Also to point out the XP potion appears to be a 20% increase in earned xp for a period (24 hours?), it isn't a way to buy levels directly.
One of the screenshots also features an item called the Copper Sigil of Leveling, I don't know how they'd make a more direct implication. I wouldn't be surprised if Gold or Platinum sigils were also available. I find this a bit odd as players have complained that there is very little reason to keep playing characters once they get maxed and acquire all the desired loot.
I'm only bringing this up because exp scrolls/potions seem to be a mainstay of every garbage f2p Korean MMO, and the fact that they'd even consider including something like this in a D&D game is the first big piece of discouraging information I've come across.
I'm an oldschool D&D fan, and the only reason I'd even consider trying DDO is for the 3e rules. D&D has always been about the process of leveling, and the most fun to be had is between levels 3-8. Selling out to mummorpuger conventions and rushing players to the end game is a big fat turnoff. Especially sincet Turbine seems to have the same problem as most GMs do with >= lvl 20 characters, mainly they can't seem to come up with anything to make them worth playing.
Yes there is such thing like Sigils of leveling. And you can not level without them.
So it will cost $1.20 per level from 5 - 8 /w the copper sigil, and likely more for each grade of sigil afterwords?
Somebody else pointed out that the only dungeons that guarantee these sigil drops will be premium. Someone else pointed out that some kind of in-game rewards will also allow you to purchase sigils.
I'll make a direct question: If you fill up your char slots and play them all in tandem purely for the purpose of doing challenges to acquire these sigils, will it be theoretically possible to get at least one of your characters up to the level cap (Assuming you get no sigils as a random drop, purely by doing the challenges)? Will there even be epic dungeons for capped out f2p ers?
yea, an 'entire' community... lol What community would there be after all the new mmo's coming out? very little. The cash shop will actually regenerate your community, and its purly your choice if you want to go free to play or pay 2 play.
DDO has almost no community now, why do you think they are going F2P/VIP hybrid?
So it will cost $1.20 per level from 5 - 8 /w the copper sigil, and likely more for each grade of sigil afterwords?
Somebody else pointed out that the only dungeons that guarantee these sigil drops will be premium. Someone else pointed out that some kind of in-game rewards will also allow you to purchase sigils.
I'll make a direct question: If you fill up your char slots and play them all in tandem purely for the purpose of doing challenges to acquire these sigils, will it be theoretically possible to get at least one of your characters up to the level cap (Assuming you get no sigils as a random drop, purely by doing the challenges)? Will there even be epic dungeons for capped out f2p ers?
Three things:
1. Unfortunately, Turbine so far hasn't seen the common sense in 1 TP = $.01 - so the 1500 TP is currently about $22.50!
2. The Level Sigils let you level for a range of levels. Once you use a Copper one, you can level from 5th-8th level; you then need a Silver one to train 9th level [Silver goes 9-13 iirc].
3. I don't know whether the Sigils are bound to account or bound to character - if bound to character, only those found by that character will be any good to it.
Another very strange convention is that VIP players can buy guest passes to allow f2p players to enter premium dungeons [1 time only - but I think I saw that you can re-enter if you come back while the instance is still open], BUT f2p cannot buy one to try it before buying the entire adventure pack.
I love how people are flapping their arms about claiming the hydrid methord will kill the game - Wizard101 and Freerelms have almost the same cashshop/vip system and they are growing in player numbers.
Fact is Turbine hae been very careful about this they KNOW how shops work as they've actally done their homework - You can be either VIP or Cashshop and still be the same as your counterpart. The cashshop items only supliment your character unlike the other F2P cashshops out there which force to to buy to actally progress in the game - ALL THE BEST GEAR IS STILL DUNGEON DROPS. As people have said you STILL have to play the game to cap out - the cashshop just makes it less stressful for the casual player, and finally the adventure pack bit, it's not like anyone whos played NWN/NWN2, EQ1/2 or hell even downloaded a mappack for a FPS would be shellshocked over it.
