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Star Wars: The Old Republic: Free to Play This Fall

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Comments

  • ste2000ste2000 Member EpicPosts: 6,194
    Originally posted by Dalmont

    F2P i guess is the model for crap. Real games are subscription :P

    QFT

    I hope you didn't realise that just now.

    If F2P was the better model, WOW would have been F2P ages ago...............but the fact they are still on subscription make me think they make more money this way

    Developers know that, in fact the majority of MMOs start with a subscription model at launch, then after few months all of a sudden they switch to F2P, coincidentally when the subcription base collapse...........just saying.

  • CazNeergCazNeerg Member Posts: 2,198
    Originally posted by ste2000
    Originally posted by Dalmont

    F2P i guess is the model for crap. Real games are subscription :P

    QFT

    I hope you didn't realise that just now.

    If F2P was the better model, WOW would have been F2P ages ago...............but the fact they are still on subscription make me think they make more money this way

    Developers know that, in fact the majority of MMOs start with a subscription model at launch, then after few months all of a sudden they switch to F2P, coincidentally when the subcription base collapse...........just saying.

    If your standard for a "real" game is one that millions of people will pay a subscription for continuously over the course of multiple years, then the only real game is WoW.  I'll take the "fake" games, thank you very much.

    Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
    Through passion, I gain strength.
    Through strength, I gain power.
    Through power, I gain victory.
    Through victory, my chains are broken.
    The Force shall free me.

  • TenebrionTenebrion Member Posts: 179
    Originally posted by CazNeerg
    Originally posted by ste2000
    Originally posted by Dalmont

    F2P i guess is the model for crap. Real games are subscription :P

    QFT

    I hope you didn't realise that just now.

    If F2P was the better model, WOW would have been F2P ages ago...............but the fact they are still on subscription make me think they make more money this way

    Developers know that, in fact the majority of MMOs start with a subscription model at launch, then after few months all of a sudden they switch to F2P, coincidentally when the subcription base collapse...........just saying.

    If your standard for a "real" game is one that millions of people will pay a subscription for continuously over the course of multiple years, then the only real game is WoW.  I'll take the "fake" games, thank you very much.

    You say that like it's such a bad thing. Last I checked, many of the failed games on the market, such as SWTOR, all desperately want to be exactly like WoW.

    image
    Content Writer for RTSGuru.com
    And overall bitter old man.

  • CazNeergCazNeerg Member Posts: 2,198
    Originally posted by Tenebrion
     

    You say that like it's such a bad thing. Last I checked, many of the failed games on the market, such as SWTOR, all desperately want to be exactly like WoW.

    They would like to make as much money, if they could manage it.  Not the same thing as wanting to be "exactly like WoW."  For people who prioritize story and narrative choice in their RPGs, TOR is almost nothing like WoW in the ways that matter.  But TOR's design is also clearly more focused on pleasing RPG fans than MMO fans, which is why the single player portion of the content should have had a subscription free option from day one, single player RPG fans tend not to like monthly fees for single player content.

    Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
    Through passion, I gain strength.
    Through strength, I gain power.
    Through power, I gain victory.
    Through victory, my chains are broken.
    The Force shall free me.

  • GardavsshadeGardavsshade Member UncommonPosts: 907
    Originally posted by cahenderson

    This comes as a surprise to no one. What DOES come as a surprise is the sheer number of posts from people here at MMORPG.com.

     

    I thought an overwhelming majority of you would be too busy engaging in orgiastic self-congratulatory behavior at having "called it months ago".

    There is absolutely nothing fun about being "Right" on this one or "I called it!". This stinks for the entire genre.... that a major IP MMO could be this bad and go down the F2P crap sewer this fast... this sucks for all MMO fans whether they liked SWTOR or not. Future Investors will look at this and say to themselves...

    "Look! We can at least rack in the cash for the Launch from Retail... Push out the next one, we don't care if it's finished or not! The 4th Quarter Report is Due!"

