After I raised same issues on their forums, you know what people responded? That if I want to play a high quality, "western-style", "made by americans" game, I have to pay.
Why should I care if a game is made by americans? Runes of Magic is made in Taiwan by chinese and is better than some "made by americans" games. And truly f2p, not free trial.
Aion is made in Koreea and it's a big hit.
Want to bet against me? I bet 100€ that Alganon will shut down before the end of next year if they will continue to use this f2p - "free trial" model. Not only it will shut down, bu with some financial loss, too.
Alganon is not DDO, LOTRO or Everquest 2. And their team doesn't have the same resources of Sony or Turbine.
Thats just nonsense. No such thing was said.
And no, Aion is NOT a hit in the US.
If you're going to post, at least post something that has some basis in reality.
Alganon is steadily growing thank you very much. I remember back in Dec when most of you - who aren't even playing it - were saying that it was dead in a few months. It is now August - and we're still making strides.
The biz model is just fine and we have no intentions of changing it.
If you don't like the game, don't play it, don't post about it. What's so hard about that?
How many subs does AION have in the US? How many subs does Alganon have?
"Making strides"? From 10 people online at once to 100? RoM/DDO claims millions of players after going F2P. How many does Alganon have? 5000? LOL ....
I don't see why i can't post about a game i don't like. It is not like i am the only one on the internet to do that. Trying to ask people NOT to post ... is the sure way to attract more post. Even a newbie on the internet should know that.
Like all F2P games, if you want perks and such, you have to pay for them. Our model does not require you to buy anything in order to play the game. I guess the chart wasn't clear enough?
Anyway if you had actually played the game - like those who are doing just that - you'd know all this.
I guess it depend what you mean by "the game". When I think of "the game", I think of all the content, from start to "finish", which includes all quests, dungeons, etc... If you can access and successfully complete all of the content, regardless of the level and skill caps, then I'd say "Yes - you can play the entire game for free". If you cannot access and successfully complete all content without having to pay, then I'd say it's only free up to a certain point. You can play some of the game--quite a bit, apparently--but not the "whole game". If that's the case, it's not really a F2P game.
Either "the game", as a whole, is free to play or it's not. Is Wizard101 a F2P? According to their website it is and you can indeed play a portion of the game free forever, but you're locked out of a ton of potential content very early on (basically a "f2p newbie island" unless you pay). As such, I don't consider it F2P. Because the players are locked out of further content so early, i consider it to be a P2P game (albeit one with an innovative hybrid subscription/credit shop model).
In the case of Alganon, it appears the game is "mostly F2P". I personally don't consider artificial barriers that lock me out of content to be perks. Perks are things like extra bag spaces, mounts, experience potions, collector items, the ability to create a guild (duly noted, in the chart above - I'm assuming everybody can join a guild, but you have to pay to create one) etc.. Perks are things that you should absolutely want to buy, but don't have to, in order to play the entire game (and please note, I believe in and support the F2P model as the wave of the future in the Western Market).
So, the real question in determining whether or not Alganon is "fully F2P" or "mostly F2P" is "can you access and successfully play through all content for free, regardless of the skill and level caps?"
Personally, my ideal F2P is one that a player could successfully play all content, from start to finish, without having to pay a cent. The items in the shop, however, should be such that the same player would really, really want to buy them. Reagent Generators in Earth Eternal are a great example. You could choose to spend in game currency and constantly have to buy reagents (which take up a slot of bag space for every stack of reagents) for buff spells from NPCs (which truly isn't that onerous, until you're in the middle of a dungeon and realize you're out of amber to rez a fallen comrade) or simply buy a reagent generator from the credit shop - it takes up a single space and you never have to worry about buying, stacking or running out of reagents for any skill ever again. It's a fantastic convenience item that isn't critical to playing the game, but is incredibly desirable.
FYI - the entire argument is mostly a matter of semantics in classifying the game. There's a ton of debate about how free more fully F2P games, such as Runes of Magic, are, too. For the record, I haven't played Alganon, although it looks intriguing and my buddy Beau seems hip on it, so I think I'll give it a whirl. if I like it, great! One more game to play. If not, I'll move on.
Never attribute to malice that which can be more easily explained by ignorance.
I'm not quite so sure that Mr. Smart's labeling the Alganon unlimited free trial/buy the client/cash shop game as "Free-to-Play" is some great sinister deception. I think the reality is more than he's not as familiar with the details of the MMO industry/market, and cannot recognize many of the clear distinctions that we customers recognize.
As big an anti-social PR disaster as he may be, I would actually wager than Mr. Smart simply doesn't understand the genre.
I wouldn't put it past him, based on how little he thinks of the MMO customer base and how highly he thinks of himself, that he may in fact think he can dress up a pig in a tube top and try to pawn it off as a high dollar escort, and that we'd all be too dumb to to realize the difference (despite the snoout, 8 nipples and rolling around in a mud puddle). The thought occurs to me as well.
But really, I just think he doesn't understand the MMO market and thinks too highly of himself to consdier anyone else's counsel. I'd wager that he thinks what he's offering is a "Free-to-Play" game, just of another flavor, not realizing that many of the restrictions in place in the F2P version are more often associated with an MMO with an "Unlimited Free Trial".
Well, the good news is we don't need Alganon. We already have ROM, Martial Empires (in open beta) and very soon will begin the beta for Forsaken World, which will feature exceptionally good graphics, tons of quality content and already has a strong community which is now, before beta start, at least 100x of Alganon's. If you watch some Forsaken World gameplay videos, you can say nothing but "wow". I mean "wow" like in wow, not like in World of Warcraft. :P
Due to popular demand, we're extending the special discounted price of the Super Pack through September 1st! That gives nearly two more weeks for people to take advantage of the lower price.
