Home › Game Forums › Alganon
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Is it worth trying now that its F2P?
MadDemon64
Member UncommonPosts: 1,102
in Alganon
Now that Alganon has gone F2P, do you think it deserves a try? Has it actually improved, or is this some sort of ploy to increase the playerbase without said improvements?
Since when is Tuesday a direction?
Comments
Anything D. Smart touches is best to stat away from.
Nah .. there are plenty of other better games to try first. LOTRO, DDO, EQ2, ROM, ALLOD .. i probably will play a online FPS like AVA before playing this wow clone with not even enough people to fill up a 10 man raid.
My advice would be to ignore all advice on the subject and just try it for yourself.
If the game looks and sounds interesting to you and you like what you read on their forums then go for it. It all depends on what you are looking for.
My personal opinion is that it's not worth the time compared to current F2P games like RoM, Allods and DDO. LOTRO is a FAR superior game in every way and will fairly shortly switch to a F2P model.
I tried Alganon, and besides the fact that I think I should be getting WAY better performance than I do, I found that it really wasn't that bad of a game. In fact, it sorta reminded me of old school WoW.
My only problem is the fact that it's not really F2P as it were. It's really just a very long trial period, and I'm not sure I'd be willing to pay money for it. That said, I find it much better than current top tier F2P titles like Runes of Magic and Allods.
Indeed. But you'd think that should be as simply as employing common sense. Most gamers won't touch a game without playing a demo. Now you can play the game for free for as long as you like in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not it is worth your time and money.
The trial and the F2P model are totally different. The original trial (which could be converted by buying the $19.95 client) was way more restrictive.
Those clamouring are those who a) don't understand it b) never actually played the game; but have no problems posting nonsense not based in reality.
Just try it for yourself and if its not to your liking, move on to what is. Games - by their very nature - are not made for everyone to like. Thats why some succeed and some don't. Even those with massive Triple-A budgets end up failing, while the smaller (and less overhead) games are still moving on with whatever install base they have and which pay the bills.
As long as Alganon can pay the company's bills, thats all we care about. We don't care about much else really.
Game developers are just human beings who happen to make games for a living.
If you want to hold us up to higher standards of conduct, then go ahead
...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them.
EQ2 free to play opens tomorrow. I'd try that one instead.
Currently Playing: DAOC Uthgard
Previously Played: UO, DAOC, Shadowbane, AC2, SWG, Horizons, COX, WOW, EQ2, LOTRO, AOC, WAR, Vanguard, Rift, SWTOR, ESO, GW2.
The Download is 3 Gig and so far i experienced a smooth performance, with only very little lag.
Some art in the game is very beautyfull if you like atmosphere that is driven by lighting at least at some times of their day-night-cycle.
For most other stuff prepare for experience a time warp to the good old days...
"Torquemada... do not implore him for compassion. Torquemada... do not beg him for forgiveness. Torquemada... do not ask him for mercy. Let's face it, you can't Torquemada anything!"
MWO Music Video - What does the Mech say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF6HYNqCDLI
Johnny Cash - The Man Comes Around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0x2iwK0BKM
As a long-time detractor of Alganon, a person possessed of a bitter hatred for David Allen, and a mild disdain for Derek Smart (though for some reason I kind of like his abrasive attitude, but I'm weird like that), I'd say give a shot and decide for yourself.
Derek Smart and people who play and love the game may disagree, but it's basically a sub-par WoW; almost identical gameplay with less interesting graphics and sloppier animations. But now it IS free to play (with some pretty heavy restrictions, and it costs about $20 to get them lifted).
Basically, if you really want to play WoW, but don't want to pay ~$80 for the base game and two expansions, don't want to pay a monthly fee, and don't want to put up with WoW's moronic community, and can tolerate low quality, you might, maybe, perhaps, like Alganon. Just don't expect to be blown away. The game really does absolutely nothing special, unique, or advance the genre in any fashion. It is the height of forgettable mediocrity. I think that's the crux; it's not even terrible. It's just.... completely and totally unremarkable.