Bottom line is Turbine know exactally how cashshops can break a game, yes they are still in it for the money it's a busness, but they aren't dumb enough to turn it into a short lived cashcow, at least on paper THIS is how cashshops should be done, I'm actally hoping this model caches on as it'll help the market noend from the 'favour of the month' game hoppers.
Put it this way would you go back and play Conan, WAR, Pirates and even Vanguard if there was a F2P hybrid option like this?
I love how people are flapping their arms about claiming the hydrid methord will kill the game - Wizard101 and Freerelms have almost the same cashshop/vip system and they are growing in player numbers. Fact is Turbine hae been very careful about this they KNOW how shops work as they've actally done their homework - You can be either VIP or Cashshop and still be the same as your counterpart. The cashshop items only supliment your character unlike the other F2P cashshops out there which force to to buy to actally progress in the game - ALL THE BEST GEAR IS STILL DUNGEON DROPS. As people have said you STILL have to play the game to cap out - the cashshop just makes it less stressful for the casual player, and finally the adventure pack bit, it's not like anyone whos played NWN/NWN2, EQ1/2 or hell even downloaded a mappack for a FPS would be shellshocked over it. Bottom line is Turbine know exactally how cashshops can break a game, yes they are still in it for the money it's a busness, but they aren't dumb enough to turn it into a short lived cashcow, at least on paper THIS is how cashshops should be done, I'm actally hoping this model caches on as it'll help the market noend from the 'favour of the month' game hoppers. Put it this way would you go back and play Conan, WAR, Pirates and even Vanguard if there was a F2P hybrid option like this?
Turbine has made mistake after mistake with DDO for 3 years. Saying they are not dumb enough to ruin their game is kind of silly. They are in this position because of bad decisions, not because they want to take DDO F2P.
Turbine might very well add more to the cash shop if they need to bump revenue and are not making enough sales.
I love how people are flapping their arms about claiming the hydrid methord will kill the game - Wizard101 and Freerelms have almost the same cashshop/vip system and they are growing in player numbers. Fact is Turbine hae been very careful about this they KNOW how shops work as they've actally done their homework - You can be either VIP or Cashshop and still be the same as your counterpart. The cashshop items only supliment your character unlike the other F2P cashshops out there which force to to buy to actally progress in the game - ALL THE BEST GEAR IS STILL DUNGEON DROPS. As people have said you STILL have to play the game to cap out - the cashshop just makes it less stressful for the casual player, and finally the adventure pack bit, it's not like anyone whos played NWN/NWN2, EQ1/2 or hell even downloaded a mappack for a FPS would be shellshocked over it. Bottom line is Turbine know exactally how cashshops can break a game, yes they are still in it for the money it's a busness, but they aren't dumb enough to turn it into a short lived cashcow, at least on paper THIS is how cashshops should be done, I'm actally hoping this model caches on as it'll help the market noend from the 'favour of the month' game hoppers. Put it this way would you go back and play Conan, WAR, Pirates and even Vanguard if there was a F2P hybrid option like this?
Would I go back to them? No, because I never tried them in the first place. BUT and that's a big BUT, (LOL) if they did go the route DDO is I would at least pop my head into those games and give them a really good tryout. So I can see how this model could benefit DDO.
In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
Bottom line is Turbine know exactally how cashshops can break a game, yes they are still in it for the money it's a busness, but they aren't dumb enough to turn it into a short lived cashcow, at least on paper THIS is how cashshops should be done, I'm actally hoping this model caches on as it'll help the market noend from the 'favour of the month' game hoppers. Put it this way would you go back and play Conan, WAR, Pirates and even Vanguard if there was a F2P hybrid option like this?
Considering that Turbine just hired the microtransaction manager just a few short months ago [ www.massively.com/2009/01/01/turbine-hiring-for-microtransaction-manager/ ], I don't think they have done much homework on the concept yet. It isn't like they have previous experience to draw upon either. They are going to slap an item mall on top of a game designed as pay to play and hope it does something. Nothing really shows a level of confidence about this project yet.
