Thats total gibberish, and the fact is that the numbers rose to the double since the F2P option, check softwares like XFire, which are obviously just a way to measure a number of players using that software, but nonetheless the game went from around 1k per day to 2k per day Xfire users playing SWTor, so the F2P did bring many players, back, or new
Just a word to the wise, apparently X-Fire is a taboo topic rounf here lately. Although it its funny to see X-Fire being called on the demonstrate SWTOR's popularity after months of "X-Fire is a useless metric" threads.
I wouldn't get too warm and rosy about X-Fire at the moment. SWTOR's doubling of x-fire players from 1,000 to 2,000 isn't much of a commentary of how popular FTP is, but how unpopular the game was before FTP.
To look at it another way, SWTOR went from position 13 on the 14th, to position 14 on the 15th , to position 12 on the 16th.
Also of note, for other reasons, the average play session fell from 5.2 hours to 3.1 hours.
I'm not even going to start comparing the raw players/hours played compared to other games.
You are correct though in that X-Fire shows an uptick in SWTOR activity.
Originally posted by Gravarg At least all the classes are open. Several games that went F2P locked out classes that people bought the box, or an expansion for.
There's only 4 classes anyway (the ones on the other faction are just mirrors, they play pretty much the same), it's not like they went overboard on classes to begin with. If there was 8 distintly different classes I'm sure they'd restrict them for f2p.
Originally posted by Opapanax I feel for the folks still punishing themselves by playing this game. When I think about the bullshit they've pulled since this titles release. The thought of F2P with this title is truley horrifying.. To say the least...
Yup, tryed it for 15 mins, saw how awful it was, unistalled it and moved on. came to the forum to complain so that people dont make the same mistake than i did by wasting time downloading it to try it
Its WoW in space anyway, if you want to shell out the 15 bucks a month there are better tittles, like, you know, WoW, if you dont want to, there are better tittles as well.
hate wow and Gw2 but love SWToR worth my 15 bucks, and really cant see how it is like wow, wow I just click on a quest dont care what the plot is just grind as fast as I can to 80 then raid, much prefer the atmosphere and plot to ToR, GW2 was just a let down!
That's two of us. Can't stand WoW and GW2 is boring, boring, boring.
Andryah sums it up best for you, and that's from a paid shill too:
You have to make personal choices within the constraints offered to you. Either subscribe or don't subscribe. If you don't subscribe... then you have choices to make as to which characters you will continue to play. If you want to play more characters, then pay some coins to unlock them for play.
If you thought the game was suddenly going to be free, you are mistaken. It is free only on a very limited and constrained basis.
As for your pleading that your investment to date in time and money entitles you to more access.... no it does not. ALL your characters are the property of Bioware. You pay fees to be able to play them. You do not own them. You don't even own the time and money you invested.... because you gave that to Bioware in exchange for access to play over the last year.
This little comment by Andryah contributed to getting the thread deleted, but thanks to google, it can be retrieved: (PR whoopsie moment)
Originally posted by LhynnSaintActually i prefer how it was before, the free trial was good enough to hook new players, this new f2p shit will just drive them away. it really isnt that complicated
Except it wasn't. If it was, they'd still be doing it.
Uh Oh! That means SWTOR will not last that long then. Soon they will not be doing it either!
Free trial > F2P for hooking new players. If the free trial wasn't hooking new players, then the F2P version will atract even less
The F2P is so restrcitive, and if you are a new player then it is best to sub. The free trial was not so restrictive, and then you get to level 15 and have to sub any way. Either way you still have to sub, but the free trial was less restrictive and more free.
If Free Trials were better at getting new players to play, then every game that went F2P would get even fewer players than when they had a Free Trial. So far, every game that has taken a F2P option gets more players and money than the Free Trial option got them.
** edit ** @Karteli - I'm always surprised when a game company's representative talks in a simple, and straight manner with their audience. I prefer it to be honest.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Originally posted by LhynnSaintActually i prefer how it was before, the free trial was good enough to hook new players, this new f2p shit will just drive them away. it really isnt that complicated
Except it wasn't. If it was, they'd still be doing it.