However, there are a number of far superior games, both F2P and P2P. In fact, with the exception of most miserable F2P Korean grinders, I'd say most MMOs have a lot more to offer than Alganon. I'd rather play Alganon than, say, ArchLord, but that doesn't really mean much since I'd rather smash my pinky with a tack hammer than play ArchLord.
"I am the weapon that strikes/In the hearts of men I thrive/Feeding their fear with lies/I will devour/I will divide/I am the god of hellfire/inside every man there lives a liar/before their gods they cower/I will divide/I will devour" - "Divide Devour" by Iced Earth
Worth trying? It depends on what you want from a game. If you are willing to spend money to unlock the full featured game, it is worth. If not, I don't see any reason to waste your time leveling to 30 and being frustrated by the severe limitations on this free trial variant of the game.
As for myself I am trying now LOTRO and soon will be trying EQ2. Same "free trial" scheme as for Alganon, but at least the games are worthing the money.
""As long as Alganon can pay the company's bills, thats all we care about. We don't care about much else really.""
And that would be the primary reason to not want to try your games. It isn't always about the money. You may think you have more money than the individuals in your target audience (you don't) or that you are more successful, better looking, more intelligent, etc. But for any management job, not caring about anything but the bottom line is a formula to, well, release half-finished products, blame others for mistakes despite having ample time to address them and never reach the higher goals and successes of both larger companies and stronger indie developers with a larger and more dedicated fan bases. Sound familiar?
And again, this forum gives credence to that which doesn't deserve it. Growing are you? Care to share the historical numbers on company dec sheets and not just your 'recollection'? Or will they not let loose of your leash enough to prove us wrong?
Jergis
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Every game is worth trying. Does that mean you'll like it? Who knows? It doesn't cost you anything other than time, though. As for the game, it could be great, horrible, a diamond in the rough, etc... Give it a whirl.
~Ripper
I think you're reading more into that comment than was intended. I read that as him saying that their main focus is breaking even so that the game can keep running, not making mountains of profit. A lot of companies (NC Soft being the obvious one) dump a game if it's not profitable enough, regardless of whether or not it's earning enough to sustain itself. Those are the companies that are "not caring about anything but the bottom line."
Derek Smart wanting to make sure QOL's overhead is paid is not being greedy, its just being real. If the bills don't get paid, the game dies.
Do you have a link to anything thats supports any of that?
Are you saying that Dungeon Runners, Tabula Rasa and Auto Assault were making enough money to support themselves?
Are you suggesting that the current existence of Exteel is an illusion and that it was shut down a year ago?
I really am curious what you read that gave you the impression that NCSoft closed down games that weren't already well past the point of hemmoraging money.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
And something tells me its not doing that to well. Pretty sure the clock on Alganons life span is getting really close to the end.
Dungeon Runners' fate was a result of massive management shifts with NCSoft. It was Robert Garriott's pet project and represented a new direction, namely F2P games and ports to the PS3. Unfortunately, due to major internal changes and political strife, it's fate was sealed. I'd love to see a post-mortem interview with Steve Nichols on it.
~Ripper
Exactly. They held on to that well beyond where most any other company would have. I've yet to see anything that would support Derick's claim, though.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
I think it has more to do with NCSoft's desire to focus on AAA titles like Aion, Blade and Soul and whatever Carbine's working on. With proper marketing and the right revenue model, all three of those games could do very well, but if you're not interested in publishing small games to begin with, it's a moot point.
~Ripper
Okay, fair enough. You're right, I don't have the hard data to back that up. It's just an impression I get based on the shorter-than-expected life spans of some of their games. However, an impression is just that, so I won't defend it or argue the point. Please mentally remove the parenthetical when you read my post.
However, that wasn't really the focus of what I was saying. I was mainly disagreeing with Jergis's position that Derek Smart was being greedy or "bottom-line" in his comment about Alganon paying the bills. I interpreted what Derek Smart said very differently.