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EQ2 goes F2P - think it would work for SWG?
TUX426
Member Posts: 1,907
Everquest II is going F2P with several "levels"...details below, but note that the bottom one is a full YEAR and equals $16.66/month. Would this work for SWG?
18. What is included with the Free membership?When you begin playing Extended, you default to the Free level of membership. That means you have access to a lot of content in the world of Norrath, you can create characters in any of eight classes, from four different races, and you have many, many months of gameplay at your fingertips. However, there are certain content, feature and service limitations that are only unlocked through a la carte item sales or by upgrading your membership to another tier (view matrix).
19. What is included with the Silver membership?To become a Silver member there is a one-time item purchase called the "Silver Membership Pack." That pack grants you an additional character slot, better chat options, extra inventory capacity, raises your quest journal limit, gives you the ability to create guilds, and more.
It also grants you two very cool Advancement potions so you can level more quickly. Once you purchase a Silver Membership Pack, you are permanently raised to that membership level. There is no recurring fee for this pack or membership (view matrix).
20. What is included with the Gold membership?A Gold membership is a $15 per month recurring membership. This is very similar to that of the traditional subscription-based game, but specifically built for the Extended service (view matrix).
Access to all 24 classes(as opposed to the eight that Silver and Free members can access)
Seven character slots (instead of two or three included with the lower membership levels)
Ability to equip Legendary and Fabled items
Raises character skills/spells above the Adept tier of power to Expert
Six bags slots for your inventory (instead of only two or three)
The character coin limits of other memberships are restricted whereas Platinum and Gold are unlimited
Access to the huge in-game player-to-player marketplace feature called the "Broker" system so that you can buy and trade with other players in an online bazaar
Actively hold up to 75 quests in your quest journal
21. What is included with the Platinum membership?This plan is available for $200 per year (view matrix).
Full adventure access even through EverQuest II Sentinel's Fate
Access to all 24 classes(as opposed to the eight that Silver and Free members can access)
Shared bank contains 20 slots (instead of the eight included with the Gold membership)
Ten character slots (instead of seven included with the lower Gold membership)
Ability to equip Legendary and Fabled items
Raises character skills/spells above the Adept tier of power to Expert
Six bags slots for your inventory (instead of only two or three)
The character coin limits of other memberships are restricted whereas Platinum and Gold are unlimited
Access to the huge in-game player-to-player marketplace feature called the "Broker" system so that you can buy and trade with other players in an online bazaar
Actively hold up to 75 quests in your quest journal
Comments
There is a massive difference in quality between SWG and EQ2. There is a much bigger chance of EQ2's gameplay inticing people to pay for more access/items than SWG's horrible unfun and broken core game to do so. A F2P version of SWG would likely increase the playerbase, but I doubt it would do much to increase revenue.
Didn't someone from SOE say that EQ2 was not going to go F2P just a month or so ago?
EQ2 isn't going F2P. EQ2: EXTENDED is going F2P. They are still going to be 2 different games so you can just sub EQ2 and not worry about Stat based CS items or sub EQ2:E for stat based CS items.
Thing I see is that whats the point of making 2 different games when you convert it to F2P? It wont increase the player base for the non F2P bases.... I personally hate F2P games or games with a CS implemented... if SW:TOR does this im not going to play no matter how good it is.... because things like that make the games broken far beyond just messed up game mechanics.
SWG was a great game in its prime but once SW:TOR comes out it will probably fall off its last bionic leg and be retired. I like the gameplay more in SWG than any other MMO I have played, but the lack of "End Game" Dungeons they had for the longest time it really helped kill it once WoW came about.
Yeah im thinking about re-subbing back into SWG to pass time until TOR but thats only because I have played since they changed a lot of things from the last time and already have things I need. Starting fresh in SWG is a major pain now because of the system and the inflated prices because of how many credits are in the game from Vet players.
Truthfully tho I rather see SWG retired than become a lousy F2P game full of retards.
That's what boggles my mind as well. I understand the F2P model and I can see how lucrative it may be - Bob, who is unsubscribe, may at least purchase the newest "thingy" because it's only $5...he wouldn't buy the new "thingy" for $5+sub fee, but for $5 he'll buy it. That's $5 SoE wasn't going to get any other way.
But...what they're planning with EQ2 is simply foolish IMO, as a new server will KILL the old game - no Vets will return to "check it out", no buddies will log in to "chat", the "illusion" of a lotta players doesn't work/exist, no new characters will be created on the old server...meaning it's only a matter of time before it fails.
F2P needs to be focused on the existing game...not some new "model". The purpose behind F2P should be to attract new players to existing development. F2P should show players what they're missing out on by not being a full $15/mo sub. F2P should make the existing game seem fuller than it truly is.
no because EQ2 is a good game it its own rights SWG isn't.
