原作者：Matt Suckley 译者：Willow Wu

欢迎回到In-App Purchase Inspector，在这里我们会以消费者的视角，定期测评一些F2P游戏。

每期文章，我们都会考虑游戏中IAP的诱因、压力、它们的感知价值、IAP带来的扩展内容还有整个游戏体验的评估。

最终目的就是看看这游戏究竟值不值得我们砸钱，不花钱的游戏体验是否也能让玩家感到满足。

这次，我们来测评Rumble Entertainment旗下的Alliance: Heroes of the Spire，这是一款受亚洲游戏启发、以团队模式为基础RPG游戏。

从西到东

Rumble Entertainment的首款手游KingsRoad发布于2015年，它是一款颇具西方传统风格的动作RPG游戏。

最初它是网页游戏，把Diablo和Torchlight中的loot-gathering和物品管理机制移植到触屏终端上。

但是在最近的更新中，我们发现这群来自美国加州圣马特奥的开发者们不再像往常一样从西方PC游戏寻求灵感，转而更多地参考日本、中国、韩国的开发者们经常使用的免费RPG手游戏设计。

这类设计就是利用随机的抽卡系统组成团队，收集资源，通过战斗获取经验——玩家可以选择自己控制或者是自动战斗，最终通过合成系统进化英雄们。

没有什么新鲜的东西，当然。但是厉害的地方在于开发者们让这些机制配合得恰当好处，相互交织，尽管它们越来越多地被应用于西方手游，但也不会让玩家感到违和。

开始召唤

收集-抽卡-合成机制在游戏中已经是司空见惯的套路，Alliance可以立即把玩家到传送到入口，召唤新英雄，完全没有浪费一点时间。

系统会送你三个Hero Cores——其中有一个Epic Hero Core，可以得到3星到5星级别的英雄，另外两个普通的可以得到1星到3星级别的英雄——游戏很快就把玩家带入抽卡机制，这也是游戏的重点部分，盈利的主要来源。

在Alliance中，召唤新角色并不像其他游戏中有那么高大上的出场方式。没有炫酷的动画，只是简简单单地出现在玩家的视野中。

这其实跟Hero Cores可用频率有关，意思就是玩家可以在一天内多次使用Hero Cores。

移除那些华而不实的出场仪式在这个游戏中是有益的，不然玩家一次召唤好几个角色就变成了一个漫长而痛苦的过程。

指挥

在对战部分，Alliance和其他的RPG手游几乎没有什么不同。

不同的角色有不同的能力——有的是防守技能比较好，有的攻击力比较强，还有的侧重远程输出。玩家要根据不同类型的角色属性制定策略。

玩家可以选择在加速模式下进行对战，不需要玩家进行操作，在任何一个已经完成的区域都可以使用自动战斗模式，大部分的有效的决策其实都是在战场之外制定的。

游戏本身也十分推崇这种做法：“自动战斗就是你的英雄在场内战斗，同时你在场外制定策略。”

核心循环

组队真的是一件很重要的事情，这也是抽卡系统起作用的时候。

Hero Cores属于常规奖励，完成战斗你就可以得到，只用花100金币就可以召唤一个1星至3星级别的英雄。

相比起来，Epic Hero Cores就比较罕见了，完成主线任务之后有小几率能够获得，再使用5000金币就可以召唤一个3星至5星级别的英雄。

如果玩家没有Epic Hero Cores，也可以用75个宝石（硬货币）召唤一个3星至5星级别的英雄。

游戏中还有Legendary Hero Cores，使用25000金币可以召唤一个4星至5星级别的英雄,。但是我天天玩，连续两周多我都没有见过它，或许这是给高消费玩家留的吧。

牺牲

我要讲的下一个重点部分就是合成。每个角色最多可以和另外六个道具或者角色融合，如此一来被合成英雄就被销毁了，成为了更高级别的角色。

当他们达到级别上限——1颗星是10,2颗星是20，以此类推，可以通过使用（并销毁）其他同一级别的角色进行升级。

这个过程需要花费金币，级别越高花费就越多，但是这种软货币一般来说不会不够用。

更重要的是，这就意味着持续提升英雄的能力依靠的是牺牲其他角色，玩家就得返回召唤入口召唤一个新角色，然后再进行升级，如此循环。

财富的力量

金币和宝石是Alliance中的两种主要货币。

前者是用来召唤英雄、合成英雄、升级装备，后者的基本用处就是Gem Summons、加速或者是复活在战斗中死去的角色。

在任务奖励和自由的探索模式中游戏会送给玩家大量的金币，探索模式就是玩家派遣一队英雄完成长达好几个小时的远征任务，目的就是收集资源，获取经验。

金币也可以用宝石去买，但我没有那个需要。另外，游戏也有提供宝石礼包，从2.99美元买70个到99.99美元买3250个。

然而，最具诱惑力就是礼包，这是Alliance的盈利重要来源。

礼包的乐趣

游戏很早就让玩家接触礼包了，开始时会给玩家提供免费的资源：10个宝石，20能量，3个Hero Cores还有10000金币，这就是游戏中的“免费新手礼包”。

这个礼包就在新手包#1和新手包#2旁边，这两个礼包都只能买一次。顾名思义，这两个礼包就是鼓励新手玩家早早地花钱。

新手包#1就是撬开我钱包的“罪魁祸首”，包含250个宝石、50000金币、2个Epic Hero Cores、每日专属奖励25个宝石（共15天）、Small Alliance Gifts还有170VIP点数，这些只要4.99美元。