Uh Oh! That means SWTOR will not last that long then. Soon they will not be doing it either!
Free trial > F2P for hooking new players. If the free trial wasn't hooking new players, then the F2P version will atract even less
The F2P is so restrcitive, and if you are a new player then it is best to sub. The free trial was not so restrictive, and then you get to level 15 and have to sub any way. Either way you still have to sub, but the free trial was less restrictive and more free.
If Free Trials were better at getting new players to play, then every game that went F2P would get even fewer players than when they had a Free Trial. So far, every game that has taken a F2P option gets more players and money than the Free Trial option got them.
** edit ** @Karteli - I'm always surprised when a game company's representative talks in a simple, and straight manner with their audience. I prefer it to be honest.
Every game that went F2P got more players because their system wasn't as restrictive asTOR's.
TOR's F2P makes it a pain to play compared to what they had before.
I purchased the game and paid every month since and now if i go down to prefered i can only keep 2 of my characters active.
WTF?
A lot of comanies limit characters for Free to Play. . like AoC etc.
You have to keep in mind that you are not not paying anything for those two characters and they offer a range of options from paying to unlock to continuing to sub.
For some reason, and this isn't directed at you specifically, people think that when a game goes F2P that the developer has decided to give it away for less or that as a previous player they should get something free. . since everyone else is getting it free without playing.
The companies intention is NEVER to give more away for less. it is always to make more money.
You can still use all of your characters for $15 a month just like everyone else or you can just use 2 for free just like everyone else.
What you want is something for your loyalty. . they give you extra credits for that that you could use to unlock the slots maybe? I have not looked at the model and I don't like it much compared to others BUT
This same thing comes up everytime. . loyal players feel cheated to get less than they had for paying nothing. It is just the psychology of having paid for something that now everyone has access to (although limited) for free. It always works this way. I honestly don't think these companies care about getting their old subscribres back. They want to keep the ones that kept playing and bring in new ones that will buy a bunch of stuff and then filter out as new ones come in to buy a bunch of stuff.
I purchased the game and paid every month since and now if i go down to prefered i can only keep 2 of my characters active.
WTF?
I've been going to a coffee shop for a few years now, like there coffee and get a cup most days, I walk in yesterday and they are offering free samples of there coffee but its only certain types and is a small amount.
I purchased the game and paid every month since and now if i go down to prefered i can only keep 2 of my characters active.
WTF?
I've been going to a coffee shop for a few years now, like there coffee and get a cup most days, I walk in yesterday and they are offering free samples of there coffee but its only certain types and is a small amount.
WTF?
+1000
You sir, were able to capture the essence of entitlement issues in one sentence.
You want to show less loyalty to the game & expect to continue to receive the same experience as you did whilst supporting it?
Yep, your logic is a total fail.
Could BioWare give a better deal to former subscribers than to free to play players that didn't ever support the game in the past?
It does
Could it improve what you get if you had subscribed, based upon how many months you subscribed?
Well, here you start getting into very muddy waters, at some point there has to be a cut off, where someone who subscribed for 1 month gets the same deal as someone that subscribed for 2 months the guy that paid 2 months feels they should get a better deal no? The deal is done for simplicity, what you are asking for is a "sliding scale" or a way for your entitlements in the game to depreciate the longer you have not been subbing for, because moving forward the game has to offer its best value to its subscribers & there are only so many possible "gradients" inbetween a sub & a totally free player.
Quite simply put, you have an issue over feeling entitled to things that you want, but as the game gets older that argument will become ever weaker.
Originally posted by Skuz You want to show less loyalty to the game & expect to continue to receive the same experience as you did whilst supporting it? Yep, your logic is a total fail.Could BioWare give a better deal to former subscribers than to free to play players that didn't ever support the game in the past?It doesCould it improve what you get if you had subscribed, based upon how many months you subscribed?Well, here you start getting into very muddy waters, at some point there has to be a cut off, where someone who subscribed for 1 month gets the same deal as someone that subscribed for 2 months the guy that paid 2 months feels they should get a better deal no? The deal is done for simplicity, what you are asking for is a "sliding scale" or a way for your entitlements in the game to depreciate the longer you have not been subbing for, because moving forward the game has to offer its best value to its subscribers & there are only so many possible "gradients" inbetween a sub & a totally free player. Quite simply put, you have an issue over feeling entitled to things that you want, but as the game gets older that argument will become ever weaker.
