I am actually very optimistic that DF will be a relative success this year but not because of trials. Although I could be wrong I really don’t think gamers who have been holding out simply because of the cost are going to make it. I could get into in details of that view but I mainly just wanted to state I think what is really going to push DF into the near mainstream is boxes in stores and advertising which is coming
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Well I've surely been waiting for something like this so I dropped the dollar and downloading now. More than anything I've been holding out on buying the game due to not knowing how well it'd run on my system. Now I'll know if I'll be buying it within 7 days or if its still alive next year during tax season.
The $1 thing is fine and takes away a lot of the issues people had with offering free trials (war decs, gatherers, alignment farming) People are far less to make multiple alt free trial accounts if it isnt free.
As for payment methods, there are plenty. Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Paypall, prepaid Visa, MC, Amex etc cards that can be purchased almost anywhere.
Originally posted by daarco C´mon, it is 2010. Soon will people complain you need internet as well : )
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
Originally posted by daarco C´mon, it is 2010. Soon will people complain you need internet as well : )
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
Why charge 1 dollar? to keep gold spammers away? Doesn't make much sense. I usually run a trial five or six times with multiple races and playstyles before i decide on the account i will play. I would hate to pay for each trial attempt.
It basically boils down to the fact that any game with AFK-mining* and open PVP can be exploited by running multiple accounts in order to extract resources faster with very little risk.
*or any gathering that is inherently automated for long periods of time. In Darkfall you initiate resource-collecting and your character will sit there like 6-10 mins collecting for you, while you can basically go AFK.
Even at $1, I imagine many players will take advantage of doing this. It's a degenerative trait of the way they've designed the game.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
Originally posted by daarco C´mon, it is 2010. Soon will people complain you need internet as well : )
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
Ok as much as I agree with you that a $1 trial is a bit hysterical that is a seperate issue from the game itself. I would defend the game becuase the game is fun. I am not going to judge an entire game based on how it offers a trial that is sillyness
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Originally posted by daarco C´mon, it is 2010. Soon will people complain you need internet as well : )
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
Exactly. The last thing I want to see in Darkfall is some idiots with names like "svlsdvkljsv" beating on nodes.
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
Originally posted by daarco C´mon, it is 2010. Soon will people complain you need internet as well : )
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
It's not about being cheap (and besides, I've already tried and given up on DF)
Imagine a chart of "How many people will try a product vs. Cost?" When a product is free, tons of people are willing to try it. As soon as you move to the second value (where the trial costs any amount of money, such as $1) then you lose more than half of the people willing to try a product.
So it's not about being cheap, it's about criticizing bad business decisions (which result from bad game design models.)
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
It's not about being cheap (and besides, I've already tried and given up on DF) Imagine a chart of "How many people will try a product vs. Cost?" When a product is free, tons of people are willing to try it. As soon as you move to the second value (where the trial costs any amount of money, such as $1) then you lose more than half of the people willing to try a product. So it's not about being cheap, it's about criticizing bad business decisions (which result from bad game design models.)
I really do not agree with this at all.
Look here is how it happens. You read the game description and if your view on reading it is "well I am not exactly sure, maybe, I dont know for sure" then yes you would be intrested in trial options. On the other hand, if you read the description and say to yourself 'hell yeah! this is exactly what i have been looking for. This sound perfect!" then you are not going to wait for a stupid trial.
So, the question is, arent most of the trial foks kind of on the fence for the game description? and do we think they wiill last? I think they will not end up liking the game to be honest.
Now what will help DF? I think exposure from advertising. I think there are a lot of gamers out there who if they knew about the game they would be very excited about it and fully willing to pay the full $50.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Originally posted by Axehilt Originally posted by jango1337 Originally posted by Axehilt Originally posted by daarco C´mon, it is 2010. Soon will people complain you need internet as well : )
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated. it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
It's not about being cheap (and besides, I've already tried and given up on DF) Imagine a chart of "How many people will try a product vs. Cost?" When a product is free, tons of people are willing to try it. As soon as you move to the second value (where the trial costs any amount of money, such as $1) then you lose more than half of the people willing to try a product. So it's not about being cheap, it's about criticizing bad business decisions (which result from bad game design models.)