    This is what SWTOR did to our genre.

  • CazNeergCazNeerg Member Posts: 2,198
    Originally posted by Gardavsshade
    Originally posted by cahenderson

    This comes as a surprise to no one. What DOES come as a surprise is the sheer number of posts from people here at MMORPG.com.

     

    I thought an overwhelming majority of you would be too busy engaging in orgiastic self-congratulatory behavior at having "called it months ago".

    There is absolutely nothing fun about being "Right" on this one or "I called it!". This stinks for the entire genre.... that a major IP MMO could be this bad and go down the F2P crap sewer this fast... this sucks for all MMO fans whether they liked SWTOR or not. Future Investors will look at this and say to themselves...

    "Look! We can at least rack in the cash for the Launch from Retail... Push out the next one, we don't care if it's finished or not! The 4th Quarter Report is Due!"

    This is what SWTOR did to our genre.

    It was already done.  EA just realized it a few months later than would have been optimal.  Sub-only is a failed model for new MMOs that want large numbers.  Everybody playing TSW who has a clue fully expects it to convert sooner rather than later to freemium as well.

    Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
    Through passion, I gain strength.
    Through strength, I gain power.
    Through power, I gain victory.
    Through victory, my chains are broken.
    The Force shall free me.

  • GrumpyMel2GrumpyMel2 Member Posts: 1,832
    Originally posted by Gardavsshade
    Originally posted by cahenderson

    This comes as a surprise to no one. What DOES come as a surprise is the sheer number of posts from people here at MMORPG.com.

     

    I thought an overwhelming majority of you would be too busy engaging in orgiastic self-congratulatory behavior at having "called it months ago".

    There is absolutely nothing fun about being "Right" on this one or "I called it!". This stinks for the entire genre.... that a major IP MMO could be this bad and go down the F2P crap sewer this fast... this sucks for all MMO fans whether they liked SWTOR or not. Future Investors will look at this and say to themselves...

    "Look! We can at least rack in the cash for the Launch from Retail... Push out the next one, we don't care if it's finished or not! The 4th Quarter Report is Due!"

    This is what SWTOR did to our genre.

    No actualy, I rather suspect that the lesson future investors will take away from this is NOT to invest $200 Million in MMO's, period.

    Doubtfull that TOR has even come close to recouping it's initial investment yet....let alone get a ROI sufficient to justify the money sunk into the project for an extended period of time.  No one's going to break even let alone get a decent return on launch with the kind of Development budgets that have been floating around the past few years...

    ... And frankly, as much as the big publishers and pundits may moan over it, THAT may be the best thing to happen to the HOBBY.

    Big budgets haven't succedeed in producing good games....that much has been proven. Time for the hobby to get a little closer to it's roots. Smaller budgets, smaller games,  budgets and audiences. Games that are actualy designed by gamers, not suits. Companies that are closer to thier customers and treat them like human beings and not sheep.  Folks that understand the difference between FUN and  Fancy Cinematics.... and people actualy willing to try to inovate.

    The only thing we have to lose is the $10 million movie quality cut-scenes.....and whoever cared for thar dreck in the first place?

  • CazNeergCazNeerg Member Posts: 2,198
    Originally posted by GrumpyMel2
     

    The only thing we have to lose is the $10 million movie quality cut-scenes.....and whoever cared for thar dreck in the first place?

    The thing is, for a lot of people it is hard to go back to a less complete experience after having a more complete one.  For people who really enjoy voiced characters, it can be very hard to get into a game that relies on text boxes.  For people who enjoy their character having his/her own story, it can be hard to return to soulless, story-less avatars.  For people who like cinematic presentation, the loss of cinematics can feel like going back in time.  Now if you have a particular game you enjoyed in the past which lacks modern RPG features, you may be able to still enjoy it because of the power of nostalgia, but it's hard to look at a modern game which lacks standard modern features and not feel a little disappointed.  Does an MMO need a 200 million budget to achieve the modern RPG feel?  I have no idea, I don't know how specifically TOR allocated it's money.  But it probably won't ever be cheap, and I for one would rather have a small number of quality attempts than a large number of mediocre ones.

    Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
    Through passion, I gain strength.
    Through strength, I gain power.
    Through power, I gain victory.
    Through victory, my chains are broken.
    The Force shall free me.

  • knighthammerknighthammer Member Posts: 22

    2.4million+  sales - that was last time i checked - , could easily say less than 700k people left and falling badly and F2P in less than 8 months.

    One f the greatest IP / universe backgrounds  in the world combined with one of the best teams in Bioware at storytelling and thanks to EA its now poodoo, never going to recover due to the sub loses, dont have the resources and money to expand as quick as they will want.

    Star Wars Galaxies relaunch by December 2012

  • DeeweDeewe Member UncommonPosts: 1,980
    Originally posted by knighthammer

    2.4million+  sales - that was last time i checked - , could easily say less than 700k people left and falling badly and F2P in less than 8 months.

    One f the greatest IP / universe backgrounds  in the world combined with one of the best teams in Bioware at storytelling and thanks to EA its now poodoo, never going to recover due to the sub loses, dont have the resources and money to expand as quick as they will want.

    Yeah yeah, EA blah blah bah...

     

    • $200 milions to make the game (3 times rift, even more AoC, even much more LotRo)
    • 6 years to build it (around 1.5x the time any MMO studio had)
    • Buying a pre-made engine to develop faster
    • A supposedly insane marketing budget and campain
    • Giving BioWare a carte blanche to make the game
    • Full support from LA
     
    And yet you guys keep blaming EA?
     
    So what? They should have given BioWare even more $$$ and more time?
     
    The game would have been a failure anyway because the leads have no clue of how to make a great MMO nor manage such a large scale project.
     
     
  • CazNeergCazNeerg Member Posts: 2,198
    Originally posted by Deewe
     
    The game would have been a failure anyway because the leads have no clue of how to make a great MMO nor manage such a large scale project.
     

    They know exactly how to make a great RPG.  And they did.  And in all likelihood, the move to Freemium will in the long run make it an even better one.

    Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
    Through passion, I gain strength.
    Through strength, I gain power.
    Through power, I gain victory.
    Through victory, my chains are broken.
    The Force shall free me.

  • LucienReneLucienRene Member UncommonPosts: 77
    Originally posted by Deewe
    Originally posted by knighthammer

    2.4million+  sales - that was last time i checked - , could easily say less than 700k people left and falling badly and F2P in less than 8 months.

    One f the greatest IP / universe backgrounds  in the world combined with one of the best teams in Bioware at storytelling and thanks to EA its now poodoo, never going to recover due to the sub loses, dont have the resources and money to expand as quick as they will want.

    Yeah yeah, EA blah blah bah...

     

    • $200 milions to make the game (3 times rift, even more AoC, even much more LotRo)
    • 6 years to build it (around 1.5x the time any MMO studio had)
    • Buying a pre-made engine to develop faster
    • A supposedly insane marketing budget and campain
    • Giving BioWare a carte blanche to make the game
    • Full support from LA
     
    And yet you guys keep blaming EA?
     
    So what? They should have given BioWare even more $$$ and more time?
     
    The game would have been a failure anyway because the leads have no clue of how to make a great MMO nor manage such a large scale project.
     
     

    I think you nailed it.  It wasn't EA's fault the game failed.  It was Bioware's

  • Greymantle4Greymantle4 Member UncommonPosts: 809

    I came back for the free five days and didn't last. Free to play does nothing for me because I find the game boring. Maybe they should have took more from SWG. :P

  • daltaniousdaltanious Member UncommonPosts: 2,381

    F2P models should be banned by law by any means. Or exterminated by other means as should every plague be. Really wandering from those who want all free in their live if they would prepare meals for free or sell stuff to masses while investing all their time. Baaa..