Players who subscribe now get cartel coins every month, allowing them to buy more luxury items. So people who subscribe more can get more.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Originally posted by Deewe Originally posted by lizardbonesOriginally posted by superniceguyOriginally posted by lizardbonesOriginally posted by LhynnSaintActually i prefer how it was before, the free trial was good enough to hook new players, this new f2p shit will just drive them away. it really isnt that complicated
Except it wasn't. If it was, they'd still be doing it.Uh Oh! That means SWTOR will not last that long then. Soon they will not be doing it either!Free trial > F2P for hooking new players. If the free trial wasn't hooking new players, then the F2P version will atract even lessThe F2P is so restrcitive, and if you are a new player then it is best to sub. The free trial was not so restrictive, and then you get to level 15 and have to sub any way. Either way you still have to sub, but the free trial was less restrictive and more free. If Free Trials were better at getting new players to play, then every game that went F2P would get even fewer players than when they had a Free Trial. So far, every game that has taken a F2P option gets more players and money than the Free Trial option got them. ** edit ** @Karteli - I'm always surprised when a game company's representative talks in a simple, and straight manner with their audience. I prefer it to be honest. Every game that went F2P got more players because their system wasn't as restrictive asTOR's.
TOR's F2P makes it a pain to play compared to what they had before.
My experience playing now seems almost exactly the same as it was before. Of course, I'm not all that into the instances and PvP, so for me, the free content is all the content I would have wanted in the first place.
It is entirely likely that SWToR's F2P system won't work. As you've pointed out, their F2P has many details different from other F2P conversions. That doesn't mean that all F2P systems perform worse than Free Trial systems in getting new players.
We'll have to see how their financials go to see if they consider this a success or not.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Originally posted by LhynnSaintActually i prefer how it was before, the free trial was good enough to hook new players, this new f2p shit will just drive them away. it really isnt that complicated
Except it wasn't. If it was, they'd still be doing it.
Uh Oh! That means SWTOR will not last that long then. Soon they will not be doing it either!
Free trial > F2P for hooking new players. If the free trial wasn't hooking new players, then the F2P version will atract even less
The F2P is so restrcitive, and if you are a new player then it is best to sub. The free trial was not so restrictive, and then you get to level 15 and have to sub any way. Either way you still have to sub, but the free trial was less restrictive and more free.
If Free Trials were better at getting new players to play, then every game that went F2P would get even fewer players than when they had a Free Trial. So far, every game that has taken a F2P option gets more players and money than the Free Trial option got them.
... until SWTORs F2P version.
In the free trial you could create more than 2 chars. In SWTORs F2P version you can only have 2 chars, and can not even buy more slots. SWTOR is a altaholic game, and they block the only reason for keeping playing SWTOR? Thats dumb
Originally posted by Gravarg At least all the classes are open. Several games that went F2P locked out classes that people bought the box, or an expansion for.
I purchased the game and paid every month since and now if i go down to prefered i can only keep 2 of my characters active.
WTF?
A lot of comanies limit characters for Free to Play. . like AoC etc.
You have to keep in mind that you are not not paying anything for those two characters and they offer a range of options from paying to unlock to continuing to sub.
I wonder: if they didn't only have 4 classes would They allow for more than 2 characters?
I purchased the game and paid every month since and now if i go down to prefered i can only keep 2 of my characters active.
WTF?
I've been going to a coffee shop for a few years now, like there coffee and get a cup most days, I walk in yesterday and they are offering free samples of there coffee but its only certain types and is a small amount.
WTF?
Yep, it seems like BW is just running nothing more then a free sample / publicity stunt to generate interest in a game that was trending downward in subscription numbers.
Just like the coffee shop, they're looking to snag a few people into their store with the hopes of getting them to become regular paying customers (subscribers). It's really not about "free" at all.
