Re: ChessCube V6.28 changelog
However. Despite getting to level 100 a day before this change, and being some type of VIP at the moment, I'm absolutely bleeding cubits now. I had a steady amount of about 3,100 for the past year because I don't wager cubits. Heck, I never had an incentive to spend them other than to get in tournaments.
But after 1.5 days of this, I've lost nearly 600 cubits somehow. About 1/3rd of the time I search for a game, they give me the same opponent in two separate games, so I always have to close one. Something makes me think since I'm "aborting" one of them (despite it clearly being a glitch), it's costing me extra cubits. I could be mistaken, so please correct if wrong.
Anyways. Why on Earth would I pay for chess on this website? Chess,com is much quicker at finding a game, and at the end of the day, it's CHESS. Whether it's ICC, Chess,com, or CC, you're playing the same game. I don't even care if it's a couple bucks, I will simply go elsewhere.
My playing range is anyone 10/20 points below me to 500 points above me. I only want to play people better than me, so for people like me, we're getting wiped out on cubits. Once all of the 'standard, non-VIP' members stop coming, who are the remaining VIP supposed to play? This will only drive down traffic.
The solution is simple.
- Get rid of cubits. Besides, this is called ChessCube, not ChessCubits
- Let non-paying users play as many games as they want every day
- Give great incentives for becoming VIP, such as actual, advanced game stats and analysis and/or easier access to tournaments
- Watch as more people join the site when they can play unlimited chess for free
- Watch as an overall increase in site traffic drives up the number of paying, VIP users
- Feel good about enticing people to go VIP on the merits of your content