Maybe this is all test marketing for their yet to be announced project? Maybe they had nothing to really lose by doing this?
They really should just remove the subscription and make it entirely cash options. Turbine is taking are really long back end route of putting an item mall into a subscription game this way.
Does anyone remember if they promised the hiring of the micro transaction guy was not going to affect any of their current games?
Bottom line is Turbine know exactally how cashshops can break a game, yes they are still in it for the money it's a busness, but they aren't dumb enough to turn it into a short lived cashcow, at least on paper THIS is how cashshops should be done, I'm actally hoping this model caches on as it'll help the market noend from the 'favour of the month' game hoppers. Put it this way would you go back and play Conan, WAR, Pirates and even Vanguard if there was a F2P hybrid option like this?
Considering that Turbine just hired the microtransaction manager just a few short months ago [ www.massively.com/2009/01/01/turbine-hiring-for-microtransaction-manager/ ], I don't think they have done much homework on the concept yet. It isn't like they have previous experience to draw upon either. They are going to slap an item mall on top of a game designed as pay to play and hope it does something. Nothing really shows a level of confidence about this project yet.
Maybe this is all test marketing for their yet to be announced project? Maybe they had nothing to really lose by doing this?
They really should just remove the subscription and make it entirely cash options. Turbine is taking are really long back end route of putting an item mall into a subscription game this way.
Does anyone remember if they promised the hiring of the micro transaction guy was not going to affect any of their current games?
It goes like this. Turbine wants to get into the microtransaction game, they can make a new game to try this new payment type or they can take a game with failing numbers and revenue and try to learn while not spending the vast amount of money it takes to create a new game.Which way do you go? I take the failing game and retrofit it as best I can and learn while hoping this turns the failing game into even a minor profit earner. Then I take what I learned and apply it to my next project from the start building the game around it.
Yes they said it was for a then unnamed project and not one they had out. Turbine had to lie about that and I understand but it still shows you can rarely trust them at all.
Bottom line is nothing changes for the people who want to continue to pay a subscription to the game.
People who want to go from paying to free lose access. Nothing is being forced on these people. If these people don't want to lose access to their subscription game then they need to continue to pay the subscription.
New players who would not fork out money to give an older, dying game a try will begin to show up. Most of these people will not go beyond the limited trial and will not have a great impact on the rest of the player base. Any new player that does buy further access to the game, whether through subscription or cash shop items, will contribute to the rest of the paying customers' experience as well as the game's potential resurrection.
Given how simple and easy this is to understand it makes you wonder why anyone would start a thread named, "HAHA! oh this is great, an entire paying customer base gets item shops shoved in their face." The "entire paying customer base" doesn't need to use the cash shop to continue playing the game as long as they continue to be a part of the "entire paying customer base." It's only when the entire paying customer base chooses to stop paying for the game that they need to purchase cash shop items to continue playing the game.
I'm going to ignore the fact that the OP contained massive factual inaccuracies in his post and move on to discuss why DDO: Unlimited is actual a natural evolution of the D+D video game mechanics.
If we look at possibly the most noteworthy D+D game to date - Neverwinter Nights - we can see that much of the attention that this game got wasn't because the base game was amazing (which it was) and it wasn't because the following expansions built on the game in such a way that Hordes of the Underdark surpassed the original offering in almost every regard. The mass appeal for NWN - in my opinion - came from the idea that you could download both free and premium modules that had been designed and constructed by players. It was the idea that you could add to your experience through one of the first iterations of DLC that made NWNs great.
When Turbine originally announced that they were making DDO, many of us D+D fans wanted the game to be F2P with a toolset that allowed for play created content. Sadly, Turbine decided to go for a P2P model, which alienated a lot of D+D fans. To cut a long story short, it was a bit of a travesty to us.