But if said coffee shop (MMO company) does not continue to improve their brand, offer new flavors and varieties to retain not only the existing customers but also any gained numbers from their promotion, there are plenty of other coffee shops in the neighborhood to try out.
And that competition in the MMO world is growing much faster then in the coffee industry.
I purchased the game and paid every month since and now if i go down to prefered i can only keep 2 of my characters active.
WTF?
Wait until you log in and notice you have only two quickslot bars available, making the game totally unplayable at 50.
Boohoo spend the £2 it costs to get them back account wide or buy them for credits from someone.
EA and Bioware won then - they forced you to spend money for stuff that should be part of the standard game's UI. You supported a new level of greed in F2P games. After inventory slots, or skills, they now also sell you parts of the UI.
/golfclap.
this si just amazing tbh. EA looool, cant beleive any one would play this pile anymore.
I purchased the game and paid every month since and now if i go down to prefered i can only keep 2 of my characters active.
WTF?
Wait until you log in and notice you have only two quickslot bars available, making the game totally unplayable at 50.
Boohoo spend the £2 it costs to get them back account wide or buy them for credits from someone.
EA and Bioware won then - they forced you to spend money for stuff that should be part of the standard game's UI. You supported a new level of greed in F2P games. After inventory slots, or skills, they now also sell you parts of the UI.
/golfclap.
this si just amazing tbh. EA looool, cant beleive any one would play this pile anymore.
It's actually a good themepark MMORPG. If you don't like it, play something else. There are tons of other options out there.
Try GW2 or Rift, for instance.
Edit: For me, there simply isn't an MMO with a sub that offers me a better experience at the moment. If you don't want to pay a monthly fee, GW2 is your answer.
Originally posted by superniceguy ... until SWTORs F2P version.In the free trial you could create more than 2 chars. In SWTORs F2P version you can only have 2 chars, and can not even buy more slots. SWTOR is a altaholic game, and they block the only reason for keeping playing SWTOR? Thats dumb
What the hell??
Are you serious? You can't buy character slots??
That's the most insane and moronic business decision I have ever heard of. I would have thought that would be a guaranteed seller.
Originally posted by LhynnSaintActually i prefer how it was before, the free trial was good enough to hook new players, this new f2p shit will just drive them away. it really isnt that complicated
Except it wasn't. If it was, they'd still be doing it.
Uh Oh! That means SWTOR will not last that long then. Soon they will not be doing it either!Free trial > F2P for hooking new players. If the free trial wasn't hooking new players, then the F2P version will atract even lessThe F2P is so restrcitive, and if you are a new player then it is best to sub. The free trial was not so restrictive, and then you get to level 15 and have to sub any way. Either way you still have to sub, but the free trial was less restrictive and more free.
If Free Trials were better at getting new players to play, then every game that went F2P would get even fewer players than when they had a Free Trial. So far, every game that has taken a F2P option gets more players and money than the Free Trial option got them. ** edit ** @Karteli - I'm always surprised when a game company's representative talks in a simple, and straight manner with their audience. I prefer it to be honest.
Every game that went F2P got more players because their system wasn't as restrictive asTOR's.
TOR's F2P makes it a pain to play compared to what they had before.
My experience playing now seems almost exactly the same as it was before. Of course, I'm not all that into the instances and PvP, so for me, the free content is all the content I would have wanted in the first place.
It is entirely likely that SWToR's F2P system won't work. As you've pointed out, their F2P has many details different from other F2P conversions. That doesn't mean that all F2P systems perform worse than Free Trial systems in getting new players.
We'll have to see how their financials go to see if they consider this a success or not.
Would the F2P system be based on Turbine's you would (eventually) have paid for class story unlock, meaning bringing cash into the game.
Totally agree with your F2P note. A well done F2P mechanic can indeed bring more players and more cash in game. Turbine and others proven that.
Actually they are aiming at 3 milion players (check Jeff hickman interview). I serioulsy doubt they will hit it regarding the business model and the competitors.
