Void Singer Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 well it's about time.... I just got an email that they are opening up premium only sandboxes, and giving you free gift items (mod furniture it seems).....couldn't care less about the furniture, but the protected sandboxes are a step in the right direction IMO.ETA:apparently the gifts are going to change on a monthly basis... and as long as you are premium you can keep getting them.... that's more like it. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiked Anton Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 one sterp only though, seems a little tame when your putting your hard earned cash (actual cash) into it................most of us could probably build the same furniture for free, so when do the REAL rewards start? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Ahren Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Void Singer wrote: couldn't care less about the furniture, but the protected sandboxes are a step in the right direction IMO. Depends on the furniture. Is it the type that includes adult animations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melita Magic Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I got the email too. I think it is a great idea. The furniture is a living room set, red with white tables. Since Linden land isn't adult it would really surprise me if the furniture were adult although I sense a hint of facetiousness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Void Singer Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 well considering the actual cost of premium is already offset by L$ over time which can convert to real cash (and adds up to about 3/4 of yearly subscription), and you do have a small land rental for free, I'd say the value is continuing to grow... so currently you get a free starter home / option to buy your own land on mainland. weekly stipend of $L @ 300/wk enhanced support options protected sandboxes free monthly merchandise gifts signup up bonus after 6wk Auto access to Adult land (this comes with having payment info on file, but only works if the idiot land owner didn't set the "age verified" flag) and shot in the foot if you forget to pay your subscription fees =X ETA: looks like the membership FAQ got updated too, and according to it, the gifts are +copy only... sensible, but utterly useless for furniture and similar items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peewee Musytari Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 The furniture isn`t mod but it is scripted. You can change the texture on the tables & flowers etc & the sofa has sit anims. Its not horrendous but not brilliant either. 47 prims for the whole set. Curious to know how LL is picking the creators for the gifts. After the ones that made all the free avvies for the library, is there some sort of list of creators that LL choose to promote? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Void Singer Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 no clue, but there's a heck of a marketing opportunity there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peewee Musytari Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Void Singer wrote: no clue, but there's a heck of a marketing opportunity there. Absolutely, I`m not bothered for myself as I can`t see them giving away commercial buildings as gifts lol, but there are a huge number of excellent creators of furniture & other gift like items that should all be given equal opportunities, so I do hope they are using a fair method of selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canoro Philipp Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 i like the idea of protected sandboxes. one of the complains that paying users had when Second Life allowed free accounts is that they were attacked by free account griefers. and sandboxes are the prefered field for griefers. having a protected sandbox for customers with payment info on file will make sure that they can know who the griefer is in rl if a customer is attacked. it also invites premium users to start creating, and creators have a place to work safely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osprey Therian Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I <3 premium sandboxes. I'd rather have a coupon for the marketplace - as in 200l off any furniture!' or something - rather than a specific furniture set. That'd encourage browsing and shops could have their own specials - 'This month the premium bonus is 200l off any furniture - and all ours is already 20% off for the month so maximise your discounts!.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maryanne Solo Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Premium Sandbox access is a great idea!I nearly logged in to go and see one when I got that e-mail lol. Is the furniture mesh? It would be excellent if you could choose mesh or prim furniture. It would be even better if the gift/s were made by an LL mesh expert as a showpiece for SL technologies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Danube Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 So, are we going to call each other "Premier" at the Premium Sandbox since most people there would be premium members? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venus Petrov Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I think 'Your Highness' is sufficient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melita Magic Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 The furniture set is probably meant more for newbies in order to settle them into their Linden Home without having to scour the grid shopping just yet. They will replace it soon as they get wind of what is available out there. That's how I feel about it. That is, if they're the type who's really going to stay. But merchants don't have to worry about selling to the fly by night-ers anyway. I think it's the same principle behind the not so horrendous looking newer avs, and the Linden home - get them anchored, then they'll explore and unique-fy themselves. For the older residents the Premium sandbox is great. I have land but most of it is not flat, and I don't want to build large things there or right in front of visitors anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willow Danube Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 "Your Highness" would be selling us too short. We all know that when there is a Premier, Your Highness is really powerless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lastarls Ireto Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Couple things here... I agree with the seniment here much more than the ones on the Linden post. Sure, they're not huge bonuses, but they are still nice. If you're a long-timesubscriber, these won't mean a lot to you probably, but they're likely not aimed at you anway...you're already paying, what SL needs is MORE people like that. This (and other changes they've made lately) are aimed at driving new business. Something to keep in mind here (aimed more at the posters on the other thread). LL needs to make money, or we will all be homeless. What they've added here are nice little perks that cost very little, which is exactly what they should be attempting. Distributing some freebies costs them just about nothing. Adding 12(?) sandboxes does cost them a bit, but not a lot. The other suggestions, like doubling the land allowance (and I've seen some people suggesting MUCH more than doubling) or the prim allowance has a steep cost associated with it. Upping the weekly stipend likewise will cost them money, though it's a little more fuzzy how much of that is a direct cost. It is still a cost. Sure, they would increase premiums too, but the added income would be offset by the extra cost to support the existing premium member's additional perks. Of course they're going to try to provide us with nice presents that cost little, it just makes sense. And remember, the announcement did say that 'this is just the beginning'. Before you go getting all maudlin about the new freebies, see what else they have up their sleeve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faithless Babii Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Apparently the premium sandboxes have signs informing you that you are not permitted to use or test anything other than "simple scripts"...so uhm...not so good then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Void Singer Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 well there are 16 of them... something tells me that they all won't be that way... (who reads signs anyways) @Willow: Personally I like Empress, which certianly trumps any lowly Premier, but i have enough trouble getting people to use "Your Highness", or "Your Majesty".... and presumably the ONLY people you will meet in those sandboxes are premium members (unless the permissions are only set to PIOF) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knutz Scorpio Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 The best I can tell there are four of these premium-only sandboxes, each sandbox made up of four sims arranged 2x2 (for a total of 16 sims), and I spotted two of these sandboxes off the west coast of the Linden Homes Continent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Levenque Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Void Singer wrote: well considering the actual cost of premium is already offset by L$ over time which can convert to real cash (and adds up to about 3/4 of yearly subscription), and you do have a small land rental for free, I'd say the value is continuing to grow... so currently you get a free starter home / option to buy your own land on mainland. weekly stipend of $L @ 300/wk enhanced support options protected sandboxes free monthly merchandise gifts signup up bonus after 6wk Auto access to Adult land (this comes with having payment info on file, but only works if the idiot land owner didn't set the "age verified" flag) and shot in the foot if you forget to pay your subscription fees =X ETA: looks like the membership FAQ got updated too, and according to it, the gifts are +copy only... sensible, but utterly useless for furniture and similar items. You all must be higher priority residents than I am; I've yet to get that email. But the point about cost of Premium Membership I was just thinking about since I just got the notice my next quarterly payment is due (uh, was the sandbox announcement in that email? I admit I didn't read it carefully.) Paying quarterly my cost is about 90USD a year. The stipend, at 300L/week comes to 15,600L/year, or about 62USD at the current rate of exchange. That means my actual membership cost is about 28USD annually or about $2.35 a month. That of course is based on the assumption I would spend at least 300L per week, but I think that's a safe assumption for most residents at least once they've been here long enough to decide to stay. Seems to me, given the other benefits, particularly the 'free' 512 tier, it really doesn't make much sense NOT to have a premium account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Void Singer Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 honestly the only thing I find really useful is Live Chat.... but I make enough money in SL to spend as like, and I'm more of a wanderer so homes and furniture aren't really important to me. but since my stipend is grandfathered, if I don't spend it, the membership pays for itself. anyone that is making enough money to pull some out of SL really has no need for a premium membership unless they want the extra suport... or at least that was true until they added the private sandboxes, which definitely offers value to those users. For the average consumer user, premium makes sense in most of the commercial sense, unless they happen to be freebie rats that never spend anything ever.