Do you realize that I can generate any Credit Card number and they can't check if it's real card before making payment? That $1 or 1 Euro is to check credit card credibility. They are protecting their current player base which is fine by me since I'm playing and haven't seen any hakers or gold spammers yet. As for going afk for 7 minutes while gathering: in EVE you can go for 15-20 min afk gathering with proper setup. EVE must be even worse then.
Btw. Don't call other games gameplay design model bad simply because you don't like it. It's good that since day 1 you can mine/gather products that are used by all players around. Besides you are playing WoW and GA. Both games I find dull but at least I'm not coming to their forums 10 times a day to convince them(you) how shitty their game is.
I posted this up on Massively and I figured I would post it here also to open some discussion on why I think Darkfall charges $1 for there trial as opposed to offering it up for free.
Lets take a few things into account here. One Darkfall is a FFA PvP game. You can attack anyone at anytime without much repercussions (aka there are no true safe zones within the game - the I believe the latest patch offers up some new player style of protection - not for sure haven't played in two-three months) Two Darkfall revolves around a deep community based meta game of spying, seigeing, and community. (Eve Online has a very similar system in Low Sec space. Only thing is Darkfall doesn't exactly have a Low Sec area.. All of Darkfall is considered Low Sec) Three there are known hacks that work within Darkfall that are constently being worked on to get plugged.
Now with that said theres real issues with offering a true free trial for Darkfall without putting some type of limitations on the trial. (In the current case there are no limits to a trial account. Your free to do everything a full darkfall player can do.)
First issue I for see is keeping people from making dozens of alts to flood the starter cities and killing any player attempting to try out the game. This is a real issue because every people game is flooded with people that make it there pure goal to gank and ruin other peoples enjoyment. Heck you see this in Mortal Online right now in the open beta. With trial accounts being free there is nothing to keep someone from making dozens of accounts or heck even small guilds that live off ruining others fun making a bunch of accounts just to zerg the starter citys and kill everyone and everything.
Second issue being economy based. Making alt characters to just farm the starter zone camps to sell the items for silver / gold endlessly. This alone would completely ruin the economy that has built up within Darkfall and it would open a huge door saying come on in farmers.. we want you!
Third using the free trial accounts as a means to spy on your enemys without any repercussions. Whats to keep a guild from rolling up a bunch of trial accounts to just create characters to stand outside your enemys city and attack the guild anytime they leave there city? Yes a new player wont put up too much effort ageanst an established player but a group of new players can easly take down an established player or two. Numbers do make a big difference.
Forth the real issue of hacking. There are known hacks for Darkfall. Heck there are hacks for every game out there. Within Darkfall the GM's have clamped down on the hacking alot by banning accounts of hackers and people / guilds using hacks. A free trial account system would just open the door for anyone and everything to grab a hack and ruin the game. Yes the idea situation would be for them to fix the hacks. And thats something they have been endlessly working on but its a real ongoing issue non the less.
Fith land based pvp control. Whats to keep a guild from rolling up a guild of free trial alts to run around and capture the farms, mini towns, ect.? The entire system would be crazy and I am sure there are people and guilds that would make it there entire purposes to do just this endlessly without effort so that other paying guilds, players, ect can not control said farm, mini city, ect. (There are timers that control how often a city can be attacked / defended.)
Sixth being the extra costs of allowing free people on the server. GM's will have more load put open them. Bandwidth charges for people downloading the client + patchs and the extra load put open the server. All of these are things that directly effect the current Paying Subscription Customer base of the game. Subscription players now have to wait twice a long for answers due to trial accounts also flooding the system with questions, issues, harssment, ect.
Ageain I am not fan of Darkfall. It's a interesting game and deserves its place alongside Eve Online and other games that are trying to find there nich place among MMO players. With that said its been several months since I last played Darkfall and things might have changed alot since then. Maybe there are mechanics in place to prevent some of the above from happening.
