Gotta love the open mind, people. Play the game before you hate. Be prepared, you actually have to THINK everything through, from character creation to actual playing, rather go collect ten boar tails. Several ex-WoW players told me that. You reallly shouldn't judge an MMO unless you play it more than 30 days.
Amen to that btw what do you think of the 11th doctor?
WHY DAVID WHY!!! A stupid Danish Prince over a Timelord!?!?!
LOL! I'm with ya, but after Christopher Eccleston, I thought the "kid" would crash and burn, and he did GREAT. So I'm gonna shut up about the Doctor.
It’s a side effect of Time Lord rejuvenation that they keep getting younger, the new guy is the 11th Doctor. Doctor number 12 will look about twelve years old too.
It’s a side effect of Time Lord rejuvenation that they keep getting younger, the new guy is the 11th Doctor. Doctor number 12 will look about twelve years old too.
Derailing a thread about gaming purely based on your forum name---PRICELESS! ;P
Yes, I am a gamer girl. Dungeons and Dragons Online: April 2006 THELANIS: Guild: Merc's Only. Trissa, Kleo, Sousake, Mulder, Roselyn, Caboose, Kaname, Scully, Courwin, Oncoming, Lanarissa, Doomlord, Tnannet, Healbotatron, keitherland, Keatheran, Allura, Riversong, Johnsmith, Jennysmith I also play Star Trek Online and LotRO, on occasion.
Does anyone here think the reviewers who write the articles play the MMO for 30+ days? Richard Aihoshi has said he only has the time to review a F2P game up to ~ Level 15. If the reviewers only look at a game for a couple of days and can write a review I think we are entitled to at least form an opinion.
By chance have you even played the game?
Level cap is 20 so if he got up to level 15 he put some work into it since only completed quests give XP. Trash all the monsters you want and it don't count for squat, only thing that does is finishing the quest.
If it will help you visual it better, each level has 4 sub-levels so a lvl 20 cap = lvl 80. Level 15 would mean he made it up to around lvl 60.
I have gathered a bunch of adventurers and downloaded the game last week (and did the tutorial), tomorrow will we start our first adventure here.
We figured that this is the game that works best if you play it with your friends, from the little I seen does it look better than I thought, it even have dx10 support.
I hope this game will be a good game to run 1 or 2 days a week with a large party, something closer to pnp RPG games.
LOL almost 85% of the content is locked unless you buy it or go VIP. hontestly this is why i quit,because it is NOT a true F2P mmo imo. A true f2p mmo has 75% of the content already unlocked at least if not all to be f2p...just goes to show that Video games are going the way of hollywood movies HA!.
Ah, do you people know a thing about Free to Play MMOs? Do you really think there are MMO games which are 100% free?
No, there's none. And there won't be any. But "Free to Play" is an accurate term - it means just that: you are able to play for free. Get used to it, it's not like developers depend on charity or donations for their hard, daily and past-time work.
And when it comes to being "free", DDO does it best - it's actually the only F2P MMO in which playing 100% for free is possible at all. On our portal we're even organizing events which help people earn Turbine Points for free on, all servers.
lolz... first, in a true f2p model game u can go anywhere even if u cant kill anything there... u just buy better boost or something like that on the cash shops, u dont play like using a dog collar that dont let u go to through the whole game. in DnD u CAN' T go anywhere, u are restricted by cash itens... simple, so thats not a true F2P and thats the point.
You're not restricted by cash. You can earn turbine points ingame and buy the adventure packs, the other classes, etc. no cash needed. Does it take longer than just plunking down the cash? Sure does. Just like it takes longer to get anywhere without buying leveling items from cash shops in other f2p games.
I think the protests in this thread are entirely unwarranted. DDO is clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the f2p field because it was designed as a p2p and has decent content unlike it's other f2p competitors.
Awarding DDO as the best f2p was clearly the right thing to do. How anyone can dispute this is unclear to me.
People have a difference of opinion. Personally I think DDO is trash even as a F2P game. I enjoy Jade Dynasty, Granado Espada, RF Online, Atlantica Online, and even Runes of Magic (and I think RoM is just bad). A hell of alot more then DDO. It's all just preference.
In War - Victory. In Peace - Vigilance. In Death - Sacrifice.
