F2P Question

[fishirboy]

Originally Posted by Horrid

Me too actually, need to keep it at the forefront imho....in my humble opinion the "pay to win creep" could very well be the downfall of ps2. I hope it doesnt loving what i see....thus far...but lets not be naive about f2p models and most certainly not be naive about SoE and some who work there.

Read up on your history sir, the only thing you can buy with money is side grades that in no way give you an advantage. There are xp boost but they are for after level ups that can be done just a little slower. They make money off of things that do not effect the game play directly.

[fishirboy]

Originally Posted by Bags

Glad we are getting a thread about this per day.

I feel so good when a noob comes along and does not at least look at the forums before posting as well haha.

[Otleaz]

Originally Posted by Bags

Does SOE have a history of P2W? I'm confused why everyone is so worried when the fucking CEO has said it won't be P2W.

Just a hunch, but it might have something to do with every single Pay2Win game on the market saying that before launch.

Originally Posted by fishirboy

They make money off of things that do not effect the game play directly.

I'm pretty sure being able to afford vehicles more often and having camo that help you blend in with the environment are things that directly affect the game.

[Bags]

Originally Posted by Otleaz

Just a hunch, but it might have something to do with every single Pay2Win game on the market saying that before launch

They're copying league's model and don't have a history of P2W to my knowledge.

[Landtank]

Originally Posted by Bags

They're copying league's model and don't have a history of P2W to my knowledge.

You are correct good sir. I wouldn't be worried guys.

[CutterJohn]

Point #1: What exactly has smed ruined? SWG? No, not really. Lucasarts pushed the NGE through... SOE actually had to scrap an expansion they were working on because of it. EQ1 and EQ2 are stilling going strong and getting continual development. DC is doing great. Matrix... always sucked. And I have no clue about Vanguard.

Point #2: Who, exactly, do you think is so keen on PS2 being made? It ain't higby.. He doesn't have the clout to demand millions. Its the guy cuttin the checks. They're taking a big gamble on this, as PS1 is an abject failure from any business perspective. That means someone high up is excited and pushed for it to be made. Three guesses as to who that is.


Maybe you should be happy smeddles is in charge.

Originally Posted by Bags

Does SOE have a history of P2W? I'm confused why everyone is so worried when the fucking CEO has said it won't be P2W.

Kind of. It depends on how you want to define P2W. Do they sell OP items in the item stores? No. Just furniture/mounts/fancy hats/etc. But if you play for free, your characters are somewhat gimped.

For example, check this EQ1 page..

Obviously there are all the standard convenience things taken away. But your character is also limited. There are limits placed on AA points(which can add a fair amount of power at higher levels). Loyalty rewards are reduced. I don't know what those are, but it sounds like something to do with progression. And your mercenary(npc henchmen/pet) is reduced in capability, so you are not as effective at soloing, and your spell levels are reduced or something like that.

I looked briefly at EQ2, and its the same general idea, some restrictions on quality/quantity of items/points/whatnot, but you can access most everything.

So, you can look at it as paying for power, or you can just look at it as a gimped trial system that offers most of the game for free.

[SKYeXile]

SOE saved Vanguard cutterjohn, it was going to go into vaporware since sigil was facing financial issues, SOE brought them out then published and developed the game. there was also some stuff about microsoft in there holding the rights to it, confusing read.

[Otleaz]

Originally Posted by Bags

They're copying league's model and don't have a history of P2W to my knowledge.

LoL's model doesn't apply here though. There is one thing to compare here:

In LoL, there is the two weeks to earn 6300 for the new champion.
In PS2, there is the cooldown between buying vehicles to earn the resource cost associated.

If you can't easily make the resources required for the vehicle during the cooldown, you are using an entirely different model from the one used by LoL.

[StarFault]

Really not concerned here, they have clearly stated the business model of the game saying repeatedly that you can only buy cosmetic things that WILL NOT make you more powerful. And yes, camos can give an edge over others, but the devs have stated that in their videos anyway, so they are quite clearly making sure that PS2 is not going to be pay to win. And no, I don't think PS2 will inevitably have a degree of p2w, I think it'll always stay good since your just buying camos...

[Arovien]

After watching the Q and A portion of the mmorpg.com stream I got a bit more worried.

[TAA]

The game will start off as promised with use of Station Cash only for cosmetic items and for side-grades.

Money will be spent. Players will flock to the game. All will be well.

Before long many players will find a look they are happy with, and weapon combinations they are happy with. The player base will stabilize and probably begin the systematic drop off in numbers all games experience.

Thats when a content expansion will come out. It will add in the ability to purchase certificates with Station Cash, together with a lot of other cool content and weapons. Many people will come here and rage on the forums, then all of them are going to go back into the game to play the new awesome content and new continents that were released. Chances are most of them will also buy 'just a few' of the certs here and there. The ranting will continue on the forums, but nobody will know because so few of the player base ever visit the forums. Profits will be higher than ever. Staff members at SOE will get fat annual bonuses. The world will continue to turn. And nobody will care.

[Pancake]

From what I've seen, their business model is very similar to TF2.

[Exodan]

I'm skeptical about the fact that SOE have designed a game with such a high production value and is very ambitious and yet they don't intend to make any significant profit from it as apparently everything, with the exception of custom skins, will be free.