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F2P the way it should have been
Deewe
Member UncommonPosts: 1,980
Let's start with the obvious:
The actual model for TOR F2P system is miss which hits a summit with making people pay for UI elements like quick slot bars.
Now here's how the model should have been designed:
- Provide all the tools needed to enjoy the content to the player for free.
- Have first steps of the story element free for all the classes.
- Do not restict players on basic choices (Ex: allow players to create only 2 characters but with any of the species for free).
- Set a very low fee for purchaseable item, consumables.
- Do not restrict some items to the random packs only
The main idea driving the system would be hook the players in game with all the bells and whistles and have them pay for convenience items, quests hubs and fluff like pets, new gear skins/meshes. For the PvP, Operations, space missions have them (eventually) unlock them by bracket levels with a one time purchase.
Make sure not to set the pricing too high and here's where the real trick kicks in.
Have the pricing model setting the prices so low that players won't even feel like spending money at all.
While the quests hubs could be in the $5 range all the rest should be under $1
Recommending a piece of gear @ $0.90, no more and consumables $0.10-$0.15
You want players to feel spoiled. This way you'll get more money by having hundred of thousands people spending happily a few bucks than trying to milk players with the actual fees. Also think about the word of mouth you would get: free advertizing = more customers
For prices set at $0.10, $0.90 people will hardly hesitate before buying stuff at all, in the end spending much more than with a more obvious rip-off system.
All in all think coke not Ferrari.
D.
Comments
The SWTOR freemium FTP option is horrible on purpose.
The FTP option is not horribly restrictive in an attempt to get new players to subscribe, it is to prevent subscribers from taking up the FTP option.
So why bother?
1) EA no longer has to report subscription numbers.
2) Oh look, a subscription game with a cash shop. Since EA can't get new subscribers, they hope to make more mone per subscriber via cash shop purchases; content, consumables, and vanity items. As the game looses more subscribers, the cash shop will seek to generate more revenue by offering "new exciting gear"; and the game will drift further and further into Pay To Win territory untill there is 1 US server and 1 European server with a thousand players on each spending $150 a month to play (what I used to do with Kener toys) Star Wars with each other till the plug gets pulled.
Or maybe something a little less doomsday, but not by much.
F2P = We are desperate for people to play our game.
Also so EA can get out of the LA/Disney clause because of a lack of popularity.
If the game fails then EA gets removed from obligations. This game is losing money by the day (less than 500k subscribers), and EA wants out. Make the F2P (Freemium) so abhorrant that many will play, few will pay. Game goes in the red.
Deal with Lucas is ended.
EA needs a nice paper record of how they tried to make this game successful. It will all be important in court hearings when they cut the cords on this game.
And look at how they tried. They did try. Whether or not everyone else knew it would fail is immaterial.
Side Note: EA didn't add an extra hotbar because fans wanted it. They added it because the media got involved, and they wanted to keep a good paper trail of responsiveness.
Want a nice understanding of life? Try Spirit Science: "The Human History"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8NNHmV3QPw&feature=plcp
Recognize the voice? Yep sounds like Penny Arcade's Extra Credits.
i really dont see anything wrong with it .if they get pvp right than i am even ready to pay 20 dollars a month
People are ready to spend 15$ (even more) for a great game.
People werent ready to spend 15$ on SWTOR.
Since nothing changed in SWTOR people will still not spend money on SWTOR.
Them scamming people into buying UI elements will not make more people like and play the game. Quite opposite.
F2P is the worst thing that could ever happen to gaming. Less qualitity, less quantity....but hey, at least its free.
I will gladly pay for any game that deserves it. And SWTor deserved it for the first 4 months. F2P is like an acknowledgement of creating such a bad game, that noone will pay for it.
Hodor!
I had a god laugh when i saw the prices in CC.
Just for comparison:
LOTRO full expansion RoR: 40$ (you could get it this weekend in ingame store for 30$)
RIFT full expansion SL: 40$
SWTOR pack of few daily quests: 27$
ahahahahahahahahahhaah
Anyoe thinks they greately overrate their game?
Exactly what I said before.
To EA this game is already dead! They want to get rid of it and burry it deep under the ground and try forget it ever happened.
Now, due to contract obligations and clausules they cannot just pull the plug, or they would have done so already last summer.
So, they have to find a way to make people quit and let the game die as fast as possible, so they can end the contract and shut the game down.
This whole F2P model reeks of a scheme like this. EA's attempt to accelerate this game's demise.
No probs then, when game goes live today ill just log in and buy everything i want on GTN.
Do they sell case filters?
TSW - AoC - Aion - WOW - EVE - Fallen Earth - Co - Rift - || XNA C# Java Development
I believe there is a 3 day cooldown or something when you buy something on the cartel to when you can sell it.
Also, we need more patting of each other on the back on how much you all hate this!
That actually makes TF2 a shooter. I dont care for shooters, since they are quite a narrow and dumb type of game imho.
Hodor!
Sounds crazy that a company would deliberately fail their game, but... the reasoning behind it does seem to have a certain amount of credence, i don't doubt that the game is hurting EA's bottom line, and they do have a history of closing down MMO's that didnt meet financial goals etc, so could this be a backdoor method of dumping the game and getting out of paying LA/Disney penalty fees.. .. maybe.. there is only one thing that is certain though, F2P mode will only drive the paying players away, not that there are that many left these days.
TF2 is a totally free game on steam, you can buy things if you want, mostly cosmetic, but it wouldnt make any difference if you didnt ever buy anything, TF2 also does not use up resources as the servers are usually private/public which can be rented etc from 3rd parties. There is no comparison between TF2 and SW;TOR, TF2 does not have persistent worlds etc, and doesnt require the owning company to maintain server farms of any kind, let alone bandwidth to support a playerbase.
Basically what they have done here, is what what companies like Turbine have done, and that is to take a franchise like Star Wars, make it a f2p game and added a cash store, i.e. the cartel shop, and added a reward system for those who remain subscribers, i.e. te mothly alottment of cartel coins. Turbine has a couple of games, DDO and LOTRO that are fairly successful and they follow this model.
Personally, I believe, and correctly so, that it was only going to be a matter of time before SWTOR went f2p. This is going to be a good thing for SWTOR, because it will allow people who wanted to play initially to experiance what the game has to offer, without the pressure of making a commitment.
I concur.
Driz
What they have done is put a bunch of limitations on the game with hopes that folks will sub up,as the cost of free to play is to hight.
Sure folks stayed with lotro, I gave up on the game after it went free to play. Somewhere on brandywine server in the town of Bree is my lore master sitting there begging for alms.
I would be tome folks will play it and not pay a dime, but for those who really want to play the game they will be forced to sub, or pay a ton in unlocks.
Many of you are woefully ignorant of how SWTOR's f2p will work. I don't think some of you have heard of preferred status and how that removes many of the limitations you are complaining about. How does one get preferred status. Simple, be a former subscriber, or buy any amount of cartel coins.
In spite of the haters, SWTOR is a great game, and F2P is going to be good for it.
Ahnog
Hokey religions are no replacement for a good blaster at your side.