Free to play, pay for perks.

[morf]

But the whole idea behind paying a sub fee is continued development so that it doesn't get stale. It's quid pro quo here. We pay in exchange for a game that will have active development to keep us engaged. Without the pay, whatf is the motivation to keep us happy, and where does the funding come from for continued development?

[Sifer2]

If SOE is reading this. I do not believe Item Shop is the way to go. In the west at least many people are still very opposed to it as they do not like the idea of you buying ingame advantages. This would be even more so in a skill based game like Planetside.

That said a free to play option of some kind is probably a good idea. Something like the Reserves only requiring a credit card so hackers can't keep making new accounts. Reserves might only go up to a certain BR rank but can purchase additional certs permanently for a one time fee. An if you sub for enough months you also unlock some of this stuff permanently.

Then throw in some extra perks for subscribers. Nothing too overpowered though. But stuff like Orbital Strike I could see that being a subscriber only ability.

[CutterJohn]

Originally Posted by Sifer2

many people are still very opposed to it as they do not like the idea of you buying ingame advantages

but can purchase additional certs permanently for a one time fee

An if you sub for enough months you also unlock some of this stuff permanently

Then throw in some extra perks for subscribers ... like Orbital Strike ..

So basically, to sum up your argument.. You are against buying in game advantages, so instead of being allowed to buy in game advantages, you can instead buy in game advantages, because in game advantages are unfair and poorly received, so we should just be able to buy in game advantages instead.

This is what I find frustrating, how people just disregard the argument because they have a bad impression of it from some of the more egregious(and the minority) of examples, yet reveal they are actually fine with the concept so long as its framed slightly differently.

Oh well. I suppose I'll stop trying on this, it seems rather unpopular. Still, I love the way guild wars does business.

[klu]

i think free trials are ok as long as there is active moderation to prevent abuse by hackers. if they do go with a monthly subscription, one way to keep casual players around could be to sell smaller chunks of time that dont expire (by the hour or by the day)

[Jonny]

On the note of "continued development", I'd like to know more. I've never played an 'MMO' so I don't know what this involves, but it would have to be something like each player felt the developer was putting in something for their money each month.

Didn't planetside get updates, but then an expansion you had to buy? How does that work?

I just think in this climate, many people would prefer buying optional and aesthetic extras, or sidegrade weapons etc than a monthly fee. Whoever made the point about WOW players and people playing other sub games was right - they wouldnt want to pay 2 subs but may check out a free to play game and then get involved.

And there's no need to call people cheap Bags as you don't know people situations/their income and outgoings.

[2coolforu]

Microtransactions have always failed.

The either don't give a player enough for a transactionm in which case the game doesn't have enough money to run servers and collapses - this is the best case

The second fail is that the microtransactions do far too much, or even just slightly too much and people who have money to burn are put at an advantage that is just far too great to compete with and the skill of the game (which is what makes games fun) is ruined.

No, just leave it as sub, it works and is the tried and tested model for MMO's. A microtransaction model is just a bad idea.

£7.50/ month subscription will be fine

[Lartnev]

Originally Posted by Jonny

On the note of "continued development", I'd like to know more. I've never played an 'MMO' so I don't know what this involves, but it would have to be something like each player felt the developer was putting in something for their money each month.

http://www.planetside-universe.com/ps/timeline.php

Originally Posted by Jonny

Didn't planetside get updates, but then an expansion you had to buy? How does that work?

Let's say you have two development teams: the first delivers new content, fixes, and improvements as part of the subscription fee. New content is added slowly since it has to be balanced against other development activities. Then you have a second team which is financed via expansion pack sales which focuses exclusively on new content.

Originally Posted by 2coolforu

Microtransactions have always failed.

Just because they have always failed doesn't mean they will always fail.

[DviddLeff]

Not seen that timeline Lartnev, thanks for linking it.

[ArcticPrism]

There is no such thing as free to play. There is only free to play pay to win. Everytime a F2P game is made it always starts out with cosmetic things and such. At some point the developers realize that selling power = much more profit.

[Rbstr]

If I'm paying a subscription, I shouldn't get charged for expansions and new content.

If CCP can do it SOE should be able to (hell, even buying the game for $20 includes a month subscription, so "box sales" don't really even help). They only run one server but it carries far more people concurrently than any other given MMO shard out there. If you can support 60k online at once and deliver free expansions, I don't see how SOE can't do the same with PS.

[Bags]

Er, wasn't the xpac free? I don't remember ever buying it.

[DviddLeff]

I think they charged for Core Combat, but Aftershock was free?

[Lartnev]

Originally Posted by DviddLeff

I think they charged for Core Combat, but Aftershock was free?

Correct, Core Combat was a paid expansion pack. Aftershock was just a relaunch of PlanetSide when BFRs were released.

[Infektion]

Originally Posted by bjorntju1

I'd like a monthly subscription the most. If they keep supporting the game like EVE i'd gladly pay €15,- a month for it.

The hamsters that power the eve servers are constantly dying due to fatigue. CCP is constantly running out, trying to find a decent replacement and then trains it. This is what causes their average downtime.

[Ant001]

Free to play = Hacked to fuck.
Make em pay monthly and it keeps a lot of hackers away.