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EverQuest II: An Intriguing Experiment: EverQuest II Extended
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In this week's Free Zone, Richard Aihoshi offers some provocative thoughts about Sony Online Entertainment's recent announcement about Everquest 2 Extended, the free-to-play version of the game set to go live as early as August 17th. Richard also asks questions and ponders the repercussions for other 'aging' titles.
Some have brought up and offered their opinions on thought-provoking questions. For example, in light of the company's position that a primary goal in taking this step is to expose more people to the game, how well will EQ2X serve this purpose? The standard 14-day free trial offer will only be available to friends referred by subscribers. For anyone else, will being able to play for an unlimited amount of time prove more attractive?
Read Richard Aihoshi's Free Zone: The EQ2X Edition.
Comments
think its your goal to piss off ppl who support P2P model, atleast you for the first time succeded that with me.
the fact ppl call doom n gloom over the F2P server is the fact its a seperate server and will leave the old servers without new blood.
1 they remove the 14 day trial, from the live servers.
2 they have a 15$/month sub option - F2P ppl is left with a very little selection of classes and the sub model ONLY restrict you on races aviable to you, which if you are a new player have to be very happy about a certain race to actually say ok I love this game and I ll start over on a live server so the price doesnt increase at all.
so as a eq2x player you will becoming pay to play if you want to do any of the newer content - you can buy the expansion as a F2P player and keep play for free but you wont be able to do instances neither in the newer expansion or the last atleast 4 expansions, as F2P is gear restricted.
and their you are fukkin arrogant saying 15$ aint alot and anyone who find it expensive should do something else in their life, its >>1<< game you pay that amount of money for 1!!!!
can I afford it? hell I could afford pay several 100s of $ each month and they will do if they could make me....fact is eq2x will cost you more in the end than the current live servers if you d be serious about playing the game, but at the same time actually let you pay less if you have some self control....and believe they wont add items in the long run you will have to buy to be able to do raids or maybe even group content further down the road
Its obvious MMO worlds is going towards Turbine concept of F2P , lets call it "Western F2P"
P2P audience is limited , and 99% of them subscribe to one game only. So MMOs must conquer new audience.
WF2P is perfect way to do it.
Sony is doing the only logic step with EQ2x. They are testing if it will be profitable.
If it will be. Expect all old games to become F2P.
If not. Sony Online will probably close doors soon anyway.
Nice article Richard.
In my opinion, unaccesible broker and clases, not even paying for free to players, makes the free to play offer just and extended free trial.
Free to players can't acces the broker without a subscription, free to players can't play some classes without a subcription. The economy on eq2 is a lot "broker dependant", as long as this continues eq2 extended will not be a really free to play game, just an extended trial to make you go on the sub.
No, i dont pretetend playng for "free", I wish they were offering the Turbine f2p model in wich you pay when you need to advance and unlock content to play it when you want, thats not the eq2 extended model, you can't experience the full game as a item shop user, there are key things limited to subs only, and this looks as a "no go" to a free to play game.
I don't like the free EQ2 approach... i prefer Turbine's way. I read that if you wanna go to the live realm, you have to start all over. I'm pretty sure i'm not the only one that don't like to reroll and prefer focusing on one character until i get bored of it. I don't see myself leveling a char to the top and then if i decide i want to continue and subscribe, i gotta start from the beginning.
I think F2P LOTRO is gonna be more sucessful since the P2P players and F2P players are gonna be together.
With games like DCUO and The Agency coming down the pike, older games are long in the tooth. Got to figure how to keep interest. F2P is the way to go. However, that will weaken the Station Pass value.
Free?
Remember kids, you get what you pay for.