I think the protests in this thread are entirely unwarranted. DDO is clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the f2p field because it was designed as a p2p and has decent content unlike it's other f2p competitors.
Awarding DDO as the best f2p was clearly the right thing to do. How anyone can dispute this is unclear to me.
People have a difference of opinion. Personally I think DDO is trash even as a F2P game. I enjoy Jade Dynasty, Granado Espada, RF Online, Atlantica Online, and even Runes of Magic (and I think RoM is just bad). A hell of alot more then DDO. It's all just preference.
Nice list of games, except they are all horrendous grindfests and have little or no end game content. Of course getting to end game is a real chore in all those games you listed, unless of course you invest very heavily in the item shop. I got to end game in DDO with very little cash spent and actually have things to do. Turbine also updates their game regularly which again cannot be seen with any of the games you listed.
So you are entitled to your opinion, but I don't see you posting one reason why you find these games better.
I think the protests in this thread are entirely unwarranted. DDO is clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the f2p field because it was designed as a p2p and has decent content unlike it's other f2p competitors.
Awarding DDO as the best f2p was clearly the right thing to do. How anyone can dispute this is unclear to me.
People have a difference of opinion. Personally I think DDO is trash even as a F2P game. I enjoy Jade Dynasty, Granado Espada, RF Online, Atlantica Online, and even Runes of Magic (and I think RoM is just bad). A hell of alot more then DDO. It's all just preference.
Nice list of games, except they are all horrendous grindfests and have little or no end game content. Of course getting to end game is a real chore in all those games you listed, unless of course you invest very heavily in the item shop. I got to end game in DDO with very little cash spent and actually have things to do. Turbine also updates their game regularly which again cannot be seen with any of the games you listed.
So you are entitled to your opinion, but I don't see you posting one reason why you find these games better.
I did give you a reason. I find them more fun. As a gamer that's all the reason I need to choose one game over another. I honestly don't understand why you are getting so bent out of shape about it. So people don't think DDO deserves it, so what. At the end of the day all the matters is what you decide to play, what you find "fun". Like I said personally I thought DDO was trash. Thought the same about it during beta and at release. Does that in any way effect your ability to enjoy the game? Nope, it's just people speaking their mind. Just like most things dealing with game awards "best" is subjective. Just look at that game of the decade thread. Alot of people thought HL2 is game of the decade by a long shot. Where as I on the other hand happen to agree with Gameloading. HL2 was a great game, but hardly game of the decade. People will always see things differently. Do you really want a game site or even a world, where everyone agrees with everyone else?
In War - Victory. In Peace - Vigilance. In Death - Sacrifice.
I deleted DnD after the first day. It was one the most disappointing games i ever tired.Not that it is the wost game,but carrying a title of such grandeur ,warrants a triple AAA release of the product.I was totally turned off by how cheap the game is,it looks like some indie console developer made it. Oh well i know there is millions of people out there playing ANYTHING and everything,so trying to make sense of what goes on in the gaming world is useless.
Yeah... I loved the dungeon design (I still think Turbine does it best in that category), and the implementation of puzzles (though having them exactly the same every time kinda limits the challenge... be nice if they were in any of a number of locations on each run, or triggered in different ways.... just to change it up a bit.
But anyway... I've frankly seen more creativity and originality in some persistent servers I played on for Neverwinter Nights back when that game was still really active.
There were a number of things that just felt off to me about DDO.
- I don't like the Eberron setting... Among other things, the Warforged are just weird to me.
- The starting town you're in feels *entirely* too claustrophobic and is needlessly meandering in its layout, in my opinion
- I hate the gated nature of the content; seeing all these doors and such and reading "you don't have the quest for that", or whatever the dialog is. That only made the place feel even smaller.
- Way, way, way too instanced
- A variety of other little things that irked me.
I dunno... the game just didn't sit right with me.
Haven't played it in some months now, since well before it went F2P.. so who knows, maybe they've made improvements.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Does anyone here think the reviewers who write the articles play the MMO for 30+ days? Richard Aihoshi has said he only has the time to review a F2P game up to ~ Level 15. If the reviewers only look at a game for a couple of days and can write a review I think we are entitled to at least form an opinion.
By chance have you even played the game?
Level cap is 20 so if he got up to level 15 he put some work into it since only completed quests give XP. Trash all the monsters you want and it don't count for squat, only thing that does is finishing the quest.