But the only real thing I could see would be putting restrictions on trial accounts. No Looting / Trading, No PvP Allowed, Can not Capture Cities / Ect. But if they did that then you would be missing out on the entire game. Because that is what Darkfall is based around.
It's not about being cheap (and besides, I've already tried and given up on DF) Imagine a chart of "How many people will try a product vs. Cost?" When a product is free, tons of people are willing to try it. As soon as you move to the second value (where the trial costs any amount of money, such as $1) then you lose more than half of the people willing to try a product. So it's not about being cheap, it's about criticizing bad business decisions (which result from bad game design models.)
I really do not agree with this at all.
Look here is how it happens. You read the game description and if your view on reading it is "well I am not exactly sure, maybe, I dont know for sure" then yes you would be intrested in trial options. On the other hand, if you read the description and say to yourself 'hell yeah! this is exactly what i have been looking for. This sound perfect!" then you are not going to wait for a stupid trial. Exactly. If you know what you're getting yourself into, a trial is nice but not necessary.
So, the question is, arent most of the trial foks kind of on the fence for the game description? and do we think they wiill last? I think they will not end up liking the game to be honest. Most probably won't, but it's the few that do that make a trial worthwile.
Now what will help DF? I think exposure from advertising. I think there are a lot of gamers out there who if they knew about the game they would be very excited about it and fully willing to pay the full $50. I've had to tell all of my friends about this game, even those that play MMOs. Darkfall needs some advertising love.
Most people spend more than a dollar everyday for their caffeine addictions. The dollar charge is a great compromise to help protect the game. If you've wanted to try this game out and are a bit on the cheap side (it's not a crime, don't fret) skip that coffee today and jump into Agon.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
And that $1 also goes to offset the charges that a trial account puts upon the company and game. Not to mention that $1 also goes to continued development on the game.
Originally posted by daarco C´mon, it is 2010. Soon will people complain you need internet as well : )
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
probably not or probably but i think it boils down to more of the principal of it heck Fallen Earth has a 10 day free trial and they are an indy company as well I am paying the dollar but imo it makes the company look bad if you ask me
and as far as payment info every free trial I have been a part of you still had to put payment info with a credit card just had to cancel it before the time was up or they would charge you( with exception of warhammer now and the aoc unlimited trial but that stuff is new but you cant talk on public channels or trade with other players) and as far as hackers I read something I forget where that alot of gold farmers and hackers in games dont have problem affording full accounts to do their dirty work
probably not or probably but i think it boils down to more of the principal of it heck Fallen Earth has a 10 day free trial and they are an indy company as well I am paying the dollar but imo it makes the company look bad if you ask me
edited:
with as few games out there that can hold my interest I really do not have the luxury of paying much attention to the business practice of the development firm that makes them. Given that I can only think of a few games in the entire MMO universe that interest me I really can only afford to pay attention to the game itself as a decision factor. I don’t have the luxury of factoring in business practices of the firm into my decision as it turns out. Not to mention I personally don’t care but it doesn’t directly affect my game experience as much as the actual code does.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
probably not or probably but i think it boils down to more of the principal of it heck Fallen Earth has a 10 day free trial and they are an indy company as well I am paying the dollar but imo it makes the company look bad if you ask me
and as far as payment info every free trial I have been a part of you still had to put payment info with a credit card just had to cancel it before the time was up or they would charge you( with exception of warhammer now and the aoc unlimited trial but that stuff is new but you cant talk on public channels or trade with other players) and as far as hackers I read something I forget where that alot of gold farmers and hackers in games dont have problem affording full accounts to do their dirty work
Darkfall and Fallen Earth are very different games. I know you have heard the reasons why AV needed a unique trial system, I've seen you in those threads
It's one buck! If you have enough interest in this game to keep posting in this forum, for god's sake get you're butt into Agon as soon as you can. Now you only have a buck to lose. Like I said in one of the other threads, skip you're damn coffee today to make up for it. That's all it takes
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
You know, I thought this would be seen as a good reason for people to go try the game, but people still like to complain and nit-pick. Honestly, $1? If you can't just shelve that out for a free week, then don't bother playing. The $15 a month for you might break your bank.
