I agree. In economics there is formula's for maximizing profit.
A. You sell 1 item and get $10 profit.
B. You sell 1000 items, get 1 cent profit each for a total of $10 profit.
C. Somewhere in the middle, you maximize profit, example sell 50 items, get $1 profit each, you make $50 profit.
If the cost of purchasing QP via paypal was lower I would buy QP to pay for navagation and engine officers. I won't spend $3 a month for each officer, I can buy a full PC game for less than the $36 a year EACH officer would cost.
You stated it's $36 for each officer. There're 5 officers. So it should be $180/year, but you're incorrect.
officer / year - lowest efficiency using the "15 QP (+25 days)" option
note: pay 1.5 for each officer
$1.7 (1.5 + 0.20 tax) = 15 QP
365 / 25 = 14.6 = $24.82 / year
$124.1 for all officers / yearofficer / year - 3rd highest efficiency using the "160 QP (+365 days)" option
note: pay 14.5 for each officer
$14.7 (14.5 + 0.20 tax) = 160 QP
$14.7 / year
$73.5 for all officers / yearall officers / year - 2nd highest efficiency using the "160 QP (+365 days)" option
note: pay 66.7 for all officers
$66.9 (66.7 + 0.20 tax) = 160x5 = 800 QP
$66.9 for all officers / yearall officers / year - highest efficiency--same as above--except prepaying 2 years
note: pay 128 for all officers
$128.2 (128 + 0.20 tax) = 160x5x2 = 1600 QP
$64.1 for all officers / year$128.2 for all ofifcers / 2 years
Please note I'm assuming you're using paypal. I'm also assuming there's a $0.20 flat tax on each payment.
Note: I'm against this just throwing more carrots at players. It may be a good thing, but I don't like it. It appeals to player's base instincts, not our higher cognitive abilities. All it's doing is unloading some shinies on them, betting they'll give you more revenue. And because already existing content is being eaten up faster, the pressure is higher to produce more. It's a never ending cycle of throwing carrots at players and pressure to produce more. The problem is it's not a silver bullet. It's a proven reliable methods of keeping a game alive some extra years, but it's not the be all end all of game development.