for ad-free subscription. Me personally use more the desktop version so if I would buy it is just to support the development of the game.


4.If you don't think that youth squads should be part of the ad-free subscription, do you have any ideas for other things we could add to the subscription instead?

The statistics would be nice, also unlimited player history for promoted youth (over a certain potential, obviously).
For example I use a lot the site https://app.vmaninfo.dk/da/clubs/1284162 for statistics and overall team and player history or overview, especially to see past values for players, the potential of players despite their current/past training being impacted by the 15% rule.It allows me to predict quite accurately the value update or price after training without penalty. Also use the plugin and another plugin I use is the VMEnhancer .
So if there is a way to incorporate these in the game would be great, or have similar additions for the PRO subscription.

FC Sunnyvale wrote:

I would like to hear your opinion on this:

• In general, do you think it is a good idea to have some kind of ad-free subscription?
• What do you say to the idea of ​​letting youth squads become part of the subscription?
• Do you think people will buy the ad-free subscription if it doesn't contain anything "extra"? Would you?
• If you don't think that youth squads should be part of the ad-free subscription, do you have any ideas for other things we could add to the subscription instead?

Firstly Dennis, can I just say how refreshing it is to have this open and transparent line of communication. Something that VM has been crying out for. Really appreciate you engaging in this way.

I would be fully on board with just increasing the price of Premium and keeping it as one tier of payment. I don't see the need for Premium and Pro - just get rid of the ads and raise the price of Premium to cover it. I genuinely don't feel there'd be much pushback from the community. We can see that you're really pushing to implement the features we want and improve the game so I think people would accept an increased price as a trade-off for that.

Adding another tier of subscription only serves to complicate things and make it more confusing for new users. Keep it simple is my advice.

+1 for the appreciation on the "open and transparent line of communication".
But I have to disagree, from a business perspective, of the unilateral decision to increase the membership and remove ads. Firstly is that, as previously stated, I wouldn't mind seeing ads on the desktop version, while I would be inclined to pay extra for some additional statistics or gimmicks that don't give an in-game advantage but make life easier and/or more pleasant.
So even if the Pro version would be released that included an opt-out for adds I'd still like the option to keep displaying the ads for the desktop version while to have them disabled on mobile due to functionality purpose on smaller touch screens.
Secondly it could be the unilateral aspect of it, and since you launched the discussions with the community on this topic this decision would take choice away and I assume it would be counter-productive.

No Pukki No Party wrote:

FC Sunnyvale wrote:

I would like to hear your opinion on this:

• In general, do you think it is a good idea to have some kind of ad-free subscription?
• What do you say to the idea of ​​letting youth squads become part of the subscription?
• Do you think people will buy the ad-free subscription if it doesn't contain anything "extra"? Would you?
• If you don't think that youth squads should be part of the ad-free subscription, do you have any ideas for other things we could add to the subscription instead?

Firstly Dennis, can I just say how refreshing it is to have this open and transparent line of communication. Something that VM has been crying out for. Really appreciate you engaging in this way.

I would be fully on board with just increasing the price of Premium and keeping it as one tier of payment. I don't see the need for Premium and Pro - just get rid of the ads and raise the price of Premium to cover it. I genuinely don't feel there'd be much pushback from the community. We can see that you're really pushing to implement the features we want and improve the game so I think people would accept an increased price as a trade-off for that.

Adding another tier of subscription only serves to complicate things and make it more confusing for new users. Keep it simple is my advice.

I would say this pretty much sums up my thoughts, slightly raise premium for the youth squads and a handful of small new features perhaps (kits/stadium/player customisation etc or whatever else yourself and the community come up with) on top of being ad-free.

Having just one type of premium makes everything so much simpler imo

I will also say ads make no ounce of difference to someone like me who mostly plays on desktop, even when I check my phone now and then I couldn't give a monkeys about ads and even if I did I'd use adblocker.

I've not got much to say that hasn't already been said, but I'd be happy to pay slightly more for new small features (every so often when possible and necessary) alongside youth squads, features keep the game fresher and keeps the player wanting to come back for more.

I do understand and appreciate the struggle you've been through with all the background mess with yourself and the thousands of CEOs making it near impossible to actually sort the game out, but I think we all recognise your passion and enthusiasm to want to make VM the best it can be. I also think its brilliant to see all the forum activity supporting the recent takeover. Keep up the hard work

I would like to hear your opinion on this:


In general, do you think it is a good idea to have some kind of ad-free subscription?

I have no issues with the ads as they are, so I certainly won`t be buying an upgrade. And I personally don`t think many will. People already complain about the current cost of the subscription.

What do you say to the idea of ​​letting youth squads become part of the subscription?

As was mentioned, this is something that has been promised to us for over 2 years, and to now decide that you would need an upgraded subscription just doesn`t seem right. But I was never one of those that got amped up about youth squads anyway, so whatever they decide won`t really matter to me.

Do you think people will buy the ad-free subscription if it doesn't contain anything "extra"? Would you?

Of course not.

If you don't think that youth squads should be part of the ad-free subscription, do you have any ideas for other things we could add to the subscription instead?

Perhaps something like 10 youths to sign instead of the 5 with the current Premium. Again, it won`t matter much to me as I`ve basically had 1 decent youth in the last 2 years. If that were doubled to 10 youths, I`m sure my luck would still remain the same.

And finally, I for one certainly appreciate all you put into this game, and whatever changes you make will all be alright with me, regardless. Cheers!

No
No
No either way. Premium is the service that comes at a price.
You have the 'demo' version which is free to play or you have the paid version which has the whole game.

Extra levels of pay to play will drive people away. It's what separates VM from other games, it's accessible to all.

Put the price of premium up 10p instead. Same financial gain, less unhappy managers

In general, do you think it is a good idea to have some kind of ad-free subscription?
What do you say to the idea of ​​letting youth squads become part of the subscription?
Do you think people will buy the ad-free subscription if it doesn't contain anything "extra"? Would you?
If you don't think that youth squads should be part of the ad-free subscription, do you have any ideas for other things we could add to the subscription instead?

1. Personally, I don't mind the ads on the website at all, so it doesn't mean much to me.
2. I think youth squads should be apart of the subscription of VM Premium, maybe offer something different as part of this new subscription i.e. Free Stadium Maintenance upto a certain amount (i.e. 5,000C).
3. If it doesn't include anything extra I don't think people will subscribe unless the price is lowered to accommodate there being nothing "extra".
4. Could maybe add, as mentioned free stadium maintenance, discounted trainer wages, discounted facilities upgrades, discounted player wages.