Originally posted by InFlamestwo Vanguard: saga of fucking heroes. It's too many restrictions, which also restricts players from being attracted to the game, which then leaves SoE with a game that a minority wants to play and without profit they can't update the game with new content. With no new content the players will leave the game, when players leave the game, Vanguard will die and never come back again unless they spend their time to revamp the game with new graphics, graphic models, new quest system, faster/better combat etc.
Uhh, such harsh restrictions like.... um... well let's see.. they don't restrict the zones... or the quests... or the raids... or the dungeons.. or the classes... or the levels...or the diplomacy... or the crafting...hmm, they restrict 1/100th of the loot, which you can unlock for 25cents. I guess that's harsh, huh? And you have less inventory space. Aaand...thats about it.
Some people, yeesh.
And those who say you just pay a small fee to unlock gear at max lvl yeah thats $10 to $15 dollars to unlock a whole set of gear and then a mount for $20 that flys and a ship if you want one is another $20 so thats $55 dollars per toon
Stopped reading here, considering each piece of gear takes 25 cents and a character will generally only have 15 items. And that's only if you use the epic level stuff, which is not necessary at all the complete the content, considering they've bumped all normal loot. You're just paying for sparkles.
Worst: Wizard 101. Classic example of Pay2Win for F2P. I don't mind locking areas for F2P players but don't send them to those areas on quests and not allow them to do said quests unless they pay.
Best: LotRO. At least when I was playing up until about 2 months ago. At least with that one you can go into locked areas to do the quests your are sent on (epic quests), and you can just go into the area to kill things if that's what you want. Plus you have the option of grinding TP to unlock those areas. I'd say that's a pretty good deal for F2P.
You want me to pay to play a game I already paid for???
Yeah people that defend the Lotro system are nuts. I did the starting area hit the no content (other than mob grinding) wall and immediately quit. I can't imagine mob grinding for days and days just so I can do some lame quests in one zone.
I also understand people not liking the SOE system, but at least you can do the quests and use some of the loot. Hell you can play EQ1 for a very long time and not pay a cent until the last ten levels.
Nuts here then (teamed with evolver)
LotRO's system is great if you're a former player. And if you're a newcomer... well, then it's still free, if you don't mind the grind, and you know the ropes. There are even f2p kins, and I know a few players who unlocked everything they needed for free. (luckily I'm a former vip, so I don't have to grind to enjoy the game)
The worst one, I think is Age of Conan. I love the game, but the fp2 conversion was a failure... It didn't bring in new players (it's limitations are worse than the unlimited trial was prior f2p), and it didn't make a large extra income to FC, because the store is pretty lame too (very few services, a lot of fluff, and everything is overpriced).
Actually, before f2p, with the unlimited trial I could get 4 buddies ingame (3 of them subscribed). After the f2p conversion I tried to show it a few people, everyone's left before level10...
(I even sent a mail to FC, that they increase the starting bag at least with a few more spaces, because if a newcomer saw that during the tutorial, at level 5 he/she fills the inventory, it's obvious that his/her game will be mostly a constant inventory-management -> they leave :I )
And do you notice a difference in production quality? If you really don't notice a difference between the western free to play conversions and "true" F2P asian games then I would be shocked.
It doesn't matter really, because that's not the point, but anyway new Asian MMOs have good AAA credential nowadays.
The matter is another.
If you call a game Free to Play, it should be just that. All content Asian MMO is Free to Play and the shop is OPTIONAL.
In Western MMOs you have limited access to all content and you NEED to pay in order to access it, using a shop is NOT AN OPTION if you want to enjoy all the content.
And by the way I am in favour of Subscription based MMO, in fact I hate the F2P model, both the Asian and the Western.
I think a game is a game, you should play it as it is, you should not buy stuff on a shop to enhance your gaming experience.
But at least Asian F2P games are honest, they are really F2P, but if you wanna cheat you can use the shop (You don't have to though).
Western ones force you to buy content if you want to enjoy the game in full, so it is not FREE to play because you have no option but to buy blocks of content.