    Particularly I'm disgusted by people that would love to have all free yet they have no problem spending money few times more every month for smoking and drinking.

    For me still stays best game ever of all times, never played anything more fun. On second and 3rd place now Wow and Rift respectively. But after playing SWTOR now for 7 months aprox I do not enjoy so much nor other duo nor others.

  • Loke666Loke666 Member EpicPosts: 21,441
    Originally posted by Zeppelin4

    I came back for the free five days and didn't last. Free to play does nothing for me because I find the game boring. Maybe they should have took more from SWG. :P

    I don´t think Bioware would be capable to do that.

    What they should have done was to take KOTOR and made it into a massive multiplayer game, but adding some flashpoints, open zones and PvP just aint enough. The whole feeling of the game should have been focused on "us" instead of "me".

    And so many cutscenes doesn´t really work in a MMO, the game needs to flow better instead of stopping up for cutscenes all the time.

    SWG was a great game (besides how badly it was coded and all it´s weak points) but there are other companies that actually could pull off a good sandbox game. Biowares strenght is that they are good telling stories, and I think they actually could figure out a way to do just that in a MMO but here they didn´t try, they just did what they done in all their earlier game and that wasn´t enough.

  • jagd1jagd1 Member Posts: 281
    Originally posted by Loke666

     Biowares strenght is that they are good telling stories, and I think they actually could figure out a way to do just that in a MMO but here they didn´t try, they just did what they done in all their earlier game and that wasn´t enough.

    One trick pony  you mean   ?

  • Mordred1Mordred1 Member UncommonPosts: 84

    Sorry folks but everyone remotely interested in MMOs knew this was going to happen BEFORE the game launched. 

  • william0532william0532 Member Posts: 251
    Originally posted by Zeppelin4

    I came back for the free five days and didn't last. Free to play does nothing for me because I find the game boring. Maybe they should have took more from SWG. :P

    Truth.

     

    I'm actually gonna wait it out. I wouldn't pay for the game as is, but I don't hate bioware, or EA for that matter. If they come up with something I'm half interested in I would play, and maybe even pay(like the super secret space thing being a cross between jtl and battlefront type space), or if they actually created planets without the linear hand holding(when did mmo's get rid of exploration and danger? Wasn't that a pillar at some point?)

     

    I won't even play 1.4 when it comes out, even if its free, cause I've already seen what biowares capable of at this point in time, and I really don't want more of the same

  • CelciusCelcius Member RarePosts: 1,869

    Content patches every 6 weeks? If anyone believes that I have an island for sale in the Atlantic to sell you. If you assume that the first conent update is in 6 weeks, we have until mid september until we can safely call bs. In order for it to count as content they need to also add content, not a world event that is not content. If they don't add a new warzone,flashpoint,operation, or gameplay system it is not content. Period. If they add a few daily quests it is not content either. (TSW style) 

  • MisarisMisaris Member Posts: 140
    they have been promising more frequent updates since the beginning.
    Still waiting for proper space combat, then I would try it again.
    but for now I'm very happy with TSW and soon Planetside2

    and yes, blamimg EA is pretty dumb, the game got developed by BW with a monster budget and dropped the ball.
    Completely wrong concept.

    This should have been STAR WARS GALAXIES 2, plus story. Epic win.
  • AlienShirtAlienShirt Member UncommonPosts: 621
    I remember last year all the grief SWTOR fans gave to people who claimed SWTOR would be F2P within a year. I guess the harbingers of doom were the ones who were right.
  • heartlessheartless Member UncommonPosts: 4,993
    Originally posted by LucienRene
    Originally posted by Deewe
    Originally posted by knighthammer

    2.4million+  sales - that was last time i checked - , could easily say less than 700k people left and falling badly and F2P in less than 8 months.