除了超高的性价比，礼包中最有意思的地方就是会连续15天，每天送给玩家25个宝石。

对于这种annuities模式（玩家付一定费用，然后游戏会在限定时期内用虚拟资源给予每日奖励），Scientific Revenue的CEO，William Grosso说其实这本质上是在销售每日登录奖励，对比那些冲动消费和必定消费人群，这吸引的其实是具备另外一种消费观念的群体。

毫无疑问，这对我来说很有效。而且这一系列文章也表明了我更倾向于投资包含annuities模式的游戏。

没了就是没了，不骗你

Alliance很大程度上也是靠着它的限时礼包获利。两种新手包都只能买一次，游戏启动时每次都有不同的折扣推荐，都是属于“要就拿走，不要就没有了”，在玩家企图关掉窗口时，游戏还会再次恳求玩家“不要错过”。

除此之外，还有各种各样的游戏礼包——迷你的、小的、中的、大的，从9.99美元到99.99美元，其中所包含的宝石、金币Hero Cores数量也不同，这些礼包的有效期都只有一个月。

拥有这些限时的东西确实能给予人一种的与众不同感受，但是目前它还是不足以吸引我。其中之一的原因就是游戏推送给我的大部分礼包都是99.99美元的，超出了我的价格承受范围，而且我得说这推送算是挺频繁的。

就像是这游戏觉得既然我已经花了钱，那我就会向更大诱惑屈服，去花更多的钱。

算是个小问题，但是我觉得如果价格跳跃不要这么大的话会比较好——我不敢说我了解全部数据，但是我怀疑有很多玩家买过4.99美元之后就直接去买了99.99美元的礼包。

想怎么玩（买）就怎么玩（买）

总而言之， Alliance最大的优势就是它会给玩家提供选项。

你可以按照平常的方法购买宝石或者金币，或者你可以买个礼包，什么东西都可以得到一些。你可以立马就拿到你要的财富，或者你也可以选择让游戏在接下来的几天“分期付款”。

你可以接受游戏的推荐，购买限时礼包，或者你也可以选择不要宝石，直接把钱用在装备礼包上，武装你的英雄。

上面说的这些都会增加的你的VIP点数，VIP可以加速自动战斗，获得更多经验，还有很多其他的长期福利，取决于你花了多少钱。

最重要的是，玩家也可以选择不花一分钱玩游戏，照样可以获得新角色，升级英雄，增加他们在PvP中的竞争力。

这会是一条更长的路，但这也是在可预见的未来里我会选择的一条路。

本文由游戏邦编译，转载请注明来源，或咨询微信zhengjintiao

Welcome back to the In-App Purchase Inspector – our regular look at free-to-play games from the consumer’s perspective.

In each instalment, we consider the incentives or pressure applied to make in-app purchases, their perceived value, the expansion offered by IAPs and the overall value of the experience.

The end goal is to see whether the game makes a good enough case for us to part with our cash, or whether players are content – or engaged enough – to ‘freeload’.

This time, we’re taking a look at Rumble Entertainment’s Alliance: Heroes of the Spire, an Asian-inspired squad-based RPG.

West to East

Rumble Entertainment’s first mobile game was 2015′s KingsRoad, a game very much built in the Western tradition of the action RPG.

Originally a browser game, it brought all the loot-gathering and inventory management of Diablo and Torchlight to touchscreens.

But for its latest release, the San Mateo, CA-based developer has looked less to Western PC games for its inspiration and more to a brand of mobile free-to-play RPG design popularised by developers in Japan, China and South Korea.

This means building a squad of characters through random gacha systems, gathering resources and experience through battles – be they presided over by the player or fought automatically – and ultimately evolving heroes by fusing them with others.

Nothing new here, of course. But what’s remarkable is the finesse with which these mechanics have been made to interlock, making a more than compelling case for their increasing inclusion in Western mobile games.

Set to summon

As is common in games with collection-gacha-fusion mechanics, Alliance wastes no time in shepherding the player towards the portal for summoning new heroes.

Giving you three free Hero Cores – one Epic Hero Core for three to five star heroes, two standard for one to three star heroes – the player is quickly introduced to the gacha mechanic around which much of the game and its monetisation revolves.

Summoning new characters in Alliance isn’t the event it is in some gacha titles. There’s no fancy animation here, rather instead they quickly phase into view.

This speaks to the rate at which Hero Cores are made available, meaning that this is a process that can be carried out multiple times per day.

Dispensing with the pomp and ceremony is a welcome move in this context then, making summoning several characters at once a pain-free process.