The trial could have been for one penny, and someone would still be bitching.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
umm im not sure how it is where your from, but to me a trial is free to download and use for X days. not pay X amount for X days. thats not a trial.. thats buying... doesnt matter if its 1cent or 1000billion. BUT its nice they are finally starting to offer trial bases.. sorta
Some people are never happy!
LOL just joking. But you asked for it : )
Well i must say im not realy sure they should ask small payment it can still be a big hurdle for many and with maybe 7k paying customers EU/NA i think you should as developer not put up this kind of silly obstacles for people who just wanne try out the game.
Sure 1$ is not much but i realy dont see need for that, specially at this stage we need all the players we can get.
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009..... In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.
Originally posted by rr2real are you serious? charging people to just try out your product? that's highway robbery i hope darkfall goes in the gutter soon
Sorry to disappoint you, but df is best option on market for many people wanting something different. You don't have to try that game. Besides if you would read at least couple of posts in this thread you would know why they are charging it.
Comments
I am actually very optimistic that DF will be a relative success this year but not because of trials. Although I could be wrong I really don’t think gamers who have been holding out simply because of the cost are going to make it. I could get into in details of that view but I mainly just wanted to state I think what is really going to push DF into the near mainstream is boxes in stores and advertising which is coming
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Well I've surely been waiting for something like this so I dropped the dollar and downloading now. More than anything I've been holding out on buying the game due to not knowing how well it'd run on my system. Now I'll know if I'll be buying it within 7 days or if its still alive next year during tax season.
This is GREAT news for everyone who has been on the fence about darkfall.
It would be nice if this made news on gaming websites though to further help find more new players. like IGN etc.
The $1 thing is fine and takes away a lot of the issues people had with offering free trials (war decs, gatherers, alignment farming) People are far less to make multiple alt free trial accounts if it isnt free.
As for payment methods, there are plenty. Credit Cards, Debit Cards, Paypall, prepaid Visa, MC, Amex etc cards that can be purchased almost anywhere.
My Guild Wars 2 Vids
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
It basically boils down to the fact that any game with AFK-mining* and open PVP can be exploited by running multiple accounts in order to extract resources faster with very little risk.
*or any gathering that is inherently automated for long periods of time. In Darkfall you initiate resource-collecting and your character will sit there like 6-10 mins collecting for you, while you can basically go AFK.
Even at $1, I imagine many players will take advantage of doing this. It's a degenerative trait of the way they've designed the game.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
Ok as much as I agree with you that a $1 trial is a bit hysterical that is a seperate issue from the game itself. I would defend the game becuase the game is fun. I am not going to judge an entire game based on how it offers a trial that is sillyness
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
Exactly. The last thing I want to see in Darkfall is some idiots with names like "svlsdvkljsv" beating on nodes.
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
Can anyone confirm if Mastercard is a viable payment method?
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
It's not about being cheap (and besides, I've already tried and given up on DF)
Imagine a chart of "How many people will try a product vs. Cost?" When a product is free, tons of people are willing to try it. As soon as you move to the second value (where the trial costs any amount of money, such as $1) then you lose more than half of the people willing to try a product.
So it's not about being cheap, it's about criticizing bad business decisions (which result from bad game design models.)
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
I really do not agree with this at all.
Look here is how it happens. You read the game description and if your view on reading it is "well I am not exactly sure, maybe, I dont know for sure" then yes you would be intrested in trial options. On the other hand, if you read the description and say to yourself 'hell yeah! this is exactly what i have been looking for. This sound perfect!" then you are not going to wait for a stupid trial.
So, the question is, arent most of the trial foks kind of on the fence for the game description? and do we think they wiill last? I think they will not end up liking the game to be honest.
Now what will help DF? I think exposure from advertising. I think there are a lot of gamers out there who if they knew about the game they would be very excited about it and fully willing to pay the full $50.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
It's not about being cheap (and besides, I've already tried and given up on DF)
Imagine a chart of "How many people will try a product vs. Cost?" When a product is free, tons of people are willing to try it. As soon as you move to the second value (where the trial costs any amount of money, such as $1) then you lose more than half of the people willing to try a product.