Comments
Just a word to the wise, apparently X-Fire is a taboo topic rounf here lately. Although it its funny to see X-Fire being called on the demonstrate SWTOR's popularity after months of "X-Fire is a useless metric" threads.
I wouldn't get too warm and rosy about X-Fire at the moment. SWTOR's doubling of x-fire players from 1,000 to 2,000 isn't much of a commentary of how popular FTP is, but how unpopular the game was before FTP.
To look at it another way, SWTOR went from position 13 on the 14th, to position 14 on the 15th , to position 12 on the 16th.
Also of note, for other reasons, the average play session fell from 5.2 hours to 3.1 hours.
I'm not even going to start comparing the raw players/hours played compared to other games.
You are correct though in that X-Fire shows an uptick in SWTOR activity.
There's only 4 classes anyway (the ones on the other faction are just mirrors, they play pretty much the same), it's not like they went overboard on classes to begin with. If there was 8 distintly different classes I'm sure they'd restrict them for f2p.
That's two of us. Can't stand WoW and GW2 is boring, boring, boring.
Continue to do so? If you've been paying and enjoying the game this long, why not keep at it?
I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil
Andryah sums it up best for you, and that's from a paid shill too:
You have to make personal choices within the constraints offered to you. Either subscribe or don't subscribe. If you don't subscribe... then you have choices to make as to which characters you will continue to play. If you want to play more characters, then pay some coins to unlock them for play.
If you thought the game was suddenly going to be free, you are mistaken. It is free only on a very limited and constrained basis.
As for your pleading that your investment to date in time and money entitles you to more access.... no it does not. ALL your characters are the property of Bioware. You pay fees to be able to play them. You do not own them. You don't even own the time and money you invested.... because you gave that to Bioware in exchange for access to play over the last year.
This little comment by Andryah contributed to getting the thread deleted, but thanks to google, it can be retrieved: (PR whoopsie moment)
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aos4UOGI-RIJ:http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php
EA doesn't like anyone telling others that if they don't like it, they should unsubscribe. I find it fascinating, however.
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.
If Free Trials were better at getting new players to play, then every game that went F2P would get even fewer players than when they had a Free Trial. So far, every game that has taken a F2P option gets more players and money than the Free Trial option got them.
** edit **
@Karteli - I'm always surprised when a game company's representative talks in a simple, and straight manner with their audience. I prefer it to be honest.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Every game that went F2P got more players because their system wasn't as restrictive asTOR's.
TOR's F2P makes it a pain to play compared to what they had before.
A lot of comanies limit characters for Free to Play. . like AoC etc.
You have to keep in mind that you are not not paying anything for those two characters and they offer a range of options from paying to unlock to continuing to sub.
For some reason, and this isn't directed at you specifically, people think that when a game goes F2P that the developer has decided to give it away for less or that as a previous player they should get something free. . since everyone else is getting it free without playing.
The companies intention is NEVER to give more away for less. it is always to make more money.
You can still use all of your characters for $15 a month just like everyone else or you can just use 2 for free just like everyone else.
What you want is something for your loyalty. . they give you extra credits for that that you could use to unlock the slots maybe? I have not looked at the model and I don't like it much compared to others BUT
This same thing comes up everytime. . loyal players feel cheated to get less than they had for paying nothing. It is just the psychology of having paid for something that now everyone has access to (although limited) for free. It always works this way. I honestly don't think these companies care about getting their old subscribres back. They want to keep the ones that kept playing and bring in new ones that will buy a bunch of stuff and then filter out as new ones come in to buy a bunch of stuff.
Just my thoughts.
Wa min God! Se æx on min heafod is!
I've been going to a coffee shop for a few years now, like there coffee and get a cup most days, I walk in yesterday and they are offering free samples of there coffee but its only certain types and is a small amount.
WTF?
+1000
You sir, were able to capture the essence of entitlement issues in one sentence.
Sith Warrior - Story of Hate and Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxKrlwXt7Ao
Imperial Agent - Rise of Cipher Nine http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBBj3eJWBvU&feature=youtu.be
Imperial Agent - Hunt for the Eagle Part 1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQqjYYU128E
You want to show less loyalty to the game & expect to continue to receive the same experience as you did whilst supporting it?