    One f the greatest IP / universe backgrounds  in the world combined with one of the best teams in Bioware at storytelling and thanks to EA its now poodoo, never going to recover due to the sub loses, dont have the resources and money to expand as quick as they will want.

    Yeah yeah, EA blah blah bah...

     

    • $200 milions to make the game (3 times rift, even more AoC, even much more LotRo)
    • 6 years to build it (around 1.5x the time any MMO studio had)
    • Buying a pre-made engine to develop faster
    • A supposedly insane marketing budget and campain
    • Giving BioWare a carte blanche to make the game
    • Full support from LA
     
    And yet you guys keep blaming EA?
     
    So what? They should have given BioWare even more $$$ and more time?
     
    The game would have been a failure anyway because the leads have no clue of how to make a great MMO nor manage such a large scale project.
     
     

    I think you nailed it.  It wasn't EA's fault the game failed.  It was Bioware's

    Actually, I think both are at fault. According to these reviews from ex/current BioWare employees, quite a few workers have issues with management and a number of them mention EA pretty much running the show and destroying the company.

    image

  • LucienReneLucienRene Member UncommonPosts: 77
    Originally posted by heartless
    Originally posted by LucienRene
    Originally posted by Deewe
    Originally posted by knighthammer

    2.4million+  sales - that was last time i checked - , could easily say less than 700k people left and falling badly and F2P in less than 8 months.

    One f the greatest IP / universe backgrounds  in the world combined with one of the best teams in Bioware at storytelling and thanks to EA its now poodoo, never going to recover due to the sub loses, dont have the resources and money to expand as quick as they will want.

    Yeah yeah, EA blah blah bah...

     

    • $200 milions to make the game (3 times rift, even more AoC, even much more LotRo)
    • 6 years to build it (around 1.5x the time any MMO studio had)
    • Buying a pre-made engine to develop faster
    • A supposedly insane marketing budget and campain
    • Giving BioWare a carte blanche to make the game
    • Full support from LA
     
    And yet you guys keep blaming EA?
     
    So what? They should have given BioWare even more $$$ and more time?
     
    The game would have been a failure anyway because the leads have no clue of how to make a great MMO nor manage such a large scale project.
     
     

    I think you nailed it.  It wasn't EA's fault the game failed.  It was Bioware's

    Actually, I think both are at fault. According to these reviews from ex/current BioWare employees, quite a few workers have issues with management and a number of them mention EA pretty much running the show and destroying the company.

    After my reading of the reviews at your link, it seems the issues are with BIOWARE'S management, combined with EA's wanting a return on their investment (who'd a thunk an investor would want their money back?).  So it would seem EA apparently thought that Bioware Austin were gamegods, handed them a chunk of cash and said, "Do you," and then like a lot of folks were caught blindsided when it didn't work....  /shrug.  Not EA's fault.  Bioware's.  Bioware's vision.  Bioware's decisions.  EA's cash. 

    To clarify, EA wants to make money.  Bioware makes good games that MAKE money.  There's no need to mess with that formula UNTIL Bioware stops making money (by not making a good game, in this case: TOR).

  • heartlessheartless Member UncommonPosts: 4,993
    Originally posted by LucienRene
    Originally posted by heartless
    Originally posted by LucienRene
    Originally posted by Deewe
    Originally posted by knighthammer

    2.4million+  sales - that was last time i checked - , could easily say less than 700k people left and falling badly and F2P in less than 8 months.

    One f the greatest IP / universe backgrounds  in the world combined with one of the best teams in Bioware at storytelling and thanks to EA its now poodoo, never going to recover due to the sub loses, dont have the resources and money to expand as quick as they will want.

    Yeah yeah, EA blah blah bah...

     

    • $200 milions to make the game (3 times rift, even more AoC, even much more LotRo)
    • 6 years to build it (around 1.5x the time any MMO studio had)
    • Buying a pre-made engine to develop faster
    • A supposedly insane marketing budget and campain
    • Giving BioWare a carte blanche to make the game
    • Full support from LA
     
    And yet you guys keep blaming EA?
     