I quit SWG before NGE, because I realized that it was a job - shop, vendors, crafting, harvesting. No, I left SWG because it needed a Pay Me To Play Model...
I miss the MMORPG genre. Will a developer ever make one again?
Explorer: 87%, Killer: 67%, Achiever: 27%, Socializer: 20%
EQ2 is a snorefest. The $15 a month is not why I chose not to play. It's that it is so boring and the humans are butt ugly. Also some of the game design choices are cumbersome. For instance, getting new abilities through books. I would rather just get new abilities from a trainer, just my preference. And the auction system is crappy. Did it ever change from where you had to stay in your house to sell crap? Crafting was too involved. I like depth but not eq2 crafting. SWG crafting was far superior in my opinion (best crafting of any mmo I ever played).
SWG should go f2p in my opinion. If they open a normal cash shop instead of that crapfest of a card game they might make some money off of people they otherwise wouldn't.
But what gets me is they can run two version of a game. I thought before it was said they would not run two versions of a game simultaneously.
Thiers been alot of improvements to the game. You can sell outside your house at a broker. I went back when the new expansion came out, thiers still a population, but not like it used to be, thiers a couple heavy populated servers, but Im still finding groups on my old one.
Differnt servers, not diff game, their going to keep the free to play people on new servers. They are drooling over Zyngas game model, Ive never payed for Facebook game items, but thiers alot of people that like to get high level fast. Or dont want to raid for special and rare gear.
You can probably bet that if SWG (along with Vanguard and Planetside) DONT go to the EQ2 "pay (lots more) to play" model soon they aren't going to be around much longer. I think SWG got it's answer when they ceased TCG development.
Smed has decided that the tollway is the only way and I dont' see them keeping anything around that doesn't work on this new scheme.
Also, how could the two Devs they have left possibly hack together the additions necessary to add RMT to the game and have it actually function? They'd have to spend more money to get this done and I simply do not see them doing any more than they are now at best until they shut it down.
I don't understand what they are doing with EQII F2P either..It makes no sense...I was pretty excited when I first read about it...Thought I would download again and check it out for a week or so...But if I can't go back to my old Server what's the point? I'm not starting all over again...And the existing Servers struggling for new players get zero help???...
Leave it to SOE...
My friend tried the game and his only MMO experience was WoW cause he loves Blizzard and then he moved onto EVE which he played for the past 2 years and just quit. So he got the SWG trial and played it for 5 mins before quitting.
He said...
- Can't jump
- Horrible graphics
- Dated ugly UI
- combat looked so bad like it was on fast forward
- The cinematics were poor and the falcon bit when you're shooting the fighters was laughable at how lame it looked.
Said the game sucked and uninstalled.
Problem with SWG is the quality of everything is just so poor since after the CU. All the new content is rushed and so is everything else. In fact the only things that look any good are TCG loot card items.
Going F2P was what The Smed wanted all along. I'm surprised SOE hasn't completely gone F2P yet to milk customers even more.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
what concerns me about this model is this.
Core gamers play not becuase they get dohicky x but becuase they feel like they did all the things that deserve a 'ding'.
For a F2P to work they will have to focus on non-core gamers becuase core gamers will likely not even buy that much stuff...maybe..
this is my general sense and I could be completely off.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
SWG will never reach the level of popularity it held Pre-CU.
However, I do believe that going F2P (and I am shocked they haven't already taken that route) will bring more players into the game, which is exactly what the game needs if they want to breathe some much needed life into it.
Atm endgame consists of hanging around Restuss or running heroics. Restuss is no fun to begin with, but it would be a whole lot more entertaining if there were ever more than 20 people in the zone.
I don't think going F2P will help them much. They will get some for a while but there is a creeping doom for SWG down the road. SWTOR. I'm guessing that quite a bit of the playerbase on SWG is there simply "because it's Star Wars." When SWTOR hits, the last shaky foundation for them staying there will be in jeopardy.
"I have only two out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold." (First Lieutenant Clifton B. Cates, US Marine Corps, Soissons, 19 July 1918)
Well...The Game got a REAL nice boost Sub-wise after the Heroics hit...I know our Guild really took off a bit...But the last real Heroic was Hoth and that was almost 2 years ago now (I don't count that Zombie thing)...I know in My Guild after most Folks got their Hoth tokens, then the Devs did that stupid 90-day Pack up garbage, it was basically lights out...Most players were losing their Cities, new endgame PvE was almost non-existent...It was all but over...
It's not just SWG...If you're expecting PvP to be your main endgame content you're in big, big trouble...
More people, yes. More money, no. Now I'm one of the people who [after playing both versions] thinks the NGE/CU/whatever they called it improved the game a little bit, but it still didn't make the game worthy of much...
