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Plz compare these two!
Ok so we got Alganon....and we got Runes of Magic.Both ftp games that have been bashed mercilessly for different reasons...I played both and like both tbh.Each has its charm. But eventhough ROM is the "king' of FTP games(according to most reviews and awards) it's being "attacked" mainly because of its Shop revenue model and the necessity to spend a lot of money in it? On the other hand Alganon has been unfairly criticised only by the person representing it in most gaming forums.The game itself IS NOT as bad as most (who haven't tried it) think it is.I think it would be interesting to compare these two games since i am seriously thinking of spending some money on a FTP this Xmas....
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I am sorry, but there is no comparison between thee two games. Runes of Magic is superior in every sense of the word.
Since when is Tuesday a direction?
I think the term "king of FTP" shows that what you say it's the truth. BUT there is so much hate against the game because of the huge amount of money needed to be spent that actually discourages many players from even geting started with it. On the other hand Alganon need around 20-50$ and you can get quite high up in the game if only there was more people playing it~
Runes of Magic has far more going for it than Alganon does. It has more features, more classes and class combinations through dual roles, a better economy (it has an economy...), other players with whom one can actually run an instance, etc..
Alganon is a fun game, but it's buggy, has poor character models and animations, fewer features, fewer classes, no economy, such a low population that it's hard to get any group, much less run instances, etc..
Irrespective of all that, let's look at the revenue models:
RoM is completely free in that you're never forced to purchase anything in order to unlock levels or quests, nor are you forced to pay in order to communicate with other players. On top of that, Frogster is pretty brilliant with their "crack dealer" sales approach. You get a 24-hour mount for free as soon as you create a new character. I know other players that almost immediately purchased diamonds for a mount as soon as their free mount expired. That being said, many players believe they have to spend a significant amount of money in order to be competitive in PvP or to participate in high-level instances. I can't speak to that, having never reached a high level and having never PvPed in RoM. I've seen arguments from players on both sides of the issue, however, some who state it's not true, others who state it is true. I think it's a matter of opinion and how willing one is to grind enough to achieve benefits otherwise reserved for paying players. All that being said, the game was completely free for me, since I was a fairly casual player happy to just meander around and experiment with different class combos. I didn't care about PvP or leveling, although I was more than willing to spend diamonds for something like a mount. I never "needed" to buy anything.
Alganon is more like an extended free trial, IMO. You can only play to level 30 without being forced to purchase something. Additionally, you can't publicly chat with other players (except in a help channel, which has only recently been opened up to free players). There are other limitations, too (only 10 quests in your log at a time), but I consider them to be matters of convenience, not vital to playing and socializing. On top of that, Quest Online now charges for a feature (Dual Roles) that was supposed to be included in the original launch. For those players who bought the client, either in the first or second launch, I'd be pissed.
I think you're correct in that those who spend money for a single character at the top levels of RoM spend a lot more money that what is required to unlock levels and features in Alganon. The difference is that it's a matter of choice. I would spend money for a mount in RoM, when I could otherwise play for free, but I'm irritated at the thought of being forced to spend money just to chat with other players in Alganon or to level past 30. Those irritations put me off from even considering buying anything convenient or aesthetic from it's Tribute Market. Yes, it's a matter of perception on my part and a bias based on what I believe a cash shop for a F2P should be. Still, it's what I feel and what stops me, and possibly many others, from spending any money on Alganon. If those two barriers to playing and socializing didn't exist, I'd probably spend money on Alganon. It's simple - tell me I can play for free, but that I can buy shiny goodies and I probably will buy shiny goodies. Tell me I have to pay in order to chat or play beyond a certain level and that I can buy shiny goodies and I won't buy anything...
Criticism aside, I like Alganon. Yes, I think it has a number of issues, but I also think it's a diamond in the rough. It has a lot of potential. I'd love to see fewer bugs, more polish and a revenue model that gives incentive to purchase items that skew towards convenience and aesthetics, not competition or artificial barriers to playing and socializing. To Quest Online's credit, I think they're working hard at fixing issues and polishing the overall experience. Unfortunately, I think its revenue model is something that turns away many players. In my personal opinion, a true f2p is a game that:
The client must be free - if there's a cost barrier to enter the game, then the "game" isn't "free" (Guild Wars, for example) - Alganon and RoM pass this test.
The "game" must be free. What's the "game"? All basic "content", which includes levels, zones and quests. RoM passes, Alganon fails.
No "pay to win" sales - If the game offers PvP, then either the credit shop should not allow the sale of any items that give a paying player any competitive advantage over a non-paying or lesser-paying player or said items should be disabled during competition. RoM may or may not pass, Alganon fails.