They should be called TRY BEFORE YOU BUY (TBB), because they are extended trials, the game is not entirely accessible.
The new true F2P asian games have gotten better graphics but that's about it.
If your beef is the word "free to play" being used for games that have restrictions on content or features than I can see that. I think SoE should take out the period and say simply "Free to play your way" because it makes a lot more sense. In the end you get what you pay for. Want a game that provides everything up front without things you "need", don't expect very much.
I would argue that putting powerful items up to strait buy instead of getting them in the field is restricting play depending on how easy it is to get those items otherwise. Especially in a game that has PvP, a good vehicle for needing those items, you really wouldn't feel like it was "free to play". Yet both cases are just one is lower quality and one is higher. I understand that the "feeling" when playing a game could be soured by seeing locked out bags or locked out quests but I think we're getting a little entitled towards these western conversions.
Why is Star Trek Online on this list? They have an excellent free to play plan, one of the best ones on the market. The cash shop, however, not so much (why do I get the feeling that it is only on this list BECAUSE of the cash shop), but a cash shop and free to play plan are different things.
Right?
You mean Lockbox Online perhaps?
+ Of course cash shop is part of business model of every game that have cash shop. Be it f2p or freemium or even p2p and game's model is judged along with it.
Comments
Stopped reading here, considering each piece of gear takes 25 cents and a character will generally only have 15 items. And that's only if you use the epic level stuff, which is not necessary at all the complete the content, considering they've bumped all normal loot. You're just paying for sparkles.
Worst: Wizard 101. Classic example of Pay2Win for F2P. I don't mind locking areas for F2P players but don't send them to those areas on quests and not allow them to do said quests unless they pay.
Best: LotRO. At least when I was playing up until about 2 months ago. At least with that one you can go into locked areas to do the quests your are sent on (epic quests), and you can just go into the area to kill things if that's what you want. Plus you have the option of grinding TP to unlock those areas. I'd say that's a pretty good deal for F2P.
You want me to pay to play a game I already paid for???
Be afraid.....The dragons are HERE!
Nuts here then (teamed with evolver)
LotRO's system is great if you're a former player. And if you're a newcomer... well, then it's still free, if you don't mind the grind, and you know the ropes. There are even f2p kins, and I know a few players who unlocked everything they needed for free. (luckily I'm a former vip, so I don't have to grind to enjoy the game)
The worst one, I think is Age of Conan. I love the game, but the fp2 conversion was a failure... It didn't bring in new players (it's limitations are worse than the unlimited trial was prior f2p), and it didn't make a large extra income to FC, because the store is pretty lame too (very few services, a lot of fluff, and everything is overpriced).
Actually, before f2p, with the unlimited trial I could get 4 buddies ingame (3 of them subscribed). After the f2p conversion I tried to show it a few people, everyone's left before level10...
(I even sent a mail to FC, that they increase the starting bag at least with a few more spaces, because if a newcomer saw that during the tutorial, at level 5 he/she fills the inventory, it's obvious that his/her game will be mostly a constant inventory-management -> they leave :I )
The new true F2P asian games have gotten better graphics but that's about it.
If your beef is the word "free to play" being used for games that have restrictions on content or features than I can see that. I think SoE should take out the period and say simply "Free to play your way" because it makes a lot more sense. In the end you get what you pay for. Want a game that provides everything up front without things you "need", don't expect very much.
I would argue that putting powerful items up to strait buy instead of getting them in the field is restricting play depending on how easy it is to get those items otherwise. Especially in a game that has PvP, a good vehicle for needing those items, you really wouldn't feel like it was "free to play". Yet both cases are just one is lower quality and one is higher. I understand that the "feeling" when playing a game could be soured by seeing locked out bags or locked out quests but I think we're getting a little entitled towards these western conversions.
You mean Lockbox Online perhaps?
+ Of course cash shop is part of business model of every game that have cash shop. Be it f2p or freemium or even p2p and game's model is judged along with it.
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