Lessons for PS2 in Blacklight's F2P model

[dafuq]

renting weapons in ps2 = game will die fast


also im not too concerened about this because they already said what u unlock is forever

[Khrakhan]

I just hope they keep the prices reasonable. Blacklight is way expensive, and Tribes even takes quite a bit of time to save up for anything good. When you're having to drag on and on just to save up enough money to purchase any up/side-grades gets a bit annoying after a while and can persuade some players to quit playing because they are just advancing way too slow.

[sameer]

No renting garbage please.

Dont do what G1 did to APB, completely destroy it.

[OnexBigxHebrew]

Originally Posted by Khrakhan

I couldnt stand blacklight. The hit detection seems way off, or the guns are way inaccurate, and I would empty half a clip into somebody, just for them to turn around and kill me with one or two hits.

Tried Tribes Ascend after, and it is by far, a much better game. I still suck at it, but it just takes getting used to skiing and flying all over the place while trying to shoot people at the same time. At least in Tribes, I feel that with practice I can get better and it is my own failings when I get killed; unlike Blacklight where I get screwed by the game's main play style, the spray and pray.

Read the OP. This thread is about f2p pricing models, and isn't about comparative gameplay.

That said, I'm against renting weapons. Honestly I'm against even buying weapons, unless they're the same as what can be unlocked over time at a certain xp level. Combat arms is an example of a money grab f2p model, seems SOE wants to avoid this. Good news, IMO.

[Knightwyvern]

Originally Posted by OnexBigxHebrew

Read the OP. This thread is about f2p pricing models, and isn't about comparative gameplay.

That said, I'm against renting weapons. Honestly I'm against even buying weapons, unless they're the same as what can be unlocked over time at a certain xp level. Combat arms is an example of a money grab f2p model, seems SOE wants to avoid this. Good news, IMO.

It's hard to compare the models between the two games because beyond the surface "It's an FPS," they are two completely different kinds of FPS. BL:R Is an arena/match based shooter, where as PS2 is an MMO open world shooter. What the player needs out of the business model are very different from one to the other. I feel that renting weapons is the strongest point of BL:R's model, but would fit horribly in PS2.

As far as we all know at this point, you will be able to buy weapons in PS2 from the store using real money. However, it has been stated many times that the weapons in PS2 are sidegrades within a class, not straight upgrades. Certs are responsible for the pure upgrading, and everyone obviously gets certs.

[willaguy]

Yeah, that renting crap sucks. For those of your who dont know what renting in this game is, it's where you purchase a gun for about 3 days for real money, then you have to purchase it again if you want to play with it some more.

[DOUBLEXBAUGH]

Originally Posted by willaguy

Yeah, that renting crap sucks. For those of your who dont know what renting in this game is, it's where you purchase a gun for about 3 days for real money, then you have to purchase it again if you want to play with it some more.

You can rent for GP earned in game too. Most stuff is 200-400 gp for a day, thats 1 or 2 matches. I don't think renting would work with PS2 though as others have mentioned. Also been confirmed by Higby you keep what you buy, there is no renting.

[maradine]

I played a few more rounds with Mepper and Xyntec's feedback in mind - I agree that renting is economically viable based on the currency drop rate. I think what grinds me more is the mental state - "I need to keep playing to get enough GP to make sure I can run this gear again tomorrow."

[Xyntech]

Originally Posted by maradine

I played a few more rounds with Mepper and Xyntec's feedback in mind - I agree that renting is economically viable based on the currency drop rate. I think what grinds me more is the mental state - "I need to keep playing to get enough GP to make sure I can run this gear again tomorrow."

I find that a weapon is the only thing really worth bothering to rent. Since you only have one weapon at the start, renting a different gun not only gives you some more stopping power, but also allows you to try out the different styles of weapon. Renting armor and shit just seems kind of wasteful to me though, and I think I'll just purchase that kind of stuff permanently as I go.