(I realize rats may seem insulting, it's just the first critter that came to mind that survives on what's laying around for free... I was at one time such a critter) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabid Cheetah Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I like the idea of a coupon, it encourages you to go to the Marketplace. Maybe even make it so your coupon only works with a merchant you've never bought from before, so it forces you to discover a new gem that you otherwise not have considered. Just playing devil's advocate here, but maybe the free stuff ISN'T such a good idea. How so? Well, I'm sure folks thought getting a free home was "kewl" when Linden Homes came out...but look what it did to the land market. I'd be interested in hearing how furniture manufacturers feel about now being in competition with Linden ("Why should I pay $L500 for a furniture set? I've got one for free for being a premium member. I think I'll spend that $L500 elswhere, like paying the cover charge for Greasy Louie's Naked Jello Wrestling Pit. They're having Furries fighting Vampires tonight!") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maryanne Solo Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 ok..... pics or it didn't happen right? I went to see all the sandboxes and right on cue, griefer at the second one with a multiplying rezzer or whatever they are. First one someone was making a monument to monumental spacecraft (of course). So same deal really just less people. I do appreciate this added value though I must say. The furniture..... well I am VERY impressed and I don't even have a home. I suspected there might have been a shortage of items and I was right! When I clicked the sign at the new Premium sandbox to take delivery I was asked if I minded slightly used furniture to which I replied well so long as its not dirty or broken which I was assured was definately not the case. So I accepted this generous offer and began rezzing my furniture items and look....... ^^ Turns out it was used for a short time by a Aslian acrobatic/circus family! :-O Kewl hey? *puts hand up to mouth and whispers to the chosen few... "note sneaky insertion of Ladies Who Lounge pic... play the picture backwards and all LWL and splinter groups plans & secrets will be revealed.." This message will self destruct in 5... 4... 3... 2.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Levenque Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Void Singer wrote: anyone that is making enough money to pull some out of SL really has no need for a premium membership unless they want the extra suport... For the average consumer user, premium makes sense in most of the commercial sense After I wrote that I was thinking of a good friend who is a DJ and makes all she needs in SL, so Premium would avail her naught. Same thing would apply to any successful creator or entertainer. I prefer to think of myself as an at least slightly above average consumer :-), but for those like me Premium really does make a lot of sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabid Cheetah Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 So. Whith these restrictuons, it's not really an added value after all? I don't get it. I just don't get it. If you are a premium, you can own land. if you own land, you can build on your own land. Now, before someone says "Yeah, but you can't fit a huge Megaprim Robotic Death Sentinel on a tiny 512", why would you make something you can't fit on your land? Even if you're mostly a merchant, wouldn't you want to display your objects? So what's the point of going to a sandbox? As to the best way to avoid these griefer folks interfering with your building activities, wouldn't that be solved by controlling the access to your own private sandbox? What am I missing here? The only reason I can see for going to a sandbox is if you need to build, but don't have a premium account. But being a premium is a requirement for using a premium sandbox. Even if you are on an alt account, go back to your main and grant build access to your alt. Like I said, I just don't get it. Now watch after five years of playing this game, I find out that you can get free buckets of sand delivered yo you in RL for the time you spend in SL sandboxes. Or some such great thing about sandboxes that I'm not currently aware of. Though the idea of holding a secret bring-your-own-dancefloor rave party at one of the premium sandboxes does have it's appeal (but is probably a ToS violation *sigh*) I wonder how laggy the premium sandboxes will be if everybody and their brother decides to go there. Also, I'd love to hear from owners of giant sandboxes, so big that they have land left over to rent to stores, who have some concerns about their rental revenues plummeting as their usually high traffic goes elsewhere. Is this the sandbox-owner equivelent of Linden Homes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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