So it's not about being cheap, it's about criticizing bad business decisions (which result from bad game design models.)
Do you realize that I can generate any Credit Card number and they can't check if it's real card before making payment? That $1 or 1 Euro is to check credit card credibility. They are protecting their current player base which is fine by me since I'm playing and haven't seen any hakers or gold spammers yet. As for going afk for 7 minutes while gathering: in EVE you can go for 15-20 min afk gathering with proper setup. EVE must be even worse then.
Btw. Don't call other games gameplay design model bad simply because you don't like it. It's good that since day 1 you can mine/gather products that are used by all players around. Besides you are playing WoW and GA. Both games I find dull but at least I'm not coming to their forums 10 times a day to convince them(you) how shitty their game is.
I posted this up on Massively and I figured I would post it here also to open some discussion on why I think Darkfall charges $1 for there trial as opposed to offering it up for free.
Lets take a few things into account here. One Darkfall is a FFA PvP game. You can attack anyone at anytime without much repercussions (aka there are no true safe zones within the game - the I believe the latest patch offers up some new player style of protection - not for sure haven't played in two-three months) Two Darkfall revolves around a deep community based meta game of spying, seigeing, and community. (Eve Online has a very similar system in Low Sec space. Only thing is Darkfall doesn't exactly have a Low Sec area.. All of Darkfall is considered Low Sec) Three there are known hacks that work within Darkfall that are constently being worked on to get plugged.
Now with that said theres real issues with offering a true free trial for Darkfall without putting some type of limitations on the trial. (In the current case there are no limits to a trial account. Your free to do everything a full darkfall player can do.)
First issue I for see is keeping people from making dozens of alts to flood the starter cities and killing any player attempting to try out the game. This is a real issue because every people game is flooded with people that make it there pure goal to gank and ruin other peoples enjoyment. Heck you see this in Mortal Online right now in the open beta. With trial accounts being free there is nothing to keep someone from making dozens of accounts or heck even small guilds that live off ruining others fun making a bunch of accounts just to zerg the starter citys and kill everyone and everything.
Second issue being economy based. Making alt characters to just farm the starter zone camps to sell the items for silver / gold endlessly. This alone would completely ruin the economy that has built up within Darkfall and it would open a huge door saying come on in farmers.. we want you!
Third using the free trial accounts as a means to spy on your enemys without any repercussions. Whats to keep a guild from rolling up a bunch of trial accounts to just create characters to stand outside your enemys city and attack the guild anytime they leave there city? Yes a new player wont put up too much effort ageanst an established player but a group of new players can easly take down an established player or two. Numbers do make a big difference.
Forth the real issue of hacking. There are known hacks for Darkfall. Heck there are hacks for every game out there. Within Darkfall the GM's have clamped down on the hacking alot by banning accounts of hackers and people / guilds using hacks. A free trial account system would just open the door for anyone and everything to grab a hack and ruin the game. Yes the idea situation would be for them to fix the hacks. And thats something they have been endlessly working on but its a real ongoing issue non the less.
Fith land based pvp control. Whats to keep a guild from rolling up a guild of free trial alts to run around and capture the farms, mini towns, ect.? The entire system would be crazy and I am sure there are people and guilds that would make it there entire purposes to do just this endlessly without effort so that other paying guilds, players, ect can not control said farm, mini city, ect. (There are timers that control how often a city can be attacked / defended.)
Sixth being the extra costs of allowing free people on the server. GM's will have more load put open them. Bandwidth charges for people downloading the client + patchs and the extra load put open the server. All of these are things that directly effect the current Paying Subscription Customer base of the game. Subscription players now have to wait twice a long for answers due to trial accounts also flooding the system with questions, issues, harssment, ect.
Ageain I am not fan of Darkfall. It's a interesting game and deserves its place alongside Eve Online and other games that are trying to find there nich place among MMO players. With that said its been several months since I last played Darkfall and things might have changed alot since then. Maybe there are mechanics in place to prevent some of the above from happening.