When Unlimited was announced, we could see the potential growing. Not only are they reverting to a more traditional approach to D+D but the new system can (and most probably will) facilitate player created content in the future. Imagine a whole shop full of free and premium player created dungeons and quests that extends the experience that DDO offers right now. The possibilities are almost endless. We know that it can be done as well *points at COX and SWG*.
In my opinion, this is just the start of a new age where DDO is concerned. Turbine are facilitating an entire new thinking when it comes to the game. I am fully expecting a Turbine toolset to be released for a small fee that will allow players to create and distribute their own dungeons, quests and stories in the future. When this happens, I will be playing DDO because I will be one of the many people building dungeons.
The question is where Turbine is heading. My guess is that if the free to play/subscription blend is successful (i.e. profit) then LOTR is next.
I have heard rumors about console versions on the horizon. The free to play (and buy what you want as you go) would work well with console versions of DDO or LOTR (I thinking about the massive Asian market potential).
As far as the present subscriber DDO base is concerned I can see guilds formed that simply do not allow members do buy anything at the store nor allow free to play members in their guilds (much like most some guilds do not allow kids in their guilds now or players form static groups).
The most telling point is what mods/updates DDO releases in the six to eight months after DDO unlimited is out. If DDO follows their present model they will alienate their subscriber base (further than it is now) by delaying mod 10 for six months.
Boredom is the biggest killer of MMOs (listen up bean counters). By not rolling out regular updates players move on to new games.
It goes like this. Turbine wants to get into the microtransaction game, they can make a new game to try this new payment type or they can take a game with failing numbers and revenue and try to learn while not spending the vast amount of money it takes to create a new game.Which way do you go? I take the failing game and retrofit it as best I can and learn while hoping this turns the failing game into even a minor profit earner. Then I take what I learned and apply it to my next project from the start building the game around it.
Yes they said it was for a then unnamed project and not one they had out. Turbine had to lie about that and I understand but it still shows you can rarely trust them at all.
I agree with you and I think that was their mentality as well.
Still, the person they hired might have only been for the new project as they stated, but it is pretty hard to believe that with what is happening right now. I doubt a company would hire someone like this and not at least have them involved somehow in this project.
I am trying really hard to reserve judgement until mod 10 is released (not just the unlimited release (mod 9) that is coming). The reality is if the money flows then any MMO maker puts resources into mod releases (both quality and quantity).
Turbines success or lack of may well be the decider in how you are playing/paying in the nex two years. I bet all the MMO makers are going to watch this model closely.
Turbine has made mistakes in the last two years, but I heard of a very large investment in Turbine not that long ago. I really think this is a trial by Turbine on their smaller MMO before (guessing) they move to consoles.
Turbine is a very closed mouth company about what they are up to until they annouce it.
I am trying really hard to reserve judgement until mod 10 is released (not just the unlimited release (mod 9) that is coming). The reality is if the money flows then any MMO maker puts resources into mod releases (both quality and quantity). Turbines success or lack of may well be the decider in how you are playing/paying in the nex two years. I bet all the MMO makers are going to watch this model closely. Turbine has made mistakes in the last two years, but I heard of a very large investment in Turbine not that long ago. I really think this is a trial by Turbine on their smaller MMO before (guessing) they move to consoles. Turbine is a very closed mouth company about what they are up to until they annouce it.
The investment was from Time Warner, it was 40 million dollars. Most likely it was the initial costs to develop a as of now unnamed to the public new game.
Free sounds so great doesn't it? Just wait and see how free it will be. You gotta pay for this you gotta pay for that, you used to get all those things with one nice little payment but not anymore!
The screenshots show xp potion lmao! thats the worst possible item shop item, another post says you can't even shop from regular NPC's lol you are all tools, enjoy you new "free" mmo I hope you all make turbine rich, they deserve it for being able to screw you all over and still have loyalty. You have killed an ORC! You are out of loot tokens, please purchase more to loot this corpse.
Welcome to Fopir! Please enter your credit card information to enter this area
Congratulations! Your level has increased to 4! Please purchase a grade 4 level token to advance!