"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
Then the question is what do you get when thousands of people have been paying for a product for 3 or more years, and then you get it for free?
that is what they have tried to sell it as from start...an extended trial.
but you will end up with a server that make the P2P + F2P cashshop on the extended server....it is what you get. and will have to still buy the expansion boxes, and that is how their free 14 day trial used to work.
btw dont read me as one of the doom n gloom persons, but I d find it valid points that players very much is pointed toward the EQ2x server instead of current live servers, with the promise that you can play the game as a subscription game if you like and not have to care about anything else, well the only part being the 4 limited races....just that they have the F2P cash shop....your choice to use it....so far. ow wouldnt it be handy with a self resurrection potion? its in the shop right now.
so yes I do believe that its the start of the end for the live servers, slowly but....and yes I could see all future SOE games going this way if its a success.
ow and if anyone point out for 200$/year you get the expansion aviable, remember they havent talked about the next expansion if it would be included or not....atleast not for what Ive read they have only focused on the current.
either way this might very well be the future of SOE games P2P+F2P+15$/month or if a loyal 1 year customer actually will get it cheap (if they keep the current expansion aviable included), just I d expect the cash shop to becoming increasingly aggressive....started with a self rezz potion, making it requirement in groups or raids can be designed very easy....like if you cant ressurect yourself you ll be out of the fight on a too far away to reach place for your healers. they will be stupid if they do this but it could very well be the next to happen, ever since adding the cash shop the items in it have slowly going from vanity to useful potions/items....hating they have the vanity items on it already.
Honestly if it attracts more people to the eq2 product, and they like the game they may reroll P2P after a while do to the limitations and the hidden costs in F2P. I am a P2P gamer and always will be as most F2P games are hack jobs thrown together for the "Western Market".
PS: I said Most not ALL
Artorus Giltanus - Ranger EQ1 Retired
Arturien - 90 Deathknight WoW
I was really excited about this F2P option opening up as I was a longtime EQ and EQ2 player until i quit several years ago. I was thinking this was a great opportunity to give it a try again.
Reading about the inaccessible broker though for anything other than the Gold+ members? This isn't actually F2P at all, it is simply a trial that doesn't end, it just goes on and on my friend...
That is a deal breaker for me. EQ2 is heavily economy driven and this doesn't allow a person to play for free and use the Store to supplement their game where they choose, this is basically placing a shackle on the player until they upgrade.
I think I will stick with LOTRO.
EQ2 should consider calling this what it is: a time-unlimited trial. Or, add the ability to open up things such as higher-grade items and broker access ( perhaps on a transaction limited basis depending on sub level) to lower subscription rates through pay-per-addon basis.
As is, I am not sure how successful this will be for them. It really doesn't allow people to truly play the game as they created it and use the Store to supplement and enrich their game, instead it simply allows one to merely exist in the world, unable to do much to interact (and therefore get addicted ) with it.
Intriguing experiment? I'm not sure what you people are smoking, but its clouding your brains. They are screwing over all the vets. Thats not an intriguing experiment, its betraying your long term player base. Heck, its been two weeks and they haven't bothered to answer ANY of the obvious questions the players would ask. In fact, they have completely stopped replying to us on the old forums at all. They are posting on the eq2x. And if you create a new login for the eq2x forums and start questioning them there, they will ignore you there too.
This isn't an intriguing experiment, its a bunch of devs being jerks.
No worries Moirae. This is just another "Smedly" experiment about to fail. Just like all of his previous experiments.
This company is just digging their hole deeper and deeper. With no way out.
This whole EQ2:Ex is one of the worst F2P models they could have come up with. And all those "new" players will drop and leave it again in a heartbeat, the moment they find out how ridiculously restricted the "Free" part is and how ridiculously expensive it will be to actually be able to play and experience the game properly.
But mehh... I have said more than enough about this dedacle.
After looking at SOE's f2p model I just shook my head. There are going to be a lot of disappointed f2p players when they realize how limited the f2p servers are going to be. Even if they like the game, they have to start over on the subscription servers if the want all the content.
Turbine's model is so much better from my viewpoint. You can convert to subscription any time you want and not lose your characters. You can also pay for the content you want when you are ready for it.
Figures about SOE. I smell Smedley all over this mess. I am still amazed the SOE studio continues to remain in business. I bet many of their competitors are having a real laugh over this.
I am telling you that SOE wants to get rid of the paid subscription model. They will slowly let the old EQ2 die. Think I am wrong just wait until 12 - 18 months from now and see if the original EQ2 is still around.