I'm all for charging for bag space, experience scrolls, waypoint/teleport scrolls, mounts, pets, collector's/holiday items, even character slots, and would happily spend money on those types of items in a game I enjoyed.
As for either being "pay-to-win", as I said about RoM, it's a matter of opinion. I can't speak to it. With Alganon, I can. I soloed a Kujix Ranger to level 30 and compared the gear I'd collected in-game (through questing, looting, crafting and--rarely--through the auction house, which was almost always devoid of items) to a Level 30 Ranger "Full Gear" set from the Tribute Market. What I found was that the purchased set was significantly better than the gear I'd obtained in-game. How significant? It would have dramatically increased my HP, Protection and Attack Power. My HP alone would have gone up by 540. Being able to increase my HP by over 50 percent as well as significantly increasing both my protection and attack power with a single purchase could absolutely sway the results in a duel. Add in the fact that I could boost effectiveness even further by purchasing talismans, potions and legendary items and it's even more of an unfair advantage over free players. This argument would be negated if I could have obtained equally as impressive gear through regular play, as I did my own gear, but I never saw any opportunity to do so.
~Ripper
Job well done sir, job well done.
Put through the personal paces of my crippled fingers.
How wonderfully oxymoronic...
I don't think Alganon is unfairly criticised at all. I had to force myself to stick with it for a whole day. When even the beginner levels feel lifeless and tedious, there's something wrong with a game. At the very least, a game should make an effort to grab the player in the very beginning. I should be swimming in things to do, things and people to see, lore, etc., so that those later levels that take infinitely more effort to attain feel more worthwhile.
The graphics were barely up to f2p standards, the gameplay was bland, there were restrictions on certain in-game systems and functions unless you paid, and so on and so forth. That's just not a good game, I'm sorry. There will be people that stick with it of course, just like people have stuck with FF14 (though in their defense, it at least is making an effort to be better), but comparing it to Runes of Magic is almost offensive. Don't get me wrong, Runes has many, many issues of its own, least of all being that cash shop that was mentioned, but it at least kept me interested until that became a problem. Also while it may look a lot like WoW, there's enough to separate it in the gameplay that I was able to forget what it resembled and play it as its own game.
Can't say the same for Alganon. Honestly I can't believe a game like this is still going while games like APB, WISH and Tabula fell on their asses.
"Forums aren't for intelligent discussion; they're for blow-hards with unwavering opinions."
At a high level, Alganon just doesn't have "enough" or do any one thing well enough make it stand out in a crowded market, IMO. Feature and polish-wise, it can't compete with RoM, LotRO or EQ II.
That being said, Alganon has more features than one of my favorite games--Earth Eternal--did, but I just liked Earth Eternal better. I felt a deeper connection with it's developers and I thought it had a better overall community. I appreciated the relatively unique things Sparkplay Media was trying to accomplish (full 3D game instantiated in an actual browser window and streaming content).I also liked Earth Eternal's revenue model much more and didn't have any problems spending money on it. Earth Eternal definitely had it's own bugs and issues and needed a lot of polish to be official launch-ready, IMO, but I thought it was great, nonetheless. I just don't have that excitement about Alganon.
~Ripper
Aye, I have to agree, that line is almost quotable.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
So what creates the oxymoron? I honestly can't find it (unless you are being subjective-or just a sarcastic or immature twit)
1) seriously and spending money on an FTP ?
So you are characterising millions of people that spend money in FTP online games as non-serious?
2) seriously and spending money ?
As i have to work hard for the money i spend(unlike some people in here) it is a serious matter to spend a certain amount and then NOT getting what i paid for (FUN, hopefully)
If i haven't covered your so called oxymoron, please help me out here.
Oxymoron - you don't seem to know what it means
The oxymoron is "spending money" and "free". The word "seriously "has nothing to do with it. . Mention that phrase to anybody that's not a gamer and they'll look at you funny. Spending money is the opposite of "free".
Yes, obviously people do spend money on F2P games, preferably for things that aren't required in order to actually play those games, else they aren't really F2P. That being said, the definition of what classifies a game as F2P seems rather fuzzy. In Alganon's case, it's only F2P until level 30, unless you're satisfied in not leveling, gaining experience, being able to play through all the available content, etc.
~Ripper
Well said sir!
A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true...
well i think in the year 2010 going to 2011 we should all at last agree that there is NO thing in life that's free.By the term FTP we simply define the revenue model of an online game and DO NOT take literally the word "free".I guess the more appropriate term would be FTA(free to access) since you can play it but you can't progress in it unless you spend money.On the other hand some PTP games should also be renamed. Into PTMP (pay to MAYBE play - if bugs and bad development let you).