If it will help you visual it better, each level has 4 sub-levels so a lvl 20 cap = lvl 80. Level 15 would mean he made it up to around lvl 60.
Before you post, please read what you have decided to comment on.
I was referring to what he normally does, I do not even know if he has played this game. The level 15 he quoted was for a game that had 50 to 60 levels.
I deleted DnD after the first day. It was one the most disappointing games i ever tired.Not that it is the wost game,but carrying a title of such grandeur ,warrants a triple AAA release of the product.I was totally turned off by how cheap the game is,it looks like some indie console developer made it. Oh well i know there is millions of people out there playing ANYTHING and everything,so trying to make sense of what goes on in the gaming world is useless.
Yeah... I loved the dungeon design (I still think Turbine does it best in that category), and the implementation of puzzles (though having them exactly the same every time kinda limits the challenge... be nice if they were in any of a number of locations on each run, or triggered in different ways.... just to change it up a bit.
But anyway... I've frankly seen more creativity and originality in some persistent servers I played on for Neverwinter Nights back when that game was still really active.
There were a number of things that just felt off to me about DDO.
- I don't like the Eberron setting... Among other things, the Warforged are just weird to me.
- The starting town you're in feels *entirely* too claustrophobic and is needlessly meandering in its layout, in my opinion
- I hate the gated nature of the content; seeing all these doors and such and reading "you don't have the quest for that", or whatever the dialog is. That only made the place feel even smaller.
- Way, way, way too instanced
- A variety of other little things that irked me.
I dunno... the game just didn't sit right with me.
Haven't played it in some months now, since well before it went F2P.. so who knows, maybe they've made improvements.
The game is still instanced. Stormreach has been getting bigger and bigger. More "cities" such as Gianthold, Korthos and Meridia have made the place feel better. Not sure when you played but they have put the Marketplace Tent back up and it is alot smoother than before. Also, the wilderness areas are staarting to get quests in them, like Cerulean Hills.
Eberron setting was the only choice for Turbine. Atari has the rights (for now) to publish FOrgotton Realms.
I personally like having the game mostly instanced. THere is no Griefing with quests, loot and rares. Not for everyone, I know, but most consider an asset of the game.
And WF are the Uber race...
Yes, I am a gamer girl. Dungeons and Dragons Online: April 2006 THELANIS: Guild: Merc's Only. Trissa, Kleo, Sousake, Mulder, Roselyn, Caboose, Kaname, Scully, Courwin, Oncoming, Lanarissa, Doomlord, Tnannet, Healbotatron, keitherland, Keatheran, Allura, Riversong, Johnsmith, Jennysmith I also play Star Trek Online and LotRO, on occasion.
Originally posted by godommorpg lolz... first, in a true f2p model game u can go anywhere even if u cant kill anything there... u just buy better boost or something like that on the cash shops, u dont play like using a dog collar that dont let u go to through the whole game. in DnD u CAN' T go anywhere, u are restricted by cash itens... simple, so thats not a true F2P and thats the point.
According to Wikipedia, your idea of what f2p means is NOT what the currently accepted definition of f2p is.
From Wikipedia: "Free-to-play (F2P, FTP) refers to any game that has an option of allowing its players to play without paying. Some of these games have both a free version and a Pay to Play version that offers the full version of the game and all of the updates. Free-to-play games with pay-to-play components utilize the freebie marketing technique to draw in a user base with this advanced type of game demo. The term "free-to-play" is frequently heard in the context of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs).
Many game developers keep a free-to-play version running so people can try the game before paying the membership costs. It also helps attract more players to the game. Other developers, for example Softnyx or Nexon, generate revenue by selling in-game items that significantly enhance the player's in-game experience. In-game items can be purely cosmetic (vanity items), enhance the power of the player (power items), or accelerate progression speed (booster items). A common technique used by developers of these games is for the items purchased to have a time limit, after this expires the item must be repurchased before use can continue."
If I had to choose between your opinion and Wiki's opinion, I choose theirs. And, according to theirs, DDO is indeed f2p.
Originally posted by godommorpg lolz... first, in a true f2p model game u can go anywhere even if u cant kill anything there... u just buy better boost or something like that on the cash shops, u dont play like using a dog collar that dont let u go to through the whole game. in DnD u CAN' T go anywhere, u are restricted by cash itens... simple, so thats not a true F2P and thats the point.