Sure making it F2P would bring in more people...but those people will just see how lame the game is and leave...
1. Release fail game.
2. Revamp fail game to create slightly less fail game.
3. Watch people leave in droves.
4. See game is still fail, yet continue to charge for it.
5. Realize fail game is not getting anywhere, make F2P.
6. ???
7. No profit.
8. Shut down fail game and save alot of people some time.
Total MMOs played: 274|Enjoyed: 9. >:|
You may be being a bit too basic.
SWG was a GREAT "social" game. The "social" aspect they did quite well in...so let me toss in a few things I think you may be overlooking:
5a) F2P brings back players out of sheer curiosity or just to "chat"
5b) F2P players see some of the "stuff" they can buy in the TCG
5c) F2P players buy some TCG packs because it's easy to justify $15 on the TCG when you're not paying a subscription
5d) F2P players make the game "feel" more alive, even on "dead" servers (social)
5e) P2P players (paying for full access to the game via whatever "cash shop" option there is) continue to play SWG and will be less likely to cancel their subs with the "renewed" life the game seems to have from the F2P players
5f) F2P players enjoying the social aspect, may fork out the cash to enter the instances they're currently gated from because of them playing the F2P version
My point is...between the TCG, a Cash Shop that sells housing, lots, character slots, and a current full access sub, there is some potential for SWG to make money above what they currently do. They wouldn't make the money through what they've added or are adding to the game - they'd make it off of players/customers they currently don't have who are there just to socialize or "check in".
Once an MMO is cancelled and unsubbed, there's little reason to go back - IMO, keeping SWG on a players drive should be the number 1 goal of the current Devs. I don't have access to the correct numbers of returning players they have during "free trials", but I bet they have a fairly high return of "vets". Getting a few more bucks out of all those "free time" players would be HUGE! Going F2P (with P2P options of course) may just work well for SWG.
F2P = 1-2 toons, 1 server, no housing, just bank space, can't trade items, no Heroics
Cash shop = Extra character slots, Limited Access ($7.99/mo), Full access ($15/mo), extra lots, vendors, storage, "stuff"
TCG = fluff and "fun" items (mini games, kewl vehicles, kewl housing)
I'll admit, I may be totally incorrect on the impact of going F2P with the current subs (the few there are), but I think a F2P option for SWG could be a much bigger revenue stream than some give it credit for...assuming they (SoE) don't botch it like they did with EQ2.
You guys know that EQ2 is really not F2P? and as far as SWG is concerned if it adopts the same model like EQ2 people will have option to pay a monthly sub or play on F2P server. And i am quite sure people will just end up paying for SWG like they do now. There is hardly any content for F2P players.
90% of haters are begging for love. 10% just want a little attention -- Paulo Coelho
I don't know. My opinion is based on my other opinion about SWG being lame in the content / mechanics department. If people wouldn't sub the game after playing a trial, why would they spend money in the cash shop if it were F2P?
Total MMOs played: 274|Enjoyed: 9. >:|
They aren't "paying" to socialize with their buddies or hang out at events. Because they aren't paying that monthly fee, I think a lot more people will be prone to purchasing TCG packs or buying an item from the Cash Shop. Buying something for $5 every month appeals to me much more than paying $15/mo for a game I hardly play.
Again, maybe it's just me...but if I'm playing some F2P game that I enjoy, I will purchase something from their cash shop just to show support for the Developers. Knowing that F2P is in lieu of $14.99/mo, I don't think it's unreasonable to toss them some $ at times...if we don't the game dies.
And...SWG has a HUGE base of "former" players to draw from. /shrug
I agree on the fact that if a game is F2P, and I enjoy it, then yes go ahead and spend some money in the shop. I have done it many times. I think the problem would be the "former players" / people who are angry about [YouKnowWhat] wouldn't come back to the game, even if it was F2P. The only reason those people would play again is if the changes were reverted, and we know that isn't happening... /shrugs with you
I suppose the only way to know is if it happened, lol.
Total MMOs played: 274|Enjoyed: 9. >:|
I think it would work out quite well for this one to go f2p, the timing couldn't be much better either with the TOR buzz flying around, that alone would probably generate a lot of interest, even though mostly temporary. It would be a good time to try to make some quick cash though, because once TOR comes out I don't see much of anything to keep this game afloat.
Work for new people but no not for the old folks regardless. Might jump in to see how things are but they still wouldn't give it a time of day. They fucked up bad in the end. End of story.
When did you start playing "old school" MMO's. World Of Warcraft?
I'll admit that if by some miracle, they did this...I would play it until TOR is released, for my Star Wars fix. I can only play through KOTOR so many times...
Total MMOs played: 274|Enjoyed: 9. >:|