Tutorial: You need weapons and armor to fight, first go to the item shop and purchase a token of NPC bartering, then purchase a token of level 1 slashing weapons, then purchase a token of at least 1 inventory slot, then purchase a token of primary weapon slot, then visit the weapon vendor and purchase a weapon, you might notice that they suck, but good ones can be bought at the cash shop, now for armor.. <Mod Edit>
Are you even in the beta? No? Then how can you judge off a screenshot.
Man there are more idiots in here than in the WoW forums
Comments
One of the screenshots also features an item called the Copper Sigil of Leveling, I don't know how they'd make a more direct implication. I wouldn't be surprised if Gold or Platinum sigils were also available. I find this a bit odd as players have complained that there is very little reason to keep playing characters once they get maxed and acquire all the desired loot.
I'm only bringing this up because exp scrolls/potions seem to be a mainstay of every garbage f2p Korean MMO, and the fact that they'd even consider including something like this in a D&D game is the first big piece of discouraging information I've come across.
I'm an oldschool D&D fan, and the only reason I'd even consider trying DDO is for the 3e rules. D&D has always been about the process of leveling, and the most fun to be had is between levels 3-8. Selling out to mummorpuger conventions and rushing players to the end game is a big fat turnoff. Especially sincet Turbine seems to have the same problem as most GMs do with >= lvl 20 characters, mainly they can't seem to come up with anything to make them worth playing.
Yes there is such thing like Sigils of leveling. And you can not level without them.
They drop as rewards for random quests.
Also 15$ = 1500TP
yea, an 'entire' community... lol
What community would there be after all the new mmo's coming out? very little.
The cash shop will actually regenerate your community, and its purly your choice if you want to go free to play or pay 2 play.
So it will cost $1.20 per level from 5 - 8 /w the copper sigil, and likely more for each grade of sigil afterwords?
Somebody else pointed out that the only dungeons that guarantee these sigil drops will be premium. Someone else pointed out that some kind of in-game rewards will also allow you to purchase sigils.
I'll make a direct question: If you fill up your char slots and play them all in tandem purely for the purpose of doing challenges to acquire these sigils, will it be theoretically possible to get at least one of your characters up to the level cap (Assuming you get no sigils as a random drop, purely by doing the challenges)? Will there even be epic dungeons for capped out f2p ers?
DDO has almost no community now, why do you think they are going F2P/VIP hybrid?
So it will cost $1.20 per level from 5 - 8 /w the copper sigil, and likely more for each grade of sigil afterwords?
Somebody else pointed out that the only dungeons that guarantee these sigil drops will be premium. Someone else pointed out that some kind of in-game rewards will also allow you to purchase sigils.
I'll make a direct question: If you fill up your char slots and play them all in tandem purely for the purpose of doing challenges to acquire these sigils, will it be theoretically possible to get at least one of your characters up to the level cap (Assuming you get no sigils as a random drop, purely by doing the challenges)? Will there even be epic dungeons for capped out f2p ers?
Three things:
1. Unfortunately, Turbine so far hasn't seen the common sense in 1 TP = $.01 - so the 1500 TP is currently about $22.50!
2. The Level Sigils let you level for a range of levels. Once you use a Copper one, you can level from 5th-8th level; you then need a Silver one to train 9th level [Silver goes 9-13 iirc].
3. I don't know whether the Sigils are bound to account or bound to character - if bound to character, only those found by that character will be any good to it.
Another very strange convention is that VIP players can buy guest passes to allow f2p players to enter premium dungeons [1 time only - but I think I saw that you can re-enter if you come back while the instance is still open], BUT f2p cannot buy one to try it before buying the entire adventure pack.
<p align=center><a target=_blank href=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm><img border=0 src=http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/20.jpg></a></p>;
I love how people are flapping their arms about claiming the hydrid methord will kill the game - Wizard101 and Freerelms have almost the same cashshop/vip system and they are growing in player numbers.