According to Wikipedia, your idea of what f2p means is NOT what the currently accepted definition of f2p is.
From Wikipedia: "Free-to-play (F2P, FTP) refers to any game that has an option of allowing its players to play without paying. Some of these games have both a free version and a Pay to Play version that offers the full version of the game and all of the updates. Free-to-play games with pay-to-play components utilize the freebie marketing technique to draw in a user base with this advanced type of game demo. The term "free-to-play" is frequently heard in the context of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs).
Many game developers keep a free-to-play version running so people can try the game before paying the membership costs. It also helps attract more players to the game. Other developers, for example Softnyx or Nexon, generate revenue by selling in-game items that significantly enhance the player's in-game experience. In-game items can be purely cosmetic (vanity items), enhance the power of the player (power items), or accelerate progression speed (booster items). A common technique used by developers of these games is for the items purchased to have a time limit, after this expires the item must be repurchased before use can continue."
If I had to choose between your opinion and Wiki's opinion, I choose theirs. And, according to theirs, DDO is indeed f2p.
I agree with you. There is actually been a few tries with adds in F2P games instead of a cash shop or similar system.
I think DDO have handled their cash shop very good, you can unlock stuff from there without paying if you have patience and you don't need to buy anything if you don't have to but they still have sweet stuff there.
I think MMORPG, for awards sake, needs to define their view of games that fall into the F2P model and thus qualify for awards.
Wiki: "Free-to-play games with pay-to-play components utilize the freebie marketing technique to draw in a user base with this advanced type of game demo."
As I mention in my former post, using this definition, do "unlimited trials" qualify? I think not but there are to many F2P models and more coming so next year put some qualifiers in place for nominees.
I keep seeing this "DDO was P2P turned F2P so it should not qualify". My view, I am glad it qualified and won. My rationale; it currently IS a fun F2P and I hope what Turbine did with DDO is something we see more of from other publishers going into the future. Imagine games like Auto Assault or Tabula Rasa with F2P models, instead of this "well, it just didn't work out, shutdown". If AOC or Warhammer ever get to this level that publishers would look at what Turbine did and change to a F2P model instead of a complete shutdown. Whether you think DDO should have received this award or not you can't argue what Turbine did was successful and hope this encourages publishers to rethink shutdowns to failing MMO's. Maybe this would encourage a publisher to dust-off an already failed MMO and reintroduce it with a F2P model. Or at least sell the IP to another publisher who would. So gratz to Turbine, I hope what you have done with DDO will get other publishers to follow your lead.
I wonder why Runes of Magic wasn't on the list. Anyone know?
Prolly becuase of thier crappy customer support. They are a very bad company. and besides, I played the game and it wasnt that good. I quitafter a few plays.
So did I !
Seemed too cheesy to me in my opinion.
Live for today and let tomorrow look after itself!
How can you call this game the best free to play? Its not even fully free to play. They make you pay at some point later in the game if you wish to contuine with your character. A free to play game does not charge to keep playing. They may have a cash shop but you dont have to buy to play. Thats a free to play game.
For your persistence in dungeon delving and earning favor...you earn Turbine points that can be spent in the DDO store where you can buy those sigals for level advancement and P2P adventures. It is free you just need to be persistent and patient if you don't want to spend cash...all the Turbine points you earn with characters you create, even the ones on other servers, stack on your single account. It is possible to get level 20 and do all the adventures without spending a single penny. What other F2P game gives you that. This in my opinion is the best F2P game out there.
Hear Hear !
Live for today and let tomorrow look after itself!
Comments
Amen to that btw what do you think of the 11th doctor?
WHY DAVID WHY!!! A stupid Danish Prince over a Timelord!?!?!
LOL! I'm with ya, but after Christopher Eccleston, I thought the "kid" would crash and burn, and he did GREAT. So I'm gonna shut up about the Doctor.
It’s a side effect of Time Lord rejuvenation that they keep getting younger, the new guy is the 11th Doctor. Doctor number 12 will look about twelve years old too.
Derailing a thread about gaming purely based on your forum name---PRICELESS! ;P
Yes, I am a gamer girl.