As long as you are renting one thing, it's just a game or two a day to have the option of renting a gun. You don't even necessarily need to rent the gun if you are using some of the freebie temp unlocked stuff from the level up gift packs.

I'm not sure if I would translate renting in any form to Planetside 2. I certainly wouldn't want it to be a standard method of acquisition. Perhaps they could do something like League of Legends rotating free heroes roster, but instead do it with certain guns and sidegrades, which you have to rent for a small amount of Auraxium instead of getting for free. It would be a good way to try out what you like, just as it's a good way to try out what you like in Blacklight.

[CutterJohn]

I'd still prefer the F2P model they use in the other SOE games. You can play for free, but you're somewhat limited. Meaning, yes, its P2W, but the ONLY thing you can purchase to gain power is the subscription.

It is by far the fairest method out there.

For 1, They don't keep gouging you for unlocks or anything. Just $15 a month, and you're done. The only thing to spend money on other than the sub are visual items. Once you buy it you're on an equal footing.

For 2, It gets *everyone* incentive to buy stuff, lowering what they have to charge and reducing the necessary grind. Right now most F2P games avoid these out of fears of being labeled P2W by self entitled cheapskates who don't want to pay, so they will only have items for the impatient and the people who like funny hats. Since the majority of people in an FPS don't care about such things, it puts the burden of paying for the game on a small minority.

Truly a great system, and I'm sad it won't be used. Its the best compromise I've seen.

[Gandhi]

I don't have anything against the renting system they use because you don't have to spend any real money on it. If you're spending actual money on an item you might as well buy it permanently, the renting system is there to help decrease the GP grind (which is a problem T:A definitely has too).

However building a custom gun is way too expensive, both with GP and Zen. Micro-transactions people, micro. Again T:A suffers from the same problem, I'd have to spend hundreds of $ to unlock everything if it wasn't for the daily sale. That's totally ridiculous for a game that isn't even an MMO.

But most of all I hated the gameplay. Spraying for headshots. The TTK is so low, and the head hitboxes so large, that it's usually down to who sees who first. Truth is I'm already bored of it, the HRV was a nice twist but the core gameplay just leaves me unfulfilled. I'd rather play Tribes, because in spite of its failings the gameplay is actually engaging and pretty challenging too. There's always room to improve, always other classes or roles to get better at, and that's what keeps it fun. In Blacklight once you've learned the right height for headshots you've basically mastered the game.

[Dart]

A lot of people here have spectacularly misunderstood the OP. This was not a "compare blacklight to tribes" thread. It was about the blacklight f2p model. Again, not gameplay.

That in mind, one thing i love in blacklight is the weapon sidegrade options. All can be unlocked by in game currency and all have different benefits and drawbacks. Sure some are OP (incendiary ammo for instance) but broadly they allow you to adapt guns to suit your playstyle.

As a clan we're actually checking out the competitive scene in blacklight and the ability to reconfigure a gun based on your own preferences is a pretty cool option and something I'm really looking forward to in PS if you can alter half as many characteristics.

[Policenaut]

My main problem with Blacklight is everything seems to be just a tad (or a lot in some cases) overpriced. A receiver is $5, all other parts are $2.50 at least. To buy an entire gun it could cost 15-20 dollars. I don't mind shelling a few dollars for a F2P game that I enjoy, but to spend multiple dollars on a single part of a gun, I can't do it.

If PS2 can make it to where guns feel cheap enough to where it's like "Eh, spending a few dollars can't hurt." I think it will do well.

[MrKWalmsley]

Originally Posted by dafuq

renting weapons in ps2 = game will die fast


also im not too concerened about this because they already said what u unlock is forever

^This^
Also I really hope that the rental system is not replicated in PS2, or paying for actual game-play mechanics and items such as certain scopes ect. I know they said it is not P2W but who knows what might happen a year down the line.

[SGT Apone]

I am also against the renting thing.. Didn't like it in BLR and any game I can really think of to be honest.