I think you guys are being way too negative here. Is SoE's F2P model perfect? NO it isn't but that is not going to stop Eq2X from being the highest quality F2P game on the market. Eq2 has 6 years of old content for F2P users to experience. That includes hundreds of zones and thousands for free quests. Do you think you are going to get thousands of Free quests out of Turbine? Lets see: LoTRO free quest to level 25, Eq2X free quest to level 80 with multiple leveling paths and 200 AA not to mention dozens of dungeons to grind in if questing is not your thing. Nobody is forcing F2P users to rush to end game where the pay wall is. A casual F2P user could spend years in the free area and still not see everything because Eq2 is massive.
This.
I've been reading that thread on the official forums for weeks and it's a flat out travesty how they're ignoring their entire customer base. But that isn't surprising knowing their history.
"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
For me the main problem is that it's free to barely play. Most korean ftp mmorpg's have more give than SOE, this and the fact that live servers have no free trial anymore, so SOE seriously think we can't see what there trying to do here? or is it that they just don't give a damn.
Ehmm... maybe you should read on the actual restrictions of EQ2:Ex Free 2 Play first.
The Free 2 Play part in EQ2:Ex is so restrictive. It's not even funny. Go read the FAQ's.
Already read it. Nothing I said above is untrue. What part of 100s of zones, 1000s of quests, level 80/200AA do you not understand?
No access to the broker makes the game almost unplayable for bronze and silver members, gold is just sub like in any other game. Idont know if the model will be a success, but Im sure its one of the worst free to play design i have ever seen.
In fact I was thinking on playing on the eq2x but seeing how it is designed I'm probably opening my sub on the live ones again.
You don't need the broker to level and experience free content. Quest rewards are all No-Trade flagged anyway and that is really all you are going to need at those levels.
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall
Ithinnk all o fyou who are doomsaying EQ2x and saying the F2P model they are using is too restrictive should actually try out the new servers. All or most of these comments have been made on interpretations of what you have read. The Game goes public Beta tomorrow. Try it then comment.
As a long time EQ2 player, I'm very disturbed by SOE's lack of response to the existing player bases concerns about how this will effect the Live servers. Asking in the channels most long term players don't think it will affect game play, but new people coming to EQ2 will likely chose F2P as this is a 6 year old game. Once there why buy and reroll?
It's understandable that SOE wants to make money, that's what they make games for, but this F2P matrix just has so many flaws.
That said, the F2P concept I wouldn't be against except again they haven't made a logically way to funnel those players to the P2P servers. Thinking they may decide to reroll at some point isn't highly likely and the F2P characters can't transfer so??? I'm highly concerned that we're going to see server merges as the population dwindles from natural attrition and no avenue for fresh players to the game.
As for the F2P model at Bronze and Silver is restrictive, and I would wish they'd allow at least buying off the Broker even if they can't list things for sale. The Broker is vital to the EQ2 economy. Is it a game breaker for those that just quest no, but it is such a part of the game and an avenue to make money.
The same goes for not being able to use the channels to talk. At least set up a 'help' channel that questions can be asked if the Bronze/Silver can't utilize the regular channels. EQ2 is complex with a huge world and not being able to ask questions would frustrate me terribly as a new player. It's very easy to get overwhelmed or not know where to go. Questions are asked daily on the P2P channels regarding questing, crafting, raiding, specs, all kinds of things.
Proud member of Hammerfist Clan Gaming Community.
Currently playing: RIFT, EQ2, WoW, LoTRO
Retired: Warhammer, AoC, EQ
Waiting: SWToR & GW2
I feel this is less of an intriguing experiment and more of a desperate last gasp. Since its inception it seems the makers of EQII could never completely decide what they wanted the game to be. None of the, sometimes drastic, changes they've made to the game throughout its history seems to have gotten the game much attention from new players. I feel that this is just another step on the road to dissapointment. Its not very suprising considering general malaise of this uncertainty and possible incompetence, seems to saturate the very core of the whole SOE corporation. It seems that SOE is very much the Land of Misfit Toys of the MMO genere.
If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, riddle 'em with bullets