Yep, your logic is a total fail.
Could BioWare give a better deal to former subscribers than to free to play players that didn't ever support the game in the past?
It does
Could it improve what you get if you had subscribed, based upon how many months you subscribed?
Well, here you start getting into very muddy waters, at some point there has to be a cut off, where someone who subscribed for 1 month gets the same deal as someone that subscribed for 2 months the guy that paid 2 months feels they should get a better deal no? The deal is done for simplicity, what you are asking for is a "sliding scale" or a way for your entitlements in the game to depreciate the longer you have not been subbing for, because moving forward the game has to offer its best value to its subscribers & there are only so many possible "gradients" inbetween a sub & a totally free player.
Quite simply put, you have an issue over feeling entitled to things that you want, but as the game gets older that argument will become ever weaker.
Players who subscribe now get cartel coins every month, allowing them to buy more luxury items. So people who subscribe more can get more.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Uh Oh! That means SWTOR will not last that long then. Soon they will not be doing it either! Free trial > F2P for hooking new players. If the free trial wasn't hooking new players, then the F2P version will atract even less The F2P is so restrcitive, and if you are a new player then it is best to sub. The free trial was not so restrictive, and then you get to level 15 and have to sub any way. Either way you still have to sub, but the free trial was less restrictive and more free.
If Free Trials were better at getting new players to play, then every game that went F2P would get even fewer players than when they had a Free Trial. So far, every game that has taken a F2P option gets more players and money than the Free Trial option got them. ** edit ** @Karteli - I'm always surprised when a game company's representative talks in a simple, and straight manner with their audience. I prefer it to be honest.
Every game that went F2P got more players because their system wasn't as restrictive asTOR's.
TOR's F2P makes it a pain to play compared to what they had before.
My experience playing now seems almost exactly the same as it was before. Of course, I'm not all that into the instances and PvP, so for me, the free content is all the content I would have wanted in the first place.
It is entirely likely that SWToR's F2P system won't work. As you've pointed out, their F2P has many details different from other F2P conversions. That doesn't mean that all F2P systems perform worse than Free Trial systems in getting new players.
We'll have to see how their financials go to see if they consider this a success or not.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
... until SWTORs F2P version.
In the free trial you could create more than 2 chars. In SWTORs F2P version you can only have 2 chars, and can not even buy more slots. SWTOR is a altaholic game, and they block the only reason for keeping playing SWTOR? Thats dumb
Star Trek Online - Best Free MMORPG of 2012
I mean you could hardly have even less classes.
I wonder: if they didn't only have 4 classes would They allow for more than 2 characters?
Yep, it seems like BW is just running nothing more then a free sample / publicity stunt to generate interest in a game that was trending downward in subscription numbers.
Just like the coffee shop, they're looking to snag a few people into their store with the hopes of getting them to become regular paying customers (subscribers). It's really not about "free" at all.
But if said coffee shop (MMO company) does not continue to improve their brand, offer new flavors and varieties to retain not only the existing customers but also any gained numbers from their promotion, there are plenty of other coffee shops in the neighborhood to try out.
And that competition in the MMO world is growing much faster then in the coffee industry.
this si just amazing tbh. EA looool, cant beleive any one would play this pile anymore.
It's actually a good themepark MMORPG. If you don't like it, play something else. There are tons of other options out there.
Try GW2 or Rift, for instance.
Edit: For me, there simply isn't an MMO with a sub that offers me a better experience at the moment. If you don't want to pay a monthly fee, GW2 is your answer.
What the hell??
Are you serious? You can't buy character slots??
That's the most insane and moronic business decision I have ever heard of. I would have thought that would be a guaranteed seller.
Would the F2P system be based on Turbine's you would (eventually) have paid for class story unlock, meaning bringing cash into the game.
Totally agree with your F2P note. A well done F2P mechanic can indeed bring more players and more cash in game. Turbine and others proven that.
Actually they are aiming at 3 milion players (check Jeff hickman interview). I serioulsy doubt they will hit it regarding the business model and the competitors.