Dungeons and Dragons Online: April 2006
THELANIS: Guild: Merc's Only. Trissa, Kleo, Sousake, Mulder, Roselyn, Caboose, Kaname, Scully, Courwin, Oncoming, Lanarissa, Doomlord, Tnannet, Healbotatron, keitherland, Keatheran, Allura, Riversong, Johnsmith, Jennysmith
I also play Star Trek Online and LotRO, on occasion.
By chance have you even played the game?
Level cap is 20 so if he got up to level 15 he put some work into it since only completed quests give XP. Trash all the monsters you want and it don't count for squat, only thing that does is finishing the quest.
If it will help you visual it better, each level has 4 sub-levels so a lvl 20 cap = lvl 80. Level 15 would mean he made it up to around lvl 60.
SWG (pre-cu) - AoC (pre-f2p) - PotBS (pre-boarder) - DDO - LotRO (pre-f2p) - STO (pre-f2p) - GnH (beta tester) - SWTOR - Neverwinter
I have gathered a bunch of adventurers and downloaded the game last week (and did the tutorial), tomorrow will we start our first adventure here.
We figured that this is the game that works best if you play it with your friends, from the little I seen does it look better than I thought, it even have dx10 support.
I hope this game will be a good game to run 1 or 2 days a week with a large party, something closer to pnp RPG games.
Ah, do you people know a thing about Free to Play MMOs? Do you really think there are MMO games which are 100% free?
No, there's none. And there won't be any. But "Free to Play" is an accurate term - it means just that: you are able to play for free. Get used to it, it's not like developers depend on charity or donations for their hard, daily and past-time work.
And when it comes to being "free", DDO does it best - it's actually the only F2P MMO in which playing 100% for free is possible at all. On our portal we're even organizing events which help people earn Turbine Points for free on, all servers.
lolz... first, in a true f2p model game u can go anywhere even if u cant kill anything there... u just buy better boost or something like that on the cash shops, u dont play like using a dog collar that dont let u go to through the whole game. in DnD u CAN' T go anywhere, u are restricted by cash itens... simple, so thats not a true F2P and thats the point.
You're not restricted by cash. You can earn turbine points ingame and buy the adventure packs, the other classes, etc. no cash needed. Does it take longer than just plunking down the cash? Sure does. Just like it takes longer to get anywhere without buying leveling items from cash shops in other f2p games.
So your "point" is wrong. I sense a false "god".
People have a difference of opinion. Personally I think DDO is trash even as a F2P game. I enjoy Jade Dynasty, Granado Espada, RF Online, Atlantica Online, and even Runes of Magic (and I think RoM is just bad). A hell of alot more then DDO. It's all just preference.
In War - Victory.
In Peace - Vigilance.
In Death - Sacrifice.
People have a difference of opinion. Personally I think DDO is trash even as a F2P game. I enjoy Jade Dynasty, Granado Espada, RF Online, Atlantica Online, and even Runes of Magic (and I think RoM is just bad). A hell of alot more then DDO. It's all just preference.
Nice list of games, except they are all horrendous grindfests and have little or no end game content. Of course getting to end game is a real chore in all those games you listed, unless of course you invest very heavily in the item shop. I got to end game in DDO with very little cash spent and actually have things to do. Turbine also updates their game regularly which again cannot be seen with any of the games you listed.
So you are entitled to your opinion, but I don't see you posting one reason why you find these games better.
People have a difference of opinion. Personally I think DDO is trash even as a F2P game. I enjoy Jade Dynasty, Granado Espada, RF Online, Atlantica Online, and even Runes of Magic (and I think RoM is just bad). A hell of alot more then DDO. It's all just preference.
Nice list of games, except they are all horrendous grindfests and have little or no end game content. Of course getting to end game is a real chore in all those games you listed, unless of course you invest very heavily in the item shop. I got to end game in DDO with very little cash spent and actually have things to do. Turbine also updates their game regularly which again cannot be seen with any of the games you listed.
So you are entitled to your opinion, but I don't see you posting one reason why you find these games better.
I did give you a reason. I find them more fun. As a gamer that's all the reason I need to choose one game over another. I honestly don't understand why you are getting so bent out of shape about it. So people don't think DDO deserves it, so what. At the end of the day all the matters is what you decide to play, what you find "fun". Like I said personally I thought DDO was trash. Thought the same about it during beta and at release. Does that in any way effect your ability to enjoy the game? Nope, it's just people speaking their mind. Just like most things dealing with game awards "best" is subjective. Just look at that game of the decade thread. Alot of people thought HL2 is game of the decade by a long shot. Where as I on the other hand happen to agree with Gameloading. HL2 was a great game, but hardly game of the decade. People will always see things differently. Do you really want a game site or even a world, where everyone agrees with everyone else?