With the F2P client you have the option of adding additional services via our Tribute Market "micro-transaction" system (see chart below). To purchase each of the service add-ons will total nearly $45, however we've created a special Super Pack that includes all the service add-ons for only $30. But during this special discounted time period, we have the Super Pack marked down to $19.95. You can purchase it in the Tribute Market!
-------------------
I'm a bit confused by their pricing. If you had already purchased the game for $20, did you get everything in their "Super Pack" when they switched to F2P? Or did you have to buy something extra?
I'm very confused why they plan to charge $30 for a game that people were unwilling to pay $20 for.
Comments
How many subs does AION have in the US? How many subs does Alganon have?
"Making strides"? From 10 people online at once to 100? RoM/DDO claims millions of players after going F2P. How many does Alganon have? 5000? LOL ....
I don't see why i can't post about a game i don't like. It is not like i am the only one on the internet to do that. Trying to ask people NOT to post ... is the sure way to attract more post. Even a newbie on the internet should know that.
I guess it depend what you mean by "the game". When I think of "the game", I think of all the content, from start to "finish", which includes all quests, dungeons, etc... If you can access and successfully complete all of the content, regardless of the level and skill caps, then I'd say "Yes - you can play the entire game for free". If you cannot access and successfully complete all content without having to pay, then I'd say it's only free up to a certain point. You can play some of the game--quite a bit, apparently--but not the "whole game". If that's the case, it's not really a F2P game.
Either "the game", as a whole, is free to play or it's not. Is Wizard101 a F2P? According to their website it is and you can indeed play a portion of the game free forever, but you're locked out of a ton of potential content very early on (basically a "f2p newbie island" unless you pay). As such, I don't consider it F2P. Because the players are locked out of further content so early, i consider it to be a P2P game (albeit one with an innovative hybrid subscription/credit shop model).
In the case of Alganon, it appears the game is "mostly F2P". I personally don't consider artificial barriers that lock me out of content to be perks. Perks are things like extra bag spaces, mounts, experience potions, collector items, the ability to create a guild (duly noted, in the chart above - I'm assuming everybody can join a guild, but you have to pay to create one) etc.. Perks are things that you should absolutely want to buy, but don't have to, in order to play the entire game (and please note, I believe in and support the F2P model as the wave of the future in the Western Market).
So, the real question in determining whether or not Alganon is "fully F2P" or "mostly F2P" is "can you access and successfully play through all content for free, regardless of the skill and level caps?"
Personally, my ideal F2P is one that a player could successfully play all content, from start to finish, without having to pay a cent. The items in the shop, however, should be such that the same player would really, really want to buy them. Reagent Generators in Earth Eternal are a great example. You could choose to spend in game currency and constantly have to buy reagents (which take up a slot of bag space for every stack of reagents) for buff spells from NPCs (which truly isn't that onerous, until you're in the middle of a dungeon and realize you're out of amber to rez a fallen comrade) or simply buy a reagent generator from the credit shop - it takes up a single space and you never have to worry about buying, stacking or running out of reagents for any skill ever again. It's a fantastic convenience item that isn't critical to playing the game, but is incredibly desirable.
FYI - the entire argument is mostly a matter of semantics in classifying the game. There's a ton of debate about how free more fully F2P games, such as Runes of Magic, are, too. For the record, I haven't played Alganon, although it looks intriguing and my buddy Beau seems hip on it, so I think I'll give it a whirl. if I like it, great! One more game to play. If not, I'll move on.
~Ripper
Never attribute to malice that which can be more easily explained by ignorance.
I'm not quite so sure that Mr. Smart's labeling the Alganon unlimited free trial/buy the client/cash shop game as "Free-to-Play" is some great sinister deception. I think the reality is more than he's not as familiar with the details of the MMO industry/market, and cannot recognize many of the clear distinctions that we customers recognize.
As big an anti-social PR disaster as he may be, I would actually wager than Mr. Smart simply doesn't understand the genre.
I wouldn't put it past him, based on how little he thinks of the MMO customer base and how highly he thinks of himself, that he may in fact think he can dress up a pig in a tube top and try to pawn it off as a high dollar escort, and that we'd all be too dumb to to realize the difference (despite the snoout, 8 nipples and rolling around in a mud puddle). The thought occurs to me as well.
But really, I just think he doesn't understand the MMO market and thinks too highly of himself to consdier anyone else's counsel. I'd wager that he thinks what he's offering is a "Free-to-Play" game, just of another flavor, not realizing that many of the restrictions in place in the F2P version are more often associated with an MMO with an "Unlimited Free Trial".
Well, the good news is we don't need Alganon. We already have ROM, Martial Empires (in open beta) and very soon will begin the beta for Forsaken World, which will feature exceptionally good graphics, tons of quality content and already has a strong community which is now, before beta start, at least 100x of Alganon's. If you watch some Forsaken World gameplay videos, you can say nothing but "wow". I mean "wow" like in wow, not like in World of Warcraft. :P
Due to popular demand, we're extending the special discounted price of the Super Pack through September 1st! That gives nearly two more weeks for people to take advantage of the lower price.
With the F2P client you have the option of adding additional services via our Tribute Market "micro-transaction" system (see chart below). To purchase each of the service add-ons will total nearly $45, however we've created a special Super Pack that includes all the service add-ons for only $30. But during this special discounted time period, we have the Super Pack marked down to $19.95. You can purchase it in the Tribute Market!
-------------------
I'm a bit confused by their pricing. If you had already purchased the game for $20, did you get everything in their "Super Pack" when they switched to F2P? Or did you have to buy something extra?
I'm very confused why they plan to charge $30 for a game that people were unwilling to pay $20 for.
/*edit - wrong thread*/