But the only real thing I could see would be putting restrictions on trial accounts. No Looting / Trading, No PvP Allowed, Can not Capture Cities / Ect. But if they did that then you would be missing out on the entire game. Because that is what Darkfall is based around.
I really do not agree with this at all.
Look here is how it happens. You read the game description and if your view on reading it is "well I am not exactly sure, maybe, I dont know for sure" then yes you would be intrested in trial options. On the other hand, if you read the description and say to yourself 'hell yeah! this is exactly what i have been looking for. This sound perfect!" then you are not going to wait for a stupid trial. Exactly. If you know what you're getting yourself into, a trial is nice but not necessary.
So, the question is, arent most of the trial foks kind of on the fence for the game description? and do we think they wiill last? I think they will not end up liking the game to be honest. Most probably won't, but it's the few that do that make a trial worthwile.
Now what will help DF? I think exposure from advertising. I think there are a lot of gamers out there who if they knew about the game they would be very excited about it and fully willing to pay the full $50. I've had to tell all of my friends about this game, even those that play MMOs. Darkfall needs some advertising love.
Most people spend more than a dollar everyday for their caffeine addictions. The dollar charge is a great compromise to help protect the game. If you've wanted to try this game out and are a bit on the cheap side (it's not a crime, don't fret) skip that coffee today and jump into Agon.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
And that $1 also goes to offset the charges that a trial account puts upon the company and game. Not to mention that $1 also goes to continued development on the game.
It's 2010 and so far more than ten thousand different videogames have managed to offer trials without charging. The fact that you're defending one of the only games in history to charge for the trial really paints you as an extreme DF fanboy. :P
Also, OP's link is pretty blantantly a referral link...would be nice to get that moderated.
it's 1$ for 7 days....are people really so cheap they can't spend 1$ for 7 days? And the price is more for making people put their payment info in there so AV can track down any hackers/gold farmers trying to use it and ban them and their mains.
probably not or probably but i think it boils down to more of the principal of it heck Fallen Earth has a 10 day free trial and they are an indy company as well I am paying the dollar but imo it makes the company look bad if you ask me
and as far as payment info every free trial I have been a part of you still had to put payment info with a credit card just had to cancel it before the time was up or they would charge you( with exception of warhammer now and the aoc unlimited trial but that stuff is new but you cant talk on public channels or trade with other players) and as far as hackers I read something I forget where that alot of gold farmers and hackers in games dont have problem affording full accounts to do their dirty work
edited:
with as few games out there that can hold my interest I really do not have the luxury of paying much attention to the business practice of the development firm that makes them. Given that I can only think of a few games in the entire MMO universe that interest me I really can only afford to pay attention to the game itself as a decision factor. I don’t have the luxury of factoring in business practices of the firm into my decision as it turns out. Not to mention I personally don’t care but it doesn’t directly affect my game experience as much as the actual code does.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Yes it is ,
www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/270641/page/5
look to rhinok 's post
Darkfall and Fallen Earth are very different games. I know you have heard the reasons why AV needed a unique trial system, I've seen you in those threads
It's one buck! If you have enough interest in this game to keep posting in this forum, for god's sake get you're butt into Agon as soon as you can. Now you only have a buck to lose. Like I said in one of the other threads, skip you're damn coffee today to make up for it. That's all it takes
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
You know, I thought this would be seen as a good reason for people to go try the game, but people still like to complain and nit-pick.
Honestly, $1? If you can't just shelve that out for a free week, then don't bother playing. The $15 a month for you might break your bank.
The trial could have been for one penny, and someone would still be bitching.
"Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand... the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor." - Pat Webb
These posts are just hysertical to me. I get a boost on my day sometimes. Thanks
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
Some people are never happy!
LOL just joking. But you asked for it : )
Well i must say im not realy sure they should ask small payment it can still be a big hurdle for many and with maybe 7k paying customers EU/NA i think you should as developer not put up this kind of silly obstacles for people who just wanne try out the game.
Sure 1$ is not much but i realy dont see need for that, specially at this stage we need all the players we can get.
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009.....
In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.