In War - Victory.
In Peace - Vigilance.
In Death - Sacrifice.
Yeah... I loved the dungeon design (I still think Turbine does it best in that category), and the implementation of puzzles (though having them exactly the same every time kinda limits the challenge... be nice if they were in any of a number of locations on each run, or triggered in different ways.... just to change it up a bit.
But anyway... I've frankly seen more creativity and originality in some persistent servers I played on for Neverwinter Nights back when that game was still really active.
There were a number of things that just felt off to me about DDO.
- I don't like the Eberron setting... Among other things, the Warforged are just weird to me.
- The starting town you're in feels *entirely* too claustrophobic and is needlessly meandering in its layout, in my opinion
- I hate the gated nature of the content; seeing all these doors and such and reading "you don't have the quest for that", or whatever the dialog is. That only made the place feel even smaller.
- Way, way, way too instanced
- A variety of other little things that irked me.
I dunno... the game just didn't sit right with me.
Haven't played it in some months now, since well before it went F2P.. so who knows, maybe they've made improvements.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
By chance have you even played the game?
Level cap is 20 so if he got up to level 15 he put some work into it since only completed quests give XP. Trash all the monsters you want and it don't count for squat, only thing that does is finishing the quest.
If it will help you visual it better, each level has 4 sub-levels so a lvl 20 cap = lvl 80. Level 15 would mean he made it up to around lvl 60.
Before you post, please read what you have decided to comment on.
I was referring to what he normally does, I do not even know if he has played this game. The level 15 he quoted was for a game that had 50 to 60 levels.
Yeah... I loved the dungeon design (I still think Turbine does it best in that category), and the implementation of puzzles (though having them exactly the same every time kinda limits the challenge... be nice if they were in any of a number of locations on each run, or triggered in different ways.... just to change it up a bit.
But anyway... I've frankly seen more creativity and originality in some persistent servers I played on for Neverwinter Nights back when that game was still really active.
There were a number of things that just felt off to me about DDO.
- I don't like the Eberron setting... Among other things, the Warforged are just weird to me.
- The starting town you're in feels *entirely* too claustrophobic and is needlessly meandering in its layout, in my opinion
- I hate the gated nature of the content; seeing all these doors and such and reading "you don't have the quest for that", or whatever the dialog is. That only made the place feel even smaller.
- Way, way, way too instanced
- A variety of other little things that irked me.
I dunno... the game just didn't sit right with me.
Haven't played it in some months now, since well before it went F2P.. so who knows, maybe they've made improvements.
The game is still instanced. Stormreach has been getting bigger and bigger. More "cities" such as Gianthold, Korthos and Meridia have made the place feel better. Not sure when you played but they have put the Marketplace Tent back up and it is alot smoother than before. Also, the wilderness areas are staarting to get quests in them, like Cerulean Hills.
Eberron setting was the only choice for Turbine. Atari has the rights (for now) to publish FOrgotton Realms.
I personally like having the game mostly instanced. THere is no Griefing with quests, loot and rares. Not for everyone, I know, but most consider an asset of the game.
And WF are the Uber race...
Yes, I am a gamer girl.
Dungeons and Dragons Online: April 2006
THELANIS: Guild: Merc's Only. Trissa, Kleo, Sousake, Mulder, Roselyn, Caboose, Kaname, Scully, Courwin, Oncoming, Lanarissa, Doomlord, Tnannet, Healbotatron, keitherland, Keatheran, Allura, Riversong, Johnsmith, Jennysmith
I also play Star Trek Online and LotRO, on occasion.
According to Wikipedia, your idea of what f2p means is NOT what the currently accepted definition of f2p is.
From Wikipedia: "Free-to-play (F2P, FTP) refers to any game that has an option of allowing its players to play without paying. Some of these games have both a free version and a Pay to Play version that offers the full version of the game and all of the updates. Free-to-play games with pay-to-play components utilize the freebie marketing technique to draw in a user base with this advanced type of game demo. The term "free-to-play" is frequently heard in the context of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs).