    So what? They should have given BioWare even more $$$ and more time?
     
    The game would have been a failure anyway because the leads have no clue of how to make a great MMO nor manage such a large scale project.
     
     

    I think you nailed it.  It wasn't EA's fault the game failed.  It was Bioware's

    Actually, I think both are at fault. According to these reviews from ex/current BioWare employees, quite a few workers have issues with management and a number of them mention EA pretty much running the show and destroying the company.

    After my reading of the reviews at your link, it seems the issues are with BIOWARE'S management, combined with EA's wanting a return on their investment (who'd a thunk an investor would want their money back?).  So it would seem EA apparently thought that Bioware Austin were gamegods, handed them a chunk of cash and said, "Do you," and then like a lot of folks were caught blindsided when it didn't work....  /shrug.  Not EA's fault.  Bioware's.  Bioware's vision.  Bioware's decisions.  EA's cash. 

    To clarify, EA wants to make money.  Bioware makes good games that MAKE money.  There's no need to mess with that formula UNTIL Bioware stops making money (by not making a good game, in this case: TOR).


    You can't blame this only on BioWare when EA is basically running the show. Both are equally at fault, in my opinion. BioWare has severe management issues but EA is known to stiffle creativity. Both, in their own special way, contributed to making SWTOR what it is today.

    image

  • william0532william0532 Member Posts: 251
    Originally posted by heartless
    Originally posted by LucienRene
    Originally posted by heartless
    Originally posted by LucienRene
    Originally posted by Deewe
    Originally posted by knighthammer

    2.4million+  sales - that was last time i checked - , could easily say less than 700k people left and falling badly and F2P in less than 8 months.

    One f the greatest IP / universe backgrounds  in the world combined with one of the best teams in Bioware at storytelling and thanks to EA its now poodoo, never going to recover due to the sub loses, dont have the resources and money to expand as quick as they will want.

    Yeah yeah, EA blah blah bah...

     

    • $200 milions to make the game (3 times rift, even more AoC, even much more LotRo)
    • 6 years to build it (around 1.5x the time any MMO studio had)
    • Buying a pre-made engine to develop faster
    • A supposedly insane marketing budget and campain
    • Giving BioWare a carte blanche to make the game
    • Full support from LA
     
    And yet you guys keep blaming EA?
     
    So what? They should have given BioWare even more $$$ and more time?
     
    The game would have been a failure anyway because the leads have no clue of how to make a great MMO nor manage such a large scale project.
     
     

    I think you nailed it.  It wasn't EA's fault the game failed.  It was Bioware's

    Actually, I think both are at fault. According to these reviews from ex/current BioWare employees, quite a few workers have issues with management and a number of them mention EA pretty much running the show and destroying the company.

    After my reading of the reviews at your link, it seems the issues are with BIOWARE'S management, combined with EA's wanting a return on their investment (who'd a thunk an investor would want their money back?).  So it would seem EA apparently thought that Bioware Austin were gamegods, handed them a chunk of cash and said, "Do you," and then like a lot of folks were caught blindsided when it didn't work....  /shrug.  Not EA's fault.  Bioware's.  Bioware's vision.  Bioware's decisions.  EA's cash. 

    To clarify, EA wants to make money.  Bioware makes good games that MAKE money.  There's no need to mess with that formula UNTIL Bioware stops making money (by not making a good game, in this case: TOR).


    You can't blame this only on BioWare when EA is basically running the show. Both are equally at fault, in my opinion. BioWare has severe management issues but EA is known to stiffle creativity. Both, in their own special way, contributed to making SWTOR what it is today.

    I blame it straight on bioware, EA didn't make the game, just paid for it and distributed it. Bioware bet on story, over stuff to do. Games boring. Its basically missing something that everyone wants(even though those are all different things). If EA would have made the game, huttball would be more fun(madden joke)

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