Fact is Turbine hae been very careful about this they KNOW how shops work as they've actally done their homework - You can be either VIP or Cashshop and still be the same as your counterpart. The cashshop items only supliment your character unlike the other F2P cashshops out there which force to to buy to actally progress in the game - ALL THE BEST GEAR IS STILL DUNGEON DROPS. As people have said you STILL have to play the game to cap out - the cashshop just makes it less stressful for the casual player, and finally the adventure pack bit, it's not like anyone whos played NWN/NWN2, EQ1/2 or hell even downloaded a mappack for a FPS would be shellshocked over it.
Bottom line is Turbine know exactally how cashshops can break a game, yes they are still in it for the money it's a busness, but they aren't dumb enough to turn it into a short lived cashcow, at least on paper THIS is how cashshops should be done, I'm actally hoping this model caches on as it'll help the market noend from the 'favour of the month' game hoppers.
Put it this way would you go back and play Conan, WAR, Pirates and even Vanguard if there was a F2P hybrid option like this?
Bring on the WARRRRGGHH!
Turbine has made mistake after mistake with DDO for 3 years. Saying they are not dumb enough to ruin their game is kind of silly. They are in this position because of bad decisions, not because they want to take DDO F2P.
Turbine might very well add more to the cash shop if they need to bump revenue and are not making enough sales.
Would I go back to them? No, because I never tried them in the first place. BUT and that's a big BUT, (LOL) if they did go the route DDO is I would at least pop my head into those games and give them a really good tryout. So I can see how this model could benefit DDO.
In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
Considering that Turbine just hired the microtransaction manager just a few short months ago [ www.massively.com/2009/01/01/turbine-hiring-for-microtransaction-manager/ ], I don't think they have done much homework on the concept yet. It isn't like they have previous experience to draw upon either. They are going to slap an item mall on top of a game designed as pay to play and hope it does something. Nothing really shows a level of confidence about this project yet.
Maybe this is all test marketing for their yet to be announced project? Maybe they had nothing to really lose by doing this?
They really should just remove the subscription and make it entirely cash options. Turbine is taking are really long back end route of putting an item mall into a subscription game this way.
Does anyone remember if they promised the hiring of the micro transaction guy was not going to affect any of their current games?
Considering that Turbine just hired the microtransaction manager just a few short months ago [ www.massively.com/2009/01/01/turbine-hiring-for-microtransaction-manager/ ], I don't think they have done much homework on the concept yet. It isn't like they have previous experience to draw upon either. They are going to slap an item mall on top of a game designed as pay to play and hope it does something. Nothing really shows a level of confidence about this project yet.
Maybe this is all test marketing for their yet to be announced project? Maybe they had nothing to really lose by doing this?
They really should just remove the subscription and make it entirely cash options. Turbine is taking are really long back end route of putting an item mall into a subscription game this way.
Does anyone remember if they promised the hiring of the micro transaction guy was not going to affect any of their current games?
It goes like this. Turbine wants to get into the microtransaction game, they can make a new game to try this new payment type or they can take a game with failing numbers and revenue and try to learn while not spending the vast amount of money it takes to create a new game.Which way do you go? I take the failing game and retrofit it as best I can and learn while hoping this turns the failing game into even a minor profit earner. Then I take what I learned and apply it to my next project from the start building the game around it.
Yes they said it was for a then unnamed project and not one they had out. Turbine had to lie about that and I understand but it still shows you can rarely trust them at all.
Bottom line is nothing changes for the people who want to continue to pay a subscription to the game.
People who want to go from paying to free lose access. Nothing is being forced on these people. If these people don't want to lose access to their subscription game then they need to continue to pay the subscription.
New players who would not fork out money to give an older, dying game a try will begin to show up. Most of these people will not go beyond the limited trial and will not have a great impact on the rest of the player base. Any new player that does buy further access to the game, whether through subscription or cash shop items, will contribute to the rest of the paying customers' experience as well as the game's potential resurrection.