Many game developers keep a free-to-play version running so people can try the game before paying the membership costs. It also helps attract more players to the game. Other developers, for example Softnyx or Nexon, generate revenue by selling in-game items that significantly enhance the player's in-game experience. In-game items can be purely cosmetic (vanity items), enhance the power of the player (power items), or accelerate progression speed (booster items). A common technique used by developers of these games is for the items purchased to have a time limit, after this expires the item must be repurchased before use can continue."
If I had to choose between your opinion and Wiki's opinion, I choose theirs. And, according to theirs, DDO is indeed f2p.
Judging from the currently available P2P mmo's out there, the same could be said of most P2P games too.
According to Wikipedia, your idea of what f2p means is NOT what the currently accepted definition of f2p is.
From Wikipedia: "Free-to-play (F2P, FTP) refers to any game that has an option of allowing its players to play without paying. Some of these games have both a free version and a Pay to Play version that offers the full version of the game and all of the updates. Free-to-play games with pay-to-play components utilize the freebie marketing technique to draw in a user base with this advanced type of game demo. The term "free-to-play" is frequently heard in the context of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs).
Many game developers keep a free-to-play version running so people can try the game before paying the membership costs. It also helps attract more players to the game. Other developers, for example Softnyx or Nexon, generate revenue by selling in-game items that significantly enhance the player's in-game experience. In-game items can be purely cosmetic (vanity items), enhance the power of the player (power items), or accelerate progression speed (booster items). A common technique used by developers of these games is for the items purchased to have a time limit, after this expires the item must be repurchased before use can continue."
If I had to choose between your opinion and Wiki's opinion, I choose theirs. And, according to theirs, DDO is indeed f2p.
I agree with you. There is actually been a few tries with adds in F2P games instead of a cash shop or similar system.
I think DDO have handled their cash shop very good, you can unlock stuff from there without paying if you have patience and you don't need to buy anything if you don't have to but they still have sweet stuff there.
In Wizard 101 the first few zones in world 1 are free. For the rest of the first world and all the other worlds you have to pay.
When I read the wiki-text above, this would be F2P. No idea, who fed wiki with this. In my opinion it is more like a trial or demo.
I think MMORPG, for awards sake, needs to define their view of games that fall into the F2P model and thus qualify for awards.
Wiki:
"Free-to-play games with pay-to-play components utilize the freebie marketing technique to draw in a user base with this advanced type of game demo."
As I mention in my former post, using this definition, do "unlimited trials" qualify? I think not but there are to many F2P models and more coming so next year put some qualifiers in place for nominees.
I keep seeing this "DDO was P2P turned F2P so it should not qualify". My view, I am glad it qualified and won. My rationale; it currently IS a fun F2P and I hope what Turbine did with DDO is something we see more of from other publishers going into the future. Imagine games like Auto Assault or Tabula Rasa with F2P models, instead of this "well, it just didn't work out, shutdown". If AOC or Warhammer ever get to this level that publishers would look at what Turbine did and change to a F2P model instead of a complete shutdown. Whether you think DDO should have received this award or not you can't argue what Turbine did was successful and hope this encourages publishers to rethink shutdowns to failing MMO's. Maybe this would encourage a publisher to dust-off an already failed MMO and reintroduce it with a F2P model. Or at least sell the IP to another publisher who would. So gratz to Turbine, I hope what you have done with DDO will get other publishers to follow your lead.
how did dragonica get in the top 5? i heard that was a terrible game and it looks terrible too....replace that with runes of magic.
Prolly becuase of thier crappy customer support. They are a very bad company. and besides, I played the game and it wasnt that good. I quitafter a few plays.
So did I !
Seemed too cheesy to me in my opinion.
Live for today and let tomorrow look after itself!
For your persistence in dungeon delving and earning favor...you earn Turbine points that can be spent in the DDO store where you can buy those sigals for level advancement and P2P adventures. It is free you just need to be persistent and patient if you don't want to spend cash...all the Turbine points you earn with characters you create, even the ones on other servers, stack on your single account. It is possible to get level 20 and do all the adventures without spending a single penny. What other F2P game gives you that. This in my opinion is the best F2P game out there.
Hear Hear !
Live for today and let tomorrow look after itself!