Taking command

In combat, there’s little to differentiate Alliance from a whole host of other mobile RPGs.

Different characters have different abilities – some defensive, some attacking, some ranged – and the primary strategy stems from the elemental strengths and weaknesses of different character types.

But with an option to let battles play out in an accelerated form without any player input, and a full auto-battle mode available for any already-completed area, most meaningful decisions happen off the battlefield.

The game itself puts it best: “Auto-Battling lets your heroes do the work while you do the planning”.

Core loop

Setting up your team is the real focus, then, and this is where the gacha system comes back into play.

With regular Hero Cores, a common reward for completing battles, you can summon a one to three star hero for a paltry 100 Gold.

Epic Hero Cores are far rarer, occasional rewards for completing major quests, and can be used in conjunction with 5,000 Gold to summon a three to five star hero.

Alternatively, if the player has no Epic Hero Cores available, a three to five star hero can be summoned for 75 Gems (hard currency).

There are also Legendary Hero Cores, which can be combined with 25,000 Gold for a four to five star hero, although in more than two weeks of consistent daily play I’ve yet to see one of these – it appears they are the preserve of high-spenders.

Making sacrifices

The next key part of the process is fusion. Each character can have up to six others fused into them – thus destroying the fused heroes – which levels them up.

When they reach the level cap for their star rating – 10 for one star, 20 for two stars, etc. – they can be evolved using (and destroying) other characters of the same level.

This process costs Gold, costs rising as you deal with higher level characters, but the soft currency tends to be in plentiful supply.

More importantly, it means that continually strengthening heroes relies on the sacrifice of others, which creates a loop of returning to summon new ones and begin the whole process afresh.

The power of wealth

Gold and Gems are the main two currencies in Alliance.

The former is used for summoning heroes, hero fusion and equipment upgrades, while the primary functions of the latter are Gem Summons, skipping timers or reviving characters in battle.

Gold is dished out liberally in the form of quest rewards and in the hands-off Explore mode, which has the player send a batch of heroes out for several-hours-long expeditions to collect resources and gather experience.

It can also be bought with Gems, but I’ve never felt the need to do so. Gems, on the other hand, are available in bundles ranging from $2.99 for 70 to $99.99 for 3,250.

However, the most tempting offers come in the form of bundles, and this is really the thrust of Alliance’s monetisation.

Bundles of fun

The game introduces the player to bundles early, opting to present its free resources to get the player started – 10 Gems, 20 Energy, three Hero Cores and 10,000 Gold – as a ‘FREE Starter Bundle’.

This sits in a menu next to Starter Pack #1 and Starter Pack #2, both of which can only be claimed once. As the name suggests, these bundles are there to encourage early spending.

Starter Pack #1 was the one that prised open my wallet, offering 250 Gems, 50,000 Gold, two Epic Hero Cores, 25 Gems for 15 days, Small Alliance Gifts and 170 VIP Points for a mere $4.99.

Apart from offering excellent value, perhaps the most interesting thing about this bundle is the offer of 25 Gems every day for 15 days.

Known as annuities, Scientific Revenue CEO William Grosso says that this process of essentially selling a daily login reward “appeals to a very different psychological group than the impulse purchases or the gotta-have-its.”

It certainly works for me, and this series has shown that I’m far more likely to invest in games that offer annuities.

When it’s gone, it’s gone

Alliance also relies heavily on the idea of scarcity in its retailing. Both Starter Packs are only available once, and there are a number of take-it-or-leave-it splash screen offers that implore “Don’t Miss Out!” when you try to close them.

Furthermore, there are also a number of packages – Tiny, Small, Medium and Large, ranging from $9.99 to $99.99 and offering Gems, Gold and Hero Cores in different quantities that are each only available once per month.

This does give them an air of exclusivity, but I’ve yet to be tempted by any of these. One of the reasons for this is that many of the offers I’m being shown – quite regularly, I might add – are for $99.99 bundles, way out of my price range

It is as though, emboldened by the fact I spent money, the game now feels I can be tempted into spending large sums in-game.

It’s a minor point, but more of a nuanced ramp-up would be appreciated in this regard – I can’t claim to know the stats, but I doubt many players are leaping straight from $4.99 IAPs to bundles worth $99.99.

Play (and pay) your way

All in all, Alliance’s greatest strength is in giving its players options.

You can buy Gems or Gold in the normal way if you like, or you can sample a little of everything with a bundle. You can get your currency now, or get it in instalments over the next few days.

You can buy limited-time offers tied into the ongoing in-game festivals, or you can circumvent Gems and plough your money straight into buying equipment packs to deck out your heroes.

All of the above will contribute to your VIP level, which gives boosts to auto-battle speed and XP earnings, along with many other long-term benefits depending on your level of spend.

Most importantly, however, players are given the option to play the game, get new characters, level them up and be competitive in PvP without deciding to spend.

It’s a longer road, but the one I think I’ll be taking for the foreseeable future （source：pocketgamer.biz ）