Given how simple and easy this is to understand it makes you wonder why anyone would start a thread named, "HAHA! oh this is great, an entire paying customer base gets item shops shoved in their face." The "entire paying customer base" doesn't need to use the cash shop to continue playing the game as long as they continue to be a part of the "entire paying customer base." It's only when the entire paying customer base chooses to stop paying for the game that they need to purchase cash shop items to continue playing the game.
I'm going to ignore the fact that the OP contained massive factual inaccuracies in his post and move on to discuss why DDO: Unlimited is actual a natural evolution of the D+D video game mechanics.
If we look at possibly the most noteworthy D+D game to date - Neverwinter Nights - we can see that much of the attention that this game got wasn't because the base game was amazing (which it was) and it wasn't because the following expansions built on the game in such a way that Hordes of the Underdark surpassed the original offering in almost every regard. The mass appeal for NWN - in my opinion - came from the idea that you could download both free and premium modules that had been designed and constructed by players. It was the idea that you could add to your experience through one of the first iterations of DLC that made NWNs great.
When Turbine originally announced that they were making DDO, many of us D+D fans wanted the game to be F2P with a toolset that allowed for play created content. Sadly, Turbine decided to go for a P2P model, which alienated a lot of D+D fans. To cut a long story short, it was a bit of a travesty to us.
When Unlimited was announced, we could see the potential growing. Not only are they reverting to a more traditional approach to D+D but the new system can (and most probably will) facilitate player created content in the future. Imagine a whole shop full of free and premium player created dungeons and quests that extends the experience that DDO offers right now. The possibilities are almost endless. We know that it can be done as well *points at COX and SWG*.
In my opinion, this is just the start of a new age where DDO is concerned. Turbine are facilitating an entire new thinking when it comes to the game. I am fully expecting a Turbine toolset to be released for a small fee that will allow players to create and distribute their own dungeons, quests and stories in the future. When this happens, I will be playing DDO because I will be one of the many people building dungeons.
http://www.themmoquest.com - MMO commentary from an overly angry brit. OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED!
The question is where Turbine is heading. My guess is that if the free to play/subscription blend is successful (i.e. profit) then LOTR is next.
I have heard rumors about console versions on the horizon. The free to play (and buy what you want as you go) would work well with console versions of DDO or LOTR (I thinking about the massive Asian market potential).
As far as the present subscriber DDO base is concerned I can see guilds formed that simply do not allow members do buy anything at the store nor allow free to play members in their guilds (much like most some guilds do not allow kids in their guilds now or players form static groups).
The most telling point is what mods/updates DDO releases in the six to eight months after DDO unlimited is out. If DDO follows their present model they will alienate their subscriber base (further than it is now) by delaying mod 10 for six months.
Boredom is the biggest killer of MMOs (listen up bean counters). By not rolling out regular updates players move on to new games.
I agree with you and I think that was their mentality as well.
Still, the person they hired might have only been for the new project as they stated, but it is pretty hard to believe that with what is happening right now. I doubt a company would hire someone like this and not at least have them involved somehow in this project.
I feel turbines stock just dropped a lot.
I am trying really hard to reserve judgement until mod 10 is released (not just the unlimited release (mod 9) that is coming). The reality is if the money flows then any MMO maker puts resources into mod releases (both quality and quantity).
Turbines success or lack of may well be the decider in how you are playing/paying in the nex two years. I bet all the MMO makers are going to watch this model closely.
Turbine has made mistakes in the last two years, but I heard of a very large investment in Turbine not that long ago. I really think this is a trial by Turbine on their smaller MMO before (guessing) they move to consoles.
Turbine is a very closed mouth company about what they are up to until they annouce it.
The investment was from Time Warner, it was 40 million dollars. Most likely it was the initial costs to develop a as of now unnamed to the public new game.
Hello
Again rumer. I heard that one too. Harry Potter was the likel.y guess.
Are you even in the beta? No? Then how can you judge off a screenshot.
Man there are more idiots in here than in the WoW forums